A Student-Centered Culture
Sabrina L. Manuel
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EAD 513: Shaping School Culture
Daphne Lowe
November 17, 2021
Description of Strategy, Purpose and How to Implement
During my observation of the 9th Grade ELA classroom the teacher had an assignment where the students had the option to choose an article that would allow them to write an argumentative essay and while the students have a choice on which article they can choose, they don’t really own the assignment as they would in the case where project-based or inquiry-based learning is concerned. I would recommend the following strategies for the teacher to implement the project-based assignment so we could create a learning environment that was student-centered. According to the article in Edutopia.com, (Inquiry-Based Learning in English Classrooms, 2021) inquiry-based projects fit well with all English curriculum skills: reading, writing, oral communication, and media. It is these skills that are essential to nurturing an environment that allows students to explore projects that give them as many opportunities to utilize these skills.
Implementing inquiry-based learning in the classroom requires six steps for every project and the teacher should strive to use these projects as a method for student engagement while they are only guiding from the sideline. The article mentions those six steps as project proposal, research learning, creating, or doing, reflecting, sharing and assessment. (Gray, 2021) These are the same skills that students will find essential in the college classroom and workforce when they begin their careers. This style of learning will prepare our students for the vision that we seek for them today.
Anticipated Effects and Alignment to the School Vision
The school vision states that our students will graduate, prepared to excel, and succeed globally. The 2018 article written by Terada on Edutopia.com called Boosting Student Engagement Through Project-Based Learning mentions how many college students graduate with high grades and test scores but lacked key skills to be successful in the workplace. This was due to the fact that they had technical skills but didn’t know how to think and that’s one of the skills that students develop with project-based learning. Having a student-led environment will allow us to carry out our school vision and prepare our students with a “need to know” attitude about their learning. The project-based learning encourages students to take ownership in their learning and therefore it shows engagement, where the student’s interest is piqued with novel ideas, the hands-on activities deepen their understanding and encourage them to explore, it makes them want to explain their ideas in their own words. Project-based learning opens the door to allow students to express themselves in a way that even the student may have not thought possible before being presented with the idea and it can be done across all content areas.
Reflection: Observation, Recommendations and Feedback
The research that I found aligns to the academy curriculum that we have at our school right now and what my principal mentor has been trying to implement across all content areas. She mentioned how the school has been struggling the last couple of school years with how to implement the National Academy Foundation curriculum in other areas because of its project-based concept and how effective it has been in the academy classes. Having a student-led, project-based learning environment would really change the learning environment of our school and is the focus of our current principal. I personally would love to see a student-led environment across all content areas. This would allow students an opportunity for self-expression and to have an opportunity to collaborate on projects with group members that give them real-world experiences that will prepare them for the workforce and future courses in college.
Reflection: How to Share Strategies with the Teacher
After my observation, I would share my notes with the teacher about what I observed and include a good thing that I saw for reference later during our conversation. I would request a time for us to meet for further discussion and reflection on some strategies that I think would be useful in the classroom. I would be sure to share these suggestions with my mentor principal prior to the meeting and include my mentor in the meeting, so that the teacher is fully aware of the role that I am in as far as an observer and supporter. I would then share the information about the project-based learning research that I conducted and inform them of the benefits of student-led instruction and how it aligns to the school’s vision as well as the other curriculum currently being taught in the NAF academies. This would allow the principal to introduce her vision for project-based learning across all content areas to the staff member and how she would like to introduce this to all staff as a new way of learning in the school.
PSEL Standards and Implications for Future Practice
According to standard six of the PSEL standards (2015) “effective leaders develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. I believe that leadership being present in the classroom shows staff that they are concerned with what is happening in the classroom environment. The principal in most cases will conduct an observation but very little feedback from that observation is given. As a leader, I want to give my staff the support that they need in the classroom, and I want to show them that they can depend on me to be present and give them the feedback that they need about their performance and classroom needs.
References
Gray, K. (2021). Inquiry-Based Learning in English Classrooms. Retrieved on November 17, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/inquiry-based-learning-english-classrooms
National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.
Terada, Y. (2018). Boosting Student Engagement Through Project-Based Learning. Retrieved on November 16, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/boosting-student-engagement-through-project-based-learning
Sabrina L. Manuel
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EAD 513: Shaping School Culture
Daphne Lowe
November 17, 2021
Description of Strategy, Purpose and How to Implement
During my observation of the 9th Grade ELA classroom the teacher had an assignment where the students had the option to choose an article that would allow them to write an argumentative essay and while the students have a choice on which article they can choose, they don’t really own the assignment as they would in the case where project-based or inquiry-based learning is concerned. I would recommend the following strategies for the teacher to implement the project-based assignment so we could create a learning environment that was student-centered. According to the article in Edutopia.com, (Inquiry-Based Learning in English Classrooms, 2021) inquiry-based projects fit well with all English curriculum skills: reading, writing, oral communication, and media. It is these skills that are essential to nurturing an environment that allows students to explore projects that give them as many opportunities to utilize these skills.
Implementing inquiry-based learning in the classroom requires six steps for every project and the teacher should strive to use these projects as a method for student engagement while they are only guiding from the sideline. The article mentions those six steps as project proposal, research learning, creating, or doing, reflecting, sharing and assessment. (Gray, 2021) These are the same skills that students will find essential in the college classroom and workforce when they begin their careers. This style of learning will prepare our students for the vision that we seek for them today.
Anticipated Effects and Alignment to the School Vision
The school vision states that our students will graduate, prepared to excel, and succeed globally. The 2018 article written by Terada on Edutopia.com called Boosting Student Engagement Through Project-Based Learning mentions how many college students graduate with high grades and test scores but lacked key skills to be successful in the workplace. This was due to the fact that they had technical skills but didn’t know how to think and that’s one of the skills that students develop with project-based learning. Having a student-led environment will allow us to carry out our school vision and prepare our students with a “need to know” attitude about their learning. The project-based learning encourages students to take ownership in their learning and therefore it shows engagement, where the student’s interest is piqued with novel ideas, the hands-on activities deepen their understanding and encourage them to explore, it makes them want to explain their ideas in their own words. Project-based learning opens the door to allow students to express themselves in a way that even the student may have not thought possible before being presented with the idea and it can be done across all content areas.
Reflection: Observation, Recommendations and Feedback
The research that I found aligns to the academy curriculum that we have at our school right now and what my principal mentor has been trying to implement across all content areas. She mentioned how the school has been struggling the last couple of school years with how to implement the National Academy Foundation curriculum in other areas because of its project-based concept and how effective it has been in the academy classes. Having a student-led, project-based learning environment would really change the learning environment of our school and is the focus of our current principal. I personally would love to see a student-led environment across all content areas. This would allow students an opportunity for self-expression and to have an opportunity to collaborate on projects with group members that give them real-world experiences that will prepare them for the workforce and future courses in college.
Reflection: How to Share Strategies with the Teacher
After my observation, I would share my notes with the teacher about what I observed and include a good thing that I saw for reference later during our conversation. I would request a time for us to meet for further discussion and reflection on some strategies that I think would be useful in the classroom. I would be sure to share these suggestions with my mentor principal prior to the meeting and include my mentor in the meeting, so that the teacher is fully aware of the role that I am in as far as an observer and supporter. I would then share the information about the project-based learning research that I conducted and inform them of the benefits of student-led instruction and how it aligns to the school’s vision as well as the other curriculum currently being taught in the NAF academies. This would allow the principal to introduce her vision for project-based learning across all content areas to the staff member and how she would like to introduce this to all staff as a new way of learning in the school.
PSEL Standards and Implications for Future Practice
According to standard six of the PSEL standards (2015) “effective leaders develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. I believe that leadership being present in the classroom shows staff that they are concerned with what is happening in the classroom environment. The principal in most cases will conduct an observation but very little feedback from that observation is given. As a leader, I want to give my staff the support that they need in the classroom, and I want to show them that they can depend on me to be present and give them the feedback that they need about their performance and classroom needs.
References
Gray, K. (2021). Inquiry-Based Learning in English Classrooms. Retrieved on November 17, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/inquiry-based-learning-english-classrooms
National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.
Terada, Y. (2018). Boosting Student Engagement Through Project-Based Learning. Retrieved on November 16, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/boosting-student-engagement-through-project-based-learning
Clinical Field Experience B: Proficient Teacher Observation and Feedback
Sabrina L. Manuel
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EAD 530: Course Title
Mr. Scot Beckerman
May 25, 2022
Proficient Teacher Observation and Feedback
During our observation today we noticed the following positive things and I would like to say what a pleasure it was to observe you doing such effective instruction and providing an inviting environment for us to visit and observe you and your students.
- You greeted each student as they approached your door, they gave you their name for attendance and you instructed them to the warm-up question on the smartboard.
- I noticed that two students entered late, you greeted those students differently, but this was to show them the warning sign for being tardy and to encourage them to be on time in the future so they can engage with the class on the warm-up question.
- You instructed the late students to assist you with the warm-up as a reflection to the entire class about being on time. This was punitive, but thorough.
- The students were encouraged to answer the warm-up using their chrome books and use the google doc. This was great use of technology.
- The lesson presented appeared to be a project-based learning assignment which allowed for a wonderful group discussion that carried over from the last time the students were together in class. It appears that this project is across all content areas and has the students engaged which is great to see.
- The students appear to be learning some leadership skills and collaborative skills through the project-based assignment.
- Students are engaged in the lesson through share-outs, technology, whole group discussions and we noticed that the teacher is not leading these discussions but is more of a coach in the classroom environment.
- There is a check for understanding when the students return from their smaller groups. Is the check for understanding used to guide the next days lesson or as an assessment to see if the students are making the anticipated progress on the project?
- You appeared to be moving around the classroom to observe and listen to the students to see if there were questions that needed answering but it was noticed that you gave the students higher order thinking questions when they weren’t really discussing things or appeared to be stuck in a particular area.
The teacher in this class has collaborated with the career and technical education department teachers on making a project-based learning environment for the students this semester and it appears that the execution of this project has been successful in the classroom. She is teaching them the world history components of the project and has done a fantastic job relating the content of the project with historical events and made them relevant in a way that the students can make them relatable to what they are developing in the project. During the post observation, the teacher was very receptive to the feedback and suggestions given and I believe it was because we were so impressed with her preparation and knowledge of project-based learning. As school leaders who find it very important to see staff pushing the information in the classroom from recent PD sessions, it was nice to see this proficient teacher pushing the schools project plan across all content areas in her area because she expressed some concerns about it not being easy for them all to collaborate initially.
PSEL Standard 6 and Implications for Future Practice
The PSEL Standard 6 refers to this very thing when it comes to fostering continuous improvement of individuals and collective instructional capacity to achieve outcomes for each student because with the project-based learning method we put forth some effort to have all staff to participate in a series of professional developments and then collaborated, planned and executed a project across all content areas that would allow students multiple opportunities to show their skills within the project and in multiple settings. When it was presented to the students, it turned out to be an excellent idea and produced the student engagement that we had been lacking in first semester.
When I am a leader, I know that selecting the right professional development sessions will be important to me because it will benefit my staff and therefore, it will benefit my students. When teachers are supported in their education and learning, they perform well in the classroom according to Danielson and many have proven this theory through many years of various research. This research has become vital to how school districts are grading teacher performance and how they are looking at training them for better student outcomes.
References
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. 2015. Reston, VA: Author. https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf