- Content Knowledge
- Human Development and Learning
- Diversity
- Planning for Instruction
- Learning Environment
- Instructional Delivery
- Communication
- Assessment
- Collaborative Relationships
- Reflection and Professional Growth
- Professional Conduct
Teachers should have a complete knowledge of the content that they are teaching. It is vital for a teacher to display accurate and extensive content knowledge as well as make connections across disciplines. This can be done through further study of a subject beyond the student textbook and teacher manual. It an also be done by collaborating with other staff members.
I believe that I have an excellent understanding of the content that I teach. I find that it is necessary to read an entire unit or chapter before you even begin to teach it. For example, for math it is not only important that you understand that day’s lesson but the lesson that follows it as well. You need to know what information the students need to have a good grasp on so that they will be able to build onto that knowledge in the next lesson. I also believe that it is imperative for a teacher as well as the students to do research outside of their textbooks. I have discovered that students ask plenty of questions that are usually not covered in their texts. Therefore, it is imperative that a teacher does research beyond the textbook so that they can answer student’s questions. In my classroom, I often visit the public library and check out books that cover the material we are studying in class. I also have the students use these books to do projects. I also use the Internet as well as fellow teachers to help me learn more about a content area. I utilize education web sites such as United Streaming, create PowerPoint presentations, and have the students visit book marked sites on the internet to help them learn more about a topic that we are learning about. This allows the students and I to have lots of information beyond what our classroom resources provide us with.
Solar System Power Point
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Human Development and Learning
I believe that the teacher is one of the most influential people in a child’s life. It is vital for a teacher to try to get each and every student excited about the content that they are teaching. It is also important for a teacher to understand that each child will have different interests. I believe that it is a teacher’s job to discover what really sparks a child’s interest and use that to get that student excited about learning. In order to get my students excited about their learning, I have implemented a variety of strategies to help me to get to know my students. I collect feedback from my students on a regular basis and plan future instruction based on that feedback. I also believe that a teacher must realize that by differentiating their lesson plans, they are adding to each student’s chances for success. In order to help children reach their full potential, I try to impact the learning of my students by creating a variety of activities that reach all of the different modalities.
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Diversity
Every classroom has diversity. In fact, every classroom needs diversity to truly excel. I believe that an important component of a classroom is the diversity of its learners because it provides the learners with a rich education by forcing the teacher to differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of all students. In my lessons I ensure that I am reaching the needs of all of my learners by having a place in my lesson plans where I consider how I will differentiate each of my lessons. I also try to plan my lessons so that as numerous learning styles are met. I strive to include reading, writing, hands-on activities, visuals, oral instruction, as well as kinesthetic movement in my instruction.
By differentiating my lessons through planning and implementation as well as including a variety of different learning modalities in my lessons, I have learned that all of my students have strengths and weaknesses. I have learned that certain children truly shine when they are given certain learning experiences. For example, I have a student who has an IEP for reading as well as math. She struggles with the textbooks and worksheets that we use and class and needs to have accommodations made in both of these areas. I was struggling to find a way to help her excel until we did a kinesthetic activity representing the solar system in class. It was as if a light bulb went on in her head. The activity truly helped her to understand the content that we were learning about the rotation of planets as well as other concepts. The experience taught me that students learn in different ways and that it is my job as a teacher to discover how to best assist each child in my classroom and challenge their ability.
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Planning for Instruction
It is extremely important for a teacher to create lessons that are creative, innovative, and capture student’s interest. Students need to be truly engaged in their learning in order to benefit from the lessons. A teacher must plan their lessons very carefully taking into consideration how they can best plan their lessons to get the students actively engaged in the material that they are learning about. A teacher must also take into consideration the different learning styles that are present in their classroom and try to meet as many as those learning styles as they can in a lesson. Differentiation is key.
In order to make sure that my students are truly engaged in my lessons, I spend a great deal of time planning original, thought provoking lessons. I try to come up with original ideas that allow my students to truly experience what they are learning. I also try to use the hands on approach as much as possible because my students really benefit from hands on experiences. I find that by putting my students in other people’s shoes, they really buy in to what they are learning.
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Learning Environment
A teacher needs to be educated about how their students are learning and how he or she is teaching. An educator needs to know how to accommodate those differences in learning styles. It is important to consider all of the variables that impact student behavior. It is important for an educator to develop standards of conduct and student participation. A teacher needs to know that monitoring student behavior is preventative and response to misbehavior is highly effective in classroom management. A teacher must also be sensitive to individual student needs.
I have realized through my student teaching experience that creating and implementing a behavior management plan is absolutely imperative when it comes to creating a healthy learning environment. It is also important to be consistent when implementing your behavior management plan. I have come to the realization that it is important to reinforce positive behavior as well as correct unacceptable behavior. I now know that by monitoring student behavior in a consistent way, I am able to create a positive learning environment that allows my classroom to run smoothly. I have also realized that it is important to tailor your behavior plan to meet the needs of individual students. I do this by creating individual behavior management plans. One way I have done this is by creating individual plans which students keep taped to their desks. These students receive stickers for positive behavior and checks when they need to think about how they are behaving. If the students have received more stickers then checks at the end of the day, they receive an incentive that they have chosen. If they have received more checks then stickers, we talk about what they can do to make tomorrow a better day. These individual plans have worked out very well for me and the students are much happier because of them. By having constant feedback, they are able to adjust their unacceptable behavior to acceptable behavior quickly and without being publicly pointed out in class.
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Instructional Delivery
I believe that the teacher is one of the most influential people in a child’s life. It is vital for a teacher to try to get each and every student excited about the content that they are teaching. It is also important for a teacher to understand that each child will have different interests. I believe that it is a teacher’s job to discover what really sparks a child’s interest and use that to get that student excited about learning. In order to get my students excited about their learning, I have implemented a variety of strategies to help me to get to know my students. I collect feedback from my students on a regular basis and plan future instruction based on that feedback. I also believe that a teacher must realize that by differentiating their lesson plans, they are adding to each student’s chances for success. In order to help children reach their full potential, I try to impact the learning of my students by creating a variety of activities that reach all of the different modalities.
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Communication
I believe that it is important for a teacher to use knowledge of effective written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom. It is important for students to have written as well as verbal cues to help them understand behavior expectations as well as assignment requirements. Visual cues such as posters, graphs, and charts help students to understand classroom expectations as well as visually monitor their progress both academically and behaviorally. It is also necessary to communicate with parents through phone calls, notes home, and newsletters. All of these different communication tools contribute to a successful classroom.
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Assessment
I believe that it is important to utilize a variety of different assessments. A teacher should assess student learning continually using a variety of different methods. An educator should also reflect on the assessments that they use to guide future instruction. A variety of methods such as casual conversations with students, formal class discussions, rubrics, checklists, grading scales, and rating scales, as well as informal assessments during lessons should be used to grade student’s mastery of different skills as well as guide future instruction.
In my classroom I use a variety of different methods. I assess student learning through class discussions where we simply discuss what we have learned. I use rubrics on a weekly basis. I love to create rubrics for student projects and assignments. I find that clear, concise rubrics allow a student to see exactly what is expected from them and help the students to create high quality work. I use grading scales for things like tests and quizzes. Another form of assessment that I find very effective is a rating scale. For example, if the rating scale is from 1 to 5 I specify what will earn a 1 and what will earn a 5. The students know that other quality work will fall somewhere in between. This allows the students to have a good idea of what kind of work they need to produce. I find that clear and concise grading tools help the students to understand what my expectations are. I find that when I use these tools, the students produce high quality work.
Writing Assignment with Rubric
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Collaborative Relationships
It is imperative to use appropriate and professional attitudes and actions when working with others. I believe that collaboration with colleagues is extremely important and is necessary in order to meet the needs of your students. In order to successfully work with other teachers and support personnel it is important to create positive relationships, respect different beliefs, communicate effectively, and act professionally at all times.
Through my student teacher experience, I have come to the conclusion that it is vital to collaborate with other professionals in the building as well as in the district in order to meet the needs of each and every one of your students. I have learned that in order to best meet the needs of these students, my best resources are the special education teachers who the students receive services from. I routinely seek out the advice of these teachers when it comes to making accommodations for students in my classroom as well as best reaching the needs of my students who do not receive services. I have discovered that two heads are always better then one and other teacher’s input is essential in creating lessons that will be as beneficial as possible to my students. I also have taken the opportunity to co-plan a variety of lessons with other fifth grade teachers and student teachers. I have found that we have come up with amazing lessons that we would not have been able to create if we had been working alone.
It is also vital for a teacher to provide family members opportunities to be involved in the educational process. It is important for a teacher to create positive relationships with family members through respect and communication. It is imperative for family members to know what is going on with their child in the classroom and it is the teacher’s job to provide them with this information. In order to accomplish this goal, it is important to have open lines of communication with families. The families of your students must know that they can contact you at any time. It is also important for your student’s families to know that you will contact them if you feel that it is significant to their child’s progress. I also firmly believe that it is important for a classroom teacher to contact parents when their child is excelling in the classroom, not just when there is a problem. By communicating with parents in a positive manner about their child from the beginning of the year, it makes it easier to approach a parent if there are concerns later on. In order to communicate with parents and help them feel like they are an important person in their child’s education I send notes home, make phone calls, write in assignment notebooks, and attend school functions. I have realized that parents appreciate notes about class projects, enjoy reading a positive note in an assignment notebook, and like to receive notice when their child is having difficulties. By communicating often with parents about a variety of issues, a teacher is making sure that families are involved in the educational process. I have also learned the importance of taking time outside of the school day to build relationships with students as well as parents.
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Reflection and Professional Growth
It is imperative that a teacher is committed to learning for their personal growth and for the benefit of the community and their students. It is vital for a teacher to continue their education, partake in community service, and attend teacher development meetings and seminars. A teacher must know that an important part of their job is continuing their own education so that they can best meet the needs of their students. It is essential for a teacher to understand that it is necessary to learn new methods of teaching as well as talk with other professionals in order to be able to implement new teaching strategies in their classroom.
Through my student teaching experience, I have learned a great deal from professional development meetings and in-services. I always take at least one thing that I have learned from a professional development meeting and try to implement it in my classroom. For example, at the professional development meeting in my building, the staff learned how to teach algebra using a strategy called “Hands-On Algebra”. I immediately loved the new and innovative approach to teaching algebra and knew that I wanted to use it in my classroom.
Using reflection to improve instruction is also extremely important for a teacher. It is important for a teacher to not only respond to written reflective analyses, but to respond with appropriate changes in future lessons. It is vital for a student teacher to reflect on lesson plans, cooperating teacher feedback, as well as supervisor feedback in order to improve their teaching methods.
I reflect on my instruction methods all day long each and every day that I teach. I believe that reflection is one of the most important aspects of instruction. It is absolutely vital that a teacher reflects on their teaching methods in order to improve. There are a variety of ways in which I reflect on my instruction strategies. On way in which I reflect is self-reflection as I teach a lesson as well as after a lesson is over. I reflect on how each lesson went and what I could have done differently to improve it.
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Professional Conduct
It is vital that a teacher understands and maintains standards of professional conduct. It is also imperative that a teacher provides leadership to improve student learning and well being. Throughout my student teaching experience, I found myself in a variety of situations where it was vital to display professional conduct. In the classroom, students view you as a role model. They watch everything you do and hear everything you say. It is vital to model appropriate behavior for them. It is also important to maintain professional conduct outside of the classroom. There were multiple times when students informed me that their parents and seen me in a setting outside of school. This reinforced for me the importance of acting in an appropriate and professional manner at all times. As a teacher, you are constantly being watched. It is vital to always be aware of your surroundings and behave in a professional manner.
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