1 00:00:01,090 --> 00:00:03,810 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:03,989 --> 00:00:05,750 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll. 3 00:00:06,060 --> 00:00:10,190 In this episode, you'll hear part two of my conversation with Janet 4 00:00:10,190 --> 00:00:14,719 VanLone, Assistant Professor in the Education Department and Co-director 5 00:00:14,739 --> 00:00:18,579 in the Center for Social Science Research at Bucknell University. 6 00:00:19,410 --> 00:00:23,730 More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 7 00:00:24,530 --> 00:00:26,390 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 8 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,850 Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations can be found on 9 00:00:30,860 --> 00:00:33,390 YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 10 00:00:34,530 --> 00:00:39,070 I love that you're thinking along these lines of a, of this kind of process 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:45,600 portfolio, and I do think, you know, as in beginning teaching and in life, 12 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:51,750 as you mentioned, that there, there are these moments that are incredibly 13 00:00:51,750 --> 00:00:55,540 important in our learning and development. 14 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:04,960 That are messy and, and are still so relevant to who we 15 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:08,220 are and what we're doing today. 16 00:01:08,829 --> 00:01:15,129 Even though many may not consider it as something that's kind of the polished 17 00:01:15,679 --> 00:01:21,679 professional version of ourselves that we're, you know, maybe putting out 18 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,160 into the world and in certain contexts. 19 00:01:24,865 --> 00:01:35,044 But I do think that there's incredible value in taking the time to reflect on 20 00:01:35,044 --> 00:01:42,064 those experiences, acknowledge them, um, you know, not every day going into the 21 00:01:42,064 --> 00:01:50,044 classroom is going to go as planned and the way that you wanted and, and, and, and 22 00:01:50,044 --> 00:01:53,335 what we do with that is very important. 23 00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:58,340 And we learn something about ourselves and, you know, how we 24 00:01:58,340 --> 00:02:03,730 might approach the next day or next experience like that differently. 25 00:02:04,050 --> 00:02:12,119 And having some kind of record of that, I think can make those experiences something 26 00:02:12,119 --> 00:02:20,989 that we can look back on With maybe less, um, you know, being less hard on 27 00:02:20,989 --> 00:02:26,309 ourselves, but maybe celebrating some of those experiences because we've been able 28 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:33,720 to see that growth since that time, you know, what were the tools that I used? 29 00:02:33,910 --> 00:02:36,019 Who are the people that I reached out to? 30 00:02:36,030 --> 00:02:37,590 What are the tools that I use? 31 00:02:37,650 --> 00:02:40,230 How did I come back from that experience? 32 00:02:40,494 --> 00:02:45,625 And make it something that could be more positive in the future. 33 00:02:45,635 --> 00:02:47,095 How did it change me? 34 00:02:47,105 --> 00:02:49,255 How did it change my approach to things? 35 00:02:49,954 --> 00:02:55,064 Um, and I do think that it's these experiences that are also incredibly 36 00:02:55,075 --> 00:03:04,084 valuable when we are in conversations about potential employment opportunities. 37 00:03:04,424 --> 00:03:11,265 Um, and I do think that many people that are hiring are starting to ask questions. 38 00:03:11,610 --> 00:03:17,700 Like this because they want there to be a good fit, you know, they 39 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:22,370 don't want there to be so much, you know, attrition happening. 40 00:03:22,380 --> 00:03:27,559 They want to be able to retain people and know that they have, you know, 41 00:03:27,570 --> 00:03:33,550 the tools to be able to encounter challenges and, and, and grow from that. 42 00:03:33,890 --> 00:03:38,470 And so, you know, I do think, as you mentioned, your students have created 43 00:03:38,470 --> 00:03:47,655 these incredibly, um, Beautiful representations of what they are and, 44 00:03:47,855 --> 00:03:52,454 you know, who they are, what they have done, the skills that they have, and 45 00:03:52,454 --> 00:03:56,135 it's incredibly valuable to be able to be in a conversation with someone 46 00:03:56,135 --> 00:04:00,414 when they ask you, you know, have you done X, Y, Z to not just talk 47 00:04:00,425 --> 00:04:02,834 about, I can show you right here. 48 00:04:03,304 --> 00:04:07,754 Um, but I love that you're also thinking about how now as an experi... 49 00:04:07,794 --> 00:04:13,890 Now that you've had these few years to use it in the platform in that kind of 50 00:04:13,940 --> 00:04:19,990 manner and, and see its value there to be thinking about it as this kind of 51 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:30,275 space for maybe more introspection and Reflection on process and, and growth 52 00:04:30,344 --> 00:04:35,624 and, and then they, because they can kind of move things around, you may 53 00:04:35,624 --> 00:04:41,564 find that some students as part of that reflective experience create something 54 00:04:41,574 --> 00:04:47,515 in that environment that they do want to be able to share, but maybe they want to 55 00:04:47,515 --> 00:04:49,675 provide some context around it, right? 56 00:04:49,685 --> 00:04:54,615 It might not be the artifact that aligns to the teaching standard. 57 00:04:55,035 --> 00:04:59,435 But maybe it is something that's going to fit into one of those 58 00:04:59,475 --> 00:05:04,964 other areas about their philosophy or advocacy or why they're doing 59 00:05:04,964 --> 00:05:07,054 the research that they're doing. 60 00:05:08,695 --> 00:05:11,585 So I'm, I'm really excited about that. 61 00:05:12,495 --> 00:05:13,065 Yeah. 62 00:05:13,144 --> 00:05:14,344 Yeah, absolutely. 63 00:05:14,394 --> 00:05:19,625 Um, I, I like what you said about like the messy moments kind of being. 64 00:05:20,335 --> 00:05:26,845 Oftentimes being what gets us to where we are, um, but I think sometimes, 65 00:05:27,095 --> 00:05:30,395 you know, as I said, I'm working with undergraduate, traditionally 66 00:05:30,425 --> 00:05:35,695 undergraduate students who are, you know, 18 to 22 years old, give or take. 67 00:05:36,225 --> 00:05:38,304 Um, and. 68 00:05:39,505 --> 00:05:44,275 I think they sometimes come in with this idea that, like, they should, 69 00:05:44,545 --> 00:05:46,685 shouldn't have these messy moments. 70 00:05:46,694 --> 00:05:49,405 That everything should just right. 71 00:05:49,545 --> 00:05:59,174 So, um, I, I always try to model being very authentic and sharing some of 72 00:05:59,184 --> 00:06:06,085 my own moments where, um, you Like, I'm, I'm in this position and care so 73 00:06:06,085 --> 00:06:12,964 deeply about their success as early career teachers because my first year 74 00:06:12,965 --> 00:06:19,205 of teaching, um, my middle school position was extremely challenging. 75 00:06:19,635 --> 00:06:27,585 Um, and, uh, I, I really struggled and I closed my door and wondered 76 00:06:27,585 --> 00:06:31,134 if I was the only one because we weren't really talking about it. 77 00:06:31,785 --> 00:06:32,325 So. 78 00:06:32,860 --> 00:06:39,340 Really having, modeling that for students and then having them share, 79 00:06:39,340 --> 00:06:45,520 encouraging them to really share those moments where they, they struggle and, 80 00:06:45,540 --> 00:06:49,820 and letting them know, like, this is where the growth happens right there, 81 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,640 um, is, is really, really helpful. 82 00:06:55,210 --> 00:06:56,150 Absolutely. 83 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:56,930 And I think. 84 00:06:57,205 --> 00:07:01,585 You know, as you're sharing that, so many coming into the classroom feeling 85 00:07:01,585 --> 00:07:10,014 like everything is supposed to be going great and, you know, I think that group 86 00:07:10,435 --> 00:07:15,345 of undergraduates, especially, probably has not really been in an environment 87 00:07:15,345 --> 00:07:18,115 before that's going to be celebrating. 88 00:07:18,990 --> 00:07:20,720 The, the messiness, right? 89 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:27,350 Everything has been about doing something the right way and getting a grade on 90 00:07:27,350 --> 00:07:29,900 it and moving on to the next course. 91 00:07:30,310 --> 00:07:38,300 And, um, yeah, not really having that kind of integrative experience where, 92 00:07:39,030 --> 00:07:44,520 you know, they can take something from here and something from here and, you 93 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,290 know, oh, this mistake I made here. 94 00:07:47,310 --> 00:07:50,210 And then, you know, trying to create those. 95 00:07:50,740 --> 00:07:55,750 Connections and think about how it's going to move them forward. 96 00:07:55,810 --> 00:08:01,300 And I imagine many of them may be coming into this with their own, you know, I just 97 00:08:01,700 --> 00:08:04,749 going back to my undergraduate teaching. 98 00:08:04,829 --> 00:08:07,050 Um, so many didn't. 99 00:08:07,535 --> 00:08:13,035 Really see the value in what they were doing Sometimes didn't understand the 100 00:08:13,035 --> 00:08:17,395 value of what they were doing outside of school even though many of them were 101 00:08:17,765 --> 00:08:24,315 had incredible extracurriculars and volunteering and and also sometimes didn't 102 00:08:24,325 --> 00:08:29,675 see the value in the work that they were creating in their courses because It 103 00:08:30,265 --> 00:08:33,805 wasn't resonating with how it was going to connect with maybe what they were 104 00:08:33,805 --> 00:08:36,375 going to be doing in their career later. 105 00:08:36,445 --> 00:08:41,085 So a lot of it was just kind of building confidence in what they were 106 00:08:41,085 --> 00:08:43,335 doing and helping them recognize that. 107 00:08:43,740 --> 00:08:46,099 You know, what you're doing right now is important. 108 00:08:46,109 --> 00:08:50,109 You're important, the work that you're doing is important, and it's all 109 00:08:50,109 --> 00:08:53,560 part of this journey that you're on. 110 00:08:53,599 --> 00:08:58,109 You know, if you just are always looking at what's next without thinking about 111 00:08:58,129 --> 00:09:03,809 what you're doing now, you can kind of lose sight on the value of the time. 112 00:09:04,185 --> 00:09:04,935 Right now. 113 00:09:05,435 --> 00:09:06,635 Um, absolutely. 114 00:09:07,214 --> 00:09:07,484 Yeah. 115 00:09:07,925 --> 00:09:12,655 So, um, I imagine your s..., your undergraduate students maybe in similar 116 00:09:12,655 --> 00:09:18,804 kinds of mindsets, um, but are already kind of thinking about their careers. 117 00:09:18,835 --> 00:09:22,035 So probably really want things to be going really well. 118 00:09:22,625 --> 00:09:27,532 Because they have an idea that this is what they want to do in the future. 119 00:09:27,532 --> 00:09:28,068 Yeah. 120 00:09:28,068 --> 00:09:28,603 Yeah. 121 00:09:28,603 --> 00:09:33,426 They, they of course want everything to go well. 122 00:09:33,426 --> 00:09:39,864 Um, and I hope that the environment that we create in our classes in the 123 00:09:39,864 --> 00:09:45,804 education department has set the stage for, uh, that, you know, not everything's 124 00:09:45,804 --> 00:09:47,315 going to go well all the time. 125 00:09:47,375 --> 00:09:48,135 And that's okay. 126 00:09:48,135 --> 00:09:49,345 That's all part of the process. 127 00:09:49,345 --> 00:09:50,174 That's, that's. 128 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:52,390 That's a place where we're going to learn. 129 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:58,280 Um, so by the time they get to student teaching, um, 130 00:09:58,950 --> 00:10:02,000 they, they are ready for that. 131 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:06,509 I'm really glad that they, that I have the students a semester prior to 132 00:10:06,510 --> 00:10:09,659 student teaching so that I can have that, that relationship with them. 133 00:10:09,659 --> 00:10:14,875 So kind of right off the bat, they know that, um, you know, I'm not, I'm 134 00:10:14,875 --> 00:10:18,615 not coming in, like, when I come in to observe them, I'm not coming in with, 135 00:10:18,615 --> 00:10:21,335 like, taking notes with my red pen, right? 136 00:10:21,805 --> 00:10:22,565 Um, right. 137 00:10:23,015 --> 00:10:26,625 Um, it's, it's really like a, a. 138 00:10:27,100 --> 00:10:33,060 We have a shared goal to try to, you know, individualize support for them 139 00:10:33,060 --> 00:10:35,390 and get them ready for their first year. 140 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,400 So yeah, you care about that success. 141 00:10:38,509 --> 00:10:40,640 You're not just there to critique. 142 00:10:41,009 --> 00:10:42,370 Yeah, absolutely. 143 00:10:42,390 --> 00:10:42,690 Yep. 144 00:10:42,719 --> 00:10:43,979 That's, that's really important. 145 00:10:44,439 --> 00:10:44,879 Yeah. 146 00:10:44,959 --> 00:10:45,289 Yeah. 147 00:10:45,410 --> 00:10:45,850 Yeah. 148 00:10:45,879 --> 00:10:47,074 I can imagine that. 149 00:10:47,275 --> 00:10:52,005 So, what is it, uh, their kind of day to day like? 150 00:10:52,135 --> 00:10:58,334 We sometimes get questions at Digication, um, especially for students that are 151 00:10:58,335 --> 00:11:03,325 involved in experiential learning and these kind of field work environments, 152 00:11:04,225 --> 00:11:08,550 um, As they're kind of going through this process of student teaching and 153 00:11:08,550 --> 00:11:16,440 putting materials into various pages, you know, what kind of, um, maybe 154 00:11:16,450 --> 00:11:20,829 scaffolding or vice or mentorship do you give them about the kind of 155 00:11:21,079 --> 00:11:23,810 frequency they're putting materials in? 156 00:11:24,709 --> 00:11:28,710 If they're going to be reflecting on the experience, are they, are they 157 00:11:28,710 --> 00:11:33,795 taking like little bullet points and then Elaborating on them earlier. 158 00:11:33,795 --> 00:11:36,835 Are they doing any kind of documentation while they're right in 159 00:11:36,835 --> 00:11:39,555 the classroom, maybe with their phones? 160 00:11:39,665 --> 00:11:43,585 I would love to hear a little bit about what that process is like. 161 00:11:44,715 --> 00:11:52,414 So, we have, um, a number of our, our, the structure of our program, 162 00:11:52,944 --> 00:11:54,994 um, leading up to student teaching. 163 00:11:54,994 --> 00:11:58,495 They have a number of courses that have, like, field components with them. 164 00:11:58,885 --> 00:12:06,215 But Um, in their junior spring, so junior year, spring semester, um, is 165 00:12:06,215 --> 00:12:08,245 when things really ramp up, I'll say. 166 00:12:08,645 --> 00:12:14,634 And they are out, uh, for two full days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 167 00:12:14,645 --> 00:12:17,925 they spend the whole day in a classroom, one classroom, they're 168 00:12:17,955 --> 00:12:19,295 paired with a mentor teacher. 169 00:12:19,885 --> 00:12:23,605 And then they have two full days of classes, um, and 170 00:12:23,605 --> 00:12:24,565 they're taking four courses. 171 00:12:24,605 --> 00:12:26,245 So it's a very busy semester. 172 00:12:26,974 --> 00:12:32,540 So from those For courses, um, and then from the student, from 173 00:12:32,569 --> 00:12:35,410 the student teaching seminar, there's like a seminar component. 174 00:12:35,420 --> 00:12:38,900 That's another course that goes along with the student teaching semester. 175 00:12:39,430 --> 00:12:44,249 I have, I have, and my colleagues who teach those courses have assignments 176 00:12:44,399 --> 00:12:50,635 that, um, we've identified and will recommend that they, um, That 177 00:12:50,635 --> 00:12:52,735 they consider for their portfolio. 178 00:12:53,115 --> 00:13:01,925 Um, but one of the things that I haven't done is given them, I'll let them choose. 179 00:13:01,935 --> 00:13:06,515 So, we've got these competencies in Pennsylvania, um, Planning and 180 00:13:06,515 --> 00:13:10,575 Preparation, Classroom Environment, Knowledge of Diverse Learners, Assessment, 181 00:13:11,055 --> 00:13:15,155 um, Professionalism, um, Instruction. 182 00:13:15,405 --> 00:13:16,205 I think that's it. 183 00:13:16,815 --> 00:13:17,435 Hopefully you got them all. 184 00:13:17,435 --> 00:13:19,055 Oh, that's a relatively short list. 185 00:13:19,055 --> 00:13:23,055 There's some states that I was like, oh my gosh. 186 00:13:23,055 --> 00:13:27,085 Those are the categories, but then the lists within each 187 00:13:27,085 --> 00:13:28,785 of them are pretty extensive. 188 00:13:28,804 --> 00:13:31,585 Yeah, but they just kind of go by each category. 189 00:13:32,034 --> 00:13:38,675 So, I might give examples of assignments that would, um, connect really nicely 190 00:13:38,705 --> 00:13:42,819 to, um, To a certain competency. 191 00:13:43,290 --> 00:13:49,709 So, for example, um, I, I teach a course in explicit instruction and 192 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,790 structured literacy where they're doing some lesson plans in there. 193 00:13:53,829 --> 00:13:58,210 Um, they do a training called reading ready where they're doing 194 00:13:58,210 --> 00:14:00,950 some reading intervention with a student who might need a little 195 00:14:00,950 --> 00:14:02,619 bit more support in the classroom. 196 00:14:03,089 --> 00:14:06,560 So they might, um, they might like show. 197 00:14:07,020 --> 00:14:11,930 assessment, not actual student data, if it was, of course, that we would black out 198 00:14:11,930 --> 00:14:16,439 names or anything, but they would show, like, what they did with Reading Ready. 199 00:14:16,469 --> 00:14:20,259 And I might suggest, like, this might work for knowledge of diverse 200 00:14:20,259 --> 00:14:24,679 learners, but it might also work for planning and preparation. 201 00:14:24,679 --> 00:14:27,530 You could talk about it there, and we kind of talk about that. 202 00:14:27,530 --> 00:14:33,300 So, it's not that I'm dictating that this thing needs to go into this category. 203 00:14:33,330 --> 00:14:36,369 I really want them to think about what it meant for them. 204 00:14:36,820 --> 00:14:40,080 Yeah, and to have a lot of leeway with that, but they have a number 205 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,939 of assignments that they can use. 206 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,939 And then during student teaching, like, there are just so many things 207 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,400 beyond even what we do in somi... 208 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:56,449 in our student teaching seminar that they would be able to Um, so like, you know, 209 00:14:56,449 --> 00:15:01,930 for professionalism, um, I often recommend that they attend a school board meeting. 210 00:15:02,380 --> 00:15:06,249 Um, so, you know, find out what, what the community is like, find out what 211 00:15:06,250 --> 00:15:10,349 the issues are going on at a, what, what the talk is at a school board meeting. 212 00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:12,430 Um, and, and what are your thoughts on that? 213 00:15:12,449 --> 00:15:14,360 So, you know, and that, that. 214 00:15:14,495 --> 00:15:18,814 Artifact could be something as simple as, like, them standing in front of the 215 00:15:18,814 --> 00:15:22,455 school the night of the school board meeting and then reflecting on that 216 00:15:22,474 --> 00:15:28,895 experience and why, how does that help them to, um, to be a professional in 217 00:15:28,895 --> 00:15:32,094 the field, like understanding their community and the needs of the school 218 00:15:32,094 --> 00:15:37,074 board and that kind of higher level picture of local policy that's happening. 219 00:15:37,574 --> 00:15:40,329 Um, yeah, so. 220 00:15:41,490 --> 00:15:44,500 I don't know if I answered your question because I'm not, I don't know if I'm okay. 221 00:15:45,570 --> 00:15:45,940 Yeah. 222 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:47,230 You got it. 223 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:48,140 Okay. 224 00:15:49,719 --> 00:15:54,969 And, um, so as part of that process, so they're thinking through, they have 225 00:15:54,969 --> 00:16:00,560 some suggestions about what areas may have, may align to specific outcomes 226 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:06,629 or how it was designed to align to some of those, um, teaching standards. 227 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,139 Um, but they can really make a choice if they feel like 228 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,380 there's alignment in other areas. 229 00:16:13,830 --> 00:16:14,660 Absolutely. 230 00:16:14,730 --> 00:16:20,090 Reflection seems to really point that out, you know, if they feel like it's 231 00:16:20,469 --> 00:16:25,809 aligned with more, um, Absolutely. 232 00:16:26,030 --> 00:16:30,660 And we do have, like I have, we have in our handbook, we have a student 233 00:16:30,689 --> 00:16:36,310 teaching handbook or field experience handbook, and we have guidance for, um, 234 00:16:36,709 --> 00:16:41,444 there reflections So we give prompts, um, just some things that they can 235 00:16:41,455 --> 00:16:47,485 think about, ideas for, um, things to think about within each competency. 236 00:16:47,925 --> 00:16:56,760 Um, and I'll also just share that one of One of the things that we do at the end of 237 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,630 the semester, we actually do this twice, but at the very end of the semester, we 238 00:17:00,630 --> 00:17:05,889 invite all of the, uh, our mentor teachers that have been their hosts in their, 239 00:17:05,889 --> 00:17:08,300 in their student teaching placements. 240 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,110 To campus. 241 00:17:10,420 --> 00:17:14,179 And we invite some other pre service teachers. 242 00:17:14,210 --> 00:17:18,889 So those that are kind of coming up to student teaching for a portfolio night 243 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:24,759 and our students, yeah, our students, um, share their portfolios and, you know, we 244 00:17:24,759 --> 00:17:29,840 kind of do, it's very, it's informal, but they sit at a table and people just kind 245 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:31,550 of like go around, Oh, what did you do? 246 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:34,640 And they show, you know, go through their portfolios and talk about 247 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:36,100 their student teaching semester. 248 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:38,510 The faculty from our department and all. 249 00:17:39,020 --> 00:17:40,330 All attend as well. 250 00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:46,680 Um, and it really is an opportunity for them to share all the work that they've 251 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,889 done and feel really proud of it and get some really nice feedback for all that 252 00:17:51,889 --> 00:17:57,559 they've done and and have a chance to talk about it, um, to kind of go through 253 00:17:57,589 --> 00:18:00,350 each thing and go back and talk about, um. 254 00:18:00,764 --> 00:18:06,195 What each artifact meant, and, um, they get a lot of good questions as well. 255 00:18:06,804 --> 00:18:08,435 Um, and then we do that again. 256 00:18:08,465 --> 00:18:11,034 Actually, the, the Center for Social Science Research here, 257 00:18:11,034 --> 00:18:17,435 we host an, a, an event for the social sciences that we have. 258 00:18:17,705 --> 00:18:20,675 Both poster presentations, like traditional research poster 259 00:18:20,675 --> 00:18:27,554 presentations and portfolios, um, and our students, our teacher education 260 00:18:27,565 --> 00:18:29,925 students share their portfolios there. 261 00:18:30,634 --> 00:18:36,044 And we also have in our department, um, students who are working towards a 262 00:18:36,054 --> 00:18:43,050 bachelor's in education, but they are not getting a certification and those students 263 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:45,240 do an internship their senior year. 264 00:18:45,670 --> 00:18:50,949 Um, so, so they share their work as well, um, within their internship. 265 00:18:51,819 --> 00:18:52,529 Oh, nice. 266 00:18:52,830 --> 00:18:53,389 Yeah. 267 00:18:55,199 --> 00:19:00,690 And so what, how, what's the kind of feedback that you hear from maybe 268 00:19:00,710 --> 00:19:06,069 some of the people that aren't part of the education program that are seeing 269 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,960 the results of what they've done? 270 00:19:10,999 --> 00:19:18,120 Oh, well, I think, um, One of the things that I think is nice for me as, you 271 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:23,549 know, their supervisor and professor is for folks outside of education to 272 00:19:23,549 --> 00:19:29,639 understand all of the hard work that goes into it, um, and seeing it and not 273 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:34,529 just hearing about it, being able to, like, just When you're, you're seeing a 274 00:19:34,580 --> 00:19:41,159 picture of all that goes into a lesson, um, and then the student work and the 275 00:19:41,159 --> 00:19:48,519 kind of feedback that, um, our student, you know, teachers provide and, um, it 276 00:19:48,519 --> 00:19:53,809 within all of these different areas, um, and they're able to ask questions. 277 00:19:53,819 --> 00:19:56,519 I just think it really highlights. 278 00:19:57,225 --> 00:20:06,194 For our students, um, just that they are going into a field where they are 279 00:20:06,194 --> 00:20:09,464 going to be making a difference, where they're going to be working hard, and 280 00:20:09,465 --> 00:20:13,045 that that's being acknowledged and recognized, I think is really important. 281 00:20:13,125 --> 00:20:14,254 Yeah. 282 00:20:15,315 --> 00:20:15,745 Yeah. 283 00:20:16,635 --> 00:20:21,235 And that reminds me of some of the other kinds of advocacy work that you're doing. 284 00:20:21,235 --> 00:20:24,345 The students are, I don't know if you've been able to pick it back up 285 00:20:24,355 --> 00:20:30,285 since the pandemic, but you're, you had some trips out to DC to meet with 286 00:20:30,505 --> 00:20:35,125 policy makers and I was wanting for you to share a little bit about that and 287 00:20:35,365 --> 00:20:40,575 why that's an important part of what you're trying to show to your students. 288 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:42,780 Oh, yes, absolutely. 289 00:20:42,830 --> 00:20:49,750 Um, well, I think one of the things that I learned as a classroom teacher 290 00:20:50,230 --> 00:20:56,870 is, um, you are the recipient of policy and sometimes it's hard to figure 291 00:20:56,870 --> 00:20:59,720 out, like, where's this coming from? 292 00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:03,160 Um, and how am I supposed to do this? 293 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:04,890 These people don't know my students. 294 00:21:04,980 --> 00:21:09,050 This wouldn't work for, you know, how do you have a voice in this field? 295 00:21:09,580 --> 00:21:14,770 Um, and it's so important for teachers to have a voice because they are the 296 00:21:14,770 --> 00:21:20,280 people who are on the front lines and the people who are kind of making the policy, 297 00:21:20,670 --> 00:21:27,809 um, you know, they have very, very well intent intentions for really making a 298 00:21:27,810 --> 00:21:33,600 big difference for kids in classrooms, but they need to know the realities of 299 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,210 what it's like on the, on the ground. 300 00:21:35,270 --> 00:21:35,660 Right. 301 00:21:35,660 --> 00:21:36,069 Right. 302 00:21:36,070 --> 00:21:39,790 Um, and when you kind of. 303 00:21:40,380 --> 00:21:44,429 Peek behind the curtain and are able to see that as a pre service 304 00:21:44,429 --> 00:21:46,259 teacher, like what goes on? 305 00:21:46,270 --> 00:21:47,659 How do you talk to people? 306 00:21:48,089 --> 00:21:49,549 Um, it's empowering. 307 00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:56,009 Uh, you can kind of learn when I am, um. 308 00:21:56,225 --> 00:22:00,264 Struggling with something and when something isn't quite making sense 309 00:22:00,475 --> 00:22:04,785 that I can use my voice and how do I do that in a way that's effective? 310 00:22:04,855 --> 00:22:11,545 So, um, with my first couple of groups, we took trips to, um, to Washington, D. 311 00:22:11,574 --> 00:22:12,014 C. 312 00:22:12,514 --> 00:22:18,174 and met with, like, our, our state senators and, um, uh, 313 00:22:18,224 --> 00:22:19,824 you know, local people here. 314 00:22:20,264 --> 00:22:22,194 Um, that group also met. 315 00:22:22,684 --> 00:22:27,120 Jahana Hayes, who was the 2016 Teacher of the Year, which was really exciting. 316 00:22:27,679 --> 00:22:30,560 Um, and then we've also taken trips to Harrisburg. 317 00:22:30,980 --> 00:22:35,780 I also am the faculty advisor for our student PSEA group, which is the 318 00:22:35,780 --> 00:22:38,080 Pennsylvania State Educators Association. 319 00:22:38,639 --> 00:22:45,375 Um, and they do a lot of work around, um, Helping pre service teachers get connected 320 00:22:45,375 --> 00:22:51,785 in the field and advocacy and really understanding how to use, use their voice. 321 00:22:51,815 --> 00:22:57,885 And that's really the, the key part, uh, here, like, what do I do when something 322 00:22:57,885 --> 00:23:01,715 needs to change so that I'm not just sitting there feeling frustrated. 323 00:23:01,715 --> 00:23:05,214 I know that I can use my voice and make a call or send an email. 324 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,389 So, yeah, continuing that being seen, being heard and being 325 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,400 recognized out in the field. 326 00:23:12,410 --> 00:23:12,760 Yes. 327 00:23:13,340 --> 00:23:13,800 Yes. 328 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:14,540 Exactly. 329 00:23:14,550 --> 00:23:15,790 Sharing what you're doing. 330 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:22,770 Keep telling people where there are challenges and absolutely, absolutely. 331 00:23:24,795 --> 00:23:28,375 Well, I know we're getting close to the end of our time today, Janet, 332 00:23:28,385 --> 00:23:34,424 and I just want to thank you again so much for joining me to, to share 333 00:23:34,424 --> 00:23:39,495 your, your story and all the great work that you're doing with your students. 334 00:23:39,605 --> 00:23:45,135 Um, I did want to close out with the last couple of minutes that we have here. 335 00:23:45,155 --> 00:23:51,155 Um, you mentioned a little earlier in the conversation that there's um, You know, 336 00:23:51,155 --> 00:23:56,975 kind of the importance of setting out expectations for the students as they're 337 00:23:56,975 --> 00:24:02,625 beginning this process and that you do have a rubric that you share with them. 338 00:24:02,634 --> 00:24:06,574 One of the questions that we often receive is how students are 339 00:24:06,574 --> 00:24:09,764 assessed in doing this kind of work. 340 00:24:09,815 --> 00:24:12,125 Would you mind sharing a little bit about that? 341 00:24:13,475 --> 00:24:15,105 We do have a rubric. 342 00:24:15,105 --> 00:24:19,885 It's part of our, um, handbook, uh, so, and it's, you know, it's. 343 00:24:20,490 --> 00:24:24,060 Evaluates each competency and whether or not the students have, 344 00:24:24,450 --> 00:24:26,980 um, met the competency or not. 345 00:24:27,530 --> 00:24:33,170 Um, so, yeah, we, we lay out expectations and, and talk about what a good 346 00:24:33,170 --> 00:24:36,839 reflection, what a good artifact is, what a good reflection is, and then 347 00:24:36,869 --> 00:24:39,040 that is all a part of our rubric. 348 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:46,400 And I think it's also really important to share good models of, um, of. 349 00:24:47,035 --> 00:24:51,125 Previous students who have put together really solid portfolios. 350 00:24:51,655 --> 00:24:56,704 Um, and why explain why this was a good reflection and 351 00:24:56,704 --> 00:24:58,655 why this competency was met. 352 00:24:59,185 --> 00:25:02,675 Um, and another thing that we. 353 00:25:03,155 --> 00:25:07,745 use these portfolios for is our department assessment. 354 00:25:08,365 --> 00:25:12,225 So we actually go into all of our portfolios. 355 00:25:12,735 --> 00:25:16,374 Um, you know, we have to just assess whether or not our department 356 00:25:16,405 --> 00:25:19,435 is, we have departmental goals for our, for our students. 357 00:25:19,485 --> 00:25:21,855 We want to make sure that they're meeting those goals. 358 00:25:21,874 --> 00:25:29,045 And we use the portfolios as a way to assess kind of our department in meeting 359 00:25:29,045 --> 00:25:30,715 our departmental goals for our students. 360 00:25:32,090 --> 00:25:32,990 That's wonderful. 361 00:25:33,020 --> 00:25:33,320 Yeah. 362 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:33,720 Yeah. 363 00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:35,070 So what is that like? 364 00:25:35,550 --> 00:25:44,210 Do the students, um, submit their portfolios to you and then 365 00:25:44,429 --> 00:25:47,889 does the whole group kind of get together and pull them up or? 366 00:25:49,980 --> 00:25:52,400 Yeah, that's kind of what it looks like. 367 00:25:52,409 --> 00:25:56,830 Um, we, we sort of divvy them up, um, but we definitely have more than 368 00:25:56,830 --> 00:25:59,330 one set of eyes on each portfolio. 369 00:25:59,830 --> 00:26:05,109 And then we have a discussion with our, our partner, uh, who's also looking at 370 00:26:05,109 --> 00:26:10,870 the same portfolio about that portfolio and the competencies and, um, come to 371 00:26:10,870 --> 00:26:15,939 an agreement on whether or not the comp, the, our departmental goals were met. 372 00:26:16,469 --> 00:26:23,639 Um, So, yeah, it's, it's a useful tool for that as well that we're able to 373 00:26:24,219 --> 00:26:27,680 think about, um, our performance, right? 374 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:28,149 Yeah. 375 00:26:28,149 --> 00:26:32,779 So, we're setting expectations for ourselves and, um, how do we 376 00:26:32,779 --> 00:26:38,284 know if, if they've been met and, and this is one good way, um, to. 377 00:26:38,445 --> 00:26:39,335 To assess that. 378 00:26:41,815 --> 00:26:46,965 Yeah, I remember even in the kind of early days of, uh, creating these 379 00:26:47,065 --> 00:26:52,494 tools, one of the useful things in, uh, evaluating the students portfolios 380 00:26:52,495 --> 00:26:57,954 is very often seeing which, um, teaching standards were, seemed to be 381 00:26:57,954 --> 00:27:00,894 highlighted more often than some others. 382 00:27:01,304 --> 00:27:07,255 So some curriculum adjustments could be made to be sure that, you 383 00:27:07,255 --> 00:27:09,485 know, adequate time was being spent. 384 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:15,710 On some standards that may not have gotten the same light shed on them as before. 385 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:21,200 And without having those reflections, you know, I think it may have been, 386 00:27:21,309 --> 00:27:24,309 may not have been addressed as quickly. 387 00:27:24,530 --> 00:27:26,030 So absolutely. 388 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:26,380 Yeah. 389 00:27:26,990 --> 00:27:27,200 Yeah. 390 00:27:27,740 --> 00:27:32,910 And, and a chance for us to have conversations about our goals and the 391 00:27:32,910 --> 00:27:37,190 competencies and how, where is this happening and how is it happening? 392 00:27:37,260 --> 00:27:38,260 So, yeah. 393 00:27:38,705 --> 00:27:39,395 Absolutely. 394 00:27:39,635 --> 00:27:40,125 Yeah. 395 00:27:40,125 --> 00:27:44,085 And have you used any of that at all for any kind of departmental, 396 00:27:44,165 --> 00:27:48,255 um, accreditations or, or program kind of accreditations? 397 00:27:48,255 --> 00:27:49,615 Are there plans for that? 398 00:27:49,644 --> 00:27:52,275 I don't know how often they may roll around there. 399 00:27:52,595 --> 00:27:53,305 Yeah. 400 00:27:53,345 --> 00:27:58,204 Um, I don't think that we have at this point, but that's not a bad idea. 401 00:28:01,184 --> 00:28:05,154 I'm sure if they, if that comes around soon, um, that will be, 402 00:28:05,204 --> 00:28:07,700 uh, Part of the plan . So, yeah. 403 00:28:07,700 --> 00:28:12,860 Well, they can be incredible records of that, uh, for, for that purpose. 404 00:28:12,950 --> 00:28:20,060 And, um, there's some nice ways that they could be, uh, kind of collected 405 00:28:20,060 --> 00:28:25,680 and presented to, um, accreditation teams so that they kind of Absolutely. 406 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,820 You, um. 407 00:28:28,245 --> 00:28:31,855 And tools that they might be able to use to, to, to review them. 408 00:28:31,965 --> 00:28:34,805 So we might have to stay in touch on that point. 409 00:28:34,815 --> 00:28:35,625 That sounds good. 410 00:28:38,125 --> 00:28:41,835 Well, well, thank you so much again for joining me today. 411 00:28:41,835 --> 00:28:46,834 It was so lovely speaking to you and I'm really excited to, to share 412 00:28:46,834 --> 00:28:48,355 your story with our listeners. 413 00:28:49,365 --> 00:28:50,845 Well, thank you so much for having me. 414 00:28:50,845 --> 00:28:51,935 It was really fun. 415 00:28:52,485 --> 00:28:53,325 Good, good. 416 00:28:53,365 --> 00:28:54,235 Take good care. 417 00:28:54,815 --> 00:28:55,345 Thank you. 418 00:28:55,625 --> 00:28:56,115 Bye.