Welcome to my blog!  We are into the second week of class in EDU 410.  I am really enjoying this class and being able to start seeing how different aspects of teaching connect together.  This week I was able to learn and see how standards connect to assessments.  This connection was made through my reading of the article, "Why is Assessment Important."  I really enjoyed reading this article on assessments and the interview questions that were answered by Grant Wiggins.  I believe that assessments are a key part in the success of the students educational journeys.  Assessments are related to the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards.  One example of this is located in standard four, where it states that "Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned."  These could include the formative, summative, self-assessments, and assessment systems.  Another standard I found that related to assessments was located in standard five teachers reflect on their practice, and it stated that "Teachers analyze student learning."  The teacher uses this data to refine the school and classroom successfulness.  This to me shows how the teachers use the information they gather from the assessments of the students to improve their teaching rather it be teaching methods or material taught.  I really enjoyed the section in the article where Grant Wiggins discusses the importance for teachers to think about the assessment before they begin to develop their lessons.  I believe this aspect goes along with two of the standards one would be under standard three where it states that, "Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of study."  This aspect also relates to the standard one where it says, "Teachers lead in their classrooms."  The teacher has to lead their class and consider the standards when planning their lessons and should think about what they want their students to know when they have finished the lesson.  By picturing the final product and seeing what will be learned through the lesson allows the teacher to stay on the right path in his/her teaching in order to effectively teach the content to students.  I also liked the section where Grant Wiggins talked about how some teachers claim that they do not have enough time to do performance-based assessments.  Grant Wiggins stated that "Its not inappropriate or a waste of time because you can't meet the standards without doing performance-basses assessments."  I believe that we can all relate to this in our everyday lives, if you don't do the work then you will never be successful in your goal.  For example, at my workplace, which is a daycare, I have been working with this two year old boy in my class and did not ever think we were going to be able to get him potty trained.  We all stayed consistent with taking him to the potty, this included me, my co-workers, and his parents.  We encouraged him and rewarded him with monster trucks when he would pee or poop on the potty.  By staying consistent and taking him to the bathroom, this week he is in underwear completely and has not had an accident in two days in a row.  So by working with him and doing the work we were able to reach our goal of having him potty trained.  Another, example would be when I finally learned to ride my bike after two years of trying, I never gave up.  In many aspects of life you have to work hard in order to be successful.
               For the remainder of this week we are too research the laws and policies that govern assessment.  I have found some of the laws and thought they were very interesting.  I am excited to learn more about the laws and policies that govern assessment throughout my research.  I was able to find an article that gave information on the state laws that affect teachers in the classroom in Texas.  There will be a link to the article below.  By reading over the article I was able to see that the state controlled the length of the school year and day, the class size, the teachers days of vacation, and etc.  I am interested to see how the North Carolina state laws differ from the state laws for Texas.  I definitely have been able to see how much control the state has on schools verses the federal laws and the county polices.
               For my future classroom I hope that I can incorporate all of the standards into my teaching so that my future students are receiving the best education possible.  I also hope that I can learn how to assess my future students efficiently to not only help them in their learning but also to help me know how to improve my teaching from the data collected.  Lastly, I hope to be able to know all of the laws and policies that govern assessments so that I am abiding by these laws and policies.  I would also like to make sure I stay up to date on the laws and am able to learn the changes that are made.

Links:
https://tcta.org/node/12025

           Welcome to my first ever blog!  With my experience in the Elementary Education program, I have begun to understand and been able to observe the importance of following all of the standards in the classroom.  Some of these standards include the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, the Standard Course of Study, the National Elementary Teaching Standards, and the International Society for Technology in Education Standards.  As the world evolves the schools evolve and the education changes, making the roles of the teacher change to fit the needs of the students.  The teacher needs to continue to evolve what they know in order to be able to provide the students with the adequate information needed for their educational growth.   For instance, when I was in school there was more focus on handwriting and arithmetic, where now there is more focus on the use of technology and critical thinking.  I work at a daycare right now and this week we have had many teachers out for vacation and I take over their classes when they are absent.  Although, I normally do not know who is off and who's classroom I am going to have until I arrive at work.  This does not allow me the time to adequately prepare a lesson for the class and to meet the individual needs of the students.  Being able to adequately prepare a lesson and determine the differentiated instructions for the individual students is very important for the educational success of the students.  The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards highlights the importance of the "teachers taking responsibility of the students learning so that they can adequately lead their classrooms."  The standards also state the importance in "knowing what you are teaching, knowing how to help the different learners in your classroom, and the use of technology in the classroom to help students learn the content being taught."  I have learned to come into the classroom that I am going to be teaching for the day, no matter which class it is, and have been able to determine thus far which activities will be most beneficial for the age groups' learning and have learned how to match it with what they are learning that week.  When I am helping the students with the activity or lesson I observe the students to make sure they are all on track and if one student is struggling I go to them and try to find a better way to help them learn the content.  I have also been able to use my iPad to help find educational videos, stories, and songs to incorporate into the students day.  They have really enjoyed this aspect that they do not usually encounter with their everyday teacher.
             I was able to find an article on the "struggle elementary teachers are having trying to incorporate the common core math standards into the classroom."  Instead of the focus being on all of the students getting the right answer the focus is now on the "process and not the solution."  Which is different from what many of us have been taught.  I know in my years of school it was all about did you get the right answer and very little focus was on how you performed the operation to get the right answer.  The link to the article will be below if you would like to read more about the elementary teachers struggle to incorporate common core.  I learned that all of the four groups of standards mentioned above all interlock and are similar to one another.  They all have the same ideas and work together to provide the student with the best education possible.  The Standard Course of Study tells the teacher what they are required to teach the students and the other standards help the teacher to know how to teach the students and what the best methods are to use in their classrooms.
            I have also been able to see during my observations in the schools what it is like to have a classroom that has a teacher who leads their students, empowers them to be the best that they can be, and who incorporates technology to help their students learn the material.  I have also been able to see a classroom where the students do more of the leading then the teacher, there was no technology being used, and I could see how the students seemed to struggle to answer the questions more so then in the other class.  I have learned that it is important to be a teacher that continues to educate yourself so that you can lead your class confidently, you should be prepared, teach the lesson to fit each students individual needs, and incorporate technology into the students learning.  I believe by incorporating all of these standards and more into my future classroom I will be able to help my students to be successful in their educational journeys.  I hope that I learn how to incorporate all of the standards into my future classroom so that I can not only better myself as an educator but I can also make sure I am providing the upmost education to my future students.  I am enjoying these education classes and look forward to learning more each and everyday and making more connections along the way!

Links: Article-   http://hechingerreport.org/elementary-school-teachers-struggle-with-common-core-math-standards/

North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards- http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/standards/prof-teach-standards.pdf

Standard Course of Study- http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/