| Electronic Portfolio |
| Competency | Reflection | Evidence of Growth |
| Competency 001 – The teacher understands human developmental processes and applies this knowledge to plan instruction and ongoing assessment that motivate students and are responsive to their developmental characteristics and needs. | Development is a crucial aspect of success because it defines a student's range of potential growth. In the following examples, this understanding is demonstrated in both theory and practice. The observation of my son and his pre-reading skills shows how I modify my "instruction" while reading to him as his ability to participate increases.
The essay on the expert vs. the novice demonstrates some of the theories associated with learning and development. A teacher who has mastered this competency will understand how to incorporate the habits of an expert into her lesson plan at the appropriate developmental stage for her students. |
Observation
Expert vs. Novice |
| Competency 003 – The teacher understands procedures for designing effective and coherent instruction and assessment based on appropriate learning goals and objectives. | This is the teacher's art. In an ideal world, students would come to class happy, healthy, and well fed, without problems at home or school. They would be eager to learn. As all of these side issues are sluffed off, the core responsibility of a teacher is teaching.
In the following unit plan, I hope that I have demonstrated skill in designing instruction, skill that includes both knowledge of the material and knowledge of my students. I also hope to refine this skill with experience. |
Unit Plan |
| Competency 004 – The teacher understands learning processes and factors that impact student learning and demonstrates this knowledge by planning effective, engaging instruction and appropriate assessments. | To an extent, I think this competency is merely the ability to coordinate the skills demonstrated in the previous two competencies. "Learning processes" and "factors that impact student learning" include development, as in competency 001, but they extend to also include factors such as learning disabilities, poverty, interest, and ability. Thus, the ability to plan instruction based on this information is essentially an extention of competency 003.
To this end, I think the syllabus I created for Business English best demonstrates this competency because it illustrates some of the ways I might respond to different needs as presented by students, whether that be reinforcing a lesson, meeting privately to go over information, or extending deadlines and modifying assignments as the need arises, whether due to personal reasons or academic ones. |
Syllabus |
| Competency 005 – The teacher knows how to establish a classroom climate that fosters learning, equity, and excellence and uses this knowledge to create a physical and emotional environment that is safe and productive. | Sensitivity to the student and his needs makes all the work of instruction possible. In other words, if an excellent instructor makes students feel unwelcome or unsafe or even if he or she neglects to make students feel comfortable in the classroom, all the talent of teaching is lost on that student.
For students to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom, attention must be paid to student-teacher relationships, student-student relationships, and to the layout of the classroom and its furniture. Another key factor is teacher training and compensation, which is addressed in the following essay. |
Teachers |
| Competency 008– The teacher provides appropriate instruction that actively engages students in the learning process. | Providing appropriate instruction is quite different from designing appropriate instruction. This instead involves being able to identify what is and is not beneficial for students as well as being able to identify characteristics of good instruction. The following analyses of websites demonstrate these abilities. | Review of Website |
