Artifact In Teaching

During the months of September and October this semester I spent time at two different schools in four different classrooms. Being able to observe different classes and teachers at Westside Junior High and South Live Oak Elementary was a very new and exciting experience for me since I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. My experiences at these schools gave me a better insight into the differences between schools, classrooms, and teachers. The purpose of this field experience was to get 10 observation or tutoring hours in an elementary or junior high setting. I chose to observe a

Teaching is an extremely important profession as we are responsible for training up the future generations of our community, country and in effect, the world. In order to be a successful and effective teacher there are some basic skills and competencies that one must possess. The experiences that students have inside (and outside) our classrooms, schools and various other institutes will shape and mould their approach to our subjects and to life in general. Therefore, it requires a certain level of skill and training to be deemed professionally fit to enter into this career path and even then, continuous

Professional Development measures the degree to which teachers value continuous personal development and school-wide improvement.

To assist students to “read with purpose and anticipation,” Vacca et al. (2014, p. 173) suggests, in their book Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, that teachers need to “create an instructional context” that activates their students’ “prior knowledge” and helps them to become interested in a lesson. Throughout chapter six, “Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest,” Vacca et al. (2014, pp. 172-173) explain instructional strategies that can lead students to “read with purpose and anticipation.” This chapter presents the reader with a plethora of instructional strategies and means for applying them, along with example for real educators. As I journeyed through this chapter, I discovered many instructional strategies,

This artifact consisted in developing an essay addressing the three key areas in the role of the teacher: effective communication with a variety of constituents; consistent application of the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct in professional and personal conduct; and clear comprehension of the grounds and procedures for disciplinary actions that can be imposed by the Education Practices Commission (EPC).

This artifact represents my ability to work collaboratively with one of my peers. We created the provided lesson and then taught the lesson at North Schuylkill Elementary school to a class of kindergarteners. This experience requires use to co-teach, co-plan and co-reflect to make sure this experience was as successful as possible. This artifact fits under standard #10: leadership and collaboration, since it demonstrates how I worked collaboratively with a peer to create and administer a lesson. By working together, we were able to ensure that each learner in the classroom would learn the necessary content. This is a representation of my best work since the lesson and activities my partner and I created were very well written and helped guide

Section II. Teaching Practice Question 1: The Washington County School District organizational strategies in place for teachers has increased academic student growth in my classes. Throughout the year, I participate in professional development activities that enhance my teaching skills and increase student learning. I collaborate with data analysis and colleagues to disaggregate student data, correctly identify the lowest benchmarks that students scored based on FSA performance and Washington County School District Progress Monitoring Program (three assessments from the previous year). For this reason, we develop an "Order of Instruction" for content areas based on data from various student measures that have been assimilated throughout the school year. In like manner, I meet with vertical/grade level teams during preplanning to gather resources and organize materials by units, critique online resources to incorporate new technology into daily lesson objectives. Prior to students entering my classroom on the first day, I locate my class roster in FOCUS, print out all student IEP 's and 504 's and incorporate that information into my data notebook. As a team, we meet weekly to design lesson plans, create informal/formal assessments, and collaborate with another to ensure that standards-based instruction is being implemented in our classroom. After students start the new school year and complete their baseline assessments, I meet with colleagues, data analysis and Washington

A blog and forum section for teachers to access additional information and to answer some of their frequently asked questions. The blog will provide opportunities for Dr. Oakes to add new information and updates which might come from her research or/and other teachers. Whereas, the forum section can address specific issues or concerns that will benefit teachers from across the country. It will also allow teachers to collaborate and work with each other over similar issues or concerns. The continued interaction and feedback from the blog and forum can help Dr. Oakes review the content and progress, and provide Denny with opportunities to solve individual problems in a timely manner.

This artifact addresses both standards six and seven in the artifact in several ways. Both communication and classroom management are interrelated because communication is the driving force for maintaining an effective classroom. In my 5th grade placement I realized very quickly how important communication was. If I didn’t specifically tell students what to do or repeat my instructions, I would have confusion with a handful of students in each class. This artifact is a lot more of an extensive lesson plan than my 8th grade lessons because transitions and expected behavior is a more significant issue in these grades. For example, when I had had students turn to a partner and discuss a questions, I had to go around the classroom and make sure

“No number of classroom observations will enable a teacher to demonstrate the skills of maintaining records, communicating with families, or engaging in professional growth.” (Danielson, C. (n.d.). Handbook for Enhancing Professional Practice.) Domain four of Danielson’s Framework of Teaching represents the “behind the scene” work of teaching. Mrs. Clevinger was gracious enough to share some of the elements that she encounters in this domain.

As a student in the Education Department at Saint Mary’s College, I have been assigned a set of eight standards to fulfill before graduation. Having these standards guides all students in becoming the necessary well-rounded teacher candidates needed to go into the field of education and ultimately becoming a successful teacher in the future. Each standard relates to a different area, including having a broad and comprehensive understanding of learning processes, the professional environment, and content. Throughout the last two years, I have had a number of opportunities, both in the field and in my classes at Saint Mary’s, to meet these eight standards.

In addition, a reading coach plays a huge role in the overall literacy program of the school (IRA, 2000). Many of the other information I gather about reading coaches from this research was already apparent to me, for instance assisting teachers with planning, coordinating and leading staff developments, and providing support to administering district or state assessments. Another important piece of a reading coach that I was oblivious too was reading coaches work with instructors in the improvement of rubrics and option measures for evaluating education and for instructional choice making (IRA, 2000). Although, we often met with our school’s reading specialist in regards to rubrics, it was the teacher responsibility to research and develop the rubrics on their own. An additional fact that sparks my attention is the interaction that a reading coach has with not just parents, teachers, or principals, but the school boards and community

Starting with Week 1 of my Field Observation in Ms. F’s 2nd grade classroom, there were certain behavioral regulations that Ms. F’s demanded to be met by students. You can see in the above picture that there is a small chart of what respect means and her classroom expectations. My artifact is not the chart pictured above, but rather a website that the teachers at Valerie use to not only promote good behavior but constructively punish unruly behavior. This website is known as Class Dojo. Class Dojo is a website that allowed Ms. F to register all of her students, along with their parents, in an effort to regulate behavior. Points are rewarded for good behavior, like following the rules, sitting quietly, or working on

Most of the other students in her 2nd grade classroom are able to read classroom text and complete work independently. They also read books for enjoyment on their own. The reading time in her classroom consists of a block during which the teacher works with small groups and the children are expected to work quite independently when they are not working directly with the teacher. The class uses a trade book format and this is utilized across the curriculum. Students are provided with short skills building lessons in large and small groups. Most of the time spent during explicit reading instruction is targeted to helping students develop reading fluency.

I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .