Narrative

TPE 1 includes expectations for many of the most significant behaviors and skills that beginning students need to master to become successful teachers who support all learners. Teachers are encouraged to communicate with students and their families to become familiar with each student's significant prior experiences, background, language needs, and funds of knowledge. When lesson planning, teachers should try to connect content to real-life contexts of interest to students, provide active learning experiences, and encourage reflection, critical and creative thinking, and student-directed inquiry. Following the best-practices guidelines of UDL, teachers should incorporate multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression, including the visual and performing arts. finally, teachers should monitor students' learning through multiple formative and summative assessments, and modify instruction to meet student needs.

The artifacts that I have chosen for TPE 1 are two purpose-made instructional videos that I produced for my student teaching online, and a final synthesis paper from MALT 604 concerning literacies for diverse learners. The two videos were created to make the esoteric processes of DNA-RNA transcription and protein synthesis more engaging and easier to understand for online learners. Rather than only presenting the material in traditional lectures, I provided the videos so that the students could rewatch, stop, and consider the information as needed. The video format also encouraged me to make the language very clear and spare, which the students appreciated!

The MALT 604 synthesis paper addresses the language support needs of English-language learners and others who could benefit from language supports. To support English-language learners, the curriculum must be amplified, not simplified. The conclusion is that ALL students benefit from scaffolded and enhanced language instruction, from language learners to accelerated learners. My goal is to daily consider the needs, goals, and prior knowledge of my students when designing instruction that amplifies and clarifies the subject matter to support all students' learning.

Artifacts