Friday Flash: January 20, 2012

January 20, 2012

Feedback

This week I've been thinking a lot about maintaing momentum. I've gotten old lists out to see how far I've come and what still needs my attention. I've thought about the goals I've set for myself.

One of the goals I set was to seek to make feedback to teachers meaningful. I feel like I'm still floundering around on that one. I'm going to take Mary Sue's suggestion and use our CITE tool as a platform for feedback during my classroom visits over the coming weeks.

I see evidence daily on Standard 2:

Teachers establish a respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students.

Element A: Consistent in fostering a learning environment in which each student has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults/peers.

Descriptors: Facilitate students’ taking responsibility for own learning by thinking critically, self-evaluating reflection, learning applied to real life situations-inquiry and exploration

Element B: Demonstrate a commitment to and respect for diversity in the school community and in the world.

Descriptors: Lessons counteract stereotypes, incorporate histories and contributions of cultures, recognizes and accepts the influences of all differences on a student’s development and personality.

Element C: Value students as individuals.

Descriptors: High expectations for students of all backgrounds. Communicates this vision to students. Values contributions, builds positive relationships, student voices valued, mutual respect. Positive learning culture for success.

Element D: Adapt their teaching for the benefit of all students, including those with special needs across a range of ability levels.

Descriptors: Collaborates with support specialists to develop and use appropriate strategies/resources to meet different learning needs (Sped, ESL, GT). Analyzes data to inform instruction and implement different learning plans and legal requirements.

Element E: Work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students.

Descriptors: Communicates in a regular and timely manner to empower parents, actively engages volunteers and paras in meaningful support activities.

Edmodo is one tool for accomplishing Standard 4: Reflect On Their Practice.

Element A: Demonstrate they analyze student learning.

Descriptors: Works collaboratively with colleagues to collect and analyze student performance data using multiple measures of assessment. Continuously monitors learning goals to adapt instruction to individual student needs and developmental levels.

Element B: Link professional growth to their professional goals.

Descriptors: Reflects on teaching practices and participates in high-quality professional development, including 21^st Century skills (Strategic Plan).

Element C: Function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.

Descriptors: Collaboratres with colleagues to investigate and consider new ideas to improve teaching and learning. Respectful, positive, and objective attitude in workplace.

I will strive to provide feedback on Standard 3, with an emphasis on Element C. I have featured some photos of what I observed just this week across the school. However, as I do classroom visits the feedback may center around any of the elements within Standard 3. I hope this will be helpful feedback!

Standard 3: Teachers facilitate learning for their students.
Element A: Demonstrate knowledge of current developmental science, the ways in which learning takes place, and the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students. Descriptors: Designs and implmements developmentally appropriate learning experiences with rigor and relevance. Analyzes assessment results to make instructional decisions for groups and individuals.
Element B: Teachers plan learning experiences appropriate for their students. Descriptors: Integrates 21^st century resources and strategies to adapt to the learning needs, Engage students as partners in the learning process with parent and student feedback to make curriculum responsive, relevant, and accessible to all learners, monitors and modifies instructional plans.
Element C: Teachers use a variety of instructional methods to meet the academic needs of their students. Descriptors: Different strategies, differentiated instruction to close gaps.
Element D: Thoughtfully integrate and utilize technology into their instruction to maximize student learning. Descriptors: Integrates learning opportunities with content, 21^st century skills, and work processes to reflect an innovative global and digital society. Multiple learning opportunities for students to use tech tools and virtual environments to learn content, think critically, solve problems, discern reliability, find and use information to communicate, innovate, and collaborate.

Calendar

January 23 - 27th:

Monday,:

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

*All School Meeting

Saturday:

* WINTER FESTIVAL!!

January 30 - February 3rd:

Monday,:

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

*Choir Performance

Friday

* Evening Choir Performance 6:00 p.m.

Edmodo

Thank you for your thoughtful comments on Edmodo. I see 'echoes' across the postings. I'm excited about what we are learning and those things that are being uncovered. Continue to make posts from your PLC meetings and also schedule some time each week to read what others are posting. I see that some of us are posting questions, seeking suggestions or guidance, and we can collaborate using this tool. Remember to post those things that you are celebrating!!!

More Collaboration

How exciting to visit a classroom and see other teachers making visits! I want to encourage you to do this. We have such amazing talent and expertise. If you will network with me, I would consider it a treat to take your class while you visit another classroom within our school.

Love and Logic

Giving Choices

Featured Folk

authored by Brittany Sundgreen

Dear REMS family,

As I sat down to write this, I wasn’t sure what to share. So many of you have shared different aspects of yourselves in such creative ways! In thinking of how best to introduce myself, I thought it made the most sense to talk about my journey to Renaissance and teaching.

Like many of you, I am also a Colorado native. I grew up in Highlands Ranch and Littleton and actually spent most of my elementary school years at a school in Douglas County. It was at that school, in my second grade class, that I first knew I wanted to teach. Over the years, I toyed with other career options, but I always ended up coming back around to thinking about teaching.

I went to college on the East coast- Wellesley College, a women’s college outside of Boston. I majored in Studio Art and focused on printmaking, photography, and book arts—things that are still near and dear to my heart. However, they all require a certain amount of equipment and time, which is in short supply these days. My goal is to eventually pull my film SLR back out and spend some time up at the Denver Dark Room developing and printing my own film. During college, I almost majored in Linguistics. I switched to Studio Art because it turns out I don’t really enjoy statistics, and I love to study and create art.

After college, I moved to New York City to (theoretically) pursue a career in the arts. As a means to that end, I took a nannying job on the Upper East Side. I have many stories about that experience, but I think it sums it up best to say that I moved back to Colorado about 8 months after I began that job. It truly was like The Nanny Diaries… and the arts community is cutthroat in New York. I wasn’t cut out for that, and I missed my family and the mountains. My mind drifted back to teaching—I couldn’t think of anything else I truly wanted to do.

I moved back to Colorado at the beginning of 2010 and started applying to teaching programs. I was able to live with my grandmother in Littleton and applied to everything I could find. I eventually settled on one program that was on my short list- the Stanley British Primary School Teacher Preparation Program. It’s a very unique program that puts interns in schools for a full year- from the classroom set-up to the cleaning and packing up at the end of the year. I was supported by 6-hour seminars every Thursday, and I also elected to get credit toward a Master’s degree in educational psychology at UCD. I did my internship at a gifted & talented magnet school in Denver Public Schools- Polaris at Ebert Elementary. It was a great, supportive environment that prepared me very well to eventually end up at Renaissance.

Beginning my teaching career at Renaissance has been amazing. I heard about Renaissance through a personal connection. Rebecca’s daughter, Kaitlin, is one of my oldest and closest friends. When Rebecca heard through Kaitlin that I was applying for teaching jobs, she jumped at the chance to tell me about Renaissance. Before I’d even set foot into the school, I had heard amazing things about the environment, the staff, and the students. I immediately applied and am so glad to have ended up here. I honestly can’t think of a better, more supportive place to have begun my teaching career.

A few more talking points:

-I love to bake and cook (although you all probably know this by now…).

My birthday cake- I baked and decorated it myself and was thrilled about that.

-I have a cat named Tonks (who lives up to her name).

-I have done more international travel than travel within the U.S. – I have been to 15 different countries and want to keep traveling!

-I was president of my (tiny) high school bowling club- obviously, skill did not matter in that position.

-I was president of Glee Club in college, and I still love to sing.

-I’m continuing work on my Master’s degree this spring (hopefully! I’m on a wait list for an online class…).

For Christmas this year, my mom made me a beautiful quilt from all of my old Wellesley t-shirts. Lots of Wellesley pride here!

Thank you for all your support—this year has been amazing so far and I’m so lucky to be a part of such a supportive group of like-minded people.

Love,

Brittany

Peek Into the Life of Our School

Designing instruction that builds strong conceptual understandings.

Active and engaged learning.

Showing students how.

You never see a teacher at Renaissance camped at their desk. Always up and moving, checking on understandings and guiding students.

Giving students strategies to problem solve.

Many ways to build concentration, increase skills and activate both sides of the brain.
Studies have shown that cup stacking can improve the reading and writing ability for some struggling learners.

Focused-mini lesson.

Giving students the extra support to promote independence.
Juggling the high needs within the whole classroom.

Encouraging self-expression.

Allowing students to create the learning environment that works for them.

Facilitating book clubs.

Using digital tools to respond in reading.

Conferring with writer's within a genre study.

The challenges of guided groups in EDM.

The power of one-on-one support.

The power of guided groups!

Andrea joined us for a few days this week!
So glad she is on the mend from her surgery.
So glad that Krys's granddaughter is recovering from her heart surgery!