Learning Resources

Throughout my time at my placement school, I had the opportunity to work alongside teachers and administrators in planning and professional development. I was fortunate enough to be placed in a school setting in which administrators valued their teachers and staff and offered them space to voice their opinions and ideas. From the start of my placement, I could tell that there was a general air of respect and trust between administration and faculty, as my cooperating teacher had told me that we had the freedom to choose class materials and develop projects that we saw best for our students. There was flexibility within our planning and design that expanded the realm of work that we could do with students, including working with outside groups and speakers, designing virtual projects, and reading class texts that were not necessarily on grade level. The community of trust and respect served as an incredibly helpful learning resource for me. Getting to join weekly PD meetings offered me insight into the work educators do outside of their classrooms and also gave me an opportunity to meet more people across disciplines. I learned the ways in which educators in fields that are not typically connected can collaborate to provide students in one grade level with classes that are thematically related. For instance, my cooperating teacher and I often worked alongside the 7th grade mathematics/engineering teacher to develop schedules and lessons that connected to the theme of using what we learn in school to make a change in the world. Engaging in this level of collaboration and coordination taught me what it means to work with a community of educators and also offered me a support system for my student teaching journey.

My placement school's administration also served as a learning resource during my student teaching. Throughout my time as a student teacher, the principal was in consistent contact with staff through weekly newsletters, daily check-ins, and weekly planning meetings. Although I did not get as much individual meeting time with the administration, I felt the respect and openness to discussion from the administrators. One of the resources that the administration shared with staff at the start of the fourth quarter, shown below, was a valuable reference for me as I planned my last unit with my students. The article, entitled "Getting the Endings Right," reflected on the year of virtual schooling that we had all endured and the importance of ending the school year with purpose and intention (Kay 2021). Our principal urged teachers to end the year with grace and consideration of the hardships all students and teachers have been through this past year. He also explained the ways in which he was applying the principles of ending the year right by serving as a support to teachers and staff. This article reminded teachers that this school was a community and that we are facing an unprecedented time of threats to our safety, health, and general wellbeing. In sharing this resource and prompting conversation around it, the administration proved that they were respectful and trusting of teachers and valued wellbeing and peace over data. As a student teacher in the community, I appreciated this reaching- out and was reminded that administration should always serve as a learning resource that guides teacher growth.