Quality Standard 3: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.
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  • Element a: Teachers demonstrate knowledge about the ways in which learning takes place, including the levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students.
    • ​Artifact: Resume Assignment​
    • Reasoning Statement: Depicted here is the resume template which I drafted for my 8th Grade ELA Strategic Reading class. As we completed our 'Game of Life' unit, we had students develop realistic resumes which they could potentially use to secure a job over the summer. We also had students develop imaginary resumes, in which they imagined what they would like to have on their resume in ten years time. With this assignment, the students had the opportunity to think about their skills and experiences up until this point, and how to present themselves using literacy tools to an employer. Here, the site of the production of learning, while it was occurring the classroom, was not necessarily focused in an academic setting. By providing students the opportunity to think through their experiences, what they have to offer, and how to convey that, I engaged students social and emotional consideration of who they are in the world, who they want to be, how to convey that, and what that means.
  •  Element b: Teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student learning, provide feedback, and use results to inform planning and instruction.
    • ​Artifact: Exit Ticket​
    • Reasoning Statement: Depicted are student responses to an exit ticket I utilized for our lesson on TPCASTT poetry analysis. Students were asked to rate their level of understanding at a general level from 1-5, and tell me: what makes sense? Where do you need help? Through these exit tickets I saw that I needed to spend more time instructing on how to analyze shifts in a poem, as well as how to develop a complete theme statement. ​
  • Element c: Teachers integrate and utilize appropriate available technology to engage students in authentic learning experiences.
    • ​Artifact: Custom Quizlet​
    • Reasoning Statement: In my ELA 7th Grade Strategic Reading class, we read March by John Lewis. To help us learn the--at times--advanced vocabulary of the text, in addition to talking through words with students as they came up, I developed a Quizlet to help them study. Students had access to these flashcards on Google Classroom, and we also took some time out of class to 'play' the Quizlet live. This created a sense of friendly competition and teamwork, as the technology allowed for teams to compete for correct answers on the Quizlet.
  • Element d: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes to support the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving
    skills.
    • ​Artifact: Journal Prompts (With Expectations)​
    • Reasoning Statement: Shown is a sticky note which I would project onto the screen during our daily writing time. This was a known expectation which I verbally reminded students of, and the sticky note as well as the process of the visualizer and the journals themselves signals to students which behaviors are appropriate when we are writing. Over time, as students got into the groove of these expectations, they became very comfortable sharing their writing out loud with the class. By allowing space for students to share and speak afterwards, it made these expectations manageable, as well as provided a comfortable and respectful space for students to share their writing and thinking.
  • Element e: Teachers provide students with opportunities to work in teams and
    develop leadership.    ​
    • ​Artifact: Game of Life Sheet​
    • Reasoning Statement: Depicted is the introduction sheet to our 'Game of Life' unit. Students were asked to work in partnerships for this assignment and were also asked to present in front of the class. Beyond this, the material with which they were collaborating upon was frankly material which required a mature sensibility. This assignment provided students the opportunity to co-think about how to practically assemble a budget, and what a realistic family situation might look like. Their presentations positioned them as experts, in which they were able to talk the class through their research.
  • Element f: Teachers model and promote effective communication​
    • ​Artifact: My Journal Writings​
    • Reasoning Statement: Depicted is my personal response to one of our journal prompts: 'write a love letter to yourself.' Every class I made a point to, write beside my students. In doing so, I was not only able to model vulnerability in sharing my own work, and how that kind of communication could work, but also developed a bridge by which my students could genuinely see me as a co-learner in the classroom. 
Reflection:
​I would rate myself as developing for this standard. I felt that I have been effective in developing a rhythm to the classroom culture which helps counteract much of the stress of the middle school environment. The routine of the journal not only has provided consistency in my classroom, but also opened up lines of communication between students, and between myself and the students. Beyond this, while I have had the chance to try out a variety of effective instructional strategies, some my own concepts and many developed in conversation with my mentor teacher--I feel that my ability to explore different instructional strategies fell short to the necessity, practicality, and ease of flowing along with instruction which my team had already helped develop. While I did perform many interventions along the way, moving forward, I would like to develop more original and unique instruction, particular to my style and in conversation with future team members of my own.