- Content Knowledge
- Human Development and Learning
- Diversity
- Planning for Instruction
- Learning Environment
- Instructional Delivery
- Communication
- Assessment
- Collaborative Relationships
- Reflection and Professional Growth
- Professional Conduct
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 students.
It is the teachers’ responsibility to create a positive and successful learning environment for the students. Not all students learn the same way, therefore it is important to teach in as many different ways as possible. In my classroom, I believe that hands on activities give students the experience to make the lesson more meaningful and memorable. In the pictures below you will see my students making chocolate pretzels. At the time we were reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and learning about chocolate. As a class we read an article on how to make chocolate. Afterwards we made the chocolate and put it on pretzels. The students really enjoyed learning about chocolate and getting to make it.
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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 for students to grow academically, socially and emotionally throughout the year. I believe that it is important to provide activities that access my students’ multiple intelligences. Many times, I create lessons that involve station work. I feel that working in stations gives students the opportunity to explore and use their different abilities and talents. The pictures below show my students working in stations set up for a spelling lesson. The stations included writing their spelling words in paint, working on a spelling game on the computer and playing a tic tac toe spelling game. These stations accessed my students different learning styles while also giving them a fun interactive way to practice and learn their spelling words.
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Diversity
The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
Each classroom is filled with a diversity of learners. No two students learn the exact same way. As a teacher, it is important to develop a classroom where the students get along with each other on a daily basis. Students need to respect one another and treat each other as equals. In my classroom, my students learned to work together and accept one another through many group lessons. I like my students to work in groups, sharing ideas and solving problems as a team. I feel this builds character and teaches students to work together accepting everyone’s ideas. In my multicultural lesson students were able to see that our differences make us unique. Students touched one another face to see that we are all made up of the same hard bones. They created a book on why it’s okay to be different. This lesson, made each student grow as an individual and learn to accept and respect everyone for who they really are. Here is my multicultural lesson plan explaining step by step procedures that my students completed. In another example of diversity in my classroom this year, I taught students with lower math abilities. In order to meet the needs of all my students I used many hands on activities. To teach students about symmetry I had them create symmetrical faces of themselves. Students had a half of a picture of their face and had to draw the other half. Through this students were able to incorporate art and creativity with math. My students truly enjoyed this activity.
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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.
Instructing students is one of the most important goals of a teacher. In order to successfully implement these lessons, it is important to do intensive planning and preparation. Researching each topic and planning a lesson based on that information, the needs of the students and the interests of the students, helps each lesson to run smoothly. The pictures below are examples of my students viewing clouds. My lessons were focused upon weather and applying weather skills to real life situations. As you will see from this example, I had students read different information on clouds then go outside and apply the information they learned to a real life situation.
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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.
It is important to create a positive learning environment. Students’ working both individually and in groups helps to meet the needs of many students and create a positive environment. Placing students in groups helps them to learn and develop both communication skills and social interaction skills. I feel this helps to create an environment were students work well together as a team. I also feel it’s important for students to work individually. Working in groups allows students to learn from each other and individual work helps students to build self confidence in their own work. I have found that letting my class work in both groups and individually has made them grow closer as a class and more confidence in their work. Below are pictures and a lesson plan on Presidents. The students were working with a partner doing research on a President. Even though the two students were doing the same President they had separate worksheets of information they had to find. Once they both individually found their information, then as a group they worked together to create a power point. This activity combined both students working individually and in a group situation.
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
Each classroom is filled with a diverse set of learners. No two students learn the exact same way. Therefore, it is important to create a variety of different lesson plans for students. It is important to make modifications to each lesson plan for all learners. Combining both lower and higher level thinking in each lesson will allow students to develop their thinking skills. In the lesson attached you will find a measurement activity. As a class the students and I orally discussed different objects and places and what would be the best form of measurement to use. I then demonstrated how to use a scale, and a ruler on the overhead. Once students were clear on the directions, I gave them the opportunity to try using a scale and ruler on their own. Students were given different objects in the room and school that they had to measure. With a partner they completed the activity, using the skills they just learned in class. The students truly enjoyed the hands on activity and understood how to use measurement in everyday life.
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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.
Communication both inside and outside of the classroom, are important factors in running a successful classroom. Students need to be clearly aware of every expectation you have for them with each lesson and assignment. Along with the students, parents also need to be aware of what is going on inside the classroom and with their student’s education. It is important to create a weekly classroom newsletter to keep both the parents and students aware of what is going on. Having a website where assignments are posted is also a great way to keep parents involved and students on track with their assignments. Always being available to the parents through phone, email, and notes home are great ways to show the parents you are concerned about their students and keep in contact with the parents. I have found that it is extremely important to keep parents involved with what is going on in the classroom. This makes the students work harder and helps to make the classroom run smoothly. Each week I send home a weekly newsletter to keep both my parents and students aware and informed of what is going on and what they should look for. For my students, I made sure to clearly write each assignment on the board and the schedule of our day and expectations. This helps the students to stay on track and more aware of what I expect form them.
Attached you will find a copy of a weekly newsletter.
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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.
Assessing student learning allows the teacher to keep track of the progress of students on an individual basis and as a whole class. I believe in using state and district forms of assessment, and alternative forms of assessment, such as rubrics for students to follow. In the picture below you will find the District 108 I Can Do It third Grade Standards. My lesson plans follow these district standards, and my students are aware of these standards and meeting these standards. For informal assessments I allow my students to be extremely creative. One activity that we did was on symmetry. Students were learning about what objects were symmetrical and which objects were not. I had my students trace block letters and spell out their names. They were to draw the lines of symmetry for each letter and decorate. Through this project I was able to see which students understood symmetry and who still needed a little extra help. Students enjoyed this informal assessment and it was a great picture to hang on the wall. While I feel that both forms of assessment are important to use within the classroom, I try and use them equally as much so all students have an equal opportunity to succeed.
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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.
As a teacher it is important to be knowledgeable of everything that you are teaching. Continuing your education to stay current on teaching methods and ideas is extremely important in becoming an effective teacher. Taking extra classes outside your classroom keeps teachers up to date on teaching techniques and ideas. Committed to learning for teachers own personal growth and for the benefit of the community is extremely important. I have learned the importance of working with other colleagues. This year another intern Ashley Graham and myself team teached the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I also invited another teacher from the building to come and do a presentation on chocolate. The students really enjoyed listening to her presentation and making chocolate covered preztels. Working with both these teachers helped me to improve my lessons an create a more fun and exciting learning environement for my students. Below is a picture of the students making chocolate covered pretzels with Mrs. Mahan
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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.
Reflecting on lessons, behavior, interaction with students and colleagues, and my overall performance everyday in the classroom is one of the most important parts of my education experience. On a daily basis I reflect upon each lesson that I teach. I feel that all lessons no matter how well they went need to be reflected upon. There have been many times that I have planned an entire lesson and it didn’t work out the way I had planned. I have taken a step back and really thought about what happened. I thought about ways to improve my lesson and what I could do next time so the same problems didn’t arise. This reflection made me realize the problem and made me more prepared for problems that might occur in the future. While personal reflection is important, it is also important to reflect with another colleague. Daily, my mentor teacher and I reflect upon my lessons. He asks me what I think I need to improve and tells me areas he thinks I need to improve. We also discuss my strengths, what areas really stood out in a lesson, which I should include in other lessons. Our reflection has made me become a stronger teacher. I take my own personal reflections and the reflections of my mentor teacher and apply them to my future lessons. Due to this reflection my lessons tend to run more smoothly and I have less problems. I was really struggling trying to think of exciting spelling games that the students could participate in and still stay focused. It seemed that every game I tried to play the students would talk or misbehave, resulting in us having to quit the game. After several personal reflections and reflections with my teacher I found a solution. All students needed to be occupied in order to keep their focus. If we were playing a game where students came up to the board one at a time, I would have the other students write the words on paper or another students back. This allowed the students to think about each word and kept their interest.
Click here to find a weekly evaluation.
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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.
Being a professional is an extremely important responsibility for a teacher to be a role model for students. In order to be professional it is important to be respectful towards students, parents and colleagues. I believe that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Therefore, I am extremely conscious of my dress and behavior. Several times this year I was observed by both my mentor and my liaison Mike Muren. In both their observations, they commented on how well I attended to students needs and cooperated with my colleagues. I also showed my professionalism when I choose to volunteer my time to participate in an outside school event. I attended the Pekin District 108 Young Author's Conference. This annual event recognizes students who have created and produced a winning young author's book. This year's conference had about 130 children involved and over 600 people who attended this community event. I volunteered my time by passing out programs, assisting people with finding seats, and meeting with young author winners and their parents after the presentation. Through this experience I learned that taking a little extra time outside of school shows the students, parents and my colleagues how much I truly care. Here is a picture of me at the event with my principal.
