Speaker Reflections

Seminar 1 Reflection
Dr. Newton
What Do Great Teachers Do Differently?
Dr. Newton has done research on many teachers, and she has studied what is
different about great teachers. The teachers that she studied had students whose growth
exceeded twenty percent over the course of a year. She stated that it is vital for every
teacher to assess where their students are at the beginning of the year, how they are
growing throughout the year, and where they are at the end of the year. This enables
teachers to know if they are teaching in the best way possible.
Dr. Newton gave many examples of what great teachers do differently. One of the
differences is that great teachers tell their students exactly what they are going to learn
and how they are going to be assessed. This caused me to think back to my elementary
days and to remember what my teachers did in this area. I remembered that, for the most
part, we were not told exactly what to expect on an assessment or what exactly it was that
we were learning. This was not something that only occurred in elementary school, but
something that has occurred throughout all of my schooling. I think it is very helpful for
students to understand what they are learning and how they will be assessed. If they know
exactly what is going on, I think there is more motivation for students to succeed because
the goal is not ambiguous.
A second point that Dr. Newton made was that great teachers are on a continuous
journey with their students. I think this is so powerful because if teachers are working in
partnership with their students, it creates an environment of success. I think students are

more motivated to learn and are engaged in the learning if they know that the teacher is
going to do his or her best to help and support them as they learn.
Dr. Newtons seminar was so encouraging to me because it focused my attention
on the reason why we are doing all of this work and training. I have a passion for helping
children to learn, and her research helped me to understand things now, before I have
even started teaching, that will help me to become the teacher that I want to be.

Seminar 2 Reflection
This seminar was about different classroom management
techniques and strategies. One of the first ones discussed was
engaging student learning. I thought this technique is interesting
because it is one of the only ones that the teacher is in control of and
can implement. Some of the strategies they mentioned were using
movement in a lesson, having a finish early option for students that
complete their work quickly, and working with a partner and discussing
the question or what was learned. I remember my teachers using some
of these classroom management techniques. I had one teacher that
would throw a soft, small ball to us to answer questions during the
lesson. This was very effective because you never knew if a ball was
headed for your head!
A second classroom management technique they suggested was
to establish and maintain effective relationships with all students. I
think this is one of the most important because the reason we teach is

to impact students, and students notice when we show interest in what

is important to them. Some strategies they suggested were saying
good morning to every student as they walked in and looking students
in the eye when you are talking to them. I had a couple teachers
growing up that took personal interest in all of their students. They
would attend baseball games and recitals and knew everything that
was going on in each of their students lives. Their students were
successful and poor behavior was minimal because every student
knew that their teacher cared about them and that motivated them to
do their very best.

Seminar 3 Reflection
Dr. Rogers
This seminar was all about teacher dispositions. Dr. Rogers talked
about the three ingredients needed to be an effective teacher:
knowledge base, teaching skills, and dispositions. Some could argue
that the most important of the three is dispositions. Dispositions are
the attitudes, perceptions, and/or beliefs that form the basis of
behavior. The attitudes of teachers affect student learning.
One of the things that I found interesting was that dispositions
are possibly more important than knowledge base and teaching skills.
The teachers that I remember and have great memories of are
teachers that had wonderful dispositions. They were excited for

everyone to be at school each day, and they made it known that they
cared about each of us. I think that students are more motivated to
learn if they know that their teacher is invested in their learning, cares
about how well they do, and is interested in their personal lives.
Along with this idea that dispositions are possibly more important
than teaching skills and knowledge is the question of whether or not
anyone can be a teacher. I think this is an interesting question because
I think at first I tend to think that the answer is yes. After this seminar,
my answer changed because I think dispositions are very hard to teach
someone. Knowledge and teaching skills can be taught, but someones
disposition is something that is a part of them and their personality. I
think that it is very important that as teachers, we are conscious of our
dispositions so that we are always encouraging our students and
building them up.

Seminar 4 Reflection
Assessment
This seminar was on the importance of assessing our students. I
think one of the most important things I learned from this seminar was
the importance of proper assessment. Teachers should not grade
practice, but teachers should assess practice. Practice is important to
assess because it shows the teacher who understands, who needs a

little more help, and who needs to be taught again. Teachers should do
a summative assessment after students have learned the material.
I remember in elementary school having everything graded.
Homework, quizzes throughout the day, and tests were all graded. I
remembered becoming very frustrated, especially in math, when my
homework would be graded. I often felt like when I got home, I would
have questions that did not arise in the classroom, and sometimes
there would be problems for homework that would be challenge
problems that we had not practiced in class. I had no idea how to do
these problems because I had not mastered the basic concept yet, but
I would be graded on my performance on those problems. I
appreciated what Dr. Hannah said about teachers assessing homework
but not grading it.
A second thing that I thought was very important from this
seminar was about not making learning just about a test at the end of
the year. Much of the time growing up, our classes would focus on
learning material that was on the test. There was so much pressure
built up to this test, that by the time test day came around, I had so
much anxiety that I could hardly think. I think it is so important that
teachers teach for student learning not for students to only do well on
a test. I think that when teachers do that, it completely changes the
culture of a classroom and school.

Seminar 5 Reflection
Dr. Bluiett
Dr. Bluiett talked with us about the importance of reading
assessment. We discussed the reasons why we do assessments on
children, and they are as follows: to know if children are learning, to
see if they are meeting benchmarks, and to see if they are being
taught effectively. That last reason is so important and sticks out to me
the most. It is something that I had never thought about before
learning about assessments, and looking back, most of my elementary
teachers probably did not use their assessments for this purpose.
We also discussed a couple of specific assessments such as the
metalinguistic interview, Fountas and Pinnell assessments, and phonics
assessments. Of all of these I was most unfamiliar with the
metalinguistic interview. In this test, the teacher assesses the students
to see if they can identify the front cover of a book, the author, how to
turn a page, and several other basic book knowledge questions. I think
this assessment is so important because it is necessary for students to
understand how a book works before they can become effective
readers. I had never heard of this test before we discussed it, but I
think it is an excellent starting point for teachers who are unsure about
where to begin assessing their early readers.

Seminar 6 Reflection

Dr. Cheshire
Today, Dr. Cheshire talked with us about assessment. There are
three main purposes for assessment. They are assessing for learning,
as learning, and of learning. Assessing for learning is when the teacher
uses inferences about student progress, which is a type of formative.
Assessment as learning is another types of assessment in which the
student reflects on their progress. Lastly, assessment of learning is
summative assessment like tests. All of our assessments should follow
our objective that we have for the lesson. They should align so that
what we assess is over the same thing that we taught.
I took a couple of things away from this lecture. One of the most
important things that I think Dr. Cheshire discussed was that
assessment is about changing the way we approach teaching.
Formative and summative assessments are both helpful in this way.
Teachers should use all kinds of assessment to decide what they teach
and how they present the material. If students understand a concept,
we know that it is okay to move on. However, if the students do not
understand a concept, an assessment shows us where they are
confused or need more support or instruction.
A second topic that I took away today was that assessment is a
process, and evaluation is a judgment based on student performance. I
think this is important to keep in mind when we are doing assessment
in our classroom. There is a difference between learning and grades.

One of the most important take aways that I had today was that
assessment is part of learning for the teacher and students and the
grades are the evaluation of the students learning.

Seminar 7 Reflection
Dr. Underbakke
In his talk with us, Dr. Underbakke discussed the importance of
reading chapter books in an elementary classroom. Dr. Underbakke
said that it is easier for children to understand more difficult texts
when they are read aloud. It is important for teachers to read books to
their class that the students would otherwise not be able to get their
hands on. I think this is an important point because by doing this,
teachers are able to widen their students access to books.
When I was in second grade, my teacher read Where the Red
Fern Grows out loud to our class. We all loved listening to it every day
after lunch. It was a part of the day where everyone was engaged and
ready to listen. I think this correlates directly to what Dr. Underbakke
said about shared reading building community. Reading this book
together as a class gave us all something in common to talk about and
discuss. I think reading aloud to students is a very important of every
classroom, and teacher should strive to make it a part of their every
day routine.

Seminar 8 Reflection
Dr. Wood- Gifted Learning
Dr. Wood presented us with a lot of information about gifted
learners. She described several characteristics of gifted students.
Some of those characteristics are that they are curious and may have
unexpected questions, but their behavior in the classroom is quite
different from what you would imagine. Dr. Wood told us that gifted
learners can forget to complete assignments, may be disorganized,
may not care about their grade, or be unmotivated. This surprised me
greatly because I always assumed that gifted students were the ones
that worked very hard and put in the most effort. I was confusing gifted
learners with high achievers. From this information, I think it is
important for teachers to understand proper ways to test students to
see if they are gifted and to not write off students who may be gifted if
they seem unmotivated or uninterested.
Dr. Wood gave us several materials to help us differentiate
learning in our classroom to benefit gifted learners. One tool that she
gave us was the tic-tac-toe choice board. I have seen this used in
several classrooms, and I think it is a great tool. This tool allows the
students to pick what activities they want to do, and it pushes them
toward high-level thinking. If this were to be used in a classroom, I
think it would greatly benefit gifted learners because it allows them to

choose what they get to do but at the same time, it is at a higher level
than the other students.

Seminar 9 Reflection
Ms. Joyner
Ms. Joyner talked to us about using technology in math. One of
the most important things she told us was that technology should be a
tool used in our classroom to enhance their learning. It should be
relevant for them so that they see the value of math and that they will
use it all the time. Using technology also makes it more engaging and
exciting for them.
She gave us some great resources for math in the classroom.
One of the resources is aplusclick.com. This site has a lot of different
math problems that can be used as a daily starter or used in a math
subject area. A teacher can also pull the problems out and adjust them
to the classes needs. Youcubed.com is another site that Ms. Joyner
recommended. This site has challenge word problems that that class
can do once a day, as something to do if they finish early, or however
else the teacher sees fit.
We also did a steam exercise while we were with Ms. Joyner. We
were split into groups and we had to connect our groups chair to
another groups chair using only bamboo skewers and twist ties. There
were several ways that we could have done this. My group placed the

skewers straight across and doubled up the skewers at the points

nearest the chairs to add more support. There probably could have
been a better way to do this, but it worked for us while we were
building it. All sorts of skills can be involved in this activity including
math, architecture, engineering, and art. Because so many subject
areas are involved, this type of activity is very helpful.

Seminar 10 Reflection
ELL Reflection
Over these two days, Ms. Lari Valtierra discussed with us how
English learners learn their second language and some strategies to
best instruct them. In order for English Learners to effectively learn in a
classroom, teachers need to know the stages that students acquire a
second language and how they can communicate information to
students.
The first thing that Ms. Valtierra talked with us about was the four
language domains. They are hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. It
is easier for students to learn the receptive domains, hearing and
speaking, and because of this, teachers should push English language
students to speak and write in English. These four domains are
important to keep in mind when teachers plan their instruction.
One of the main things Ms. Valtierra tried to get across to us
during her talk was that language acquisition is a process. It takes

awhile for students to become fluent in a second language, and

teachers need to understand that and allow students to take as long as
they need to learn English. Every student also learns at his or her own
pace. It may only take some students a couple of days to process
through a stage of language acquisition, and it may take others several
weeks or months. It is important for teachers to not compare to English
language learners because each one will progress at his or her own
pace.
While she was with us, Ms. Valierra also instructed us on how to
use WIDA to help us with our instruction and to give us resources we
can use to see what students are able to do at each stage of language
acquisition. Some of the teacher tools she gave us were Performance
Definitions, rubrics, and Can-Do Descriptors. Performance Definitions
tell teachers what to test students on at each level of language
acquisition. The rubrics tell teachers how to assess students at each
level of language acquisition. Lastly, the Can-Do Descriptors are
perhaps the most helpful tool she gave us. These tell teachers what
English learners are able to do at each level. We learned that if we
know what level a student is at, we should look at the level above and
teach them there, so that we can push them up. However, when we
assess them, we assess students at the level they are at. Teachers can
use the Can-Do Descriptors to see what teachers could do to assess
students at each level since it says what students are able to do.

This professional development opportunity was very informative

and practical as we begin to have more experiences with English
learners. It is important that we as teachers, understand how English
leaners acquire a second language and how best to teach them the
same material as everyone else so that they learn. This seminar helped
me to understand how to better understand English learners and to
how to improve my instruction for them.