Speaker Reflections

Speaker Reflection Dr. Jodi Newton

How did they maximize learning for all students? What Great Teachers Do Differently
August 25, 2015
I really enjoyed learning about Dr. Newtons research on what great teachers do
differently. The teachers interviewed for this study were considered successful because they had
at least three years of data indicating 20% growth or more in reading and/or math for all of their
students. To test their students growth over the year, their level at the beginning of the year was
compared with their level at the end of the year. After interviewing these successful teachers, five
common characteristics were discovered among their teaching methods. I found all five of these
characteristics to be interesting, and I can see how each of them can contribute to being a
successful teacher.
One characteristic of successful teachers is that they emphasize knowing over doing.
They ensure that all of their students understand what they need to know at the end of each
lesson by setting clearly defined learning targets for their students. Successful teachers inspire
their students to participate in class and to do the assignments in order to gain knowledge, not to
merely please the teacher. I liked Dr. Newtons example of the learning target written on the
chalkboard. It is helpful for students to be able to say after todays lesson, I will be able to
show that I can because then they will know what is expected of them.
Another characteristic found among these successful teachers is having a culture of
redemption. These teachers allow for recovery and relearning, and understand that students need
to learn from their mistakes and embrace failure. Something that Dr. Newton said that caught my
attention is that it is better to aim too high and miss than to aim too low and hit. This reminded
me of a poster in one of my elementary classrooms that said shoot for the moon; even if you
miss, youll land among the stars.
A third characteristic of successful teachers is to plan constantly and tweak frequently. It
is important for teachers to be determined that every student is going to learn and to not leave
any student behind. It is good for teachers to have long-term plans, but successful teachers
understand that you have to be willing to change and move with your students. This is an
interesting point to me because I have always heard that it is important to plan far in advance, but
I now realize that it is just as important for teachers to adapt their lessons so that their students do
not fall behind.
A fourth characteristic of successful teachers is to ask effective, thought-provoking
questions. Students need to be compelled to think, and teachers should ask questions that reveal
whether their students have truly mastered the content. Good teachers also need to teach their
students to ask the right questions. I agree with this point because I believe that students who ask
the right questions truly have a hunger for knowledge.
The last characteristic of successful teachers is to create a climate of high expectations
coupled with strong relationships, and to send the message that they are on a never ending
journey with their students. Dr. Newton explained that although successful teachers relationships
with their students will vary, it is important that these relationships are centered on the
acquisition of knowledge.
The most encouraging part of Dr. Newtons talk, in my opinion, was when she explained
that the successful teachers interviewed for this study did not fit a specific mold. The teachers

personalities, approaches, and philosophies varied, but they are all dedicated to their students and
will do whatever it takes to ensure that their students grow. This was comforting to hear because
I now understand that comparing yourself to other teachers is not beneficial. I am very thankful
to learn about these five characteristics of successful teachers, and I cannot wait to apply them to
my classroom in the future.

Speaker Reflection The Art and Science of Teaching video

August 27, 2015
The video entitled The Art and Science of Teaching discussed five effective classroom
management strategies. These strategies are: engaging students in learning, establishing and
maintaining classroom rules and procedures, recognizing and acknowledging students adherence
and lack of adherence to classroom rules and procedures, establishing and maintaining effective
relationships with all students, and communicating high expectations for all students. All of these
strategies will be helpful for when I begin teaching, but two strategies stood out to me the most.
The first strategy that really stood out to me was engaging students in learning. It was
comforting to hear that all teachers will lose their students attention at some point. Good
teachers, however, can tell when their students are no longer engaged, and they do something to
bring them back. Some strategies that I can use to engage students in my future classroom are to
create a sense of friendly competition, use physical movements, and provide unusual information
every now and then. I think that telling unusual trivia facts to the students is a great way to grab
their attention and get them re-engaged in the lesson.
The second strategy that stood out to me is to establish and maintain effective
relationships with all students. I can relate to this strategy because of my experience with
working at a summer camp over the years. At camp training, our camp director always
emphasizes the importance of connecting, discovering, and responding to each of our campers.
This way, we have a strong relationship with them, know their needs, and can respond to their
needs. He also encourages each counselor to have an appropriate physical, spiritual, and
emotional touch with each of our campers every day. So when the speaker in the video talked
about making eye contact with students, patting them on the back, and showing them appropriate
affection, I immediately thought about camp. I understand that teaching is much different than
being a camp counselor, but I am thankful that I will still be able to have relationships with my
students and be a positive light in their life.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Rogers

Dispositions Introduction
September 1, 2015
Dr. Rogers shared with us an introduction to dispositions. Dispositions are defined as the
attitudes, perceptions, and/or beliefs that form the basis of behavior. It is important for me as a
junior to begin thinking about the way I behave because my attitude, perceptions, and beliefs will
affect student learning. The activity where we wrote down characteristics of our favorite teachers
was really effective in showing us just how important dispositions are. Most of the things that we
loved about our past teachers fell into the dispositions category. Although having a significant
knowledge base and solid teaching skills are important, the way we treat our students is what
they will remember about us. I agree with this because when I reflect back on my favorite
teachers, I think of the ones who invested in me, supported me, and had a personal relationship
with me. Knowing that most Samford graduates have high scores in dispositions is encouraging
because I know that I am at the right school to learn how to become an effective teacher.
Learning about Marva Collins was one of my favorite parts of Dr. Rogers talk. Since the
video would not play in class, I researched more about Ms. Collins after class, and she is truly
inspiring. Something that really stood out to me in one of the videos I watched about her is that
when her students would misbehave, they had to write 100 reasons why they are too wonderful
to do what they were doing. She explained that her students would no longer misbehave because
they were tired of telling her how wonderful they were. This positivity helped them see how
special they were, and that no one in the whole world was like them.
I was able to watch the video of some of Ms. Collins graduates, and it was really
touching. Ms. Collins saw every one of these students as teachable, even when others said that
they would never be able to read or that they needed special education. The graduates in the
video were all successful, and several of them had become teachers because they were so
influenced by Ms. Collins. Ms. Collins is definitely one of my new role models, and I plan to
use some of her strategies and hope to be as influential as she was one day.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Julie Hannah

September 3, 2015
Today Dr. Hannah gave us more insight on why assessment matters and how to keep
assessment in perspective. Dr. Hannahs first illustration of comparing an assessment to a
drivers license test really hit home. She told us to imagine if we were tested for our drivers
license the very first time we had ever driven. If that had been the case, we would have all failed.
This helped me realize that, similarly, students need to have practiced a concept or skill many
times before being tested on it.
Although there have been several changes in assessment in Alabama, one thing has not
changed: it is important to know your students and make learning personal. Dr. Hannahs story
about the five and a half year old boy named Luke, who was placed in kindergarten but only
knew twenty words, was very inspiring. His teacher intervened and did what was best for him by
sending him to a preschool class. He made a remarkable turnaround because in just six months,
he was singing the Star Spangled Banner on his own. His teacher knew that Luke was behind
because of a lack of exposure rather than a learning disability. This intervention showed just how
much his teacher cared about him, and I hope to be a teacher like this one day.
I agree with Dr. Hannahs new vision that every high school graduate needs to be
prepared for college, work, or adulthood. She recognizes that not all students have the same
goals for the future. Some will go to a four-year college, some will go to trade school, and some
will go straight to adulthood. This reminded me of my high school history teacher, Mr. C. He
always told us that, in spite of what our other teachers said, not everyone needed to go to college
because they would not need a four-year degree for their chosen profession, like firefighting or
machinery.
Dr. Hannah taught me a lot more about formative and summative assessment, but I still
have some questions about this topic. I understand that formative assessment is assessment for
learning and does not have grades attached and that summative assessment is assessment of
learning and does have grades attached. Dr. Hannah gave some great examples of formative
assessment, but I am still not sure about the best methods for summative assessment. For
example, are multiple choice tests better than short answer tests, or vice versa? Also, are open
book tests a type of summative assessment? I am sure that these questions will be answered in
the near future.
I love that Dr. Hannah ended her talk with a scene from the movie Freedom Riders. I
have never seen this movie, but this clip really moved me. It shows just how important the
classroom environment is and that our students need to know that we care about them on a deep
level. I cannot wait to invest in my students so that I can be a positive influence in their lives.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Wood

Gifted Education
I really enjoyed learning about gifted education because I was in a gifted program called
RLC in third, fourth, and fifth grade. I loved RLC because I was challenged and encouraged to
think more critically, and I was able to do projects that I was interested in. I remember doing
logic puzzles, making roller coasters, doing a project about monarch butterflies, and learning
how to count in Japanese, which are things I would not have been able to do without RLC.
Looking back, however, I believe that I was a high achiever instead of a gifted learner. I think
this because I was a very motivated student, I wanted to make good grades, and I always did my
homework, which are all characteristics of high achievers. Dr. Wood explained that gifted
students, on the other hand, are critical thinkers, have strong opinions, challenge rules, and do
not always care about their grade. Knowing the difference between these two types of students
will help me point out the gifted students in my future classrooms.
Dr. Wood gave us so many strategies that we can use with our gifted students. One of my
favorite strategies is giving tic-tac-toe charts to gifted students so that they can do independent
projects. I think that this is a great way to give these students a choice while still challenging
them. The projects included on tic-tac-toe charts should require a high level of creativity and
should be derived from the highest levels of Blooms taxonomy. Another strategy that I plan to
use with gifted students is cubing, which involves students rolling a cube with various questions
on each side. Whichever question the student rolls is the one that they discuss with a small group
or partner. Teachers can differentiate their cubes, giving gifted students cubes with questions that
require more critical thinking and analyzing.
Something that I found very interesting is that it is important for teachers to give students
at least five seconds to think after asking them a question. Most teachers are uncomfortable with
silence, so they call on a student to answer a question right after the question is asked, without
giving them time to think critically. I can relate to this because when I lead discussions for the
foundations class that I am a peer mentor for, I feel uncomfortable when the students do not
answer quickly. Dr. Wood, however, suggests giving students at least five seconds or more before
calling on someone to answer because it gives them time to think deeply. She also explained that
it is not beneficial for students to raise their hand. This surprised me, because I was always told
to raise my hand if I knew an answer throughout my grade school years. Instead, Dr. Wood
suggests saying something like, were going to take five seconds to think about this, dont raise
your hand. I will keep this tip in mind to use in my classroom in the future.
Another tip that I plan to use is pre-testing. This is where students are given a test in a
specific content area at the beginning of the week, and if they score high enough on it, they do
not have to take it again later. The students who test out of it can do things like working on
independent projects, participating in learning centers, or doing anchor activities. I do not
remember my teachers doing this in elementary school, but it makes sense because students
should not waste time learning about something that they already know.
At the beginning of Dr. Woods lesson, she asked us to write down two questions that we
had about gifted education. One of my questions was: does being considered gifted mean that a
student has to excel in all subjects? To my surprise, Dr. Wood explained that being a gifted
learner does not mean that a student is gifted in all subject areas. I now understand that when a
student is only gifted in one subject, the teacher must challenge them in that specific subject

alone. This is why it is important to know the abilities of every student in every subject, so that
each student is receiving an education that meets their needs.
A question that I still have involving gifted education is: do schools ever group all of the
gifted students in a grade into the same class so that their teacher can focus more on their needs
as gifted students? I have not heard of schools doing this, but I feel like it could benefit both the
students and the teachers because it would be easier to challenge the students. It would also
eliminate the possibility of bullying or parents complaining about the differences in their
childrens work resulting from tiered lessons. This is a question that I can ask Dr. Wood when
she visits us again in next semester. I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn about gifted
education, and I cannot wait to use the resources that I was given with my future gifted students.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Bluiett

Early Literacy Assessment Part 1
Dr. Bluiett talked about the purpose of reading assessments, and she gave us examples of
early reading assessment options that we can use during the Morning Intervention time at Trace
Crossings. Assessment is used to guide instruction, and I learned that there are four purposes of
assessment: to survey the achievement of the entire class (outcome assessments), to provide
initial information about students (screening assessments), to provide in depth information about
strengths and needs (diagnostic assessments), and to provide ongoing and timely feedback on
individual students response to instruction (progress-monitoring assessments). Some words of
advice from Dr. Bluiett that I found really helpful are to remember to use more than one
assessment so that the data is more accurate and to use assessments that help make important
instruction decisions.
At first I was very confused when Dr. Bluiett began talking about the different types of
reading assessments that we can use. She mentioned the Concepts about Print (CAP) assessment,
the Fountas and Pinnell assessment, and the Letter Naming Fluency assessment. I had not heard
of any of these assessments, so I felt very overwhelmed. When Dr. Bluiett gave us an example of
a CAP assessment, though, I felt much better. The CAP had easy to read step-by-step instructions
and specific questions for the teacher to ask the student that is being assessed. I also felt better
when she explained that these assessments will be on Schoology for us to access. I am still a
little uneasy about assessing the literacy of students since I have never done it before, but I know
that practice makes perfect, and I will feel more comfortable with assessments after this
semester. The Morning Intervention time will be the perfect time to try out these assessments and
grow in my skills. Hopefully after a few weeks, my uneasiness will go away.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Underbakke

October 6, 2015
Today during Childrens Literature class, Dr. Underbakke, a third grade teacher at Trace
Crossings, spoke to us about some of his favorite chapter books. I was not sure what to expect
from Dr. Underbakkes talk, but I really learned a lot about high quality chapter books and how I
can read them to my students, even if I teach second or third grade. Dr. Underbakke really
emphasized the importance of reading chapter books to our students. He explained that research
shows that students can comprehend higher level books when they are being read out loud to
them, even if they cannot read them independently yet. I remember several of my elementary
teachers reading chapter books to my class. The first chapter book I remember reading was
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. We read this in third grade, and every student had
their own copy of the book so we could follow along. I also remember reading other books, like
James and the Giant Peach by Henry Selick and The BFG by Roald Dahl. Reading chapter
books in class was one of my favorite things that we did in elementary school.
Some of the chapter books that Dr. Underbakke recommended for us to use are Wonder
by R.J. Palacio, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, The Invention of Hugo
Cabret by Brian Selznick, Bridge to Tarabithia by Katherine Peterson, Tuck Everlasting by
Natalie Babbitt, and Wringer by Jerry Spinelli. I had heard of some of these books, but many of
these books were brand new to me. I remember reading The Giver in sixth grade, but that is the
only book from this list that I had read before. He recommended reading some of these books to
older grades, but it was interesting to hear that he had read a few of them to students as young as
second grade. I can see myself teaching second or third grade, so his talk today was helpful for
me to start thinking about which chapter books I might read to my future students. Dr.
Underbakke did warn us that sometimes teachers have to leave details out or skip over
inappropriate words that might be in the book they are reading. Because of this, it is very
important that the teacher read the book beforehand.
Aside from the topic of chapter books, I appreciate how real and matter-of-fact Dr.
Underbakke was. While he was talking to us, his class was at P.E. and then going to the library. I
thought that it was really relatable how Dr. Underbakke told us that there were a million other
things that he could have been doing during that time. It was an eye opener to see just how
precious teachers time is because there is always so much that needs to be done. Lately I have
been feeling overwhelmed in my work and feeling as if I will never get ahead. Although I know
that this feeling will most likely increase when I become a teacher, it is nice to see that even
successful teachers feel this way too. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about chapter books from
Dr. Underbakke and seeing his passion for reading aloud to students.

Speaker Reflection Dr. Diana Cheshire

Assessment for Learning
Today I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Cheshire talk about assessments. A lot of the
things that Dr. Cheshire talked about are things that we have learned before, but it was good to
have those thoughts reinforced and refreshed in my mind. One thing that Dr. Cheshire talked
about was the three main purposes of assessments. She talked about assessments for learning
(which is formative and occurs when teachers use inferences about student progress to inform
their teaching), assessment as learning (which is also formative and occurs when students reflect
on and monitor their progress to inform their future learning goals) and assessment of learning
(which is summative and occurs when teachers use evidence of student learning to make
judgements on student achievement against goals and standards). We had learned about
assessment for learning and assessment of learning, but I had never thought about assessment as
learning. I now see that it is important for students to reflect on their own progress as they are
learning. Dr. Cheshire also stressed the fact that assessments are a process, not just an ending
evaluation.
I really liked Dr. Cheshires analogy of comparing assessments to a plant. She explained
that in relation to plants, summative assessments would be measuring how tall the plant is and
that formative assessments would be doing things to help the plant grow. She explained that
measuring how tall the plant is does nothing for the plant, but that doing things to help it grow is
what is important. Similarly, teachers should focus on doing the things that will help their
students grow rather than being so focused on their students grades. She explained that
assessments not only test the students understanding of the material, but it also shows the
teacher whether or not their teaching was effective. Students should not only be assessed on their
understanding, but also their interests and learning preferences.
I also found Dr. Cheshires thoughts on homework interesting. It was helpful to look at
some bad examples of math homework so that we could learn about what not to do. One teacher
would send a packet assessing a lot of random skills home for students to do for homework.
There were many types of problems within this packet, including addition, subtraction, and place
value, so it seemed more like busy work. Students did not have to show their work in this packet,
so their parents could have easily done the homework for them if they were confused. I also
found it helpful to look worksheets that showed the same problem solved by several different
students. It was not easy to determine as a group which student demonstrated the highest level of
understanding, which student demonstrated the least level of understanding, and which student
was in the middle. This showed me just how differently people might view and grade the same
work.
In relation to what I have learned this semester, assessments have become much more
real to me now that we are developing and implementing lessons and assessments in our clinical
classrooms. As I am making assessments for my students, I think through the steps and directions
of the assessment and think about how my students might perform. I have learned so much about
assessments this semester, and Dr. Cheshires talk taught me even more. I am finally starting to
have a clear understanding of the assessment process.

Speakers at Trace Crossings

November 4, 2015
Ms. Debbie Drake, the bookkeeper at Trace Crossings, was the first speaker of the day.
As the bookkeeper, Ms. Drake helps the teachers with financial compliance. I am thankful that
we had the opportunity to learn a little bit about finances and money in education because most
pre-service teachers do not learn about finances. Learning about the processes that teachers
follow when handling money will help prevent us from making financial mistakes at our future
school. The role of the bookkeeper impacts student achievement because without a bookkeeper,
the school would not run functionally. If her position did not exist, the responsibility of handling
money would fall on the teachers. This would prevent the teachers from pouring as much of their
time as possible into their students achievement. Therefore, the role of the bookkeeper takes
pressure and responsibility off of the teachers, giving them more time to focus on their students
achievement. Ms. Drakes role at Trace helps supports instruction in the classroom because she
assists the teachers with their funding for instructional materials. Each teacher is given a certain
amount of money to use for instructional materials each year, and Ms. Drake helps hold the
teachers accountable and responsible for this money. Without Ms. Drake, the teachers would
have a harder time managing the money that they receive for instructional materials and might
not make the most of their money. Ms. Drake is also responsible for Traces p-card that teachers
can use for instruction materials. Teachers take an ethics class that covers the information about
handling money that they need to know, but Ms. Drake manages everything throughout the year
and does many things for the teachers that they do not have time to do.
The next speakers were the music and art teachers. The music teacher at Trace is Ms.
Angela Roebuck and the art teacher is Ms. Adriana Northcutt. These teachers directly impact
student achievement in the subject that they teach. Ms. Roebuck helps the students grow in their
ability and knowledge of music and Ms. Northcutt helps students grow in their ability and
knowledge of art. Ms. Northcutt explained that there are national standards, state standards, and
Hoover standards for each special. Since they only meet with students once a week for about
thirty minutes, they have to pack as much teaching in as they can into one class. It is not possible
to meet all of the standards in the limited time with the students, so the classroom teacher must
also teach music and art. Therefore, Ms. Roebuck and Ms. Northcutt assist the classroom teacher
with the music and art that they teach or integrate into their classroom. They help support this
instruction in the classroom by meeting with the classroom teachers and providing them with
resources. Although the librarian could not be there, Ms. Roebuck explained that she loves
helping teachers find books and other instructional materials for their lessons because her
number one job is to help teachers and supply them with materials.
Ms. Ida Collins, Traces lunchroom manager, spoke to us next. She talked to us about the
breakfast program, in which each student gets breakfast funded by the state department every
morning. She also explained to us that their menu is planned by the central office. This is
because there has to be a certain number of green vegetables, orange vegetables, etc. each week.
The central office workers plan out the menus to ensure that every requirement is being met. Ms.
Collins also explained to us that everything has to be baked. I had no idea that there were so
many rules and regulations for lunches. I was amazed at Ms. Collins passion and love for her
job. She goes beyond just cooking lunch she loves being there for the kids, making sure they
are alright, and seeing to their every need. The lunchroom staff impacts student achievement
because their food provides energy for the students. Without a healthy and nutritious lunch, they

would not be able to do their school work effectively. I have noticed that the lunchroom staff will
walk around the lunchroom and make sure that the students are eating their food. They want the
students to excel in their achievements, and they go above and beyond to ensure that they aide in
this process. The lunchroom staff supports instruction in the classroom similarly to how they
impact student achievement. The fuel that the students get from the food helps keep them focus
on the instruction that is being taught. They also supply the breakfasts for every classroom each
morning at 7:00 so that they are reading for the teachers when they get there. This saves time for
the teachers. The lunchroom staff at Trace is the best I have ever seen, and I have a lot of respect
for Ms. Collins and the other workers.
Mr. David Pitts, the English Language Learner (ELL) teacher at Trace, was the next
speaker. His schedule is different every day because he does so many things to impact student
achievement. He works with about 75 students, and he works with them over multiple years.
Most of the students that he works with are Limited English Proficient (LEP). A big part of his
job is to manage student data and instructional data. Each student is required to fill out a home
language survey, and if any language other than English is the primary language spoken at home,
then the student will take an assessment. Based on how they performed on the assessment, the
student will receive accommodations if needed. Mr. Pitts keeps up with the data for each student
who receives accommodations so that he can see their improvement over time. To help the
students improve, he pulls them out and works with them in small groups based on their access
scores. This year he is focusing on literacy, specifically reading and writing. He works with these
students to help them better understand the English learning and improve in their achievement.
One way that Mr. Pitts helps support instruction in the classroom is by giving advice to teachers
on the best way to teach ELL students. He recommends doing as much small group instruction as
possible, accommodating their instruction to make it meaningful, using pictures and visuals,
reducing distractors on tests, and providing word banks. Mr. Pitts also provides IELPs on the
ELL students for the teachers at the beginning of the year, and he helps them adjust their
assessments for these students. In addition to working with many ELL students to improve their
English and helping the teachers adapt their instruction for these students, Mr. Pitts helps
translate for parents who do not speak English. Overall, Mr. Pitts job allows him to see the big
picture and watch students grow in their achievement over many years.
Next we had the opportunity to hear from Ms. Carol Barber, the principal at Trace. This is
Ms. Barbers 49th year in education and 35th year in administration. She loves being principal
because she has the best of both worlds she has an administrative role but she is still in contact
with the students every day. Ms. Barber emphasized the fact that every single person who works
at Trace impacts student achievement in some way. She explained that everyone has a position,
and everyone is equally as important. Running a school is a team effort, and everyone must focus
on what is best for the students. One of the many ways that Ms. Barber impacts student
achievement is by hiring good teachers. This is so important because if the students at her school
do not have a good teacher, the will not learn the things that they need to learn. When
interviewing for teachers, she looks for people who will bring new ideas to the school. She gave
us a lot of advice on how to interview and create a good resume. Ms. Barbers supports
instruction in the classroom by assisting the teachers and making life as easy as possible for
them. She wants to make life as easy as possible for the teachers and will help provide them with
everything that they need.
Ms. Donna Houston, Ms. Jennifer Norris, and Ms. Karen Pfeiffer, the Title 1 teachers,
were the next speakers. These teachers work with students from all different grade levels who are

close to being on grade level but are not quite there. The students they work with were chosen
based in an assessment similar to the ACT Aspire that is given at the beginning of the year. Ms.
Houston, Ms. Norris, and Ms. Pfeiffer help improve these students achievement because they
work with them in small groups in both reading and math. In addition to reinforcing what they
are learning in their classroom, they are frontloading the students once they meet grade level
with information that their teachers will teach in the future. Teaching them ahead of time gives
them some background knowledge so that they will be more prepared when their teacher covers
the material later. The Title 1 teachers support instruction by using their data that they collect on
the students to inform both their instruction and the instruction of the students classroom
teachers. Their testing identifies what skills the students are missing, and they can adapt their
instruction according to the students needs.
The last speaker was Ms. Aleshia Paige, the instructional support teacher. Ms. Paige has a
Masters in special education. She explained that about 70% of her time is spent teaching students
and the other 30% of her time is spent doing paper work. She works with 14 students that have a
disability other than speech or language and 6 students who have a speech disability. Each of
these students are in the first tier. Ms. Paige impacts theses students achievement by creating
goals for the students that she works with and helping them meet these goals. She assists in the
writing of IEPs for her students. She assists with instruction in the classroom by working with
the teachers to figure out the best plan for the students that she works with. Without Mrs. Paige,
the students in the first tier that need a lot of extra support would be left behind and would not
reach their highest potential.

Speaker Reflection Mrs. Valtiera

November 10, 2015 and November 11, 2015
On Tuesday November 10th and Wednesday November 11th, we had the opportunity to
learn from Lari Valtierra about teaching academic language to English Learner (EL) students. I
am very thankful for the opportunity to learn more about how to teach EL students because this
has always been a concern for me. I took Spanish in high school, but I have forgotten a lot of
what I learned. Since I only know English, I have always wondered how I will teach students
who do not speak English at home. This training made me feel a little more at ease about
teaching EL students. It was helpful to learn about the phases that EL students go through when
learning English as well as learning about resources that will help us become better teachers of
EL students.
On the first day of our training, we learned about the phases of the development of EL
students ability to receive and produce language in the four domains of languagelistening,
speaking, reading, and writing. In the first phase (the preproduction phase), students are silent
and communicate mostly nonverbally, so teachers should use as many visual aids and concrete
items as possible. The early production phase is the second phase. EL students in this phase will
begin to respond verbally using one or two words. When students get to the third phase (the
speech emergence phase), they often mix their first language and English together. They can
speak in simple sentences, and they can write with more detail and with different tenses. In the
fourth phase (the intermediate fluency phase), students can produce more complicated text, but
they still lack the academic vocabulary that native English speakers have. Students in the fifth
phase (the advanced fluency phase) can speak and write English using grammar and vocabulary
comparable to that of a native speaker. An important takeaway about the development of
language in EL students that I think all teachers should know is that while all children progress
through the same phases, the rate in which they progress through the phases is different.
Learning about these phases made me think about the EL students in my classroom at Trace
Crossings. One EL student in my class responds using only one or two words. This makes me
think that she is in the early production phase. Another EL student in my class has progressed
very quickly in her language production this semester, and I would classify her in the speech
emergence phase.
We also learned about the six WIDA levels of proficiency that correlate to the five phases
of language production. To determine an EL students WIDA level, they are tested in each of the
four domains of language. They are assigned a score ranging from 1.0 to 6.0 for each domain and
then given a composite, or overall, score. In Alabama, EL students are considered proficient in
their language acquisition, meaning that language is no longer a barrier, when their composite
score reaches a 4.8. After reaching this number, students no longer receive ESL services, but will
be monitored for two years. Although EL students are considered proficient when they reach a
4.8, they will still have first language interference and will still need scaffolding. One thing that I
took away from this part of the training is that it is important for classroom teachers to know
each of their EL students composite score as well as their score in each of the four language
domains so that we will know how to teach them. We can access these scores by looking at the
students access report. When teaching EL students, we can use resources from WIDA like
rubrics and can-do charts. I think that these resources that Ms. Valierra provided were the most
beneficial part of our training. I plan to use these resources in the future because I am sure that I
will have EL students in my classes.

One last thing that we talked about on the first day of training was the difference between
BICS and CALPs. Our job as teachers is to teach academic language, or CALP, to our students.
These are abstract, higher-level words that to relate to the content and require cognitive skills.
BICS, on the other hand, is the social playground language that is developed from interaction
with others. Overall, the first day of training helped me realize how important it is for teachers to
know their EL students. When I teach, I need to know which WIDA level my EL students are on
and use strategies and resources to help teach them the CALP words that they need to know in
order to be ready for college and career.
On the second day of training, we learned about more resources and strategies that we
can used as teachers of EL students. This second day of training was helpful to me because Ms.
Valtierra brought everything together and focused on specific strategies for teaching EL students.
One thing that I found interesting was the i=1 method, in which teachers hold EL students
accountable for the can-do items in the proficiency level directly above their current
proficiency level. This is because learning only occurs when information is presented at the next
level, so teachers need to challenge their EL students and push them forward. This makes sense
to me, because if we held students responsible for the can-do items in their current proficiency
level, they would not grow and move on to the next level. Ms. Valtierra explained that some
teachers teach students using an i+10 method, in which they expect too much out of their EL
students. This is not good because the EL students will become overwhelmed and discouraged.
Therefore, it is important to only hold them accountable for the can-do items in the level
directly above them.
Another interesting thing that Ms. Valtierra showed us was the WIDA standards. I did not
realize that WIDA had standards that EL students must meet. After first hearing about these
standards, I was a little overwhelmed because the thought of having another set of standards that
EL students must meet seemed scary. After Ms. Valtierra showed us these standards, however, I
felt much better about them because the WIDA standards are very general. They basically say
that students must learn and use CALPs in all four domains of language (listening, speaking,
reading, and writing) in each of the subjects. Mrs. Valtierra provided us with the website for
WIDA, where we can access the WIDA standards and learn more about them.
Something very surprising that I learned on the second day of training is that students
only learn about 400 new vocabulary words at school each year. Therefore, if EL students do not
speak English at home, they will quickly fall behind the other students in their acquisition of
vocabulary. This made me realize that it is so important to help EL students learn as much
English vocabulary as possible so that they do not fall behind their peers. Another interesting
thing that I learned on the second day of training is the sentence frame strategy, in which the
teacher starts a sentence for the student. I really like this strategy because it provides EL students
with the targeted academic language that you want them to use. It clearly shows them how you
want them to communicate an answer, and helps them demonstrate the content that they have
learned. Overall, I think that Ms. Valtierra used and taught us about great strategies that we can
used with our EL students so that they can advance through the phases of language development
as quickly as possible. The resources that Ms. Valtierra gave us will be very helpful when we
begin to teach EL students. I learned a lot during our two days of ELL training, and I am very
thankful that we had the opportunity to grow in our knowledge.

Speaker Reflection Mrs. Joyner

November 18, 2015
Mrs. Joyner talked to us about using technology in math, and she gave us several
resources that will be helpful to use in our lessons. She started off by explaining that the
integration of technology into math should be relevant, purposeful, and real-world. She
explained that technology should be used to enhance the learning, and it might not be necessary
for every lesson. I agree with this because I do not think that technology should take the place of
instruction, but should be used as a tool to aid instruction. My research presentation last semester
was on technology in the classroom, and I noticed that in some of my placements, technology
was used overused and took the place of instruction. At Trace, however, I think that technology is
used very efficiently and effectively.
I found the video that Mrs. Joyner showed us to be very inspiring. In this video, a middle
school math teacher effectively made math fun for his students by having them work with a
group to create and record a song about math. This project required students to use both the left
and right side of the brain, and it incorporated technology. The students absolutely loved it. I
enjoyed watching this video because it showed that it is possible to make math fun for students
while incorporating technology.
I also enjoyed hearing about some ways that Mrs. Joyner has used technology in math at
Trace. One way that they have done this is with Minecraft. The first and second grade students
have been using Minecraft to create Trace virtually, and, in doing this, the students have had to
use math. For example, the students have had to figure out how many blocks are needed for the
width of the school. They use a blue block for every tenth block so that they can go back and
count by tens.
My favorite part of Mrs. Joyners session was learning about some valuable technology
resources. She showed us some websites and tools that we can use to enhance our lessons and
make them as best as they can be. Some websites that she showed us include A+ Click, K-5 Math
Teaching Resources, and Mathbreakers. Mrs. Joyner is going to provide us with a list of other
websites and tools that she thinks will be helpful as well. I am excited to explore these tools and
become more familiar with them so that I can implement technology into my math lessons.