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Candidates and Mentors, read each of your Induction peers posts from top to bottom.

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Create a separate post under your name for each of the following topic areas.  Please use the same titles below for each post. *MENTORS only need to complete the "Background" post.*

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Candidates and Mentors, for each of your peers, provide the following:
- At least two appreciations
(What do you appreciate about your peer's growth or the growth their students made this year?)
- At least one connection (What about your peer's learning experience in Induction, reminds you of your own?)
- At least one question (What question might push your peer's thinking and reflection on their growth or students growth this year?)

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Candidates and Mentors, share your content, grade level, years of experience, pertinent information about your school or teaching assignment, and one fun fact about yourself. Upload a photo of yourself or bitmoji to this post.

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Describe your inquiry focus question, CSTP focus indicators, and what factors (e.g. student area of need, professional learning goals, teaching context) led you to pursue this area of focus.

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Reflect on your ILP, mentor observations, choice activities and/or any other professional learning activities.  Identify at least  two major ah-hahs or turning points that shaped your growth this school year.

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Select at least one artifact or data point to share that highlights a celebration, milestone or significant growth area for you and/or your students.  Examples may include:

Formative Assessment Data (e.g. quiz, project, assignment)

Summative Assessment Data (e.g. NWEA, iReady)

Student Work Samples (e.g. pre/post focus student data, student work analysis)

Short video clip of instruction or student interaction, <5 minutes (e.g. Mentor observation recording)

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Choose one of the following reflection questions to respond to:

How did induction impact your growth as a teacher and/or your students this school year?

What successes or celebrations are you most proud of this school year? What conditions or assets made this success possible?

Which processes from Induction will you use again?  Explain how you plan to build on this work next year.

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Hi! My name is Maddie Buckley and I am currently the 8th grade ELA and Social Studies lead teacher at California Creative Learning Academy in the Glassell Park area. This is my 3rd year teaching (although it's really my first year teaching in person for the entire year!) Previously I taught 5th grade and last year I taught 7th grade ELA and SS. I ended up looping with my students last year so I have now been their teacher twice. One fun fact about is I am about to take a road trip from Detroit back to LA this summer with my boyfriend who's moving out here.

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My focus question was "If I implement beginning of the unit and end of the unit student reflections, students will be able to identify and implement next steps/strategies in order to meet grade level benchmarks." My reasoning behind this focus was due to student study skills and work habits. Because I had been with this cohort of students since Fall 2020, I saw the lack of work they were completing on distance learning. As we returned in person, students were struggling with the transition back to paper assignments, in person work, and homework. I wanted to think of a way to help the students become more intrinsically motivated and focus on a growth mindset. I decided upon student facing rubrics that they created to help them pinpoint their strengths and areas for growth. The CTSP focus indicators for this was, "4.1 Using knowledge of students' academic readiness, language proficiency, cultural background, and individual development to plan instruction and 4.2 Establishing and articulating goals for student learning"

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Throughout the year, I was really focused on growth mindset and creating a space for students to be able to ask for support and help when needed. My observations were centered around a few different activities, the first being a lesson where I created self graded rubrics with the class. Students helped create criteria and expectations for the assignment and then graded themselves and reflected on their work. We did this again multiple times in class and the rubrics always followed the observations. It was really cool to see how the students began to take the rubrics more seriously and take the time to truly self reflect. They identified next steps and game plans for their next assignments. My first a-ha for the year was in the middle of trimester 1 when I had to create a new seating chart. I had been reading some of the group work feedback, and some students really enjoyed working with peers that weren't in their friend group, or peers they really learned from. I took that into consideration and placed some sub group students with strong peer models and they really benefited from this. I had one student go from not turning any work in at all, to staying on task and keeping notebooks organized because they had support from their peer. Another big turning point this year was when my focus student started putting more effort and care into their assignments. My focus student for this process tended to rush through assignments and turn things in blank, just to be done with them. After the return from winter break, I noticed a huge shift in their work habits. They were really trying their best on their writing assignments, asking for feedback and help from not only me, but other classmates. This student even asked if they could help plan a lesson they were very interested in. I think that during the course of the first two trimesters, this student was reflecting on their grades, feedback, and assignment quality, and really took the time to use the tools and skills they have been learning in class and use them. I am so proud of all of my students as they prepare for the big transition to high school.

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After using "The Power of Our Words" as a PD tool, I realized that I could do a better job bringing in student interests to assignments. After completing our literary analysis unit, I created a short story assignment for students to create their own story. I gave them minimal guidelines, just a paragraph minimum. Some students went above the 3 page limit, but most kept it in that range. This assignment was very exciting for me and for our class because I had a 98% turn in rate, which is incredible! I usually have at least 5-6 students not complete assignments regularly, but the students loved this assignment and really thrived. They did a great job using MLA format (which we had been working on), using varying sentence structures, and adding in figurative language.

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Induction has been incredibly helpful overall. Even though I've been teaching for 3 years, it really did feel like this was my first year, especially because I hadn't had a stable year in person with a cohort until now. My mentor was fantastic and did a really great job putting things into perspective, especially when I felt really overwhelmed or unsure of what to do to support my students. My biggest takeaway from this whole process is to be patient, direct, and clear in the classroom. Growth does not happen overnight, it is a process and it's really important to be consistent with expectations. Making students feel connected to the material (both the lesson and instruction) makes them want to participate and engage with the work on a deeper level. I can carry these skills that I've learned with me to any age range and classroom in the future.

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Hi! My name is Morgan and I am currently a 6th grade Humanities teacher at New Los Angeles Charter School in Mid-City. This is my third year teaching. I originally moved to Los Angeles back July 2019. I was a long-term substitute for a 1st grade class from August 2019 until January 2020 at a fully inclusive elementary school. During this time, I learned the importance of full inclusion. I learned how to differentiate instruction and accommodate assignments to provide a high quality education for all students. From January 2020 until June 2020, I was a long term substitute for a 2nd grade class at New Los Angeles elementary school. While working in this position, I realized the importance of setting high expectations for all students along with making sure that each student can achieve each expectation. COVID-19 hit in March 2020 which resulted in virtual classes for the rest of the school year. For the 2020-2021 school year, I was teaching 6th grade Humanities online. Teaching middle school was very intimidating at first. However, I ended up realizing that 2nd graders and 6th graders have a lot in common! For the 2021-2022 school year I continued my position working as a 6th grade Humanities teacher. This has been such a unique, challenging, and rewarding school year in so many different ways! As the school year comes to a close, I am excited to see what will happen in the upcoming school years! One fun fact about me is I have a dog named Blu. He is 2 years old and is a mini Goldendoodle. He is an absolute love bug!

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My focus question was, "If I provide targeted scaffolding strategies (sentences frames, model writing, etc.) and designated EL supports on writing, will students demonstrate procedures for planning and organizing their writing, as measured by student writing samples, increased scores on written rubrics, teacher observation and student self assessment?" The reason why I decided to focus on writing this year was due to students' writing performance in my classroom. I noticed that a lot of students were underperforming on writing assignments. A lot of students were reporting that they did not write much during distance learning the year prior. I wanted to create a focus question that could support different types of writing. The CSTP focus indicators that supported my inquiry focus questions were: "3. Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning, 5. Assessing Students for Learning, and 6. Developing as a Professional Educator."

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While creating my Focus Question I was really trying to brainstorm different writing strategies I could use to support students' writing. During the first trimester my mentor/partner teacher had students writing a lot of R.A.C.E.S paragraphs. I found my mentor's approach to having students begin with simple writing responses before moving on to more complex responses very valuable. With the R.A.C.E.S paragraph, students start by  learning how to Restate and Answer the question. Once this step is mastered, students are challenged to expand their responses by having students Cite evidence and Explain evidence. Finally, they learn to wrap up the paragraph by Summing it up with a concluding sentence. Once students are able to understand how to write an efficient paragraph, they are able to move onto more complex writing. This was my first aha moment. Even though my students are in middle school, they still need a review of the basics. By focusing on R.A.C.E.S paragraphs, students developed an understanding of how to write a strong body paragraph. As the year progressed I had students expand on their writing more which eventually turned into a 5 body paragraph essays. While experimenting with different writing strategies, I learned the importance of sentence frames. Sentence frames allow students to brainstorm and organize their writing. Originally I only was providing sentence frames to EL students and students with IEPs. Eventually I began providing sentence frames to all students. This was my second aha moment. The use of sentence frames can help students of all abilities, including those who are proficient writers. Students will learn to build off sentence frames and become more confident in their own writing. Sentence frames allow for students to see how they can meet the demands for the particular assignment.

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The artifact I chose to include in this closing presentation was the first sentence frame I used with my students in the beginning of the year. During my second mentor observation, students were asked to write a summary on a short story called Home Alone. I provided this sentence frame (posted above) to each student. Students were challenged not only to use the sentence frame for organization, but to also expand on their own writing by adding more details. I realized that each student used the sentence frame in some capacity based on observations and work samples. Students who needed more writing support filled in the open blanks with their own responses. While other students felt confident enough to formulate their own summaries using their own words. Once the lesson was over, I asked students to provide feedback on using sentence frames. Many students said that the sentence frames helped them understand how to complete the assignment correctly. Sentence frames can be a wonderful classroom tool!

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I believe that induction has helped me become a better educator. Thanks to induction, I feel way more comfortable teaching and differentiating instruction when it comes to writing. My mentor has been very helpful this year by supporting me with my inquiry question, my mentor observations, my focus student, and more. I can't thank her enough for all the help! I have also learned the importance of filming lessons. Observing yourself teach is one of the best ways to reflect on your lesson and improve your teaching. I also believe it is important for educators to generate their own inquiry questions every year to challenge themselves to grow and learn. I plan on continuing to include this approach in my teaching going forward!

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Hello! My name is Miriam Gonzalez and I am currently a 6th grade Humanities teacher at New Los Angeles Charter Middle School in Mid-City. This is my 6th year teaching and my 3rd year at New LA. Previously, I was a Math and Reading Intervention teacher. A fun fact about me is that I have three dogs (Bruin, Zuko, and Azula), and a Yellow Head Brazilian Parrot name Matthew (Yes, he speaks).

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Hello! My name is Jessica Fox and I have been an elementary educator for 14 years teaching grades 1st-5th. I am currently serving as vice principal at New LA Elementary. One fun fact about me is that I love to backpack. My longest trail was 220 miles on the JMT.

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1) Hello my name is Christian Garcia and I am currently the Learning Engagement teacher at PUC Inspire Charter Academy in the San Fernando Valley.  This is my 4th year teaching. I previously taught 6th grade world history before transitioning to the position I hold now. One fun fact is that I am working on my M.A. in Latin American Studies.

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Inquiry Focus Question: 'If I effectively implement interactive strategies including read alouds, will students reading levels increase as measured by their lexile data, MAP scores , and formative assessments."  

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Inquiry Focus Question: 'If I effectively implement interactive strategies including read alouds, will students reading levels increase as measured by their lexile data, MAP scores , and formative assessments."  

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CSTP Focus Indicators:  1. Engaging and Supporting all Students in Learning
2. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning
3. Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning
4. Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
5. Assessing Students for Learning
6. Developing as a Professional Educator

I chose this question because my school is implementing a pedagogy called "Balanced literacy." A major part of balanced literacy is a reading strategy called interactive read alouds. Essentially the strategy consists of me reading out loud to students with periodic stoppages that alouds students to engage in pair shares using sentence frames to jumpstart their conversations. At the end of the reading or short video, the entire class engages in a grand conversation where we unpack some of the major ideas and big takeaways. I think using read alouds allowed me to utilize one strategy consistently for an entire year and gauge whether or not there were improvements in students' overall reading comprehension and enjoyment of reading. Personally, I had never intentionally attempted to implement one reading strategy for an entire academic school year. Doing so enabled me to see what the pros and cons were of consistently teaching reading skills in a way that I had never done before or that prior to this year I knew even existed.

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One major a-ha moment was after a colleague observation.  I observed an ELA teacher's lesson and I was struck by her decision to use a graphic novel as the medium from which to conduct her read aloud.  It was a very simple, yet effective book selection that seemed to draw the kids attention and desire to want to engage with the text.  Prior to that I had strictly used novels without pictures and while there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with these texts, books with illustrations added a visual  element which the kids seemed to enjoy.  Instead of simply relying on students to visualize what I was reading (which sometimes didn't work out very well), they could conceptualize and provided details based on both the words I read and the pictures they saw.  In short, I noticed more lively and rich conversations when I incorporated graphic novels and short videos to the material I pulled from to conduct my interactive read alouds.

My second a-ha moment occurred after I read a chapter in a book related to Pachuco culture and the Zoot suit riots. I read this for pleasure and for research purposes related to my Master's program, but it sparked an idea in me instantly. It occurred to me that I should teach my students a lesson on Zoot suit, so-called pachuco culture because its part of local Los Angeles history and just importantly it's part of Mexican-American history. Considering the majority of my students identify as either Mexican or a different type of Latina/o ethnicity, it made sense to teach them something culturally relevant. It was a pleasure to teach them this lesson because while not all students seemingly were impressed or interested, I did notice more students that day stop and take notice of what the video and short reading we did had to say. Some of the students identified the style of the zoot suit as something they had vague familiarity with and they also recognized the stereotypes and stigmas that came with being Mexican and a pachuco in the 1940s and 50s. Moreover, this lesson prompted me to teach more lessons related to Mexican-Americans issues specifically, and other Latina/o issues in general.

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I wanted to highlight my focus student's 3rd and final I-ready diagnostic where they scored a 614 . This student grew 49 points on their final test and showed consistent growth on all their I-ready diagnostics. Previously, they scored a 584 which was a 19 point increase from the the 565 they scored on their initial diagnostic. In short, this student went from beginning the year testing overall at a 4th grade level and ended overall testing at an early 6th grade level. In addition, they jumped from testing at grade level 3 at the beginning of the year in comprehension: informational text to ending the year at early 6. I was very proud of this student because not only did their test scores show improvement, but I also witnessed their confidence in class grow. They were often the first or second person to raise their hand and they were not afraid to answer incorrectly and try again. Considering this student was nearly 2 years removed from being inside a classroom, I think this student has made considerable growth.

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Induction impacted my growth as a teacher first and foremost because I had a mentor. I often tell my students that everyone needs mentors, even adults.  I was very happy with my mentor. He never micromanaged me, yet always came through with timely advice and suggestions that allowed me to tweak my lesson but never completely alter them.  Phil also always gave me solid feedback that made me not only reflect on my teaching but how to give feedback to students.  I can't say enough good things about my mentor and I know I'm a better teacher because of my conversations with Phil.
Secondly, induction impacted my growth as a teacher because of the inquiry focus question. I think having a question that I center my instruction around for an entire year helped me stay focused and attempt to get my students master one or two skills instead of multiple. In short, I have a sound blueprint that I can implement moving forward and change accordingly per the class I'm teaching.