The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
The pictures in the collage above were taken during the 2023-2024 school year at Bloom Trail High School. These pictures are of a professional development seminar I participated in on a district institute day. We were given scenarios to respond to in groups (each group received a different scenario where a students IEP or 504 plan was not being met in some way and we had to come up with ideas on how we would respond to the scenario in order to fulfill the IEP or 504 plan), we learned about the different backgrounds that our students come from that they bring with them when they enter our school, and we also learned how to support students with IEPs, 504 plans, tough living situations, and ESL students.
By participating in this district institute professional development day, I showed that I am able and willing to "participate in professional development, professional organizations, and learning communities" in order to "enhance personal growth and development" (9O). This is essential to improve as an educator. I also show that I "reflect on professional practice" and "adjust practices to improve student performance, school goals, and professional growth" (9K) by continuing to grow and develop as a teacher by reflecting on myself and how I can improve in order to meet the needs of my students.
From this Institute day I learned that each student is different and has a unique background that they come from before they come to school. This is important to know because each student has their own needs and each individual needs genuine caring support to meet their unique situation in order to provide the best education and emotional support possible regardless of what barriers they may be dealing with . When working as a team with my colleagues and my students it is through genuine care that my students are able to overcome their barriers and receive the quality education and support that they deserve. If a student thinks that I don't genuinely care for them or they have actually had a bad experience with another educator who did not genuinely care for them then they may be unwilling to let us help them which in turn would mean that they may not overcome their barriers or that because they are untrusting of staff due to a failure to build an authentic relationship the students barrier may actually get worse and they may not receive the education that they deserve.
The pictures in this collage were taken during my student teaching semester at Thornwood High School. These pictures are of a professional development seminar I participated in on a teacher institute day. We were asked questions and given scenarios that we performed a free-write individually before sharing and discussing our thoughts with other staff in attendance.
By participating in this teacher institute development day, I showed that I am able and willing to "participate in professional development, professional organizations, and learning communities" in order to "enhance personal growth and development" (9O). This is essential to improve as an educator. I also show that I "reflect on professional practice" and "adjust practices to improve student performance, school goals, and professional growth" (9K) by continuing to grow and develop as a teacher by reflecting on myself and how I can improve.
From this Institute day I learned that I must learn about my students as unique individuals whose backgrounds/cultures/ and life are unique and never replicated by another student in my classroom. I must make sure that students know they are genuinely cared for and safe in my classroom. This is important because every student who walks into my classroom deserves to be respected for the unique individual that they are, and by caring for them and respecting them I not only earn their respect but also establish proper relationships with my students and open the path for communication with them and their families. I also learned to collaborate with other educators and staff which is important since it is through collaboration that as an educator I can improve and grow by learning from others who have different viewpoints, ideas, and experiences than myself.
The pictures in this collage were taken during my student teaching semester at Thornwood High School. These pictures are of a practice tornado drill that I participated in and of a medical supply bag that exists in each classroom that we are instructed to grab and take with us in the event of an emergency/evacuation.
By participating in this emergency drill and being aware of the medical supply bag I show that I "understand emergency response procedures" and "school safety and crisis intervention protocol, initial response actions, and first response to medical emergencies" (9C). By participating in this drill I also show that I "reflect on professional practice" and "adjust practices to improve professional growth" (9K) by improving my own knowledge of procedures that could save the lives of my students in the event of an emergency.
By participating in this tornado drill I learned where I should direct my students to go and what they should do in the event of an emergency. This is important to my development as a teacher since the students safety at school is my top priority in an emergency situation. By being aware of the medical supply bag, I can follow protocol by grabbing it on our way out of the building if necessary, but also I would have the supplies necessary to provide first aid as needed to students.