Recent Changes

Please select the following link to view my graduate portfolio.
http://katiebeckett.weebly.com/

Masters, I know it was becauseknew I would likewanted to be leader. I became a teacher to reach as many students as I possibly can- in and out of my classroom. I aspire to work with other educators as coteachers who develop knowledge together, with research based instruction as the driving force.
I have had this concept. It went so well that I have been asked to give a repeat of the same session, along with other Professional Developments as well. Please select
Building Comprehension PD
on metacognition.
Comprehension Connections Book Study PD

I will gradute from Michigan State Universities Masters in Teaching and Currciculum on May 5, 2012. When I decided to get my Masters, I know it was because I would like to be a teacher leader. I have had experience developing a "Building Comprehension" component of our district curriculum which focuses on building comprehension through shared readings while integrating music, poetry, and art. I have given a professional development around this concept. Please select the prezi presentation below to see an example of a professional development I have given.
http://prezi.com/w-ofpzns_vzp/bulding-comprehension/?auth_key=a33d66866ebd113bd76b3ce3f1b2c1c94abd12c1Building Comprehension PD
Apart from the Building Comprehension curriculum piece, I have also hosted a book study for "Comprehension Connections" by Tanny McGregor for fellow 5th and 6th grade teachers at my home campus. Below, you will find a link which jumpstarted the book study, focusing first on metacognition.
Comprehension Connections Book Study PD

I will gradute from Michigan State Universities Masters in Teaching and Currciculum on May 5, 2012. When I decided to get my Masters, I know it was because I would like to be a teacher leader. I have had experience developing a "Building Comprehension" component of our district curriculum which focuses on building comprehension through shared readings while integrating music, poetry, and art. I have given a professional development around this concept. Please select the prezi presentation below to see an example of a professional development I have given.
http://prezi.com/w-ofpzns_vzp/bulding-comprehension/?auth_key=a33d66866ebd113bd76b3ce3f1b2c1c94abd12c1

To view my resume, please select the link below:
{resume.wikispace.pdf}

Teaching Philosophy
Change is a hallmark of a teaching career.Each year students come into the classroom, change what the teacher knows about teaching, and then leave the teacher at the end of the school year to start all over again the next year with a new group of students and challenges. Each day offers a different quirk, and each unit presents its challenges. Few things remain constant in teaching. Sometimes the constant may be the teacher that returns to the room each year, but in many ways, even the teacher is transformed.
My philosophy of teaching has changed each year that I have been studying and preparing to be the teacher I am today. Few things have remained constant, but my values about education remain the same. I believe that the classroom is a place where all students have the opportunity to fulfill their potential as citizens.It seems that many children have not yet had the experience of learning how to treat each other with respect and how to learn from each other's experiences.In my classroom, I will expect students to build and appreciate a respectful environment where they can take appropriate risks without worrying about others' judgment. It is my hope that when a student leaves my classroom that they will have learned what empathy means and are able to feel empathetic towards others in class as well as in society.
The students in my classroom will have opportunities to succeed at an academic rigor level that is appropriate for them.The learners will recognize when they walk through the classroom door the very first day of school that everyone will expect high growth and pushing oneself to achieve great things. Through these expectations students can find consistency and a foundation for achievement.
All students will use goal setting throughout the year to keep track of the academic victories they make as the tasks became more difficult.Differentiation plays an important role in the daily effort required by teachers and students to meet these types of long and short term goals.Teachers owe it to their students to give them a work expectation that allows them the opportunity to succeed.Success is truly measured by the amount of learning progress a student can make throughout the year, not by the number of students finished with a certain number of math units by the end of the year.
The students that enter my classroom will also enter an environment that encourages preparedness, responsibility and organization.These three interconnected positive habits are keys to success in all ventures of our lives.To keep students accountable for their own work, and to develop the skills necessary to be a successful learner as they get older, they must master organization.Being prepared, organized, and responsible for one's self fosters healthy pride in one's work, effort, and oneself.It instills self-worth in the students and stimulates maturity and confidence.
Lastly, students will develop the understanding that completing work does not entitle an extrinsic reward.I hope to work with students to help them learn that the satisfaction, academic, and personal gains made through hard work are really the best reward.Candy, extra recess, and free-time motivate for the short term, but a time will come in a child's life when those rewards hold little value or fail to serve as strong extrinsic motivators.It is unlikely that the satisfaction of achievement and the intelligence gained day after day through a student's effort during school will ever be shown up by an external factor.The confidence associated with academic achievement and social growth gives a greater and more meaningful payment to be used to make future gains in the student's life, short and long term.Plus, the student learns to rely on him or herself, instead of someone or something else, to get their job as students done.
The most important philosophy tenet I hold about teaching demands that the teacher never stop learning.With as many expectations as I have about learning for my students, I hold the same number of goals and standards for myself.Expectations for my students to be life-long learners drawing on intrinsic motivation to better themselves and for no other reason, can only be taught and encouraged through example.I hope to lead my students by modeling and not just speaking how they should perform.Showing them my joy in learning can lead by example for all the students I teach.

Please follow the link to view our class website. Thank you for visiting!
Class Website