Teacher Work Sample

EDUC 350 Rambo-Hernandez

By Mitchell Carnahan

Section 1: Setting and Context Webber Middle School is a very interesting place. The students are cheerful, excited and always on the move. A typical day in the Webber classroom is pretty standard. Students have desks to sit at or tables with up to 4 chairs at each. The seats are usually assigned by the teacher so that students dont sit with friends and disrupt class. Teachers are almost always up front to start class and gain students attentions. Students usually take notes on the teachers lecture and then do some sort of mini-activity to go along with the lesson. The programs, resources and activities for students are numerous. There is band, choir, sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, lacrosse, wrestling etc.), W.A.V.E. Program, and also countless after-school clubs. The parents of students are at least involved enough to get their students to school. There was not much parent involvement in the classroom that was evident, but students definitely showed that their parents supported their learning. Parents do volunteer for special events and sporting events though. One program that encourages students to act and behave appropriately is the W.A.V.E., or Webber Aerospace Ventures in Education. It is a space program that simulates a full space shuttle mission over a few days period. It was started in 1990 and is only one of 12 programs like it in the country. The program teaches students how to effectively work as a team in multiple areas to achieve one single goal, and that is to complete the mission safe and sound. Some support that is given at the school for ways for students to behave and act is the Six Ps: Prompt Polite, Positive, Productive, Persistent, and Proud. There are posters of these all over the school reminding students that Webber Panthers are well-behaved. The overall learning climate in a classroom seems to be about the same around the school. Typically a class holds about 30 students, most of which are white middle class. The mission of the school is, The Webber community will support and challenge each student to learn and grow to his or her highest potential. The classroom that I specifically observed and taught in was a 7th Grade English class. The class consists of 16 girls and 15 boys. When first entering the classroom it seemed that all the students had the same level of development, but it didnt take long for that to be proven wrong. It turned out about 80 percent of the class was at the level they should be, but there were a few students who I noticed were falling behind in assignments and not paying attention. The class really didnt have many unique needs other than one student who needed to be constantly redirected to the task at hand. They were a very well behaved class for the most part. The only times students were a little out of hand was days when the head teacher was out and there was a substitute instead. Even though there are two students of color in the class, all the students come from middle class families. All of them have smart phones or at least some sort of cell phone. The classroom set up was very nice. Students had tables to sit at instead of desks, and they shared the tables with at least 3 other students. Students are able to take notes from the overheard easily and also collaborate with other classmates as well on quick pair-shares or think-alouds. The demographics of this classroom I think accurately depict the demographic of the school as a whole. The type of instructional strategies and assessments used in the classroom varied. The ones that I noticed were easy to spot. Mr. Schroeder did a lot of informal assessment, like asking students to

hold up a number 1 through 5 on a hand, which 1 being they dont understand and 5 being they understand what is going on. This type of assessment is quick and easy and helps teachers get a grasp on if the class understands the content being presented. A type of instructional strategy I saw was a lot of showing then doing. Mr. Schroeder would exemplify what he is asking of the students, and then he would turn them loose to do the task. This seemed to work really well because the students would listen to the instructions and understand parts, but it always helped them to see the example as a whole. This was also another way of assessing where his class was at as far as content understanding. If students understood the content, then they would have no problem completing the task at hand. But if they didnt understand it was obvious because they would either be doing nothing or they would be chatting with a friend instead of working. One type of formal assessment I saw in the classroom was the students wrote down on an index card their feelings about a certain lesson and how strongly they understood the concepts. This helped Mr. Schroeder see where the students were at as far as understanding the lessons. Overall Mr. Schroeder had a lot of great instructional strategies and also assessment strategies to learn from. It was a great experience to be a part of.

My Webber Middle School Classroom

Student tables

Individual desk

Teacher desk

White board/Smart Board front of room

Door

Section 2: Case Study Interviews The first interview I did was with a student named Grant. He is a 12 year old boy in Mr. Schroeders class. I asked him to do this interview with me because he was ahead in the grammar unit they were working on, so I figured he wouldnt miss much work. He sits in the front of the class and is very well behaved, and seems to pay close attention to everything. He was very comfortable to talk with and interview. When I asked him to describe his personality he responded by saying that his most noticeable trait is that he is not emotional. When I asked in what way he told me that he was pretty easy going and doesnt get worked up over things really easily. I also asked him about his family and any interesting things about them. He told me about how he has been to three different continents, South American, Australia, and Europe. He also told me it was because his father is in the solar energy business and that is why they get to travel to so many distant places. I asked Grant what he thought of school and he told me it is fun, but he gave a look of discontent, as if to it is fun, but only to a certain degree. He also told me that he thinks teachers make it fun for the students. Also he noted that some students criticize the way school is but he personally enjoys it. When asked what he liked specifically about middle school he replied that he enjoyed the longer lunch periods, passing periods, and the people that he meets and hangs out with. If he could change anything he said he would change some of the people at the school, not teachers, just students mainly that he didnt. I then asked Grant who his favorite teacher (past or present) is, and he told me about Mr. Bono. Mr. Bono is the Outdoor Living class teacher at Webber, and the reason Grant likes him so much is because he understands that you might have to miss class because of what Grant and I came to call life problems, or in other words just instances when life happens, like deaths, injury, illness or something along those lines. Grants favorite class is also Mr. Bonos class because, they get to build TPs and lacrosse sticks. Next I asked Grant what his hobbies or outside activities he enjoyed doing were. He replied that he enjoyed biking, playing football and also playing video games with friends. When I asked him if he could change anything in the world, what he would change, and he responded quite adamantly saying he would resolve the conflicts between people, mainly in the Middle East. I found this eye opening because I wasnt aware that students at this age were paying attention to the entire wo rld. The only after school activity that Grant was involved in was the W.A.V.E. program but that is only for a small part of the semester. The most important thing in his life today is that his, family is still alive. I asked Grant where he sees himself three years from now and he had some good expectations. He said he hopes to be working a job, and he said it will probably be at a fast food restaurant, playing football and hopefully he will still be with his girlfriend. During his summer months Grant is usually off in the Virgin Islands with his family. When asked what career areas he wants to pursue Grant said he is interested in the Military and also the Medical field. I asked Grant if he had any tips for a new teacher and he told me that people are mean, and it is just them trying to be funny. Finally when asked to describe Webber Middle school he said that it is divided by grade level, all into different wings and spread out. He told me he wishes it was a little more compact or multi-leveled. I found it interesting that he took that idea into account. He noticed the special distance of the school which I didnt expect a 7th grader to pay attention to. This interview with Grant was such an awesome experience. It was fun to sit down one on one and just chat for a few

minutes. We both shared our common interests and talked for a while, but I learned something from him. I learned that you have to get to know your students for them to learn. You have got to make sure you make them noticed, and if you do they will open up to you, and eventually to the class. It was amazing to me how much more students participated in warm ups with me after I had gotten to know them. I think that by doing this simple action of getting to know your students beyond just the student in your class level. Another thing I learned from Grant was that 7th graders are more aware of their surroundings than I first thought. They pay attention to a lot more details that I was expecting and it was helpful and some points and also kind of nerve-wracking too. I was worried about having to explain too much detail to them about writing and they were all about the details, so it turned out to be alright. Overall the interview experience was awesome, and I almost wish I would have interviewed more students, but in the end it was great no matter what. The second interview I did was with a student named Jack. Once again, Jack is a 12 year old boy from Mr. Schroeders class, and was also ahead of most in the grammar unit they were working on, so I asked him if he wouldnt mind coming with me for a short interview. The first thing we started talking about was himself, mainly his personality and his family. Jack describes himself as a funny and happy person. He also speaks a little bit of sign language which I found to be interesting. It was something he just sort of learned, not for a specific reason or anything. Jacks parents are teachers, his father a retired teacher and his mother currently works at Webber as a Special Education teacher. Jack is a very intelligent student who always has something good to contribute to class conversation. I asked him what he thought of school and he said that, it is a good skill to know; it teaches you how to deal with stress, and how to learn and succeed in life. Jack likes middle school because he gets to see his friends a lot. Also he enjoys middle school because of the variety of teachers for each class. He said that different teachers teach different things and a lot of them show how it is relevant to their life in the real world. If he could change anything he said that he would make the school day longer so that they could have an extra weekend day, so 4 days of class and 3 day weekends. I asked Jack who his favorite teacher was and he immediately responded that it was Mrs. Webster-Wheeler, the band teacher. He said that she is nice and doesnt teach just band to them but also shows how what they do in the band room can be applied outside the class. Jacks favorite class in middle school is English. He told me he didnt like it at first because he didnt like writing and now he does. I asked him why and he told me because of the practice he has gotten and also the variety of writing that can be created. Outside of school Jack participates in swim team which is six days a week. He enjoys swimming because he likes the water and it makes him forget about stress. I asked Jack if he could change anything in the world what he would change and he told me that he would make all the governments one big government for everyone. I asked him why and he said because he thinks we should work together instead of dividing ourselves apart. The after school activities that Jack is involved in include swimming, band, and jazz band as well. The most important things in his life today are his family and his 3 dogs. He has two German Shepards, one of which is a puppy, and the other a golden doodle. I could tell he was excited to talk about them so we discussed them for a bit. In three years Jack hopes to be at Rocky Mountain High School receiving good grades. He also wants to be on the swim team and be in the marching band. During the summer months Jack usually has a family reunion in Missouri that his family goes to. Other

than that he does a whole lot of swimming. I asked what career fields he was interested in and he told me that he is interested in Ornithology, a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. He likes birds a lot and thinks they are very diverse. When asked for tips to give to a new teacher Jack had some interesting tips. He said that you should always try and be uplifting, and to always try to find the best in everyone. I found these words very interesting coming from a 7th grader. Jack seems very aware of what is going on in the real world. Finally I asked him to describe Webber for me and he said it is a, netted down community, and the people are very nice. One thing that surprised me is that he said there is no bullying that he is aware of. I didnt want to burst his bubble and tell him he is wrong but it was nice to know that he at least hasnt seen anyone around him being bullied. The interview with Jack was more thoughtful than the one I had with Grant but it was just as interesting. I learned from Jack that students do pay attention to the teachers styles and actions. He pays attention to what patterns of learning are done and how they can be repeated, but others in the class just see the patterns as daily exercises. In the end the interviews were an awesome way to understand the thoughts of individual students. Even though it was just a few minutes, it was still enough time to get to see how the students think and respond with adults.

Section 3: Teaching Experience/Lesson Plan

Teacher: Mr. Carnahan School: Webber Middle School Title: Shoes and Shells Grade Level: 7th

Date: 10/31/2013 Content Area: English Lesson #:_1 of 1

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards directly from the standard) Content Standard 3: Writing and composition for 7th grade Prepared Graduates: Effectively use content-specific language, style, tone, and text structure to compose or adapt writing for different audiences and purposes Understandings: (Big Ideas) Students will understand that creating literary and narrative pieces of writing that incorporate stylistic devices like descriptive details and sensory language show that I understand how to create different styles or writing. Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select applicable questions from standard) What visual clues does a writer give about the setting of a story by using only words of the text? Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets) Every student will be able to: (Create your own lesson objectives from the standard, follow the ABCD format) use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey the identity of an object without actually saying what the object is, naming at least 6 specific details in 2 minutes. Assessment of Evidence Outcomes: (How will you assess the selected lesson objectives (general explanation, you will go into more detail at the end of the lesson plan) Students who have successfully completed the activity will have matched their given description to the correct shoe.

Planned Lesson Activities

Activity Name Approx. Time Anticipatory Set Whose shoe? 45 minutes I. Ask students to look at the passages on the board and think which is more interesting to read and why. Have them share with a neighbor. If details and descriptions dont get brought up, be sure to ask a question about them. DETAILS. Why do details enhance an authors writing? Do they appeal to senses? How? Paint a picture for the reader?

Teaching/ Presentation: (Direct Instruction) (Select the most appropriate model for teaching, direct instruction is a basic example)

1.

2.

3.

4. 5. 6. Teaching Strategy: (Guided Practice)

Have students number off 1 through 5. Have them group up with the same numbers as themselves. Give each group an object in the middle of their table. Explain to them they are to describe the object on their table without using the direct name of the object or any other brand names or giveaways. One person has to write, everyone else must contribute the words that describe it. Once theyve written a description, ask them to share their descriptions with the group, and pick one to be read aloud to the class. (5 minutes) Now have students get a piece of paper and pencil/pen out. Students will describe their left shoe without looking at it IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, NOT LISTS. Do not have them put their names on these, instead have them number 1 through 35. Once finished with the writing, collect their descriptions. (15 minutes) Have students put their left shoes on the tables so that you can go around and put stickers on them with different numbers than the ones on their descriptions. Mix all the shoes up and place into several different piles. Have students as groups go from pile to pile trying to find their shoe. (2-4 minutes at each pile) Once they have found their match, have them return to their seat. Once everyone is seated, have students present the shoe they believe to be the match. (20 minutes)

Teaching Strategy: (Independent Practice)

Closure

Materials

The class will look at 2 paragraphs and decide which is more interesting and why. You will underline what students note that makes either paragraph better. In the shoe activity, you will explain to students how the activity works. Exemplify your shoe as an example. Then turn it over to them. Students will describe their own left shoe from memory only. They cannot talk to their neighbors or anyone else. They cannot use specific names such as shoe brands or type of shoe. They will turn their descriptions in to be passed out randomly, and students will then have to find the shoe described in the piece of writing they are given. Have students return to seats and pull out a piece of paper. Ask them this question and have them talk with a neighbor before sharing with the class: So how do descriptive details work to make a piece of writing better? It paints a picture for the reader! To become a good writer you must be able to use stylistic devices such as descriptive details. Where could you use this in real life? If you were writing a screenplay/movie/theatre play? Now have students write a description of their Antagonist from their Scary Story paper they are currently working on, using as many descriptive details as possible. (last 10 minutes of class, ticket out the door) The reader will understand much easier with a very vivid picture painted for them in their mind by sensory details. Sample paragraph passages. Numbered stickers. Bag to put shoes in to mix up. 7

objects for mini-activity. 7 Pieces of paper (1 with each object). Differentiation Students will be broken up into groups of 5 by picking from a bucket of colored paper; there are 5 pieces of 6 colors. This will be for the Taboo activity and also their groups to go up and look for their shoe described.

Assessment

Students will have successfully found their matching shoe that was in their given description. By having found the right shoe, the composer gave enough detail for anyone to find the shoe without using name brands or similar terms that are dead giveaways.

Section 4: Classroom Management As a class we looked at classroom management techniques, and we had a lot of good examples of how to use them in class. But one thing I wasnt aware of was how hard it would be to actually implement these techniques in a real live classroom. During my lesson plan day, which was on Halloween, I used a few different techniques. The first one I used was a countdown from 5. Students didnt react too well to this at first, but as soon as they heard me do it again they started to catch on, but overall it was not a great way to get their attention. I definitely learned that you need to be able to have a raised and attentive voice to get students attention, especially during activities that involve a lot of movement. I think motivation plays a big role in classroom management. You have to want to be there, and you cant just come in expecting them to listen every day. Each day will be different, students will be there one day and gone the next, or they will be focused one day and bouncing off the walls the next. I can personally say that when I came into the room motivated to teach and help out, I was more confident in managing the classroom. After having been in this 7th grade English class I think I will definitely have a few rules for my classroom. One is that students must raise their hands to share their thoughts, and also that when the teacher is talking, students are not. I think a management technique I will continue to use is the countdown because that seems to work for the most part. My management styles that I used I definitely learned from my cooperating teacher. I saw him use the countdown method multiple times and it works for him because the students have a higher respect for him. Another technique I saw him use was just whistling to get their attention after a group activity or some group work. I like the whistle for short attention getting statements but other than that I think it is annoying for other classrooms to hear. I also liked the technique of just being silent in the front of the room until they notice. I remember that always working for my teachers when I was in school and it still works with students to this day. One example I had of redirecting a student was when the class was doing silent reading workshops in groups. Students would read aloud and then discuss as a group what happened. I noticed a group of girls in the corner who didnt even have their books open. As I stood over their group they were so in to their conversation that they didnt notice me right next to them, not saying a word, just looking at them. Finally they noticed and immediately grabbed their books. The girls would stop reading and I would walk by and look at them and they would once again lift their books and read. Another example of redirecting a student was when a student in the class was not doing the assignment he was supposed to on the computer. Instead he was looking at video game content, so I went over to him and asked him if that was what he was supposed to be doing, and then asked him what he should be doing. He didnt know so I redirected his attention to the board which told the class to silently work on their grammar and vocabulary programs. I asked him again what he was supposed to be doing and he read the sentence on the board and started opening the programs to work on. I had seen Mr. Schroeder do this before and I decided to try it and it worked perfectly. All I did was have him repeat the sentence on the board asking him to work on grammar and vocab.

Section 5: Reflection In my formal lesson I think there were both a lot of good things that happened and also some not good things. To start with the good things, I felt that I really had their attention for the lesson. It is an early morning class but students still seemed active and ready to learn. It was also on Halloween that I taught my formal lesson, so students were dressed up in all sorts of costumes. The warm up I did didnt seem to get their creative juices flowing. Students didnt seem too crazy interested until I brought out the second activity, which was describing an object they were given. This got students at least actively thinking and playing with a physical object. I think by doing this that students were able to make better descriptions, and since it was a random object they didnt have immediate responses to give back. One last thing that I thought I did well on was keeping the students moving. Like I said it is an early class, and I thought that by having them move around a lot that it would take up time and also get them up and moving instead of sitting and falling asleep. There was a lot that I thought I could have done better. The first thing I thought I really did terrible on was classroom management. I tried doing a countdown from 5 and no one really paid any attention. I then continued to do it again and students finally realized they should quiet down and listen. After a few more times of using that technique students understood to be quiet by the time I got to 1. Another thing I tried and failed with was the whole, excuse me! statement to get the attention. No one really listened when I did that, and my teacher cut in and gave me a tip for getting their attention. I didnt feel like doing some cheesy dance move so once again I counted down from 5 and they all listened carefully. If I were to teach this lesson again I would definitely use different random objects for students to describe. The ones that I used were just random dollar store toys that I picked out in a rush, so I think by getting a bit more diverse items it would be more beneficial to the students learning of details. Another thing I would do differently is using better classroom management techniques, and definitely being more confident in using them. I was a little shy to use my authoritative voice especially with 2 other teachers in the room. Probably the most important thing I learned from this process was that I need to take time in planning lessons, and be sure to have back up plans. Also I learned that it is never going to go as planned, so be ready to adjust on the fly. I think that my strengths as an educator lye in the field of making school relevant to students. I was one of those students who never really cared about school because I didnt see how it would be a part of my life later. But once I learned how to make it relevant, it was all so much fun and interesting to learn. I am pretty good at spotting things I learn in school in the public world, and I take note of that and make sure I can reference it to my students at some point because I dont want to say to a student, I dont know why you will need to know this. A weakness I see in myself is that I come from a very privileged and well behaved neighborhood. I have been brought up in Fort Collins my whole life, so I dont have much work with diverse classrooms. I think that because of this I will not be able to connect as well with ELL students or students from different cultural backgrounds. I can only hope to gain experience with these students and overcome this weakness. From this experience I have learned so much, and I am going to take that with me into EDUC 450 next semester as well. One thing I know for sure is that I will come in with a very motivated attitude and not be scared to step up on the first day. I think it is important to have an authoritative presence in the classroom and there is no better day to do that than on the first day. Also I plan to work

on my classroom management techniques a lot more in the next class. I want to make sure I can handle a class and not get flustered or confused on what to do. I have lots of techniques I just need to practice actually using them instead of reading about them over and over. One overall idea I am going to take with me though is that I need to make sure I know who my students are. I got to know my students in this class, but not really until the end of our time together. I want to initiate a relationship with the high school students sooner so that I can see who they are as people and understand how to best teach them. To teach a class successfully I think you need to know your students as people, not as students. Knowing their likes and interests are key to getting them to care about school. Overall this class was an eye-opening experience. I was so worried about teaching middle school and now I have more faith in myself than ever. I wasnt sure if I was in the right major and this solidified my choice. It felt great to see students benefit from my help in the classroom, and I want to continue to see that happen.