week of reflection: 11/18/16

I give this week a 5! It has been a relatively easy and stress free week. I didn't have school on Friday because my CT had a previous engagement to attend to. So I took advantage of that and went and did one of my end of experience observations at a middle school in the area. What a fun experience to get out of my classroom and get to observe somewhere differently. This was awesome for me because I've been leaning towards teaching middle or elementary anyways! I typed up my observation report for that already and am knocking out pieces on my portfolio. So I'm getting very excited for graduation! It is just a month away!!!! All of my hard work is paying off and I'm close to my first degree, it is just a really awesome feeling. This week I attended the CMS (Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools) job fair. That was a different experience to go and see all of these schools. I felt like I was selling myself, but I'm glad I got the practice there so when I attend the Gaston County Job fair I won't feel as awkward.  This week at school I haven't been doing as much, for I am fading out of my responsibilities. In 4th period I have been working a lot on my concert band piece and we also have been meeting after school for flute choir. That honestly is a huge highlight for my student teaching experience. Next week is only a two day week and I have never been more ready for a break. I really miss being home with my family. Going forth I just want to finish up all of my requirements for student teaching, get my name out there more for jobs, and have a happy rest of my time as  student for now.  WE ARE SO CLOSE YOU GUYS!

week of reflection: 11/11/16

This week I was only at school one day but it definitely was a 5 week! 

The students were out of school Tuesday and Friday, then Monday I was at conference and Thursday I went home for my first big girl job interview! So that was an awesome experience!! I will find out if I got the job early next week at some point. It is at an elementary school back home and I would be the director of the after school program, I would be in charge of all activities, snack, touring, and making sure all the helpers are doing their assigned responsibility. I am very interested in this job because even though it isn't a full time teaching position, I would still be continuing being around kids and helping them after school. I am grateful to expand my teaching experience into elementary children as well! At my interview the principal and I discussed all of my music background and how he would like having another music teacher around because they only have one day a week when a music teacher comes to their school. Also funny thing, this music teacher was my elementary music teacher when I was in school! I saw her in the hall during my interview and she talked me up big to the principal so that was awesome already having a familiar face. In addition to all this great news, this same teacher reached out to me after I left the school, and she said that she might be having foot surgery and would need a long term sub for the spring semester and she had me in mind. So already having my name out their some is really helping and I'm excited knowing that there are possibilities for me after graduation. If not, I am grateful for that interview experience already! 

So really this week I didn't have much at school, but professionally for me I have taken leaps for after graduation and I've been focusing on working on the remainder of all of my assignments for student teaching. I still feel like I have so much left, but I have to keep going and do the best that I can. Next week at school I really need to focus on getting my sections for the winter concert ready, (Our concert is Tuesday December, 13th at 6:30pm if anyone can come out!) I'm very excited because this will be my debut as a conductor and also instructor for the flute choir!!

As I finish up edTPA I am noticing how much my students really did learn and that's SO awesome to see. I really am reaching some of them. It is hard having a class of 50 and tracking their learning, but I am doing the best I can and it seems like for the most part they are learning. (most part being some kids just don't care so they don't try)

NCTCS:

1c: This interview helped me extend and gain some more professional relationships. 

3b: During the interview I just have to say I was impressed with myself and how much I know no about education. I was able to hold a professional conversation about education with a principal and director of all after school activities. I just had ti pat myself on the back and be grateful for all of my professors at GWU.

5b/5c: From conference to this week, I feel like I am gaining lots of professional development and for the first time in my time this semester I don't feel terrified to graduate.

Portfolio and edTPA are working. I'll be ready when I can say I am officially finished with all of these assignments. 

Dr. Soja, I am so grateful for you!! I can't say it enough!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

week of reflection 11/04/16

Sorry about this weeks blog being so late as well as the responses. I was at the NCMEA conference all weekend and left my laptop at home. But last week was really good as well as the conference. We had our last football game and it was also senior night for the band members. The game was really good and I would say it was the bands best run of the marching band show.  I also taught my last edTPA lesson and it went really well! Now I am just scrambling to get everything for student teaching completed. I'm counting the days until graduation! But conference WAS AMAZING. This conference fed me musically and educationally. I feel very excited to use some of the things I learned in my classroom! This past week I watched a little too much tv and I shouldn't have done that knowing that I had conference this weekend. This week I am in now is also a short week for me, but I have my first interview for a job this Thursday, so please be sending me good thoughts, vibes, and prayers. 

NCTCS

1c: This past weekend I gained a lot of professional development from the music educators conference! Loved it so much! 

2d: For my last edTPA lesson, I had a student who is EC that I accomadated by giving them a separate playing space. 

4h: After finishing up all of my edTPA, I really am finding little ways that I assess my students. One example would be asking for group responses after asking a question, I find this extremely helpful when rehearsing. 

5b,c: Conference really put me in a different environment, I wasn't used to the city, but I loved being able to talk with other educators and get to and from the sessions. 

Not much longer everyone! We all got to keep pushing forward and get through all of this!

week of reflection: 10/28/16

This week I want to give a 5. I feel like this was one of the best weeks I have had during students teaching. Most of my edTPA was this week and it all has gone surprisingly well. The kids seem to be reacting very well to what I am asking of them. Also this week was the 2nd meeting for flute choir and the first actual rehearsal. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS. I have had a couple of the flute students come up to me saying they love flute choir and wish we met more. I am so excited to be able to expose them to this chamber music so young because this will really help them develop. This is also helping me enhance my pedagogy for flute and I'm discovering a new passion in this as well. Next week we are really focusing on concert band music and preparing for 4th periods performances on Friday. So all this week I have been giving verbal feedback to lots of students about the music they are choosing for their project as well as helping some of them with their individual part. I absolutely enjoy this part of teaching!!!!! I really am digging in deep and I feel like I truly am helping them become musicians. One of my long term goals is about professional development and I have written out my schedule for conference coming up next weekend and I'm looking forward to that!! This week I spent most of my time on edTPA related things. So that is coming to an end, however I haven't touched the portfolio in weeks..... No huge apprehensions this week, except sometimes I am still hesitant with some of the seniors in my classes. Next week I need to focus on getting all things EdTPA completed and non stop work basically. During my first edTPA lesson I took up some exit slips where I asked if anyone had any questions about the project, and I actually got a few questions and I was able to take this data to help those students with their questions. I just thought this was really cool because students actually took the exit slips seriously and it gave good data for me. One thing I want to share with all you student teachers is, write everything down!!!! I have been using notecards to jot down small notes in the class of things I observe from students and some of those notes have helped me in flute choir. 

NCTCS:

1a) In my first edTPA lesson we had a learning activity called 'Throw the Ball'. This basically is a way to have an active discussion without having the students completely bored during it. So I had parameters for the students to keep the activity orderly and safe. 

2c) my edTPA lessons are providing me so many opportunities to talk with students individually and give them feedback on the progress of their final performance project.

3) I'm starting to go deep into all the concert band music on my own time. I'm beginning to write out plans for rehearsals on all the pieces. 

4d) I used team survey cahoot in my class during my edTPA lesson this past Wednesday  They got into their groups I assigned and they voted on which criteria they wanted to use to evaluate performances. 

5c) I am pretty active in the entire school now. I know the people in all the offices and the library. So they always help me if I need it and I am successfully functioning day to day. 

Only been working on edTPA really. All good.

Week of Reflection: 10/21/16

This week overall I would give a 4. The beginning of the week was kinda crappy, I had my second observation and it did not go as well as I would have liked it to. I really had a hard time getting through all that until Friday. On Friday I was tired of feeling so terrible,so I wanted to push out of the slump. So I just went into the whole day and taught all of the classes. I pushed everything out of my head and just did what naturally worked. Rather than trying to force a plan I just went with the flow and had an amazing experience. I really feel like I was reaching the kids but still being firm to have them learn. One of my goals is to gain more meaningful professional development, this week during planning we attended a literacy in our content area professional development. The whole time I thought of Dr. Clark and how I learned a lot of this in Ed 316. So it was really awesome being able to contribute to the conversations and get some info. to help in my personal conversations. The beginning of this week was one of those "should I really be a teacher?" weeks. I felt extremely defeated and I was really down on myself. But I got out of that mindset after my classes on Friday. Next week is when I am supposed to be doing my edTPA, I am really nervous about it just because I really am challenging my students. I just have to do the best that I can and hope I reach some students in the process. This week I have really been focusing on how I am going to instruct the percussionist after marching band. Most of them are extremely un-motivated and don't want to do anything in class. So if we do concert band music the whole time they will become bored and that creates no motivation as well. So I found a percussion ensemble piece and also a body percussion piece I want to try with them. No major advice this week, more of let's finish strong! 

NCTCS:

1a) Friday when teaching the freshman band I felt like a real leader. I facilitated in running the marching band show and gave opportunities for the sections to talk to each other to name their sections trouble spots. 

2b) My school that I am student teaching at is not really diverse in general. The main population is almost 80% caucasian students. So I have been struggling with how to  express more diversity in the classroom. What it came down for me is, the biggest diversity is the different social classes. There are a lot of really wealthy students and a lot of very poor students. With this being said, the band program is selling band jackets that are $83. For someone wealthy that is pocket change, but for someone not a wealthy that is saw as like a million dollars. This really struck with me and I was scared that these jackets could really divide the band and show the wealthy, "better" students having the jackets and the poor ones not being "cool" just cause they didn't have a jacket. So I came to my CT with an idea about the jackets. I wanted to see if there were some band parents/teachers/ anyone who would be willing to be a sponsor for a couple band kids who really wanted a jacket but couldn't afford it. He really liked that idea and it is in the works.

 3c) We had that professional development this past week about literacy in your content area and it really helped refresh my opinion of literacy in the classroom. It really is so important to incorporate reading/writing/analyzing texts all of those things that can help enhance literacy skills. This also is going along side with helping the school improvement plan to improve ACT and English II scores.

4a) I have been struggling with how to act with my freshmen class. They are in high school but aren't really at the maturity level for being in high yet? So I was being very harsh with them because they weren't listening and they talked all the time. So this Friday I learned to let go of some of the nonsense a little because they aren't my wind ensemble who are used to being in high school. I feel like I now have a better balance with them. 

5) This week I have done a lot of reflecting from my last observation. Just really trying to see where I can improve, I brushed some of the negative thoughts out of my head and really did well in class Friday.

Portfolio stuff I have set to the side. I'm just trying to get through edTPA. (HALP) My CT and I are doing okay. I'm looking forward to going to Dr. Soja's house on Monday evening! 

Week of Reflection: 10/14/16

I rate this week a 3. It has been kinda an 'eh' week. I have really been struggling with all of the responsibilities. I feel like I am barely hanging on and I hate that feeling. All of these things I am responsible for at school are happening because of marching band. But I am conflicted because I still am a student and have all of these assignments. Just where is the balance? because right now I don't have any. The best part of this week was me talking to all the flutes and we are going to have a flute choir. This will be a flute choir of 12 people including myself! Non of the flute students have ever played on the bigger flutes before so I am excited to be able to give them this opportunity! This week I conducted more in front of the wind ensemble and I continue to gain more confidence. My biggest issue still deals with trust, the seniors of this program have a lot of ownership because they have built this program up. They were the first freshmen of the band and have been here all 4 years, so most of the seniors don't really trust me. That is where I have apprehension because the seniors act like I do things so wrong when I come up on the podium. I am hesitant in correcting seniors specifically because I always feel tension. If anyone has suggestions for that please let me know??!?!? One of my PDP goals is to gain more instructional technique for brass instruments and I found an article discussing how to help brass players move air. Which is what really controls most issues with brass instruments. I found the article very helpful and I took some of the info into mind for my next lesson. This week I used all my time wisely in one way another. What it boils down to is, should I sacrifice basic needs, like laundry, making food, and sleep. I rarely take time for myself soI am struggling in that aspect as well. Next week I must finish EdTPA. For data this week, I have really focused in on my freshman band and how they struggle reading music. So next week I am going to have a class period dedicated to working on sight-reading. Fellow student teachers, only advice I have taking away from this week is make sure you keep your laptop charged cause I forgot to charge it and it cutout on me during class one day this week. 

NCTCS:

1) This week I really felt like I got to demonstrate leadership because I ran the entire marching band rehearsal during class on Tuesday. 

2c) We have a string bass player who often feels let out because we don't really focus on him a lot since he isn't a "typical concert band" instrument. So I really wanted to make sure he knew his worth in this band and I made an effort to get him actual bass parts to all his music (instead of baritone) and I also got him music to audition for all-district and the south-central orchestra. 

3b) I am focused on getting techniques to help brass. That is a priority for me right now. 

4e) The bands only pit player in the marching band was having trouble identifying wrong notes when he played. So I worked with him separately and asked posing questions to get him to come to his own conclusions about what was wrong.

5) I am still doing my weekly KWL charts and I love reading what I have written week to week. 

Most of my focus is still on EdTPA. My CE is doing fine. I just am looking forward to Monday when we all meet at Dr. Soja's home. 

Weekly Reflection: 10/07/16

This week I rate a 4. I had a pretty awesome week! The only reason it isn't a 5 is because Friday all day in school was just a nightmare. The hurricane caused a lot of rain predicted for Friday so they moved our homecoming game to Thursday. (Thursday games are the worst.) This week was my schools homecoming, so we had spirit week and the pep rally. I had my first observation this week and it went really well!! That made my week because I had been feeling very lost in this process. I know I still have lots to do, but at least now I know everything I have been doing is right on target. Everything from this past week has gotten me excited to teach more for sure! The kids are really starting to trust me more. They are becoming more vulnerable with me and we are making music. I have finished my professional development plan and am getting it all signed. This week I spent a lot of time focused on getting ready for my observation and EdTPA, so the portfolio has taken the back burner for sure. I'm hoping it doesn't stay there until the very end... I know one thing I could have spent less time doing is watching tv. (I had to get caught up on walking dead, having some regrets now lol) My biggest apprehension this week was giving suggestions for improvement for our guard. We don't have an instructor who comes regularly, I have gotten a few people o come in and help when they can. But I had 2 freshmen guard members come and ask me about a toss and I simply didn't know what to say. Next week I need to get the mental clutter of everything out except EdTPA. I HAVE TO FINISH THAT. In freshman band I ran over the song we were playing for homecoming, and I noticed that our mellophone player has terrible habits. So I want to take it upon myself to try and learn more about brass and how to better help him. You guys can you believe we are almost halfway done with student teaching???? I am shocked that it's October, but honestly ready to get my diploma. 

NCTS: 

1) I participated in spirit week and prepared the music for the pep rally at school this week.

2c) We have one student who is really into tv shows, and she always comes to tell us about her shows she has been watching. So this week I told her about a show I watch, (which she also watches) and I just felt like we bonded talking about that show. 

3a) While writing my EdTPA plans I have found specific standards that work for each lesson. 

4d) I have a student in my freshmen band who struggles with reading notes, so I asked my CT if we could bring the chrome book charts down and work for 20 mins or so everyone on some note identification. 

5b) I wrote a section in my PDP about strengthen this standard in particular. I don't just want to go to professional development because I half to. I want to make sure I gain something from the experience. 

As I mentioned above, I have mainly focused on this weeks observation and EdTPA. We both are fine and I am looking forward to Monday's seminar class.

Week of Refelction: 09/30/16

This week I rate a 4. 

Thursday I introduced my concert band piece to the wind ensemble. We warmed-up and sightread Cajun Folk Songs. (I'm really upset because I had everything set up to record and when I went to watch the video afterwards it didn't record!!! :((((( ) but I have made my reflections for this lesson and I overall was not that please with it. My CT has an extremely hard time with letting go of control. So all during my lesson he kept interjecting and it felt like he wasn't giving me any opportunities to fail or even succeed. Afterwards my CT and I talked and I told him that I am never going to feel comfortable with this band if he doesn't let go some and give me a chance. He said he was just so worried and nervous about me messing up, he didn't want me to fail. I just encouraged him to let me do it and him give comments afterwards because I have to see what it feels like as the teacher, rather than the student teacher who is always under his wing. So Friday he gave me the whole freshmen band class period and it went so well! I really began connecting with the students and they were seeing more as the teacher. After this my CT gave me comments and it just overall was so much better. This past week I just spent a lot of time preparing for class time and I haven't had chances to work on any portfolio material. It is really starting to be crunch time and I wonder how I am supposed to play for classes, do portfolio requirements, and plan EdTPA all at the same time. I have to have time to sleep and eat! haha I didn't have any moments this week where I didn't have confidence. However; when teaching I told myself to just have confidence because my last time in front of the freshman band it wasn't that good. I just told myself "you do know what you're talking about and you are their teacher" this made me feel so much better being in front of them this time. Next week it is my goal to have everything completed for my EdTPA lesson plans. I'm worried about getting this part of student teaching complete because it is a lot to tackle. In wind ensemble we sightread my piece and I discovered this band doesn't sightread well, so I want to try and incorporate that into some of my instruction. Fellow student teachers, no advice really, just can you believe we are almost half way done????

NCTCS:

1a) I felt like I really had command of the classroom this past week in wind ensemble/freshmen band and I was leading them to getting ready for middle school band night.

2a) Indoor drumline season is about to start and I did some research to get info for auditioning for the limestone saints indoor percussion. This is because we have two percussionists who aren't challenged enough in our class, so I wanted to give them an opportunity to be in another environment to learn.

3d) This was something silly and simple; but in freshman band we have a stands tune where you have to say HUH! at the end of it and non of the students were doing it because they thought it was lame. So when we were playing it and we got to the part I "dabbed" and all the students laughed and they began saying the HUH! and dabbing lol

4g) This week my CT and I have had countless conversations trying to get on the same page when I am in front of the class. Slowly but surely we are getting there.

5) My video camera did not record my lessons, something is up with it. So directly after my lessonI went and wrote down everything that happened so I would have it and I reflected.

I didn't really do much with the portfolio this week. My CT and I are okay. Just whenever Dr. Soja you come out for my first observation just let me know! I hope everyone had a good week!

Week of Reflection: 09/23/16

This week was a 5 for me because this week was so much better than last. This week wasn't perfect but overall it just was a great week. I really didn't do much with the classes this week, my CT has been really focused on getting the band ready for our first competition this Saturday. But I have been able to get some work completed on my portfolio and EdTPA. That is slowly working, I am having a hard time with deciding on what to do lesson wise on that. This week has also been nice because we haven't had as many commitments. Just after school rehearsals where I felt like I have been contributing in a good way. My CT and I have devised a way for me to commentate and the students will actually listen to me. Rather than me just making comments and they not listening or whatever. But he will say, "Ms. Duncan what did you think of that? or Ms. Duncan any comments?" So he sets the stage for me to be able to make suggestions and comments and me practice hearing other things that I am not used to. He encourages me to listen to brass more. I usually try to post my blog up before Sunday so I have more time for other things on Sunday, but I have had a busy Friday and Saturday. As I mentioned before, We took the band to their first competition at Enka High School Saturday and we got 2nd in class 2AA out out 5 bands. So I am proud of the students for all of their hard work. With getting my first band competition under my belt now I need to focus heavily on EdTPA. This past week I have been struggling with my eyes, terrible headaches so I have spent most of my free time sleeping than doing work. I have schedule an eye exam this next week so I am hoping I will feel better to do more work. This past week I have really been feeling like I don't know what I am doing with this whole student teaching requirements. I am terrified that I am forgetting something important or that I haven't been doing enough. My situation just makes it so that I don't get much control of the class so I don't feel like I am doing what I need to. Not sure if anyone else is feeling like this? But next week I will be getting some class time which I am excited but very nervous about. I will be starting my concert band piece. Fellow student teachers, I took the time this past week to talk to the chorus teacher of my school and I got a new friend as well as some good advice. I encourage those of you who have that counterpart to introduce yourself! If anything you will have another friendly face around the school. 

NCTCS:

1) At the competition my CT put me in charge of the kids for getting them dressed and ready for warm-up. I really had o use leadership for this to make sure everyone was ready to go and where they were supposed to be. 

2e) This past week at our evening rehearsal I was with my CT when he was talking to the band parents who help with the pit crew. It was a good experience for me to be there to see all of the parent involvement needed for things like that and also finding parents to pull the band trailer and help out. 

3) I didn't really do much with this standard this past week. Although, I did help our new bass clarinet player with  some wrong notes in his part. 

4f) This week for our playing exams, I gave my CT the idea to have the students work in teams creating quartets/quintets to play for us so everyones part was exposed. This actually went very well.

5c) At the competition, I met a lot of other band directors and got to talk with them professionally. I feel like this fit for 5c because there was a lot going on at the competition. 

For the most part I have started every piece of the portfolio but haven't finished all of it.My CT and I seem to be doing okay wit everything. I honestly just need a one on one with Dr. Soja to make sure I am on track. I believe I am being observed this coming week so that will make a good opportunity for that. 

Week of Reflection: 09/16/16

This week was a tough week so I have to give it a 2. This week I taught my first mini lesson to my 2nd period class, which is the freshmen band. I felt like some of them responded well to me and others didn't even blink an eye. After teaching this lesson, (I still need to finish watching the video for this lesson) but I am getting a better feel for this class and I know some things that I want to focus on for the next time I am in front of them. This week has been hard on really everyone in the band, and my CT. It seems like nothing is going right. We have had 3 band members get suspensions with school and my CT's car got broken into and his laptop was stolen. All of this has really taken a tole on everyone and you can see that in class and rehearsals. So I am hoping going into next week we can get back on track because our first competition of the season is next Saturday for the Enka Marching competition. So to be completely honest I feel like most of my time this week was spent going to meetings. I had a full day Monday,Tuesday, and Wednesday it went: School, Practice, and then a meeting/sports duty. I get why we need to go to these things because we need to see what it is like being a band director, however; one added element we have that our CT's don't is our portfolio and class assignments. Maybe I am complaining right now, but I feel like I haven't had time to work on any assignments this week because I have been doing ll this extra stuff. Something has got to give with this? Do we have to go to EVERYTHING? This has just made my week frustrating for me. This weeks apprehension has definitely been in making comments on the music. Early in the week I was helping and trying t make comments and suggestions but none of the students listened to me, so I had a moment of "why am I even here then???" So because of these actions from the students I just stopped giving comments and just sat on the side. I later talked to my CT about my frustrations and he basically told me if no one listened to me again we all would just have a pow-wow with the particular students. Next week I definitely want to go into it without all the baggage of this tough week. Some data I looked at from the freshmen band is going to help me with their future lessons. Small things such as, one clarinet player is extremely shy, so discussion based is hard for her. I need to make sure I incorporate a chance for her to write down rather than speak our to the class. Fellow student teachers, I want you you all to know that you know a lot more than you think. You will surprise yourself with what you do know. We have been trained well at GWU.

NCTS

1e) I had the misfortune to be in the "teachers lounge" when I overheard a group of teachers complaining about the administration. I was shocked to hear them talking about this at school. I didn't want to be a part of this, so I went to a different place to eat my lunch. I feel like me making the decision to leave was demonstrating high ethical standards. 

2) I still have not gotten 504/IEP information; however my CT and I have discussed a student in our class who was adopted from the Ukraine. He said she was extremely shy and had a hard time talking to others and making friends. Having this information I am going to make every effort going forward to treat her as an individual and make her feel welcome.

3d) I had a student ask me why we stand at attention for the national anthem, and that was one thing that helped spark me to do the lesson on the Star Spangled Banner that I did this week. So I felt like I was really making this relevant to the students. 

4d) I had a lot of fun this week researching technology tools to implement in the classroom. I finished up the technology evidences part of my portfolio. 

5b) Not sure if this counts, but us student teachers started a group chat and I am loving it. 

This week has been tough so I haven't gotten much done. My CT and I are doing pretty well right now just trying to move forward from this past week. It was good seeing you this past week Dr. Soja at Stuart Cramer, I hoped you liked the school! 

Week of Reflection 09/09/16

Overall Experience for the week was 4. This week I got to be in front of the band for a warm up. I felt like I did a really good job getting in front of the kids. It is so important to get in front of the kids now because when I start teaching even more they will be more comfortable with me. After seminar on Wednesday my CT and I started talking some more about the EdTPA and we both got a lot more comfortable with it. Next week I am going to continue working on the EDTPA as well as teaching my first lesson to my 2nd period class on Monday. From my last blog to now, I have gained a lot more confidence in front of the kids. I have done band warm-ups and have stepped in by making more comments. I also have been doing playing exams for the kids. I am really enjoying this because it allows me some individual time with the kids to get to know them and hear individual playing. Unfortunately this past weekend was labor day weekend, and I didn’t do a single thing. I now see I probably should have done something because this sunday I am going to be cramming a lot into that day. Which sucks because it is my only complete free day. As I mentioned before, this week I had a lot more confidence. However; I still was hesitant about stepping on my CT’s toes. Looking back I see more opportunities where I could have taken a larger role in the classroom, but I just let the drum majors do it or my CT. Going into next week I want the mental clutter of some personal issues gone as well as the EdTPA clutter. I feel a lot more confident about the planning part of EdTPA after the seminar on Wednesday. I am excited to teach my first mini lesson on Monday. After hearing the playing exams from the band, it has already started stirring ideas in my head for ways to help fix little things within rehearsal. I have been taking notecards and making comments for each student so I have them for the future. A piece of advice for fellow student teachers this week, is definitely do not forget to take some you time. It is very easy to be overtaken by all things school. (Especially those of us with high school marching bands).

NCTCS

Standard 1) This week I really felt like I led in the classroom. I was able to warm up the band a couple of times and write out exactly what I wanted to do during the warmup. 

Standard 2) I attended my first booster board meeting this past Wednesday, and I was able to work collaboratively with some of my students parents. This was really cool for me, and they all liked one of my fundraising ideas.

Standard 3) Thursday during freshmen band I was watching my CT work with them on the show music and the saxophones were way out of tune. My CT made the comment, “I don’t know why you guys are so out of tune today.” So I replied back simply asking the students what reeds they were playing on? Turns out one sax was playing on a 3 reed and the other was on a two reed that he had just opened up. So I felt like I really knew my content because I was able to help solve the issue. 

Standard 4) My CT and I have been having a little issue with communicating, just because I wasn’t sure his vision for me. So we sat down and talked some stuff out. It felt good being able to communicate effectively. 

Standard 5) This week I have incorporated KWL charts into a weekly reflection for myself. This is going to be super helpful for reflecting on my practice. 

This week I haven’t worked on my portfolio as much as EdTPA. I took the handbook and read through it several times, highlighting the important pieces to help me gain a better understanding of EdTPA. Now that I have this understanding I am ready to start in on some of those pieces of EdTPA. Lastly, I just want to give a huge THANK YOU to Dr. Soja. You’re so helpful and we couldn’t do this without you! 

Week of Reflection: 09/02/16

My overall week I would have to give it a 4! I'd say it was a good week, getting to know my schedule as well as be in the classroom with the kids was very exciting for me. A very pleasant surprise for me was in my 1st period class, percussion. I was worried about being able to teach them so my CT and I had a discussion about how most of it was rhythm. So Thursday in class while my CT was working with them I actually assisted and felt confident in what I was saying. This week I really had to learn that even though I am the student teacher, my CT does want me to start making comments and assisting more. So that is something I want to aim for next week. Instead of just observing, I want to start helping sections at a time when needed. Also to not be afraid/nervous but have more confidence when speaking to the whole band. I don't have my SMART Goals or PDP created yet for goals. But that is something my CT and I have decided we are going to make ours similar because he has to have the same thing for his job. This week I have felt very productive! I have tried to make myself be pro-active with the student teaching experience. I really have no time to waste because I have stuff every evening dealing with the band, including some Saturdays. My biggest apprehensions thus far in the process would definitely have to be me stepping on my CT's toes. He is very particular with the way things are done. Him and I had a conversation about the fact he has to get used to me being around because he isn't used to having student teacher. So he said he would be conscious of me being here but I also have to step up and take initiative. Going into next week I really want to start hashing out some of the harder assignments in the portfolio. I want to have sort of a timeline for myself for these assignments. I have already started a lot of pieces of the portfolio and finished the things I could do now, such as the website, and leadership/collaboration project. Right now things are going pretty smoothly, I am still just trying to process everything and get used to being at the school like it's a full time job, rather than just classes. Also what would everyone thinking about all of us creating a PLC with a mission, vision, and some goals? I know this really helped me in Ed 316.

NCTCS:
Standard 1: This week I really was not heavily involved in the classroom. However; I felt like all times in front of the class I demonstrate high ethical standards at all time. 

Standard 2: I am beginning to get to know the students on an individual level. So I feel like this will help me in the future to treat them as individuals. 

Standard 3: I typed up a document with all of the NCTCS so I will have them by my desk. This will also help with adding pieces in my binder for these standards. 

Standard 4: This week I signed up to use plickers within my classroom. This will be an awesome technology tool to use within the classroom. 

Standard 5: I feel very accomplished ad excited for the NCMEA conference. This week I signed up to attend this awesome professional development!

THIS IS IT

Wow. I can't believe that this is my last blog post for Ed 316. This is so bittersweet. I have never had a class that has made me this frustrated and happy at the same time. This class has pushed me to become a better educator and I am super grateful for that. it is really sad to be leaving this class because I really feel like this PLC that we have created was a strong one. I love my classmates and i don't want to say goodbye. However; it is time to move on and start my next step: Student Teaching. I just had the orientation meeting today for it and it really is starting to hit that I am almost finished with my time at GWU. We discusses the NCTCS, which funny story I was such a nerd because Dr. Parker asked if we knew what those were and if anyone had them. so I pulled the list I had on a note card out of my backpack hahaha!  All of this to say, I have learned more than I thought I could from Ed 316 and I am really going to miss it.

Recital Week

This week is the busiest week of my spring semester. This week alone I am in 4 concerts alone, plus all of the dress rehearsals for all of them. So my brain is so full of music, assignments, and just trying to get through all of it. I am so grateful that we don't have Ed 316 tomorrow. Not because I don't like the class, but because it will give me a little extra time to do homework. So in connecting with the standards, I believe Standard: 1b1 Engages in collaborative and collegial professional learning activities, fits in nicely with what I have been up to lately. All of the concerts really benefit my musicality as well as broadening my musical knowledge. Playing in many ensembles exposes me to all kinds of genres and music eras. Sorry for the short post this week! But I need to go practice for my senior recital. Which is this coming Friday, April 22nd at 8PM in the Dover Theater! If you guys have time you should come out and listen to some awesome music, There will be cake afterwards too!

finish line

      We are so close to the end of the semester and all I can say is that it is a race to the finish. I can say with confidence that this semester is filled with the most work I have ever had. It has really has pushed me and made me think about my future a lot. It seems like every time I turn a corner another assignment is just waiting on me and I honestly am struggling. There is not enough time in the day to do all of my assignments for school plus 3 ensembles, private lessons, and my senior recital. Something has got to give because I am slowly loosing my mind that is for sure.
      One thing that I really try to focus on with my content area is really broadening my ear to new music. This is because if I am teaching music I want to have as much knowledge on music as possible. Today I listened to some 21st century music because I am working on gaining more knowledge in this are of music. It is not my favorite era at all but I need to listen to it for the benefit of my students. This aligns with standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach. I hope to integrate more 21st century music into my everyday listening to prepare myself in the classroom.

Blog #212553445

I hope everyone who is on the DC is having a very fun time! I am on campus slaving away at homework and preparing for my senior recital. Today is actually my hearing, which means I play for some music professors to make sure I am prepared enough to present my senior recital. It is overwhelming focusing on that as well as my other homework because I want my recital to go as perfect as it can. This recording I get on my recital will more than likely be used to send in for grad school auditions and that is super important. While practicing for dayssss I have also been working diligently on the BPH. This feels like the longest assignment I have ever been given. It feels like when I get one strategy written another 12 pop up haha. But little by little I will get it all done. It is hard having only a three person group but I am so grateful for Amanda and Dalton. It has been a blast getting to know them and spend time bettering ourselves as educators together. Even though standard 4g. Teachers communicate effectively is under standard 4. teachers facilitate learning for their students. I definitely connect that standard to Dalton, Amanda, and I for working on this BPH. We have a group text chat and have met multiple times to make sure we are on the same track. With all this being said, I need to go practice. Here goes nothing!

Lessons

After reflecting on my teaching today in class and looking at Dr. Clarks comments, I realized that I did not do a good job of assessing my students. This is a part of the NCTCS. The standard I am referring to is, Standard 4h. Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned. I really need to work on incorporating assessments more into my teaching. My fault with this is that I get too excited and get carried away about sharing something that I love so much. But if my students are to really take the lesson all in, I have to asses their learning so that I know the progress and if I need to go over something again. Also with assessment not just simply giving a test or a quiz. But incorporating many different kinds of assessments into my teaching. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching to my fellow peers because I have gained more experience teaching as well as valuable feedback. 

Grades Galore

These past few weeks have just been a little strange because we had bring break and now we are about to go on Easter break. It really hasn't felt like we have been in class. However; last week it was good being back in this class minus the fact I felt like a bunch of assignments came out of nowhere. I know that right now it is overwhelming and I probably complain a lot. But these will benefit us in the future and especially in student teaching. Today was one of our teaching days in the classroom where our class and Dr. Parkers class was combined. Even though I did not get to teach today, I can say seeing my peers teach was kinda cool. Everyone did such a good job and I can see how beneficial this will be for us. This atmosphere created an almost real life classroom. The standard I saw in action today during these lessons definitely was 1b1: Engages in collaborative and collegial professional learning activities. I am nervous about teaching my lesson but I know with such supportive peers everything will be okay. 

Back to Reality

Spring break was far too short. I did not want to go back to school at all. But getting my degree is a huge priority so here I am. It was nice being back in class today and being able to learn about a new website canva.com where you can easily create infographics. This was an excellent example of teacher standard 4d. Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. This really allowed me to reflect on what I have learned so far this semester. After filling out an infographic it was nice seeing a visual representation of my learning and also to see how much more room I have for growth in this class. I had a small issue with the website where it deleted everything I had completed so I had to start over. But other than that it was a cool website to use and I have already thought of ways I could use this in the future and even in my own classroom.

okay then

Okay so I just got my comments back from my lesson plan and I don't know about anyone else but they made me feel completely ashamed. I did not do as well as I thought I would. Which frustrates me because I am a senior and I student teach in the fall. Shouldn't I already have this all together? Why am I having issue writing a lesson plan?? Honestly I think its because it is a different world in music, for example, I have asked previous music educators as well as some I have met through various conferences if they write out lesson plans. Only ONE of them said that they do lesson plans religiously. I am not sure how this makes me feel. This is exceedingly frustrating for me in this class because I have a very hard time connecting the things we are doing in class with music education. The BPH really is frustrating for me because these standards are not music related at all. Consider this honest time with Katie cause this is getting difficult for me. I enjoy this class and learning but am having an impossible time connecting it to music. When it comes to standards I have 3b1 knowing my content area down. But 3c1....... that is another story. All this to say I am extremely ready for spring break.

More Lesson Stuff

         I really enjoyed what we did in the last class period. Having the students act as the teachers and teach a piece of LEARN was incredibly beneficial. This was helpful to me because when you get to the level of teaching others on your subject you should have that information at mastery level. So therefore I feel a lot more confident about the LEARN process. Now when I go to apply my 6 point lesson plan to the LEARN template I will feel a lot better about doing so.
        While I am continuing my education by learning material in this class, I also just signed up for flute fest, where I will continue some professional development in the music world. This really fulfills standard (1b1 developing) because this is going to provide some extremely valuable learning activities. This flute fest is basically one huge masterclass where I will improve my playing and also learn some techniques for teaching flute. The masterclass will provide some serious networking opportunities for my professional development as well as a very encouraging environment for music making.

Lesson Planning

This week my attention has been on two things: opera and Education 316. As much as I enjoyed playing in the opera I am glad that it is over because now I have a bit more free time. Before I was in a cycle of constant music and barely had time to devote to school. The time I did have available I tried working on assignments for Education 316, mainly the 6 point lesson plan and Teachscape Modules. When I brought my lesson plan to the last class I came to the realization that I had done it all wrong. I am so thankful for Austin because he has helped me countless times with this lesson plan. Which is such an excellent example of collaboration (1b1). Through this collaboration it helps with improving my school work and also can act as practicing instruction. Along with conquering the 6 point lesson plan, I have been working on the Teachscape learning modules. Even though I get frustrated with these videos at times and the length it takes to complete them, I feel like I am gaining huge professional development in college. Like Dr. Clark said, this will look great on our resume and we will have gained all of this before we even graduate.

It is March yet?

I say "Is it March yet?" because February is very overwhelming and I feel like I am drowning in everything I need to do. I am involved in the Opera here on campus and this weekend is its show time. Between rehearsing practically everyday as well as my other ensembles and class, it seems like I'll never catch a breath. This space is really good for me to organize my crazy thoughts and really tone in on my classes. Speaking of classes, our last class meeting was a very interesting one. Discussing the essential questions really involved the whole class and had me thinking. The part of the class that really helped me differentiate essential questions was hearing how an essential question could be applied as a whole school question. Like the example; "what makes a true friend?" using this question in all classes to act as on over-arching essential question for the year. To me these essential questions can really be attached with NCTCS #4 "Teachers facilitate learning for their students" This is because these questions allow for a huge opportunity to learn by having more than just a "yes or no" answer. It gets the wheels cranking in the brain for a possible discussion and also a thought out answer rather than "yes or no."

standards oh my!

It is definitely beginning to hit me that these standards are not going anywhere. They are going to pretty much become my life and haunt my dreams. I am joking about that last part, but in all seriousness the NCTCS are super important. Today in class I felt like a had a bit of a breakthrough, when looking up the reading/writing standards to research strategies for these I found myself succeeding at knowing the NCTCS. To fellow peers who have been dealing with these for a couple semesters you might be thinking "how do you not know these?" or "help me???." All I know is coming from my background, music students never deal with the NCTCS so having just now learning about these I feel proud of myself. While I look at the NCTCS I have determined that the standard I personally connect with the most is standard #3- Teachers know the content they teach. I love music. It has always been my entire life. In saying this I am very confident in my ability to know music. However; I want to apply this standard a bit farther in saying "yes I do my content , but I do not want to stop learning about my content." I strongly believe in "know the content they teach" should also have underlined meanings of "continue to learn about your content". My belief is strong in this because there are always new breakthroughs and you will never know everything there is to know about your content. With saying this, can we fully reach the standard #3? This is why I want to say "teachers strive to continue the knowledge of their content they teach."

snow thoughts

While thinking about what I wanted to write about for this weeks blog post, all I could think about was how the snow has completely thrown me off track. This got me to thinking about how precious time will be in my future classroom, for the time is already limited to begin with. So when preparing for students you have to be intentional with every move you make. This really starts with making those initial steps when prepping starting all the way with standards. I am not 100% confident on unpacking standards but the little tutorial and example we had last week in class was a good start. Now as a music teacher our standards are a little bit different because they are broke down into grade, musical concepts, and then into the individual standard. This can be very overwhelming so having this skill of unpacking standards will be helpful for digging into these to understand what is expected of the students.
         Also just because we have gotten our flipped classroom certification, I noticed how another one of my professors uses this strategy for her classroom. Outside of class we have our instruction and readings. Then during the actual class time we have discussion and work on an assignment. I have some good and bad opinions about this. The good would include having the professor there during guided practice. However, the bad would have to be if you have a question about the material being taught you can't ask the professor a question then and have to wait. Personally it is difficult for me to learn in this way and it might be because I haven't learned in this flipped classroom environment before. With more exposure I believe it is a good tool for being taught in college. But in my own personal field you can't teach band in a flipped classroom.

things are looking up

After having more class time I can say that I am beginning to feel more comfortable with this class. My favorite part of our class mission is " In a safe, vulnerable learning atmosphere" and I feel like this is the atmosphere we, as a class, are creating. This really gives me a sense of a group effort and this reflects in the class discussion that we have as well as our replies in these blogs. At first I was hesitant about having to keep a blog for this class but I feel very positive about it now. It allows for a space for me to organize my thoughts as well as hear from my classmates. It is also neat having a place to discuss in a professional manner about the process of this class. It will be cool having this to look at how far I came at the end of the semester. My favorite aspect of class has been having those discussions with other students and through this I am getting to know these other future teachers. This is important for me because I can give some of my ideas as well as learn from the other students. Often times I find myself looking at things in a different perspective or even hearing about a concept that I had not thought about before. I thoroughly enjoy this group discussion. One aspect of class that will take some getting used to is the random selection for being in front of class and the tech smackdowns. But hey I already have ripped that band aid off in last class when I was chosen for the first tech smackdown. I still don't have it all together but things are looking up especially after this past week.

it's a stress and I am a mess

Coming into this class I did not know what to expect and that is still how I am feeling. I am extremely overwhelmed. I have never had a class that asks this much of me in regards to assignments that add to a bigger picture. There are a lot of things in this class that I have never heard of such as NCTCS and CLC. I believe this is because I am a music student and my focus for that side of my degree is completely different. This makes me feel like I am at a disadvantage. Also since I have been working at Disney for the past 8 months transitioning back to school has been difficult for me.In addition to this, technology is not my best friend. I need to work on getting better at using these tools as this class is dependable on it.  All I can do is make sure I am paying attention and asking questions so that I don't miss anything.