Professional Development & Social Media

(Please use the provided headings.)

1. Professional Learning: What two pieces of new knowledge did you learn (“pull” from social media or blog) that you would “push” into your classroom? Two things I discovered while looking at social media posts were; classroom management skills and behavior management. I read about how after Christmas Break this teacher started back to school like it was the beginning of the year. She went through classroom procedures again and slowly pushed them into it.

2. Additional Research: After you learned something new, how much time did you spend doing an internet search or additional reading on what you learned? Or, were you satisfied with the amount of information from social media? Explain. I definitely started looking more into it. There really wasn't much more to look into other than some wall decorations of classroom rules.

3. Digital Community: Did you feel, if given ample time, you could have been part of a digital community that would have helped you explore ways to improve student learning? I 100% think I could digitally explore ways to improve student learning. I love getting ideas from other teachers who have experienced my experiences first hand and then show different ways to handle or deal with it.

4. Personal Preferences: How does professional development using social media fit into your personal life and your professional life? Or, do you still prefer face-to-face professional development? Explain. I feel like it fits into both is why it makes it so special. I spend a reasonable amount of time on social media outside of work so it would be very easy for me to incorporate it almost everyday.

The Brain and Reading

The brain and reading can actually be very complex. There is no specific place in the brain that we use to read. Reading involves multiple processes that tap into different regions of the brain. Effective reading instruction should prioritize explicit, systematic phonics instruction, coupled with a strong emphasis on phonemic awareness, fluency development, and comprehension strategies.

When teaching reading, I will explicitly teach phonics rules, incorporate activities to build phonemic awareness, practice fluency through repeated readings, and model comprehension strategies like making predictions, asking questions, and summarizing. I will also differentiate instruction by providing targeted interventions for students who need additional support, such as small group phonics lessons or specific decoding activities.

By providing repeated phonics instruction and fluency practice, struggling readers can build the necessary decoding skills. This will improve academic success and build confidence in struggling readers!