Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide (D-1)
Use the following questions to guide your reflection about . . .
Yourself
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What were your growth goals?
How would you measure your progress toward meeting those goals?
How have students benefited from your reflections and the learning that took place
in your inquiries?
Your students-
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What did you learn about your student’s needs?
What did you learn about differentiating instruction?
What did your student assessments tell you about your teaching?
When you made changes in your teaching, what were your expected student
outcomes?
In what ways did you impact student success?
How did your students progress compared to what you expected?
Evidence—
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Reflect on evidence collected during the three modules (Context for Teaching and
Learning, Assessment of Teaching and Learning, and Inquiry into Teaching and
Learning) in the following areas:
- Focus students
- State-adopted academic content standards for students
- Instructional strategies
- Assessments
Provide evidence of the connections between the subject matter you taught, your
instructional strategies, and your assessments.
Highlight the best evidence that illustrates a change/improvement in your teaching.
Looking Ahead—
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What will you continue to investigate or focus on as you move into your next year of
teaching?
What led you to choose this area of focus?
Copyright © California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Department of Education
Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) – 2010
Summary of Teaching and Learning – Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide D-1
Page 1 of 5
Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide (D-1)
DIRECTIONS: Based on your work this year, use evidence to guide your thinking and prepare a written
reflection. The key insights captured here may be shared during your program’s culminating activity.
1.
What have you learned about yourself as a
teacher?
This year, I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher.
To begin the year, my main focus was classroom
management. During the summer, as I looked ahead to
my first year as a teacher, this is what I was most
concerned about. Although I had plenty of classroom
experience as a substitute teacher and a student teacher,
I had never had to set up the management plan of a
classroom on my own. I assumed this would be my
main goal as a first year teacher. I'm glad I placed so
much emphasis on this, as I believe it is one of reasons
my first year has been so successful. Because my
classroom has run so smoothly, and I have had to tend
to so few behavior problems, I was able to change my
focus and create more goals for myself. I believe that
this is a great measure of my progress toward meeting
this initial goal. Because I have remained consistent
with my rules, expectations, procedures and
consequences I believe my students have had the
opportunity to be successful since they know what is
expected of them.
Another area of focus for me this year came about
through my experience with BTSA. After attending
seminars with David XXX, I began to see how
important differentiation is in the classroom. I also saw
how easy it is to differentiate assessment and
instruction, and how modifying lessons is important for
all students, not just for those in special education
classes. Because I am now more conscious of the needs
of all of my students, and actively make decisions to
accommodate for all of them, I believe I am working
toward meeting this goal. I have noticed that they enjoy
the opportunity to have a choice in what they do, and
are more successful because they are being challenged
and stimulted at their own level. Not only has my
students' performance changed, they have been able to
show great improvement and become more confident in
their abilities.
Finally, another goal I have created or myself this year
involves engagement. I have challenged myself to
create new and different lessons, activities, and
assignments that provide variety for my students. I
often make changes throughout the day, and even
during classes in an effort to teach the standards in an
engaging way. I believe that I am working toward this
goal since I constantly reflect on my engagement
strategies and make changes that benefit my students.
2.
What have you learned about your students?
This year I have learned a lot from and about my
students. I have learned that my students' needs are all
very different. I now know that what works for one
student may not necessarily work for another. For this
reason, variety is important. I must constantly use a wide
array of teaching strategies and engagement strategies to
keep all of my students focused and learning. I have
learned that my students enjoy this variety, and
appreciate when I change things up for them. I have
learned that my students like to be challenged rather than
being "spoon fed" answers. They find it more rewarding,
and often retain information better when they discover
answers for themselves. From my students, I have
learned that differentiating instruction is essential. I can
see how my students benefit from being taught at their
own level, and being stimulated by the material that is
covered in my class.
I have also learned that my students have varying levels
of parental support at home. Although every child
should be cared for, loved, nurtured, and supported by
their families, some of my students do not get enough of
this at home. Because I am aware of this, I do everything
I can to make them feel cared for and important while at
school. I have learned that all of my students seek my
approval and need my support. In an effort to show them
how important they are to me, I recognize my students
for their effort, comment on their work, and show them I
appreciate them as kids, not just as students.
From my students' assessments, I have been able to
determine how I am doing as a teacher. I can determine
if I am on the mark or if there is a concept that all of my
students are struggling with that I should go back to and
reteach. Assessments, both pre and post, help me to
know if I should speed up or slow down. They have
provided valuable information for me as I look ahead to
next year. I am able to see what concepts students do
well with, what lessons require more time spent, and
where faults lie within the textbooks. Additionally, from
my students' assessments, I am able to see things about
students that I couldn't know any other way. I can see
their reasoning strategies and test taking abilities in the
work that they show. I have found that a few of my
brighest students don't test well. Because of this, I must
assess their understanding in another way to have a true
understanding of what they know. I must also work with
them on developing test taking strategies to show them
how to attack a problem, and what kind of "attractive
Copyright © California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Department of Education
Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) – 2010
Summary of Teaching and Learning – Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide D-1
Page 2 of 5
distracters" to avoid.
When I made changes to my teaching and differentiated
my instruction, I noticed that my students test scores
improved. More importantly, though, I noticed that they
had a better attitude toward their work and were more
hopeful about their performance. My students realize
that I want them to succeed. Although I challenge them,
it is never my goal to stump them. Really, I want them
to stretch themselves to see just how much they are
capable of. I think that my students see that we are all in
this together, and are encouraged by my confidence and
belief in them.
To impact my students' success, I have collaborated with
my colleagues to compare data, share ideas, and create
the best lessons and activities possible for my students.
As a team, the 7th grade Pre-Algebra teachers meet a
minimum of once a week to discuss curriculum and share
ideas. At SACS meetings, we have had the opportunity
to meet as an entire math department. This has allowed
us to be analytical and reflective about what we are doing
in our classrooms and compare this to teachers in other
grade levels.
Additionally, in order for all of my students to be
successful, I offer several opportunities to relearn
material and improve grades. I make myself available
for homework help and tutoring before and after school, I
hold kids accountable for their work and regularly assign
"Thursday School" to students who owe two or more
assignments. I allow for quiz corrections, and offer test
retakes. My goal is not only to allow students to improve
their grades, but also to provide the reteching they need
so that they are able to learn the material.
As I have reflected on how my students' progress
compares to my expectations, I realize that it varies.
Depending on the strategies I have used, and the material
we are covering, my students' progress is different. I
have noticed, though, that the more I do to enhance and
differentiate a lesson, the more meaningful it is to my
students, and the better their overall progress.
Copyright © California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Department of Education
Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) – 2010
Summary of Teaching and Learning – Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide D-1
Page 3 of 5
3.
Describe a piece of evidence that best illustrates a
shift you have made in your teaching.
I have taken away countless ideas from BTSA
seminars and implemented them in my classroom. I use
several of Rick XXX's classroom management ideas on
a daily basis. Because of David XXX, I now know how
to effectively differentiate instruction and assessments.
I also have a better understanding of how a middle
school student's brain works, and what strategies are
best for this age group. I have also used several of
David XXX's strategies for dealing with difficult and
non-compliant students. I have gotten so much from
these seminars that have allowed me to grow both
personally and professionally.
During Module A, Assessment of Teaching Practice, I
learned how important it is to know your students.
Completing the class profile helped me to obtain
valuable information about my kids that I might not
have focused on any other way. I learned about my
students test scores, EL status, health concerns, and
other special needs. I was also able to obtain important
information about my school and district. Being brand
new this year, this was very useful. Although the
teachers and administrators at my school have been very
helpful and supportive, it is nice to have obtained this
information on my own. I can easily refer back to my
School and District Information sheet to determine who
to contact for different issues that arise. Finally, the
home/school communication log that I began at the start
of the school year has been very valuable. One of my
goals this year was to make contact with parents, to
voice concern or praise, at least once a week. This log
has helped me to stay on top of this goal and make
parent content a priority.
During Module B, Context for Teaching, my support
provider's observation gave me a lot of insight about my
teaching. This experience was rewarding for several
reasons. Although I am never truly comfortable being
observed, my support provider helped me to recognize
many positive aspects of my teaching. Although I
thought my classroom policies and procedures were
well established, it was nice to see that my support
provider agreed and my perception was accurate. My
support provider gave me positive feedback about the
engagement strategies I use in my classroom and the
encouragement I give to my students. He also had some
great suggestions for me to use to differentitae
instruction for my GATE students. Because he has a lot
of experience with GATE students, and I have hardly
any, this was extremely useful. He showed me a few
easy ways to get them stimulated and thinking at a
higher level, and inspired me to begin differentiating
instruction in my classroom.
4.
What will you investigate or focus on in the next
year?
Next year, my focus will be on note-taking. Since
this is such a big part of every class period, I want to be
sure that the notes my students take are useful to them.
One thing that I have noticed, even at the end of the
school year, I still have students ask questions like, "Do
we have to copy that down?" I have tried to get my
students to understand that notes should not just be for
copying, but for writing down key information that they
need to remember. Unfortunately at the seventh grade
level, they are not yet able to differentiate between what
is important and what is not. Unfortunately, I don't think
I have done a very good job getting my students to think
about their thinking, and I know that as they get oldeer
and start high school, they will need to have good note
taking habits in order to be successful.
In order to improve my students note taking skills, I plan
to use a combination of Cornell Notes, and Parallel
Modeling. My school is planning on implementing
Cornell Notes next year in all grade levels, and all
content areas. I think this is a great idea as the skill will
be reinforced in every classroom so students will be
required to learn it and use it regularly. One part of
Cornell Notes that I find extremely effective is the
reflection at the end of every lesson. Having my students
restate their learning goals, what they should have taken
from a lesson, or the main idea they're taking away will
be a quick way to reinforce the conceptsa nd get them to
think about their learning.
Additionally, from our SACs meetings, I have learned
about Parallel Modeling from one of the eighth grade
Algebra teachers at my school. She has had so much
success with it this year, and it sounds like an awesome
way to teach math. In Parallel Modeling, the students
first watch the teacher as she completes a problem.
Then, the teacher leads students through a second
problem. This time, as the teacher works, students work
through their own, different problem, at the same time.
Although the numbers and operations may be different,
students follow the steps the teacher presents, and
modify the steps for their problem. This practice forces
students to think about the process, not just copy down
information off of the board. This sounds like an
amazing strategy, a great way to get students thinking,
and an opportunity to get students asking questions about
what they don't understand immediately. I am excited to
utilize these techniques in my classroom next year, and
hope that they contribute to the effectiveness of my
teaching.
During Module C, Inquiry, selecting focus students and
Copyright © California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Department of Education
Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) – 2010
Summary of Teaching and Learning – Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide D-1
Page 4 of 5
looking closely at how I plan a unit from start to finish
was alos an invaluable experience. Before this, I didn't
use pre-assessments regularly. Now I know that it is
incredibly important to do this since it's necessary to
know what students know, and what they need to be
taught. I now realize how much valuable time could
have been saved if I'd already known what my students
strengths were within any given lesson, and where their
weaknesses or misconceptions were. I will always use
pre-assessments before beginning chapters and units
now. They will not only help me to know how to shape
my instruction, but also help me to group my students in
order to differentiate instruction. Additionally, doing
my IIP helped me to set a goal for myself and allowed
me to discover how differentiating assessment could not
only help my students to show what they know in a way
that is meaningful to them, but also help them to build
confidence in what they do knowand reflect on the
progress they have made.
One piece of evidence that I feel best illustrates my
teaching is a SMARTboard activity that I created as a
review of the real numbers system, specifically rational
numbers vs irrational numbers. In order to appeal to my
students and their interests, I selected popular NBA
players as the theme of the activity. I included funny
images of the players, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett,
with their mouths open. The caption directs students to
"feed" Kobe Bryant the numbers that are rational, and
Kevin Garnett those that are irrational.
To complete the activity, students touch the
SMARTboard and drag the numbers to the correct
player. If the number fits into the category, it will
disappear into the player's mouth. If it does not, it won't
and the student will know that their selection was
incorrect.
At the end of the activity, we removed the players and
looked at the numbers in each group. We examined
their similarities, and once again reviewed what makes
them rational or irrational.
This activity was a fun and engaging way to cap off our
discussion of real numbers and helped students to
remember the different categories and their distinctions.
I believe this activity shows who I am as teacher. It
demonstrates my ability to connect content with popular
culture. It also shows my desire to keep my students
engaged and entertained by the activities they are asked
to complete.
Copyright © California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Department of Education
Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) – 2010
Summary of Teaching and Learning – Culminating Questions and Reflections Guide D-1
Page 5 of 5