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Service Learning Reflective Summary Report

Erin Runyan
Ivy Tech Community College

Standard #3: Adapting Instruction for Individual Needs

The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates
instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.

Instructional plans you have differentiated for diverse learners

Examples of a variety of ways in which different learners have met the same instructional
objective

Descriptions of learning centers you have designed to facilitate learner self-direction and
independent investigation

Standard #9: Professional Commitment and Responsibility

The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices
and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community)and
who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

Excerpts from your teaching journal that document your ability to engage in reflection for
the purpose of improving your own practice and planning appropriate instruction for
learners

Evidence of attendance at and participation in professional meetings or presentations

Documentation of committee work and other professional development or service

activities

Reflections regarding professional journals and books you have read and ideas/strategies
you have implemented as a result of your reading

Descriptions of volunteer work you have done related to your development as a teacher

Documentation and evaluation of related volunteer work (e.g., position description,

attestations from participants or supervisors)

An example of a Professional Development Plan that you designed and completed during
your teacher preparation program, accompanied by an explanation of the contribution the
experience made to your professional development

Standard #10: Partnerships

The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger
community to support students' learning and well-being.

Examples of parent communication (e.g., letters, newsletters, e-mails, progress reports,

assessment reports, transcripts of phone calls)

Newsletters

Electronic communications (e.g., e-mails, Web site content, your Web site URL)

Documentation of collaboration with colleagues (e.g., instructional planning meetings,

horizontal meetings, curriculum committee meetings)

Documentation of home visits

Descriptions of links with community agencies

For my service learning assignment, I volunteered in Jill Almodovars third grade

classroom at White River Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana. According to Noblesville
Schools website, the district is nationally recognized as a top district due to students high
achievements (Noblesvilleschools.org). Overall, Noblesville Schools is a fortunate district in
Indiana with the resources to help students reach high academic standards. I spent most of my
volunteering by coming into White River Elementary for two hours at a time on Fridays during
the students reading and writing time, but there was some variance in that plan due to some
unforeseen scheduling conflicts. The students were inviting and eager to learn, and Mrs.
Almodovar was incredibly helpful by giving me advice from her own experiences and providing
me with the resources I needed to best guide the students and evaluate their work.
Although White River Elementary is not very diverse in race or ethnicity, with only
13.3% of students identifying as a minority, each student himself is unique in the way he learns
and lives at home (Public-schools.startclass.com). Because of this, teachers must pay special
attention to the minute details that separate students daily experiences from one another. Their
differences can help teachers know how they can reach the students best. One of the most
important details that can affect the efficiency of a classroom is language. Most students in my
classroom were native English speakers, so there were few linguistic boundaries to overcome.
When I sat in on parent-teacher conferences, I learned that some of the students live in homes

where Spanish is the primary language spoken. Each of those students are nearly proficient in
English, but they always receive additional help from White River Elementary when it is found
to be necessary after some testing. Each parent of these students was grateful for the
opportunities given to their children at school, and they were glad to see their academic progress.
According to our Chapter 5 Discussion PowerPoint entitled Diversity in our Community: Your
Professional Ethics, it is our responsibility as educators to provide equal opportunity for each and
every student to excel in the classroom, even if there are difficult circumstances to overcome
(Diversity). There were plenty of opportunities given to students who struggled in any way. For
example, I often worked one on one with students who struggled with reading the appropriate
material that third graders are expected to understand. I usually took a small group out into the
hallway where it was quiet, and we would read a short story or book together. Mrs. Almodovar
gave me ample lesson plans for inquiry-based learning, and I saw each student benefit from the
small group time. The intimate environment made it easier for those students to focus and hone
their skills, catching them up with their peers.
Cultural factors play an important role in how students learn, and I observed this fact
firsthand in my third grade classroom. One such factor I noticed was explained in a reading from
Session 10 titled Student Similarities and Differences. Part of the chapter described how boys
and girls approach failure and achievement. When boys fail, they tend to attribute the failure to a

lack of effort on their part. When they succeed, they attribute it to ability. Conversely, girls tend
to blame failure on a lack of ability, and they often think their success is due to the amount of
effort they put forth (Student Similarities). This trend was particularly noticeable to me one day
while I was working on a math activity with the students. They were assigned to construct a
robot out of grid paper, and the dimensions had to correspond with certain areas and perimeters
for the body parts that they had to find themselves on a separate worksheet. I walked around the
room helping whoever had his or her hand raised, and I found that all too many girls who were
struggling thought that they did not have the capacity to complete the assignment. I cant do it
was, unfortunately, a popular phrase of the day. I also observed boys reactions to their
performance, and much of it took place outside on the playground during recess one day. Several
boys from my classroom were playing a game of soccer in the open field, and a common theme
when one missed a goal was that he just didnt try hard enough as they put it. Just as in the
text, boys often do not question their own abilities to accomplish a task. They more commonly
assume that they could achieve any goal they want if they try hard enough, which is a fantastic
mindset; it is only unfortunate that our female students do not have the same attitude of
determination.
This cultural difference will most definitely be one I work to reject when I join the
education field. I find it to be a shame that girls are taught to be so submissive and accepting of

inadequacy in academics and in themselves when boys are told the opposite. Each and every
student, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or age, needs to know that they have the
ability to accomplish anything they choose. Some subjects may require more effort than others,
because everyone has his own strengths and weaknesses. The disparity between boys and girls
self-esteems, however, cannot continue. It is an abhorrent and blatant violation of girls human
rights to let this difference go unaddressed, and I will make a considerable effort as a teacher to
make sure that every child, no matter the gender, knows he or she is capable, lovable, and
valuable.
Many of the strengths that I already have relating to the education profession correlate
with why I want to join the profession in the first place. One of these strengths is empathy, and I
plan to use it to give my future students a welcoming place to come to if they ever need it. All
too often I have seen teachers shrug off struggling students, assuming that they either do not try
or do not have the ability to succeed in school. I understand that many children have their own
trials and tribulations that they have to overcome every day, and ignoring that fact is incredibly
unfair to them. I believe that reaching out to students who are struggling and offering them not
only additional academic resources but also emotional support is a quintessential part of being a
teacher, and I would even argue that is part of an educators ethical obligation to do so.
Throughout my experience volunteering at White River Elementary, I admired Jill

Almodovars willingness to be assertive and keep the classroom on track. She had a talent for
reigning in unwieldy students and calming the classroom when it was in an uproar. I have the
tendency to be soft spoken, and I will need more practice using a stern voice to capture the
classs attention when they are straining to focus. I believe that positive reinforcement is the best
way to teach a student how to behave in school, because too much negativity can be severely
damaging to a childs psyche. I aspire to strike a balance between encouragement and criticism
so that students will know and understand what behavior is unacceptable without devastating
their self esteem. In my opinion, the most important weakness that I need to improve is my
ability to adapt to multiple intelligences. Although I tried to help every student to the best of my
ability, I could not help but feel like there were several instances when I could have explained
something another way or given better examples. Every student is important to me, and I want
them to be able to count on me for help, even if our own intelligences are different. I am
confident that my ability to accommodate multiple intelligences will improve as I continue down
the path of the education major.
From my experience at White River Elementary School, I have learned that the
elementary teaching profession is not all recess and arts and crafts. Students in the third grade are
being held to higher expectations than ever, and those standards are in addition to all of the
difficulties they already face at home and within their own minds. As standards for students rise,

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so do the requirements for teachers. Even elementary school teachers put forth hours of work on
their own time outside of school, and they never have a moments rest during the school day.
Despite all of the inherent adversity that comes with being an educator, I am even more confident
now in my choice to complete my education degree and become the best teacher candidate I can
be. Watching childrens faces light up with the excitement when they learn fills my heart with a
sense of purpose that I have not felt with any other course of study I have taken. I feel a deep
responsibility within myself to take this sense of purpose and apply it to help raise new
generations of confident, kind, and hardworking students right here in Indiana.

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References
Noblesvilleschools.org,. 'We Are Noblesville Schools / District Overview'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18
Nov. 2015.
Public-schools.startclass.com,. 'White River Elementary School In Noblesville,
Indiana'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

"Student Similarities and Differences." N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web.

Watkins, B. (2015, November 12). Diversity in our Community: Your Professional Ethics.
Lecture presented in Ivy Tech Community College, Noblesville.

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