INTASC Core Standards
(Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium)
STANDARD 1: CONTENT PEDAGOGY
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
Reflection
Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. My philosophy is continuing to develop and evolve throughout my educational and practical experiences. It is important to utilize the best practices that have been developed and refined through scientific and professional research. However, this alone will not make you a successful teacher. Knowing how to educate and motivate children is an art form. Imparting knowledge to our youth is an important and purposeful goal. The integration of scientific practices and the art of delivery is something that needs to be continually challenged and refined.
My review of the Joint Position of the International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children
STANDARD 2: STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support a child's intellectual, social, and personal development.
Reflection
I believe in a cognitive constructivist view of learning, it is important to start where the child is developmentally by providing appropriate materials that allow the child to be successful, yet challenged. The teacher and student must actively work together to form a dynamic, interesting, and interactive learning environment that encourages questioning and investigative young minds.
Literacy Bag for students and their caregivers
The literacy bag allows families to become actively involved. It provides parents the resources needed to assist their child in developing reading skills and comprehension.
STANDARD 3: DIVERSE LEARNERS
The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
Reflection
Students are diverse in their abilities, learning styles, and needs. Each student has been exposed to different experiences prior to entering school. Our instructional methods need to accommodate and embrace these diversities. Creating a supportive environment in which each child feels valued and purposeful assists in motivating and educating students within your classroom. Cross-curricular instruction allows you to captivate and engage students while providing the most efficient and powerful lessons. Education needs to be a positive, meaningful, and fun experience for both the student and teacher.
Cinderella Around the World Unit
This unit utilizes children's literature to develop an awareness about different cultures while using a similar theme. After completing the unit, there are fun and interactive games and activities that can help the children gain more in-depth knowledge about the various cultures. Completion of these activities can assist the teacher in evaluating students.
STANDARD 4: MULTIPLE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
Reflection
Each child's special in their academic abilities and learning preferences. That is why it is vital to provide differentiated instruction, diverse hands-on learning experiences, and assistance for all students. The use of technology within the classroom can assist the teacher in providing a variety of learning opportunities for her diverse group of students. While creating my net quest activity, I tried to incorporate a variety of learning strategies and activities that would encourage the student to become more independent and assume responsibility for his or her own learning, while being sensitive to include a variety of learning styles.
STANDARD 5: MOTIVATION AND MANAGEMENT
Timed Repeated ReadingThe teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Reflection
Motivation is a vital component to successful learning. The teacher faces a difficult challenge to motivate all students. Motivation is very personal. One motivational strategy may not necessarily work for another. It is important to understand each individual and help develop their intrinsic motivation. Too often extrinsic motivation is overly developed. This type of motivation, while beneficial in the short term, can create more problems. The child no longer strives for the simple pleasure and reward of a job well done. One way to avoid this would be to limit the use of external motivators.
Artifact
This activity helps children develop fluency in reading. Children become very motivated when they have visual documentation of their improvements. Remember, this activity only works if the child is successful and reading enjoyable books that are on his level.
The Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand." Illustrates children learn best when involved and motivated. "
STANDARD 6: COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY
The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction within the classroom. Technology can be very beneficial in providing diverse learning experiences. The children of today need to develop the technological skills for tomorrow's global economy.
Reflection
Everyday the demand for understanding and the ability to effectively use technology is becoming more evident. Our students will need to have the skills and confidence to compete in tomorrow's global job market. The use of technology within the classroom can assist the teacher in providing a variety of learning opportunities and differentiated instruction for her diverse group of students.
Artifact
Interactive Power Point Lesson
STANDARD 7: PLANNING
The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
Reflection
A teacher that has thoroughly researched and planned is more prepared and readily adaptable to the varying and diverse experiences within the classroom. Planning helps an educator provide a concise well- designed educational experience for all students that focuses on students developing higher order cognitive skills.
Artifact
Bloom's Taxonomy ~ a classification of intellectual behaviors that are important in learning.
STANDARD 8: ASSESSMENT
The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner. The teacher must understand the students' strengths and abilities while selecting the most appropriate and reflective assessment.
Reflection
Assessment is the evidence that learning has taken place and to what extent. The teacher must understand and utilize a variety of assessment strategies to assure that she is accurately measuring the knowledge gained as a direct result of her instruction. I have selected an article review that discusses the students role in monitoring and assessing their own abilities. It is important to foster a sense of academic responsibility that will assist the student throughout their academic career.
Artifact
Topic – Implementing Best Practices in the Field
Review of the Article: A Comprehension Checklist: What if it doesn’t Make Sense?
STANDARD 9: REFLECTIVE PRACTICE: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
Reflection
Education needs to be a positive, meaningful, and fun experience for both the student and teacher. I value education and feel that it is important to continue to challenge yourself to stay current and developing professionally so that you best serve your students.
Artifact
My hot list contains a section that is dedicated to professional teaching organizations that help set the standards for the industry.
STANDARD 10: SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students' learning and well-being.
Reflection
Each child should benefit from an education that is specific to his or her needs, sensitive to his or her feelings, experiences, and family… their culture. Culture influences our thoughts, beliefs, and our experiences. We must teach children that they are important and valued. In order to do this we must show them inspirational leaders that look and act just like them. We must infuse positive multicultural literature and awareness into the elementary curriculum.
Multicultural education is a field of study and an emerging discipline whose major aim is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups. One of its important goals is to help all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society, and to interact and communicate with people from diverse groups in order to create civil and moral community to that works for the common good. Our classrooms are becoming more diverse. A look at a 1990 census shows that the American population has changed more noticeably in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth century, with one out of every four Americans identifying themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian (Gould 198)
Artifact
“Hazel Rochman (1993) in her book Against Borders, explains the overall purpose of multicultural literature. She says,
A good book can help to break down [barriers]. Books can make a difference in dispelling prejudice and building community: not with role models and literal recipes, not with noble messages about the human family, but with enthralling stories that make us imagine the lives of others. A good story lets you know people as individuals in all their particularity and conflict; and once you see someone as a person - flawed, complex, striving - then you've reached beyond stereotype. Stories, writing them, telling them, sharing them, transforming them, enrich us and connect us and help us know each other. (P. 19)” (Higgins,J.J., 2002) "
