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Interview questions:
How will you involve parents?
I will involve parents by having weekly notes to go home with the students. One of the things I have incorporated into my current class situation is something called 'Happy Mail.' This is a note that tells parents what their student has been working on in addition to what their student has demonstrated that week while in class, such as being respectful, great listening, helping a teacher/peer, went above and beyond, showed improvement, etc. This is accompanied by a personal note and is sent home with the student. Sending a note home about what the students are working on is a great way to keep parents aware and involved with their students learning.
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What motivates you?
Being the teacher that I needed to these children helps to keep me going. Knowing that I have found my passion, my purpose, and my calling makes this all worth while. I didn't have the best teachers growing up, especially in elementary and middle school. I was told I was lazy, didn't apply myself enough, that my ADHD and anxiety were just "an excuse." Because of this, I want to be the person that supports students, uplifts them, and helps students to be successful.
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What is the single most important thing you can do for a student day-to-day?
I think the most important thing you can do is create a safe environment for the student. Without feeling like they are safe, they are not able to retain any academics. When a student feels safe, it is easier for students to participate and be active parts of the class. In my experience, there is more progress in these situations.
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What engagement strategy did you select to try in your classroom and how did it go?

We've been using individual whiteboards this week. It's been very helpful to engage students, but there has been a lot of drawing involved. We came up with the rule that if you draw on the whiteboard instead of doing what you're supposed to, then you get one warning before it gets taken away for the rest of the day. That rule has helped quite a bit. It's been very helpful so far.
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Write 2-3 Questions you will bring to the Admin Panel on Nov. 9th

1. What makes a candidate stand out?

2. What's a good question to ask at the end of an interview when asked "what questions do you have/do you have any questions for us?"

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What do you need to KEEP doing in your placement/practice of teaching?

I am going to make sure I keep bringing a positive attitude. It has also been very beneficial when I spend more time with the content the night/week before.
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What do you need to START doing in your placement/practice of teaching?

I need to start giving myself grace with things. I am still beginning; I don't need to be perfect. I am also going to start/be more aware of praising positive behavior instead of focusing on negative behavior.
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What do you need to STOP doing in your placement/practice of teaching?

In a sense, I need to stop trying to be their friend and be their teacher instead. I've noticed that they aren't giving me that much respect and that has been hindering lessons, so I need to assert that boundary.
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Think about a student in your classroom who is struggling. Use the following document and find 2-3 strategies/tools that you could use to help support your student. Include the name of the strategy, how you might implement it (the steps), and what challenges you might face in implementing it.

1. - Daily Compliment : Similar to what we do in the morning, but more personal. It would be very beneficial to do this, but might get overwhelming as (challenge) other students might begin to want the same thing/all students want this individual compliment which may dilute the sincerity.

2. - Classroom Seating : meant to deter off-task behavior; implemented and changed throughout the year. Challenges would be that these students will find a way and do their best to distract others or continue to do the off-task behavior on their own.

3. - Individual White Boards : Use these more for activities throughout the day for all subjects, not just in the morning for check ins. Challenges would be students drawing or writing notes on their whiteboards instead of focusing/doing what they were asked.

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Share a small goal you would like to work on and explain how you might work toward it based on your Midterm conversations with your MT. (It can be around instruction, management, organization, or self-care.)

A goal that I have is to work on furthering my familiarity with the curriculum. In doing this, I will be able to better pace the lesson and prevent gaps from occurring. After talking to my professor and UCF, I came to the conclusion that I will be needing to spend more time with the lessons outside of school and seeing if I can add more information to the lessons to prepare as well as build my own understanding around the topic. This will additionally help with classroom management and my own personal confidence.

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At this midterm point, in what ways do you need support?

I need support still when it comes to classroom management and some of the curriculum. I have been trying some new strategies, but am open to learning new things and ways to improve.
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When considering all you have accomplished thus far, what areas of teaching do you feel you’ve already made good growth?
I think that I've made great personal growth when it comes to being punctual and receiving feedback. I know that I am not perfect and want to improve my teaching, so any feedback is beneficial to me.
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I have a copy of the Midterm Evaluation and understand I need to fill it out with thorough comments before discussing it with my MT_MS_
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My MT has a copy of the Midterm Evaluation and understands they need to fill it out with comments before discussing it with me _MS_
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My MT and I have set a date, prior to the Midterm due date, to discuss our completed evaluations _MS_

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Instructional Decision Making:
Please define, in your own words, what data-informed instruction is and describe what it would look like in your classroom. How does it impact classroom practice?

Data informed instruction is using data and information to better form instruction. This can help with the formation of small groups as well as getting a better understanding on how to steer instruction.

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UFC Connection:
Low: I need to improve on classroom management and time management.
Grow: In order to get better at managing things within the classroom, I am going to be meeting with my teacher to review the curricula to ensure that no blunders occur.
Glow: I am able to work well with students and found my teacher voice.

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What is your WHY for choosing teaching as your profession?
My reason for going into teaching is a long one. There isn't one simple answer, but rather an amalgamation of them. Helping people has always been a passion of mine. Time and time again, I find myself recalling times where I've gone out of my way to make sure others are able to understand what is going and figure out ways to help make things easier for them. I always looked for new and creative ways to learn or explain things. It wasn't until I was in my final years of high school that I realized that I wanted to be a teacher. There are more reasons behind all of this, and even more for why I went into student teaching. To summarize those, my reason for teaching is to help give all students a chance, to support students that don't have the necessary support or have the tools they need to be successful; I was given a chance by a teacher who cared when others looked at my ADHD and anxiety and told me I was lazy and not applying myself.
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What expectations do you have for yourself this semester? For your mentor? For your UCI?
The expectations I have for myself include ensuring that I am prepared for class by arriving early to school, staying on top of my dates and assignments, and making sure I am doing my best by the students. For my mentor teacher, the expectation I have is that she help facilitate learning and guide me in the correct direction when it comes to teaching. In terms of my UCI, compassion, understanding, and patience are the expectations I have.
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In what ways can your UCI best support you as you get started in your classroom?
To best support me in the classroom, I believe reminders are important as well as helpful feedback. I understand that I am not perfect and want to improve. I am always open to helpful notes and suggestions!

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In what ways have you been actively engaged in instruction? How many hours have you spent actually teaching?
I have been engaging by taking over specific instruction, slowly but surely. I don't know how many hours I've spent teaching, but I've been doing my best to put myself in the teacher role more frequently.
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Comment on your attendance and any special events you attended this week.
This week, despite the health issues that I've been dealing with, I have been attending every day. It hasn't been easy, especially with the hour long commute one way and the painful migraine. Despite this, I was in school every day, and on time! Even if I did accidentally go to the wrong school one day.
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What are you finding to be the most difficult up to this point with managing students in your current instructional format?
The most challenging part has been finding a classroom management style that works for me. It's been very challenging so far, and I've been struggling with that.
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What engagement strategies have you observed your MT using or have you implemented during your instruction?
My MT has been using a website that streams wild animals for the students to watch. She has been tying this to the science curriculum.

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https://app.goreact.com/dashboard/course/318655?activity=1457375

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What do you think might be your biggest distraction or barrier for staying organized and getting your work done? How might your UCI support you in overcoming that distraction/barrier?
The biggest barrier in staying organized for me is distractions. It is something that I am constantly working on and something that I know I need to be hyper-aware of throughout my day. This is something I've  struggled with my entire life, largely in part to my ADHD. I tend to get distracted by one thing or another. As a result of this, I find myself unintentionally procrastinating as the assignment has slipped my mind, or getting the deadline confused and thinking I have more time than I do/thinking it'll take less time than it will. One of the ways I'm attempting to stay on top of my assignments this year is to make sure I am putting all assignments and dates into a spreadsheet to keep things organized in addition to having my planner up to date.
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What is one goal you want to set in the area of building respectful relationships with your mentor, students, and UCI?
In order to build and maintain respectful relationships, I intend to be intentional with my conversations and stay connected by finding common interests. Additionally, I plan on being honest and accessible to students, peers, coworkers, and other staff. In doing this, my goal is to make strong relationships and create trust and accountability.