Self-Reflection on Teaching Abilities Quest - (Evaluate 3.1.2)

In many ways, this is one of the most difficult quests for me to complete.  Like most teachers I know, we tend to be our own worst critics.  I am no exception!  Having said that, there is no question in my mind that I was supposed to be a teacher.  This occupation allows me to touch the next generation each and every time I touch a life as I teach.  

Teaching in a non-traditional Charter School environment, I have little to no written evaluations available.  However, I did achieve a 97 percent EOCT pass rate in my 9th grade literature classes.  I have also been recommended and am currently pursuing my gifted certification, which will further assist me in becoming an even more successful educator.  I do not currently have any online teaching experience; however, I have been an online students numerous times and know what it takes to produce a quality and innovative online class experience.  I also currently facilitate my daughter's GA Virtual School course load and have learned a great deal about the GA Virtual School's method and website.  

I have included, below, an essay I wrote entitled, "Why I Choose to Teach".  I feel it captures the essence of who I am and what I love to do the most!

Why I Choose to Teach

by Lisa Jensen Jones

Ever since I can remember, teaching has been a part of my life.  I have taught others in one way or another beginning in high school.  At that time, I assisted other students who needed extra help in their courses as well as tutored students who struggled with their reading and writing skills.  In spite of taking a different educational path initially, I still “taught” students throughout my business career, both in the workplace and in various community service activities.  Throughout these experiences, I quickly learned that successful teaching is a true blending of learner and teacher as each entity taps into the strengths of the other.  In order for genuine learning to take place, the teacher must communicate to the student in a way that makes sense to the student and then becomes personally relevant.  This kind of success in teaching can take many forms and will likely differ depending upon the dynamics of each group of students.     

I believe that a relevant and stimulating educational curriculum is the key to success for all students.  Differentiated instruction plays an important part in my teaching philosophy.  Many students do not learn effectively in a “one size fits all” kind of curriculum.  Whenever possible, I strive to give my students the opportunity to participate in project based learning.   Project based learning allows students a choice in demonstrating their learning progress, compared to what is typically demonstrated by a traditional paper and pencil examination.  As a teacher, I strive to motivate my students to discover their talents, strengths, and abilities as they learn and grow in my classroom.  My goal is to provide a stimulating learning environment that encourages all students to build confidence, responsibility, and to realize their fullest potential.

Classroom environment is important to classroom success.  Students should feel comfortable expressing themselves and feel safe in my classroom.  They should also feel the essential need to treat everyone in the classroom, including myself and their fellow students, with respect and regard.  Rules and responsibilities should be taken seriously and honored in the choices students make in the classroom.  Students know that they play an integral role in classroom success.  There will be more opportunities for differentiated instruction and “out of the box” learning if basic rules are consistently followed and respected.  I make it a priority to convey to my students that I genuinely care about each one of them.  I also want them to realize that my primary goal is to teach them in ways that make the information relevant to their lives outside the classroom.  Another way I tap into a positive classroom environment is through the use of technology.  I often utilize music and current television and movie plots to help “hook” them into what we are learning about.  Often they will discuss topics much more enthusiastically and effectively through role playing and small group activities.

Obtaining a good education is vital in the preparation of our next generation of leaders. Our students are our future!  I hope I instill a love of learning and responsibility in each student whose life I am honored to be a part of.  I genuinely love what I do and will do everything I can to be a positive influence in the lives of my students.

Rubrics and Competencies Quest - (Evaluate 2.1.2)

I chose to utilize one of the Georgia Standards for the Nutrition through the Lifespan course to design this competency structure.  I utilized methods that would both present appropriate content but also create student artifacts that could be created within an online educational environment.  

Included in these activities are also choices that would allow students, in most cases, to complete assignments using more traditional methods.  For example, if a student was not comfortable (perhaps a student who was new to online learning) with using an online tool to create a presentation, they would be able to make a traditional poster with markers and hand drawn artwork.  They would just need to take clear photos of the project and attach them to an email or submit them through the dropbox.  

Differentiation Quest - (Evaluate 3.1.1)

While I have not, as yet, taught an online course, I feel I have learned a great deal about differentiation in the traditional classroom environment.  LMS can certainly allow educators to group students based upon skill level as well as pairing up high achieving students with those who need a little extra scaffolding and modeling to become more successful.  Using a data sample I found online, seen below, I would use this information in the following ways:

1. The percentage of failing grades is way too high!  Differentiation needs to take place here, and the sooner the better!  

2.  Student K needs some differentiation because either the student isn't signing in regularly or there is some other reason assignments are not being completed.  

3.  I would differentiate the high achieving students in one of the following ways: allow them to used more advanced online tools to complete projects and assignments or pair them up with some of the lower achieving students in order to attempt scaffolding differentiation.

4.  An exhaustive review session looks to be in order, based upon the overall scores for this group of students.  It would be important to offer differentiated instruction to match the optimal learning styles of the students.  

Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Quest - (Evaluate 2.1.1)

In today's educational climate, data is paramount.  Of course, all the data in the world is useless if you do not know how to properly utilize it!  Online learning, especially when using a quality LMS, gives the educator and administrative team many different elements in which to track, process, and utilize.  The following categories of data are important areas you can utilize during current enrollment as well as planning future curriculum.  

Enrollment/ Attendance Info:  Student count per class, contact information, and special needs information is readily available here.  This allows the educator to get a snapshot of the overall class and how that might affect what curriculum requirements will be needed.

Course Progress:  Educators can readily track student progress through various online tools.  Log-in times and number of times the site is visited is tracked and should be monitored to make sure students are signing in appropriately and getting their assignments completed.  In this example, student activity definitely correlates with student performance.  These stats give educators the opportunity to communicate early on in the course if log-ins are seemingly inadequate in comparison to the work that is being completed.  Of course, it's always a good idea to communicate effectively, and often, with all students--even the students who are performing well.  The communication logs are also a helpful tool, both to log communication activity throughout the course, but to also allow a quick look to make sure you have contacted all your students at regular intervals.

Student Self-Monitoring:  In these examples, students have the opportunity to view their grades and also see comments that have been given by their teacher.  Provided students utilize this information, it is an important way educators may provide helpful feedback that can be used to hopefully assist them in future assignments.  

Data harvested from current courses, without question, can be utilized in planning and preparing for future curriculum.  Questions and topics that students struggled through will be documented via the data in these grade reports.  It may be decided that those areas of curriculum need to be revamped or expanded upon in to add more time for explanation and elaboration.  

The Summative Assessment Quest - (Evaluate 1.1.3)

Summative assessments give a post-unit snapshot of how well the class has learned or mastered the material.  A quality summative assessment will also give an educator the information they need to either move on to the next unit with confidence or perhaps decide to complete a bit of reteaching on specific areas students might have struggled with grasping.  

I have created the following test over Descriptive Language.  This is a summative assessment I have created but as yet have not utilized.  The validity of the questions are assessing whether or not student have learned and are able to recognize the qualities of seven descriptive language techniques:  alliteration, metaphor, simile, idiom, hyperbole, personification, and onomatopoeia.  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ERPUIB9T-OcYTHcodEKjjdeMvtnyIE5MBv5_hLwMbtQ/viewform

Reliability will be tested an assessed through the spread sheets created through Google forms once the test is taken by the appropriate class of students.  Security has been set up by changing the order of the questions as well as changing the order of the multiple choice responses.  Upon implementation, this test would be allotted as short a time period as is reasonably possible to ensure that students are answering from their memory rather than looking up the responses.  The reports derived from the test takers' responses would give me ample resources to double check for validity and reliability. 

Quality Feedback Quest - (Evaluate 1.1.2)

Feedback is a very important part of online education.  Without the day to day interaction in a traditional classroom, feedback becomes critical in making sure students are aware of their successes as well as areas in which they need improvement.  

My daughter Kayla is a GA Virtual School student.  We have both been very impressed so far with the interaction and feedback she consistently receives from her instructors.  The artifact I have selected is the "Cinderella" Assignment she completed for her teacher, Mrs. Andersson.  The link to her assignment is featured below.  I have included Mrs. Andersson's feedback because it is a genuine example of quality, authentic feedback.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xOeB0vDesNEXSArbD2ja3SbL37hv8D8U--2TIMVsRLo/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=5000

This feedback is personal, positive, specific, and enthusiastic.  Kayla loves to read the feedback she receives from Mrs. Andersson!  I anticipate that my students will feel the same way as we work together, too. :)

Mrs. Andersson, while she may not realize it as yet, has already become an incredible mentor for me as I begin this online teaching journey!

Formative Assessment Quest - (Evaluate 1.1.1)

In today's computer savvy world, there are a plethora of options in which to create, calculate, and track formative assessments.  In this way, effective educators will be able to quantify the areas in which their students are mastering the material, as well as the areas that need to be reviewed or even retaught.  

Google Forms is a great resource that tabulates data based upon student responses.  I created a Formative Quiz that covers Basic Nutrition information.  The link for this quiz is below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MXrRpxr2I-iSkILczpno1ttOQpHzW-oyz5p_agr7VNk/viewform