Reflect upon your experiences this semester with meeting the competencies under Domain #4 (Professional Responsibilities). Consider what artifacts and documents you have which fulfill this domain.
You may reflect upon experiences such as in-service days, workshops, and other professional training, camp and tutoring experiences, coaching, conference attendance and/or presentations, and membership in professional associations, like NSTA, PSEA, etc.
This blog represents the first draft of the reflective essay you will use for Domain #4 in your professional portfolio.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU MADE IT! GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FULL-TIME EXPERIENCE!!!
Professional responsibility is a very important part of being a teacher. This domain is not about a specific subject area; instead, it is about what the teacher does related to school, outside of school. This domain includes teacher relations with other school personnel and parents as well as what the teacher is doing to better his/herself as a professional in the field of education.
ReplyDeleteAn important part of teaching is reflecting on what you taught; what went well and how could you improve. I co-taught a math lesson on fraction computation with a peer in my Math Methods class. In domain 4, I included my reflection on that lesson as an example of a reflection after a lesson that went well.
One responsibility of every teacher is keep accurate records. I observed a struggling reader at my methods placement and took notes to assess her strengths and weaknesses as a reader, and how to help her continue to advance in her reading ability. I observed her during whole group instruction, interviewed her on her views of reading and writing, listened to her read in a guided reading group, gave her a Dibels test, did a running record assessment on her, and did a miscue analysis of her reading all in hopes of gaining a more complete picture of her as a reader.
Teachers must communicate, not only with students, but with adults at home as well. During my SED 272 class, I created a second grade newsletter. This type of home-school communication would be used on a weekly basis to help keep parents up-to-date on what is going on in their child’s classroom.
Students are not the only people who need to learn; teachers must also continue to learn. Growing and developing professionally comes in limitless forms such as researching, attending conferences, being a member of educational organizations, giving presentations, tutoring, and many more.
Domain 4 of Danielson’s four domains is Professional Responsibilities. This domain is fairly broad and contains quite a few components; reflecting on teaching, maintain accurate records, communicating with families, contributing to the school and district, growing and developing professionally, and showing professionalism. I believe I have touched upon all of these components, some more than others but all of them. Component one, reflecting on teaching¸I believe I do this after every time I teach. I make sure to reflect back on my lesson, on what went well and on what I need to improve. It is very important to reflect on your own teaching, if a teacher is not they are failing their students and themselves in not trying to be the best teacher they can be. The second component, maintaining accurate records, has become a large component for our Reading class. Our Reading class requires us to write anecdotal records on one struggling student in our field placement. I was very surprised how much this assignment taught me; I have learned so much about my student, his strengths, his weaknesses, and his behaviors. My teacher recently told me that my student is being looked at for ADHD and I told her after observing him for a few weeks, I definitely believe he has it. I never realized how much you can learn about a person from quietly observing them across the room, it’s amazing! The third and fourth components are communicating with families and contributing to the school and district. In the service learning project, Project Wild, I was able to achieve both of these. I have not had the chance to communicate with any families at my field placement but, Into the Wild allowed my classmates and I to interact with a lot of parents and families. Many parents and children showed up two Saturdays ago for Into the Wild. Although most of our teaching was towards the children, many of us interacted with the parents whether it was asking them where they were from or giving them instructions on where to go next. It is very important for every teacher to include parents and family in their child’s education! The fifth component is growing and developing professionally. Similar to component one, this is huge! All teachers should strive to do their best and push their students to be their best! The education program and curriculums around the world are constantly changing, so teachers must stay up to date with this and grow and change as the times do. The last component, showing professionalism, means every teacher should make right and positive decisions because they are role models and they are representing the school they are teaching in; the decisions they make reflect their district.
ReplyDeleteDomain 4, professional responsibilities, is the one domain I have the most practice. I have attended many training sessions for special needs and I am currently certified in CPI non-violent crisis intervention. In addition to this, I am certified in first aid and CPR. I have also attended two autism classes, one on speaking, and the other on behavior. I am a member of NSTA, PSTA, and SPSEA. I am the service hour coordinator for Education Club, and in charge of coordinating Ronald McDonald visits to cook meals, along with many other things. I am also attending and speaking at a science convention to gain a better idea on how to teach science to all students.
ReplyDeleteI have also done a vast amount of reflecting on myself as a teacher. For many of my field placements, I would have to write a short one-page summary about how I did that day and what I saw in the classroom. In addition to this, I wrote a reflective essay on the missed opportunities to incorporate social studies into the everyday curriculum.
In meeting with the competencies under Domain #4: Professional Responsibilities. I have included the following artifacts. A monthly newsletter to keep in contact with parents or guardians and to keep them up to date on what is happening in the classroom. I will also include that I participated in Scouting University by helping to teach girl scouts about Communication and the Media. I also participated in Camp Curtain's Lights On activity where students came to the school to do fun science activities. I taught students how to build things out of biodegradable packing peanuts and water. I also participated in Into the Wild a science activity for children from the age of 3 to 6. I taught the 3 and 4 year old children about Pennsylvania forests and nature. These activities have helped me to see why volunteering and participating in after school and weekend activities is great for students and children because it teaches them something new, that they might not learn in school. It is important for teachers to realize that participating in the community helps to show professionalism, grow and develop professionally, and help parents realize that teachers are dedicated to helping students learn. Also if teachers reflect on their teaching they will learn from their mistakes or come up with better ideas to teach next time they teach a specific lesson. Also in maintaining accurate records, students and teachers will have a better understanding of how well everyone is doing and how well that student is doing. Communicating with families and the community is important because parents/guardians and the community have a lot to offer schools and students in helping them learn. I am also a member of Ed Club, NSTA, and PSTA.
ReplyDeleteIn Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities, there are many artifacts that I wanted to include in this section. Every week after my junior block placement, I wrote a blog on my experiences from the week. This blog helped me reflect on my co-operating teacher’s teaching style as well as how different subjects were being integrated. The blog also had me thinking about how I would integrate things in my classroom. Also with junior block, I had a supervisor observe me on three different occasions. Each time, she wrote a list of everything that went well and what I need to improve upon. These observations will help with my professional growth as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteDuring my field placement in junior block, I presented a lesson plan on the Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Afterwards, I wrote a reflection based on my lesson. I was able to reflect upon what went well as well as what I would change for in the future. This reflection also allowed for me to see the growth in my teaching. Since my sophomore year when I taught a similar lesson to pre-kindergarteners I have grown a lot as a teacher and have become more confident in what I am teaching. Throughout the semester, I also observed one student in the class who struggles in reading and writing. During this time, I kept accurate records of her through anecdotal records as well as personal interviews. At the end of this case study, I wrote a reflective essay about the whole process. This was beneficial to me because I was about to get to know the student better and learn how to help her become a better reader and writer. It is interesting how shy she was in the beginning and by the end of the semester she opened up a lot to me.
In my technology class I made a blog to share with the parents of the students in my classroom I think that it is important to keep open communications with parents. The blog would allow for comments between parents and myself frequently. On the blog I will give a brief description of what is happening in the classroom everyday. This is a way to spark student and parent conversations at home. In SED 272: classroom management I created a lot of artifacts that pertain to classroom environment. One artifact was a newsletter that gets sent home to the parents. I think monthly newsletters are another way to welcome parents to join the class in various events as well as keeping them updated on others.
As an artifact in my social studies methods block class, I compared a geography worksheet from a 5th grade class to a geography worksheet given to 2nd graders. I analyzed the layout of the worksheets as well as the different types of questions that were asked. After doing this, I realized that before giving students worksheets, they should be looked over to insure that the worksheet would benefit the child academically.
Under Danielson's Domain 4, Professional Responsibilities, I have several artifacts that demonstrate a sense of professionalism.
ReplyDeleteIn a sample classroom newsletter written in ED 272 (Classroom Management), I informed families of the different projects and units taking place in my 3rd grade classroom. I included student quotes in order to give students a sense of ownership in the newsletter. I also included reminders for parents, upcoming special dates, and contact information for the families’ convenience. I plan to send home a similar newsletter in my own classroom because I believe that family communication is vital in order to develop a relationship between teacher and family members so that the teacher and families can work as a team to promote learning.
For the past 2.5 years, I have had the opportunity to be a “Big Sister” to a (now 11-year-old) girl in the mentoring organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters. During my time as a mentor to this child, I have had the opportunity to see her mature and overcome some of the struggles she faces. This program has allowed me to see the progression and positive impact that mentoring has on a child’s self-esteem. While this program is meant to assist the “Little,” I know that it has also helped me grow and develop professionally. I am able to see more clearly the behavioral and emotional impact that a child faces in a challenging home situation, and adapt my approach to meet a child’s individual needs.
I plan to attend and present at a Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association conference in December of 2010 after completing a workshop sponsored by the Office of Environment and Ecology. In this event, which will allow me to participate in a professional community, I will present a lesson based on the resources, Growing Up Wild and Project Learning Tree. During the presentation, I will speak about a lesson I implemented for early childhood children during a college sponsored event for the community called “Going into the Wild.” During this event, I guided a team of volunteers to assist students during the execution of the lesson where students learned about parts of a tree while creating tree body-tracings.
In my methods block field experience blog, I reflected upon my professional experiences in the field paired with content learned in class during my methods block courses. Each blog posting responds to a different prompt that I reflect with the professional experiences I am seeing and participating in.
Under Domain #4, Professional Responsibilities, I have several artifacts from my education classes and fieldwork experiences that demonstrate the competencies under this domain. These artifacts demonstrate my ability to reflect on teaching, maintain accurate records, communicate with families, participate in a professional community, grow and develop professionally, and show professionalism.
ReplyDeleteThe first artifact in this domain is a certificate from an Autism Spectrum Connections Workshop that I attended here at Elizabethtown College. The goal of this training was to educate and perhaps change perceptions one may have about life on the autism spectrum. Participating in this workshop allowed for me to grow and develop professionally as an educator, as well as allowed for me to participate in a professional community. This workshop included other teachers, school psychologists, family members, and many others that gave many different perspectives and stories about autism that helped me grow as a teacher.
Also in this domain I would include all of my Into the Wild lessons and certificates. Into the Wild was a science event for children ages 3 to 6. For this event I created a lesson plan and taught the lesson for children ages 3 to 4. The children were able to explore environmental concepts through art, music, drama, and other activities. The lesson that I created allowed children to explore which animals call the forest their home. Participating in this event allowed for me to communicate with families, participate in the professional community, grow and develop professionally, and show professionalism. I will also be able to present my lesson at a PSTA conference in December for other educators.
The third artifact would be a Kidwatching Reflection that I complete during my Methods Block fieldwork. During my fieldwork, I kept anecdotal records of a student’s strengths and weaknesses, did a miscue analysis noting aided and unaided recall, and completed a reflection. This reflection reflects on all of my experiences with this student while I was at the school. This reflection demonstrates my ability to reflect on teaching and maintain accurate records.
The fourth artifact in this domain is a newsletter that I created to go home with first grade students during the first week at school. Sending weekly or monthly newsletters home with students is a great way to get family members involved in the students’ education. As a teacher, I am definitely a firm believer in getting family members involved in their students’ education, and I feel newsletters are one important way I can get them involved. This artifact demonstrates my ability to communicate with families.
Overall, I feel that these artifacts demonstrate the competencies under Domain # 4, Professional Responsibilities. I have a few artifacts that fit under this domain that I am debating whether or not to include them. Hopefully in the next week I will be able to decide which 4 to 5 artifacts would demonstrate my best work under this domain.
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ReplyDeleteUnder Domain #4, Professional Responsibilities, I believe that I have valuable knowledge and experience. Over the course of my field placement and educational studies I have been able to develop a deep understanding about my responsibilities, as a teacher, both in and out of the classroom environment. This domain is extremely important when becoming an efficient, effective, and beneficial teacher because it requires one to reflect on their teaching, maintain accurate records, communicate with families, participate in a professional community, grow and develop professionally, and show professionalism. I have been able to generate a variety of artifacts that demonstrate my awareness of these professional responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteMy first artifact under this domain demonstrates my ability to accurately reflect on my instruction and educational experience. I believe that though my reflections I am able to grow professionally. I can use my evaluation of what went well and what did not go well in order to plan for future instruction. Through my reflections I am able to become more capable at planning, developing, and executing a lesson. The artifact included in this portfolio is a reflection from a reading lesson that I taught about birds that cannot fly. This reflection incorporates my strengths, weaknesses, and what I learned from instructing the lesson with a small group in a third grade classroom.
Another artifact for this particular domain is a Reading and Writing Analysis on a student in my Junior Block field placement. This analysis demonstrates my proficiency at maintaining accurate records. Through this Reading and Writing Analysis I took anecdotal notes, interviewed the student of study, did a reading miscue analysis, and collected samples of the student’s writing. Through these procedures I was able to further examine and explore what skills the student had developed, what skills were developing, and what needed to be taught to help this student further succeed.
Two more important elements under this domain is communication with families and showing professionalism. I displayed both of these factors during parent-teacher conferences in my Junior Block field placement. Throughout the course of the conferences I took valid notes on different issues and topics that are addressed during conferences, how to act professionally as a teacher during conferences, and how to make sure that the focus of the conference stays on the student and not on the home-life gossip. In addition to attending conferences, I have also developed an online blog so that parents, students, and teachers can maintain open communication with one another.
Finally, I have been able to show my participation in my professional community through my involvement in extracurricular activities revolving around the education field. I am currently a member of PSTA, NSTA, and the Ed Organization at Elizabethtown College. I have attended science workshops on Project Learning Tree and Growing Up Wild and will be attending a science convention in December. I have also volunteered at a “Light’s On” event located in an urban school setting.
In conclusion, Danielson’s fourth domain is one that should not be forgotten. For if a teacher does not remember their professional responsibilities outside the classroom then they will truly not succeed as an educator.
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ReplyDeleteDomain 4 of Danielson’s is Professional Responsibilities. I have compiled several artifacts that I feel meet the criteria for this domain.
ReplyDeleteThe first artifact is an informational piece that talks about a community agency in Lancaster, Aaron’s Acres. Having knowledge of the services your community and the surrounding communities allow you to offer important resources to parents and guardians of students with disabilities. This artifact demonstrates professional responsibilities because you are communicating with families, participating in the community, and showing concern and professionalism when dealing with your students and students’ parents’ needs.
The second artifact that I have chosen for this domain is a letter to my students and their families. This demonstrates professional responsibilities by promoting communication with parents/ guardians, showing professionalism, and growing and developing professionally. The letter shows my interest and knowledge in the field of education. It is written in a light tone but also demonstrates my professional demeanor.
A reflection on co-teaching in math is my third artifact. The reflection demonstrates my growth and development as a professional because I can dissect my lesson and my performance and see the things that went well and the things that need to be changed in the best interest of my students. Reflecting on teaching is the best way to change strategies that may not work best and tailor your instruction to each of your classes’ needs. Not all students learn the same, reflecting allows you to be a flexible teacher.
I will be including my case study of our student when it is completed. This however, will demonstrate how to maintain accurate records of your students’ reading comprehension and writing skills. The case study also allows professional growth because we had to conduct a running record and miscue analysis. Based on those tests, we then had to give a plan of action for the student in reading and writing. What strategies will be most effective based on what skills the student already has developed and what is developing.
Domain 4, professional responsibilities contains many important individual achievements. To show my reflection on teaching I will be placing my kid watching project here. This is where I observed a student throughout my junior block placement, conducted a miscue analysis, asked questions on reading and writing based on the student's opinion, collected writing samples as well as kept anecdotal records for 10-15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI created a portion of a lesson for Into the Wild for children of the age of 5 in life cycles. I presented this lesson to the students with their parents present. I received a certificate for training for Into the Wild and Project Learning Tree.
I was able to attend a LED conference with guest speaker Rick Lavoie in April of 2010. Here he discussed the challenges of special education.
For many years, I have coached children of all ages. I have taught children how to play soccer as well as how to swim. Being able to coach children has been a positive experience and has helped push me to become a better educator. I cannot wait to pursue a teaching career with the hopes of coaching a team one day.
Under Domain #4 Professional Responsibilities, I feel that I have many artifacts that fulfill this domain. In these artifacts, I reflect on teaching, maintain accurate records, communicate with families, grow and develop professionally, participate in a professional community, and show professionalism. By having these artifacts, I will grow and develop
ReplyDeleteprofessionally and will become a better teacher.
The first artifact is a co-teaching lesson plan with a reflection. After teaching the lesson on shape and color patterns, I reflected on what I would do next time if I were to teach it again. I also discussed what I felt was successful with the lesson. The second artifact is maintaining accurate records. It is a reflection on taking anecdotal records, student interviews, reading and writing analysis on a struggling student. After obtaining this information, I reflected on what I learned as a future teacher.
The third artifact is a newsletter that portrays communicating with families. Families are informed of dates to remember and what his or her child is learning in school, and upcoming dates. The fourth artifact is parent conference tips which show professionalism. I came up with what do before, during, and after a conference. This applies to Kindergarten through 6th grade.
I created a lesson for Into the Wild from the book Growing Up Wild. After creating the lesson, I taught it to five year olds and their parents watched too. The lesson was based on Grow As We Go in which students learned about the baby, child, and adult of a person and animals. They learned about the life cycles. This reflects participating in a professional community. I also have certificates for training in Growing Up Wild and Project Learning Tree. This reflects growing and developing professionally.
I am a member of Education Organization, NSTA, and PSTA. I am attending a PSTA conference in December. All of these artifacts are very important. If I did not have these, I would not be able to communicate with families and grow professionally. These artifacts reflect on my teaching and show how I would become a better teacher. In order to succeed in teaching, teachers and parents need to learn how to communicate in order to learn how to help their child succeed.
Powerful teaching and learning extends beyond the classroom, and as a future educator, my role in helping my students extend their learning beyond the classroom begins in expanding my own knowledge through professional development.
ReplyDeleteFrom my methods block classes, I have several examples that demonstrate domain #4. In social studies, I wrote an essay that reflects on the practice of integration of subjects, especially social studies, in order to create an authentic and powerful learning experience. For reading and writing, I did a case studies project in which I learned about how to best support struggling readers and writers. As a service learning component for science, our class prepared for and directed environmental education activities for three to seven year olds for Into the Wild. I learned about flexibility and practiced leadership skills.
On December 2nd, I will attend the Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association Conference in Hershey. Along with others from our class, I will present our unit from Into the Wild. The conference will be a great opportunity for me to learn more about science and science education and be part of the professional realm.
Outside of my methods block classes and my placement, I am also active in furthering my educational knowledge and resources. I also have included in my portfolio a certificate of the completion of a training in which I participated for a drug and alcohol use prevention program for 6th and 7th graders. The program is called All Stars and is a research-based program developed to delay the onset of drug and alcohol abuse in teens and preteens. Having participated in the training, I am now certified to teach this curriculum and am looking forward to the opportunity to do that during December and January.
One of the most amazing experiences that I have had in my professional development has been the opportunity to intern at the Susquehanna Waldorf School this semester. I have been passionate about Waldorf education for many years and in the past few months have been able to volunteer in the first and second grade class – assisting the teacher, interacting with the children, and observing the curriculum. It has enriched and deepened my love and knowledge of the philosophy and my desire to pursue further education in this area.
Most pre-service teachers do not have too much experience in Danielson’s fourth domain of professional responsibilities. However, throughout my junior block classes, along with other education classes I have taken at Elizabethtown College, I have had the opportunity to experience some of these responsibilities. I have had to opportunity to participate in many experiences through my science methods class. We developed a science day for preschool aged students where students could come and explore Pennsylvania’s environment. My peers and I planned the activities for the event using a new environment and ecology book for pre-school aged students. My class also attended the professional training day to learn how to use a new Environment and Ecology activity book from project learning tree. We also planned a “Lights On” event at Camp Curtin elementary School in Harrisburg to show students their schools are open to them even after school hours. We are also going to attend the Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association conference in December 2010 in Hershey Pennsylvania, and we are going to present some of the activities we had done in either the “Into the Wild” event, “Lights On,” or a literacy connection we had completed in our class. In our reading and writing methods class, we had to reflect on a lesson we taught in our field experience. I reflected on my lesson on singular and plural nouns. In my classroom management class, I created a template for a classroom newsletter. I plan on using this in my future classroom to keep family members up to date about what is going on in our classroom. I am also a “Big Sister” in the Big Brother, Big Sister program. I mentor my little, and also help her with any homework or projects she may have. I have been my little’s “sister” for three years now, and it is very powerful to see how much a mentor can positively impact a child’s life. I will strive to be a positive influence and mentor to all of my future students. Finally, I am also a member of NSTA (National Science Teachers Association), and PSTA (Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association). I believe these two associations will help me to stay up to date on current educational issues.
ReplyDeleteA teacher is always a student as well. Danielson’s Domain #4 of Professional Responsibilities encompasses the ideas that teachers are always learning and growing just like the students that they teach. As technology grows and new strategies are developed, it is the job of the teachers and the schools to grow with the changing times. I have done many things to improve my professionalism and grow to be a better person as well as a better teacher.
ReplyDeleteI have been to an Autism workshop, interviewed people, teachers, and companies, planned and implemented science activity days as a service to the community, I have spoken at a conference about a new early childhood science book that is new to the teaching community, been a part of many professional organizations such as Elizabethtown Education Organization, Student PSEA, NSTA, PSTA, Kappa Delta Pi, and worked with a variety of students in and outside the classroom.
It is important that teachers grow with the changing times and I feel that any classes, workshops, books, and advice should be welcomed with open arms.
Under Domain four, Professional Responsibilities, I have several artifacts that display my commitment to strengthen my overall skills as an educator as well as utilizing my talents in the community.
ReplyDeleteThe first artifact is a certificate from an Autism Workshop I attended sponsored by Youth Advocate Programs. The workshop focused on disseminating basic information about autism as well as trying to change the negative connotation associated with autism. This workshop was very helpful because I was able to gain information needed to be able to better understand a child with autism. Plus, autism is now affecting almost 3 out of 99 children so it is very important as an educator to be equipped with the knowledge and skills of how to handle a student that is on the autistic spectrum.
The second artifact is an introductory lesson outline for Into the Wild. Into the Wild was a service project my methods class and I created where we utilized the Come into the Wild resource from the Department of Education which consisted of lesson ideas of ways to integrate environmental education into early childhood classrooms. By using this resource we were able to create a morning of hands-on environmental science experiences for children ages 3-6 and their families. Three themed rooms were designed for certain age levels and planned for an hour and a half time slot for children to complete various lessons from the book, Come into the Wild. I was put in charge of coordinating the introduction for “The Life Cycle Room” which consisted of twenty-five five year olds. This service project was a great way to better understand how to utilize an educational resource as well as how to coordinate a community event.
The third artifact is a social studies lesson that integrates math. This artifact demonstrates my dedication to professional growth and development as an educator. There are several drafts of this lesson plan to show the many versions that were developed before the final product. These numerous drafts show my persistent and willingness to enhance my lesson in order to ensure that student’s have an optimal learning experience.
The fourth artifact is a brief paragraph detailing my role as Scouting University Program Coordinator 2011. It depicts my professional responsibilities and duties of my role. Plus, it gives insight into the planning and coordinating of this large scale community event.
Other artifacts in this domain are photos from another service project I was involved in at Camp Curtain in Harrisburg entitled Lights On, proof of membership into professional organizations such as NSTA and PSTA, certificate of volunteer hours for Ed Org, certificate of KDP international honor society membership, and proof of participation in PSTA conference as well as presenter.
In conclusion, all of these artifacts fulfill the domain of professional responsibilities because they demonstrate my ability to use my knowledge and resources to coordinate various service projects that reach out to the community as well as showcasing my constant mission to grow and enhance my skills as a professional educator.
In Domain 4, Professional Responsibilities, I feel that I have accumulated a broad range of artifacts that show my professional commitment. I have attended an Autism Awareness seminar that covered what Autism is, first signs of Autism, and the symptoms that go along with Autism. Even though I have an early childhood concentration, I might have a child in my class with Autism and it will be crucial for me to be knowledgeable and know what I can do for the student.
ReplyDeleteI have attended the Growing up Wild and Project Learning Tree training and have received resource materials for each program. This early childhood training was very valuable because it provides a plethora of lesson ideas and suggestions. The importance of environmental education is sometimes lost in the curriculum, so hopefully in my classroom I will be given the chance to use my resources and training.
I am a member of PSEA, NSTA, PSTA, Elizabethtown Education Organization, and an upcoming member of KDP. I will be attending the PSTA conference for the first time and will be presenting my Into the Wild lesson that was designed around the Growing Up Wild resources.
I have volunteered many hours of service to children in the communities by participating at Literacy Nights and Lights On, a science night for children in Harrisburg.
I feel that I have sufficient participation and training to build my teaching experiences beyond the actual classroom. These trainings and organizations provide me the resources to continue gaining knowledge and information about my profession.
I feel my strongest contributor for Domain 4 are my coaching experience at Hershey High School and my training for and participation at Come into the Wild. At Hersehy, I attend practice daily and work hands-on with the wrestlers. I plan and carry out a practice agenda. I am also in charge of the Weight Loss Desecent Program. For Come into the Wild, I received training on state sponsored resources and implemented a lesson. I worked with five-year olds and taught about observations and the life cycle. As part of the themed day, our class worked the PA Game Commission on the material to be taught.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Domain Four, Professional Responsibilities, is one of the most important. It is crucial for teachers to be furthering their education in all areas so we are always up to date with out teaching. Over the course of my four years at Elizabethtown College, I have been able to participate in several professional responsibility opportunities. Included in my portfolio for this domain are several artifacts which reflect on my growth in professional development.
ReplyDeleteThe first artifact is a reflection on the use of social studies in a second grade classroom. The reflection includes how social studies is used, how I would integrate social studies even more.
The second artifact is a Behavior Intervention Plan written in special education block. This BIP is included in this section because it represents the professional responsibilities needed to produce a product which will benefit a student. Data collection, working with other professionals and working with the student were all necessary to complete the BIP.
The third artifact is a welcome letter and newsletter written to families. The letter and newsletter includes information about the beginning of the school year, back to school night, schedules, and what the students are going to be learning. This information is important because it is necessary for the teacher to communicate with parents or guardians.
The next artifacts are certificates of professional development for the Growing Up Wild and Project Learning Tree projects. I completed training and received materials to further my knowledge in environmental education.
Domain 4 is so important because it goes beyond what the teacher does in her classroom. Throughout my four years at Elizabethtown and field placements, I feel that my professional responsibilities have grown immensely as I have been able to expand my abilities outside the classroom. I have included several artifacts that represent my commitment to education beyond the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy first artifact demonstrates my ability to reflect on my teaching. It is a written reflection on a Language Arts lesson that I taught at my field placement. It explains what I thought went well during the lesson as well as the things I feel that I need to improve. I believe that it is important for educators to constantly be reflecting on their teaching in order to provide the most for their students. This artifact demonstrates my consideration of my own teaching and my desire to improve.
The next artifact I have included is a welcome letter and newsletter written to families. The welcome letter invites the students and their families to understand my commitment to them as an educator and welcomes them into my classroom. It explains my expectations for the upcoming year and some possible suggestions for ways that parents can help. The newsletter welcomes the students into the classroom and explains what has been covered during the week. It also gives updates about what will happen next week and outlines some upcoming events. These artifacts demonstrate my ability to communicate with families and my belief in working with parents as a team. I feel that students benefit most when parents and their student’s teachers work together.
Finally I have been able to demonstrate my professional abilities by being a member of PSTA, NSTA, The Education Organization, and KDP. I have also helped plan after school science activities at a local urban elementary school and volunteered for Lights On Afterschool. My last artifacts demonstrate my professional abilities outside the classroom as I dedicated my time to plan and teach at a weekend event for preschoolers. I have completed training sessions and received materials that have helped to further my professional responsibilities as an educator. As a result, I have received certificates for Growing Up Wild and Pennsylvania Project Learning Tree.
These artifacts represent my professional responsibilities as they include my ability to reflect on teaching, communicate with families, and continue to grow and develop professionally.
I feel as if Domain 4, Professional Responsibilities, is the portion of my portfolio where I had the easiest time placing artifacts. I have had the opportunity to be a part of various events and programs which have helped me develop professionally as a pre-service teacher.
ReplyDeleteIn this section I would like to include my Kidwatching Project from methods block. I took the time to get to know a young girl in my kindergarten placement and take notes on her behavior and interaction within the classroom, along with doing some work with her. I assessed her strengths and weaknesses in the classroom in terms of being a young reader and writer.
I would also like to include my work at a summer day camp. For the past two years I have worked at a summer day camp as a teacher. This summer camp is held at my old elementary school and is where I volunteered as a camp aide during my time in middle school. Two summers ago I was placed with the 5th-7th grade campers where I planned lessons according to the summer camp curriculum. This past summer I was placed with the 1st-3rd grade campers. I also had the opportunity to assist rewriting the daily schedule and create a “cycle” upon which the camp would run on throughout the day. I had a hand in the planning process along with the director and other teachers at the camp. The cycle included various stations as to which the students would rotate. I enjoyed integrating this new way of presenting the camp and felt that the new schedule was beneficial to all involved. I enjoyed working with other pre-service teachers and teachers who have taught for years in creating this as we all had different views and thoughts. We all learned from each other.
I also had the privilege to be a part of Lights On at Camp Curtain, an afterschool science event in Harrisburg, as well as Into The Wild, an environmental science event held on a Saturday morning for early childhood learners from the surrounding area. I had the opportunity to work with students at Camp Curtain one on one and explain the importance of our heart rate. At Into The Wild, I wrote a lesson plan which was included in the Cycle Room, where Ladybugs and how they change were our main focus. I enjoyed working with the kindergarten age students individually and as a group during this event.
I would also like to include my memberships to PSEA and NSTA into my portfolio under this domain, as well as my weekly reflections on my methods block placement, along with my past placements.