January 2018 -new year, new semester, new student teaching placement -and only 4.5 months until the UTAP Elementary Cohort graduates from our program in May! The summer session and first semester were filled with valuable and challenging classwork and experiences in my elementary classroom placement. It was a six-month period, but there was so much going on that it moved by rapidly. It is hard...
Anne Murray
Early Education Grades PreK-4 with Certification, M.S.Ed.
Human Services, B.A. Villanova UniversityMy name is Anne Murray and I am currently pursuing a M.S.Ed. in Elementary Education in the Urban Teacher Apprenticeship Program (UTAP) at Penn GSE. I am originally from Arlington, VA, but grew to love the Philadelphia-area during my undergraduate years at Villanova University. UTAP’s commitment to social justice, mentorship model, and pre-service development through 10-months of consistent student teaching and instruction by leaders in the education field made Penn the ideal fit. I have formed close bonds with members in my cohort, and I hope to continue to build connections at Penn GSE, with teachers at my student teaching placement, and students in my classroom. Read this blog to find out more about my favorites spots across Philadelphia, my growth as a pre-service teacher, and what I have learned (and hope to continue to learn) throughout the program!
Posts by Anne Murray
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
The first semester in the Elementary Education Urban Teacher Apprenticeship Program (UTAP) is packed with classes and fieldwork. It’s busy, but we dedicate the majority of the first semester to classes and two and a half days of our school placement site, so we can mainly focus on our teaching practice during the second semester of the program. Every day is slightly different, but on Wednesday...
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Student Teacher Self-Care: Running in Philly
The UPenn Urban Teacher Residency Program (UTAP) packs a lot of courses and experience into one year, so there is a lot of time spent in class, at school and doing work for classes. Running is one way that I have always practiced “self-care” -taking care of my mind and body so that I can keep my anxiety in check and be a...
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
I spent my first year after undergrad in an elementary school as a full-time literacy intervention tutor and the next two years at the literacy nonprofit that implemented the program. I knew that I was interested in staying in the education field, but I was not 100% sure what specific role I wanted in my career.
I was extremely fortunate to work closely with many former and current...