Ashly Fysh presented on her student teaching placement, reflections on the PACT teaching events, and how she addressed the Teaching Performance Expectations. She taught contemporary literature to 12th graders, including English learners. For PACT, she worked to connect her lessons to the learning objective. In the classroom, she established daily routines, promoted social engagement during discussions, varied instructional strategies, incorporated student experiences, and addressed misconceptions to monitor learning. Going forward, she wants to better support English learners and increase student engagement through relevant curriculum and technology.

1. Final Colloquium Presentation
ASHLY FYSH
EDS 379 A
DECEMBER 2012

2. My Teaching Placement
 Kearny School of International Business
 Contemporary Voices of Literature – Grade 12
 43 students, 5 English Learners, 10 re-designated as
“fluent” English speakers.

3. My Thoughts on PACT…
 I encountered a few difficulties in putting together my
lessons for the PACT teaching events. I had the most
difficulty connecting my lessons and ensuring that they
would lead to the fulfillment of my overarching learning
objective.
 Overall, I think that I was highly conscientious of
incorporating varied activities into my lesson plans that
would help make the content accessible and
comprehensible to my students. I also think that I had
integrated a strong balance of various formal and
informal assessments to monitor the progression of
student learning.

4. Creating an Effect Environment
TPE 10: Instructional Time
Establish procedures for routine tasks and manage
transitions to maximize instructional time.
 The students are usually assigned a
warm-up activity and an exit slip every day.
The students write both entries in their
journals, and I check their journals before they
leave.
The exit slip serves as a “closure” for the day
since it usually asks students to reflect on
certain activities or readings we completed
earlier in the period. This task, along with
the warm-up has helped establish a daily
routine in our classroom.

5. Creating an Effect Environment
TPE 11: Social Environment
Promote student effort and engagement and create a positive climate
for learning.
After our class read Hamlet, I asked the students
to prepare for a “Socratic Seminar”. Every
student was required to participate by writing
and sharing 3 questions about the play to their
peers.
I also reminded the students to “bring a
respectful attitude” to the seminar, and
emphasized that they must be polite and
respectful to their peers and
their peers’ views. This helped create a
positive, encouraging environment for the
students during the seminar.

6. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning
TPE 4: Making Content Accessible
Vary instructional strategies according to purpose and
lesson content.
The objective for the “squiggles” activity was for students
to be able to identify and analyze the use of imagery and
figurative language in Hamlet’s “to be, or not to be”
soliloquy. I thought the squiggle activity would be a great
way to fulfill this objective, since the squiggle activity asks
students to draw images that come to mind as they listen
to Hamlet’s soliloquy. The students were able to
demonstrate their analyses of imagery in their
presentations of their squiggles.

7. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning
TPE 5: Student Engagement
Use community resources, student experiences, and
applied learning activities to make instruction
relevant.
 I asked the students to complete this
Quick-write before reading about the
creation of life-long customers in Fast Food
Nation. The activity asked students to reflect
on their personal experiences to help them
better relate to ideas found in the text.

8. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning
TPE 6C: Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Grades 9-12
help students to understand connections between the curriculum and life
beyond high school, and they communicate the consequences of academic
choices in terms of future career, school and life options
 I referred back to the “essential question”
several times as our class read Hamlet. After
reading certain scenes and speeches in Hamlet,
I asked students to explain how they might be
able to relate to the characters and scenarios in
the play.

9. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning
TPE 7: Teaching English Learners
Based on appropriate assessment information, they select instructional
materials and strategies, including activities in the area of visual and
performing arts, to develop students’ abilities to comprehend and produce
English.
 After showing students a few “modern” adaptations
of Hamlet, I assigned video/live performance adaptations
of Hamlet as the concluding project for the unit. The project
required students to use their understanding of a scene from
Hamlet and adapt it into a new scenario. The activity
required students to both comprehend and produce English,
since the students were asked to create a script,
performance, and analysis (that “defends” their artistic
decisions).

10. Assessing Student Learning
TPE 2: Monitoring Student Learning During
Instruction
Anticipate, check for, and address common student misconceptions and
misunderstandings.
 The students were asked to complete a “study
guide” for every scene of Hamlet. The study guide
asks students to write a summary of the scene,
recall important quotes, take note of literary
devices, and ask questions and comment on the
text.
Before reading the scenes together in class, I asked
students to read their questions and comments.
This provided me the opportunity to address the
students’ misconceptions and questions
before reading.

11. Next Steps…
As an evolving practitioner…
 I realize that I need to be more knowledgeable about
preparing instruction and teaching materials for English
learners. About 10% of my current class is made up of English
learners, and I would like to ensure that my curriculum meets
their needs. (TPE 7-Teaching English Learners)
 I want to make sure that my curriculum is not only
differentiated for English Learners, but highly relevant and
engaging for all of my students. I think this may be the most
challenging but also the most exciting aspect of this career.
 I would also like to become a “connected educator”. I would
like to use more media and technology in the classroom to
supplement my lessons. (Student Engagement – TPE 5)