• 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.

I try to provide my students with several different types of instruction.  I feel it is very important to not just stand in front of the classroom and lecture.  Just as there are different types of learners there should be different types of instruction. 

Whenever I am instructing I give the students an opportunity to listen to me teach.  I also give the opportunity for the students to read what I teach, by writing important ideas on the overhead or whiteboard. Lastly, I allow the students to do what I teach, by having them come to the whiteboard or overhead and do examples for the class. 

I also feel group work is very important to a classroom, I try to give my students many opportunities to work in groups as long as every student is able to stay on task. 

Students made party invitation, as a group using abbreviations,

 after a language lesson

By providing several different instructional techniques, I hope to keep all of the students’ attention, and help every student to feel successful.  

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Human Development and Learning

The teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.

It is important to provide students with many different opportunities for learning, and to understand concepts.  I provide my students with many different opportunities to learn and many different activities in order to learn. 

Cereal box assignment on the novel unit of Whipping Boy

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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 have had the opportunity during my year long internship to deal with a lot of economic diversity.  It has been important during my teaching experience to realize some students do not have computers and some students do not have the two or three dollars it is going to take to participate in an activity. Through this I learned to plan accordingly.  It is important to complete activities in the classroom that can not be done at home. 

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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.

I feel detailed lesson plans are very important.  I used a standards based lesson plan for each of my lessons.  I find my lessons are better when I write them out before I teach it. Each of my lessons are based on the “I can do it” standards the district has developed.  These are standards based off of the state standards, which are written in kid friendly terms. 

 I want to make sure each of my lessons reflect the correct ability level of my students.  Some weeks we may need to slow down, and spend two to three days on a lesson that I had planned would only take one day.  Other times we may need to move on to the next day’s lesson even sooner, because the students are catching on so quickly.  This is all part of being flexible, which I feel is very important as a teacher.  

"I Can Do It" Standards

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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 social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

As a teacher, I feel it is essential to gain the respect and confidence of the students.  If the students know what you expect of them, and know the consequences or rewards, if the expectations are met or not met, it will make for an excellent classroom environment.  For example, in the classroom I am currently completing my internship in, we have perfect 10’s on the chalkboard.  The students earn a point every time every one in the class has their homework done and turned in on time.  Once the students have achieved this ten times, they earn a pizza party.   This is one way to show the students what is expected of them, and what happens when the expectation is met.   

 

Perfect 10 Charts

 

I also believe it is very important to be enthusiastic about the content in which a teacher is teaching.  If the teacher is excited about what he/she is teaching, the students will be excited too. 

I feel it is very important for every student to feel like part of the class.  One way I achieve this in my classroom is to have a star of the week.  This student gets to be the first in line for the week, bring in pictures of family and friends to put on the bulletin board, and on Friday can bring something in for show and tell. 

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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

I have used a variety of delivery methods in order to teach my lessons. The use of technology is very important, and helps to keep the students' attention.  I have found power point to be a very effective tool, especially for review games. 

Click here for a social studies review power point


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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.

      Good communication is pertinent in any field.  It is a sign of intelligence.  These skills are essential in education because students will mirror communication habits and at such a young age they cannot always distinguish between what is good and what is poor.  Plus a teachers' skills are a necessity when communicating with colleagues and parents.  Others are most likely to respond positively when they feel they are being treated professionally.  If they feel that the teacher was careless when communicating with them, they may feel insulted

It is extremely important for educators to be good communicators, not only with parents, but also with fellow colleagues.  When teachers are able to communicate with parents, it lets the parents know they really do care about their children and want the best for them.  It is important to have good communication with other people in the building in order to get ideas and give ideas. The more ideas educators have, the more the students benefit. 

Angie and me planning a lesson

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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.

It is not only important to teach to different learners, it is also important to assess learners in multiple ways.  During my student teaching I had the opportunity to use many different assessments, including informal and formal.  I have used things such as tests, rubrics, question and answer games, and hands- on activities. 

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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.

It is very important to have relationships with colleagues within the school building in which you are teaching.  During my student teaching experience I have had the opportunity to plan not only with my mentor teacher, but also with the teacher next door and her intern.  Having four people to plan with and bounce ideas off of has been very helpful. 

Angie, Jean, Aarti and I planning a lesson
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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.

It is very important as a teacher to be able and willing to grow professionally.  This can be done through reflection and attending professional development days within your school district. 

 I have been involved with the school leadership team, which included attending meetings twice a month, and solving problems staff felt were affecting the school negatively.    

I have attended annual reviews, which included meeting with special education teachers, special education students’ parents, and a school psychologist. 

I have attended monthly grade level meetings, which have included the entire district.  We discussed things such as curriculum and ISAT preparation. 

At the beginning of the school year, I had the opportunity to be a part of the district in-service meetings. These meetings went over the test results for each school in the district as well as the No Child Left Behind status of our district. We also discussed the district goals for the school year and how to implement them.

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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.

It is very important to be professional as a teacher.  This can include things such as attending professional meetings, dressing professionally, and being a positive role model.  I feel during my student teaching, I have been able to successfully do all of these things.   


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