Teaching the Civil Rights Movement

Evidence:

1. Lessons Folder

Context:

• Last week we were tasked with designing two back to back mini-lessons. My unit is on the 1960s Civil Rights Movement: the Who, What, When, Where, and Why? In the big picture, I've broken my unit up into 3 sections. The first section is the opening where I provide an overview necessary for students to understand the background for the unit. This is also the time when I preassess students' learning in order to gauge the students' knowledge and ability up to this point. I have to anticipate that I will need to review prereading strategies, vocabulary, and content during the opening section. I must also consider the accommodations matrix for the current set of students. I will not be formally assessing the students' learning during this time. 

• Performance Criterion 2.1:  Candidates use an understanding of individual differences to design inclusive learning experiences. (Accommodations Matrix, including a diverse curriculum)

• Performance Criterion 3.1: Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active engagement. (Student presentations, Flipped classroom, Choice in readings)

Mini-Lessons

• In my previous lesson we focused on some useful vocabulary in order to provide background knowledge. Today's lesson is designed as a practice lesson for students to get familiar with prereading strategies and a handful of prominent Civil Rights activists such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Ruby Bridges, and Jackie Robinson. I gathered resources from a variety of websites including Ducksters.com and TeacherVision.com. The goal of today was to preassess the following standards: 

D2.His.11.6-8. Use other historical sources to infer a plausible maker, date, place of origin, and intended audience for historical sources where this information is not easily identified.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

By teaching the two lessons back to back, I was able to gain valuable insight as to the ability and style of my class. In the first lesson you go in blind and have to trust your lesson plan for the day. However, by thef second lesson you have gained all the information you need to teach well. The second lesson is different because you have established a rapport with your students. As a result, I modified my lesson to include more confidence-boosting accommodations because I learned that they worked well with the texts but were less confident in history as a subject area. What I realized was that I had to establish trust with my students in Social Studies that I would not give them more than they could handle. It was the same way they had to establish trust for me in Math in the following lesson.

My pre-assessment revealed to me that some of the students may need review/practice with skills such as note taking and presenting. The students could identify the important dates from the reading, the author's purpose, and the central ideas from the text. By the end of the lessons, the students were able to answer the questions, "Why was the person you researched important to the CRM? What do we remember them for?" Even in the pre-assessment portion of the unit, the lesson is designed to be educational so that when they reach the final assessment they will have already been given multiple opportunities to show their learning over time.

The most important thing I learned from the teaching strategies I employed was how much more interesting teaching becomes when you take the time to reflect on what works and what doesn't work. When I asked my peers what they disliked most about history in middle and high school they answered that it was boring or that they couldn't memorize all the dates for exams and so they did poorly. I admit that my first instinct as a teacher is to make a powerpoint and lecture because that is my own experience in the field. However, when I took the time to design an engaging hands-on lesson it really paid off. This is why my goal for the remainder of the lessons in the unit will be to find creative ways to hook my students in the content. My only challenge will be making sure that I have enough time to complete the activities and connect them with the standards for the final unit.

After teaching these mini lessons, I've learned that I am a "handouts" teacher. I like to be very organized and deliberate with the resources that I make available to students. I also like to plan everything out to the last detail, not to the point that it has to be "perfect" or inflexible but rather so that I can be confident in knowing that everything has the best chance of success. I suppose that in some ways I can be considered old-school because I did not use any technology in this lesson, but there's something to be said for the reliability of paper.

In the future I would like to challenge myself to make my own instruction worksheets instead of using the ones I research online. I think this will be helpful when it comes to student teaching because I will need to show evidence of being able to design my own work in my reach portfolio. My curriculum and literacy courses have shown me how to develop tasks and tools, various methods of assessment, and other instructional strategies. At this time I need to practice creating and using them.

"Same Sun Here" Reflection

Finding Common Ground

The two major themes in this year's Common Read are culture and environmental awareness. These themes are expressed in a variety of ways throughout the book. At the common read event that I attended earlier this evening, we had the opportunity to reflect on what it means to have cultural awareness and what it means to be an activist in one's own community. 

Given an array of photos whose intention was to evoke an emotional response, we were asked to choose the photo that resonated most with us. I chose this photo of migrant farm workers because of my involvement in groups such as Juntos, Milk with Dignity, and Migrant Justice at Saint Michael's and in the surrounding community.

As a future educator, and perhaps deeper in my core beliefs, is a calling for advocacy. In the Mission Statement at Saint Mike's, it calls for "social justice" and "cultural responsiveness." One way that I am committed to social justice is by choosing to listen and being present to support my friends here. There are countless underprivileged groups at the college, in the United States, and around the world who have a story to share but not the means to write nor to speak. This is one area where I can help. One of my goals after graduation is to work with migrant or refugee communities and to teach English to speakers of other languages. We all have common ground to stand on even if we are as different as Meena and River in "Same Sun Here." The trick is finding out what we have in common and learning to celebrate our differences as the aspects of ourselves that make us truly unique.

Finally, I took away a renewed belief in the importance of respect for our differences. Respect lies at the center of healthy dialogue and relationships. Without respect you cannot have meaningful conversations with people who disagree with you. The first thing that comes to mind is Facebook battles between people of different political views. In the highly charged political climate today, it can be easy to fall into the cycle of not listening to people who disagree with you whether in person or online. No matter what kind of activism I am involved in, I prioritize respect and the right to disagree. In the classroom, my political views are not what are the most important. It does not matter to me if a student has an opposing view, rather what matters is that he or she knows how to express that view with understanding. I want my students to be passionate about learning and to discover what it is that matters most to them. The most important thing I can give students is a space where they feel comfortable enough to have their own opinions and have the right to disagree, knowing that even if I disagree with them on a personal level, I will always be their advocate.

What is Boycott Wendy's?

Vocabulary Lesson

Lesson Video

Lesson Plan
Google Slide


For my first lesson in designing a unit on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States I chose to create an activity to define "segregation." Although my content area is history, I believe that literacy plays an enormous role in laying the foundation for any lesson. In this case, before I can begin teaching about the 1960s, I need to make sure that my students have a firm grasp on some intermediate vocabulary. In this mini-lesson I had two goals: first was for students to be able to define/give an example of segregation and the second was to begin teaching students how to read visual primary source documents.

I have chosen to tag the following Performance Criterion:

• Performance Criterion 1.1: Candidates use an understanding of learning theory (in areas such as cognitive, linguistic, social emotional or physical) to design appropriate learning experiences. 

• Performance Criterion 3.1: Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active engagement. 

• Performance Criterion 4.1: Candidates accurately communicate central concepts of the discipline.

In order to design a lesson, I had to initially create a lesson plan and take into consideration how students might react to new information. Rather than a traditional lecture-style history class, my intention was to create a space for active engagement in learning, such as a discussion on what "segregation" means to them? In the process, I had to think about the physical use of the classroom, what presentation format to use, and which sources to include. Lastly, as an assessment to determine whether students could accurately communicate the central concepts, I chose to have students answer three open-ended questions: 

1. In your own words, how would you define segregation?

2. Do you think learning about segregation is important?

3. Is it still relevant today? Why or why not?

Reflection- After watching my lesson afterwards on video and reading feedback from my peers, I learned some valuable lessons about my teaching. Most notably, I need to be more flexible when experiencing technical difficulties. When my YouTube video wouldn't play, I should have had an alternative in place. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was to always have a backup plan that is low-tech and easily accessible. In terms of the assessments, I decided off the cuff not to have the students hand in their question sheets. The reason why I did this was so that the students would have a chance to be truly honest and the only way to accomplish that was to have it be confidential. I realized that topics like segregation are not always easy to talk about and I so I wanted my first lesson to be one that had students walking away in thought rather than handing in an exit slip with what they think I wanted them to say. I know that I was effective at teaching the vocabulary despite not collecting the assessments because the students were able to provide examples of segregation from history and were able to discuss key historical figures such as Rosa Parks too.

What I took away from this assignment about teaching vocab in my content area is that the terminology is often rooted in larger concepts. I am not teaching a single word but rather opening a door to a new realm of study. As a result, I am responsible for creating an honest space where it is acceptable for students to respectfully disagree with one another and think critically. One way I could have taught "segregation" was to teach the concept using a fruit basket where students separate out the different color fruits (green apple, pear, lime, etc. vs. red apple, strawberry, cherry, etc.) but in the end we are talking about real people and history that has impacted millions of people. There is a certain gravity in teaching history where you have to balance the reverence of a given topic and the fun of learning about it. The goal of my next lesson will be to find correct balance between the two. 

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Day 6

From Geographers to Archeologists...

This week we began our lesson on archeology. Students were asked to make a brochure style pictorgram as if it were going to be viewed by later generations in a museum. In their "cave drawings" the students were given examples of what to include such as their religion, the kinds of food they ate, hobbies/clubs, etc. What surprised me was when I was looking around the room I noticed a few students were using app icons. I took a closer lol and I found they were the Snapchat, Facebook, and Netflix apps. When I asked the student why she chose these images for the brochure she answered, "Because they are my life!" I wasn't exactly sure what to say but I felt some concern. As a generation, technology plays an enormous role in the lives of teenagers. I'm reserving judgement whether it's good or bad but my feeling is that technology should be a part of your life but not the main part. I wonder what future archeologists will have to report on our use of technology in the 21st century?

1:1 Technology

Last week in my Education class we worked on a hypothetical scenario where we would be

introducing 1 to 1 technology to students and families. The assignment was two fold. In the first part my team was asked to write up a letter about the technology initiative to send out to families addressing things such as parental concerns, cost, etc. Part two of the task was to research student usuage contracts implemented by other schools in the area and use them a a reference to create our own. I've linked the products here:

  Fair Use Contract  
  Letter to Parents

The rationale behind inserting technology into the classroom is that students should be the best equipped to handle  the real world as possible by the time of graduation. We believe that in order to be well prepared upon graduation, then digital citizenship is crucial to that end. Our goal is for students to learn to be responsible with technology and to use it in ways that prove beneficial to learning. That is why we were very conscientious about choosing our wording in both documents. We wanted our language to be encouraging with the challenge to integrate technology and encouraging that students respect the opportunity as well.

I am excited about the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. Technology has so much to offer students whether it's assistance with learning differences, global communication, or expanded research methods. Technology has the potential to open doors to students who may otherwise never have the chance to broaden their horizons. When used correctly, technology such as iPads, chrome books, or even smart boards can add a whole new dimension to the learning environment. However, one of my fears is that technology may become somewhat of a distraction instead of its intended purpose. One way to curb the temptation of students misuse is to have in place a policy for good use. My only other concern is technical difficulties. In other words, how can I prepare myself for technical difficulties so that when an issue arises during class  my lesson will still succeed without throwing students off task? In this way, a helpful piece of professional development might be work on airing technology with Plan B's for when Plan A doesn't load.

 Lastly, I think it's important to recognize the importance of finding a balance between using technology and more traditional classroom methods. There's something authentic about being able to physically hold and experience a book or receive a paper back with handwritten comments from your teacher. I look forward to finding this balance.

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Performance Criterion:

2.1: candidates use an understanding of individual differences to design inclusive learning experience.

3.1:  candidates design learning environments that support individual learners  marked by active engagement.

8.1:  candidates use a variety of instructional strategies to make the discipline accessible for diverse learners.

(As mentioned above, technology has the potential to address several learning differences such as dyslexia for example. More broadly, technology has the potential to address Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners through a variety of apps and software. Moreover, students can be actively engaged in learning rather than simply sitting back to view a lecture and take notes.)

3.2: candidates design learning environments that support collaborative learning marked by positive social interaction.

(Technology initiatives such as introducing 1:1 iPads, provides the opportunity for collaborative learning. Students can use apps such as Google Docs to work together on projects. iPads and chrome books can be synced with apps such as Nearpod so that everyone in a classroom is guaranteed to be working on the same thing at the same time. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, "let's put our heads together" when facing new challenges in learning.)

4.1:  candidates accurately communicate central concept of the discipline.

10.1:  candidates are prepared to collaborate with learners, families,  colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure student learning.

(In writing a letter home to parents and designing a fair use contract, we have demonstrated accurate communication of the discipline. As future educators our job is to help not only students but also parents smoothly transition with digital citizenship. Part of that task is helping to address concerns or fears that people may have around technology.)

Day 5

Team meetings

Confidentiality

JAGS

Paraeducators

Day 4

Interdisciplinary units -  Big History Project & Evolution/science

Early civilizations - teacher taking down my ideas for consideration

Crunch time during lessons on shortened days

Day 3 - Technology in the Classroom

One resource that I've seen my host teacher use is a program called Flocabulary. It's an online tool that does require a subscription, but it provides mini lesson videos, vocabulary resources, quizzes and more. Today the students continued work on their geography unit. At the beginning of each class the students watch a fun video on the 50 states and their capitals. Using these resources in the classroom are great ways of incorporating digital technology and engaging many kinds of learners.

One thing that I took away from today's observation is a new style of assessment. Her philosophy is that students have a better chance of learning and succeeding if they can see their progress over time. Not only do preassessments and follow ups help her to gage student learning, but they also give the students extra practice before they are asked to take a graded version of the same quiz. Basically, the teacher handed out a quiz on the states' capitals and asked students to fill in as many as they could after having watched the video. They complete the same quiz three times but the first two times are not marked in the grade book. Then the students get to correct their own work and see where they have progressed or still need improvement. It's not a retake in the traditional sense, but rather a practice tool for the real test later I really like the concept of giving the same quiz multiple times instead of only once because it gives students a good chance to practice and get better. It also provides a basis for proficiency based grading because it shows visible student development over time.

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As a side note, today we recognized the celebration of Dashain, a Nepalese holiday which many students at Hunt practice. I've linked a brief description of what it's all about here. One student came in today with the courage to wear a cultural marker on her forehead representing the blessing of her elders called a "Tika." Unfortunately, it didn't stay on the whole day because she said it came off during gym. I only hope is that she did not take it off out of feeling pressured to do so. Nonetheless, I am constantly reminded and in awe of how diverse the student population is here at Hunt. I look forward to learning even more about the students and their cultural backgrounds.

Day 2 at Hunt Middle Scool

It's Day 2 at Hunt Middle School and today my host teacher worked with students on current events. In the past I have had concerns about how to appropriately handle current event topics that involve politics. My main concern is how to approach difficult discussions when students bring up controversial subjects. For example, it's not beyond the realm of possibilities that in today's highly charged political climate, students (and parents) might have a strong reaction to certain current event conversations. In the class prior, two students chose to do their current event presentation on the NFL protests while another set of students chose to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Likewise, a third set of students chose to cover the Las Vegas shooting. Each of these news pieces had the potential to cause an issue in the classroom the same way sparks fly on social media, on television, or around the family dinner table. The NFL debate in particular has brought about some intense polarization on social media in the past few months and students are by no means ignorant of the heated debate surrounding the issue. One way to address the political climate is to bring it out into the open and talk about it in schools. Vermont state offered teachers some helpful suggestions on how to address the concerns that students bring in when they cross the threshold. The one rule that I noticed my host teacher put into practice is that students are asked to address both sides of a given issue and present all the relevant facts. With the NFL protests, these tech savvy students were able to create a detailed presentation that used real news sources and cited several opposing views from athletes, service members, people of color, etc. Following the presentation, the class was invited to have an open discussion in order to reflect on what had been said. I was surprised at how respectful and insightful the dialogue was, with students saying things like, "I'd never thought of it that way before." The students really considered ALL the opinions being offered up before making judgments. Meanwhile, the teacher stepped back and let students have a meaningful discourse without entering her own thoughts into the mix. I couldn't help but think to myself that I wish some of the adults I know could have done the same as these middle schoolers.

Middle School Placement - Day 1

Today I had my first day at Hunt Middle School (Burlington, VT). Last year I tutored as part of my Adolescent Development class at South Burlington High School, but this is my first experience observing a middle school classroom. I am now a Junior at Saint Michael's College and I am thrilled to be getting so much first-hand experience with real teachers in their classrooms. My placement is with a diverse group of 7th and 8th graders. In class today I had the opportunity to see a variety of education theory in practice such as the iPad Initiative, Chrome books, Proficiency/Standards-Based Grading, the implementation of Digital Citizenship in curriculum, Middle School Teaming, etc. My goal for this placement is to gain valuable experience with students and current teachers in the classroom. This is where the rubber meets the road and theory meets practice. I am hoping to learn new strategies in teaching and working with this diverse group of individuals.

ED 361 & 343

Apps: Adobe Spark Page & Explain Everything

Initial Assignment: After becoming familiar with these apps, your task is to create two concise presentations. The first will be a visual and audio representation of your curriculum orientation and the second will explain how your definition of literacy has evolved since taking the course.

1. https://expl.ai/SYBLTWL
2. https://spark.adobe.com/page/OdT7FUBMjDW04/

Reflection:

Literacy and Curriculum tend to overlap because they represent two sides of the same coin. Literacy is the ability of a student to show their knowledge in a particular content area while curriculum is essentially a blueprint for educators to provide their students with the content. If a teacher cannot follow a set curriculum or design an appropriate lesson from it, then the student's chances of becoming literate in that subject are jeopardized.

Performance Criterion 4.1: Candidates accurately communicate central concepts of the discipline.

In order to teach their students, the teacher must first understand the material themselves. Part of that understanding is shaping a particular mindset around what it means to learn and develop over time. In terms of literacy and curriculum, I thought I knew what these were before coming into this class but the truth is that I only grasped a corner of the playing field. Part of my responsibility as a teacher is being able to effectively communicate the central concepts of what I'm teaching whether that is history, digital citizenship, or how to be successful outside the classroom.

Performance Criterion 4.2: Candidates accurately address common misconceptions of the discipline.

One common misconception around literacy is that it is limited to reading and writing. However, what I have learned thus far in this course is that literacy can be opened up to a variety of disciplines such as technology, mathematics, and even art/music. Literacy can be reading words on a page but it is also writing equations and deciphering maps. Literacy is understanding how advertising companies influence how and where we choose to spend our money. The reason this is so important when it comes to education is that literacy is a subject that will follow students past graduation. Having students be well-informed about the society in which they live gives them the tools to engage.

Performance Criterion 5.1: Candidates engage learners in applying perspectives from varied disciplines in authentic contexts (such as local and global issues).

In order to engage learners in applying perspectives from varied disciplines in authentic contexts, I created two modern digital presentations. Anyone this day in age can create a simple PowerPoint to convey a basic understanding, however, I took it a step further to expand on my technological repertoire. Using the Explain Everything and Adobe Spark Page apps as an extension of the Ipad Initiative, I touched on local and global issues in education, the first issue being digital citizenship. In a time when technology is advancing at an ever increasing pace, educators need to keep up by challenging themselves to learn in new ways. Studies show that students no longer have the same attention span as the generations before them had. However, these students are also more adept at online collaboration and digital storytelling than ever before. By first engaging in these new apps myself, now I can ask students to do the same.

Performance Criterion 5.2: Candidates integrate cross-disciplinary skills (such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving) to help learners demonstrate their learning in unique ways.

A traditional demonstration of learning may include writing a ten page paper to prove what a student has learned from a particular lesson or unit.  Yet, what this does not show is whether or not the student can apply their knowledge to real world settings. This is where the integration of cross-disciplinary skills such as critical thinking come into play. Learners need to be able to demonstrate their understanding of the material in unique ways such as creating presentations that challenge students to push the boundaries of their comfort zones. For example, while I was learning to use the Explain Everything app, I found myself wishing I could just use a different software that I was already more comfortable with and would have required less time to figure out, but this wouldn't have taught me anything new. Now that I've become familiar with the new software I am glad my professors had me take the time to learn it.

Through this assignment, some of my long-standing perceptions on literacy and curriculum were affirmed due to the fact that once again, I noticed the power of a growth vs fixed mindset. In other words, in order to continue learning and not become complacent you must continually push yourself to find new and creative avenues for growth and consistently reflect on your methods of self-engagement, lest you become stifled in old ways of thinking.

In the future, I have a choice of whether or not to pursue learning in this area and it will be up to me how I spend my time in these subjects. My plan is to further my understanding of literacy as it relates to curriculum because one day my student's success will depend on how I've chosen to carry out my own personal learning.

Experiential Learning in Middle School

What is Experiential Learning?

"Experiential learning is any learning that supports students in applying their knowledge and conceptual understanding to real-world problems or situations where the instructor directs and facilitates learning. The classroom, laboratory, or studio can serve as a setting for experiential learning through embedded activities such as case and problem-based studies, guided inquiry, simulations, experiments, or art projects (Wurdinger & Carlson, 2010)."

At the middle school level, learning needs to be fun and flexible like the students. Yet, in many schools across the country, students still do not have the opportunity to go on field trips which enhance their studies, often due to budget concerns or simply a lack of will to change traditional learning practices. A six hour school day in which students spend their time sitting at individual desks waiting for the bell to ring is not a fun learning experience for the student nor the teacher. Instead, students need a balance between structure and creativity.

Additionally, experiential learning does not have to be limited to activities beyond the classroom. My goal is to engage students in a classroom setting that is fun and flexible while still educational. I shudder at the thought of lecturing about the American Revolution to students sitting in rows of desks who are relegated to using an outdated textbook. Instead, I dream of having a classroom where students are moving around and creating interesting projects on the subject matter. Experiential Learning, Expeditionary Learning, and Service Learning are all ways in which teachers, teams, and schools can help students be conscious citizens who take an active role in their education. Learning can be fun and that is what I want to teach my students so that when they leave my classroom they are inspired to continue their education. I am optimistic that educators, schools, and communities working together can make field trips a more prevalent learning practice in schools today.

Educators such as Paul Arabie, have designed their lessons plans to incorporate experiential learning. Tailored to various intelligence types, he has found a way to make history relevant to students today. In fact, studies have shown that middle level students in particular benefit greatly from this kind of hands-on learning. For example, one study showed that students who visited a museum featuring art and history they studied in the classroom, not only retained the information better but also showed an increase in critical thinking skills, historical empathy, and likelihood to continue further inquiry on their own time. 

King Middle School in Portland Maine has also implemented a curriculum which incorporates experiential learning. In December of 2016, a group of eighth grade students and faculty attended a Climate March to enact legislation regarding sustainability and renewable energies for the state. These students had to learn about their carbon footprints and other environmental studies in preparation for the march. Thus, they were able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a meaningful way through long-term goals and service.

Family Involvement

Of the six types of parental involvement targeted by Eipstein, I will focus on Learning at Home and Communicating. While all "slices" are critical I believe these to be the most important to student success. In order for a student to be successful they need sources of support both academically and mentally. Parents can assist with both. In fact, they can often make the most difference for a student in determining what their future will look like. Parents for example who had negative experiences in school themselves are likely to pass on their negative attitudes to their child and are therefore less likely to want to engage with the school.  In the same way, parents who are unable to assist with homework or extracurriculars, for a variety of reasons, may find that their student has a more difficult time than other students with more active parents.  It only makes sense that if parents can go over the 

materials at home that had been covered in class that the material would be retained better by these students. This would translate into testing as well. Likewise, communication between parents and teachers is crucial to make sure students are accountable for completing work on time and to check in with a student's well-being in all aspects of life. If a child is struggling at home then it is important for parents to let their teacher know and vice versa. Having better communication and supplemental learning at home can better a student's chances of success in school.

GED Middle Grades Organization!

In an effort to broaden my understanding of what it means to be a teacher and to enhance my ability as a future educator I am taking a Middle Grades Organization course in addition to my focus in Secondary Education. In this course, I will learn about how Middle School students learn best and in what ways teaching young adolescents varies from teaching high school students.

One critical component of Middle School learning is "Teaming". Reports show that young adolescents who work in teams over time are more likely to succeed than students who do not. Part of the reason for this is that teams/advisories provide students with the support they need through Middle School. When others are relying on them to do their part they are more likely to follow through. This teaches students the value of responsibility and communication. The benefit of teaming is that even when students come across challenges in groups, they must learn to overcome them and grow with one another. One interesting component of teaming that catches my attention is its usefulness in fostering a creative and cooperative enviroment not only for students but for teachers as well. I found it interestug that teachers who collaborate intersectionally are found to be more effective than teachers who work independently. In the future I would like to learn more about how teaming enhances student performance, but an educators's ability as well.

Throughout the course, I will be working in a group with two of my peers to produce a website featuring our Advisory team. This team is tasked with creating an environment which fosters learning and personal growth. Thus far, we have created the page for our team, a concise mission statement and a team name (Team Arrow). In the following weeks we will progressively work to update our website and build community within the group. The idea of having an advisory team makes a lot of sense, especially at the Middle School level, however I have a lot to learn. Unlike my teammates I did not attend a traditional Middle School. Rather, I attended a High School with grades 7-12. There, we did not have teams nor advisory programs. In this way I bring to the table a fresh and unbiased perspective, however I lack experience in a classroom setting. Nonetheless, based on class readings and dicussions I am beginning to grasp what it means to create a strong advisory program. The program needs to support students, families, and communities in a way that they can succeed and feel safe to ask for help. One team described their advisory experience in class and one part stuck out to me. They said, "In Middle School we had teachers (advisors) who had a policy where if their doors where open, then you knew you could go in and talk with them or ask for help." After hearning this I understood what an advisory program would look like in practice. I look forward to incorporating these ideas into our team website.