TLIIST - Personal Growth Through Reflection

Personal Growth Through Reflection

Year 1

SUMMER 2019

Inquiry Institute

TLIIST training began with the Inquiry Institute, where we were immersed into various forms of inquiry-based learning (barbie bungee jump, zipline challenge, ice balloons, and more) in small teams. Would I have to scrap all of the lab lessons I had done for years and come up with all new inquiry lessons? What if students do not immediately respond well to inquiry methods? Questions such as these arose. We were assured, however, that integrating inquiry in the classroom is a process, one that takes time, patience, persistence, and scaffolding. In fact, we learned of three levels of inquiry that can be implemented in the classroom gradually: Structured, Guided, and Open Inquiry. In addition, we learned that there would be no need to toss out old lessons. Rather, we could transform those old lessons into an inquiry format that met the needs/level of our students. I took all of this to heart and committed to introducing inquiry learning from the very start of the year using familiar lessons that could be transformed and work my way up the inquiry spectrum over the course of the year.

Leadership

Leadership is an area that I had not given much thought to as a teacher. I thought there were those who were in leadership positions with leadership titles, and that was that. However, in leadership training we were introduced to a new concept - micro-leadership. Micro-leadership involves acts of leadership inside of the classroom and outside that can make a collective impact on the school without the titles. I learned that I had already taken on some teacher leader responsibilities despite being unaware. To learn that it was a "thing" to be a leader and a teacher was empowering. Could I lead a meeting? Could I facilitate a professional development for my department? For my campus? Or my district? Could I seek out and collaborate with other like-minded individuals on campus and develop continuous improvement practices? I look forward to exploring these questions over the next 5 years and hope to find great success in doing so.

Book Study: Every Teacher a Leader

Teacher leadership reading this summer focused on helping us to identify the dispositions, knowledge, and skills needed to be effective teacher leaders. It highlighted the positive effects that teacher leadership can have on a campus, such as a decrease in teacher attrition and increase in job satisfaction. It also covered some of the challenges that come with pursuing leadership opportunities as a teacher, such as lack of support from administration or negative responses from colleagues. Chapter 4 especially resonated with me as it brought out the need for explicit self-reflection. I learned that my success as both a teacher and a leader depends heavily upon my own self-awareness. I must know who I am and how the experiences in my life, personal and professional, have shaped my way of thinking and my beliefs.

Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen(OEDK)

Campus Tours

With such great focus often being placed on preparing students for end of course exams, it can be easy to forget that science is alive. It is so much more than the isolated contents we are pressured to teach in ways that ensure successful scores. It is a flourishing field of diverse and professional thinkers in areas of research, engineering, technology, and more. We took a number of campus tours, exploring with those who practice science every day. This was such a refreshing experience. I couldn't help but wonder what my students might think if they saw science this way as opposed to a list of concepts. It sparked a creative fire in me to pull from all of my internal resources and seek new ones that would help me to expose students to science in practice, in investigation, in real life.

Rice NanoFabrication Facility(Cleanroom)

FALL 2019

Favorite Five: Planning

Our first act of teacher leadership started with an action research project conducted in the classroom. It involved selecting our "favorite five" students, or five students who we felt would benefit from additional support. Using the "Logic Model," a template for developing our outputs and outcomes for the project, I brainstormed what success looked like to me in the classroom. Did I want to see changes in behavior or in learning with my favorite five? It took time to determine the specific behavior outcome I wanted to target (assignments completed consistently) and even longer to select the five students I wanted to focus on. Nonetheless, in time I gained a clear understanding of what I wanted to get out of this project and developed a rubric for monitoring its progress over the course of the year.

At Bats

I led the first "At Bats" session for our department PLC. I shared a hands-on lesson on the cell cycle that I had successfully done with my students in class. My team went through each part of the lesson with me just as if they were my students. In small groups they researched their assigned phase of the cell cycle, selected the materials they wanted to use to create a model of the phase, then did a gallery walk around the room to view each other's work and more. To hear the room buzzing with talk about the activity and how they could use it in their own classrooms was so encouraging. I look forward to another opportunity to share.

SPRING 2020

Favorite Five: Data Collection

After deciding on the behavior outcome I wanted and selecting my favorite five, I could start to collect data. Data collection and using the right instrument for gathering data was essential to monitoring the success of the project. Keeping up with the data was a challenge as my classroom is a very activve one. Remembering to record after interventions with my favorite five was a struggle. However, this semester I was able to enter some of my written data into the digital storage and start running reports. This allowed me to see change over time for some of the students from little to no completed assignemnts to turning in most or all of their work, making every bit of the struggle worth it.

Distance Learning

COVID-19 interrupted the school year, forcing teachers across the country to have to teach from behind a computer screen. My district (HISD) used Microsoft Teams as its system of choice for distance learning. It allowed us to have live sessions with our classes, however, students rarely showed for class. Both teachers and students struggled to adjust to the new way of living (social distancing) and learning (virtual education). As a parent, I worked tirelessly to manage the homeschooling of my own children and meet the needs of my students, many of which I was struggled to even make contact with. I personally felt overwhelmed and frustrated at times, but hopeful that everything would work its way out. We are still currenlty living through the pandemic, but this experience has taught me a resilience I did not know I had. Giving up is not an option. I will continue to seek new and creative ways to engage my students and my children despite the limitations of virtual learning.

year 2

SUMMER 2020

A Virtual Biology Experience: COVID-19

COVID-19 has forced its way into all of our lives in one way or another. It is all over the news and social media. People are sharing information both good and bad, researched and opinion, credible and unreliable. Our virtual biology lesson was brilliantly designed to help us explore the virus (SARS-CoV-2) from a scientific perspective with facts and reliable sources. Using a variety of online tools, common household materials, talks with professionals in the field, and more we explored how the virus is structured, how it compares to other viruses, how it is spread, infection rates, and how it impacts an infected person. This lesson was so timely in the context and the delivery. The creativity in it despite the limitations of virtual learning gave me much to consider in preparing for this coming school year.

Action Research: Problem Statement & Stakeholders

The Action Research Project that will carry over the duration of the program will swing into high gear this coming school year as we attempt to identify our first problem (problem statement). With the input of our colleagues (potential stakeholders), we are to identify a problem that we all care about and are willing to work together to change. I have already begun the process of identifying some problems I notice on my campus and to consider possible others who may feel the same way. One problem that stands out to me is the lack of clear guidelines and expectations for how teachers are to use collaborative time, such as PLC time. I look forward to getting feedback from others on my campus and hope that we can develop and implement methods for correcting this problem or a different problem we are all invested in addressing.

ICS-Connect: Communication Style & Preferences

Communication is an essential aspect of teaching and leading. People have different styles and preferences when it comes to communication. Being aware of these differences can greatly enhance one's ability to communicate with others. Dr. Sandy Frieden shared her insight on the four communication energy types, each represented by a different color - red energy, blue energy, yellow energy, and green energy. We all took the ICS-Connect survey to identify our communication preferences. The survery revealed that I have a preference toward green energy, which is a preference for honesty, values, and fairness. I found this to be true of myself, however, after learning about the other energies, I found that I was also able to relate with various aspects of the red and yellow energies, such as a need to get to the point in matters sooner than later, determined, optimistic, and expressive. Additionally, we considered how we can identify the energy preferences of others. The experience was both intriguing and revealing. I plan to share this information with my campus and put my newfound insight to practice in communicating in professional and personal settings.

Developing Presentations

Say no to the "?" page! I don't think I will ever forget that. I am grateful to Dr. Tracy Volz for sharing her insidght on how to develop effective and engaging presentations. We learned that high impact presenters are successful in doing 5 things - developing a strategy, organizing an argument, conveying confidence, integrating visuals, and handling questions. I have not given many presentations over the course of my career, but I expect to be handling much more in the coming years. Thus, I tried to soak up as much of Dr. Volz presentation as I could. She gave specific tips for delivering virtual presentations, such as selecting a quiet place, having a clean background, positioning the camera at eye level, and wearing solid colored clothing. I plan to put these pointers to practice in preparing my "Inquiry Institute Online Presentation" this summer.

FALL 2020

CAST Reimagined 2020

The pandemic caused a number of changes, but fortunately it did not hinder the 2020 CAST conference from inspiring teachers all over. Though virtual, the conference took place and left myself and others with lots to take back to our classrooms, virtual or not. A keynote given by Dajae Williams got everyone amped up and motivated as she shared her story of turning mistakes into strengths. This was followed by a variety of informational and engaging presentations that I took at least one actitivy or tool that I could use in my own classroom from. One presentation introduced me to reteaching menus and socratic seminars, another to phenomen-based learning, and another to a variety of technology resources useful in the classroom, including Merge Cube, hyperdocs, Green Screen, and podcasts.

Pear Deck Pro

Virtual learning is not for the faint of heart. Teachers need to be flexible, patient, and creative. Students need motivation, support, and structure. The top tech tool provided by the district this year is Pear Deck. It provides features that allow teachers to create interactive lessons in which students can respond to multiple choice and short answer questions, draw on diagrams, and so much more in real-time. It provides teachers with quick feedback regarding who is participating and who of those participating understand the lesson. After much practice with the features, I felt comfortable with the program and was able to use it to keep students on their toes during class. I could see who was active and who was not, and reach out to those verbally who were not responding in the program. I could also provide on the spot support/feedback to students in need, helping to clear up misconceptions quickly.

SPRING 2021

Practicing Self-Care

Working behind a computer screen at a desk most of the day was difficult for me. Hours of physical inactivity, staring at bright lights, and minimal activity with others took a toll on me both mentally and physically. I was reminded that in order to serve others well I must first be well. I chose to make some life changes that helped me to get through the remainder of the year. I experimented with healthier meal choses (like the Buddha bowl), engaged in some form of exercise daily, improved and maintained my skincare routine, made regular time for spiritual reading and meditation, and scheduled weekly family activities. Making these adjustments helped me to find and maintain life balance and allowed me to be more effective in the virtual classroom.

JMHS Graduation

I attended the senior graduation this year. I teach a freshman course so I don't get the opportunity to interact with our seniors much, but there are a few special students that despite moving beyond my class we never lost touch. They stopped by regularly just to say hello, to share exciting (or sad) news, or for a hug when they were having a rough day. I was overjoyed to witness some of them walk across the stage, like the special young lady pictured here. It was such a joy to see how she blossomed from quiet and distant to confident and determined. I am so proud of her and several others. They survived such a challenging year. Witnessing their graduation reminded me why I became a teacher and encouraged me to keep pushing no matter what.

year 3

SUMMER 2021

Chemistry Explorations

Dr. Hutchinson has brilliantly demonstrated how proportional reasoning is all around us in previous sessions. This summer I just knew our discussion about CO2 concentration and temperature was going to be another demonstration of this concept. However, we discovered that C02 levels and temperature is not a proportionality. There is a definite correlation, however, between the two. As C02 levels rise, temperature rises as well. We discussed this and so much more, including how molecules move, radiation, and molecule-radiation. To help bring the whole chemistry experience to life, we engaged in a number of hands-on activities, including constructing Lewis structures using candies and building buckeyball models.

How Leadership Looks to Me

As we TLIISTers are all growing in our leadership skills throughout this program, it is important that we can clearly identify what leadership is to us. This is especilaly important as we prepare to dive deep into our action research projects this coming school year. In effort to gain some insight on leadership, we first did a little research on how leadership is defined or identified by others. We shared our findings with the group and found that many of us used similar words or had similar expressions regarding leadership. After sharing out, we were tasked with creating our very own leadership statements with implications for our role as teachers in the classroom and sharing them publicly. The way leadership looks to me ..... "Leadership is an act of service grounded in guiding, supporting, and inspiring others to both recognize and maximize their unique skill sets as you all work toward a common goal."

Crucial Conversations

Our physiological response to high-stakes conversations makes it difficult to handle such conversations effectively. Fight or flight is the natural response to a conversation in which emotions are running high, people disagree, or the stakes are high. Many of us must learn how to properly handle such conversations because it does not come naturally. We learned this and so much more from our "Crucial Conversations" guest speaker, Marie Wehrung. We explored the "Pool of Shared Meaning" where all people invovled in a conversation feel secure enough to share their thoughts. I especially appreciated how the information she shared was applicable both at work with colleagues and students and at home with friends and family.

FALL 2021

Business as Usual

...but not really! The rush for business to carry on as usual in the education world filled me with mixed emotions. We are still living in a pandemic, and the thought of crossing paths with hundreds of students each day filled me with anxiety and delight at the same time. Virtual learning was tough and lonely. I missed interacting with and really getting to know my students, but I also felt like I was being forced to play Russian roulette with my health and that of my family (some of whom are immunocompromised). Nonetheless, we all masked-up and welcomed nearly 2,000 students onto our campus. Enrollment was higher than it has ever been in all my years of serving at JMHS. At the same time, however, there was an increase in teacher vacancies. This meant even bigger class sizes, several classes with subs, and weeks and weeks of scheduling errors. Classes were bursting at the seams with students. My roster consists of over 230 students, and while I would like to support and guide them all, some days it feels impossible. My plan is to just keep showing up as positive and prepared as possible, and hopefully, the students will feel my sincerity and leave my class best equipped for the next. We got through virtual, and we will get through this!

Action Research

I hoped to begin my action research project this semester. I was able to introduce the idea to my department. Many of them were already willing to share their thoughts on problems they thought affected the campus. I tried to implement active listening skills, clarifying with each participant that I understood their point correctly and recording it to review later. This proved effective in keeping the meeting flowing and allowing everyone to feel comfortable sharing their point of view. Unfortunately, things have not advanced beyond this point. Many teachers see the problems on our campus and wish something could be done about them but feel they do not have the time or resources to tackle any the problems themselves. This year has been beyond challenging so far. I understand their concerns with taking on more responsibility. I too feel time, nor energy, is on my side. I am not discouraged, however, I feel opening up these conversations about change has been beneficial and is vital if change is to ever take place.

SPRING 2022

Philippines Virtual Presentation

Kicked off the spring semester with a bang. I was invited by fellow TLIIST fellow, Remelia Arpino, to present to a group of highly enthusiastic elementary students in the Philippines. In this presentation, students learned about DNA and its importance to living things. Despite the limitations of presentating virtually, my partner (Kandice Melchor) and I were able to share a fun hands-on experience with the group. We facilitated the group in extracting DNA from strawberries using household materials. They eagerly paid attention, asked and answered questions, and followed through with all procedures. Their faces lit up and many of them appeared tickled at the sight of strawberry DNA on the tip of their popsicle sticks. My hope is that the experience was just as memorable for them as it was for me.

Literacy Night

My campus hosted a community event to promote literacy and connection between home and school. Students and their families joined us in visiting booths prepared by each department. The booths consisted of engaging activities, treats, and prizes. The science booth focused on DNA and gave students and parents an opportunity to witness DNA up close and personal. Parents, fellow teachers, and students joined us in extracting DNA from strawberries. One parent who could not speak English and did not complete school beyond primary grades was brought to tears observing the DNA on the end of the stirring rod as she gently lifted it out. I feel confident saying that memory will stick with her and I am grateful to have been a part of it.

year 4

SUMMER 2022

Inquiry Institute: Ice Balloons

I attended the Inquiry Institute during my first summer as a TLIIST fellow. I remember many of the activities and left that experience eager to share what I had learned with others, including students and fellow educators, and during our fourth summer session I had the opportunity to do just that. TLIIST fellows were charged with leading the Inquiry Institute for a wonderful group of teachers. My partner (Molly Nipper) and I presented the "Ice Balloons" investigation, which centered on helping students learn to develop questions and to determine what types of questions are investigable. The teachers jumped right in developing an abundance of questions as they explored the mysterious ice balloon. By the end of the session, the teachers were able to sort their questions into groups of investigable and non-investigable.

MEN-CO-CO

After leading the Inquiry Institute, we began work on another project designed to support novice teachers. Operation MEN-CO-CO involved developing a series of free mentoring workshops on various topics ranging from implementing inquiry in the classroom to creating equitable classrooms. My group's area of focus was on building connection between family and school to support student acheivement. We started by researching parent-teacher communication. We each found three articles and shared out about our findings. We identifed the common points in all of the articles and highlighted any differences as well. Next, we constructed an outline of the message we would want to convey in the workshop. The outline supported us in developing the presentation, including discussions and interactive activities to engage participants further. We did a run-through of the presentation with one of our leaders, Ericka Lawton. This final step helped us to end the summer session prepared to present our workshop in the Fall and Spring semesters.

FALL 2022

Supporting Emergent Bilinguals

Support for our Emergent Bilingual (EB) students, formerly known as English Language Learners (ELL), is in full swing this year. As our campus increases in number of students speaking English as a second language, we were in need of buckling down and developing effective methods for reaching all students, including our beginner and intermediate EB students. The Multilingual department has provided professional development in how to effectively write and communicate language objectives that are aligned with content objectives, how to support students in speaking and writing using academic terminology. I have seen positive outcomes in implementing the strategies shared in PD. Students have grown more willing to share out and are better able to express their understanding in writing. I look forward to seeing what the end of year result will be.

Building Literacy and Models

Literacy is essential to understanding in any content area. Coming out of COVID events was challenging and the effects have lingered. Many students are not reading on grade level, which drastically effects their ability to comprehend the less familiar terminology often used in science. I have been motivated to find new ways to incorporate literacy in my lessons and new ways for students to demonstrate their understanding. One method I have found effective this year is expert groups that require students to read and identify the main point of the information. This is followed by sharing with their groups about what they learned. The final task as a group, is to build a visual representation of what they have learned. During the DNA unit, students used marsh-mellows and gummy bears to construct a DNA ladder, labeling the primary components, and presenting their creation to the whole class. Students were engaged and took the time to prepare what they would say. They took ownership of the learning. I truly hope to have continued success with this approach. Time will tell!

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