1. Think about your hopes for inquiry this semester. What do you want to learn? How do you expect to grow both professionally and personally from engaging in and writing up your inquiry during your final internship semester?
I believe that as a preservice teacher, I am still not completely confident with gifted or higher learning students. This, I believe, is something that many teachers, even veterans, still want to work on and collect more data on. I hope to become more comfortable with strategies to ensure that gifted students are always engaged, that include more than ineffective "busy work." As I engage and write my inquiry, I believe that I would be equipped with more skills necessary for facilitating learning for higher learning students. Additionally, I believe that this entire inquiry process is a learning process full of self reflection - one in which I would learn what strategies work, and which do not. Most importantly, it is important for me to accept that it is okay if a strategy or idea is not effective, as this simply means I am growing personally and professionally, as I fine tune my knowledge and expertise pertaining to this topic.
2. Consider your fears about this course. What worries you about engaging in inquiry this semester? What concerns do you have as you continue your inquiry work as a part of your final internship?
I am worried about not having enough time to collect data regularly, while trying to fully engage in the teaching process at the same time. It is difficult to multitask at times, especially as I am expected to facilitate most of the teaching in this final internship. Additionally, I am worried that because most of my data collection is observation based, it is not rich or in depth enough.
3. Use your Inquiry Research Plan from last semester and your Goal Sheet and complete the following sentences:
Last semester my wondering was...."How can I provide enrichment opportunities for my high performing student to ensure that she is constantly challenged/stimulated?"
I believe my inquiry topic is important for student learning because...I hope to become affiliated with methods, strategies and opportunities that would allow me to meet the needs of all levels of my students, in order for them to learn to their full potential.
The key forms of data I hope to collect to more deeply understand student learning related to my inquiry are...observations, interviews, and student diagnostic data.
The most important changes I hope to make/actions I hope to try related to my practice are...I want my students in my classroom to always be stimulated, challenged and never bored. Lower performing students tend to be given more attention/focus that high performing students. This may result in them plateauing, rather than truly reaching their full potential/
The key forms of data I hope to collect data to more deeply understand myself and my teaching are...video recordings of myself as well as reflections based on this. Self-reflection is one of the most important strategies in teacher growth, and I believe it should be a continuous, ongoing process.
One thing my supervisor needs to know to help me "create a space" for inquiry in my classroom is...it is not always easy to collect student data for my wondering, as most of it would be observation based. However, I believe that this is the most effective form my my specific inquiry topic.
One thing my course instructor needs to know to help me write-up and share my inquiry with others is...I appreciate constructive criticism and am always looking for ways to improve my writing.
I believe that as a preservice teacher, I am still not completely confident with gifted or higher learning students. This, I believe, is something that many teachers, even veterans, still want to work on and collect more data on. I hope to become more comfortable with strategies to ensure that gifted students are always engaged, that include more than ineffective "busy work." As I engage and write my inquiry, I believe that I would be equipped with more skills necessary for facilitating learning for higher learning students. Additionally, I believe that this entire inquiry process is a learning process full of self reflection - one in which I would learn what strategies work, and which do not. Most importantly, it is important for me to accept that it is okay if a strategy or idea is not effective, as this simply means I am growing personally and professionally, as I fine tune my knowledge and expertise pertaining to this topic.
2. Consider your fears about this course. What worries you about engaging in inquiry this semester? What concerns do you have as you continue your inquiry work as a part of your final internship?
I am worried about not having enough time to collect data regularly, while trying to fully engage in the teaching process at the same time. It is difficult to multitask at times, especially as I am expected to facilitate most of the teaching in this final internship. Additionally, I am worried that because most of my data collection is observation based, it is not rich or in depth enough.
3. Use your Inquiry Research Plan from last semester and your Goal Sheet and complete the following sentences:
Last semester my wondering was...."How can I provide enrichment opportunities for my high performing student to ensure that she is constantly challenged/stimulated?"
I believe my inquiry topic is important for student learning because...I hope to become affiliated with methods, strategies and opportunities that would allow me to meet the needs of all levels of my students, in order for them to learn to their full potential.
The key forms of data I hope to collect to more deeply understand student learning related to my inquiry are...observations, interviews, and student diagnostic data.
The most important changes I hope to make/actions I hope to try related to my practice are...I want my students in my classroom to always be stimulated, challenged and never bored. Lower performing students tend to be given more attention/focus that high performing students. This may result in them plateauing, rather than truly reaching their full potential/
The key forms of data I hope to collect data to more deeply understand myself and my teaching are...video recordings of myself as well as reflections based on this. Self-reflection is one of the most important strategies in teacher growth, and I believe it should be a continuous, ongoing process.
One thing my supervisor needs to know to help me "create a space" for inquiry in my classroom is...it is not always easy to collect student data for my wondering, as most of it would be observation based. However, I believe that this is the most effective form my my specific inquiry topic.
One thing my course instructor needs to know to help me write-up and share my inquiry with others is...I appreciate constructive criticism and am always looking for ways to improve my writing.