Professional Inquiry Introduction

 About Me

My role, learner age(s), technology environment, and technology stance.

     I am currently a Math and Reading Interventionist.  I do all the assessments, writing of Tier 3 plans, and teaching of all Tier 3 plans for students in my elementary school.  The students I work with are in grades 1-5, ages 6-11. I do not use a lot of technology with my students, but I do use a lot of technology in my professional environment.  I have to do a lot of report writing, presentations to administrators and staff, and professional development for staff.  I do coach teachers who ask for help with their teaching or in writing their Tier 2 plans. I plan and implement.  I plan and run 2 Family Night each year for our school.  This year I planned our Fall Family Fun Night to be a totally virtual night.

      My school is currently teaching students 5 days a week remotely and in person at the same time.  I currently have 8 small groups that I teach.  5 are in person groups. Two are totally remote and 1 has remote and in person learners. 

     The students in my school each have an iPad, each of our classrooms has a camera and class monitor for remote learners, an Apple TV and overhead projector. Teachers all have MacBook Airs.

     I believe students need good teachers and that technology cannot replace that, however, technology can be used to help teachers teach better and allow students more flexibility in the way they learn and show their learning

 Strengths

     My strengths are that I have been teaching for many years at this point and I know the programs of my school district very well.  I have a master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in math so I have a strong math background and I am good at assessing my students and determining what they need.  

     I love learning and am always taking classes or reading books to learn more about teaching my students.  I am a mentor to many of the teachers in my school and they regularly come to me with math questions or help with teaching their students.

Improvement

     I would like to see improvement in the way I am collecting data on my students, how that data is presented to students, teachers, and parents, and how that data is used to teach students.  Right now, my school puts a lot of stock in NWEA test results. We spend a lot of time going over the NWEA results and determining our school goals and Tier plans based on that data.  I would like to see us use NWEA data as one data point, but not the only data point. 

     I would like to see students have multiple data points before determining their plan and to see their whole picture.  I would like to see standardized testing in general be something that is looked at, but not something that is stressed over.

       In my district we compare teachers from one class to another and from one grade to another and even one elementary school to another in the district.  Teachers with lower scores are asked to go and observe the teachers with higher scores to see what they could do better. This creates a very toxic environment.

      I would like to see portfolios made for students or some other way of assessing students which could show a student’s learning and have standardized testing only be one snapshot of what the student knows. I would like to see teachers and schools not be judged on standardized testing results.

     I would also like to see improvement in my school schedule so that I am able to work with my students for longer periods of time and to have a more fluid schedule so that students can move in and out of my program as needed. Right now I see students from 20 to 30 minutes per day and a student needs to finish a cycle with me before they can be dismissed or before I can start seeing a new student.

List 5 topics, ideas, areas or specific readings that you have wanted to explore.

 Everything Google, I would like to find out more about being Google Certified and time to explore all the Google Extensions, and all parts of the Google Suite.

How to teach adult learners. How to put on really good professional development for my staff. How to keep my staff interested in what I am presenting. 

What are ways of showing student growth-Portfolios, Summative assessments, standardized assessments, etc. so that the best overall student picture is seen.

Math Coaching- How to be an exceptional elementary math coach.  How to be a successful math coach and math integrator. How does the schedule work? How are things managed between the two. Can they both be done together?

 3D Printing.  How do our school 3D printers work, what can be done with them? How can I use the 3D printers in my school with my students?

Explain why or how any or all of these impact your learning environment or personal growth? 

     These all impact my learning environment because they are all things that I need to improve on in my teaching or have been curious about.  I have gone from being a classroom teacher to being a math/reading interventionist and advisor to other teachers.  It has been a very different role after being a classroom teacher for so long, but I feel like the change in position has energized me again.

      If I am able to learn more about any of these topics will help me to be better in my position which will in turn help me to be a better resource for the other teachers in my school.

Do you know what direction you already would like to go? 

      At this point, I have not made a definite decision, but I am leaning towards doing research on Everything Google.  I use parts of Google so often, but there is so much I don’t know and could be using.  I feel like if I took the time to see what applications are available, I could really save myself a lot of time and really be able to make better presentations and provide better reports and professional development for my staff if I knew more of the features I could use.

     The other thing I am really interested in learning about is becoming a math coach.  I currently do a small amount of coaching in my school, but many people have told me I should pursue being a math coach instead of being a math interventionist so I am thinking I could look into what that would entail and would I want to make that transition.

Do you see alignment with the course central questions or outcomes?

     Yes, If I were to explore all things Google, I would definitely be learning a lot more technology so it would align with the course and central question or outcome. If I pursue math coaching, it would be somewhat because I would see how the math coaches use technology to coach.