Professional Development Reflection 1

Maker Fair
November 7, 2015

Lauren and I had the opportunity to help the STEAM team at

Trace with their Maker Fair at Barnes and Noble on Saturday, November
7, 2015. They asked us before if we wanted to come, and Lauren and I
were very, very excited about this opportunity. Mrs. Stone and Mrs.
Joyner were in charge of the event, and it was an honor to be invited.
We had never heard of a Maker Fair before, so it was a new and
excellent experience. We met the team at Barnes and Noble at 1 on
Saturday. From 1 oclock to 2 oclock, we got to work with the different
students that came to the Fair. Usually, a Maker Fair is really big and
there are tons of tents that you visit and play with different science or
technology tools. However, the Barnes and Noble fair was a little
smaller than usual. There were only two or three different stations you
could visit. At one station, the children could play with Sticklets. They
could build whatever they wanted to, and it was fun to see what they
invented and created. At the station Lauren and I were working at, we
had magnetic blocks and shapes that stuck together. They could build
whatever they liked, or they could follow instructions on how to build a
specific item, like a penguin or a rocket ship. I built both of those, and
the instructions were clear and easy to follow. The children were so

innovative, and they could have stayed for hours and played with the
different shapes. It was also really neat to talk to the students and get
to teach them little facts. Life is all about those teachable moments. I
worked with one little boy for a long time on building a marble tower. It
was a very difficult task, but he kept persevering despite the fact that
we never got it to work. This helped me to see that sometimes even
the teachers do not know the answer, but that is okay because you and
the student can learn together. It also helped me to see that you do
not have to tell the students all the answers, and you should not do
that. They learn so much more when they are experimenting and
failing. Then, they can think about it, examine it again, and learn from
that process. It was a really neat experience, and I am so grateful for
the opportunity to go. I would really love to attend an actual Maker Fair
one day, because I think that would be a great thing to see and
experience.

Professional Development Reflection 2

ARA Conference
November 12 and 13th 2015
I absolutely loved the ARA Conference. It was one of my most
favorite things that we did all semester, and I found it very helpful, as
well. The keynote speaker on the first day, Mr. Jeff Anderson, was
hilarious yet brilliant. The way he involved the audience by doing the
different writing activities really made an impression on me, and the
things that he said stuck with me. I had not given much thought to
writing before this, but now I realize how important it is, and how we
must encourage students to love writing and to freely express
themselves. During the breakout session on the first day, I attended
the session by the author of Woodlawn. It was absolutely incredible. He
spoke to us about the power of love, and how as teachers we have
such a platform to show the students love and show them that
someone cares about them. He talked about how God can take
something as ordinary as a teaching job, and turn it into something
extraordinary if we let Him. It was inspirational, and I thoroughly

enjoyed this session. The next day, the keynote speaker was Dr. Bice,
and he was one of my favorite speakers. I love his creative ideas and
innovative thoughts on how school should be run. It is clear that his
main purpose is to see the students succeed, and he strives after this
goal whole-heartedly. He is another man who inspires me, and he gave
me some great ideas on how to run the classroom. Finally, the last two
sessions I attended both centered around quality childrens books to
read. Dr. Underbaake and Ms. Diane Barone both highlighted some
excellent choices. I was most excited about the OK book and The
Day the Crayons Came Home. I am excited to build my library for my
future classroom, and these final two sessions gave me some great
suggestions. Overall, the ARA Conference was absolutely wonderful
and I had a magnificent time.

Professional Development Reflection 3

ELL Workshop
November 10 and 11th 2015

The ELL workshop was extremely informative, and very

interesting. Even if you were not planning on teaching ELL, it was
helpful to see how students process information, as well as the way
teachers should run a classroom in order to most efficiently teach
students. One of the greatest things I took away from this workshop
was just the way that Mrs. Valtierra ran the classroom. The first thing
she did was to assign us all jobs, which made our time and her time
more efficient. Then, she made everything we did interactive, along
with constantly switching from activity to activity. The different

demonstrations that Mrs. Valtierra did in order to show us different

concepts also made a powerful impact on me, because they showed
me clearly how students learn. As a teacher, that is really important to
know, because when you know how your student learn, then you can
better teach them, and teach them most effectively. I also really
appreciated the different resources that she provided for us, from the
HELP booklets, to the different handouts, to the WIDA website, and
finally the different games and strategies that she used, I feel totally
equipped with what I need to know for the future. I have been thinking
more and more about ELL, and if it is something I want to do, and after
hearing both Mr. Pitts and Mrs. Valtierra speak, it is definitely
something I want to consider. I would love to have such a positive
influence on the students as they move from the silent period to the
emergent period, stage by stage making slow progress. One of the
most gratifying things to see as a teacher is the progress that your
students have made, and I think that this would be easy to see in these
students. They need highly effective teachers like Mrs. Valtierra, and I
would love to do that one day.

Professional Development Reflection 4

PLP
Semester Long Sessions
These sessions that we had with our Family Studies leaders were
extremely helpful. We started by learning our personality types. This
was helpful for us to see both how we operate and how we relate to
others. Seeing how we relate to others was important because then we
discussed parent-teacher conferences, and relating to the parents in a

conference is very, very important. I learned many things about

conferences, such as the Compliment Sandwich rule. You always want
to start with a compliment about the child, then state the negative
issue that you had to talk about, and then finally end with a
compliment or positive thought. It is very important for the parents to
see that you do value their child, but also that you need their support
and help. Another piece of useful information we got centered on the
different types of parenting styles. Authoritarian styles are suffocating
and demanding. Permissive parents are lenient and submissive.
Authoritative parents are the only kind that have a positive impact on
the child, because there is a balance of authority and compassion. One
thing I found really impactful was that the teacher and the parents
need to work together to ensure that the student is learning and
behaving properly. It is not a one person job, but they must work as a
team. That is why parent-teacher conferences are so extremely
important, and should be used to keep constant communication
between parents and teachers.

Date/Time
October 14th
2:00 PM
Google Hangout

Topic
Personality Tests

Reflection
We discussed our
personality tests, and
then reviewed our
strengths and
weaknesses. I learned
that I gain energy
from being around

October 21st
2:00 PM
Education Building

Communication

people, and that I care

more about others
when making a
decision than the
logical decision. I also
learned that I am the
same personality type
as Oprah Winfrey. We
also filled out a KWL
chart about what we
know about parent
teacher conferences,
and I am very excited
to learn about more
about these, because
I realized that I do not
know very much
about them.
This session was
extremely useful. We
talked about the
different ways to
communicate issues
with parents. I
especially liked the
idea of a compliment
sandwich which
means that you start
with a compliment,
then talk about the
issue, and then finish
with a compliment as
well. I also learned
that you need to be
extremely direct and
do not beat around
the bush. You do not
want to waste the
parents time. At the
same time, you
should be gentle and
not harsh. It is also
good to ask the
parents question and
try to understand
where they are

October 28th
2:00 PM
Education Building

Parenting Styles and

Discipline

coming from.
Questions like have
you seen this
behavior at home?
are always good ones
to ask. Its always a
good idea to think
about what you would
like to hear, and then
talk to the parents in
that way. However,
talking is not the only
important part. You
should really listen to
what the parents are
saying, both what
they are telling you
and the underlying
message. It is also a
good idea to figure
out what the parents
hope for the child to
accomplish. Letting
the parents think
about the topic of
discussion before the
meeting is also a good
idea. I learned a lot
about conferences
from this meeting,
and it was very useful.
This meeting was very
interesting. I enjoyed
listening to the
different parenting
types, and I could
connect the behavior
of the children to
some of my students
at Trace. This is very
important to know
because it helps to
explain the children,
but also how the
parents relate to the
children and how they

November 4th
2:00 PM
Education Building

What Type of Teacher

Are You?

will relate to you when

they come in for a
conference. The main
goal of discipline is to
teach a child that bad
behavior is wrong. In
order to do this, you
have to work with the
parents because
children are taught
and disciplined both
at home and at
school. One of the
most interesting
points to me was the
1st guideline for
discipline, equifinality.
Basically, the students
need to have the
same discipline goals
at home and at
school, but the
teachers and parents
should have different
ways of acting on that
behavior. I also liked
the idea that each
student is different, so
they need to be
disciplined in different
manners. One way of
behavior
management might
work great for one
student, but terribly
for another student.
This was another very
informative and useful
session.
This session was short
but sweet. We talked
about the four
different types of
teachers, and then
decided which one we
were. I do not think I

fit solely into one

category, but I think I
am a blend between
the Artisan and the
Idealist. I like to
encourage and bring
excitement and
energy to a
classroom, as well as
being extremely
flexible. I like for
students to be moving
around and to stay on
their toes. All of these
characteristics fit the
Artisan description.
However, I like for
students to achieve
their own goals and I
want them to reach
their fullest potential.
I liked open
conversations and I
also like for the
emphasis to be on the
individual, and not the
class. So, while I am a
mix of those two, I do
not see myself as the
Guardian, because I
do not like to stick
with a certain set or
rules and I am
flexible. I also do not
see myself as the
Rationalist at all,
because I am typically
not logical and I do
not like debates or
doing research. This
was another quality
session, and I have
loved meeting and
learning so much!