Narrative

TPE 2 outlines the expectations for beginning teachers to create positive, inclusive, just, productive, culturally responsive, and respectful environments necessary for student engagement and learning. This standard focuses on a teacher's understanding and use of appropriate social and emotional learning (SEL) activities and practices to elevate students' understanding of themselves as productive and responsible members of a learning community. Teachers are expected to engage with students in their personal development as learners, and hold high and clear expectations not only for learning but for behavior in the classroom.

The artifact that I have chosen to respond to TPE 2 is the Masters thesis that I wrote for the University of Redlands MALT program. My thesis focuses on the nature of power in the classroom and the role of the teacher in constructing a positive environment where students feel empowered and motivated to learn. Although this version of the thesis is redacted to protect the privacy of the teachers that I interviewed, it includes my thoughts on creating environments that support student learning.

The most important thing I learned from my research, interviews, and analysis is that creating a supportive classroom community—particularly with adolescents—is the most important step in fostering meaningful student engagement and deeper learning. Students need to feel comfortable cooperating with one another, working with everyone in the classroom, and offering their ideas publicly. Lesson plans, technology, projects, activities—none of those will develop self-directed learners without a supportive, safe, playful, and rigorous community.

We need to move from managing to trusting adolescents. We must raise our expectations, not just for intellectual achievement but for behavior and character. If we do not create a comfortable, supportive, and inquisitive community of learners, we simply cannot expect students to do the genuinely hard work of learning collaboratively, respectfully, and thoughtfully. This work is not about the relationships between teachers and students; it is about creating a community of learners who trust one another enough to question and grow together. We need communities that are strong enough to struggle, to argue, to listen, and to respect. My goal is to help students learn how to teach themselves, and one another, in a collaborative and joyful environment.

Artifacts / Evidence