Help me help you!

Hi friends,

I write this blog in a bit of a vacuum; I've met some prospective students who have told me they "appreciate" the blog, but that's about all the feedback I've gotten. But I want to make sure that this blog is actually valuable to you. So, if you please, take just one minute to fill out this poll. It'll help me make sure that my posts are actually relevant to you.

Please answer this if you care about this blog being, you know, useful.

Thanks!
Jesse

P.S. You can always email me if you have specific questions you'd like me to address - gojesse@gse.upenn.edu.

Term III - the rest of the recap

A few weeks ago, I described the Term III assignment, a few days ago, I finished it. In between was a LOT of writing, but the most interesting and valuable part was definitely getting to develop and teach a lesson for each of the core subject areas.

I gave a brief summary a couple weeks ago, and a more detailed description of my Science lesson a couple weeks before that, but I thought I would go ahead and do something in between, providing a short description of each of the lessons I taught to my third graders:

Finished with Term III!

Wooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Well that feels good.

For those of you new to the Term III assignment...it's kind of a big deal. And it means, aside from a few scattered things, that I'm done with the fall semester.

RSVP: GSE VIPs @ NYC & CHI(cago)

If you prefer words, see the announcement below for details:

(Short version: GSE deans and our new Admissions Director are travelling to New York and Chicago next week!)

We are planning to have Holiday Reception/Meet the Dean events in both Chicago and NYC.  It will be a great opportunity to meet leaders from GSE, find out more about our degrees and programs, network, and enjoy some delicious food. You can register/RSVP for these events by visiting our events page: 

http://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#off_campus

Here are the details for each event: 

Chicago
Tuesday, December 10th, 6-8PM
Gleacher Center at the University of Chicago
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Room 420 (South Lounge)

New York City
Thursday, December 12th, 6-8PM
Grand Hyatt New York
Park Avenue at Grand Central
Uris Room

Back to work, for now...

Well, I got well-rested in Virginia, then proceeded to quickly fall back off the horse with long hours in DC (fun) and then some late nights back in Philly (less so). Still, I'm a bit recharged and ready to plow into the last days of the fall semester.*

Some notes on the fall's penultimate week (i.e., this one):

1. Today was my "Descriptive Review" meeting, where my Penn Mentor and my Classroom Mentor (who? I mentioned the distinction briefly back in September) sat down with me for a fairly comprehensive discussion of my teaching practice so far.

Want to learn about TEP? Want to meet ME? Now's your chance!

Whether you're reading this blog because you want to learn more about the Teacher Education Program, or because you just think I'm pretty groovy, take heed!

On Saturday, December 7th, there's a TEP Information Session on campus from 10 to noon. Come meet people involved in the program, ask any questions you may have, etc., etc.

The complete announcement is below. Hope to see you there!

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Teacher Education Information Session!

Interested in becoming a teacher? Join us for an on-campus information session!

Whether you want to teach pre-kindergarteners or 12th graders, ourTeacher Education Program (TEP) can get you on track to certification. 

Through a commitment to social justice and urban education, TEP prepares prospective teachers to transform students and schools. You can read more about the program on their extensive website: http://www2.gse.upenn.edu/tep/.

Read through the website and want to learn more in-person?
Join the Urban Teacher Education program for an on-campus information session on Saturday, December 7 from 10am-noon ET. RSVP here. (Please note only the Teacher Education Program will be represented and discussed at this event.)

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Late-November Respite (if you get one)!

I’ve been a bit occupied, so no posts lately – but when I look back over what I’ve gotten done since the last entry, I’m not ashamed.

Accomplishments other than writing blog posts since 11/14:

• Wrote and taught all my other Term III lessons! This included a math lesson on measurement that went awry (in terms of planning more than execution, it went alright overall), a literacy lesson on reading to answer questions that went really well (definitely the best I've felt about anything I've done in the classroom so far), and a social studies lesson on fairness that went surprisingly okay given I did it the morning before Thanksgiving when their classmates were playing games. Phew! Now on to the reflection and writing!
• Did most of the work for another project for my literacy class. I'll reveal more details in a later blog post, but here's a little teaser:

First lesson done!

As I mentioned last week, I'm working my way through my Term III assignments. Today I actually taught the first of my lessons -- and it went really well!

This was my lesson which I submitted last week, for my Science in Elementary Schools class. It was a "rocks and minerals" intro lesson. I chose the subject because it's the unit that third graders are supposed to be doing at about now. In my classroom, I've gotten to see pretty minimal amounts of science instruction so far -- sadly, not an uncommon situation in Philly public schools -- but our school has a pretty nifty "Rocks and Minerals" kit, so it seemed like a great place to start.

The lesson that I did was a fun set of hands-on activities, focused on rock/mineral observation and classification practices. Some individual observations with magnifying glasses, some partner work (compare your specimens, then practice classification - e.g., which rocks do/don't sparkle, which rocks are/aren't green), then some whole group work (practicing classification with "20 Questions," then working as a group on "What is a rock?"). Okay, so if you're not an 8-year-old science-deprived child, maybe all that rock stuff sounds boring, but the kids were totally into it and I've got witnesses and video to prove it.

So, that's one down, and three to go: literacy, math, and social studies.

For all of these lessons, we're allowed to structure our student groups with an aim to neutralize classroom management as an issue. At the same time, we're supposed to have an overarching question tying together all of our lessons, and mine has to do with partner work as a strategy for working with diverse learners -- in my case, aiming to get students collaborating with other students who might have very different learning styles or academic/behavioral experiences. To help me generate my groups, I've decided to try to involve every student in my class in at least one lesson, and I let them choose their lessons; I did a sign-up for student first and second choices, and I've been making my groups based on that. I'm excited to see how the rest of these go!

On a separate note -- it's felt really great getting to have some pretty successful lessons (I did a couple large-group math talks last week that went well too), given how much of a struggle my classroom has been in general, management-wise. It's a pretty tough class, by universal acclaim, but the kids are also pretty awesome. Looking forward to using Term III as an excuse to work with each of them more closely in the coming weeks. Weird how few weeks are left before the end of the term...

Are you a prospective Ph.D. student?

Welcome! My program (Teacher Education Program) doesn't actually offer Ph.Ds, but plenty of GSE programs do, so I figured I'd join my colleagues in posting a friendly reminder from your good friends/my kind employers at GSE admissions!

[My program has no such deadline - our admissions are rolling, with a sizable window. I'll run a post soon with more about admission to TEP; for reference, I applied in mid-January.]

REMINDER!

The deadline to apply for all Ph.D. programs for Fall 2014 enrollment is SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2013!

This means ALL materials must be received by the admissions office by that date.

All applications received by that date are guaranteed a faculty review of all materials.

If you have not yet taken the GRE, you must do so no later than NOVEMBER 22, 2013 or your test scores will not make it to us in time.

We always recommend that you submit your application and materials earlier rather than waiting until the absolute last day!

Any questions? Please email admissions@gse.upenn.eduor give us a call at (215)898-6415.

Term III - What's THIS about?

Okay, so rather than have the next five weeks be riddled with cryptic remarks before I finally get around to explaining my predicaments, let's get this out of the way.

What in the world is the Term III assignment?

Yep, my Term II assignment is barely out of the way (and thoroughly ungraded), and I'm already moving on to Term III. Like the Term II assignment, it's an integrated project across all of my subject classes and field seminar (my other class, Teaching Diverse Learners, continues to do its own thing). Also like the Term II assignment, it's not just a paper, but rather an ongoing series of fieldwork investigations that will eventually get reflected and expounded upon.

Enough jammering, let's get some details!

Flashback: First Days

Imagine with me, if you will. Let’s go on a journey. Travel through time together, to days long, long past…

…way, way back, before the August of 2013; it is the dawn of a time known as “July.” It also happens to actually be dawn. The skies are open, and torrents of rain cascade from the heavens. You are weary, having only returned hours earlier from a journey to the faraway land of “North Carolina.” You are also wary, for today is the day your next quest will begin. Through the rain, it leads you, halting but inexorably, to…the University.

(You get the point. I’m having fun, but I’ll stop having it at your expense.)

So what did that first week in the program look like?

West Philly Vegetarian Favorites (for $5 or less)

Other GSE student bloggers have talked about food, so I figured I’d go ahead and ward off my tunnel vision on the current semester by joining the party. I’ve had the chance to live in West Philly for 4+ years now, and I could share quite a bit about its offerings – so I’m going to start with the list that’s been perhaps the most important for me:

Top 5 Vegetarian Take-out Meals for $5 or Less:

Wawa’s vegetarian options aren’t that great, and the student café is more likely to stock turkey or beef, so what does that leave for a price-conscious vegetarian looking for portable foodstuffs? Lots. Presented in alphabetical order:

Term II: Complete.

My Term II assignment is complete! Submitted on Friday, and got to take a bit of a breather over the weekend. Not going to lie, it was a pretty big haul, and I'm glad to be through it. But, people have been asking me if it was totally overwhelming, and the answer is no. In fact, over the last few weeks, I've found the time to do some pretty awesome things that have NOTHING whatsoever to do with Term II or with GSE.

That's why the alternative title for this blog entry is:

Can You Still Do Wonderful Things in Philly? Yes, You Can Still Do Wonderful Things in Philly.

To name a few, from the last couple weeks:

Term II, Part II: Science that Smells (Like Sandalwood and Manliness)

I’m continuing to work through my Term II assignment, and having a blast with it, though the sheen will come off once I pick up the laptop and focus more on, you know, writing the darn thing.

This morning, I did the last major piece I needed for my project, a sink and float experiment. A few of the highlights:

1. I told my student yesterday that we could test any objects that he wanted to bring in. I mostly asked so I could gauge his level of interest; would he even remember? He did: he brought a bottle of Axe Body Spray.
2. He was quite surprised by several results, which was probably the outcome I was most hoping for. For example, he expected that a glass bottle would sink (because he’s used to glass sinking in his dish sink), but was surprised when it floated – then decided to test how many pennies he could add to make it sink. He was surprised again when the empty bottle sank, and quickly decided the plastic cap was the reason it had floated initially – only to make it a new cap out of clay (which sank), which shocked him by making it float again.
3. I’m just reviewing my transcript, and am delighted by the number of exclamation points – the student has a voice which is often quite monotone, but he certainly got quite animated while experimenting.
4. I asked if he had ever done an experiment before; “No,” he told me, then corrected himself. One time, he “mixed lemon juice and relish, and milk. It turned orange!” And yes, he told me, it eventually got lumpy too.

Like I said last week, it’s a luxury to be able to spend so much time working one-on-one with a single student, especially in a class as large as ours, and get to really explore their personality and interests. Even if those interests include Anarchy for Him™ Axe Body Spray. Especially so?

Learning from a Child; and some rambling about MATH!

A very quick primer, to help you locate me within the structure of the Elementary Ed program: The full year is divided into several terms. The fall semester consists of Term II and Term III. Right now, I’m approaching the end of Term II, which focuses on learning from an individual child within our placement classrooms. (Term I focused on the school in its neighborhood; the next term, Term III, focuses on working with small groups; in the spring, we focus on whole-class instruction.)

For the end of Term II, we have an “integrated assignment” focused on that child, which pulls components from most of the classes we’re currently taking:

• For our Math Methods class, we observe the child working through a series of problems, and try to interpret and assess their modes of understanding
• For Science, we work with the child to carry out an experiment on sinking and floating 
• For English, we practice assessing literacy while also interviewing the child about their personal relationships to reading and writing
• For Social Studies, we record and “map” the student’s physical use of the classroom space (an assignment that seems tied to this course more for convenience than connection)
• And for our Field Seminar, we tie it all together with a preceding descriptive review and a concluding reflection.

Reader Questions: Should I Take a Year Off First?

I'm excited to see that people are actually reading this - and that gives me the chance to launch a new feature on this blog: Reader Questions.

CR (a college senior) writes:

I'm considering taking a year off before applying for the program just to take a break from school for a bit. In the meantime, I was going to try to better prepare myself by volunteering in a school in Mexico over the summer, as a research assistant with a professor during the school year (alongside my job), and prepping for the GREs. If you had the chance to go back and better prepare yourself, what would you have done? Do you think taking a year off is a bad idea before enrolling in such an intensive program?

Take a year "off" before joining TEP? Totally your call, but I certainly wouldn't recommend against it. This program is a career preparatory program - if you want to become a teacher, it gets you there, and that's probably the most important thing to know about it - so think about whether there's other experience that you would want to have first, either to prepare you for working in a school or to help you feel confident that this is what you want to do. 

I worked for four years between college and grad school, and that time did more by far to prepare me for teaching than my time in college did (I did study education in college, but not teaching). There's a lot of reasons for that: I was working in education; I got to learn a lot more about the context of living in an urban community; I learned more about living and acting like a professional adult (arguably); and I experimented with other types of work and became confident in my decision to become a teacher. 

The first term of TEP (July-August) is focused on the context for your teaching - in terms of the school system, in terms of the community where you'll teach, in terms of the cultural and political context in which schools sit. It's essential stuff, but it's kind of a whirlwind - and I certainly was glad that I was able to draw on some prior experience that I just never got from college.

Will taking time away from school harm your ability to succeed in the program? I doubt it. For context, there are some members of my cohort who are directly out of college, but most have been out for at least a year, and in some cases much more (we all get along well, regardless of age differences!). 

Do I think everybody needs to take time off before joining TEP (or any program like it)? No - but I think there's a few questions everyone should ask when deciding whether to jump in or hold off:

1. By taking a year out of school, will I learn something that will help me grow, or that will put the Teacher Education Program in context?
2. TEP is an accelerated program, and presumably people who join it are interested in becoming teachers quickly - so am I willing to delay an extra year?
3. Would it help me to earn some money before investing in grad school? (For many people, this is the most important question; it's very hard to earn money while doing the program, though not totally impossible - I did some freelancing over the summer, for example.)
4. Am I ready to make a major career move so quickly after college?

--

Don't worry - if you email with me, I'm not really this wordy unless you want me to be. Got any questions you think I should address? Email me at gojesse@gse.upenn.edu.

Mid-September Report: They Call Me Mr. Gottschalk

It sounds like “Got Chalk,” and I’ve got to tell you, the jokes don’t come nearly as readily now that everyone uses whiteboards. Of course, that presents a new source for comic material – one of my mother’s students once called her “Mrs. Not Chalk.” I decided to bring some chalk on my first day to help people remember my name, but I left it at home; none of my students took the opportunity to call me Mr. Forgot Chalk.

Anyway.

I’m just finishing up my second week of student teaching, and simultaneously pushing deeper into the fall term of coursework. What that actually means for my schedule:

About the Author

And, we’re live.

My name is Jesse, and I’ve gotten the assignment to blog for you about my year in the Elementary Teacher Education Program at Penn. After this post, I’ll start to dive into the program itself, but for my first entry I wanted to introduce myself.

Blog entry zero: Pre-blogging disclaimers

A few disclaimers (click here to skip ahead to, you know, the blogging):

This blog reflects my own opinions and experiences, and mine alone. While I am technically an employee of the admissions department, they do not review my blog entries before I post, nor would I be comfortable letting them (nor would they ask -- they seem to be pretty cool about this stuff).