Ms. Yorke's
Standard #9: Reflection and Continuous Growth
The teacher is a reflective practitioner who uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, families, and other professionals in the learning community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Summary: To me, this standard means that I must constantly be gauging my effectiveness as a teacher and reflecting on my lessons in order to evaluate how well I am meeting the needs of my students.
Artifact 1: Video Reflection
Essential Knowledge: 9 (g) Understands and knows how to use a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies to analyze and reflect on his/her practice and to plan for adaptations/adjustments.
Description: For my teacher work sample, I filmed a lesson I did on box plots. I watched the video and assessed my performance on everything from style of presentation, to clarity, to classroom climate. In the video, students were involved in a hands-on activity in which they constructed box plots from noodle lengths.
Rationale: This assignment encouraged me to reflect on and think critically about my teaching. I noted the positives in the lesson, along with the things that I would change about it. I noticed that I had improved on praising students and encouraging their participation, but that I still needed to be conscious of when I am moving too fast or skipping important steps that not all students understand. This guided my future lessons as I ensured that I would continue with what aspects worked well, while aiming to be more explicit when doing examples or explaining new material. Analyzing videos of my teaching is an excellent tool in understanding the perspective of the students and reflecting on my teaching style.
Artifact 2: Panorama Survey
Critical Dispositions: 9 (l) Takes responsibility for student learning and uses ongoing analysis and reflection to improve planning and practice.
Description: This survey was given to my students about halfway through the semester. Students were asked a number of questions regarding their relationships with me and how effective they believe I have been as a teacher. The surveys were anonymous which allowed students to feel comfortable being honest in their resposes.
Rationale: These surveys were only viewed by me and were used to help me gauge what areas of my teaching I needed to improve upon. The results of the survey were honest and showed me that I needed to be more clear in my instruction and hold students to higher expectations. These were the two major areas that I focused on in the last several weeks of my experience. The survey also showed me what areas I have achieved in, proving that students were engaged in my activities and that I have formed positive relationships. I continued to work hard in these areas as well as they are my strengths and are extremely important in creating a comfortable classroom climate.