Reflection of Practice: Learning Environment

As stated in Internship Program Standard 5, "a teacher fosters and manages a safe and inclusive learning environment that takes into account: physical, emotional and intellectual well-being."  This involves creating an environment of respect and rapport and effectively managing student behavior and classroom procedures.

During my first observation, I was challenged by my field supervisor to ask more of my students and raise my expectations for their participation and musical techniques.  In order to do this, I had to hold them to a new standard of musical practice even when it meant going back to basics or running a certain section of a song until everyone performed it correctly.  Though it was a painful process at first because it took time and effort to maintain these new expectations, I now see a difference in the "buy-in" of my students.  By challenging them to fulfill my expectations and sticking to those expectations, they participate more fully and are even more invested in their learning.The following link provides evidence of how consistency is vital when establishing expectations. Setting the Tone  Clearly, "teacher expectations play a significant role in determining how well and how much students learn" (Wong, 2009, p. 41).

Another benefit of these raised expectations is the close knit team culture of my classes.  My music classes usually have a "family" type environment, but requiring everyone to meet these new standards, has created a new system of classroom management.  The accountability for behavior and learning has shifted from my sole responsibility as the teacher, to peers monitoring and encouraging each other to remain focused and on task.  It is encouraging to see that raising the bar in one area can positively effect the whole culture of the classroom.

Looking forward, I hope to continue raising the bar for my classroom expectations as I strive to become more and more proficient in establishing a safe and inclusive learning environment for my students.

*Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (1998). The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher.

Professional Development

Effective professional development is vital to improving teaching practice and the quality of our schools (Desimone, 2011).  School districts that are intentional about providing formal and informal professional development opportunities promote success in their schools.  Seminars, workshops, conferences, and local or national professional organizations provide access to knowledge, skills, and best practices of educators and experts across the country (Professional Organizations Webquest). 

Additionally, cultivating a collaborative school culture allows teachers the chance to learn from one another and provide support for new (and returning) educators.  This year, my school implemented a bi-monthly requirement for teachers to spend at least 45 minutes collaborating with other teachers in the school.  Though this is something I already do often, it is a great reminder to collaborate more intentionally.  Teachers prepare a brief report of what is discussed during their collaboration meetings and submit it to our administrators by the end of the week.  This report provides accountability and is a useful tool for summarizing the ideas, problems, and/or solutions discussed while collaborating.  

Administrators have also changed our district's in-service formats to include workshops and seminars that give teachers opportunities to learn from the expertise and experience of educators in our district. These changes demonstrate a new era professional development in our school district.  I look forward to seeing the results of these new formats on our professional practice. 

Multiple Intelligence Theory & Assessment

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences provides evidence that individuals process information in eight different ways (see in Figure 1).

Educators can use this information to create varied assessments in their classes that allow students to utilize their strengths and process information in the way they best understand it.

One way to do this is to provide assessment options.  For instance, a teacher could ask students to demonstrate their learning at the end of a history of Jazz music unit by drawing a cartoon strip, writing a newsletter, composing a song, acting out a short scene, creating a visual model, crafting a timeline, or compiling a slide presentation.

Another way to help students is by providing useful feedback on assessments to help those who may not excel at a certain intelligence understand how they can make improvements. Rubric feedback, verbal feedback, and written commentary are all useful tools for this purpose.

Smarter Balanced Assessment

The Smarter Balanced Assessment is aligned with the Common Core Standards and seeks to measure students progress toward college and career readiness. It challenges students in grades 3-8 and 11 to not only respond to multiple choice tests but also assesses their critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills.  It accomplishes this through the computer adaptive assessment consisting of a bank of questions that sequence and filter based on students previously answered questions.

Overall, I think the idea behind this test is stellar. Students should be tested on the critical thinking and problem solving skills rather than just their memorization of facts and concepts. Moreover, it's beneficial to have a test that adapts to students individual levels of understand based on how they answer questions.

Just like any other test, this one has it's flaws.   There is still not a concrete solution for ELL students and it is still impossible to capture every student's unique learning needs with one test.   Another problem for schools is the time-consuming nature of this test, as they may need to rotate groups of students through multiple shifts of computer testing.  However, it is encouraging to see that we are working to remedy these issues and will continue to develop ideas for standardized tests that can capture the best picture of our students' progress.

KWL In The Music Classroom

KWL charts are not something I utilize often in my music classroom.  However, music history and composer units lend themselves well toward this learning strategy.  It would be beneficial to survey students before we begin a unit to pre-assess their knowledge and allow them an opportunity to articulate the things they want to learn about. Then I can modify the content of the unit to address some of their interests.  By catering to their natural curiosity, students are more likely to remain engaged in their learning.  It will be interesting to see how this method impacts my classes during our second semester music history unit.

Essay Tests in Music Education

Most music education testing is performance based or objective multiple choice tests.  However, when studying music as an undergraduate student, my music history tests were often essay tests.  I think essay tests can be effective in the music discipline because they require students to analyze, interpret, and synthesize the knowledge they've accumulated throughout the course.  Effective essay tests call for the transfer of the knowledge that one has learned through the communication of his or her thoughts and ideas about the topic. By regurgitating information within the framework of one's own thoughts and ideas, the student can demonstrate mastery of content at a deeper level than simply memorizing facts for a multiple choice test.  The end of the year final in my high school music classes incorporates short answer portions in addition to the multiple choice questions so that I can get a glimpse into my students minds and see if they have really mastered the musical concepts we've covered in class.

Performance Assessment Rubrics

Figure 1

Recently my high school instrumental students completed a performance assessment that judged their current skill level at playing our Christmas concert music.  They complete these assessments once every three to four weeks and receive feedback on a variety of criteria.  The rubric expands as we cover more and more aspects of performance technique throughout the year. Figure 1 is the first rubric in the series and evaluates students on their ability to play the correct notes and rhythms with appropriate stylistic expressivity.  They are also evaluated on their contribution to the ensemble.  Students perform this assessment in small groups of four to six members so that I can hear and provide accurate feedback for individual students.  This performance assessment not only provides feedback for students, but it also guides my instruction immediate following the test as I respond to the concepts and techniques that need further improvement (Shermis & Di Vesta, 2011).  Moreover, students are able to better understand  the elements of a quality performance and strive for excellence if they have a rubric that identifies these criteria.  I know for my students, rubrics have given them the ability to see beyond the score or grade, and to focus on the real-life application of performance techniques within the music discipline.

Formative & Summative Assessment in Practice

Formative assessment is a natural part of the daily music rehearsal process, while summative assessment is usually the end of quarter concert.  However, after taking classes this summer I decided to incorporate more summative assessment and see if that helped students take more ownership of their learning.  One example of this is a recent lesson plan in which choir students learned about blending and tone quality.  They completed a formative pre-assessment where they were asked to verbally brainstorm words and ideas associated with blending and tone quality.  Then I recorded the students singing one of our a cappella pieces before launching into the lesson. Formative assessment continued as I listened to students blend and tonal quality during the lesson activities.  I then recorded the students singing the song again at the end of the lesson. Then the students listened to both recordings and made observations and answered targeted questions using the concepts and vocabulary they learned during the lesson. This summative assessment allowed students to see the progress they made and analyze their own performance.  I found that the students enjoyed this assessment and they were excited about what they had accomplished in their performance technique.

Thoughts on Statewide Standarized Testing

Mention statewide standardized testing among a group of educators and you'll immediately hear groans and grumbles.  Teachers are caught between a rock and a hard place in when it comes to standardized tests.  We know assessment is necessary to ensure students are learning and progressing, but we are skeptical about one test's ability to effectively track student understanding.  We look at our classes and see the individual abilities, knowledge, skills, and needs of thirty different kids and we think...how are we going to ensure each of these students does well on this one important test?  Anxiety builds throughout the year as we realize certain students are falling behind in reading, math, or science.  We reteach, scaffold, and tutor these students in order to help them succeed.  We do everything in our power to ensure all our students are prepared and then, when testing begins, we pray they perform to the best of their ability.  And then we wait to face judgement day.  Will our students' scores indicate we are effective teachers or will this be the year our administrators call us in to talk about an "improvement plan"? Frankly, this is a terrible way to measure teacher effectiveness and it causes a serious amount of anxiety for educators.  There is never going to be a standardized test that provides adequate (and comprehensive) evidence of student progress or teacher effectiveness because every student is unique.  So cue the groans and grumbles, because until we come up with a better system, educators and students will continue to be at the mercy of standardized tests.

General Inquiry Reflection

4.1 Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy. In order to demonstrate mastery of this program standard, a teacher must plan and implement lessons using a variety of pedagogical practices.  Figure 1 illustrates the relationships between planning, instruction, and assessment as it relates to student learning.

Figure 1: Cycle of Effective Teaching (EdTPA)

During this course, I learned how to create clear and measurable learning targets, scaffold and differentiate lessons, communicate high expectations, plan informal and formal assessments, ask open ended questions, and incorporate student voice and academic language in my lesson planning.  This new knowledge will help me better plan, instruct and assess my students this year.  

Before beginning this course, I was unsure how to differentiate lesson activities and provide learning support for the exceptional learners within my classes.  Now I am excited to go back through my school curriculum and design lessons that provide opportunities for students with a variety of abilities and styles.  I plan to utilize questioning, reflection, cooperative activities, multiple assessment formats, nonlinguistic assignments, and student-led discussion to keep my students engaged and active in their learning (Marzano, 2007).

*  Marzano, R. J. 2007. The Art and Science of Teaching. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD

Intro to Teaching Reflection

As stated in Internship Performance Criteria 8.2, teachers grow and develop professionally when they participate in a collaborative educational community where feedback is given by colleagues to improve instruction and advance knowledge of teaching practices and methods.  Through collaborative learning in this course, I gained an understanding of how culturally relevant teaching practices can positively impact students in my classroom.

The purpose of culturally relevant teaching is to enhance learning by connecting academic concepts to students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences and performance styles (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1

For every human being, previous experiences and cultural contexts determine the lens through which he or she learns.  It is vital that educators validate students’ identities and backgrounds by incorporating curriculum that includes their life experiences in their learning. As students and teachers become more familiar with the cultures represented in their community, they learn to value diversity, self-assess their own biases, and understand dynamics of difference within their school (Cross, 1989).

As I’ve participated in the course over the last eight weeks, one of my students has been on my mind. This particular high school student’s incredible work ethic is admired by all of the teachers at my school and he regularly receives good grades.  However, last year he started falling behind on assignments, often fell asleep in class, and missed several days of school. Eventually I pulled him aside to express my concern and ask what was causing these changes.  He explained that his father, a Mexican immigrant, had broken his ankle and was unable to work.  So he was working two jobs in order to help the family pay their bills, taking care of his father and younger siblings while his mother worked, and desperately trying to stay on top of the ever-mounting pile of homework so he could get good enough grades to go to college.  I was shocked! No wonder he had trouble learning at school. 

If teachers don’t understand the cultural factors and experiences that affect their students’ learning at school, they cannot provide the support and resources these students need to succeed.  This year, I hope to develop better knowledge of my students’ previous cultural experiences, plan curriculum that is relatable to students’ everyday lives, and facilitate discussion that opens students’ eyes to the diverse perspectives present in our classroom (Kozleski, 2010).   By accomplishing these goals, I can provide learning opportunities that help my students develop cultural competence and connect what they know to what they learn.

* Cross, T.L. (1989). Towards A Culturally Competent System of Care. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED330171

* Kozleski, E.B. (2010). Culturally Responsive Teaching Matters!. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED520957

Piaget's Cognitive Development

Piaget’s Four Stage Theory is one of the leading theories on cognitive development. He identifies sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational as the four stages of psychological development.  During the sensorimotor stage, infants use their five senses to learn about the world through examination and experimentation, eventually developing object permanence.  Responses in this stage are based solely on their immediate circumstances due to their inability to categorize objects and situations.  Years 2 to 7 are considered the preoperational stage.  Pressley and McCormick (2007) explain that during this stage children develop symbolic schemes “that allow them to represent objects or events by language, mental images, and gestures” (p. 62).  Deferred imitation, symbolic play, egocentrism, and conservation also begin during this phase of development. Primary school students fall into the concrete operational stage as they have the ability to understand facts but still find it difficult to comprehend abstract ideas and concepts.  Cognitive categorization and organization develop during these years allowing students to understand relationships between items and place them in order according to specific parameters. Finally, the formal operational stage begins in early adolescence as socialization, problem solving,  and abstract and forward thinking develop. Students in this phase are capable of in-depth discussion, multi-factored problem solving, and forming hypotheses.

The implications of these stages greatly influence curriculum, lesson planning, and instruction in the classroom.  Because students develop at various paces, educators must diagnose their students’ current developments stages in order to identify appropriate class content and instructional methods for their students.  Sensitivity to students’ limitations must be coupled with a commitment to equilibration as the teacher helps their students move from one cognitive stage to the next.  Constructivist approaches best aid this advancement by providing experiential learning in the form of guided discovery, modeling, and collaboration.  It is through these methods that teachers can provide an engaging and challenging classroom experience that caters to each of their students’ developmental needs.

Program Standards and Elements of a Model Entry

[Program Standards and Elements of a Model Entry follow below. All of the content below this section is for reference. It may be copy-pasted to your new post. Delete the prompt between brackets after creating this post]

Program Standards 

Expected outcomes are expressed as program standards, which are aligned with State-designated teacher preparation approval criteria shown in WAC 181-78A-270. Program standards include criteria (e.g. 1.), elements (e.g. 1.1), and examples. Any level of the program standard is appropriate for reflection, feedback, or evaluation.

1. Expectations – The teacher communicates high expectations for student learning.

1.1 Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy

E.g. Teacher recognizes the value of understanding students’ interests and cultural heritage and displays this knowledge for groups of students.

1.2 Communicating with Students

Teacher’s explanation of content is appropriate and connects with students’ knowledge and experience.

1.3 Engaging Students in Learning

The lesson has a clearly defined structure around which the activities are organized. Pacing of the lesson is generally appropriate.

2. Instruction – The teacher uses research-based instructional practices to meet the needs of all students.

2.1 Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques

Most of the teacher’s questions are of high quality. Adequate time is provided for students to respond.

2.2 Engaging Students in Learning

Most activities and assignments are appropriate to students, and almost all students are cognitively engaged in exploring content.

2.3 Reflecting on Teaching

Teacher makes an accurate assessment of a lesson’s effectiveness and the extent to which it achieved its instructional outcomes and can cite general references to support the judgment.

3. Differentiation – The teacher acquires and uses specific knowledge about students’ cultural, individual intellectual and social development and uses that knowledge to adjust their practice by employing strategies that advance student learning.

3.1 Demonstrating Knowledge of Students

Teacher recognizes the value of understanding students’ skills, knowledge, and language proficiency and displays this knowledge for groups of – students.

3.2 Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in Lesson Adjustments

Teacher makes a minor adjustment to a lesson, and the adjustment occurs smoothly.

3.3 Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in Persisting to Support Students

Teacher persists in seeking approaches for students who have difficulty learning, drawing on a broad repertoire of strategies.

4. Content Knowledge – The teacher uses content area knowledge, learning standards, appropriate pedagogy and resources to design and deliver curricula and instruction to impact student learning.

4.1 Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy

Teacher’s plans and practice reflect familiarity with a wide range of effective pedagogical approaches in the discipline.

4.2 Setting Instructional Outcomes

All the instructional outcomes are clear, written in the form of student learning. Most suggest viable methods of assessment.

4.3 Designing Coherent Instruction in the area of Learning Activities

All of the learning activities are suitable to students or to the instructional outcomes, and most represent significant cognitive challenge, with some differentiation for different groups of students.

4.4 Designing Coherent Instruction in the area of Lesson and Unit Structure

The lesson or unit has a clearly defined structure around which activities are organized. Progression of activities is even, with reasonable time allocations.

5. Learning Environment – The teacher fosters and manages a safe and inclusive learning environment that takes into account: physical, emotional and intellectual well-being.

5.1 Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

Teacher-student interactions are friendly and demonstrate general caring and respect. Such interactions are appropriate to the age and cultures of the students. Students exhibit respect for the teacher.

5.2 Managing Classroom Procedures through Transitions

Transitions occur smoothly, with little loss of instructional time.

5.3 Managing Classroom Procedures through Performance of Noninstructional Duties

Efficient systems for performing noninstructional duties are in place, resulting in minimal loss of instructional time.

5.4 Managing Student Behavior by Establishing Expectations

Standards of conduct are clear to all students.

5.5 Managing Student Behavior by Monitoring

Teacher is alert to student behavior at all times.

6. Assessment – The teacher uses multiple data elements (both formative and summative) to plan, inform and adjust instruction and evaluate student learning.

6.1 Designing Student Assessments around Criteria and Standards

Assessment criteria and standards are clear.

6.2 Designing Student Assessments with an Emphasis on Formative Assessment

Teacher has a well-developed strategy to using formative assessment and has designed particular approaches to be used.

6.3 Designing Student Assessments to Inform Planning

Teacher plans to use assessment results to plan for future instruction for groups of students.

6.4 Using Assessment to Provide Feedback to Students

Teacher’s feedback to students is timely and of consistently high quality.

7. Families and Community – The teacher communicates and collaborates with students, families and all educational stakeholders in an ethical and professional manner to promote student learning.

7.1 Communicating with Families

Teacher communicates with families about students’ progress on a regular basis, respecting cultural norms, and is available as needed to respond to family concerns.

8. Professional Practice – The teacher participates collaboratively in the educational community to improve instruction, advance the knowledge and practice of teaching as a profession, and ultimately impact student learning.

8.1 Participating in a Professional Community

Relationships with colleagues are characterized by mutual support and cooperation.

8.2 Growing and Developing Professionally

Teacher welcomes feedback from colleagues when made by supervisors or when opportunities arise through professional collaboration.

Elements of a Model Entry

There are different formats for writing portfolio entries. However, responding to writing prompts 1-6 helps to address desired performance on professional knowledge and skills, along with identifying steps for having a greater impact on K-12 student learning.

1. Citation of the program standard (either criteria, element, or example) along with an interpretation of what the standard means.

2. Presentation of evidence with description. The description includes context and related research or theory associated with the creation of the evidence.

3. Justification of how the evidence demonstrates competence, or emerging competence, on the program standard.

4. Summary of what was learned as a result of creating the evidence or having the experience.

5. Comment on the implications for student learning.

6. Propose specific changes or next steps to increase effectiveness in the area under examination.

Professional

About Lynnea
I grew up in Colorado Springs with two rambunctious younger brothers and a mother and father who were career educators.  In 2009, I moved to Calfornia to pursue a Music Education degree at California Baptist University, where I met my husband.  We moved to Washington just days after our wedding, due to a last minute job offer, and have enjoyed the beauty of the Northwest for the last three years.  In my free time, I enjoy baking, running, playing just-about-any competitive sport, singing in a community choir, and helping my husband (who's a worship leader) with music at our church.

Interest & Experience in Education
I am currently teaching band, choir, and worship team classes at Rainier Christian Middle and High School. I just completed my third year with the district and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the whole gamut of secondary students.  I love investing in students and spend most of my summers coaching track and field, counseling at summer camps, teaching vocal lessons, and working with the youth group at my church. As a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University, I am currently working on a Masters degree in Teaching and Washington teacher certification with an endorsement in choral music.  I am thankful for the opportunity to further my professional development and hope to use the knowledge and skills to become a more effective educator.

Characteristics of an Effective Educator

Maria Montessori once said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.” Effective educators are identified by their ability to nurture students’ natural curiosity and passion for learning, by equipping them with skills to become independent learners.  These educators are well-prepared, organized, and clear in their expectations.  They are masters in their respective fields and radiate confidence, enthusiasm, and passion as they teach.  Effective teachers know and care about their students’ academic strengths and weaknesses, personal interests, and unique personalities. They create engaging lessons that spur on independent thought, active learning, and in-depth discussion.  Their humor and wit provide the perfect amount of comic relief.  Students would say that these effective educators are fair, approachable, and wise.  They are a source of support for their students academically and personally.  But most important of all, effective educators inspire their students to become life-long learners by making learning a source of joy. 

Initial Knowledge of Child & Adolescent Development

During my first few years of teaching, I struggled to understand why my high school students were so apathetic, lazy, and whiny.  I tried everything I could think of to help them snap out of these caprices but rarely did my methods have any effect.

In reflecting on that year, I am able to realize that my expectations of those students were a result of the standard I held for myself as a student.  I always enjoyed school and wanted to learn.  I was an athlete, musician, theater performer and academic overachiever who refused to let lack of sleep hold her back.  So when I compared my own experience to that of my students, I wanted to tell them to "toughen up". Fortunately, as I began to research and better understand human development, I was moved to compassion for my students.

What a plight! There is so much going on inside of these students; hormones raging, brains developing, self-awareness arising, metacognition evolving, and relational awareness advancing. And that's just on the inside!  The outward peer pressure, family dynamics, community expectations, environmental forces, and media coverage greatly affects their ability to learn.  Students are combating these biological, cognitive, emotional, and sociological factors daily in our classrooms. So it is vital that I support them by furthering my understanding of child and adolescent development and the teaching methods that best aid them in their learning.