Content Knowledge
Human Development and Learning
Diversity
Planning for Instruction
Learning Environment
Instructional Delivery
Communication
Assessment
Collaborative Relationships
Reflection and Professional Growth
Professional Conduct
I know that in order to make my school succeed to its maximum potential, I am a vital piece of the puzzle. Therefore, it is my responsibility to participate in professional development activities. I have been in the PDS program and it has enabled me to enhance my knowledge and pedagogical skill. Some of the ideas that have come from professional development have come in quite handy for my classroom lessons. I not only know that I need to continue to develop professionally, but I need to take that new found knowledge and apply to my everyday teaching experiences.
Reflection
One particular time that I applied new pedagogical knowledge was after the Illinois Reading Conference. I learned how to involve my students with Reader’s Theatre. After attending the conference, and learning many great and new ideas to apply to Reader’s Theatre, I returned to my class to test them out. We were successful with the activity, and as a result, we were able to perform a practically flawless production of a slightly varied fairy tale. Had I not attend that conference, I probably never would have given Reader’s Theatre a chance.
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Human Development and Learning
As I have mentioned several times, no two students are alike. Some students may be gifted, while others require IEPs. Therefore, I know that it is my responsibility to make appropriate accommodations and incorporate that knowledge into my planning and teaching. Before I can make those accommodations, I have to individually assess all of the different needs of my students.
Reflection:
I have assigned my class several projects that included rubrics. Since rubrics were involved, I presented my students with the rubrics in advance, so they were familiar with my expectations. I lay out all the possible point values so that there are no questions as to why they lost points. I also write comments about what was exceptional or what may have been missing. After viewing those rubrics, I can easily tell what the strengths and weaknesses are of my diverse classroom.
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Diversity
As an intern, I know it is crucial to recognize the academic differences and diversity present in my classroom. When I am planning a lesson, I incorporate as many of the learning modalities as I can. I know that different students learn differently. Some students may be more visual, while others are more auditory or tactile. I also know that the more opportunities that I provide, the better the chances are for my students to succeed. My role as both an intern, and future teacher, is to prepare my students to be successful in life, and be able to get as much out of life as possible. By giving choices to my students, I believe that I am doing just that.
Reflection
In writing, I developed a lesson in which I allowed for my visual learners to shine, as well as my kinesthetic learners. I provided a model of the assignment, for my visual learners, stated my expectations out loud for my auditory learners, and had my students present their projects, for my kinesthetic learners. Also, my writing class is one in which I have resource students. I did not entirely change my assignment for those students, however, I did accommodate. For example, I allowed for my student with fine motor skill difficulties to cut pictures from magazines, so that he did not have to draw his creature. I also knew that when I graded the stories that went along with the creatures, I expected more from my students who more advanced writers.
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Planning for Instruction
I feel that as an intern, it is my responsibility to plan and prepare for each and every lesson that I am going to teach. If I expect my children to understand it, then I better first be familiar with it. Also, I love to involve my students. They learn by doing. While each of my lessons is based on the ILS, my students do not know that they are meeting those requirements. They may not even think they are learning, but they are. Planning is one of the most important aspects when it comes to teaching. Someone very wise once told me, “If you teach without planning, you are planning to fail.” I not only believe this statement, but I live by it everyday of my life.
Reflection:
For one of my math lessons, I tried to wing it. I got up in front of my class, thinking I was ready to teach a lesson on ratios. Boy was I wrong! I tried to provide examples for my students, but then realized that the examples took way to long to write out, and when I would finally finish writing an example, I had lost the entire attention of my class. Even though I tried not to let my frustration show, my students knew that I was not ready for that lesson. They had questions for me that I did not expect I would have to answer. They did not “instantly” grasp the concepts or ideas that I had expected them to. I learned from that day on that I have to actually do the lessons that I plan for my students.
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Learning Environment
As an intern, I know that there are so many issues outside of school that affect and impact my students. There are issues at home, issues with other students, personal issues, and all of these play a major factor in determining the success or lack of for each of my students. Still, I know that as a teacher, I can not allow my students to misbehave or refuse to do work because of one of these variables. It is my responsibility to hold my students accountable for their own actions andbehavior. That is why it is crucial to establish an effective learning environment from the very start. My students need to know my expectations. It is important that my students come up with these rules and consequences themselves. I do not want a class that is constantly being monitored for misbehaving. Instead, I will manage a class effectively by remaining sensitive to individual needs.
Reflection:
My math class, the higher achieving students, is particularly chatty. At first, I struggled with how to manage this class. I would threaten that if they continued to talk they would be removed from the class, but that never seemed to work. Finally, after confiding in a colleague, I decided that I had to be firm. By firm, I do not mean that I would start yelling at my students. It just means I had to give a consequence and follow through with it. I also found that by varying my approaches at trying to quiet down my class made me much more successful. I would not just say “Quiet down.” I would say “Why are you still talking?” I also found that by stating my expectations before I allowed them to do anything, class went much more smoothly. Someone once told me, “You are their teacher, not their friend.” I can truly say that I understand and live by that motto today.
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Instructional Delivery
I believe that as a teacher, you have to be enthusiastic and passionate about what you teach. We are to be role-models for our students. How can we expect them to be enthusiastic about a particular subject or assignment when it is obvious that we, the teachers, do not have those same feelings? As an intern, I know you have to practice what you preach. You have to be open to new ideas, make connections with those ideas, and question those ideas.
Reflection:
I am constantly assessing myself, making sure that I am passionate and enthusiastic about what I teach. I know that math is not one of my favorite subjects. There are times where I become frustrated with what my students do not understand. Instead of letting them see that frustration, I smile, take a deep breath, and continue teaching the lesson with enthusiasm. If that means that we need to stop for a minute to stretch or move around, I will do that. If enthusiastic means that I need to jump up and down, sing to my students, or act crazy, I will. Whatever I need to do to keep my students passionate about learning, and interested, I do it. I may receive feedback that I do not necessarily agree with, but I am willing to explore the idea, if my students show that interest. I want my students to look to me as their role-model. In order for them to be enthusiastic about learning, I have to be enthusiastic, as well.
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Communication
As an intern, I know how important communication is. There are so many great types of communication available. Thanks to computers, email is just a few clicks away. The telephone is another great tool for keeping in contact with parents or students. Letters provide a more personal way to communicate. Also, I need to keep in mind that when I am communicating to my students, I need to be enthusiastic and accurate. These are all examples of how I can demonstrate effective use of written, verbal, and nonverbal communication tools.
Reflection:
I communicate in so many ways to both my students and my parents. As I mentioned above, there is email. There is also the telephone, or hand-written letters. I communicate daily in how I teach to my students. I need to be excited and passionate about what it is I am teaching. I have to hold the interest of my students and keep them motivated.
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AssessmentOne of the biggest ideas with teaching today is assessment. Assessment is everywhere, and it means everything. So much emphasis is placed on assessment. Whether teachers realize it or not, they are assessing everything. Assessment is not just a multiple choice test. Assessment can be an open discussion, a final project, observation, or a one-to-one conference. These assessments are so important because they help the teacher to determine what to do next. They help to guidefuture instruction.
Reflection:
I use so many types of assessments. Sometimes I do formal assessments, such as a written math test. Sometimes I do informal assessments, such as a play or project. I have had students create brochures, put on play productions, answer multiple choice questions, or do something as simple as complete a worksheet with maybe ten problems. It does not matter what kind of assessment it is I choose. The purpose is to monitor student growth and physically see my students learning.
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Collaborative Relationships
If there is one idea that I have gained from my student teaching experience, it would be that I can not do everything alone. I know how that two heads think better than one. There are many teachers that have so much more experience thanme. I am able to confide in them, and learn so much in the process. I try to be involved in as many “outside of school” activities as possible, so that I have the chance to interact with other faculty and staff. I know that it is these people that make up the culture of my school. To make my school the best it can be, it is my responsibility to act professionally and collaborate cooperatively with other teachers and educational support personnel.
Reflection
During my student teaching experience, I have enjoyed working with other faculty members. I attend school meetings. I participated in judging for Destination Imagination, and I volunteered for Young Authors. I also regularly have gone to lunch with the faculty, or attended out of school events.
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Reflection and Professional Growth
My entire student experience has been so reflective. In order to be an effective teacher, you must constantly reflect. You may reflect when you are speaking to someone and you verbally state changes you would make. You may see how your students respond to a certain lesson or activity and reflect upon that. It is not only important for you, the teacher to reflect, but it is also crucial that your students are reflecting. A simple “thumbs up, thumbs down” type of informal assessment is a great way to have your students reflect. When reflecting, I know that you need to focus on both your strengths and weaknesses. This way you are able to turns those weaknesses into strengths.
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Professional Conduct
I know how important family is when it comes to a child’s education. That is why I believe that as a teacher, it is my responsibility to include them as much as possible. It is crucial to provide an open relationship for the families of your students. This will encourage parents to become involved. They will not feel threatened if they need to contact their child’s teacher. They will also see that the teacher cares about not only the student, but the student’s family. Establishing that feeling of acceptance is necessary to allow for your students to grow and learn to their fullest potential.
Reflection
I think that close and constant contact with parents is key. That is why I frequently make phone calls home to parents, to both praise or discuss various students. I also feel that a weekly newsletter is a great way to stay in touch. It allows the parents to know not only what their child has been doing, but also, what their child will be doing in the near future. One time I made a phone call home to a parent because her son was on a behavior plan, and he was not being responsible about his expectations for it. In the matter of five minutes, I was able to talk to the mother, understand the circumstances of her son and his actions, and come up with an effective solution to his problem. She was so grateful that I took those few minutes to show that I cared about her son.
