What is your personal assessment of the survey instrument? As I stated after I complete the survey instrument originally it was a very beneficial instrument which allowed me to see what area I need to grow in. Now that I am near the end of this course I can see how I have grown as a reflective practitioner as a classroom teacher. Furthermore, I have had an opportunity to critic myself and to make changes so that I can maximize who I am as a reflective practitioner. When I compared the first survey to this survey it has shown how much I have developed from the beginning of this course to now. “I have learned to recognize pattern where I did not recognize them before. I know develop long-term plans and not just adjusts teaching practices with current situations but I plan for those situation now.

Results of the 1st Survey:
Which level had the most frequent tallies, most sometimes tallies, and the level that had the most infrequently tallies? After completing the survey these are my results: Level 1: Pre-Reflection: Frequent – 0, Sometime – 3, Infrequent – 11; Level 2: Surface Reflection: Frequent – 2, Sometime – 7, Infrequent – 2; Level 3: Pedagogical Reflection: Frequent – 6, Sometime – 8 and Infrequent – 0; and Level 4: Critical Reflection: Frequent – 8, Sometime – 6, Sometimes- 0.
a. Level 4 – had the most frequently tallies showing that I am more of a critical reflection. b. Level 3 – had the most sometime tallies showing that I am sometime a pedagogical reflection. c. Level 1 – had most infrequently tallies that showed that this is the area that I am least like as a classroom teacher.

Results of the 2nd Survey:
Level 1: Pre-Reflection: Frequent – 0, Sometime – 5, Infrequent – 9; Level 2: Surface Reflection: Frequent – 3, Sometime – 7, Infrequent – 1; Level 3: Pedagogical Reflection: Frequent – 11, Sometime – 3 and Infrequent – 0; and Level 4: Critical Reflection: Frequent – 14, Sometime – 0, Sometimes- 0.
a. Level 4 – had the most frequently tallies showing that I am still more of a critical reflection.
b. Level 2 – had more sometimes tallies showing that I am not surface reflection.
c. Level 1 – still had more infrequently tallies that showed that this is the area that I am least like as a classroom teacher.

Assess your progress on the three indicators you chose in Week 1.

The three indicators that I have choose in week 1 to focus on are as following: 1. Challenges assumptions about students and expectations for students. – Level -4. I sometime struggle with what I believe about student and what they can do therefore, I sometime fail to push them to their maximum potential. 2. Has commitment to continuous learning and improve practices. – Level -3. It is the areas that I struggle the most with and it has cause me great issues in my professional career at times. 3. Modify teaching strategies without challenging underlying assumptions about teaching and learning. – Level 2. I find that there are few time that I want to deal with challenges therefore, I am often stuck in a certain mode, which also cause me the not want to flexible when I need to be. As I move near the end of this course I see where I have moved from infrequent and sometime to become more frequent in these areas to become the type of practitioner that I have strive to become.

Discuss what actions led to this progress, what actions may have hindered it, and what you will do to progress further.
The actions that led to this progress is constantly looking at my style of reflecting and working in the areas that need immediate and constant change. There were times when this was not easy because when you have been teacher for several years you tend to get in a mode of not wanting to change to better yourself. However, I was my realization of completing this master degree that revealed that so many things has changed since the first day I walked into my classroom to this current time. Even more so with me going from an Elementary teacher to a middle school teacher to an alternative school teacher that made me realize that it is not a one size fit all but I must be flexible every day because I encounter different students.

As a student growing up in other teachers classes I often struggle because I could not connect with what was being taught in the classroom. My soul would cry out teach me. Most time than not the same old pattern would continue where the teacher would tell me this or that and would rarely teach me.  However, somehow I made it.  It took me sitting in Mrs. Amy Fineran Literature Class in tenth grade see the following quote, “Give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will eat for a life time.”  I didn’t just see the quote be she told me simply, “That if I tell you everything you want to know you will never learn what you want to know, however, it if teach you to learn or research what you want you will never forget”.  This was when I first got a peek at the strategy that I have tried to incorporate into my class since the first day I walked into my own class to be the teacher of record.  “During this process I looked back at the method or strategies that helped me learned to most and was the most beneficial to me as a student in school.” (Oleson, A., & Hora, M. (2014).

I have selected to use the Show & Tell Method in this Lesson of show heat transfer through convection, conduction and radiation.  This method is a simple method where students show and tell you about what they have learned.  It is an easy method for me to see very quickly if my students has grasp what I taught on a particle subject or content matter. Also it is a method where I can assess their knowledge. Furthermore, I can interject the knowledge into this method that is lacking.

The lesson that I taught in the observation that I observed was Convection, Conduction, and radiation.  The first part of the lesson students had to write the word, the definition, and draw a picture that represent convection, conduction, and radiation. We then then discuss the term in great details.  However, then the students was put in groups of threes.  Each group had to tell and demonstrate one of the ways of show heat being transferred.

Convection: (Group one used a hot plate, a sauce pan, and water to demonstrate and  tell us about convection.)

Conduction:  (Group two used a cup of hot coffee, a metal spoon that show how hot the spoon got as it sat in the hot coffee transferred to the student hand.)

Radiation: (Group three used the hot plate and their hand to show how the heat from the hot plate heats up your hand.)

As I reflect back on this teaching experience of using the show and tell method for the Heat Transferring Lesson was one of the best experience in my teaching career.  As I think out how much our students are students who like more hands of experience in class or wanting the class to come alive and not be so boring.  Students was excited and they showed what they had learned in class.  When I think of the learning styles of my students I believe the Show and Tell method addresses every learning style.  It addressed met the needs of the students who have to used their hands.  It addressed and met the need of the students who are visual.  It also addressed and met the needs of the students who auditory.  Also it show that my students were at level three and four of Bloom Taxonomy.

Finally, as I reflect over the Show and Tell Method I think in the future I will incorporate other methods such as the four corners Mrs. Kim Young share in the lesson that I observed from her.  The way I would incorporate this method is I would place a car beside each letter.  Then I would allow the students to decide which type of car they would like to be.  After they select it they would go to that corner and share their thoughts using that car mindset. For example, dirty truck (whatever come to mind) or Cadillac, (very suffocated thoughts).  This would give the students more ownership up front and the lesson would be more student-centered at the beginning of the lesson very teacher-center.

How has reading about reflective practice affected you, and how has this changed your beliefs about the ways you teach?

After reading about reflective practice my whole style of teaching has been affect to the point I now question everything about my teaching.  Before reading on this particular practice I would just prepare a lesson and I really never thought about how the child received it.  More importantly I never looked so closely at my teaching or the practice that I used in my classroom.” Reflective practice has an allure that is seductive in nature because it rings true for most people as something useful and informing.” (Loughran) This practice has become so seductive until I now question or second guess everything that I do in my classroom. I no longer take anything for grant, not my teaching style or the student’s ability to learn. I am always seeking to do better if that can be said.

What specific parts of the readings changed, or did not change, the way you think about your teaching?

The parts of the reading that changed the way I think about my teaching is what the author stated on page 44.  The text stated, “Reflection help me appreciate links between my practices and see patterns of my behavior.”  The text goes on to share the two facts that are gain when you use reflective practitioner skills.  “Frist, it pulls you out of autopilot and obliges you to think about what you do.” “Second, you may realize that learned patterns are not the best patterns and feel a deep sense of guilty.” (Larrivee)

How will what you have learned change or not change the way you approach teaching?

The reading has caused me be an educator who want to ensure that I will use the self-fulfilling cycles of academic regulations process in my classroom.

This will allow me to look at the student and my performance consistently and make the needed changes to become a reflective practitioner and at the same time creating students to be cutting edge citizen in whatever future endeavors.

Were you effective in terms of consequences for others and yourself?

In terms of consequences for other I feel like I was least effective because of my evaluation scores on that particular day.  The day in question was the day that my Assistant Principal came in and evaluated me.  I received two scores of 2 and one score of three, which meant that in the areas where I receive the two, was in consistently using research based strategies and academically challenge assignment.  In my seventeen years of teaching I felt that I was a good teacher, therefore I may have been in autopilot mode because I had taken it for granted and that I could do what I normally do and get by.  This woke my sense up to be on alert.

What factors influenced your response?

The factors that influenced my response were: (1) The score of below average on my evaluation. (2). My confidence as a teacher.

How were you feeling?

I was not feeling like an effective teacher.  I felt like a failure in some respect.  I felt like the evaluator was wrong and didn’t know what she was doing because this was her first year as an administrator.

How were others feeling?

The students appear to be feeling happy that they were able to comprehend the information that we had been taught.

How does this situation connect with previous experiences?

This situation connect to previous experiences because after this evaluation it made me go back and look at my entire teaching career and question everything that I had done.  This situation also made me go and ask other teacher who had been evaluated by this evaluator to see how she score them.  It was to my surprise most of use receive the same type of result from her. It was during the asking about their evaluation I gave them a summary of what I had done.  I then ask them what could have I done to make the assignment more challenging.  What strategies could have been used to make the assignment what the evaluator wanted to see.

What would be the consequences of alternative actions for the students and yourself?

The student I feel did everything that they were supposed do.  The consequence of alternative actions on my part would be to research more academically challenge assignments for the students do. Also an alternative would be to find other academic strategies to incorporate into the lesson.

What Factors might stop you from responding differently?

The factors that might stop me from responding differently if the evaluator changes her feedback that she gave me in reference to the two areas where I score a two based on her perception.

How do you now feel about the situation?

I feel that even if she made a mistake on my evaluation I will forever question everything that I present in my class to my students.  I will always question how the students are receiving the information that I am presenting.  I will always seek to be a reflective practitioner.

What is your personal assessment of the survey instrument?  The survey instrument was very beneficial because it allowed me to see what type of reflective practitioner I am as a classroom teacher.  Furthermore, it showed me how much I must grow in order to be the type of teacher where students will  get a well round teacher who would not just make knee-jerk response but someone who clearly think about them and how what I do will impact them daily as they come into my classroom.  Therefore, I have a long way to go to become  a reflective practitioner.  The survey instrument revealed some trues to me that I did not realize about myself or were lacking for example.  “Reacts to students response differently but fails to recognize patterns.”, “Adjusts teaching practices only to current situation without developing a long-term plan.”, and “Engages in constructive criticism of one’s own teaching.” Are areas that this survey help me to realize I am lacking as a productive classroom teacher.

Which level had the most frequent tallies, most sometimes tallies, and the level that had the most infrequently tallies? After completing the survey these are my results: Level 1: Pre-Reflection: Frequent – 0, Sometime – 3, Infrequent – 11; Level 2: Surface Reflection: Frequent – 2, Sometime – 7, Infrequent – 2; Level 3: Pedagogical Reflection: Frequent – 6, Sometime – 8 and Infrequent – 0; and Level 4: Critical Reflection: Frequent – 8, Sometime – 6, Sometimes- 0.

a.  Level 4 – had the most frequently tallies showing that I am more of a critical reflection.  b. Level 3 – had the most sometime tallies showing that I am sometime a pedagogical reflection.  c. Level 1 – had most infrequently tallies that showed that this is the area that I am least like as a classroom teacher.

Which 3 indicators you have chosen to focus on and Why? Include the level or levels these indicators are located. The three indicators that I have chosen to focus on are as following:  1.  Challenges assumptions about students and expectations for students. – Level -4. I sometime struggle with what I believe about student and what they can do therefore, I sometime fail to push them to their maximum potential.  2. Has commitment to continuous learning and improve practices. – Level -3. It is the areas that I struggle the most with and it has cause me great issues in my professional career at times.  3. Modifies teaching strategies without challenging underlying assumptions about teaching and learning. – Level 2. I find that there are few time that I want to deal with challenges therefore, I am often stuck in a certain mode, which also cause me the not want to flexible when I need to be.   These three indicator will help me become a reflective practitioner because in my fifteen career I have struggle in these areas as a classroom teacher.  If I am to be the kind of practitioner that is need for the current technological student I must make the necessary changes to myself that is needed.  It has been said,  that we are life long learners. If that statement is true of who I am I must always be on the grind of a student the rest of my life, especially for the students I serve and the community that I am a part of.

What actions will I take to achieve this goal?  The actions that I will take to achieve this goal is first of all is ask myself the hard questions when it comes to the three indicator addressed in the previous question. Who am I as a reflective practitioner?   I have to stop shying away from taking a hard look at myself.  This would allow me to stop looking at others and saying what they are not doing but begin to say I am not doing what, and what I need to do.  It doesn’t just stop there but I must put in the work to recreate myself as a teacher but a teacher who is a reflective practitioner.  Secondly, this will  require me to invite some people (administrator, co-work,  mentor, student,  and community members)  who I consider to be stakeholder in my life to sit down with me and give me their honest opinion of who I am as a reflective practitioner. During this meeting we as a collective group will write the comments and suggests for me on posted paper.  After the information is compile on the posted paper we will then prioritize the suggest on what it the greatest need to the least.  One the suggestion are prioritize I will then create a timeline  to incorporate the suggestions into my life and teaching style.  I will start as soon as possible.  Throughout the incorporation I will periodically check my development by give myself self assessment and allow those same stakeholder to come in and critic what I am doing my classroom so that I will have to view point to look and make the adjustment that’s needed in my continuous growth.  As the group and myself assess I will make the changes need until I get to the point of being a full reflective practitioner.

What is your personal assessment of the survey instrument?  The survey instrument was very beneficial because it allowed me to see what type of reflective practitioner I am as a classroom teacher.  Furthermore, it showed me how much I must grow in order to be the type of teacher where students will  get a well round teacher who would not just make knee-jerk response but someone who clearly think about them and how what I do will impact them daily as they come into my classroom.  Therefore, I have a long way to go to become  a reflective practitioner.  The survey instrument revealed some trues to me that I did not realize about myself or were lacking for example.  “Reacts to students response differently but fails to recognize patterns.”, “Adjusts teaching practices only to current situation without developing a long-term plan.”, and “Engages in constructive criticism of one’s own teaching.” Are areas that this survey help me to realize I am lacking as a productive classroom teacher. I have gain a wealth of knowledge and understanding of who I am as a person and educator that I did not have before.  This assessment also help me clarify something that I did know.  This has been an interesting eye opening  opportunity.

Which level had the most frequent tallies, most sometimes tallies, and the level that had the most infrequently tallies? After completing the survey these are my results:  Level 1: Pre-Reflection: (Frequent – 0, Sometimes – 3, and Infrequent – 11); Level 2: Surface Reflection: (Frequent – 2, Sometimes – 7, and Infrequent – 2); Level 3: Pedagogical Reflection: (Frequent – 6, Sometimes – 8, and Infrequent – 0); and Level 4: Critical Reflection: (Frequent – 8, Sometimes – 6,  and Infrequent – 0)

a.  Level 4 – had the most frequently tallies showing that I am more of a critical reflection.  b. Level 3 – had the most sometime tallies showing that I am sometime a pedagogical reflection.  c. Level 1 – had most infrequently tallies that showed that this is the area that I am least like as a classroom teacher.

Which 3 indicators you have chosen to focus on and Why? Include the level or levels these indicators are located. The three indicators that I have chosen to focus on are as following:  1.  Challenges assumptions about students and expectations for students. – Level -4. I sometime struggle with what I believe about student and what they can do therefore, I sometime fail to push them to their maximum potential.  2. Has commitment to continuous learning and improve practices. – Level -3. It is the areas that I struggle the most with and it has cause me great issues in my professional career at times.  3. Modifies teaching strategies without challenging underlying assumptions about teaching and learning. – Level 2. I find that there are few time that I want to deal with challenges therefore, I am often stuck in a certain mode, which also cause me the not want to flexible when I need to be.   These three indicator will help me become a reflective practitioner because in my fifteen career I have struggle in these areas as a classroom teacher.  If I am to be the kind of practitioner that is need for the current technological student I must make the necessary changes to myself that is needed.  It has been said,  that we are life long learners. If that statement is true of who I am I must always be on the grind of a student the rest of my life, especially for the students I serve and the community that I am a part of.

What actions will I take to achieve this goal?  The actions that I will take to achieve this goal is first of all is ask myself the hard questions when it comes to the three indicator addressed in the previous question. Who am I as a reflective practitioner?   I have to stop shying away from taking a hard look at myself.  This would allow me to stop looking at others and saying what they are not doing but begin to say I am not doing what, and what I need to do.  It doesn’t just stop there but I must put in the work to recreate myself as a teacher but a teacher who is a reflective practitioner.  Secondly, this will require me to invite some people (administrator, co-work,  mentor, student,  and community members)  who I consider to be stakeholder in my life to sit down with me and give me their honest opinion of who I am as a reflective practitioner. During this meeting we as a collective group will write the comments and suggests for me on posted paper.  After the information is compile on the posted paper we will then prioritize the suggest on what it the greatest need to the least.  One the suggestion are prioritize I will then create a timeline  to incorporate the suggestions into my life and teaching style.  I will start as soon as possible.  Throughout the incorporation I will periodically check my development by give myself self assessment and allow those same stakeholder to come in and critic what I am doing my classroom so that I will have to view point to look and make the adjustment that’s needed in my continuous growth.  As the group and myself assess I will make the changes need until I get to the point of being a full reflective practitioner.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton