ProfessionalLearningandEthicalPractices

Professionaldevelopmentduringstudentteaching

DuringthesemesterthestaffofCarlisleMiddleSchoolresearchedandimplementedstrategiesinline
withvisiblelearning.

Thisisthetextthatthestafffollowed:

Belowistheoutlineoftheprofessionaldevelopmentday:

Teachers,

IfirstwanttothankyouforcompletingthepreworkfortheVisibleLearningTrainingSessionby
tomorrowafternoon.Iappreciateteachersandcollaborativeteamstakingthetimetocompletethe
work.ThegoaloftheVisibleLearningFoundationdayistointroducenewlearningaroundthe
mindsets,researchandstrategiesofVisibleLearning.Outcomesforthedayinclude:
increasedunderstandingoftheimportanceofreflectingonhowinstructional
strategiesimpactlearning
increasedunderstandingofthedifferenttypesoffeedbackthatimpactstudent
learning
theroleoflearningintentionsandsuccesscriteria
howdoyoudeveloptheassessmentcapablelearnersinyourclassroom

LogisticsfortheDay:
WewillbemeetingattheIowaBarAssociation(
625ECourtAve,DesMoines,IA)
Teachersneed
tobringcopyofbook,VisibleLearningforTeachers
Laptopsareoptional
Trainingwillstartat8:30andconcludeat3:45.

Iamlookingforwardtoagreatdayoflearningandcollaboration.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsplease
contactmyselforyourbuildingprincipal.

Thanks,

BryceAmos
Superintendent
CarlisleCommunitySchools

Thisistheitineraryoftheprofessionaldevelopmentevent

Duringthedaywewereguidedbyaspeakerthathelpedwiththismaterial:

ThisactivityworkedwithinthehierarchyofcollaborationatCarlisleMiddleSchool:

DuringstudentteachingIwasabletoreflecteachweekonwhathashappened.Belowareexcerpts
fromthoseweeks.Theyarethesomeofthemostsatisfyingandchallengingmomentsofeachweek.
WeekOne Most
Satisfying

Itwasverysatisfyingtogetachancetoteamteachwiththeschools
counselor.Mr.BarryapprovedofalessonthatIcreatedandhelped
mewithrollingitouttostudents.Thelessonevolvedthroughoutthe
day,butitwasagoodprogression.

Most
Thisweekitwasverychallengingfiguringouthowtobalancetime.
Challenging Thelessonplanning,grading,anddeliveringthelessonwasdifficult.I
appreciatedthechancetotrytofindthatbalancerightfromthestart.
WeekTwo Most
Satisfying

Itwasverysatisfyingtogettoexperienceasnowdayandthechanges
thattheycauseforplanning.Knowingthattherewassevereweatherin
theforecast,Icameupwithtwodifferentroutestheweekcouldtakeso
thatthiscomingweekwouldbeonthesamepath.

Most
Thisweekitwasverychallengingfiguringouthowtohandleaclass
Challenging fromthestartbymyselfwithoutMrs.Finkintheclassroom.The
studentsdefinitelytriedtoseewhattheycouldgetawaywith,withthe
changeofteachers.
Week
Three

Most
Satisfying

IreallyenjoyedthereviewthatIgottodowiththestudentsthislast
week.ThestudentsreallyenjoyedtheactivitiesandIgotacoupleof
commentsfromthestudentsthatithelped.Theactivitieswereactually
verychallengingbecausethetimewasverydependentonthe
students.Inoneclasswegotdoneveryearly,whichmadeitvery
challenging,butinterestingtouseanextensionactivityIcreatedin
caseofthatsituation.

Most
ThisweekIhadtostopafight,whichisafirstforme.Ithinkthatthe
Challenging situationwentaswellaspossible,butitwasreallychallengingtomake
surethatItookcareofbothstudents,notjusttheonethatwashurt.I
foundoutaftertheincidentthatitmightnothavebeenasclearlyone
sidedasIthought.Itwasreallydifficultnottoimmediatelymake
assumptionsbasedoffofwhatIsaw.
Week
Four

Most
Satisfying

DuringtheclassthisweekIhadtwostudentsthatwereoverly
disruptive.Asaconsequencetheyhadtocomebacktotheclassroom
forlunchdetention.Insteadofjusthavingthemsitanddoadditional
workIgotachancetositanddiscussmoreaboutthem.Aftertalking
withthemandfindingoutmoreaboutthemtheyhavebothbeendoing
abitbetterinclass.Itwassatisfyingtoseethatbuildingarelationship
couldhavesuchapositiveeffect.

Most
Thisweekwasparticularlychallenging,becausethelessonswould
Challenging havebeenextremelydifficulttodowithoneteacher.Thestudentsare
allowedachancetoretakeatest.Withthatpolicyinplacetherewerea
coupleofdayswhereitwouldbeverydifficulttogivearetakeaswell
asworkingwiththestudentsthathadcompletedtheirtest.
WeekFive Most
Satisfying

OneofthemostsatisfyingexperiencesthatIhadthisweekwaswhenI
gottoworkwiththestudentsdoingthetoothpick/marshmallowactivity.
Itwasreallyinterestingtoseecertainstudentsworththroughthetask
athand.Theactivitywasalsoveryinterestingbecauseithelpedto
differentiatesomeoftheabilitiesthatstudentshave.Forexamplethe
twostudentsthatarejustinScience,beforebeinginresourceroom
hadagreatresponsetothechallenge.Onstudentwasabletobuilda
twodimensionalstructure,whiletheotherwasabletobuildthree
dimensionalbuildings.Thisdifferencewasreallyeyeopening.

Most
OneofthechallengesthatIhadthisweekwasthatstudentswere
Challenging learningthebasicsofmicroscopehandling,sothatwecanworkwith
themthisweek.Thisbuildupdidn'tgarneralotofengagement,and
thusabitofadipinstudentsstayingontask.Throughabitofpractice,
mywaittimehasimprovedsotheclassroommanagementpiecewas
easiertogetbackontrack.
WeekSix

Most
Satisfying

ThisweekIimplementedacouplenewpartstotheclassroomthatIam
reallyexcitedabout.Oneoftheportionswasthatthestudentsnow
readoffthelearningobjectivebeforeclassaspartoftheattendance
process.AnotherchangethatIdidthisweekwasthattheitineraryfor
theentireweekisnowpostedonMonday.Iamalsoworkingona
reflectiveclassroommanagementformthatstudentswillbeabletofill
outsothatstudentswillbeabletohelpselfcorrectbehaviorsthatare
disruptivefortheirpeers.AnotheractivityIgottotakepartinwasa
danceforthestudentbody.Thestudentsreallyenjoyedthepeprally
andtheyseemedtoreallyrespondwell.

Most
OneofthereasonsthatIamworkingoncreatingaclassroom
Challenging managementreflectionisthatthisweektherewereacoupleof
instancesofverydisruptivebehavior.Theschoolalsoishavingareally
largeinitiativetopreventofficereferrals,soareflectivestepcouldbe
beneficialtohelpingcreateamorepositiveclassroomenvironment.
Week
Seven

Most
Satisfying

ThisweekIgottoplayalargeroleinparentteacherconferences.It
wasgreatgettingtospeakwithparentsabouttheirstudents.Mostof
theparentswereacceptingofanyinformationabouttheirstudent.
Someoftheparentshadaslightlydifferentperspectiveabouttheir
student'sbehaviorandacademicability.

Most
Whileparentteacherconferenceswasoneofthemostsatisfying
Challenging experiences,itwasalsooneofthemoststressful.Maintaining

objectivitywasparamount.Onestudent'sparentisascienceteacher
fromtheDesMoinesMetroandanotherwasaveryhighlevel
administratorintheschooldistrict.Itwasreallyimportant,anddifficult,
totreatthoseparentslikeanyotherparents.
Week
Eight

NoClass

SpringBreak

Week
Nine

Most
Satisfying

ThisweekIgottoworkwiththeschool'sliteracyleadertohelpwitha
readingassignmentforstudents.Itwasreallyinterestingtogettosee
howaspecificstrategycanbeimplemented.Itwasalsokindofeye
openingtoseetheapproachfromaseparatecontentarea.Irealized
thatIdotakeaverysciencecentric,soitwasgoodtoseescience
materialpresentedfromadifferentapproach.

Most
OneofthelessonsIgavethisweekwasverydecontextualized.The
Challenging lessonrevolvedaroundshowingstudentsabinfullofassortedobjects
thattheygottosort,thisactivityfinallyleadtocategorizingorganisms.
Whatwasdifficultaboutthesituationwasthattheactivitywasreally
difficultforstudentstogetcomfortablewith.Someofthestudentseven
said,Whatdoesthishavetodowithscience.Upuntilthispointmost
ofthetimewhenIpushedstudentstowardstheedgeoftheircomfort
zonetheywereprettyaccommodating.ThislessonwasthefirstthatI
gavethatIthinktrulygotthemoutoftheircomfortzone,whichis
somethingthatIwouldliketoworkwiththemoninthefuture.Whilethe
lessonwasverychallengingforme,andthestudents,itwasreally
usefulforhelpingthemtoexpandtheirunderstandinginthe
subsequentactivities.
WeekTen Most
Satisfying

OnThursdaythispastweekIgotthechancetositinonafullsixth
gradeteammeetingwiththeadditionofschooladministration.Having
asingleplacementIhavestartedtogetcomfortableparticipatinginthe
discussionsmore.Whatwasmostsatisfyingformethisweekwasthat
mysuggestionforstudentoftheweekwasacceptedbytheteam.I
alsowasselectedtoteachalessonforeachgroupofstudentsfora
newinitiativeforthesixthgradeclass.

Most
ThisweekIhadadifficulttimewithsomeofthechangesthatneeded
Challenging tobemadeatrelativelylastminute.Astheweekprogressedthe
lessonthatIwasgoingtoteachonFridayneededtochangetofit
betteronMonday.Asthesemesterhasprogressedtherehavebeen
situationswhereIhavemademinorchanges,butthisweek'schange
wasabitbiggerandwasfurtheroutsidemycomfortzone.ThelessonI
hadplannedforFridayfitsbetterwithTuesdayandthelessonFriday
neededtobemadeonThursday.Itwasreallygoodtoexperiencethat
needforarapidchange.
Week

Most

OnMondayasixthgradestudentinvitedmetojoinhelpwitha

Eleven

Satisfying

hyperstreamclubmeeting.Atthemeetingthestudentswereworking
onalegotrebuchetforanupcomingcompetition.Wehadworkedon
similarcatapultsinclass,soitwasreallysatisfyingtogettoworkwith
thestudentsoutsideoftheclassroomsetting.

Most
Thisweekwasaveryemotionalweekforsomeofthestudents.Some
Challenging ofthestudentswereinareallybadmoodonWednesday.Itwasa
challengingdaybecausesomeofthestudentsthatseemedtobeina
badmoodwerealsobeingdisruptive.Thereasonthatitwas
challengingwasbecausegettingthestudentsredirectedtowards
workinginvolvedthemnotjusttheredirection,butthebuildingupof
student'sconfidencealongtheway.Someofthestudentswerejustso
sensitive,thattheredirectionmadethesituationmuchworse.
Week
Twelve

Most
Satisfying

ThisweekoneofthemostsatisfyingexperiencesthatIhadwaswhen
astudentgotaConatest.Thisstudenthadbeenreallystrugglingwith
hiscourseworksincehemovedherefromoutofstate.Itwasgreatto
haveasituationwherehewasabletogetsuchagoodscore.He
hadn'tdonewellsofarthistrimesterandtheimprovementinhistest
scorereallycouldhelphim.TohelphimtherewasaquestionthatI
addedtothetestsothathewouldknowIwasrootingforhim.It
wasn'tagivemeoranythingalongthoselines,butratheraquestion
thatalignedwithhisinterests.

Most
Itwasdifficultleavingtheclassroomthisweek.Whengoingtodothe
Challenging mockinterviewsandtheobservations,itfeltreallyweirdtoleavethe
classroom.ThedaysthatIlefttheclassroomweredaysthatthe
studentsweretakingatestthatIdesigned.Itwasreallychallengingto
notthinkabouthoweverythingwasgoingwiththestudentswhenIwas
outoftheclassroom.
Week
Thirteen

Most
Satisfying

Ireallyenjoyedchanginguptheactivitiesofthisweek.Myoriginal
scheduleoflessonswasmuchtoofast,soitwassatisfyinggettingto
changetheactivitytobetterfitthestudentsabilities.Therehasn'tbeen
apointwhereformativeassessmenthasmadethisbigofachangeto
theprogressionoflessons,likethisweek.

Most
Thisweekwaschallenginginthatthestudentsengagementlevelwas
Challenging lessthanitnormallyhasbeen.Withtheimprovementoftheweather
andtheperceivednearendoftheschoolyear,studentshavebeen
kindofpreoccupied.