Content Knowledge
Human Development and Learning
Diversity
Planning for Instruction
Learning Environment
Instructional Delivery
Communication
Assessment
Collaborative Relationships
Reflection and Professional Growth
Professional Conduct

 

Content Knowledge

The teacher understands the central concepts, methods of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) and creates learning experiences that make the content meaningful to all students.

                                 

This whole year, the students have been taught different parts of speech, especially focusing on verbs, both linking and action.  Every week, I choose vocabulary words from the story we are reading and learn the meanings of these in some way.  In this particular lesson, I combined finding the meanings to new words and placing them in the correct part of speech category.  Students worked with partners in order to place their assigned words in categories which were placed throughout the room.  Dictionary work is always used when finding the meaning of new words and finding the part of speech.  This lesson gave students a better idea of what these words meant and the context in which they are used.   This concept is one that continues to be worked on in various ways.
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Human Development and Learning
The teacher understands how individuals grow, develop and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectural, social, and personal development of all students.

        

I believe students must realize the value of education in a variety of ways.  They must see it not only as a way to learn new concepts, but also to grow as a person and develop successful relationships.  I always tell my students the importance of cooperation in class and in the real world.  We have done a lot of partner and group work this year, and I have dealt with students' problems of working together.  The students have shown understanding of compromising and have improved their group skills.  They have also shown how to become more independent learners and use their time wisely.  Near the end of the day, students have realized, as shown above, that it is possible to get some homework  done in three minutes!!!

I like to give students the opportunity sometimes to show the class their personal interests or share something that would interest the whole class. In this picture, a student shares his pictures from our Springfield trip we went on the day before.

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

I learned that the biggest diversity in my class was the different types of learning levels and styles.  With students that ranged from a 1st grade reading level up to a high school level, there were many things to think about while developing a lesson.  I was constantly making modifications in my lessons and in students' assignments in order to meet their needs.  I also realized that my students needed different ways of learning a concept.  In this picture, a website was used to identify the fifty states.  This concept was worked on a variety of ways, such as learning capitols by a song and video, labeling maps and reading books about the states and capitols.  Many visual and spatial learners benefitted from this website and were able to fit the states where they belonged in the puzzled map.
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Planning for Instruction
The teacher understands instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of the discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals.

Before planning a unit or a lesson, I wanted to have my own knowledge on the topic.  I was particularly aware of this when I began a weather unit.  I had never taught science before, and it was not my strongest area.  I was determined to learn background about weather, and find interesting and appropriate activities to teach this content.  I was provided many resources by my mentor teacher and even checked books out at the library about weather to gain information about it.  This was very beneficial for myself and my students.  I think this improved the quality of my lessons and I was comfortable about any questions students might have had about the subject.
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Learning Environment
The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

In the beginning of the school year, students were taught the 7 letters in respect.  We discussed what these meant to set up an appropriate classroom environment.  Five core value were made up by the students to be followed, as part of our classroom management.  Students have understood throughout the year what these words mean, and we include this code in our classroom mission statement.  The students understand how to treat others in their class and these words form a great outline of what the school expects from its students.
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Instructional Delivery
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

Using different ways to teach a lesson has been the best way to get students involved. I have focused on thinking at different Bloom's levels, and we are always encouraging the students to think at that high level, which involves critical thinking and evaluating a problem.  Many lessons start off with whole class discussions, and I then break it up either into small group, partners or individual work.  This gives students a chance to really think on their own or cooperate in group thinking.  This also gives me a chance to work closer with individual students.  In the lesson shown above, students were taught about lines of symmetry.  I drew examples on the board and then proceeded to give them their own cut out shapes.  They were to fold them and find out how many lines of symmetry their shape had.  During this, I walked around and had students tell me individually what they were finding out about their shapes.  This showed me who was really understanding the concept.  Many students in my class benefit from individual instruction and can gain better thinking skills through the work they do throughout the day.

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Communication
The teacher uses knowledge of effective written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

It is necessary to keep up communication with all of those that are part of the students' education.  This includes all teachers and administration that work with the students, the students themselves and their parents.  Having some sort of routine communication with these groups is important in order to keep everyone on the same page.  Parents play one of the biggest roles in the students' lives, so I feel teachers need to keep in close contact with them.  I have written notes home to parents, when there has been concerns involving their child or have made myself available when parents want to conference.  A weekly newsletter allows parents to stay involved in what their children are doing in each subject.  Any information that needs to be known that week is also stated in this newsletter.

Click here to see one of the weekly newsletters I wrote to be sent home for parents to read.
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Assessment
The teacher understands various formal and informal assessment strategies and uses them to support the continuous development of all students.

There is a variety of ways to assess student's work.  Through writing, a subjective and more authentic assessment is used.  As shown above, each months' writing is displayed in the student's portfolio.  The portfolio is a great way to display the student's work throughout the year.  It shows strong and weak areas and most importantly, it shows the improvement that has been made.  Near the end of the school year, the students find old writings from their portfolio to revise, using new skills they have learned.  Another assessment type I showed was a climate map that students were to color in.  They were to represent the seven different climate zones in the U.S and tell in the margins what kind of weather each zone had.  This kind of assessment shows visual representation, as well as, written.  I believe it is important to provide all different types of assessment tools, in order to find out as much as possible about your students and create a successful learning environment.

Collaborative Relationships
The teacher understands the role of the community in education and develops and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents/guardians, and the community to support student learning and well-being.
          

Having good relationships with everyone around you is very important in this profession.  Teachers must be willing to do whatever is possible with those around, in order to create success with students.  While working with gifted classes, another intern and I decided to team teach a lesson together.  It was a great experience, and we worked very well together to teach a critical thinking lesson.  The students benefitted from this teaching style and it is important to try different ways of teaching like this.  I feel the more you attempt things, the greater success you will have as a teacher.
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Reflection and Professional Growth
The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally.

As a practicing teacher, I constantly reflect on everything I do.  I always think about how all of my actions are going to affect those around me.  I see myself as a very concerned and caring person, who wants to always do my best.  My lessons show that I care and want my students to reach their highest potential.  During my reading lessons, like the one shown above, I provide many opportunities for students to express themselves about what they are reading and answer insightful questions I think of as we read. 
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Professional Conduct
The teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve student learning and well-being.

Throughout the PDS experience, I have realized my role as a professional within the district, school and classroom.  I have seen how to be treated as a teacher and ways to use this professionalism to improve student learning.  I have been evaluated by my mentor teacher on a daily basis, and observed and assessed by my supervisor several times.  During these visits, my supervisor would watch my lesson and follow up by discussing strengths I possess and ways I could improve the lesson in the future.

Click here to view an assessment from my supervisor during a reading lesson he observed.
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