The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal setting.
I created a website for my students to visit and their parents/guardians to use to get to know who I am. Students need to have a relationship with me as their teacher and find out some fun information about myself. It is a great way to spark conversations in the classroom and have a chance for them to connect with me about their interests too. The website holds valuable information about myself, what my classroom policies are, and my expectations for my students.
The artifact below is the link to my website and will be displayed for students on the first day of classes within their syllabus. This demonstrates indicator 4I, which states, "Creates a safe and healthy environment that maximizes student learning." I created this website to invite my students inside my classroom, which means they are entering a space filled with knowledge they will learn. They are entering the classroom where I will provide them a space safe for them to learn without feeling scared to ask questions. My students who are seeing this page are acknowledging that I am a teacher who cares for who they are and wants to learn about them. At the same time, I am showing them how our learning environment is going to be a community effort and we need to respect each other to help all of us grow together.
On my website, there is a space that talks about welcoming everyone into my classroom from different backgrounds to know they are acknowledged. This demonstrates indicator 4J, which states, "Creates clear expectations and procedures for communication and behavior and a physical setting conducive to achieving classroom goals." At the beginning of the year, it is important to me to state my clear expectations, so students know from the start what is expected in my classroom.
Teaching students whom I will have for 9 months, five days a week, and see 45 minutes; they begin to be curious about who I am. It is fun to share my interests with them because I begin to learn more about who they are too in the process. It is important to learn more about your students, than just knowing their first name and giving them a grade.
The artifact below is the PowerPoint for my students to get to know me better and be involved in learning about myself. This has helped me learn more about my students too, because they are willing to share more with me, as I am sharing details about myself too. This demonstrates indicator 4D, "Understands factors (e.g., self-efficacy, positive social interaction) that influence motivation and engagement." Students have been happy to raise their hands to share if they are the youngest too or if they have animals. It helps build upon conversations with students for the future and remember the small details about them to bring up later in the school year.
The engagement of the students from this PowerPoint has led me to learn about my students a little more, which is helpful when planning out lessons. This demonstrates indicator 4Q, which states, "Analyzes student behavior data to develop and support positive behavior." Having students raise their hands and be excited to share with them is always a joy. Also, it allows me to analyze who is on the quieter side of not wanting to share out loud, so I could engage with them at a different time.
Yes, I have been to Disney 15 times.
How Well Do You Know Ms. Buentello-2.pdf