Final Report-Fifth Year Internship

Lansing Area Elementary Team

2010-2011

The Internship Setting

Allyson Trudell is a Michigan State University graduate who completed a teaching internship at Burton
Elementary School in the Grand Rapids Public School District from August, 2010 through April, 2011.
Grand Rapids is an urban school district with a diverse student body. Burton Elementary is a language
center school, with the majority of students speaking Spanish as their first language. The school has
strong community connections, housing a neighborhood health clinic and Family Independence Agency.
Students with learning disabilities receive special instruction and are integrated into the regular class
curriculum. Ally was in a fifth grade classroom under the supervision of Ena St. Germain.

Knowing Subject Matters and How to Teach Them

Standard 1. Acts as an educated person:

Communicates effectively; shows that s/he values learning; promotes both individual
responsibility and individual rights; models respect both individual diversity and for community;
models knowledge of American government and economics; models global perspectives.

Standard 2. Teaches elementary subject matters:

Researches and validly teaches subject matter through short-range and long-range planning;
connects subject matter to the world beyond school; promotes critical and higher order thinking;
promotes independent learning and problem solving; engages students in inquiry and promotes
curiosity; models and coaches analysis, synthesis, evaluation of ideas, skills and information.

Interns are expected to design, adapt and sequence learning activities that promote intellectual
involvement with content and active construction of understanding. They are expected to take into
account what students know and how they learn, and plan instruction and assessment together to support
student learning.

Ally understands the subject matter and has taken the necessary time to note vocabulary and concepts to
be taught. She links what she teaches to real life experiences and presents the material in different ways
to address the varied learning styles and abilities of her students. Ally aligns her unit plans with the
curriculum and state benchmarks. She actively participated in all curriculum articulation meetings, staff
meetings, conferences and in-services. When Ally learns a new method or technique, she is quick to try it
and quick to determine what works best for her class. Ally thinks through her plans, each lesson at a
time, making sure she is prepared. She integrates and connects materials and concepts and gets the
students to respond and engage. Ally begins her units by finding out what the children know and uses
their prior knowledge/schema to help develop the remaining lessons. She incorporates a variety of
teaching methods and materials. Ally asks for help or answers when she needs clarification and accepts
and appreciates comments.

When planning her lessons, Ally looks carefully through the curriculum and adapts the activities to her
students needs. She creates work for those that need the challenge and accommodates those that need
the extra help. When looking through the curriculum, she provides extra activities to connect the previous
material to the new material that will be taught. Before teaching new material, she makes sure her
students understand the previous material. She collaborated with a team of teachers and interns to plan
weekly lesson plans. She used visual aids and interactive activities to enrich her lessons.
Ally is an effective communicator. She productively communicates with students, staff and parents. She
successfully led the February conferences in which she communicated to parents the students’ progress.
Ally has shown herself to be personally invested in the Burton community. She coached an afterschool
inner district basketball team and served as the “Girls On The Run” contact for the elementary school.
Through her numerous parental contacts, Ally has actively worked towards developing a strong
understanding of each of her students’ individual background. She developed a close working
relationship with several parents and students.

Ally actively engages all of her students in her lessons. She continually asks the students probing
questions, leading them towards higher level thinking. She regularly evaluates student responses and
pushes them to go further with their answers. She often uses technology to help promote students’
interest in different subjects.

Working with Students

Standard 3. Works with students as individuals:

Respects, cares for, and communicates with all students, and holds high expectations; adapts the
curriculum to them, setting measurable goals; employs multiple strategies for teaching them;
motivates and engages all students; includes, accommodates, and differentiates instruction;
assesses and adjusts instruction to serve individuals.

Standard 7. Engages families and community:

Communicates with parents and guardians about students' activity and learning; recognizes and
responds to diverse family structures; uses community history, issues, and resources in
teaching; recognizes patterns of evidence that indicate threats to students' welfare; advocates for
students’ interests.

Interns are expected to use a variety of instructional strategies to elicit diverse students’ thinking, make
knowledge accessible and interesting and keep students engaged in learning. They are expected to
monitor students’ understanding, build on student’s ideas and adjust their instruction based on ongoing
assessment.

Ally quickly picked up on student strengths and weaknesses and worked throughout the semester to
address the needs of particular students whether it was to challenge them or to give them further
assistance in what they had difficulty learning.

Ally has a wonderful, positive rapport with parents. Parents considered her as one of their child’s teachers
within the first few months of her being in the classroom. She handles herself in a very friendly and
professional way when speaking with them. They are very comfortable asking her questions about their
child’s progress.

Ally cares deeply about each child. She knows their strengths as well as the areas that need attention.
Ally understands each child, knows them well and accepts each for who they are. She builds on their
interests and experiences. Ally works very hard every minute of the day to reach children in different
ways. When the children are working independently Ally roams the room, working to help each child.
She communicates clearly and is able to keep a pulse on the entire rhythm of the classroom. Ally is good
at questioning students. She works hard to create organized lessons based on a clear purpose.

Ally incorporates all of her students when engaging them. She engages students that need more help to
informally assess them and walk them through the needed steps to become successful in the material.
She has participated in child studies where she helped plan behavior and academic plans to help specific
students in her class that have extra needs. She talked with the parents to try to understand where the
problems are coming from and how to reach the students needs. She highlights children’s individual
strengths to improve their competence. When students are struggling, Ally seeks different ways to teach
the material.

Ally does a first-rate job communicating with her students. She is very aware of the students’ strengths
and needs. She continually uses her awareness of the students to adjust her instruction to accommodate
the students and their educational needs. Ally is very intuitive with the students and readily adjusts her
instruction to meet their needs. Ally actively participated in both sets of student parent conferences and
competently led the February parent conferences. She is aware of several challenging situations our
students’ families are facing and thoughtfully assists the student in dealing with their situations.

Creating and Managing a Learning Community

Standard 4: Organizes and manages a class:

Organizes and introduces rules and routines; uses a range of participation structures; promotes
shared values and expectations for learning; teaches students how to participate; responds to
student inattention and misbehavior; assesses class interaction and adjusts the organization as
needed.
.

Standard 5. Uses an equipped classroom:

Designs the classroom for safety and learning: uses multiple modes and media for instruction:
uses information technology for instruction and assessment: teaches students to take care of the
room; assesses activity and adapts the room to support students and promote learning.

Interns are expected to know how to develop a culture of learning featuring high expectations and respect
for diverse people and ideas. They learn to set clear norms and expectations for behavior and develop
procedures for the smooth operation of the classroom.

Ally continued to assess students’ attention or behavior towards each other. She met with small groups of
students once a week during her lunch hour to better get to know them and she also created a unit to help
students understand when they were behaving positively or negatively in the classroom or towards each
other that went successfully.

Ally worked closely with her cooperating teacher to set up and create a classroom where optimal learning
could take place. Ally helped her students learn routines, rules and classroom promises. She also
allowed to students to have input in their set of classroom rules in order to promote their behavior
accountability. She has gained the students’ trust and respect. Ally works very well with students with
behavioral problems and/or special needs. She supports their learning and offers opportunities for
explorations, inquiry and risk taking.

Ally had high expectations for her students and was able to remind them gently but firmly when
redirection was necessary. Her tone was always positive and her classroom was always warm and
inviting. Ally’s students felt at home in her classroom and knew that Ally loved and accepted them
unconditionally. Because of that mutual respect, Ally was able to create a kind, friendly, respectful
environment where conflict was rarely a problem and children worked in harmony.

Ally’s has shown strength as an educator with her classroom management. She developed a creative and
interactive behavior plan that addressed all levels of classroom management.
She has effectively implemented her behavior plan so that the classroom is an active and motivated
learning community. Ally’s management plan encouraged students to actively use the classroom and its
technology to effectively promote their personal learning. She designed an original behavior program
based on a game board which helped all students become invested in their learning.
Ally enthusiastically used resources available to her. If she doesn’t have any materials she ingeniously
creates her own to help support student learning. Ally developed a “Featured Friend” program which
helped our students to become more invested in the classroom and as well as their peers.

Working and Learning in a School

Standard 6. Joins a faculty and school:

Attends to school policies; works with other teachers and administrators as needed; participates
in school assessment, evaluation, and grading processes; participates in formal and informal
professional learning for and by teachers.

Standard 8. Teaches deliberately and learns from experience:

Understands and accepts a teacher's responsibilities; employs a thoughtful and informed

philosophy of teaching; exhibits a teacher's thoughtful and professional manner; exercises good
judgment in planning and teaching; habitually reflects on and makes use of feedback to improve
teaching, deliberately draws upon professional education as a resource; uses assessments,
feedback, and continuing education to improve performance.

In developing as professional educators, interns are expected to act in a dependable and ethical manner,
seek out new learning to develop their practice, react appropriately to stressful situations, give and accept
constructive feedback and work collaboratively with colleagues and families.

Ally was a welcomed part of her classroom and the school as a whole. She works hard, cares deeply and
is in all ways a real asset to this educational setting. Ally embraces all the children and treats each with
respect and dignity. She is very professional. Ally has participated in all staff meetings after school. She
contributed to family activities and grade level meetings. Ally works well with the fifth grade team and with
the other professionals in the school.

Ally actively participates in all staff development and school meetings. She actively contributes during the
staff’s professional development sessions. Ally participated in staff social activities throughout the year.

Ally’s classroom management plan and Featured Friend program by their design enhanced an honest
and fair atmosphere within the classroom. Ally is aware of her professional responsibilities and continually
meets them. She is aware of the students’ educational goals and frequently adjusts her teaching towards
the students needs. She uses formal and informal assessments to assist her in focusing on the students
educational needs.

SUMMARY
It is without hesitation that we enthusiastically recommend Ally for a teaching position. We are confident
that she will thrive in any placement and that the students will be blessed to have such a loving,
competent teacher. Ally will make a wonderful addition to any staff. Ally has a natural passion for
teaching!