Preparation and Planning

1a. Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy

In order to guide student learning, teachers must have command of the subjects they teach. They must know which concepts and skills are central to a discipline and which are peripheral; they must know how the discipline has evolved into the 21st century, incorporating issues such as global awareness and cultural diversity. Accomplished teachers understand the internal relationships within the disciplines they teach, knowing which concepts and skills are prerequisite to the understanding of others. They are also aware of typical student misconceptions in the discipline and work to dispel them. Though, knowledge of the content is not sufficient; in advancing student understanding, teachers must be familiar with the particularly pedagogical approaches best suited to each discipline.

The elements of component 1a:

Knowledge of content and the structure of the discipline
Knowledge of prerequisite relationships
Knowledge of content-related pedagogy

Document Description: For my Elementary Senior Practicum class, I was assigned to a kindergarten through 6th grade DACC class in Idaho Falls. There I was exposed to different curriculum content to better help the students succeed at their present levels. All of the teaching curriculum books include simple ways for students with severe disabilities to understand the lesson being taught. It contains a scripted dialogue for teachers to state and repeat while teaching a lesson. I learned that the structure of these curriculum resources help the students to better understand and learn from what is being taught. I also learned that the lessons provide repeated opportunities for practice which benefits the students. Teaching lessons from these clear and concise books has provided me with the knowledge of content and the structure of discipline in which I will apply to my future teaching career.

Field Experience Report

Document Description: For my Junior Practicum class, I was assigned to work in a resource room at South Fork Elementary. There I taught students in small groups based off of their prerequisite knowledge. This is a report I wrote reflecting my semester teaching at South Fork Elementary. It states how I differentiated instruction based on their needs, and it includes ways I used the knowledge of the content standards to help them reach their current IEP goals. The experience has helped me learn to adapt lessons based on the students background information and ability levels. In the future, I plan on applying what I've learned into my future teaching career.

1b. Demonstrating Knowledge of Students

Teachers don’t teach content in the abstract; they teach it to students. In order to ensure student learning, teachers must know not only their content and its related pedagogy but also the students to whom they wish to teach that content. While there are patterns in cognitive, social, and emotional developmental stages typical of different age groups, students learn in their individual ways and may have gaps or misconceptions the teacher needs to uncover in order to plan appropriate learning activities. In addition, students have lives beyond school—lives that include athletic and musical pursuits, activities in their neighborhoods, and family and cultural traditions. Students whose first language is not English, as well as students with other special needs, must be considered when a teacher is planning lessons and identifying resources to ensure that all students will be able to learn.

The elements of component 1b:

Knowledge of child and adolescent development
Knowledge of the learning process
Knowledge of students' skills, knowledge, and language proficiency
Knowledge of students' interests and cultural heritage
Knowledge of students' special needs

Document Description: For my Elementary Senior Practicum course, I filled out a student profile form by looking at the student's IEPs to gain a knowledge of their disabilities and cultural backgrounds. I learned about each student's skills, knowledge, and language proficiency by talking to my mentor teacher. Talking with the individual students helped me gain a knowledge of their interests. In the the future, I plan on developing a deep understanding of each of my students, which will allow me to be more aware and sensitive to their individual needs.

Brochure

Document Description: For my Idaho Comprehensive Literacy #1 course, I created multiple brochures for parents that describe the different reading development levels of the children. I gathered information for my brochures from Words Their Way, by Donald R. Bear. This brochure contains information to assist emergent readers ages one to six. I learned what skills they need to work on and ways they can further develop their reading abilities. Knowing the students' skills, knowledge, language proficiency, and stages of development will provide me with important insights I will need to be an effective teacher. It will help me as a future teacher be able to better assist my students during their learning process.

Adolescence Developmental Matrix- Unit 5

Document Description: For my Child Development course, I made developmental matrices stating the milestones children go through in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescent years. Doing so taught me what children learn during these stages, and how they will act or interact with others. Added on to this matrix, is advice I would give parents of adolescent children based off of what I learned. I used The Developing Person, by Kathleen Stassen Berger to gather my information. By knowing child and adolescent development, I will be able to understand each of my students current level of functioning and how I can scaffold further instruction at their developmental level.

1c. Setting Instructional Outcomes

Teaching is a purposeful activity; even the most imaginative activities are directed toward certain desired learning. Therefore, establishing instructional outcomes entails identifying exactly what students will be expected to learn; the outcomes describe not what students will do, but what they will learn. The instructional outcomes should reflect important learning and must lend themselves to various forms of assessment through which all students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the content.

Learning outcomes may be of a number of different types: factual and procedural knowledge, conceptual understanding, thinking and reasoning skills, and collaborative and communication strategies. In addition, some learning outcomes refer to dispositions; it’s important not only that students learn to read but also, educators hope, that they will like to read. In addition, experienced teachers are able to link their learning outcomes with outcomes both within their discipline and in other disciplines.

The elements of component 1c:

Value, sequence, and alignment
Clarity
Balance
Suitability for diverse students

ED 243 Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

Document Description: For my Early Practicum Course, I created a lesson plan that clearly outlined the student's objective and the instructional outcome they will achieve by the end of the lesson. This lesson plan displayed the value of the principles being taught, the sequence of events, and how it aligned with the common core state standards. Being able to write suitable lesson plans for my students, is a skill I will continue to take with me as I become a future special educator.

Document Description: For one of my lessons in my ECSE Assessment & Evaluation class, the instructional outcome was for the students to learn how to make a protractor. I first provided a sample protractor I made to show the students the exact outcome I wanted them to learn from this activity. Students learned how a protractor worked by creating their own protractor and using it to measure items around the classroom. Showing them the finished product at the beginning of the lesson helped them to understand the end result they were supposed to achieve. This activity was suitable for all learners because during the lesson we made the protractors step by step and provided extra assistance for any struggling students. Being able to set outcomes for students in a clear and balanced way for all learners is a skill I will continue to use throughout teaching.

1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources

Student learning is enhanced by a teacher’s skillful use of resources. Some of these are provided by the school as “official” materials; others are secured by teachers through their own initiative. Resources fall into several different categories: those used in the classroom by students, those available beyond the classroom walls to enhance student learning, resources for teachers to further their own professional knowledge and skill, and resources that can provide non-instructional assistance to students. Teachers recognize the importance of discretion in the selection of resources, selecting those that align directly with the learning outcomes and will be of most use to the students. Accomplished teachers also ensure that the selection of materials and resources is appropriately challenging for every student. Texts, for example, are available at various reading levels to make sure all students can gain full access to the content and successfully demonstrate understanding of the learning outcomes. Furthermore, expert teachers look beyond the school for resources to bring their subjects to life and to assist students who need help in both their academic and nonacademic lives.

The elements of component 1d:

Resources for classroom use
Resources to extend content knowledge and pedagogy
Resources for students

assessment

Document Description: For my Elementary Senior Practicum course, I took page 7.4 out of the Getting Started Binder and talked to a school psychologist. The school psychologist was able to give me helpful insights of all the available assessments in the district. I learned the names of the tests, the type of test it was, the age range of students it tests, the main focus of the test, and the location of the tests. Overall, I learned as a future teacher it is important for me to extend my knowledge of the available resources used to determine children's eligibility for special education services.

Document Description: This piece of evidence shows the resources I used throughout my college years to help extend my knowledge on ways to assist students with special needs. During my both of my Senior Practicum classes, I learned strategies from these books to further help my student's develop their skills needed to progress in their learning. From these books and others, I was able to learn how to incorporate a universal design for learning to help make curriculum available to all students regardless of their learning styles. Learning how to become a better teacher and incorporate evidence based practices, like UDL, will prepare me to be more effective in my profession.

1e. Designing Coherent Instruction

Designing coherent instruction is the heart of planning, reflecting the teacher’s knowledge of content and of the students in the class, the intended outcomes of instruction, and the available resources. Such planning requires educators have a clear understanding of the state, district, and school expectations for student learning and the skill to translate these into a coherent plan. It also requires teachers understand the characteristics of the students they teach and the active nature of student learning. Educators must determine how best to sequence instruction in a way that will advance student learning through the required content. Furthermore, such planning requires the thoughtful construction of lessons that contain cognitively engaging learning activities, the incorporation of appropriate resources and materials, and the intentional grouping of students. Proficient practice in this component recognizes that a well-designed instruction plan addresses the learning needs of various groups of students; one size does not fit all. At the distinguished level, the teacher plans instruction that takes into account the specific learning needs of each student and solicits ideas from students on how best to structure the learning.

The elements of component 1e:

Learning activities
Instructional materials and resources
Instructional groups
Lesson and unit structure

Document Description: I volunteered in a preK-first grade moderate-severe special education class at Minnie Gant Elementary. During my time there, I observed the teacher using these instructional and differentiated materials while teaching lessons in small groups. The curriculum of these reading books accommodated to each of the students needs. Some if the students could read sentences and others can only read singular sight words. I learned that having curriculum that is adapted for each of your students needs, helps the class to work towards the same goal at a level that is most appropriate for them. As an educator, I plan to have and use adaptive curriculum coupled with accommodations for my future lessons.

Document Description: At Minnie Gant Elementary, I saw the teacher using instructional resources during her the math activities. The math activities were engaging which helped the students to be interested in learning. During the activities, some students were able to build sets independently and others needed more support, like visual prompts (red circle stickers). Practice at their academic level helped their learning needs. Planning and implementing coherent instruction are skills I plan to take with me as I begin teaching.

1f. Designing Student Assessment

Good teaching requires both assessment of learning and assessment for learning. Assessments of learning ensure teachers know students have learned the intended outcomes. These assessments must be designed in such a manner that they provide evidence of the full range of learning outcomes; that is, the methods needed to assess reasoning skills are different from those for factual knowledge. Furthermore, such assessments may need to be adapted to the particular needs of individual students. An ESL student, for example, may need an alternative method of assessment to allow demonstration of understanding. Assessment for learning enables a teacher to incorporate assessments directly into the instructional process and to modify or adapt instruction as needed to ensure student understanding. Such assessments, although used during instruction, must be designed as part of the planning process. These formative assessment strategies are ongoing and may be used by both teachers and students to monitor progress toward understanding the learning outcomes.

Document Description: For my Early Practicum course, I created this worksheet and used it as an "exit ticket" to see what the students individually learned from the lesson. I collected the data and used the information as an assessment of their learning, to gauge where each student is at in understanding the lesson given. The information shown helped guide my instruction for the next lesson to follow. Making data based decisions is a skill I plan to take with me as I begin teaching.

Document Description: For my ECSE Assessment & Evaluation class, I administered the Woodcock Johnson on a student to determine what level she was at in her learning process. From the assessment results, I was able to discover what services and accommodations should be implemented to better help her achieve her goals in school. The assessment data helped determine her learning outcomes and what steps needed to be taken next. Learning how to administer standardized tests to students and evaluate the data given is a vital skill all special educators must learn as they progress towards effective teaching.

Google Sites

Report abuse