January 9, 2014 As part of my work towards the requirements for obtaining my teaching license in the state of New Jersey,

I have had to complete several educational courses. These courses have been of great value to me and have given me tremendous ideas, experiences and opportunities to improve as an educator. As part of these courses, the instructors have had us write reflections by providing us with certain prompts. The excerpt below is from a reflection I wrote last January (2013) and I believe it sums up the changes that have occurred both in and out of my classroom over the past 2 years. Having never taken any education courses prior to last summer, I never really reflected on my teaching philosophy, teaching style or my connections and interactions with students. I did always work on my curriculum and made many changes to my lessons, assignments and assessments. I have been at my current school for over a decade and have had two major reviews. At each of these reviews my administrators would always compliment me on my vast knowledge of the material that I taught, my promptness in submitting grades and comments and my willingness to help my department (by teaching an extra course or subbing for a sick colleague). However, (this is painful and embarrassing to admit) they were not pleased with my interactions with my students or their parents. Many of the criticisms I received centered on my interactions with students and communications with parents. My department chair has discussed with me the importance of setting the tone in the classroom. To be quite honest I really didnt know what she meant. I felt I was doing a really great job. My classroom was organized, my students knew what to expect and my lessons were well

planned and executed. I simply didnt understand what I was doing wrong, until I started reading some of the papers and books recommended by Carol Speck, the teacher of the Pre-Service course I took this summer. It was like flashbulbs were going off in my head. Finally all of the criticisms and advice I had received over the years began to make sense. I spent a good deal of the summer thinking about what I would do differently this fall. I realized I couldnt change all at once so I decided to change just a few things. First I decorated and organized the seating in my room to make it more warm, inviting and intimate. Next, I created a Student Celebration board where I could display students work. I also created a job board for the students that included small tasks that are necessary to keep a classroom running efficiently (and giving them some ownership of the class). Okay, so the classroom was ready. Now, I needed to get myself ready. I needed to find ways to let my students know that I was there for them, that I wanted them to succeed and that we would do it together. I began that first day by greeting each student at the door. We then played a getting to know you game (plastic egg with questions inside). We also discussed class rules and why there were important. I had these discussions not standing in the front of the room but sitting down with them at eye level. I listened, I focused as each student spoke and I repeated what I had heard. We discussed expectations, what I expected from them and what they could expect from me. I immediately noticed a difference in the atmosphere of my classroom. Students felt comfortable; it was a relaxing and friendly environment. For the first time in a decade I felt the satisfaction that comes from being an effective teacher. While my students definitely learned from me in the past, they didnt

always enjoy that learning or take the lesson with them outside of the classroom. Now, they come to my desk to relate a story or share a program related to our lessons. They are excited to learn more and have many Aha moments. I now know that I am responsible fore the atmosphere of the classroom. I set the tone and can change that tone if need be. I am the example, and I always now think before I speak. I am learning, evolving and improving and understanding more about the importance of my interactions with my students. I also have made significant changes to my interactions with parents. I would rarely call a parent. I relied primarily on e-mail messages. I learned very painfully that people apply a tone to e-mails I never intended. I now call parents at home and return all calls so that any issues can be resolved quickly without feelings being hurt unintentionally. I have made great strides towards becoming an effective teacher and I am excited to learn more, do more and implement more in my classroom. I believe this reflection speaks volumes about my ability to create a positive and supportive learning environment. I know that many of my colleagues (and administrators) have noticed the difference in my teaching and interactions with both students and parents. I was thrilled that I was asked to participate in the Community of Practice workshop and was excited to share with others ideas they can utilize in their classrooms to instill a positive and safe learning environment (see the Community Involvement page of the portfolio for more details). One area where I have excelled since arriving at Newark Academy is in my mastery of content knowledge. I am an active life-long learner and keep abreast of

new discoveries in Science and attend at least one professional development workshop each year. I enjoy sharing this knowledge with my students and often read excerpts in class from magazines and newspapers about new research findings and developments. Another requirement for the teaching license and certification was sitting for the Praxis exams for both Biology and General Science. The required passing grade for both exams is 150/200 points. I received 195/200 on the Biology exam and a 194/200 on the General Science exam. As a result, I received from the Educational Testing Service a Recognition of Excellence (see the Professional development tab for more details). I am also consistently prepared for each class and present organized lessons with a clear objective in mind. To help the students follow the lesson daily objectives are written on board. I also prepare Powerpoint or Smartboard lectures for each class and upload these lectures onto Canvas so students can access these files for test preparation. As a Science teacher the instructional strategy that I use most is direct instruction. This is a teacher-centered method and allows me to set the stage for learning, explain the concept or topic, model the explanation and provide practice of the concept. I am comfortable with this method as it is the method used by many of my own teachers and is logical, orderly, and effective when delivering information in a step-by-step manner. Many topics in science are broken down into steps (mitosis, meiosis, cell respiration, photosynthesis, digestion, etc.) so this method allows me to explain these difficult concepts clearly while providing a framework for student understanding. I do try to include didactic questions such as when,

where, how, what and why as often as possible. Questioning students allows me to draw learners into the discussion as well as allowing them to practice their skills and knowledge. I often begin instruction with questions related to an opening activity. I begin almost every lesson in 7th grade science with some type of hands-on learning (experiential learning). For instance, during our first lesson on galaxies the opening activity was using pipe cleaners to create a spiral galaxy. The students are provided with a worksheet that first explains what a spiral galaxy, how to construct one using the pipe cleaners and then asks students to view and draw the galaxy from above and from the side. The students then answer questions based on the different views. As a group we review the questions and I then explain the learning that will take place during the lesson. For this lesson we went on to discuss star systems, star clusters and the different types of galaxies. I typically like to end a unit with a creative activity, experiment or group project. This allows me an opportunity to utilize a different form of assessment to not only gauge student understanding but to also engage different learning styles including visual, physical, social and logical. For the unit on motion and forces we studied Newtons Laws of motion, the law of gravity, the different types of friction (rolling, sliding, static, and fluid), the effects of gravity, net force and momentum. We had completed several activities and experiments that highlighted these principles. In years past we had culminated the unit with a design lab involving friction. This was an individual project where students were asked to determine the different types of friction acting on an athletic shoe. I wanted to find a project,

activity or experiment that brought together more of the different topics we had been learning in this unit and came across the roller coaster idea. This group project emphasized many skills on the Middle School Skills Tree including Effective Planning and Use of Time, Working with Others, ProblemSolving, Intellectual Curiosity and Qualities of Character. I prepared the students by being sure to cover all of the necessary topics often using roller coasters as an example to highlight the various forces or properties we were discussing. In terms of success, I definitely think this project truly emphasized creativity, problem solving, time-management, collaboration, resilience and the importance of communication. The groups that were the most successful divided up the responsibilities (sketching, journaling, building), managed their time and listened to one another. The groups that were least successful argued, blamed one another when things went wrong, had no plan of action and no leadership. I also think this project was a great way to end our unit as it incorporated so many different topics at once (motion, forces, inertia, momentum). I was initially worried about the journaling portion of the assignment as I wasnt sure students would remember to do this or be detailed enough for me to gauge their success. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by their entries that included notes on modifications to their original design, group decision-making, progress, successes and failures. I continue to tweak the IB Biology course and have recently changed textbooks. I have also spent a great deal of time revamping the laboratory component so that students experience the lab design, data collection and processing, and conclusion and evaluation in pieces rather than in a single

experiment. This allows the students time to become familiar with the IB requirements and provides more opportunity for them to improve in their planning and writing. I feel that I have made some significant contributions to the NA community over the past few years. As a member of the Community Service Council, I have helped plan and implement many of the service opportunities available to NA students including Color-A-Smile, Hunger Poverty Awareness month, St. Anns soup Kitchen, MLK day and Spring into Service. I have also played a valuable role in the planning and execution of the SCEEP Holiday party. This year I have expanded my role in Community Service by serving as co-coordinator for the PACS tutoring program. I also have taken on a larger role in the Middle school by incorporating more community service opportunities for them as well by having them help with Holiday party prep, making snowflakes for the New Hope School and making and sending holiday cards to our troops. Last year I planned and executed (with help from the 7th grade team) an Astronomy night for 7th and 8th graders. The event was a great success and one I hope to have biennially (for details and photos of these events please go to the Community Involvement drop-down menu). Also, this summer Rachael Reeves and I organized, catalogued and displayed some of the rocks and minerals left behind by John Limmer. She and I created two displays, one in the Middle School hallway and one in the Science hallway. We also added many of the samples to our classroom supplies and donated some specimens to an area school. I have also been an active member of the 7th grade team and help to plan Common periods, field trips and Capstone experiences.

The main focus of my professional development over the past two years has been meeting the requirements for New Pathways to Teaching in New Jersey program. As part of the requirements I have had the opportunity to observe classroom teachers both at Newark Academy and in public schools. This was a great learning opportunity and one I would like to continue each year. I hope to visit 1 or 2 colleagues each year. I gleaned many ideas from each visit and found it to be a valuable experience. I have also attended several workshops related to 7th grade science (see Professional Development page for details). My goals for the next few years include completing the course requirements for the Supervisor Certification. I would also like to obtain my Certificate of Eligibility for Middle School Science. I also want to explore the requirements to become a National Board Certified Teacher. I want to continue with education classes and plan on finding workshops or courses related to teaching adolescents. I plan to continue working closely with Community Service and hope to expand the in-school opportunities for our students. One of my main goals as a member of the Community Service Council is to get Middle School students more involved. I would like to see a service requirement implemented for these students. I am also looking forward to becoming a dedicated Middle School teacher. I have many ideas about the current 7th grade science curriculum and am looking forward to having more time to implement more student-directed learning opportunities.