IncentivesPlus I+NB Meeting – Jan. 30, 2010

 1: Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning  2: Teachers Know the Subjects They Teach and How to Teach Those Subjects to Students.  3: Teachers are Responsible for Managing and Monitoring Student Learning.  4: Teachers Think Systematically about Their Practice and Learn from Experience.  5: Teachers are Members of Learning Communities.

 It’s all about the STUDENTS!

 Each entry has very clear guiding prompts for the organization of your entry….  We’ll look at some real prompts, you’ll practice writing a response and then we’ll look at an example response – please do keep in mind that these samples are not intended to be scoring models….

What are the number, ages, and grades of the students in the class featured in this entry, and subject matter of the class?  Write a sentence or two in response to this prompt.

 I teach in a comprehensive high school. In this regular English Language Arts class there are 32 students, ages 14-16; 28 are 9 th graders, 3 are 10 th graders repeating the class.

 What are the relevant characteristics of the students with exceptional needs and abilities that influenced your planning for this period of instruction (for example, the range of abilities and the cognitive, social/behavioral, attentional, sensory, and/or physical challenges of your students?) Give any other information that might help the assessor “see” the class.

 This class is more diverse than the student body at large. There are 12 Hispanic students, 11 Asians, 7 African Americans, and 2 Caucasians; 17 boys, 15 girls. There is a wide range of abilities, especially in writing skills and style; some write complete essays; others are working on paragraphs. The majority of the students are subdued, but because I enjoy a verbally active class and like to promote considerable academic discourse, they’ve been getting more vocal and more engaged with one another throughout the semester. All of the students speak English, although the conventions of standard English are a struggle.

 What are the relevant features of your teaching context that influenced the selection of this theme or topic? This might include other realities of the social and physical teaching context (e.g., available resources, scheduling of classes, self- contained classroom, etc.) that are relevant to your response, (i.e., whole class, small group, one on one, inclusive, pull-out, in-class support, etc.)

 Our department divides into remedial, regular, honors, and advanced classes. I choose to teach remedial and regular classes and I hold high expectations for all students and teach accordingly. Although we have state-mandated standards, they are general enough to allow me to select themes that are relevant for my students. We use our five classroom computers and Internet access to obtain lots of the texts we use in class. Our desks are constantly reconfigured to meet our needs, groups, lecture style, debate teams, etc.

 What particular instructional challenges do the students chosen for this entry represent? Explain the particular dynamics of the class an assessor needs to know to understand how you involve students in establishing a supporting and stimulating community and how you used your topic of discussion to assist students in accomplishing this goal. This might include, but is not limited to, a description of your students’ skills, knowledge, and previous experiences that relate to your teaching.

 During this election year, democracy has been a central theme, and reading, analyzing, and debating political speeches has been the focus of the curriculum for this unit. These students are used to completing worksheets and being quiet, not having and sharing their own ideas. A challenge has been to open their minds and encourage their voices. To prepare students to participate in our democracy, they need to have democracy in their lives. I do a lot of scaffolding, break the text in to readable chunks, jigsaw, preread, hold Socratic seminars, and use many other strategies to reduce the barriers to understanding. The cultural differences break down over time as students gain personal voice.

 It is insufficient to know the characteristics of your teaching context if you don’t put that knowledge to good use.  An accomplished teacher is sensitive and responsive to students needs.  When you connect the relevant characteristics of your teaching context to your instructional choices, evidence of student achievement usually follows.

 Description  Analysis  Reflection

 A retelling of what happened in a classroom situation. This kind of writing is meant to “set the scene” for assessors. Your description should be logically ordered and detailed enough to allow assessors to have a basic sense of your classroom situation so that they can understand what you are conveying in your Written Commentary. Within the portfolio directions look for verbs like state, list, or describe or questions beginning with what or which. Be sure your response meets these criteria:  Accurate and precise enumeration and/or explanation of critical features;  Clear and logical ordering of the elements or features of the event, person, concept, or strategy described; and  Inclusion of all features or elements that would allow an outsider to see as you see whatever is described

 Analysis deals with reasons, motives, and interpretation and is grounded in the concrete evidence provided by the materials you submit. Analytic writing shows assessors the thought processes that you used to arrive at the conclusions you made about a teaching situation. Analysis demonstrates the significance of the evidence you submit. It is an interpretation of facts in which you will be asked “how” and “why”, so if you are asked to provide analysis, do not tell what happened (that is description), instead explain why you think it happened and how you feel it influenced the course of the lesson, or your students’ understanding.

 A thought process that occurs after a teaching situation. This is the thinking that allows you to make decisions about how you would approach similar situations in the future. You could decide to do something the same way, differently, or not at all. Although reflective thought may occur in many places, the “Reflection” section of your Written Commentary is where you must show assessors how you use what you learn from teaching experiences to inform and improve your practice in the future.

 Where’s the Evidence  An Example  Clear, Concise & Consistent Be real. Be yourself. Be sincere.

 Learning Goals  Evidence of Student Learning  Lesson/Learning Activities  Instructional Materials and Resources  Instructional Groups  Lesson Structure