INITIAL LICENSURE PORTFOLIO
Part II
Part 2 - Content Knowledge and Instructional Practice
Theme: Candidates demonstrate the ability to thoughtfully describe, critically analyze, and insightfully reflect upon the use of content knowledge and assessment, planning, and instructional strategies to implement creative, rigorous, and engaging learning.
Standard 4: Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Performance Criterion 4.1 Candidates accurately communicate central concepts of the discipline.
Description:
It is important as an educator to make sure content is accurately communicated to students. Accurately teaching the material to students requires having strong pedagogical content knowledge. Some teachers have a deep knowledge of what they teach. Some teachers must spend a substantial amount of time to prepare before teaching to make sure students receive accurate content.
A teacher’s day doesn’t end when the students go home. Teachers spend a significant amount preparing lessons to make sure the content they teach their students is engaging and accurate. As a student teacher I learned that teachers receive at least one planning period at school per day. Unfortunately, that planning period is rarely used for planning. We are usually using that time to have a meeting with a colleague, sending emails home, or grading papers. The majority of teachers spend weekends and before and after school prepping and planning their lessons.
Effectively teaching content requires a knowledgeable blend of instructional strategies, content knowledge, and classroom management skills (Meador, 2019). Being knowledgeable in the content being taught may require you to conduct research. Taking the time to study what you are are going to teach is better than saving time and teaching the wrong content. As a teacher you should know what you are going to teach, why, and how you are going to teach it. It should be taught in a way that is appropriate for your students so they will be, and remain interested in the lesson. Classroom management is a way to ensure student learning and to make sure the content is being communicated accurately and clearly to students. If the lesson is well planned and engaging students should remain alert. It is when students become bored or confused that they may disrupt the lesson or stop listening (Meador, 2019).
Analysis:
Accurately teaching content to students is essential. As a student teacher, much of the content I taught to my students was new to me. It had been a long time since I had been in the first grade. Even though I had learned much of the material prior to teaching it, a lot of it was done differently than where I attended school. For instance, one math lesson I taught, which is shown in my video, was adding or subtracting one or ten from a two digit number. With the EngageNY Eureka math program it is done by using a place value chart. When I was in school we would take the one or ten and line it up vertically to the number it was being added or subtracted from and solve the problem. Luckily the math program comes with entire written out lessons that include the problem set, exit ticket, and homework worksheets. The Eureka math program also has every lesson shown on a Powerpoint slideshow. Lessons are typically taught using the Powerpoint presentation. In order to prepare for every math lesson, I view the Powerpoint presentation and read the full lesson plan.
At the beginning of every Eureka math lesson there is a target statement. The target statement for lesson five was “Identify 10 more, 10 less, 1 more, and 1 less than a two-digit number within 100.” The first thing I do with every math lesson is take apart the target statement. With this program they tend to use words that are unknown to first graders. I was told this is because when a student is introduced to the proper words and their meaning from the beginning, they can grow up using the correct terms. I went over the word identify, more, less, and two-digit number. They were familiar with more, less, and two-digit number. I replaced the word identify with find. When I am teaching a lesson I find it effective to use sticks with students names on them. There is a stick for each student and it is placed into a can. This way they never know who will be called on, and they all have an equal opportunity to share.
Reflection:
As a student teacher I spent a substantial amount of time preparing for lessons. It was important to me that I accurately taught the content to the students. Some of the material was new to me and some of it was familiar, but done in a different way. I most enjoyed creating my own lessons. When creating my own lessons I usually only chose topics for which I had a lot of knowledge. It took a lot more time to do so, but when I taught my own lessons I felt more confident teaching them. I hope to be able to create as many of my own lessons and materials as possible as an educator. It can be very time consuming but as the years go on I can reuse the material.
I am confident that I can accurately teach concepts to my students. I can recognize whether I’m teaching the concepts accurately as well. If I’m assessing the material taught and it is appropriate for the grade taught but the majority of the class didn't do well on the assessment, then I know it was probably something I did. It could have been the delivery, or I could have taught the concept incorrectly. If only a couple of students were unsuccessful at it then I know it may mean that those students need a little extra help.
In the video attached showing my math lesson, the majority of the students understood the concept. With the math curriculum set up it is easy to accurately deliver the material. It is all laid out for me and I am able to follow the powerpoint for accuracy. In the second lesson in the video, I was discussing impulse control and how to properly identify emotions. This topic, though I had never taught it before, was not new to me. There were a couple moments when I referred to the book to make sure I asked to correct questions, but other than that I was confident in my delivery. At first students had a tough time accurately answering the questions I asked so I tried rewording the questions, and then gave an example when rewording didn’t work.
In the last segment of the video, I was teaching a fun Green Up Day activity. I found the material and idea on Teachers Pay Teachers and knew my class would love it since it was a hands-on assessment. Students had to write complete sentences describing how they would be kind to the earth, a promise to the earth, and a way to help the earth. All three writing prompts pretty much had the same meaning, just reworded. Many students had trouble following the directions. I believe I clearly communicated the directions, had an anchor chart with sentence prompts, and even had a completed example I had done. Even with clear expectations many did not write full sentences. They only wanted to write the example. After gathering the class’s attention and explaining the expectation again, the majority rewrote it correctly.
There are many steps in accurately communicating material to students. I believe it begins with being well prepared and making sure I take the time to fully plan and understand the lesson. When actually delivering the lesson, sometimes it takes repeating or rewording the material and questions. Not everyone is going to hear or understand correctly the first time. It is also helpful to have multiple means of representation. Not all students learn the same way. Some, including myself, need visuals. Many learn hands-on. With everything I’ve learned on accurately teaching material one of the most important things I need to remember is everyone makes mistakes or forgets things. If I incorrectly teach a fact or stutter over my words, I can do it again. It’s better to repeat or correct myself then to teach the wrong material.
Standard 5: Application of Content for Transferable Skills
Performance Criterion 5.1 Candidates engage learners in applying perspectives from varied disciplines in authentic contexts.
Description:
It’s important when teaching students, to integrate cross disciplinary skills. Cross disciplinary skills include problem solving, communication, creativity and critical thinking. Cross disciplinary skills allow learners to use the content to solve problems, create understanding, and propose solutions (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011). Interdisciplinary teaching increases student learning and allows students to integrate different disciplines to solve real life problems. When students are able to apply knowledge gained in multiple disciplines it can increase student interest as well.
Interdisciplinary learning is a good opportunity to teach students real life problems. Real life problems are typically related to several disciplines and require more than one to come up with a solution. “Students engaged in interdisciplinary learning often find the content more exciting and relevant, especially if teachers can connect the disciplines not only to each other but also to the past and present in a way that relates to students' lives” (Educational Broadcasting Corp, 2019).
Interdisciplinary learning has become more prominent. In my experience, it seems that it occurs most of the time without trying to plan something with multiple disciplines. One issue that occurs with interdisciplinary learning is finding the time to plan and teach it all. Many classrooms have students who are pulled out for different interventions so it’s especially hard to find the time for those students to make the work up.
Analysis:
For Earth Day and several days after I did several lessons with the students to teach them ways to care for the Earth. I began with teaching what reduce, reuse, and recycle meant by The Magic School Bus Gets Recycled by Anne Capeci. This book was a good way to introduce the concepts of recycling. I then showed an Earth Day video on YouTube. The mini lessons led up to a bigger Earth Day project that used interdisciplinary skills. The Earth Day project required students to write three complete sentences, one on each heart that shared promises they made to the Earth. The first sentence prompt was “I take care of the Earth by”… and students finished the sentence with examples we drew out by communicating together as a class. The second prompt was “I promise that I will never”…, and third prompt was I promise that I will always..... After writing complete sentences with correct punctuation, students colored the Earth and hearts. They then had to cut out all the parts and turn them into a mobile. This project used creativity, problem solving abilities, art, literature, and science. Tying these disciplines and skills together, made for a meaningful learning experience.
I found when teaching multiple disciplines that all the students were interested in some aspect of the lesson. It allows students to show their learning in different ways which may be of more interest, to them personally. The majority of the class enjoyed art projects but for those who didn’t, they found the written prompts to be interesting.
Reflection:
It is more interesting as a teacher to use an interdisciplinary approach to learning. In the Earth Day lesson was more hands-on and creative. I could have just read a book to the class, but I decided to go further, and make it into a literacy, science and art lesson as well. Student’s were able to apply real life knowledge and skills to this project. Every student had some background knowledge of the basics of how to take care of the Earth. They all knew that littering was harmful to the Earth. In our discussion as a class, students were able to take what they previously knew about taking care of the Earth, and new knowledge obtained from the book and video, to make a list of promises they would make to the Earth.
I felt this project would work for various grades in elementary school. It could have been modified by changing the sentence prompts to make it more difficult, or easier, by only drawing pictures of how they would help the earth. It was nice to see so many students enjoy this lesson and take something away from it. Usually, with most lessons, there is someone who doesn’t want to participate. This was not the case with my lesson.
I feel confident that I could continue to integrate multiple disciplines into my lessons. In the first grade, I feel that art and creativity are tied into every lesson already. Many of them are always adding a picture to their work to display their understanding. Regardless of the grade I teach or discipline I know there will be ways to incorporate interdisciplinary learning.
Standard 6: Assessment
Performance Criterion 6.1 Candidates implement multiple methods of assessment to monitor learner progress to inform instructional practice.
Description:
Knowledge is attained by interpreting and receiving information. The learner's ability to organize, structure, and use information in context to solve complex problems can be, assessed. There are multiple ways to assess student learning in elementary school. The multiple forms of assessment fit into one of two categories, formative and summative (Northern Illinois University, n.d.). Formative assessment provides feedback while learning is occurring and during the instructional process. Formative assessment can measure teacher and student progress. For example, when executing a new activity, the teacher can determine whether or not the activity should be used again through observation. The primary focus of formative assessment is to find areas of learning that may need improvement. Formative assessments are usually not graded and are to used determine if the instructor implemented appropriate activities and methods (Northern Illinois University, n.d.).
Examples of formative assessment are in class activities, observations during classwork, reflection journals that are only periodically reviewed, homework, and peer reviews. I have used most of these methods of formative assessment in the first grade. During my plant unit, I gave an observation journal to each student. The purpose of the journal was to observe their seeds growth. They reflected and drew in their journals one to two times a week.
Summative assessments occur after the learning has been completed. It provides feedback and information to assess the teaching and learning process. Usually, no more learning takes place during summative assessments. Summative assessments are given to students at the end of a unit to assess their learning. Grades are usually an outcome of summative assessments. They indicate whether the student has had a sufficient level of understanding (Northern Illinois University, n.d.).
Examples of summative assessments include rubrics, exams, portfolios, and final projects. Rubrics are usually given to students before they begin working on a project so they know what is expected of them. Rubrics also can help educators be fair when determining a final, summative grade. They follow the same criteria students use to complete the project. Exams are another summative assessment. I used exams or tests frequently in the first grade, but usually only for math. During each math unit I took two of the exit tickets and an end of module assessment and used them as summative assessments. Analysis:
Exit tickets are given every morning following the previous day’s lesson. They are used to assess whether the student retained what was taught. The two exit tickets are chosen when the curriculum is written, so it is not random. The students do not know that we use two of their exit tickets for assessment.
During the unit I took two exit tickets and used them as summative assessments. The day after the last lesson in the module, a unit test is given to each student. The day of the final assessment we have math groups.There are four math groups of four students and they rotate. One group uses the Laptops to play Zearn. Another group reads math based books. The third group usually uses iPads to play a math game. The last group sits at the teachers table and takes the final assessment. My mentor teacher has them sit at her desk because some of the students have a hard time reading the math problem. She says it’s math test not a reading test, so if someone needs the question read to them, she doesn’t hesitate. This is why they sit in a small group of four at the teacher's desk.
I have given two final math assessments during my time student teaching. At this age I have noticed little testing anxiety. The two exit ticket samples that are shown in the student assessment link each scored 100%. The exit tickets were done in the morning without any assistance. This shows me they understood the content that was taught the day before. Looking at the final end of module assessments I was able to gather that both students understood the content taught. The first student’s test had a couple incorrect answers and that was only because they may not have had the centimeter cubes lined up flush against each other. I came to this conclusion because each answer was only off by one centimeter cube. It was also the only section of the test that the student had trouble with. Looking at the remaining tests taken, the only incorrect answers were the same as student one. They were off by one centimeter cube when measuring objects.
Reflection:
Looking at the assessments that were given to the first graders, I gathered that the majority of the students understood the content that was taught to them during the module. If I were to use the assessments to analyze my own teaching, I would say I need to reteach how to use centimeter cubes to measure objects. It was the only section of the test that students had trouble with. I could also try having students use the centimeter cubes that snap together. That type of fine motor coordination might be hard for some six year olds.
I believe assessments should be done to educate and improve student achievement, not merely to audit teacher and school performance. Too often assessments are used to measure teacher performance. There are many factors that can affect test scores, other than teacher performance. You can usually tell whether it was teacher performance if the majority of the class got low scores, or if they all had trouble on the same part as I observed on the math unit test.
In my opinion, I prefer to not give tests for summative assessments in first grade. Although the first grade students didn’t seem stressed or upset about taking the unit test, they seem too young to be subjected to test taking this early in their schooling. Luckily math is the only subject area they take tests in. There are so many other creative and fun ways to assess students, I would prefer to stick to those methods.
Standard 7: Planning for Instruction
Performance Criterion 7.2 Candidates plan instruction by drawing upon knowledge of learners to meet rigorous learning goals.
Description:
Students with disabilities, behavioral issues and learning delayed skills may be eligible for an individualized education plan (IEP). An IEP is a plan that outlines special education instruction, supports, and services students may need to succeed and make progress in school (Baumel, 2014). Each IEP is designed by a team to meet the students exact needs. The IEP team may consist of the special educator, the general education teacher, the parents/guardian of the student, the principal, and any other support service individuals that may be beneficial to the student.The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires certain information to be included in the IEP. IDEA doesn’t specify how the IEP should look, so they vary from state to state. One part of the IEP that is the same are the goals. Goals are specific to the students current needs as a result of the disability. Goals should describe what the student will accomplish in a year (Baumel, 2014).
There are many benefits to IEPs. The IEP process begins with an evaluation to show the students strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation results allow the parent and school to create a program of services and supports to meet the students needs (Baumel, 2014). There are many services and supports that come with IEPs. Students can receive individualized instruction that focuses on improving skills specific to the student, accommodations, or other related services, like speech-language therapy. IEPs allow parents to be involved in decisions that impact their child’s learning goals. All of these services and supports can help the student find success at school (Baumel, 2014).
Analysis:
There are a few students in the first grade that have an IEP. I have included a copy of a current IEP for one student. This student currently has a significant intellectual delay and has a difficult time in all areas of school. The student’s IEP has behavioral, social, and academic goals. Examples of some of the goals include following words from left to right and top to bottom, complete dressing and undressing within the same timeframe as their peers, learning number names and count sequence. This student has many accommodations included in their IEP. Accommodations include body breaks, extra time to complete assignments, shortened assignments, have assignments and tests read aloud, and be given a visual schedule to help with transitions throughout the day.
I cannot imagine this student’s day without the proper supports and services in place. The supports and services are all possible because of the IEP. There are many students on IEPs throughout the school. They all have varying levels of services and supports, based on the their needs. When working with this student I made sure to give the appropriate accommodations. In class during individual work time, I accommodated the student by reading the directions aloud, and by scribing for them. It was also helpful when I shortened assignments. An example of this was when each student in the class made a fractured fairy tale. This student had an adult do all the scribing and also suggest ideas for their story. The student was able to come up with some ideas on their own, which was fantastic. There were instances when the student needed to take an extra break from the room. When this particular student takes a body break from the room they now require an adult to follow. This is due to recent episodes of elopement.
Reflection:
I have been familiar with IEPs from the parent perspective for many years. Working with IEPs as a teacher is completely different. I feel like there is more I can do to help and support the student as a teacher. I am the one who is able to help the student make strides by making sure the student receives the proper supports and services.
Aside from teaching, I feel the number one job as an educator is to keep all students safe while meeting their needs. As an educator, I can meet all the needs of my students with proper planning. I can read through IEPs and attend meetings so I can properly plan instruction based on students’ needs. It is essential to know all your students’ IEPs. As a new educator, I believe I have the confidence to meet all my students needs. I believe it will be very time consuming in the beginning, but it is possible and beneficial.
Standard 8: Instructional Strategies
Performance Criterion 8.2 Candidates use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Description:
I have always had a love for plants. When I found out I had to create my own unit, I knew I wanted it to be about plants. The plant unit I created consisted of six lessons over six days. I used a variety of instructional strategies for my six lessons. Using a variety of instructional strategies can encourage learners to build skills to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. Instructional strategies are techniques used by teachers to help students learn and gain more information on the subject being taught (Persaud, 2019). Instructional strategies are not only used to help students learn the material, but they also make the lesson more fun.
There are a variety of different instructional approaches and strategies that can be used effectively and with different learning styles. Different teaching strategies include active learning, group-based, assessment-based, and organizational strategies. Active learning strategies include think pair share, and exit tickets. The majority of my lessons included exit tickets. The group based instructional strategies include peer instruction and debates. Assessment based teaching strategies include homework and open book tests. I never gave any homework with my lessons, but there were multiple methods of assessment, including discourse and worksheets. Organizational strategies include knowledge charts. These are KWL charts, where students write “what they know”, “what they want to learn”, and “what they have already learned” (Persaud, 2019).
There are a number of different instructional strategies. There are enough options to suit every learning style, and options that allow students to think critically. Instructional strategies not only benefit students but they also benefit teachers. They allow teachers to see whether their students are understanding the concepts being taught.
Analysis:
Teachers are best prepared when they utilize a variety of instructional strategies instead of always using one or two. Using a variety of strategies assures that students are never bored. When I taught my plant unit, I found that students stayed attentive and interested in the lessons. Each lesson was substantially different, as well. My first lesson began with basic plant anatomy and function. Some students had a hard time following the first lesson. I planned an experiment in another lesson to visibly show the students the function of the stem. The experiment placed the stems of white flowers into cups with different colored water. Within a few hours all the students were able to visibly see the function of the stem. The colored water had traveled up the stem to the white flower, turning it a different color. This is an example of the ways I used multiple means of representation.
Throughout all of my lessons, I used a variety of instructional strategies to insure students could apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. I recognized this weeks after the plant unit ended. We were all outside for recess and students were bringing me various seeds they found on the playground. They had all remembered the concepts of seeds and told me that was the start of another plant or flower. They wanted to expand their knowledge by learning what type of plant or flower the seed would grow into. It was such an amazing feeling to observe how taking the time to create and teach my own interactive lessons had on sixteen young lives.
Reflection:
I was surprised with the amount of instructional strategies available to teachers. After looking through my plant unit I found that I mostly stuck to active learning strategies. Although I only stuck to active learning styles, I didn’t use the same strategies. I felt like my students enjoyed the lessons I designed and taught. They were engaged throughout the lessons and were even able to apply their learning several weeks later.
As I was planning and teaching my plant unit, I began to realize why teachers typically do the plant unit in May. When we began the plant unit everything outside was still dead. It would have made for a more interesting, hands on unit if I had waited. That is the one thing I would have changed about my lesson, waiting another six weeks before beginning it. Many ideas I had involved going outside and gathering plants and flowers. I wanted to add one lesson where we dissected plants and flowers. This would have given the students a first-hand account of the anatomy of plants.
Plants can be an interesting subject to teach students. I have found that students typically enjoy learning about topics they experience in their everyday lives. Plants are all around us. I believe since I used a variety of instructional strategies throughout the unit, it helped keep students interests going. One day we would read, another we did an experiment, another day would be an art project, and they even got to grow their own marigolds.
As I continue to teach, my goal is to experiment with more instructional strategies. I love using hands on learning in the classroom. I find students are able to retain the information taught when they can manipulate it themselves.
References
Baumel, J. (2014, September). What is an IEP. Retrieved from Parenting website:
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2011). InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards : A Resource for State Dialogue. Retrieved from here:
Educational Broadcasting Corp. (2019). Interdisciplinary Learning in Your Classroom: Explanation. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from Concept to Classroom website:
Meador, D. (2019). How Investing Time in Preparation and Planning Pays Off for Teachers. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from ThoughtCo website:
Northern Illinois University. (n.d.). Formative and Summative Assessment. Retrieved from here:
Persaud, C. (2019, March). Instructional Strategies: The Ultimate Guide | Top Hat. Retrieved May 1, 2019, from Top Hat website:
Sorcinelli, M. (2011). Explained Course Material Clearly and Concisely. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from Ideaedu.org website :