Standard 5: Middle Level Professional Roles
Standard 5: Middle Level Professional Roles
Standard 5. Middle Level Professional Roles
Middle level teacher candidates are successful in their various roles as middle level professionals. They serve as informed advocates for all young adolescents and for responsive schooling practices. They engage with families and community members to form collaborative relationships. Middle level teacher candidates demonstrate positive dispositions and engage in ethical professional behaviors.
Components
Component 5.a. Professional Roles of Middle Level Teachers:
Middle level teacher candidates understand, critically reflect on, and are successful in their various roles as middle level professionals (e.g., members of interdisciplinary teams, advisors to young adolescents).
Component 5.b. Advocacy for Young Adolescents and Responsive Schooling Practices:
Middle level teacher candidates serve as advocates for all young adolescents and for responsive schooling practices. They are informed advocates for effective middle level educational practices and policies, and use their professional leadership responsibilities to create equitable and just opportunities for all young adolescents.
Component 5.c. Engaging with Family and Community Members:
Middle level teacher candidates value family and community members as assets. They understand the ways diverse structures and cultural backgrounds influence and enrich learning (e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, gender, culture, age, appearance, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, family composition). They enact practices and participate in activities that build positive, collaborative relationships with families and community members, leveraging technological tools to enhance engagement.
Component 5.d. Dispositions and Professional Behaviors:
Middle level teacher candidates demonstrate positive dispositions toward teaching young adolescents and model high standards of ethical behavior, including the use of technology, and professional competence. They are continuous, collaborative learners who demonstrate knowledgeable, reflective, critical perspectives on their teaching.
Personal Reflection:
What does this standard mean to me? How have I demonstrated growth and achievement related to this standard? How to I plan to grow in my professional life, in terms of this standard?
AMLE Standard 5 emphasizes the important roles and responsibilities of middle-level educators, not just inside the classroom, but including interactions with colleagues, families and community. This standard also highlights the significance of advocating for young adolescents, fostering collaborative relationships and positive dispositions.
Within the realm of my educational career, I have strived to embody the principles that are highlighted in AMLE standard 5. I have been granted the opportunity to be actively engaged with stakeholders to create inclusive and supportive learning environments. I have also demonstrated a commitment to continuing professional development both inside and outside the classroom. This will allow me to further grow in my professional life as I plan to deepen my understanding of advocacy strategies and responsive schooling practices. In addition to this, I also aim to strengthen my ability to engage with families and communities effectively. This will ultimately allow me to create meaningful and equitable opportunities for all young adolescents.
Alignment with each component:
(Component 5.a) As a student, intern, and student teacher, I have gained great insight into the various roles of middle-level professionals. This includes being a member of interdisciplinary teams and advisors to young adolescents. As briefly mentioned in another AMLE standard, during my internship and student teaching, I met with numerous other educators where we discussed our lesson plans, behavior concerns and more as a team. This allowed each of us to provide insight, feedback and recommendations for various items and even in various subjects. Through this and learning from my Coaching Teacher, I am confident in my alignment with this standard to my actions and acknowledgement of the various roles of a middle-level educator.
(Component 5.b) I have demonstrated advocacy for young adolescents by actively promoting responsive schooling practices and assisting in providing equitable educational opportunities. In many, if not all UofSC courses, we talked of the importance of utilizing our professional leadership responsibilities to create equal opportunities for all young adolescents. I used my knowledge of this from my coursework and applied to my internship and student teaching. For example, I collaborated with colleagues to search for the ideal teaching strategies in order to meet and advocate for the needs of diverse learners. In my ELA internship, I worked alongside an 8th grade educator where we spent a portion of our planning each day ensuring that every assignment or lesson was able to be sculpted in a way that all students could participate and were encouraged to do so. (During this time, there were at least six students in which English was not their first language and were not quite fluent in English).
(Component 5.c) As a student, intern, and student teacher, I have learned the importance of valuing family and community members as assets. I have demonstrated this component specifically by understanding the diverse structures and cultural backgrounds and have been able to use this to enrich student learning. Establishing and building positive relationships with stakeholders and the community is something I demonstrated especially in student teaching. During this time, I was able to attend parent-teacher meetings, staffings and even student-led conferences with other educators, staff and school community members.
(Component 5.d) I have demonstrated positive dispositions toward teaching young adolescents and modeled high standards of ethical behavior during my internship and student teaching. I have maintained open communication with students, educators and other staff communities, upheld all confidentiality and respected the diverse perspectives in the classroom. I know that this component is continuous with my professional life, and will consistently reflect on my teachings.
Relevant Artifacts:
(Component 5.a)
As a student, intern, and student teacher, I have gained great insight into the various roles of middle-level professionals. This includes being a member of interdisciplinary teams and advisors to young adolescents. As briefly mentioned in another AMLE standard, during my internship and student teaching, I met with numerous other educators where we discussed our lesson plans, behavior concerns and more as a team. This allowed each of us to provide insight, feedback and recommendations for various items and even in various subjects. While there is not a viable way to document this, I can provide a copy of a letter of recommendation from my Coaching Teacher that demonstrates my growth and accomplishments of the various roles I took on through this experience!
(Component 5.b)
I have demonstrated AMLE Standard 5, component 5.b for young adolescents by actively promoting responsive schooling practices and assisting in providing equitable educational opportunities. Specifically, I collaborated with colleagues to search for the ideal teaching strategies in order to meet and advocate for the needs of diverse learners. In my ELA internship and Science Student Teaching, I worked alongside 8th grade educators where we spent a portion of our planning each day ensuring that every assignment or lesson was able to be sculpted in a way that all students could participate and were encouraged to do so. (During this time, there were at least six students in which English was not their first language and were not quite fluent in English). Attached below is an example of documents that were translated to meed the needs of our students at that time.
(Component 5.c)
I have demonstrated this component specifically by understanding the diverse structures and cultural backgrounds and have been able to use this to enrich student learning. Establishing and building positive relationships with stakeholders and the community is something I demonstrated especially in student teaching. During this time, I was able to attend parent-teacher meetings, staffings and even student-led conferences with other educators, staff and school community members. While I cannot necessarily demonstrate this, please see the attached flyer that was sent out to all parents and/or guardians of each student when I began full-time student teaching!
(Component 5.d)
I have demonstrated positive dispositions toward teaching young adolescents and modeled high standards of ethical behavior during my internship and student teaching. I have maintained open communication with students, educators and other staff communities, upheld all confidentiality and respected the diverse perspectives in the classroom. In order to serve best as informed advocates for all young adolescents and for responsive schooling practices, I often request feedback from students and fellow educators. This allows me to grow in the community and as an educator to better the needs of each student and further develop instructional strategies. Attached below is a copy of a survey!