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 all students.
I recently involved my students in a themed unit on the Titanic. When thinking of topics to pick for an integrated unit, I immediately thought of the Titanic because it was a subject that I had a lot of interest in, and I also had noticed that my third grade students were checking out books on the Titanic and many boys in the class drew identical ships in their free time during class. Due to my large amount of excitement about the topic, I was egger to start teaching and found myself digging through many different media resources to allow my students to learn as much about the Titanic as possible in a two week time period.
My large amount of background knowledge on the Titanic helped me also when planning when to start this unit, and because I knew the anniversary of the ship’s sinking, I decided to start the unit the first week in April. For two weeks straight my students were engaged in at least one Titanic themed lesson per day. My knowledge about the content made me extremely excited to share all the information I knew about the ship with my students. I loved being able to answer just about any question they had, and if I did not know the answer, I most likely had a resource where they could look up the fact themselves.
My love for the subject brushed off on my students, as we explored the Titanic from the time it was built until the most recent photos and video footage of the ship underwater. Knowing so much about the Titanic, without a doubt, enhanced the level of my lessons and also the level of interest in my students. It was great to be able to share one of my passions with my students in a learning atmosphere.
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Human Development and LearningThe teacher understands how individuals grow, develop and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.
My first experience of planning to result in a great amount of learning through hands-on experience was through teach-ins. The lessons were conducted by a group of student teachers I was included in. We were given a topic to explore, and divided the main ideas of the topic into different learning stations that the student would visit for a short amount of time. Our enthusiasm to get the students actively involved in our lessons was a driving force that lead us to success. I planned, revised, experimented, and revised again to make sure that my part of the lesson would go smoothly and also that my expectations for the lesson would be accomplished. We combined visual, spatial, and audio stimuli to make the lessons appealing to all students. When it came time to conduct the lesson we had prepared for weeks, it was exciting and I was very anxious to reach out to the students and give them the knowledge that I had acquired from studying the topic over an extended amount of time! I knew that the lesson was going to be great, and having that kind of excitement about teaching is something that I never will want to go without. The students learned a lot, and that is all that was important at the end of the day. I know that my effort in the lesson was well worth the impact it had on the students.
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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.
One of my biggest challenges of my student teaching year has to be the transition from third grade to sixth grade where my second placement was held. I walked into the classroom, already intimidated by what I knew about preadolescents thanks to my child development and psychology classes, with no knowledge of the challenges these students were going to make me face.
I knew that the first thing I needed to do was to get to know the students as quickly as possible before I could start connecting with them while teaching lessons and spending so much time with them in the classroom. I decided to use a getting-to-know-you activity called sucker buddies. The students were paired with a classmate and were assigned to interview each other by asking a set of questions that were predetermined on a handout. This approach of lesson allowed me to find out what I wanted about each student’s individual interests and I was able to get to know them better just by watching how they recited the information in front of their class. After seeing each interest inventory, I was able to start planning with my students’ needs in mind when it came time to pick titles for reading lessons and other various activities.
I felt that in order for me to be an effective teacher for these sixth graders during the six weeks I would be in their classroom, I had to show them myself as well. I created a bio bag that included my favorite books, music, and hobbies. I also filled out a sucker buddy worksheet myself and shared it with the class.
This approach of teaching helped be decipher what modes of instruction I needed to use to gain the interest and success of my sixth grade students. It turned out to be a great few weeks.
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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.
One aspect of instructing that I have grown with, due to reflecting and making a plan to change, is enforce the behavior management plan in my classroom. In my classroom, my cooperating teacher and I have a clothespin chart in the front of the room that is used for our behavior management. If a student does something that is not acceptable, they move their clothespin down one section.
When I came back into the classroom to begin my student teaching, we both seemed to lack on following through with the clothespin movement. Instead of having the students move one clothespin down, we would continue to verbally redirect numerous times. After reflecting about this, my mentor suggested that I should begin enforcing the clothespins with all the students. I took it day by day and the students began to act out less and I found more students being on task. I also started using the cool timer and a “boogie button” that plays a song for a few seconds. When this button goes off the students know they need to stop what they are doing and head back to their seats, and put everything away. Since I started reinforcing the classroom rules and implementing my own classroom management tool, the class has been behaving much more positively. It is great to see the results of my reflection and modifications working well in my classroom.
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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.I was fortunate enough to experience the first days of school in the classroom that I am now student teaching in. Before school was back in session, my mentor had already created the management plan for the classroom, and we discussed the various logistics of her expectations. There was a behavior chart posted in the front of the classroom and also the school-wide behavior plan (I-CARE rules) was posted where the students can see them. On the first day of school, the students were to write down five rules that they believed were important for the classroom to abide by. We then collaborated all of the rules into a “master copy” and posted them in the room. This gave the students a sense of ownership to the classroom. The behavior chart was also shown and explained so that all students could expect the consequence for their actions that broke a classroom rule. Giving the students all information about the classroom management plan on the first day of school gave them a sense of security from day one. My mentor and I still follow through with the rules and procedures of this plan because it was an understanding that was formed on the very first day of school. Creating this environment is the perfect way to form an effective learning environment.
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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.
Teaching is a dream that I always strived for, and I believe it is apparent through my daily teaching methods how excited I am to teach students and also how involved I am in their learning needs. I don’t believe that there should be a specific lesson or method of teaching that a teacher can use as evidence of being enthusiastic to share their knowledge with students. I feel that this demeanor should be present at all times and a part of a teacher’s philosophy of learning.
Everyday after the morning announcements I say good morning to the entire class and repeat, if necessary, until I get a response that is as enthusiastic as I am. After going over the schedule for the day, I jump right into the first lesson. I constantly am moving around the classroom and calling on students to keep the conversation of a lesson alive between the students and me. Throughout the day the students have the opportunity to learn by methods of literacy, hands-on activities, using technology, and also by using their own creativity to create models or other visual creations. Modeling enthusiasm for learning shows the students that I care about what I am teaching and, most importantly, that I care about their learning experiences in my classroom.
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CommunicationThe teacher uses knowledge of effective written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
I have experienced the impact of communication in my pre-service experiences. Since the beginning of this school year, I have interacted with my peers via email often. Whether the subject included concerns about an assignment, or a friendly reminder, I have actively composed and responded to messages on the list serve. This is my first experience with internet collaboration, and I have learned that it is a quick and helpful tool for teachers to communicate.
Creating a parent letter to send home is another way that I have demonstrated effective communication. When it was time for me to come back into my phase one classroom to officially begin student teaching, I sent home a letter to the parents to briefly reintroduce myself. I wanted the parents to be aware of my involvement in the classroom, and I also added the detail that I encourage their communication with me via phone calls or email. Building this bridge right away hopefully gave the parents of my students the impression that I am a professional and also that I value the parent-teacher connection that is useful in the students’ lives.
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AssessmentThe teacher understands various formal and informal assessment strategies and uses them to support the continuous development of all students.
In my third grade classroom, my students are assessed by informal tasks and projects. I recently decided to put my students to the test by having them follow instructions orally to create an origami flower out of newspaper. Explaining to the students how vital it was for them to pay attention to get the final creation correct was my way of anticipating the lesson, then I continued by starting to create the origami in front of them while they watched and did the same to their own pieces of paper. At the end, they were to glue their creations on their paper, then hand them in to be informally assessed by me. I wanted to see who was paying attention and listening to my directions versus who was being distracted and became off task. The results of this assessment helped me in future lessons because I was able to know who I was to pay extra attention to when speaking to the class as a whole and who was more likely to pay attention to oral instructions.
I also create many assessment tools. I like to create things that my students can use to allow them to work in hands-on situations. An example of a creation I made is shamrock puzzle pieces that were used as an assessment for multiplication tables the students had recently been introduced to. The key was to see what the multiplication problem was, then solve it by putting the puzzle pieced together. These materials worked well for my math block because the students were actively engaged in puzzles that I created. I was able to walk around and assess my students by how well they were putting the puzzle together, and also got the opportunity to see who was excelling in their critical thinking skills by piecing together the puzzle pieces.
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Collaborative RelationshipsThe teacher understands the role of the community in education and develops and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents/guardians, and community to support student learning and well-being.
The thought of sitting at lunch for an hour with staff members that I was unfamiliar with was intimidating for me at first. I felt pressured to start conversations and also to introduce myself to everyone that I encountered during lunch, but after the initial nervousness faded, I began to feel more comfortable and realized that the staff I was spending this time with was beneficial to my professional growth. I have gotten to know the other teachers who share this lunch hour better not only on a professional basis but I have also built friendships. We talk about how our days are going, what we have planned on the weekends, and anything else exciting that is happening in our lives. I get asked frequently how my student teaching experiences are going, and it feels good to be a part of the staff community.
In addition to the friends I have made, I have the support of my mentor everyday. Working side by side with her has taught me so much already about teaching in the primary grades. The lessons that she shares with me have been inspirational in my own planning, and she encourages me to use her experience as a growth tool for myself. I have come to understand that teachers cannot do their job to the best of their ability without the working relationships of other teachers.
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Reflection and Professional GrowthThe 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 did not take long for me to realize the importance of reflection in teaching. My liaison constantly said to all the student teachers how important reflection is. When I first started my clinical study hours, I felt that my reflections were more of just observations in the classroom than actual thoughts to take in consideration. It was not until I started lesson planning and teaching that I felt reflection was a giant part of my professionalism.
Keeping notes about how my lessons affected the students, what I need to watch in the classroom, and what the students responded to or did not respond to started filling my notebook. I have realized that it is so easy to think of something during a lesson and then forget about it, but it is much easier to have a notebook open on my desk that I can jot things down on in between lessons.
Not only has my written reflection been beneficial to my growth, but conversing with my cooperating teacher has also helped significantly. She is able to point out things to me that I may not have noticed during my lesson because I was busy with students. Her experience and insight about my teaching has helped me with preparing, planning, and executing lessons in my classroom.
In addition to conversations with my mentor, I also reflect with my peers on a daily basis. I carpool with three other student teachers who are all in primary classrooms also. It is great to have different lessons and experiences to share with each other on the way to school each day. Our conversations about our classes are a form of reflection in a group setting.
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Professional ConductThe teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve student learning and well-being.
I have always been a positive person, and it has always been important to be to have a smile on my face. When I started student teaching, I wanted to create an inviting atmosphere. I have learned that students need to feel comfortable, yet not too comfortable. This advice I first received from the book The First Days of School by Harry Wong. His ideas about how a classroom should be set up and maintained greatly influence my philosophy about teaching now that I am ready to have a classroom of my own. I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by Harry Wong himself when he visited Illinois State University this past fall. Hearing more about his positive actions in the classroom and tips to creating great classroom management was taken to heart, and I took many notes on how to create and maintain such a positive learning environment.
I took the opportunity to test out many of these tips when I was placed in a sixth grade classroom to student teach for a few weeks. I thought connecting with the students in this class would be much more difficult, given that I was coming into their room well into the school year and they were already accustomed to their routines and procedures that were set up in the beginning of the school year. Having a positive attitude, expecting the best from the students, and also believing that every student in the classroom has potential to shine helped me though my days in sixth grade. At the end of this placement, I wrote in my journal how accomplished I felt for building the community I wanted in such a short amount of time with students that I was not used to interacting with.
