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Table of Contents

1. Resume

2. Philosophy of Teaching

3. Timeline for Admissions

4. Letters of Recommendation

5. Lab Assignments

6. Journal Reflections

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JudithBittick

Objectives

Obtaining a teaching position that utilizes my passion for teaching science to create a positive experience for the students by implementing various teaching methods and coordinating with other teachers. Education

Skills Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Eclinical Work

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Philosophy of Teaching

A teacher’s primary role is to facilitate learning inside and outside the classroom. Teachers provide students with the necessary skills to make informed decisions based upon cognitive, social, and emotional development they have acquired in the educational environment. A teacher not only provides students with knowledge, but also teaches students how to acquire knowledge and apply it to their daily lives. Students are unique learners with varied abilities and learning styles. To ensure each student is able to get the most out of their education, the classroom environment must be safe, fair, and supportive. This guides the nature of learning and motivates students to succeed. Curriculum must have a variety of learning styles that include visual, auditory, and hands-on, so that all learners can participate in the lesson being taught in class. My goal for the classroom is to plan my lessons around visual and hands-on activities. I want to have a learning environment that allows students to explore, inquire, and discover. By doing this I believe it will instill a love of learning to the students that will guide them to pursue their dreams. I want to be part of what facilitates students to become great.

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Timeline for admissions to credentialing program 8/2014-5/2016 Fresno State Blended Programs 8/2016-5/2017 Kremen School for Teaching Credential

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Letter of recommendation

It is a true pleasure for me to write this letter of recommendation for Judith D. Bittick, who was my student in earth Science for the fall 2013. Judith D. Bittick is, with- out question, one of the most outstanding students I have taught at the College of the Sequoias in my first semester of teaching there.

Judith D. Bittick is a careful and creative thinker with an eye for details and a devotion to logic, which serves her well both in the sciences and outside them. She has the terrific ability to draw on her own experience- and observations to develop thoughtful opinions on a variety of issues Judith D. Bittick already knew she wanted to major in education before she enrolled in my class, but this did not diminish her intellectual curiosity about the topics we covered in earth science.

Her regular contributions to full-class discussions provided insight both for her peers and for me as an instructor. Judith D. Bittick is valuable in small-group interaction with her peers. Without my asking, she took on the responsibility of helping her classmates consolidate vast amounts of information into coherent sets of ideas, and she quickly became a study group leader. In addition, Judith D. Bittick was very generous with her time and energies. I remember her helping  a student from the class several times when the student was absent.

Judith D. Bittick  is not only an excellent student, but she is also personally delightful. She is as comfortable with herself as she is engaging, pleasant, and humorous. As I got to know Judith D. Bittick over the semester, I became only more impressed by the wide range of her abilities—and by her modesty about them. She is an accomplished student who works hard in my class and has gained so much respect from her peers.

I wholeheartedly recommend Judith D. Bittick for any scholarship or job she has applied for. In fact, I can think of few students whom I would recommend as highly.

Please contact me if there is anything else I can do on her behalf.

Sincerely,
Tibisay Marin, Ed.S STEM Learning Community Coordinator Fresno Pacific University Direct 559-453-3689 Fax 559-453-7182 Tibisay.marin@fresno.edu

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Letter of recommendation

This letter serves as a recommendation for Judith Bittick. I have known Judith for a year. In that time she has be an excellent trainer and mentor to me. She has a big heart and empathy for patients that I have never seen before. She has taken me under her wing and made sure that I bring that same level of care each day we see patients. Judith has an ability to remain calm in all situations and can easily diffuse any problems the office faces. She is a hard worker, who smiles at every patient that walks through the door. It is her can do attitude and work ethic that make all things she does possible. It has been my pleasure to work under supervision this last year. She is very dependable, trustworthy, empathetic, and will continue to grow in knowledge and skill in whatever position she is placed in. Sincerely, Jennifer Rubio, RMA 559-909-7026

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School Information
1. Who are the administrators at your site? What are their duties? What role do they have with teachers at your observing school? David Fernandez- Principle. interacts daily with teachers, students, and parents. Dr. Toms- Superintendent interacts as needed. 2. How is your observing school organized (departments, grade levels, houses, teams, multi-age grade classes, other)? Pixley is organized into grades tk-8. They have two campuses right across the street from each other. The elementary school is tk-5 and the middle school is 6-8. 3. What funded instructional programs operate at your observing school? ASES, Migrant education, Pixley Cadet Corp’s Healthy start, Character Counts. 4. Do the students in your observing school come from the local neighborhood? If not, why do they attend this school? All students are from in town or just a few miles outside of two. 5. What is your observing school’s school-wide discipline program and how is it implemented? The discipline policy is to correct behavior to avoid suspension. The school has a step program, starts with correction of the behavior, then a warning, and then parents are contacted/meeting with the principle, and last resort suspension. 6. What is your observing school’s Academic Performance Index (API) score & target? 2013 scores of 678 for the elementary student and 663 for the middle school. The goal is >800 by 2017. 7. What is the mission (school goals) of your observing school? The school’s mission is to foster academic excellence, self-esteem, and responsibility by maintaining an exciting, safe, supportive, and challenging environment in which staff, students, and community members can work and learn. 8. What are some strategies for communicating with families or community members? The school holds an annual dinner, flexible number of board meetings, involve parents in the planning review and improvement programs, and educate staff on work with parents as equal partners, “early on” school readiness program.

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Journal Entries

#1. Pros and Cons of teaching

Reasons for PROS • enjoy teaching • students are full of life • teaching new subject not known yet • watching the progress as the year goes by of each student • working with other teachers • getting a parent more involved in their child’s education • work schedule • benefits/retirement Reasons against CONS
• difficult parents / students• not being able to reach all students • changing guideline / administration • that I might not be a good enough teacher • spending a lot of time preparing • bathroom breaks I am exploring again the option of teaching as a returning student. During my first enrollment at COS I was a literacy tutor at Veva Blunt Elementary School. I loved the students but at 19 years old I just couldn't see myself being in a classroom all my life. I am glad I did change my major, because at the time I was not mature enough to be a good teacher. I still had a lot of growing to do and needed to get some life experiences. I returned back down this path because I never forgot how great it was teaching those students to read. I had the ability to help kindergartens get prepared for the rest of their schooling. Watching the achievements of those students was rewarding, and they were so fun to be with. Since I started my observation hours, I realized this is what I want to do. I love the interaction with students. I love being a positive influence. I love watching them learn and doing it with such enthusiasm. I am glad I explored teaching again. I think it will be a great fit for me.

#2 Preparing for Social issues in the classroom
Today I observed a 3rd-4th combo class at Allensworth Elementary School. The school is in a rural town with only 78 students. Several social issues present in this school, poverty being the greatest. To offset the costs of parties in her class, Mrs. Vardeman has the students make Valentine’s cards at school to pass out and makes bringing a treat optional, since not all families can afford it. She brings in juice boxes and fruit snacks herself. I believe I would utilize this in my own classroom. She also had a student who does not celebrate the holiday due to his religion. To make sure the student was included, she made sure to bring neutral snacks that he could also have and gave him the same type of lesson to do today, but changed it from a Valentine’s theme. That was so great to see. I would use this technique in my class to make sure no student was left out. It helps the student from being teased for being different and makes him feel included. I would try to understand what my student’s background and family life was like to arrange curriculum around that. Getting parent involved and working with them on an equal level will let them know I care about their children and want them to learn. I would allow parent's to reach me at later hours, because in both the schools I have observed, most parents work more than one job. It is important for them to know that I am available.

# 3. Wait-time classroom skill
I have observed a first grade teacher who has excellent wait-time skills. During class reading when calling on a student, she giving them 5-10 seconds to answer and prompts them with secondary questions if they don't answer. She also gives them good encouragement if they don't know the answer by saying I will come back to you on the next question, or having the class answer as a whole. She never rushes the students responses and even lets them elaborate a little on answers like 6 year olds will. I am hoping I can put this good example to use in my own classroom.

#4. Expectation Limitation on Teachers as good role models

The limitation of this expectation are that each teacher’s moral code and what makes a good role model may be different than that of other teachers and parents. No two individual will have exactly the same values on every subject. For example, my host school has a 1st grade teacher who brings doughnut hole each Friday as a treat for an A on the spelling test. I personally think a better choice of snack is more appropriate, because there is not nutritional value in the doughnut holes. I want to be an example of healthy eating in my classroom. But that doesn't mean that the teacher is not being a good role model, it works for her classroom because she thinks that a once a week sugar snack is okay, and she asks the parents if students can partake in the treat at the beginning of the school year. All other aspects of her class are awesome. When a student gets an answer wrong, instead of pointing out the wrong answer, she has the class say, “Better luck next time.” This is great for character building in students.

#5 Final Pause and Reflect
Reasons for PROS • enjoy teaching and interacting with students • making a difference in a child’s life • watching the progress as the year goes by of each student • working with other teachers • getting a parent more involved in their child’s education • work schedule • benefits/retirement
Reasons against CONS

• job opportunities by the time I graduate • changing guideline / administration • spending a lot of time preparing • politics of union groups I have seen a shift in my thinking. I am even more excited about beginning a teaching career, but am also a little more anxious about the job opportunities by the time I graduate. I really have found going into a classroom comfortable, and really enjoy watching students grasp lessons being taught. I did see the value of the extrinsic benefits more in the beginning, but now see all the intrinsic benefits seem more motivating. I will start Fresno State in the fall and continue towards my goal of becoming an elementary school teacher.