Evan Ericksen

Internship #2 Daily Journal

Day 1: 10/22/18

So the first thing I learned from LEAD and Mrs. Lee was that LEAD is a completely different learning
environment. They have Community PLT in the mornings some days, the end of the day on others.
Today they had it at the beginning of the day, which was basically their time to work on homework and
set their goals for the week. They had to take a survey on what classes they want to take next year. I was
able to put in my two cents since I’m a senior and I’ve had to make choices to take classes I deemed
more valuable to my future. Afterwards, Mrs. Lee had an Algebra 1A class, so I got to see how she
taught that. Instead of using smart boards, they have a special Intel program, which allows anyone to
cast their screen onto the projectors. From what I’ve observed today, I was able to compare my
schooling and the teaching style at LEAD. It reminded me of when we talked about the different styles of
learning: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. The teacher is able to assign different activities on their
homepage based off of their scores on lessons and checkpoint. The website automatically gives the
teachers list to choose from, ranging from videos, to articles, to models, and more. The students also get
to work at their own pace, so long as they finish all of their topics by the time they test. I definitely
would have enjoyed this learning style when I was a freshman because it could have allowed me to work
faster on the math topics I understand and take time to really learn all of the science and reading topics I
struggled with. I’m excited to intern with Mrs. Lee and experience a different style of teaching, which
may be more like how teaching will be in the future.

Day 2: 10/23/18

Today was pretty straight forward, I was able to walk around and observe the students work. I saw them
working on a worksheet together and I was even able to jump in and answer a few questions some had.
Like I said before, the teaching style at lead is a little different. So for both first and second block, Mrs.
Lee started the class with a Warm-Up that she did to start off the class. That usually takes up a quarter
of the class. Then the worksheet they are given helps them to understand the topic they are working on,
and then they have practice and homework to complete. Usually she gives the students the last 15
minutes or so to work on their assignments. It’s harder for me to find a teaching moment in front of the
class since there are short lessons and we never really know when they will happen. It’s based on the
student’s progress.

Day 3: 10/24/18

Today was a little more interesting. Mrs. Lee had a plan block, so I went upstairs and sat in on an
Accelerated Geometry class, which was different. The teacher was a retired teacher from Blue Valley
who came up here to work again simply because the style of teaching that occurs here is exactly what
they were trying to do before he retired, but didn’t work as well as it does at LEAD. He knew a lot about
the subject, and it was interesting to see how he taught at LEAD compared to how Mrs. Lee teaches,
which also compares to how my teachers at a normal setting teach. He also gave me some good advice
for teaching in a setting like this and why he prefers it. He was a very nice man and I was happy to sit in
on his class.

Day 4: 10/29/18
I had another teaching moment today during a CPLT time, but in a smaller setting. I sat next to a student
I knew from band and helped his group of three students learn about their Trig lesson. They were
struggling a little bit and I helped to clarify. I also told them what was really important to remember and
what tricks you could use to help remember them. One thing I’ve learned so far during this internship is
how independent these students are becoming. They have been able to work through lessons at their
own pace, and yet students aren’t behind because of lack of knowledge. Sure some kids are behind, but
that’s because they are being lazy or just didn’t want to do it. When students are allowed to go through
however many lessons it takes to understand the concept, teachers have to do less work to have the
same effect, allowing them more time and effort for what it really hard, such as planning certain lessons,
working with struggling students more often, and tailoring their programs to their needs. This is such an
interesting style of teaching, and honestly I believe it should be the schooling of the future.

Day 5: 10/31/18

Today during both of the classes we split up the students into groups based upon which PFA’s, or
assessments, they were behind in or struggling with. All the students that were up to date were
together and were allowed to work ahead or do additional practice/projects. The rest of them were split
up starting with the oldest PFA still not 100% passed. I was able to sit with that group and help them
through the lessons, and eventually they all attempted and passed the assessment. We were working on
linear inequalities and systems of equations. After a student completed a PFA they were behind in, they
got to move up to the next group they were behind with. Although not very many students passed their
PFA in class, during CPLT time at the end of the day most students cranked one out. It was a very
productive class and helped every student catch back up a little bit. The great thing about LEAD is that a
teacher can afford to take a day and do this without completely ignoring the people who are caught up.
The teacher can take time to help the struggling students, who are grouped together by unit, and let the
students who are caught up work on extra work, work ahead, or even work on another class they were
behind in. Workshops like that rarely happen in my school setting.

Day 6: 11/1/18

Today was a simple day. I was able to walk around during CPLT and help out students who needed help.
I was helping this student understand inequalities on a graph, and I helped another student finish her
project in chemistry. Both of these were good teaching moments for me. Then during Mrs. Lee’s first
block, I walked around and helped struggling students with their problems. The big thing from today
however was the interview I conducted with Mrs. Lee. The main focus of the interview was
communication, whether it be with parents, or the professionalism of using social media. It was nice to
hear another opinion on it, especially from someone who is currently a teacher. She likes to keep in
contact with the parents fairly often to remind them of what is happening and any big assignments or
test dates they should know of. She doesn’t mind having social media, but to remain professional she
only uses Facebook and is okay with Instagram. All other social media isn’t appropriate to her. She
doesn’t follow any student who is currently in her school, so for teaching in high school, she won’t friend
them until they graduate. She also says that you have to watch what you post. There should be nothing
about drinking or adult behavior on any of your media because that is way past the line. She also
recommended to me as a first year teacher to keep a journal and keep notes on what went well, what
things I should try, or what things I should never do again. I also need to ask lots of questions and not be
afraid to borrow something from a fellow teacher. As an incoming college student, she told me to enjoy
it, because after college your life decisions get serious and you don’t have as much free time for fun. She
also told me to pay attention and not get cocky since I will be taking education classes after going on
several internships for this class. Overall the interview helped me to perceive how media should play a
role in my job and added to my advice for college and first year of teaching.

Day 7: 11/2/18

Today was my last day at lead. I started off the day by walking around during CPLT time and helping
students who needed help with math. I also kept a few kids on track since they were getting off task.
They had a daily goal of 5 PFA’s passed each day, and we made it for all 25 for the week. Since they
cleared all 25 performance assessments, they get to have some form of dessert next week. For first
block, I got to lead the warm-up, which was three problems to get them ready for the day. Afterwards,
the students were given a project, which was basically just a packet they had to work on. Some students
did really well with the time given, other students just sat there, so Mrs. Lee and I had to try and keep
students working. For second block, I got to walk around the room during what I would call a smaller
CPLT. Students took the first 30 minutes reading, and the second 30 minutes working on math. I also got
to walk around a class doing just CPLT out in the hall. After that, I talked with Mrs. Lee after doing the
evaluation shortly before I left. She said I did really well at the internship. The few things she said I need
to work on are also the things I struggled with last time, just not as much. Taking initiative and asking to
lead something is one of them, which I actually asked to teach the warm-up, so I’ve already improved
from last time. Another was being over the top happy. She said sometimes I acted “too professional”
which she understands since I’m a student intern. But she likes to be exaggerated because it makes
other students smile and feel better about being at school. One thing she said I did really well with is
making connections with students. When I would walk around the classroom, no matter what they were
actually doing, I was always willing to help, and I would talk to the students. I would talk to this same girl
every day and Mrs. Lee said that she often struggled to do her work, but talking to her everyday
probably made her day and she got her work done. It’s the little things I do that people notice and
therefore tell me I’m going to be a great teacher.