Teaching six classes a day to students who do not speak English as their first language certainly taught me humility - and it was a lesson I had to learn quickly.  For example, I have to admit very often when I don't know certain words. This, though, gives me the chance to take what could be an awkward or privately frustrating instance into the perfect teachable moment. Now, I model the practice of looking up the meanings of new words, and writing them in my own journal to practice and study later. Watching the way this humility has affected my classroom though has been beautiful - the students don't feel embarrassed to ask questions or admit when they are confused. 

Another think I've learned to use more of is creativity. Especially when I try to explain a new concept or define a new word, I've become more out-of-the-box with my own thinking and it is definitely benefitting my students. For example, how would you explain the definition of "cozy" to someone who has never felt a temperature below 60°F?

This year of teaching has also emphasized the importance of patience in a teacher - how giving the extra wait time or repeating something again can mean all the difference to a student. Throughout the year, I had the chance to work with some of my colleagues who were only Spanish-speaking (and, I'll admit: when I moved here, my Spanish was not in great shape). When they showed patience to me in conversations, or in the beginning of a response three times before completing a sentence, I was so grateful. Without this time of productive struggle, I would not have improved as much as I did! 

I also had the chance to do a week long intensive of Spanish language study during our winter break. This is such a good experience in so many ways. Not only was it fun to be a student in a formal setting again, it also cemented for me the need of multiple modes of input, especially as a student in your second language. Unfortunately, my teacher really only conducted lessons with audible input. The few times I managed to get her to write out concepts or diagrams were so helpful for me! Now, I am very careful to not rely on only one mode of input, but instead really prioritize adding visual cues or manipulatives in addition to my speaking. I've found that using foldables or graphic organizers that can be glued right into a notebook can be total gamechangers for struggling students. 

Courses Taken: Service Learning in Action with WE Schools and Digital Composition and Authentic Audiences

In the course about service learning, I was really encouraged because of all of the great campaigns that have already started and can easily be implemented in schools everywhere.  There were a lot of examples given with real resources for lessons and helpful tips from teachers who have done service learning before, which as a new teacher, is really great.  The service learning course also highlighted the skills and understandings that these kinds of projects develop in students:  decision making, planning, teamwork and communication, and others. It also teaches students about issues that actually impact them and their peers and gives them a practical way that they can work for positive change in areas like social justice, well-being, diversity, and inclusion.  It was great to see how giving students methods to apply their learning in meaningful ways outside of the classroom helps increase student motivation, creativity, and engagement by empowering them to make a difference in their own communities.

The other course I took was about digital compositions and using authentic audiences.  I was really excited when I saw the title because I have been looking for more ways to differentiate writing instruction, especially as I prepare to student teach in just a few months.  This course helped me see how using tools like Buncee will help me to differentiate my instruction by allowing more student choice and by having many options for modifications built in for students who are ELLs or who have IEPs.   Digital compositions require students to build up their technical and digital literacy skills while still being fun and allowing them to think creatively and use their strengths.  Buncee also pairs with Skype to help teachers provide students with more authentic audiences, which is when people other than the teacher reads and gives feedback on student writing.  Authentic audiences are great ways to increase motivation for students by turning assignments from mandatory and low stakes (only the teacher sees it) to exciting and meaningful because they know their voice will be heard in the wider community.

Overall, I really enjoyed these two courses because there were able to show me practical examples of things I have heard about from other educators or at conferences but hadn't had the chance to participate in or implement as a teacher yet.  I'm also excited to continue taking other courses as time allows and gain more ideas for how to create more student-centered lessons!

Currently, I am hard at work on my Level 1 Google Educator Certification (GCE L1), and I completed the Fundamentals Training Course but have not yet taken the certification exam, though I look forward to doing that this summer, closer to my time as a student teacher. 

The GCE L1 training was quite extensive and really took the time to walk through many different aspects of using the G Suite in an educational setting.  There were three different topics that had smaller units and specific lessons within each to help keep the learning organized and [relevant] which I really appreciated.  Also, the training process (like all G Suite products) auto-saved, which made tracking my progress really easy even though I stopped and started frequently to fit this process in around my other coursework.

The three themes that were addressed in the training course were Professional Growth and Leadership, Efficiency & Saving Time, and Facilitating Student Learning & Creativity.  I really appreciated how each of the lessons was relevant to all areas of being a teacher, and especially how most of the training was centered around streamlining whatever processes or systems a teacher already has and uses.  This makes the skills that you learn very easy to transfer to your practice because you won't have to totally change your routine to use these skills and products.

I think my favorite part of this training has just been becoming more proficient in tools I already use.  For example, the areas that I learned the most in was Google Sheets.   I've always felt a little intimidated by spreadsheets - data just doesn't excite me the way it does some of my more analytically minded friends.  I have definitely used spreadsheets before, but I would say that I'm usually a contributor to those documents, not a designer.  Before this course, I felt comfortable reading spreadsheets and filling out only the squares I knew I was "supposed" to touch.  But after I got to learn a little more about how spreadsheets worked like using functions and a couple tricks about organizing spreadsheets neatly, I feel much more prepared to make my own and use spreadsheets more regularly.

I also learned a lot about Google Classroom.  In the past, I used it a little bit as a student when I was in high school, but it was pretty new then and I haven't used it since.  It was really great to learn a little bit about the teacher side of things like how to create topics and assignments, especially because my student teaching placement is a school that uses the G Suite.  

Learning more about these tools (and some finer points of others) has made me feel much more prepared to start student teaching in just a few short months, and has helped me have a better sense of how I will be able to stay organized as a teacher.