Cheyenne Miller

Professional Development Assignment

Title of experience: Literacy Night

Points earned: 8
Description: Literacy night was held on a Wednesday night from 4:30-6:00. This event was put
on by staff in the building. The majority of things for this night were put together by my
teacher and another teacher in the building. There was a lot of preparation for this night which
included making posters for each station, laminating the posters, creating bingo cards, coming
up with activities for each station, and making a sign-up sheet for teachers to volunteer. For
this night we had eight stations set up, all about literacy in some way. Some of the stations
included making inferences, reading to a parent, word games, rebus puzzles, book fair, and
learning about the literacy curriculum in our building. Students got a bingo card upon signing in
and had to go to multiple stations in order to win bingo. Once the students got bingo by going
to enough stations, they were given a free meal coupon to Outback Steakhouse along with a
free book to take home. The free books given to these students were donated by teachers.
There were refreshments available for families that attended. The goal of the literacy night was
to get students excited about reading and learning about literacy. There were about 30
families in attendance this night which was great because the school has not held many after
school nights before. Teachers are still working on communicating and spreading the word for
these type of events so that more families will attend.
Reflection: I thought this was an amazing event for the families in the community. I was
excited that I could go to the literacy night because I did a lot of the preparations including
creating activities and making posters for each station. On the day of the event, I set up the
check-out table for the book fair including getting the register machine from Scholastic all set
up. I enjoyed feeling like I was really a part of the school community and getting to interact
with the families in attendance. I think my favorite part is that all students who came and
completed their bingo card were given a free book. This is so important, especially in this
community, because these kids don’t have these kind of resources at home. It’s very rewarding
to see students and parents come in to learn about literacy and get excited about a new book.
It’s something that I have always taken for granted but not all these families can afford to buy
books for their children and reading is not encouraged the way that it was in my house growing
up.

Title of experience: Solution Tree Component Meeting – In Service

Points earned: 8
Description: This component meeting was for all teachers in the building. Reading School
District hired someone from Solution Tree to come in and work with the staff in order to better
educate the students. The main goal of this meeting was for teachers to work on all being on
the same page. This specific meeting focused on essential questions and assessment data.
They talked about creating specific expectations for the students as well as essential questions.
It is important for students to know exactly what is expected of them for daily assignments and
assessments. Teachers on the same team need to be on the same page of what they are
expecting from their students. The person from Solution Tree gave the teachers assignments
for throughout the year to help them become better teachers. One of the assignments is for
teachers of the same team to meet up and create expectations that can be used across team
and grade level.
Reflection: Although I’m not a teacher here and won’t be completing the assignment from
Solution Tree, I thought this meeting was very beneficial to me. It is important to be on the
same page with teachers in your team regardless of grade level. In all grade levels, students
will be in contact with multiple teachers. It is essential that teachers are always on the same
page so that the students know what to expect. I also think that this would help with behavior
management because students are held to the same expectations and standards throughout
the day. In this placement, one thing I notice is that a lot of behaviors occur because not all
teachers hold students to the same standards. My teacher holds students to a very high
standard. Students know they can’t get away with anything in our room. Those same students
are allowed to walk on tables and be on their phones in other classes. If all teachers have the
same expectations and rules, students would know what to expect in each room they go in
throughout the day.

Title of experience: KU Educator Job Fair

Points earned: 8
Description: The KU educator job fair was held on Monday. There were several schools there
from all over looking to hire all positions. I stopped and talked to several schools and handed
out many copies of my resume. I had planned what schools I wanted to stop and see prior to
the job fair so that I knew exactly where to go and made sure to check out the schools I was
most interested in. The one school from New Jersey that I was interested in ended up not
showing up. I did stop at every other school and talk to someone at the table. All schools that I
stopped at were hiring elementary and special education teachers.
Reflection: The job fair was a really great experience for me. It was definitely very
overwhelming at first but it made me realize how many great opportunities are out there. I
spoke with several schools that I am interested in and had an interview with a district in
Virginia. The interview went well, although, after thinking it over a little more, I don’t see
myself moving to Virginia on my own. I think this was a good experience for me to have
because it made me truly think about what I want in a job and where I want to live. I have been
very confused and overwhelmed up until this point. I’m happy that I talked to the schools that I
did and got the information that I needed in order to make a decision about where I want to
start my career as an educator. I was encouraged to apply to several schools that I talked to
and was offered a few phone interviews upon submission of my application which is very
exciting. This was a great experience for me and I’m excited to start applying to these schools.

Title of experience: Ted Talk: Every Kid Needs a Champion – Rita Pierson
Points earned: 5
Description: In this Ted Talk, Rita Pierson talks about how important teacher’s relationships
with students are. She starts off by saying how everyone has been affected by a teacher or an
adult. She talks about several things she has done to have an affect on her students. Some
things that she mentions are important to do for your students are encouraging them to do
better and talking about them in a positive way. Rita said that one time she had a student who
got 18 questions wrong on a 20 question quiz. Instead of marking it -18 which just brings the
student down, she marked it +2 to show the student that they got something right and they will
do better next time.
Reflection: I absolutely love this Ted Talk. I love the way that Rita talks so positively about her
students and it is obvious how much she cares about the children she works with. I think it is so
important to build strong relationships with your students because not only does it show them
how much you care about them, but it creates such a positive classroom environment and
community. I love how she says that every kid needs a champion. These kids are so talented
and amazing and sometimes all they need is someone behind them cheering them on. I think in
special education this is extremely important. I tend to see a lot of students putting themselves
down because they are behind other kids or need to get pulled out for extra help. As teachers,
we need to be champions for these students and continue to push them. Sometimes all
students need is a little extra push of encouragement to reach heights they didn’t know they
could.