My OTSMA Experience

I did it! I was able to complete my first over the shoulder miscue analysis (OTSMA). Even though I found it to be somewhat challenging, it was not nearly as difficult, or as time consuming, as the formal miscue analysis that I had to conduct last year. I think that teachers could always use more hours in the day for numerous tasks (teaching lessons, correcting papers, conferencing with individual students, etc.). According to the article, Inviting Reflection on Reading through Over the Shoulder Miscue Analysis by Ruth Davenport and Carol Lauritzen, “Over the Shoulder has slowed us down and encouraged us to pause within the busy life of the classroom to carefully consider what has been revealed about a child’s reading and what has occurred during the reading conference.” I believe that the OTSMA is something that I definitely see myself doing more often than a formal miscue based on the class readings and my own personal experience with it.

I decided to do my OTSMA with a third grade student in my practicum classroom. Due to the bad weather, which caused late starts and school cancellations, I was not able to meet with this student beforehand as much as I would have wanted to. As pre-service elementary teachers, however, we are taught to be flexible and to work with what you have. That is what I had to do in this situation. The reader that I met with is a female and slightly struggles with reading. She still loves to read on a daily basis for fun, however, which is something that we want to see! My student and I decided to use the chapter book that she was already reading, What a Year by Tomie dePaola, for the OTSMA. From this miscue activity alone, I was able to observe the individual student read a large chunk of her book in just one sitting.

 This experience alone has taught me a lot about the individual reader. Since the Over the Shoulder has less observational writing/data, I was able to focus my attention to where it was truly needed, the student!  During and after the reading, I effectively communicated with my participant and pinpointed what strategies she was using and things that we could work on. For instance, from this miscue analysis I learned that my student uses all three cueing systems as she reads (syntax, graphophonics and semantic) but could definitely work on her use of semantics to construct better meaning from the text. Even the student’s retelling was very important, because I was able to note what she was focusing her attention on, I noted in my recordings (template D) that I would create mini-lessons that focused on semantic cues (such as having the student fill in the appropriate words that have been omitted from a sentence).

The next time that I do a OTSMA I will make sure to gather more background information on the student that I am working with. I felt that I had to go into this meeting with little knowledge on the student that I was working with, which made the entire process that much harder. In my prior blog posts, I have said a couple of times the importance of getting to know your students as learners and individuals, so that you as a teacher can design lessons and activities that will help all of your students grow appropriately. I would also select a book that had more pictures in it. The book that my student read did not have as many illustrations that I wanted, so I wonder how much of an impact it had on my student and their reading process. 

The Classroom… Our Second Home!

In a couple of years, I hope to be where I have worked so diligently to be, teaching in the classroom. This classroom will not only be MY very own, special classroom, but it will, in fact, be OUR very special classroom. Who am I referring to when I say OUR you ask? Well, when I say OUR, I mean my students of course!

I hope to teach anywhere from kindergarten to third grade and will maybe even take some extra courses, over the summer, so that I will also be certified to teach early childhood. Let’s get real…if my first job offer is to teach fourth grade, you know that I am going to take it with a large smile on my face! As long as I am teaching and making a positive impact on students’ lives you have me sold. As I gain a little more experience in the classroom, I will then be picky and teach the grades that I really want to teach. Who knows, along the way I may decide that I would rather teach fifth grade, but I doubt it. There is something about the younger ones that just get to me and that is where my heart lies. 

Anyway, let’s get back on track to the real reason why I am writing this particular blog post. I want to focus all of my thoughts on the idea of an ideal classroom space for teaching and learning that support my teaching beliefs (that I talked about last time). Since I see myself in a K-3^rd grade room, I’ll discuss the classroom space as if I am teaching one of those four grades.

I noticed in the reading Teaching with Intention, by Debbie Miller, regarding the classroom environment in chapter three, that Miller and I had a lot of similar views. For example, I agreed when she brought up the importance of including students’ opinions in configuring the classroom at the beginning of the school year. By doing this, the teacher is telling the students that they are part of the classroom community and that the teacher cares about what the students have to say. My last post described how I want all of my learners to feel valued and heard and by asking them the first week of school, what they want to see in OUR room, and where, this is definitely setting that tone. I may have to make a few exceptions, based on student safety and what is practical. The more input I get the better. This will also support another of my strong beliefs which is to provide a classroom that is welcoming, safe and fair.

Another idea that has come to my mind because of my Literacy Learning and Teaching course and other past courses is the importance of developing a room that is authentic and meaningful. Everyone will benefit from a room that displays, for example, their own hard work, rather than just mere classroom “decorations” placed randomly on the walls. I want the principle, parents and visitors to walk into the class and say, “So this is what Ms. B and her students are all about. I like it!”, or something along those lines (haha). In other words, I want everyone to be able to know my beliefs without me really having to say anything.

You better believe that my classroom is going to have things such as a meeting area, a small-group space, desks/or tables, and so on, but I do have to keep in mind what is realistic and focus on what I have. Even though I am really hoping for a gigantic room, that may not happen and I am going to have to make what I have work. One thing I can control is where I will place our classroom books (or library), which is EVERYWHERE! Our entire class will look like a library as a matter of fact. This also ties into my belief that all of my students are readers and writers, or a part of the literacy club, and every single one of them is capable of learning.

As I end my reflection and check out for the evening, I will leave you with one final thought. I have said this before and will say again how much I appreciated the teachers who have created lasting relationships and impressions on me. I want my kiddos to feel that they are at their second home, or a home away from home. I will achieve this by not only having things such as carpets/rugs, couches, lamps, etc, also by informing my students that I am here to support them and help them grow as learners and individuals.

Have a comment or question? Please share it with me!

Teaching Beliefs

Over the past couple of weeks, I have consciously taken the time and effort to press pause on my busy, hectic schedule and really reflect (or envision) what the perfect classroom would look like to me. When I close my eyes, I first see a clearly organized, welcoming room with student work hanging up for everyone to admire. I also see other posters and artwork that contribute positively to the classroom environment and the students’ overall learning. Additionally, I would notice students throughout the classroom following the daily schedule/routines, hard at work but also enjoying the activity at the same time. While the thought of this picture is extremely pleasant and reassuring, I realize that in order to create a positive learning environment and experience for young learners, I must first dig deep within and discover what just what are my teaching beliefs.

As I sit here this chilly, winter evening, sipping hot cocoa and bundling up under my blankets, I am taking into account the thoughtful discussions and readings we did for my literacy learning and teaching course. I am discovering what, as of now, I consider my teaching beliefs to be. I understand that everyday I am continually learning from others, so my views are likely to change as the semester continues or once I start teaching. But as of right now, it doesn’t hurt to share with my lovely followers what I am thinking. In this blog post, and in many more to come, I am going to define some of my teaching beliefs to you and imagine how I could align those beliefs with my teaching practices.

Since I am almost done being an undergraduate and I am about to step foot in my very own classroom (ahhhh), it is extremely useful and necessary for my kiddos, to establish my beliefs well ahead of time. Since this particular blog is dedicated to my literacy class, many of my ideas may relate to reading and writing, but that does not mean that some of it wont tie into other subjects and activities as well.

The very first belief that comes to mind is that it is valuable to create lessons that are meaningful, and even consider my students such as their interests and backgrounds. I want my students to be engaged and excited to learn EVERYDAY and one way for me to do that is by taking time to really get to know my students individually and to keep in mind what they like and how they learn best. It is also beneficial to continually search for more successful ways to teach my class and to also be an expert in the content area too.

My next teaching belief is that it is critical to create a classroom environment that is at all times welcoming, safe and fair. I will always appreciate and remember the past teachers who took the time and effort to make sure everyone in the room felt valued and heard. Students should feel that the teacher and their fellow classmates always respect them, and that they are free to ask questions, discuss, etc. without being judged. This can easily be done if it is set into place at the beginning of the school term.

The third idea that I stand by is that all of my students are capable of learning (and more specifically, when it comes to literacy, all of my students are readers and writers). I will always believe in my students and hold high expectations for them on a daily basis. The things that we learn in my classroom will be somewhat challenging but achievable.

Lastly, as an educator, not only will I plan to be a positive role model for my students, but also I want to create lasting relationships with them. I want my students to know that I value what they have to say and that they can always come to me even if it has nothing to do with what we are learning in class.

These are just some current ideas that I hold true and dear to my heart. Even though I will continue to grow in my knowledge and beliefs, I am certain that I am at a good starting point and I will keep learning everyday!

Let me know what you think.

-Ms. B

First Blog About Literacy

As I wrap up my incredible journey at the University of Iowa, I am preparing to open up a new chapter in my life, teaching! During my last semester as an undergraduate, I am fortunate enough to be taking a Literacy Learning and Teaching course. For this class, I am instructed to create a blog in order to organize and record my thoughts associated with literacy.  I am thrilled to be blogging for the first time because not only will I be able to connect and gain useful knowledge from various teachers, students, parents, etc., I will additionally be focusing my time on topics that I love such as reading and writing. Literacy is such an important part of teaching and it is my goal as the semester continues to develop and improve my techniques so that my students will have the best educational experience possible. I hope to see myself grow not only as a teacher, but as a learner as well. 

Please feel free to leave me comments! I would love to learn from your ideas and suggestions.

-Ms. B.