A Day in the Life of a Second Grade Teacher at KIPP Northern California
Nina's day involves juggling roles as a second-grade teacher, grade-level chair, and mentor teacher, requiring "being prepared with lessons and materials" and a deep understanding of the curriculum. The work also includes significant reflective practice, assessing "how did that go? What went well? What could we do better?" to address student learning needs.
Education, Curriculum Development, Mentorship, Lesson Planning, Reflective Practice
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Nina Paoloni
Educator & 2nd Grade Teacher
KIPP Northern California
The University of San Diego, Class of 2018
N/A
Psychology
Education
Education
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. A day in the life of a 2nd grade teacher involves wearing multiple hats, including teaching, leading, and coaching.
2. A deeper understanding of the curriculum is crucial for effective lesson planning and ensuring students meet standards.
3. Reflection on lessons and student learning is essential for improvement and identifying learning gaps.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of your role look like?
At my school, I wear a few different hats. I'm a second-grade teacher, the grade-level chair, and this year was my first year as a mentor teacher. This means I have a resident who is learning to become a teacher.
Essentially, I teach, I lead, and I coach. Each of those roles comes with its own responsibilities, but the overarching theme between all of them is being prepared with lessons and materials.
This also requires a deeper understanding of the curriculum. That way, we can plan further ahead and really make sure students are hitting all the standards. Finally, there's a lot of reflective work. Even though we plan a certain way, lessons don't always go that way.
We're also responding to real humans, so it's just a lot of reflective work. How did that go? What went well? What could we do better? What might be the gap in student learning?
Within all three of those roles, there is a lot of overlap. But mainly, it's about being prepared and being invested, willing to take the time to do those things.
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