Domain IV: Practicing Learner-Centered Professionalism
Proficiency: The teacher fulfills professional roles and responsibilities and adheres to legal and ethical requirements of the profession.
To show that I engage in collaborative decision making and problem solving with other educators, I have submitted my STAAR essay prezi (below). The prezi was linked to the other educators in the department so that, regardless of which room they were teaching in, they were able to access and use the presentation. This was important because the prezi was used during STAAR testing week and the whole of the English department was displaced across the building. I have also submitted my lesson plan for writing conferences as evidence of proficiency in this domain. During a course-alike meeting, the 10th grade English teachers decided to have students write two STAAR essays back to back in one class period. This was to help show students what it would feel like to write their essays in a timed testing environment. I suggested that we use the essays to engage in one-on-one writing conferences with the students. Instead of assigning a traditional grade, I noted two areas of strength and two areas of weakness in each essay. I then asked students to do the same. We used these collective areas to discuss ways to strengthen the essays and students revised their essays focusing on the issues we addressed in their conferences.
To demonstrate that I engage in a variety of activities to continually enhance both my content and pedagogical knowledge and skills, I have attached a certificate of completion showing my participation in an Achieve3000 workshop (below). This workshop focused on integrating features of the online reading program into our weekly classroom routines. I used Achieve3000 as a warm-up activity, as it allowed students to transition into English class with silent reading. This program is also used by the other 10th grade English teachers in the department and we met as a group several times during the semester to discuss the increases in student lexile level and program benefits.
Certificate of completion for 3 hours of professional development from Achieve3000 workshop.
To show that I encourage feedback from colleagues and reflect on how I can improve teaching performance, I have submitted an observation of my STAAR essay lesson completed by my mentor teacher (below). During the planning period after the lesson, I conferenced with my mentor teacher to discuss the areas of the lesson that worked well and the areas that needed improvement. We both agreed that the one-on-one writing conferences were fruitful. Students were honest in their personal reflections of their STAAR essays and eager to discuss the ways they could improve their writing. We also both agreed that the pacing of the lesson needed improvement. I had planned to spend three to five minutes with each student, as we had an extended class period due to the testing schedule. However, several students had many questions and I spend around ten minutes conferencing with them. This presented an issue, as half the class had too much time to revise their essays and other had very little time. I do believe this is a beneficial exercise and I will certainly use writing conferences in the future with increased thought into pacing and sequencing of the lesson.
Observation completed by mentor teacher.
I also interact with students in a way that is consistent with the legal and ethical guidelines of my profession. In order to fulfill standard (3)(B)3.2 of the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators, I asked students to sit apart from each other during the one-on-one writing conferences so that their peers could not overhear our conversation. Likewise, I sat next to the student so they would not feel intimidated. I believe that this ensured that I did not “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly treat a student or minor in a manner that adversely affect[ed] or endanger[ed] the…mental health…of the student or minor.” I wanted the conferences to remain private so students were not embarrassed of the feedback they were given and open about their thoughts about their writing.