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I believe that technology is a priceless tool, especially in the education system. It gives teachers and students access to endless information and resources that can be utilized in the classroom. Technology in my opinion, makes teaching more accessible to both the student and the teachers. Only being limited to a whiteboard would make doing our jobs as teachers a lot harder. It also makes learning more engaging for the students. Having different ways to present information to the students is one of the principle guidelines for Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Being able to cater to different learning styles in our classroom is made easier through technology. It can also be used to incentivise students to manage their time and finish assignments in a timely manner. For example, if a child really wants to use a program on their computer but has to finish a worksheet first, they are more inclined to finish the worksheet so that they can use their computer once they are done. Technology is also used as a mechanism to support different needs in the classroom, for example, a magnifying tool is used so that a student can write on their paper. It also serves as a way for students to connect to other students and their teachers in a more efficient way ie. email or group chats on different programs. Although there are many positive things about integrating technology in the classroom, there are also some negative sides as well. If we become too reliant on technology in the classroom we devalue other mechanisms used for teaching such as reading to the students yourself versus showing them a read aloud of a story online. It is so important that we incorporate technology into our classrooms in a healthy and productive way. It is also critical that we take care in monitoring what students have access to while they are using technology. Since there is so much information out there, we must be protective in what information our students are utilizing. Having clear guidelines when students are using technology is the first step into integrating technology in the classroom. Overall, technology is a valuable tool that I will happily implement into my classroom.

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Classroom Agreements and Expectations will be established on the first day of school and practiced heavily in the first few weeks. Every Friday we will use time during our morning meeting to practice expectations that the students had trouble with earlier on in the week. We will have a class promise with specific guidelines that the students will recite every morning during our morning meeting. This will remind students every day of the expectations and rules of our classroom. I will have three main expectations in my classroom, be safe, be respectful and be responsible. To further solidify the students' understanding of the expectations I will have what these expectations look like in different settings around the room. The class promise will be posted in an area that is easily visible so that the students can refer back to it when they need to. The class promise will include:

Be Safe by keeping our bodies to ourselves, using tools the right way and having calm voices.

Be Respectful by being kind, helping each other and listening to the speaker.

Be Responsible by keeping our classroom clean, always trying our best, and being humble.

We will work every day to be leaders and lifelong learners.

These agreements and expectations will serve to create a safe, inclusive and thriving classroom environment by addressing key behaviors that students sometimes forget or disregard often. At the end of the class promise I will have every student sign at the bottom so that they can show themselves and I that they acknowledge the expectations of the classroom. Having a classroom that is based in routine, structure and respect will create a safe and welcoming space that students can learn in and feel comfortable to take academic risks.

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Here is an example of what the three Be's look like if the students are at PE. I will have one of these charts for every main routine that the students experience at school ie. cafeteria, recess, library etc.

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I truly believe that children are our future and that educating them is the most important work one can choose to do. The opportunity to make positive and impactful learning experiences for students is what motivates me to be an educator. When I was a student I had always felt out of place in school and that I was always struggling to keep up with assignments and content. I had for the most part, with the exception of a few outstanding teachers in elementary and high school, had a negative relationship to school. It wasn’t until college that I became passionate about learning and decided that it was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. This, along with a Career in Education class that I took in high school, influenced me to become a teacher. My own love for learning and commitment to being a lifelong learner will only enhance my passion for teaching because I will be learning alongside my students. Creating a safe, inclusive and loving classroom environment for students to feel comfortable to learn is my utmost priority. My goal is to never make a child feel the way I had about school and learning. I did not feel that I was in an environment where mistakes were a part of learning and that they were inherently bad. I want children to come into my classroom and feel it is a safe place to make mistakes, which is ultimately how we learn.

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As an educator, my philosophy is embedded in the principle that all children deserve to have a quality education, and one in which they are co-collaborators in the curriculum they interact with. My goal is to provide a holistic education to all students. One that includes SEL, UDL and multicultural guidelines. One of the core beliefs in my philosophy is that it is ok to make mistakes, in fact, mistakes are encouraged because that is how we learn the most. Children should be able to learn in an environment that celebrates their success just as much as their mistakes. Because without mistakes we do not learn and grow as learners or as individuals. Another core belief I hold is that it is so important to provide and create a curriculum in which children see themselves represented while also showcasing different experiences and perspectives they do not interact with in their daily lives. I want to include my students in the content I teach in order to create an engaging and diverse learning environment. My goal is to create a classroom environment in which all students are getting what they need and what they want to learn out of the content being taught to them. I think it is extremely imperative that we regularly assess the needs of our students through assessment, parent surveys and individual conferences in order to meet each childs’ individual needs. As I have stated before, children are our future and it is up to us as teachers to provide safe, inclusive and loving environments in which they can learn and thrive. We do this by providing content that is diverse, culturally responsive and engaging. We must take great care to ensure that each child is provided the resources and support they need in order to succeed is at the heart of my philosophy.

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Over the past year, I have learned so many new things that will help students be successful in the classroom, especially concerning technology. I feel that even though there are more tools in my tool belt than there were in the beginning of the year, my overall philosophy and views about technology are the same. Technology is a tool, not an end all be all solution; it cannot replace traditional teaching pedagogy and instruction. Technology can enhance student learning and participation, but it should not replace instruction planned and given by the teacher. I will incorporate technology into my classroom as much as I can next school year in order to teach students how to use technology wisely and responsibly. Technology is also a great way to build connections with students, for example, students having access to a messaging platform provided by the school to contact their teachers.

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Teacher

The role of the teacher is to guide and facilitate learning in an engaging and culturally responsive way. The teacher collaborates with students on different content they are interested in learning and takes the students wants and interests into account when creating the curriculum. The teacher makes students feel they have control over their education and that their input is important and valued by implementing the students beliefs and thoughts into the learning environment. The teacher guides productive discussions between students and their peers to discuss important classroom curriculum. The goal of the teacher is to also work closely with the parents and caregivers of students and administrators to create a holistic education inside and outside of the classroom.

Student

The student is an active participant in their education. The student collaborates with the teacher and fellow peers to create a curriculum that will benefit the whole class. The student contributes to a positive learning environment in which they participate in group discussions with their peers on what they wish to see reflected in the class curriculum. They also participate in whole classroom and individual discussions with their teacher in order  to provide the teacher with substantial evidence in which to influence classroom content. The goal is for the student to be a collaborator and take a vested interest in their education.

Parents and Caregivers

The role of the parent and or caregiver of the student is to work closely with the teacher in order to provide the student with a holistic, positive learning environment both inside and outside the classroom. The goal is to create a robust support system in which the student will thrive academically, socially and emotionally. The parent provides feedback and insight on the students home life and resources available to the family and student in order to meet the ever changing needs of their students. The parent and or caregivers and the teacher are a united front in which the student is supported inside and outside of the classroom.

Administrators

Administrators serve as a resource and collaborators with teachers in order to provide support in and outside the classroom. Administrators collaborate with the teacher and parents in order to fully address the students' needs. Administrators support the teacher when faced with behavioral challenges and work with the teacher and the parents in order to best address the unexpected behavior. Administrators enforce school wide policies that keep both faculty, staff and students safe. Administrators offer support and resources to the teacher, students and families when difficult situations arise. Administrators always strive to make the best decisions for both the school, the teacher, the students and their families.

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I chose this philosophy because I believe that children should have meaningful and authentic learning experiences at school and that their education shouldn’t be defined by the things they cannot control such as socioeconomic class or their ethnicity. All children should feel safe and included in the classroom. Having strong and healthy relationships with their teachers allows students to thrive in their learning environment and feel supported enough to take on more challenging content (Cassetta, G. & Sawyer, B, 2015). In my classroom the students will be the primary producers of their education. What I mean by this is I will take a student-centered approach to choosing curriculum. I want my students to feel like they have a say in their education, and I want to teach them things that they want and are eager to learn. It is incredibly important that they see themselves represented in the curriculum that is presented to them. In the same respect children need to see a diverse curriculum; one that offers students perspectives other than their own (Bishop R.S, 2015). Taking into account the different ways children learn and process information is also a key motivator of my philosophy. Recognizing that children have different learning styles and that variability is needed for children to learn and engage with content, will be a main focus when choosing curriculum and the ways in which I present material (CAST, 2016). This philosophy will influence the way I build a classroom community by allowing me to create community building activities based around the needs and personalities of my students. Taking into account their thoughts and specific needs will further strengthen them as a class community and also their relationship with me as their teacher. This philosophy will further influence the way I assess and evaluate student work in that I will not just look at test scores to dictate whether or not the student is retaining the content. I will look at the whole student along with test scores to determine their success in my classroom; in this way I hope to strive for a holistic approach to choosing curriculum and establishing the classroom community.

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What I hope to achieve with my philosophy is that my students feel that my classroom is a safe, loving and inclusive space. I want them to feel that they can express themselves and know that their success is not based on their test scores but how much they grow through the journey of getting there. I hope that my students feel safe enough in my class to make mistakes; mistakes are an integral part of learning. If I had been given more freedom to make mistakes in the classroom I think I would have had a better learning and classroom experience in elementary school. I hope that my students will learn to value the journey to the answer rather than the answer itself. Framing mistakes in a more positive light will encourage students to take more risks and have a sense of freedom within their learning (Boaler, 2015). More than anything I want my students to know that we are all human and that being human means we are going to make mistakes and that is more than okay. Because mistakes allow us to self reflect and grow as learners but also as humans. I want to build a classroom community based on respect, love and knowing that making mistakes is encouraged. I want my students to have faith in themselves and that they can achieve anything they set their mind to. I want my students to know that failure is not making mistakes, it is only failure if they stop trying. This philosophy will allow my students to feel supported and cared for and that their growth is more important than a test score.

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1. Morning Check in and Choice Time

2. Voice Level Chart

3. Morning Meeting

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After picking the children up from the blacktop they will line up in front of the classroom door in number order. I will wait for everyone to be quiet after giving a call and response and the dialogue will be as follows:

Me: “I say you say step one”

Students: “Step one”

Me: “Check in”

Students: “Check in”

Me: “Step two”

Students: “Step 2”

Me: “Go to your desk and pick a choice”

Students: “Go to your desk and pick a choice”

Once the students are ready to come inside, they will greet me at the door with a high five, wave or hug; it will be their choice which greeting they would like to do. Then the students will check in by turning their card (which will be in a pocket organizer with all the students names) from red to green indicating that they are here. This is another tool that will make taking attendance faster and easier. Once students check in, they will go to their desks and pick an activity from the slide deck to do quietly at their desk. The expectations for noise level will be on the slide and a timer will be visible on the screen so that they know how much time they get for morning choice. Giving the students a soft start in the morning will help with their focus and perseverance during academic content. It is also a calming tool that will aid students in calming their bodies. This activity will be practiced on the first day of school and everyday throughout the school year in order to instill this routine deeply in the students. This will help establish that our mornings will look the same every day and create that consistent routine. The students will know that they are doing a good job when they are comfortable with the routine and already are thinking about what greeting and activity they would like to do. I will also offer verbal praise when they are modeling this procedure well.

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Copy of (9_5)  Coscau Daily Slides 2024-2025

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I will establish an inclusive and welcoming classroom community by instilling daily practices that will build our classroom community and also my one on one relationships with the students. I want to make learning fun and incorporate community building games into our daily routine by having a game at the end of our morning meetings in order to build student to student relationships. By working together, my students will form strong relationships with each other while also developing their problem solving skills. I also strive to create a safe space for children to learn by incorporating a quiet corner in my classroom. If a student is really having a hard time focusing in class I will offer them the option to take a break in the quiet corner so that they can gather their thoughts and return to their seat once they feel they are ready. The quiet corner will serve as a self soothing tool for students to build their executive functioning skills through emotional regulation. I will create a welcoming space where students feel that they can make mistakes, and that mistakes are encouraged. I will do this by emphasizing whenever I make a mistake as a teacher (because there will be many) and explain to the students that my mistake was welcomed and led me to grow as a learner because I saw how to move forward from the mistake. It is so important that as teachers we acknowledge and praise mistakes because they are how our students grow and learn as well as ourselves. I plan to continue to build a classroom community by incorporating a period of time during our morning meetings. During this time the students will greet each other with an elbow bump and come together to answer a question of the day (which will be different every day in order to prompt the students to talk about different topics). This will allow students to learn different things about their peers and myself which will form connections between each other and also to me as their teacher. Giving the children the space to express their thoughts and showing that I care about what they have to say is key to building strong relationships with my students. To build stronger one on one relationships with my students I plan to greet each of them individually every morning by letting them choose how they wish to be greeted (wave, high five or hug) and taking great care in their daily well being. Through these practices I hope to build strong interpersonal relationships with my students and instill a strong classroom community where they feel supported by me as their teacher and also feel supported by each other.

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On the first day of school my students will be introduced to the voice level chart. This will be used during every activity and lesson in order to show the students visually what the voice level expectation is for each activity. We will practice as a class what each voice level looks and sounds like so the students have a concrete understanding of this expectation. I will start by demonstrating each voice level and what it sounds like; starting with level one and progressing to level four making sure to differentiate the sound between the different levels. Then I will have two or three students model the voice level expectations so that the whole class can gain a deeper understanding of the expectation. We will practice this procedure every day multiple times a day throughout the school year, but I will emphasize it more heavily during the beginning of the school year. With this procedure, being consistent with enforcing voice levels for different activities is crucial so that students can eventually routinize it. For example if the class is at a voice level two during independent reading which is a voice level zero, it is important to correct them so that they can see their error. Students will know they are doing a good job because I will verbally praise them for using the correct voice level during activities; I will also gently remind them when they are not using the correct voice level for the current activity so that they can really understand what each voice level sounds like.

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After our morning check in and choice time the students will head to the carpet for our morning meeting. The dialogue for this is as follows:

Me: “I say you say step one”

Students: “Step one”

Me: “Stand up and push in your chair”

Students: “Stand up and push in your chair”

Me: “Step two”

Students: “Step 2”

Me: “Walk quietly to the carpet”

Students: “Walk quietly to the carpet”

Once students arrive on the carpet they will quietly sit down and wait for instructions. During the morning meeting we will be going over the daily schedule, reciting our class promise, greeting each other, answering a question of the day and then play a game. The daily schedule will be read either by me or a randomly chosen student, making sure that all the times and activities are clearly stated. If students have questions about the schedule they may ask them after the schedule has been read. Next the students will recite our class promise; this is done as a whole class and the students will use their choral reading skills to do this. Once we read the class promise I will then prompt the students to stand up and greet three friends with an elbow bump and a good morning. Once the students have greeted their three friends I will instruct them to sit in a circle to prepare for our question of the day. Once students are sitting in a circle I will introduce the question of the day. This is a daily question that is intended to build our classroom community and allow the students to get to know each other and also get to know me. The students will go around the circle answering the question one at a time (Ex. What is your favorite color?). After the question of the day, the students will be prompted to either go back to their desks or stay in a circle depending on the group game they are going to play. We will go over rules and questions about the game before we start playing. I will try to have a different game every day in order to keep the students engaged and having fun. The students will play the game and then return to their desks for the next activity. The students will know if they are doing a good job because I will continuously praise them for the parts of the procedure that they are able to do with little prompting. I will also offer redirection when they need assistance with mastering parts of the procedure they haven't gotten down yet. I am hoping with this procedure the students will develop a sense of routine and build our classroom community to be welcoming, fun and inclusive.

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Copy of (Thursday 8_21) Coscau Daily Slides 2024-2025

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Technology can help us present information differently, engage our students more deeply and help express student learning in different ways.

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I believe that as a teacher it is my responsibility to teach my students the technology skills that they will utilize for the rest of their lives. In this day and age having basic computer skills is essential in order to thrive in the working world and in our communities. Listed are some specific skills I hope to teach my students:

Microsoft Word or Google Doc Navigation

Microsoft Powerpoint or Google Slides Navigation

Excel or Google Sheets Basic introduction

Sending and Responding to Emails

Basic Research Skills for Projects

How to Show Their Learning Through Technology

All of the skills listed above are integral to students' future success in college and the working world. It is also incredibly important to show students how all of these technology skills intersect and work together in order to execute the task they are trying to complete. For example, if a student was working on a presentation in slides and needed to turn the assignment in via email, the student would need to know how to create the presentation while also knowing how to send it to their teacher in an email. Teaching students critical technology skills seems like a very overwhelming and daunting task, but I know I must do this hard work in order to ensure the future success of my students. It is up to me as their teacher to prepare them as much as I can by teaching and integrating technology into our daily curriculum.

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How I Will Use Technology in the Classroom

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How I Will Use Technology in the Classroom

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I will use technology very effectively and purposefully in my classroom. I want my students to view technology as another tool in our toolbelt that can be utilized but not relied upon. I will use it in a way that makes learning engaging and fun; it will serve as a supplement to the core curriculum. One rule of thumb I will have for myself is I want to avoid using technology when it hinders an interaction that I could have with the students in order to form a strong student and teacher relationship. For example, I want to avoid using pre-constructed videos that aim to teach a concept, as much as I can unless it is essential for the students’ understanding. By explaining the information and engaging the students in group discussions as a class will form stronger connections between each other and to me as their teacher. Another way that I intend to utilize technology is to integrate it into our daily routines. I will create daily slides of our schedule and procedures so that students will have a visual reference for what they are supposed to be doing at that time. This will help reduce repeated questions and keep students on task with their work. What I want students to take away from using technology in my class is that it is a tool that can help us learn and get our work done but also that it can make learning exciting and fun.

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Technology is a valuable tool that we can use to build connections inside and outside the classroom. Students can connect to their peers through interactive games and assignments during class and also at home. Students can build one on one connections to their peers through quest-based math and ELA programs that allow them to hone their academic skills while also having fun. They can also build community as a class through programs that require the whole class to play. These games allow students to develop their critical thinking skills while also learning how to work together as a team. This will also aid in building a stronger classroom community. Technology can serve as a way to connect students with their teachers as well. Students can keep in contact with their teacher at home and at school by sending their teachers messages through academic programs or via email. This may be an easier way for students to ask questions if they cannot ask them during class. Teachers also use technology to assess students, this bridges a connection between the students learning and the teachers assessment. Technology can continue to be used to create an action plan to see where the student needs more support after assessment. Technology can also forge connections between students and their communities. Students can get involved by looking at local volunteering opportunities and get their whole family involved which will serve as a means to build stronger relationships between students and their communities. Students can also use technology at school to find more information about the community they live in, what resources are offered or where a park is located so that they can play after school. Technology can also be used to connect students to more students in their community that share the same identity ie. LGBTQ+ support groups and make them feel less alone in their experience. Technology is a wonderful tool to connect students to their peers, teachers and communities.

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1. Cassetta, G. & Sawyer, B. (2015). Classroom management matters: The social-emotional learning approach children deserve. Heinemann.

2. Bishop, R. S. (2015, January). Mirrors, windows, and sliding doors [Video]. Reading Rockets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAu58SNSyc

3. CAST (2018). UDL and the learning brain. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/publications/2018/udl-learning-brain-neuroscience.html

4. Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical mindsets: Unleashing students' potential through creative math, inspiring messages and innovative teaching (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.