Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
• Reflecting on lesson plans and improving them for next time
Rationale: I make it a point to reflect on each unit that I teach. I take notes for myself on how the lessons flowed, if the activities were interesting to the students, if the lessons truly met my objectives, if I would make any changes and what those changes would be. This shows my willingness to learn from my mistakes and successes.
• Professional Dev.
Rationale: I view Professional Development as a critical part of keeping our teachers up-to-date on the best ways to make teaching easier and more effective. Because of this, I look forward to participating with my school district's P.D. days! I enjoyed the P.D. days that I was able to participate in and felt as though I walked away from the experience with a lot of helpful information. I love those little opportunities to learn how to be a better teacher!
• Weekly updates to supervisors
Rationale: Throughout my student teaching experience, I was asked to email two supervisors weekly updates on what was going on in my classroom and my reflections. This was not only to their benefit, however, as this gave me yet again a chance to reflect on my lessons on a weekly basis. These updates, however, were not strictly about my lessons. I also was able to sit back and reflect on my relationships with my students. As part of my reflection process, I always take the time to make notes as to how I might change my approach to either the lesson or the student.
• Observations of co-op and other teachers
Rationale: During my student teaching experience, I spent the first week observing my cooperative teacher in his classroom. The last week I was student teaching, I went to four other teachers in the facility and observed them as well. While observing all these teachers, I took notes on their teaching styles and techniques, including how they managed their classroom and how they made their objectives clear for their students. These notes will be added to my student teaching binder for me to keep and refer to in the future.
• Mock interview with principal
Rationale: Toward the end of my time student teaching I was able to sit down with the Jr./Sr. High School's principal and go through a mock interview. This was tremendously helpful, as I felt I learned a lot. Not only did I gain a better understanding of the questions that might be asked of me during an interview, but I gained confidence in my own answers. This gave me the chance to reflect on how I would really answer these, sometimes, tough questions. I also learned some of my strengths and weaknesses when it came to the interview process.
Rationale: I make it a point to reflect on each unit that I teach. I take notes for myself on how the lessons flowed, if the activities were interesting to the students, if the lessons truly met my objectives, if I would make any changes and what those changes would be. This shows my willingness to learn from my mistakes and successes.
• Professional Dev.
Rationale: I view Professional Development as a critical part of keeping our teachers up-to-date on the best ways to make teaching easier and more effective. Because of this, I look forward to participating with my school district's P.D. days! I enjoyed the P.D. days that I was able to participate in and felt as though I walked away from the experience with a lot of helpful information. I love those little opportunities to learn how to be a better teacher!
• Weekly updates to supervisors
Rationale: Throughout my student teaching experience, I was asked to email two supervisors weekly updates on what was going on in my classroom and my reflections. This was not only to their benefit, however, as this gave me yet again a chance to reflect on my lessons on a weekly basis. These updates, however, were not strictly about my lessons. I also was able to sit back and reflect on my relationships with my students. As part of my reflection process, I always take the time to make notes as to how I might change my approach to either the lesson or the student.
• Observations of co-op and other teachers
Rationale: During my student teaching experience, I spent the first week observing my cooperative teacher in his classroom. The last week I was student teaching, I went to four other teachers in the facility and observed them as well. While observing all these teachers, I took notes on their teaching styles and techniques, including how they managed their classroom and how they made their objectives clear for their students. These notes will be added to my student teaching binder for me to keep and refer to in the future.
• Mock interview with principal
Rationale: Toward the end of my time student teaching I was able to sit down with the Jr./Sr. High School's principal and go through a mock interview. This was tremendously helpful, as I felt I learned a lot. Not only did I gain a better understanding of the questions that might be asked of me during an interview, but I gained confidence in my own answers. This gave me the chance to reflect on how I would really answer these, sometimes, tough questions. I also learned some of my strengths and weaknesses when it came to the interview process.