Domain 1: Planning and Preparation Reading Wonder Aloud 1a Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy Before I chose a novel to read aloud I had to understand the content within the story and learn how I would teach the important themes the book Wonder has to offer. Throughout reading the story aloud I exhibited a proficient skill set in my knowledge of content and pedagogy. Before I read it allowed I identified the important themes and took notes for possible discussion questions to pose to my fourth grade students. During the read aloud I was able to facilitate discussion with my students that helped them relate the fictional story to real life morals. 1b Demonstrating Knowledge of Students By reading Wonder aloud and holding discussion I was able to learn the listening and comprehension skills of my students. To demonstrate proficient knowledge of my students comprehension skills I would have them journal about the novel from time to time. Sometimes the journal would simply be about how the book makes them feel and what it causes them to think about, other times I would ask more specific questions that would require a direct link to an event that occurred in the past reading. 1c Setting Instructional Outcomes During my read alouds I always inform the students of what they are to be doing while they listen. For short stories and texts from our Basil Reader, Treasures, the students were asked to simply listen and follow along, while being prepared for pauses to allow for discussion. When I read Wonder I planned my instruction a little differently. Instead of simply listening and following along the students were asked to either draw a picture of an event in the text, a picture of how the story was making them feel, or they had the option to journal about the story as I read. Many students chose the picture portion because it gave them a new medium to express their thoughts. By planning the options for the students ahead of time, and describing what they could do, it created a learning environment where they knew what would be expected of them and could flourish. By planning ahead and setting the instructional outcomes with my students before I even began reading the wonderful novel, I showed proficient ability in setting instructional outcomes. 1d Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources With Wonder my main resource was the novel itself. However, I did not allow myself to end with just knowing the novel. I took to the internet to learn about the author, R.J. Palacio. I found her biographical pages and began following her on twitter. I even found a blog she guest wrote for describing how she came up with the idea for Wonder. By being proficient in my research allowed me to utilize various resources to enhance my students learning of the important themes of the book.
1e Designing Coherent Instruction To become proficient in the designing of coherent instruction I had to learn my students, set the expectations for our read aloud sessions, know and understand the themes within Wonder, and utilize various resources to improve my lessons. By doing so I was able to develop lessons that were clear and taught valuable morals to my students. 1f Designing Student Assessments During the read aloud I utilized multiple forms of student assessment. With the specific questions I had the students journal about (as stated above) I was able to develop a summative student assessment. I planned ahead and directed the formative assessment of discussion to only touch the points I would use for journal questions, to make sure the students were showing me their own ability within listening and comprehension. Domain 2: The Classroom Environment SLANT/Thumbs Up 2a Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport In my classroom the term SLANT stood for Sit up straight, Listen attentively, Ask questions, Nod to show understanding, and Track the speaker eyes on whoever is speaking. It was used when I needed students to stop everything they were doing, sit at their desk, and fold their arms across the top of the desk in order to ensure no distractions. Thumbs up was said to help quiet the students down so I could remind them that their talking needs to be focused on the lesson. When I said thumbs up I would put my thumb in the air, and the students were expected to follow. By initiating these two management practices on day one, it let the students know that I would use these terms respectively, and in a caring way to ensure they would learn the content. At first my implementation of these practices was basic, but as the year progressed the students and I learned how to best utilize them in a proficient way. 2b Establishing a Culture for Saying SLANT or thumbs up helped me to get the students on track quickly and let them know they were in my classroom to learn. As the students became more and more acquainted with the terms and my uses for them, it became a more proficient method for classroom management. 2c Managing Classroom Procedures Having verbal and visual cues in one really helped my students get on task quickly whenever I needed their attention. If they did not hear me, they would quickly see their peers in the slant position or with their thumbs up and would follow suit. By doing the action of putting my own thumb in the air or folding my arms over each other, it also gave the students another visual cue of what was being asked of them. Having a verbal and visual cue that go hand in hand makes this a proficient method of managing classroom procedures as students sometimes need verbal cues, while their peers might prefer visual ones.
2d Managing Student Behavior SLANT and thumbs up became a very proficient way to manage student behavior. Whenever students were beginning to get too noisy or off task in any way, I could just call out SLANT or thumbs up and the class would immediately understand why I chose do to so at that time. Students even began to manage their own classmates behavior by putting their own thumb in the air when it was getting too noisy for them to work. It was very rewarding to see my students take initiative and responsibility for the classroom behavior. 2e Organizing Physical Space SLANT and thumbs up helped make the classroom a pleasant and inviting atmosphere. It is a proficient, non-demeaning, way to remind students when their behavior is not meeting our classroom expectations. Domain 3: Instruction Conferencing 3a Communicating with Students Conferencing in any subject area allowed me to easily, effectively, and proficiently communicate with my students. It created a way for me to better understand the ways each student learns best. I could then use what I learned in my conferences to develop differentiated lessons that would best teach each student in my classroom. 3b Questioning and Discussion Techniques After our first social studies test (on government and our rights) students had the option to retake the assessment because it was the first time in the year when they were expected to study. Nearly every student chose to retake the evaluation in order to improve whatever grade they initially received. Before the test retake I held a whole class conference to discuss good study habits to utilize. Students were able to brainstorm different ways to study, and then were able to utilize those study techniques in class and at home before taking the test. While they were studying in class I was able to conference with individuals to better understand their favorite study methods and learn how I can use that to develop lessons to facilitate the best learning environment for my students. The conferences proved to be proficient as every student who retook the exam was able to improve their grade. 3c Engaging Students in In our science unit on matter we often used small group, hands-on activities to truly engage the students in their learning. For one activity students were asked to estimate and then find the mass and weight of various objects. During the group work I would walk to each group to discuss their thinking process and how they were handling the task at hand, and learn their rationale for their estimations. By conferencing with each group I was able to answer any questions while making sure each student was actively engaged in the content.
3d Using Assessment in Instruction Some people excel at tests, others at written responses, some show their knowledge through communicating, while a number of students might need to do hands-on work with the content in order to show understanding. Conferencing with my students in all subject areas on a frequent basis helped me proficiently learn the ways to best assess a student s understanding of the content. For example the science unit was very hands-on, but there were also lessons on matter that were assessed in the other ways, such as presentations, written responses, and multiple choice tests. By assessing in multiple ways it allows each student to truly show an understanding of the content. 3e Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness Developing various assessments of student understanding, like in the science unit discussed above, shows a proficient demonstration of flexibility and responsiveness. I was able to conference with my students to learn their best way of showing an understanding of the content, and then utilized my knowledge in order to find the best way to perform assessments in my classroom. Domain 4: Responsibilities Journaling and Blogging 4a Reflecting on Teaching By journaling weekly I was able to reflect on my teaching through writing. Putting my reflections into words helped me better understand what I was doing well and where I needed to continue to grow. My reflections did not stop there; I would often talk with my colleges, friends and family about what was happening in the classroom. Expressing your thoughts is a great way to reflect and continue to learn. I believe that simply reflecting through journals would be a basic demonstration of professional responsibilities, however, communicating my reflections with others allowed for a proficient exhibition of my reflecting on teaching. 4b Maintaining Accurate Records I would journal and blog weekly so I would not forget important thoughts I had in my teaching. All of my journals were saved to my computer, as well as posted to my blog. Making sure I journaled each week, and having them saved in multiple places allowed me easy access at nearly anytime if I needed to go back to my reflections for a reminder of something, thus making my ability to maintain accurate records a proficient skill. 4c Communicating with Families I would like give out the link to my blog to all of the parents, as well as print off copies of my weekly post for those who do not have internet access. A weekly blog post and letter home would let the families stay up to date with what is happening in their child s classroom in a proficient manner. I would also like to get my students involved in the reflecting process and add their own posts to a classroom blog. With everyone involved in the reflecting aspect it
creates an environment where the students and I are actively communicating with families. 4d Participating in a Community My blog posts were never demeaning, and I did not mention student names. Keeping my blog posts professional was a very important aspect I considered whenever I made a post. By showcasing positive information and my thoughts I allow the community into my classroom while exhibiting a proficient display of participating in a professional community. 4e Growing and Developing ly Reflections are one of the most important factors to growing and developing in any profession, especially teaching. Teaching is a career where no two days are the same so it is vital to reflect on each day in order to learn something positive to take into the following day of class. By blogging frequently and reflecting through vocal means of communication I was able to proficiently grow and develop as a professional teacher. Domain CCSS GLCE InTasc Planning and Preparation: Reading Wonder Aloud 1a Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy 1b Demonstrating Knowledge of Students 1c Setting Instructional Literacy.RL.4.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. Literacy.W.4.3b Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations. Literacy.RL.4.7 Standard #1: Learner Development Standard #2: Differences Standard #6: Assessment
Outcomes 1d Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources 1e Designing Coherent Instruction 1f Designing Student Assessments The Classroom Environment: SLANT/Thumbs Up 2a Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text. Literacy.RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Literacy.SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneon-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their Standard #7: Planning for Instruction Standard #8: Instructional Strategies Standard #6: Assessment Standard #3: Environment
2b Establishing a Culture for 2c Managing Classroom Procedures 2d Managing Student Behavior 2e Organizing Physical Space Instruction: Conferencing with Individual Students 3a Communicating with Students 3b Questioning and Discussion own clearly. Literacy.SL.4.1c Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others. Literacy.SL.4.1b Follow agreedupon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles. Literacy.SL.4.1b Follow agreedupon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles. Literacy.SL.4.1d Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion. 4 C5.0.2 Describe the relationship Standard #2: Differences Standard #5: Application of Content Standard #3: Environment Standard #3: Environment Standard #2: Differences Standard #1: Learner
Techniques 3c Engaging Students in 3d Using Assessment in Instruction 3e Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness Responsibility: Journaling and Blogging 4a Reflecting on Teaching 4b Maintaining Accurate Records 4c Communicating with Families between rights and responsibilities of citizenship. P.PM.04.16 Measure the weight (spring scale) and mass (balances in grams or kilograms) of objects. P.CM.04.11 Explain how matter can change from one state (liquid, solid, gas) to another by heating and cooling. P.PM.04.23 Compare and contrast the states (solids, liquids, gases) of matter. 1. 21st Century Environments: Refocus education on engaging each and every learner through rich, meaningful, rigorous learning opportunities with the goal of Development Standard #5: Application of Content Standard #6: Assessment Standard #3: Environment Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration Standard #9: and Ethical Responsibility Standard #9: and Ethical Responsibility
4d Participating in a Community 4e Growing and Developing ly producing a 21st Century workforce. Standard #9: and Ethical Responsibility Standard #9: and Ethical Responsibility