Elliot Maxwell Sibert-Sweeney's Education Portfolio

Student 1: Visually Impaired If they need larger text, print things in larger text for them and increase the size of text on slides If not, maybe put them at the front of the classroom but otherwise leave them be since they should be fine Student 2: ADHD Have the student in the front of the classroom and give them a physical version of the slides and regularly check in with them throughout the lesson to ensure that they are taking notes. If they require a fidget, provide one or allow them to use one they already have, and if they need to be moving, allow them to walk along the back of the room where the bookshelves are so long as they do their notes Let them use the spinner I use to randomly pick students if they stay on task and do their notes Allow student to sit outside of the classroom and listen into the lecture like that if it would help them focus (I would regularly check on them to ensure they haven’t wandered off and would inform other teachers just in case) Student 3: Non-Rea...

My EdTPA went poorly. Very poorly. It went wrong both because of things in my control and things outside of my control. I made the mistake of thinking that my students had the reading level of 6th graders instead of being far below reading level, I was unprepared for them to push back against me more than the other teachers, and I did not prepare as early as I should have. In terms of things I couldn't control, the BSU Printers decided that they hated me and what was supposed to be an assignment that was 90% on paper turned into one that was 90% online and with that shift, the quality of the assignment massively dropped. Every day was a struggle as I adjusted the goalposts and the requirements and my hopes, trying to find a way to salvage what I had, and honestly the fact that I got anything at all done that week amazes me given how badly tech messed with me. I couldn’t even use the smartboard on the final day because of a school-wide issue. Overall, yet again, I found myself tea...

I’m going to be honest, as I write this I am seething in rage. I am teaching my EdTPA lesson plan tomorrow and for some reason I am, and it’s only me by the way, just not allowed to print because my computer just says it can’t connect to the printer. I watched somebody print something out right in front of me. That aside, I am also still displeased by Thursday evening when Mr. Young sent one of the most unprofessional emails I can even begin to imagine. Suffice it to say, this past week, filled as it was with putting together things for class at a rapid pace, was a great learning experience, filled with ups and, mostly, downs, as I tried to survive. The thought that an extremely important part of my assignment might be out of my grasp through no fault of my own is utterly infuriating and as I write this I feel close to a nervous breakdown. Still, I will try again in the morning and if that doesn’t work, I can try to get help from the people at the library either early tomorrow or jus...

This was actually a rather hectic week, but overall I feel like I learned a lot. Getting to experience differentiation on a spectrum and in a variety of ways was extremely beneficial, I feel. It gave me an understanding of what it looks like when it works, when it doesn’t, as well as a reminder of how it can feel as a student to feel like things aren’t going how you want them to through no fault of your own. It also gave me an understanding of what it can be like for disabled students, to at least some minor extent, given that I have been confined to a special boot to be able to walk just about any distance, and that gave me a lot of perspective that will be useful as a teacher when it comes to designing my classrooms, my classes, and interacting with my students. I have also seen interesting differences in how different teachers handle their classes, in how they do tests differently, in how they handle discussions differently. I got a taste of a book test which I think was far too nar...

This week was really trying for me. I wound up missing a lot of classes that I was really excited for and feel like my education has taken a massive hit, all because my foot decided it wanted to start hurting so bad that even just walking to the bathroom was painful. Still this was a learning experience to some extent, as it made me appreciate one of my previous classes so much more and illustrated for me the importance of e-learning. One of my previous classes had an option to attend via zoom when you were sick or unable to make it, and I loved being able to do that because even when I was sick I was still able to learn instead of simply wallowing in my bedroom. Also, as a teacher I will need to ensure that if I am sick or unable to make it to class, I either have a way to do the lesson via zoom or something like that or a plan for the sub that will ensure my students learn what they need to. I think having a zoom option for my class will help attendance immensely and honestly wish ...

It really is a shame that I missed Wednesday this past week, as that meant I only had 2 days of class rather than 3, but in spite of that I believe I grew quite a bit as a teacher. I will admit, I found Friday rather useless in general as we didn’t really even get into the nitty gritty of grant writing, but Thursday was quite a useful day and I learned quite a lot during it. Exploring data and how to implement it correctly as well as what it is and what it isn’t is really important and it opened my mind quite a bit. Thursday also gave me a chance to teach to my fellow students since we did a jigsaw, and it also let me learn how my fellow students think, how they process the information they have taken in, and what they find most important about it. Exploring test data and trying to come up with reasons it may be the way it is was also quite an interesting activity that allowed me to push myself and strain against the logical side of my brain to some extent, feeling things out more th...

This week I mostly found myself doing very little during my first period at Northside, and this is likely how it will continue to be since that class is, firstly, not my specialty (PLTW not history or sociology), and, secondly, because Mr. Harter, the teacher, has a very loose style of classroom where he largely has his kids working on things independently and simply helps them out as they need help. There’s basically no chance for me to do anything in that class and even he doesn’t do too much because his students are so self-sufficient. Given that it’s a quarter semester class, however, I have hope that early into semester 2, when I go back, I’ll be able to participate more since the students won’t be working on big projects right away (I hope). In my second period at Northside I also found myself not doing much, but that was because this entire week my fellow immersive learning students (though ones who are supposed to be at Northside) were doing their own lessons. I was, thankful...