Quality Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate mastery of and pedagogical expertise in the content they teach. The secondary teacher has knowledge of literacy and mathematics and is an expert in his or her content endorsement area(s).
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Reflection: Overall I would rate myself as developing for this standard. I feel that my level of mastery for the content I teach is quite significant, and yet I find that I am always seeking to learn and develop new concepts within my subject. Beyond this, my pedagogical expertise feels significantly more grounded following my student teaching experience. I have had the chance to try out new and different pedagogical practices daily and have also sustained a set of practices throughout the course of my experience. As such, I have come into a much better sense not only of theoretical expertise, but most importantly, how that expertise fits into the kind of teacher I want to be in practice--insofar as that is always already influenced by the students with whom I am working, and the building/collegial environment within which I work. I know I still have a long way to go and remain excited to continue to develop new avenues of practice and intellectual development.
A primary point which I would like to move towards is developing more intentionality in regard to the incorporation of multiple disciplines (mathematics, sciences etc.) into my ELA and Literacy teaching. I want my teaching to be significantly relevant to my students, and useful for them in their lives moving forward. I know that language arts has a significant part to play in the practical success of students in the world, and I believe this relevance is best unlocked through the development of an interdisciplinary practice.
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- Element a: Teachers provide instruction that is aligned with the Colorado Academic Standards, and their district’s organized plan of instruction.
- Artifact: Word Art Lesson Plan
- Reasoning Statement: Located in each of my lesson plans is first and foremost, the standard from which that lesson operates. Throughout my student teaching experience, as exemplified by this lesson in particular, I was in constant conversation with the unit plans of my team, and how they fit into the academic standards of Colorado. This lesson plan exemplifies that dialogue.
- Element b: Teachers develop and implement lessons that connect to a variety of content areas/disciplines and emphasize literacy and mathematical practices.
- Artifact: Game of Life Budget
- Reasoning Statement: Shown is an example of student partnership's budget, designed for our "Game of Life" unit for my 8th Grade Strategic Reading class. Here, students were assigned a 'family dynamic' and developed a budget situated around their financial situation, in addition to completing their normal reading practice, students developed their family dynamics and engaged literacy as it showed up in the development of a real world budget. Students applied our literacy skills and mathematical skills to 'real world' issues which will be significantly relevant to their lives in the future.
- Element c: Teachers demonstrate knowledge of the content, central concepts, inquiry, appropriate evidence-based instructional practices, and specialized characteristics of the disciplines being taught.
- Artifact: Learning Objective Slide
- Reasoning Statement: Depicted on this slide is one instance of a daily practice in my classroom. Projected on the slides are our learning objective and success criteria for the day. These depict my knowledge of classroom processes, the necessity of transparency in the classroom and success criteria in particular, and my commitment to the incorporation of current pedagogical practices.
Reflection: Overall I would rate myself as developing for this standard. I feel that my level of mastery for the content I teach is quite significant, and yet I find that I am always seeking to learn and develop new concepts within my subject. Beyond this, my pedagogical expertise feels significantly more grounded following my student teaching experience. I have had the chance to try out new and different pedagogical practices daily and have also sustained a set of practices throughout the course of my experience. As such, I have come into a much better sense not only of theoretical expertise, but most importantly, how that expertise fits into the kind of teacher I want to be in practice--insofar as that is always already influenced by the students with whom I am working, and the building/collegial environment within which I work. I know I still have a long way to go and remain excited to continue to develop new avenues of practice and intellectual development.
A primary point which I would like to move towards is developing more intentionality in regard to the incorporation of multiple disciplines (mathematics, sciences etc.) into my ELA and Literacy teaching. I want my teaching to be significantly relevant to my students, and useful for them in their lives moving forward. I know that language arts has a significant part to play in the practical success of students in the world, and I believe this relevance is best unlocked through the development of an interdisciplinary practice.
