Teacher candidates positively impact student learning that is:
1. Informed by standards-based assessment. All students benefit from learning that is systematically analyzed using multiple formative, summative, and self-assessment strategies.
2. Intentionally planned. All students benefit from standards-based planning that is personalized.
3. Influenced by multiple instructional strategies. All students benefit from personalized instruction that addresses their ability levels and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
4. Informed by technology. All students benefit from instruction that utilizes effective technologies and is designed to create technologically proficient learners.
My Understanding of Standard T
Educators can positively impact students by putting into practice various strategies for effective teaching. Knowing that not all children are equally capable, attentive teachers personalize lessons to meet the needs of all. Furthermore, not all children learn in the same way. By presenting material to appeal to a variety of learning styles, learning in the classroom is dynamic and appeals to more students. Instruction is also enhanced by the frequent use of relevant technology to a generation of young people who are accustomed to the use of electronic devices. The effectiveness of all of these learning strategies must be frequently assessed to affirm successful strategies and adjust strategies yielding poor results.
STANDARD T META-REFLECTION
Teacher-Based Evidence General Questions
Key Question – How do you know you are making a difference in your students’ learning?
I am making a difference in my students’ learning by intentionally moving beyond the status quo. My unique blend of humor, technology, games, and hands-on instruction makes my class an exciting place to learn. There is a balance between being carried away by the latest fads in teaching and remaining complacent in one’s teaching. I am always open to new suggestions for instruction and frequently experiment with new teaching methods. Over the years, high SAT scores for my classes have borne witness to my effectiveness as an educator. I also enjoy “favorite elementary teacher” status from many of my former students.
Key Question – How have you grown with regards to this question during your internship?
I would argue that the growth that I have experienced through the internship is merely an extension of the growth that I have experienced since 2001 when I began teaching. I never want to have the same year of teaching twice. Through this internship, I have introduced several new strategies into my teaching especially in the use of technology. When my formal training ends, I will continue to discover and implement new methods to improve my performance.
Student-Based Evidence General Questions
Key Question – How do students demonstrate their ability to think metacognatively about their own learning?
Perhaps our recent exploration of reciprocal teaching would be illustrative of metacognative thinking in my class. I wanted my students to get beyond reading just to answer comprehension questions. Reciprocal teaching trains students how to think about the reading process. After training them to question, predict, clarify, and summarize a text, my students had the tools they needed to comprehend texts not only in reading but in a variety of subjects.
Key Question – How have you grown with regards to your knowledge of student meta-cognative thinking during your internship?
Early in this internship, we were encouraged to use learning targets to help students begin to focus on our content. Instructors also introduced tools such as “I learned statements,” “Clear/Unclear Windows,” and reflective blog entries that we could use with our students. Because of these communication strategies and others like them, I now have a better understanding of the student voice that young people use to process the content of my teaching.
1. Informed by standards-based assessment. All students benefit from learning that is systematically analyzed using multiple formative, summative, and self-assessment strategies.
Teacher-based evidence in support of T1
Key Question – How do you modify your teaching practice based on assessment results?
I am able to modify my assessment in two ways. If my assessment shows me that a clear majority of students have performed poorly on an assignment, I can assume poor teaching on my part and reteach the content. Furthermore, I may abandon the lesson altogether for the following year’s class or make significant modifications so that they may grasp the concepts on it satisfactorily.
I have nine different lesson plans using various formative, summative, and self-assessment strategies. Click on the lessons below and look at the assessment column on the left side of the plans to see these assessment strategies.
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Student-based evidence in support of T1
Key Question – How do you communicate the relationship between assessment and learning targets?
At the beginning of each lesson, I clearly communicate the learning target. When possible, I then give them some idea of how they will be assessed, so that they can be looking for key concepts as the lesson unfolds. Students need to know that will be assessed formally or informally so that they will have a greater burden to be responsible for the content that we share.
I taught a lesson using each of these assessments and recorded the results for my blog. Examine each entry below to see my findings.
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Please take a minute to consider some actual student work. Below you see a fine example of a summative assessment of a unit we completed on the rock cycle. I especially appreciate pictoral representation of the material that we covered.
My fifth grade class blog has become one of my favorite student self assessment tools. Click on the link and browse around the site. There multiple postings on projects that we have been working on over the year.
http://brooklake5th.edublogs.org/
2. Intentionally planned. All students benefit from standards-based planning that is personalized.
Teacher-based evidence in support of T2
Key Question – How do you meet individual student learning needs?
Students may require extra attention because of negative exceptionalities or positive exceptionalities. The evidence in the section below shows how I assist students with either set of needs.
Key Question – How do you use instructional strategies to help students understand and apply curricular content?
One of the keys to being an effective teacher is to recognize that different subjects demand different instructional strategies. My approach to teaching science, for instance, needs to very different from my approach to teaching English. In this section, you will see evidence that shows the wide range of approaches that I can use to teach varying subjects.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. I have found, however, that some subjects require more specialized plans than others. I have three students who are performing below average in math. I have made special arrangements with parents to check over assignments before submitting them. I have also attempted to modify the weekly spelling test for a student in my class, but the parent was not willing to allow it yet.
I make other adjustments as needed. Examine the accommodations and modifications box in the lesson plan below. This is an example of how I might anticipate and address the special needs of a student.
Student-based evidence in support of T2
Key Question – How do you help students review their performance and set personal learning goals based on those assessments?
I like to ask students to comment on their performance at the end of a unit. It is important for them to commend themselves on success. Commenting on substandard work, however, can be especially beneficial. I would encourage students to ask and answer several questions. What went wrong? How I could I do better next time? How can I avoid the same mistakes? Do I need some extra help to succeed? What is my plan for success on the next assignment?
Examine my write-up of the lesson for an explanation of how I actually made accommodations and modifications.
3. Influenced by multiple instructional strategies. All students benefit from personalized instruction that addresses their ability levels and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Teacher-based evidence in support of T3
Key Question – How do you address student cultural and linguistic backgrounds in your teaching?
As an avid world traveler, I am always looking for ways to celebrate other cultures. When the opportunity arises, I point out the value of cultures different than our own. I especially enjoy the input of students. I have students from several different ethnic backgrounds. I welcome any insights that they can share about the culture that they enjoy at home.
I have had some experience teaching ELL’s and have been learning more lately. The link below will take you to a recent post that I made that presents my understanding of the best methods for instructing ELL’s.
Key Question – How do you assisst students with negative and positive exceptionalities?
I have found that the subjects that I need to modify most frequently are math and spelling. In both subjects, I typically will reduce the workload because the child is overwhelmed and give him or her individual attention. Should the student’s performance begin to improve, I increase the workload gradually so that the student is performing at the same level as the others.
In the past, I have modified both spelling and math with varying degrees of success. Some poor spellers, for example, were able to pass weekly tests with a reduced number of words but were never able to work back up to a full list. Consequently, I had to indicate that they had a modified curriculum on their report cards. I seemed to be more successful with math. It seems that students who are not feeling the pressure to work through what they perceive to be a high volume of work feel free to slow down and achieve a deeper level of understanding. Perhaps they are often not overwhelmed by new concepts but rather by the amount of work that they must perform.
I would also like to point out that I work to meet the needs of gifted students as well as those who struggle. At our first parent/teacher conference, I learned that one student was not being challenged enough in math. She is now producing extra work three times a week that meets her need to be stretched. An example of her work appears below.
Key Question – How do you use instructional strategies to develop critical thinking and problem skills?
One of the strengths of the ARC program at SPU is the emphasis on developing a variety of instructional strategies. When approaching a lesson, I determine the critical thinking and problem skills that students will need to comprehend a new concept. Then I select the instructional strategy that I think will be the most helpful to students in their quest for understanding.
Learning should always be an intriguing experience for students. Using multiple teaching strategies keeps students engaged because they have the opportunity to receive information from many different angles. I have nine lesson plans utilizing nine different teaching strategies that you can examine below.
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Student-based evidence in support of T3
Key Question – How do you help students use a variety of learning strategies?
Introducing too many learning strategies at once may be overwhelming to some students. I use a few general guidelines when implementing them. First, I don’t introduce too many of them at once because it may be more than students can process. Next, I take extra time extra time working with new strategies so that students have an opportunity to adjust to them. Last, I revisit newer strategies frequently so that they don’t need to be retaught later.
For each lesson presented above, I wrote a detailed reflection for my blog. Examine each one to see how students responded to the various strategies demonstrating significant impact on student learning.
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General Evidence of Positive Student Impact
I would like to present the following general evidence to demonstrate my positive impact on students.
- SATs – For the past nine years, my students have scored an average of 1-2 grades higher than their current grade level in subjects across the curriculum. This indicates that I am providing them with the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in an academic environment.
- Teachers at Higher Grade Levels – Although I am teaching fifth grade now, I taught third grade for 6 years. At least half of my students advanced to Julie Friedland’s fourth grade class. She has always remarked that I prepared students well for her class. They were well equipped to learn at a higher level when they leave my class for hers.
- Supervisors – Cathy Guy (principal) and Betsy LeDoux (SPU field supervisor) have been observing me all year and are fully confident in my ability to positively impact students from both an academic and moral standpoint. Both were trained not just to observe me. They observed the children closely making certain that they were connecting with me.
- Promotion – Perhaps, the greatest vote of confidence that I have from the board of Brooklake Christian School is their decision to make me the new principal of our school effective June 15th. They trust me in an even greater role of influence than I enjoyed in the classroom.
- Reputation – Finally, I have my reputation as a highly effective educator at out institution. I am one of the most requested teachers on staff. People in my community know me as a teacher who motivates and educates children with my unique blend of understanding, life experience and humor.
4. Informed by technology. All students benefit from instruction that utilizes effective technologies and is designed to create technologically proficient learners.
Teacher-based evidence in support of T4
Key Question – How do you use technology to help create technologically proficient learners?
I model the use of technology and provide opportunities for students to use it. New technology can be challenging, so I think setting a goal of incorporating at least one new piece of technology per year is reasonable. This year, for instance, we worked with a class blog for the first time. The benefit was mutual for teacher and students. I learned how to be the administrator and they learned how to use this technology.
I have always enjoyed using and teaching technology in class. This year was especially exciting because of our fifth grade class blog. The blog served several purposes. Students blogged approximately once a week on a question or series of questions that I generated. The class newsletter was also posted there. This project is still in its infancy, so I will be looking for other ways for it to enhance our learning. Click on the link below to visit our blog. Be sure to examine a variety of entries so that you can get a good sense of our work.
http://brooklake5th.edublogs.org/
Please take a moment to view one of my most ambitious assignments utilizing technology. First, click below on “Missionary Chapel” to get a general idea of the project. Originally, as the slide show was going to be projected onto the screen in the sanctuary, students were going to recite their material from memory. The computer teacher, however, suggested that we simply record the stories in the computer lab to narrate each slide. Since this type of presentation had never been done at our school, I decided to attempt it.
Student-based evidence in support of T4
Click on the link below. You will only be able to see the presentation. There are audio files that play when each slide appears but after multiple attempts I could not get them to play in sync with the presentation. It worked perfectltly in our chapel presentation. With a little imagination, I’m sure that you could reconstruct what happened. We had to meet an October 8th deadline for this project. I was especially proud of their hard work since it was so early in the year!
Click on the link below to hear a sample of the audio from one student who is narrating a slide.
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxGh11bl9YIlNTQ4MDU3MWUtZTY3Mi00MWRiLTk1M2UtOTM0MDdlZWI5ZjNj&hl=en
Instructional Practice
What sort of critical thinking, problem solving and understanding are you trying to foster in your classroom? Is this the same for all levels?
One of my goals as a teacher is to encourage students to construct knowledge. Recently, my math methods instructor admonished us to stop telling students how to do problems. She challenged us to require students to figure things out for themselves. At first I was hesitant to do this, but I decided to try it.
The results were amazing! I paired students together according to ability to figure out how to convert Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit temperatures. This way, students at varying levels of understanding could enjoy the process. During formative assessment, I witnessed stimulating conversations as students worked together to find solutions. They would have missed the satisfaction of personal discovery had I simply provided the procedure. My challenge now is to incorporate this kind of learning across the curriculum.
Do you feel that this is specific to your endorsement area?
This type of discovery based learning is ideal for elementary students. Since they are naturally curious, they respond well to well-designed academic challenges. Although investigation oriented math is new to me, I have been utilizing investigation based science for years. The content of a science text is far more meaningful to a student who has had some kind of hands-on experience.
How are you using assessment strategies to understand the impact of your teaching, especially with regards to critical thinking, problem solving, etc.?
My assessment is both objective and subjective. I have been branching out into small group work based on multiple recommendations from instructors in the ARC program. The objective assessment is simply measurable by a correct answer to any given problem or perhaps some type of creative product. The subjective assessment is just as interesting to me. I study the groups as the exercise unfolds to determine if the spirit of learning and cooperation is truly present. If I determine that this type of activity is engaging students, I can use a variation of it in the future. If not, I can either modify it for greater effectiveness or discontinue using it.
Comment on how you attempt to modify your teaching practice based on these results.
Group work, or course, is just one mode of teaching. I also need to develop lecture methods and individual study exercises for maximum positive impact.
What does this process involve?
In any mode of teaching, it always comes back to being a reflective practitioner. All year with my mentor, I have been asking myself three questions. What went well? What did not go well? What will you do differently next time? I believe that this introspective questioning is one of the most important keys to becoming a better teacher. Even the most seasoned teachers can discover more effective ways to instruct students by regular self evaluation.
How could you incorporate student voice in this process?
In my estimation, learning should not be merely reception of a monologue but an ongoing dialogue. My students can find their voice in class discussions, group projects, blog entries, and journaling. Some students are in touch with their voices and feel comfortable expressing themselves in a variety of settings. Others are less confident. As a “voice moderator” my purpose is gently keep in check those students who would monopolize class time and coax the quieter students to greater participation.
Are you seeing growth throughout your blog postings in conjunction with the criteria associated with Standard T?
I have written about at least nine different instructional strategies that I have incorporated into my teaching this year. I am pleased to say that I attempted several of them for the first time. I have also been able to write extensively about incorporating technology such as my new document camera and class blog for the first time this year.
What is this telling you about your professional development and how you would like to grow as a teacher?
Although I have been teaching for almost nine years, I have discovered a multitude of new approaches to teaching. When I step out of this formal program of learning in June, I plan to continue to seek out yet more ways for me to grow as a teaching professional.
3 – T1
3 – T2
2 – T3; When you write in your reflection you need to discuss the evidence of student impact.
3 – T4