Characteristic # 4: The novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all students.
For this characteristic, it is very essential for the novice teacher to understand and recognize that each student does not learn in the same way or one specific way for that matter. Every student learns differently and in different ways for various content areas and tasks. The novice teacher must be able to differentiate for their students’ needs and provide learning opportunities that benefit them as well as give them a chance to reach their full potential even though lessons will be challenging. The teacher must be able to differentiate and modify lessons where it is needed. Variety in the classroom is a necessity with things such as assessments and other required assignments, tasks, etc. for the students. Not every student is on the same level so tiered instruction is important as well.
An artifact that I would use to exemplify this characteristic is my Literacy Workstations project that was completed in Education 461. For this project, we had to plan a Tiered 1 Reading Instruction. The way in which the instruction was set up was I had whole group instruction, small group instruction and literacy workstations and writing instruction. The students were split up into high, high-medium, medium, and low level reading groups. I chose the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid to be the center of my lesson plans and majority of the assignments for my whole and small group, and my writing instruction as well as a few literacy workstations. Activities were set up to give students the chance to work individually, in pairs, and in small groups and then come back as a whole. The literacy workstations were provided with much variety by providing an “I Can…” list for students to have options to choose from for the tasks they were to complete.
These two tie in together because the Literacy Workstations project is an excellent example of showing how the novice teacher can be a facilitator of learning for all students. The teacher had to come up with tier instruction and differentiate for the different levels of students. It shows the understanding the teacher has in knowing what her students’ needs are and providing activities that match those individual needs.
Characteristic # 2: The novice teacher should be an effective communicator.
In this characteristic, the novice teacher must practice and maintain good communication skills whether it is with parents, students, or other faculty members. In order for there to be success in the classroom, a teacher must be able to effectively work cooperatively with others. Nothing will ever get accomplished if a teacher cannot verbally express reflections or needs in the classroom. When it comes to communication with students, a teacher must be able to explicitly explain instruction for lessons. Also, the teacher should be able to express praise or address where improvement is needed to each student. When communicating with the parents, a strong relationship should exist. The parents should be aware of what is taking place in the classroom and know if there is anything that needs to be done at home to continue their child on the path of success. The parents and teacher need to work as a team. Finally, when working with other faculty members, a novice teacher needs to understand they part of a team at the school as well.
An artifact I chose for this characteristic is an assignment we had to complete for Education 401. We had to complete a task in which we had to reach out to the parents of the students in our PDS classroom this semester. I wrote an introduction letter that was sent home to the parents. I had to state who I was, why I will be working their child, and some of my goals and ambitions. I also assured them that they could put their full trust in me for my time being with their child and if they had any concerns or questions to feel free to address me.
I think that assignment was a great way to show how the novice teacher can be an effective communicator. It showed my skills in expressing who I was to the parents and being open with them as well as leaving the opportunity for them to get back to me if they chose to do so.
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Buena,
ReplyDeleteI too agree that characteristic number 4 and 2 are very important qualities for teachers to have. Incorporating different strategies and learning styles into your lessons is one of the most important things a teacher can do in order to successfully reach her students, in my opinion at least. I think that your literacy workstations project is a great artifact to use for characteristic number 4. I think it is a great way to represent differentiating instruction and tiering that you would incorporate into your classroom. I also feel that it is a great representative of your teaching style and how you would create a 2 week literacy block in your own classroom.
I also agree that communication is a very important aspect in education as well because as you said, nothing would get accomplished without communication. I liked how you mentioned that communication is important with faculty, parents, and STUDENTS. When discussing communication, although obvious, many people forget to mention how important clear communication is between a teacher and her students. If communication is not clear or not effective, it will lead to a very messy semester. I think that the artifact that you chose to represent characteristic number 2 is perfect in the sense that it shows you effectively communicating with parents. I really liked the fact that you introduced yourself and what you would be doing within the classroom because I feel that parents are not aware of what our responsibility and role is within the classroom.
I feel that the letter to parents is a great representative for characteristic number 2 and would not be better placed with any other characteristic. If it did though, I would recommend incorporating this particular artifact with characteristic number 3. I believe this could be an alternative placement for this artifact because it is about the ethical standards involved in the teaching process. By writing a letter to the parents, you are making them aware of your responsibilities and duties while in their child's classroom.
ReplyDeleteI feel that your Literacy Workstations artifact could also be placed to correspond with characteristic number 5. Characteristic number 5 states that the novice teacher should have in depth knowledge of pedagogy. The Literacy Workstation project is a great representative of showing the way you run your classroom and your pedagogy beliefs.