Student Teaching Introduction
My two student teaching placements were at Estes Park Elementary School with host teacher Paul Maley, and Rocky Mountain High School with host teachers Kenyon Scheurman and Logan Doddridge. I student taught at EPES for eight weeks throughout January and February, and at RMHS for ten weeks from March through mid-May.
estes park elementary school
Estes Park Elementary has a student population of about 450 students in grades Pre-K through 5. It is the only elementary school in Estes Park, and is part of the Estes Park School District R-3, along with the Estes Park Middle and High Schools. This small district’s total student population is around 1,000 students. About 30% of EPES students are learning English as a second language, and most of those students’ first language is Spanish. Class sizes are very small, typically between 15 and 20. EPES has a robust and comprehensive general music program, where students have music at least once every four days. There are also two strong after-school ensembles – the Mountain Echoes Choir and Bobcat Beats percussion ensemble. Mr. Paul Maley is certified in Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methodologies, and uses an eclectic mix of methods in Pre-K through 5th Grade general music classes.
Rocky Mountain High School
Rocky Mountain High School has an enrollment of just under 2,000 students in grades 9-12. It is the largest high school both in Fort Collins and the Poudre School District, and first opened in 1973. Webber MS and Blevins MS feed into RMHS, and most PSD students stay in their feeder. The student population is predominantly white (about 75%), and Hispanic students make up most of the minority enrollment (about 17%). RMHS has a strong Integrated Services department, where Special Education students are fully integrated into general population classes, including music classes. The RMHS music department is strong and collaborative, with aligned music theory and history curriculums between band, orchestra, and choir. Freshman, intermediate, and advanced ensembles also occur during the same blocks to allow students to “cross over” between band, orchestra, and choir ensembles. RMHS students have the same four classes each day for 90 minutes, so traditional semester classes only last one quarter, and traditional yearlong classes are only a semester. The exception is music ensembles, which students take throughout the year. The RMHS bands have a long history of strong musicianship in three concert ensembles (Symphonic Band, Summit Winds, and Rocky Mountain Winds), two jazz ensembles, and woodwind and brass quintet. There is no marching band that meets regularly, however the bands combine to prepare a marching show for Homecoming each year.
Final Dispositions Evaluation
Dispositions Reflection
I rate myself as Accomplished in my CEP Professional dispositions, earning all 40 possible points. I have worked hard in the last four years to cultivate my professional behaviors and I consistently hold myself to the highest standards. While I believe that I have earned all 40 points, I value constant improvement as a teacher. In addition to the CEP Disposition reflection questions, I explain how I meet every standard and I give specific goals as I continue to grow as a professional.
With Which Two dispositional areas do you feel very comfortable with, and why?
I am most comfortable with the dispositional areas of initiative and dependability and desire to improve own performance. I consistently work with individual motivation and complete tasks in a timely manner. I take initiative to start and finish projects, and to grow as a professional. Most importantly, I am completely accountable to my students and my colleagues for all of my responsibilities as a teacher. At Rocky Mountain High School, I created instructional materials for repertoire units without prompting or external motivation. I created these lead sheets because I knew they could help the students, and I wanted to try activities related to them.
To improve my own performance, I constantly seek out feedback from all sources, and record myself teaching frequently. I reflect on my work and take and implement feedback well. I am at a critical point where all of my preparation will set me up well for the rest of my career. At Estes Park Elementary, I taught almost every lesson for most of my placement, and solicited feedback from my cooperating teacher, Paul Maley, at every step of the way. This helped me grow not only as a general music teacher, but in my ability to accept and immediately apply feedback.
On which one dispositional area do you want to focus on in the future, and why?
I want to focus on my tact and judgement. While I know that I fulfill every point of this dispositional area behaviorally, I sometimes struggle to internally understand social dynamics. Most of the time, I can remedy this by not saying anything, although there are times that require interjection, especially when I am the only music teacher in two different buildings. In the case of advocating for facility use, for example, I can’t rely on having a colleague who has better rapport with a particular administrator or custodian. I need to be that colleague, which means developing really strong relationships with all colleagues, and having the tact and judgement to know when I can ask for things, and when I need to give back in return. I’m confident that I can do it, but I need to be constantly aware of social dynamics in my workplaces.
How will these dispositions support the professional goals you have for yourself?
These dispositions provide a framework for self-reflection, and have prepared me for future evaluations as a professional educator. This framework has helped me be more aware of my areas for growth, such as what I have discussed above with tact and judgement. Refining my tact and judgement would not have become as important of a goal to me without attention being brought to it by the dispositions. Along with my goals as a practitioner (instrument and music pedagogy, administration, etc.), these dispositions help me create and work towards goals as a whole educator and colleague that can work effectively with other adults to do right by students every day.
professional behaviors
I am consistently present, prompt, and prepared. I always dress up to and above the standards of teacher attire in the school where I work, and strive to be a role model for my students and colleagues. I have specifically noticed how maintaining a high standard of dress upholds a distinct and critical professional student/teacher boundary, particularly as a young teacher.
My goal in this category is to continue to arrive to school early, ideally 5-10 minutes before contract, to ensure that I am prepared and my classroom is ready for students. Especially since I will be working in two schools, promptness will be critical to ensure that my classrooms are organized and prepared.
initiative and dependability
I consistently take initiative to provide the best opportunities for my students. Throughout my student teaching placements, I have demonstrated dependability in instructional quality, administrative tasks, equipment management, and planning. This included creating my own instructional materials, such as ensemble lead sheets, to aid instruction. I also consistently demonstrate a desire to improve my own performance by recording my lessons to watch and reflect, and seeking out feedback from my cooperating teachers. I am a consistent worker both in collaboration with other teachers and independently.
My goal in this category is to more efficiently structure planning time during the school day on the most urgent tasks. I sometimes get busy working on an important task that may not yet be necessary to complete, at the expense of others. Determining the most urgent task relies on prior organization and knowledge of my students and curriculum.
tact and judgement
This is the area where I have grown the most as a teacher in the last four years. I consciously enter scenarios with an open mind and a goal to recognize and value others’ thoughts and opinions in the room. I approach this behavior through the attitude of being a “team player,” where I strive to value others’ priorities equally to my own. This has been especially important at Rocky Mountain HS, where the music department collaborates in all areas. All teachers in the department must set aside their own needs at times to uphold the department’s goals. An example is the calendar: not all areas will have the perfect dates for all of their events, and frequently must compromise and be flexible.
My goal in this area is to collaborate with my future colleagues at Carbondale Middle and Roaring Fork High with the same consideration and priority of collaboration that characterizes the RMHS program. Even though I will be the only music teacher in the middle and high schools, I will still be part of two school communities where I will need to compromise in other ways that I don’t yet anticipate.
Ethical behavior and integrity
I always hold myself to the highest standards of integrity and ethics. Specific to teaching, I take my role as a mandatory reporter very seriously, and I honor the confidentiality of sensitive information that the general population of students shouldn’t hear. To be a teacher worthy of trust to the students and colleagues, I must consistently model these standards and honor trust when it is placed in me, and do right by all stakeholders, especially the students.
My goal in this area is to serve as a model of ethics and integrity for my colleagues in the field of education. Using accurate judgement, being worthy of trust, honoring confidentiality, and demonstrating professional conduct are important in their own right, but also for modeling for my peers and demonstrating leadership as an educator of integrity.
collegiality and responsiveness
I have demonstrated my ability to work in teams during my placement at Rocky Mountain High School. The music department collaborates in all areas. I worked with other educators towards common goals, shared performances, and aligned curriculum. As I’ve noted earlier, we also collaborate on the calendar and have to make compromises often.
My goal as a colleague is not only to compromise to accommodate other educators’ goals for their students, but also to actively help them do so. This can look like attending other music department concerts (choir, orchestra) and helping with lights/sound, covering classes for my colleagues, and more. This will be slightly different as the only music teacher in both buildings in my first job, but there will always be ways to help other teachers, including at Crystal River Elementary School.
effective communicator
As a secondary ensemble director, it is critical to communicate effectively, expressively, and professionally. In communications with colleagues, parents, and students, I have matched my communications appropriately to the intended audience and always respond in a timely manner. I also maintain a consistent strategy for communicating dates, assignments, deadlines, and expectations with students by including all pertinent announcements in the daily slides and weekly announcements documents, which I included in my portfolio. I operate on a policy of over-communicating rather than under-communicating to avoid misunderstandings and confusion.
My goal as a communicator is to clearly and accurately communicate with all stakeholders. This includes students, parents, administrators, colleagues, and community members. Examples include using a monthly newsletter and investing in parent-teacher conferences. This can also help with creating a positive culture in the program as a whole, where everyone is on the same page and works towards aligned goals.
desire to improve own performance
This is my strongest area. I consistently seek out and implement feedback, using it as a tool to improve. I also frequently record myself teaching (video and audio), and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and decide on goals for the next week. As an early-career teacher, I take my development as a teacher very seriously, since my growth now will influence the rest of my career.
One area for growth I have is playing secondary instruments. My teaching job for the fall involves lots of beginning band, so I plan to regularly model on several instruments.
Cultural responsiveness
Culturally responsive teaching relies on building strong, positive relationships with every student. In both my student teaching placements, I have built meaningful relationships and trust with my students. This helps develop a shared understanding of, and goals for, musical excellence. Regardless of the school culture, classroom culture, and cultures of individual students, relationships and rapport always come first.
My goal in this area is to get to know my new community of Carbondale, the school culture, and the individual students as best as possible early on. Understanding families’ goals for their children, expectations around the school, and students’ interests, I can cultivate a band program that matches their needs.
commitment to profession
Teaching is my first love, and I am passionate about excellence in public education. I am deeply committed to building a long career as a public school educator, and serving public school students through music as a critical academic subject. Music plays a critical role in the physical and intellectual maturation of students, and is a meaningful life skill. As such, my mission as a teacher is to include as many students as possible in secondary ensemble programs to prepare them for lifelong engagement in music.
My goal in this area is sustainability. My patterns and habits of work during college, while effective, are not sustainable for the long term. I hope to set clear and strict boundaries for when I work vs. when I invest in my life outside my work. Students deserve educators with longevity, and my long-term commitment to the profession relies on sustainable work habits and boundaries.