Subject Matter Knowledgems. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio

The idea of the teaching portfolio began with the publication of A Mini-Guide to Preparing A Teaching Portfolio, published in the spring of 1978 in Ontario (Shore et. Since then, the concept of a teaching or educator portfolio, alternately called a teaching dossier, has become an international movement fired by the growing need to. McCarthy's Portfolio Of Educational Experiences Welcome to my website that I have created to display my projects and development as an educational professional. Throughout my site you will find different tabs that will bring you to lesson plans, rationale statements, and other projects I have worked on. Recent studies in this vein have focused on prospective elementary teachers' orientations and the experiences that affect their orientation development (Avraamidou, 2013), alignment of secondary. The Science Education Professional Development (SEPD) Project was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) as part of its Projects of National Significance Program. Its brief was to develop a national strategy for enhancing the professional development of science teachers. This paper summarises one component of the Project's work, an exploration.

The following essay is one that I wrote in the Fall Semester of 2008 in ECI 102- Introduction to Middle Grades Education. ECI 102 is the first education class that I took at NC State, so I wrote this when I was truly beginning to learn about the education system and the teaching profession. During the course, we were assigned to write an essay about our thoughts on what it meant to be an effective teacher. We were told to reference our class textbook, the LEAD/SERVE conceptual framework at NC State, and the INTASC principles. I learned a lot about effective teaching from writing this essay and I will strive to be an effective teacher in the near future.


TaraHill

ECI102

12/8/08

EffectiveTeaching

Subject Matter Knowledge Ms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Analysis

There are many techniques, skills,and practices that can make a teacher effective.In my opinion, being an effective teachermeans allowing an environment that enables students to learn in the classroomto their best abilities.When effectiveteaching is practiced, students develop a love for learning and gain newknowledge about what they are studying.Effective teaching can stem from many different practices and ideas suchas attitude toward subject matter, implementing different learning styles intolessons, and being passionate about the subject being taught.All of these ideas can help a teacher becomemore effective in the classroom.It istrue that effective teaching also allows students to better understand newmaterial and difficult content.

Lesson

Subject Matter Knowledge Ms. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Organizer

Effective teaching takes time andeffort.“Effective teaching is much morethan an intuitive process. A teacher must continually make decisions and act onthose decisions” (Cooper 149).Being ateacher means making several decisions concerning planning for instruction, developingteaching strategies, and evaluating outcomes of lesson plans.After a lesson is taught, it is crucial tomake note if any changes are necessary for next time.If the lesson was successful, the teacherwill know to keep using that strategy in the future.One of the main steps to becoming an effectiveteacher is to gain intimate knowledge toward the subject matter that will betaught in the classroom (Cooper, 149).Also, according to NC State’s College of Education’s LEAD/SERVEconceptual framework, an effective teacher must demonstrate an understanding ofthe education context.In other words,an effective teacher should be able to show that he or she is knowledgeable inthe subject that is being taught.Anotherway to help students in the learning process is to make the content meaningful.For this to take place “the teacher understands the central concepts, tools ofinquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teachers and createslearning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful forstudents” (INTASC Principles).I believethat teaching the content in a way that students can relate to or in some wayapply it into their own life will help them to understand it.

Another major factor in helping ateacher become effective is attitude. “Many people believe that the teacher’spersonality is the most critical factor in successful teaching.If teachers have warmth, empathy,sensitivity, enthusiasm, and humor, they are much more likely to be successfulthan if they lack these characteristics” (Cooper 157).I definitely believe that this statementholds true.As I think back to highschool, the teachers who had the most pleasant personalities inspired me towant to learn.Their personalities madesuch a huge difference when teaching because it made the class so much more funand enjoyable. I also think that attitude toward subject matter is extremelyimportant.The student can often tell ifthe teacher is passionate about what he/she is teaching.Being passionate about a subject encouragesand inspires others to want to learn about it.I have found that teachers who clearly demonstrate no interest in whatthey are teaching tend not to be effective.After all, why should the students want to learn the material if theteacher finds it boring? Also, becoming a teacher leader could even encourageother teachers to develop a good attitude, which in turn, will benefit morestudents.A teacher’s attitude will morethan likely influence the students.Also, having a positive outlook and being a role model for students willhelp with the learning process.Afterall, attitudes are contagious!

Subject Matter Knowledgems. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Allocation

Additionally, effective teachingdepends on if different learning styles are implemented into lesson plans.It is important for a teacher to realize thatnot every student learns in the same way. Some students may be better visual learnerswhile others are better at hands on activities.Incorporating different learning styles will let each student have theability to learn in a way that comes most natural to them.A teacher I observed once said to herstudents, “I am giving a variety of options for this project because eachstudent deserves their chance to shine.”I have never forgotten this statement because I think it is so importantto provide a variety of activities. Accordingto Walburg, “using a variety of teaching models” is an important technique whenit comes to being an effective teacher.Also, according to the INTASC principles, “The teacher understands howstudents differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructionalopportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.”It is evident that it is necessary to beaware of the different ways that students process information and eventuallylearn the material.Another teacher thatI observed was friendly yet strict with her students.I believe that it is necessary to make surethe students know that the teacher has the authority.However, I also believe that making surestudents know that they can talk to their teacher when they have a problem isimportant.When I become a teacher, Iwant my students to know that they have my trust and can confide in me.Encouraging student involvement is anothereffective teaching strategy that I noticed when observing.It appeared to me that the students wereengaged in the work they were doing and also in the material they werelearning.This told me that thisparticular teacher was indeed practicing effective teaching methods.

When it comes to effective teaching,there are many techniques that can better a teacher’s ability to enablestudents to learn.As anyone can tell,becoming an effective teacher is not easy.It takes a lot of planning, patience, and hard work.However, no matter how much work it takes, Ibelieve that taking these necessary steps are crucial to my success as ateacher.Changing the lives of students,providing them with new knowledge, and giving them the materials necessary tohelp lead a bright future is my priority.If this means doing anything that is in my control to become aneffective teacher, then I will strive to do just that.

Subject Matter Knowledgems. Schrader's Teaching Portfolio Lesson

INTASC Standard 4: Content Knowledge

Knowledge of Subject Matter: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for the learners to assure mastery of the content.
In order for teachers to create effective learning experiences, they should possess in depth knowledge in the subject area they will teach. During my undergraduate education in civil engineering, I was exposed to a wide range of Mathematics courses which were very challenging and also interesting. What made a lot of these courses even more interesting is the fact that I also got the chance to apply a lot of the Mathematical concepts I learned in many other areas of engineering sciences. I have transferred my knowledge in the subject area of math in different lesson plans that I have prepared in the courses of the MAT program and demonstrated many mathematical concepts in different approaches, strategies and activities.
Teachers can make connections between the subject area and its application in real life situations which will create meaningful learning experiences. Integrating math concepts in other subject areas will help students understand the importance of math and its use. Knowing the content knowledge of the subject taught will also help the teacher build strong foundations for their pedagogical knowledge and make ideas accessible to all students.
The following artifacts demonstrate my understanding of INTASC standard #4: content knowledge:
  • Tutoring Progress Report EDTP 645: The artifact describes the nine tutoring sessions that I have conducted with two 7th grade students. The tutoring report summarizes the learning progress and development of the students. The report includes the different topics, lessons, applications of content and activities that were used as well as reflection on students’ interaction, engagement, misconceptions, and learning differences.
  • Lesson plans EDTP 600: The artifact is a series for three lesson plans (introductory, developmental, and advanced) that discusses the topic of functions, linear functions, and transformation of functions. The lesson plans contain different activities that students will engage in to activate prior knowledge and review former information as well as learning new material. Students will participate in playing a game, listeningto lectures, watch power point presentation, participate in a kinesthetic activity, practice using the graphing calculator, and taking a summative assessment in the form of a quiz.
  • Lesson Plan EDTP 635: This artifact is a fifty-minute lesson plan that was created for the content area of Mathematics/Algebra I in the unit of Data Analysis in EDTP 635. It was a developmental lesson in which I have planned for students to learn more about performing data analysis by reading and interpreting information from circle graphs, also known as pie charts. The lesson plan falls in line with Maryland State Curriculum: Mathematics, Algebra/Data analysis and the Core Learning Goals, Goal 3: Data Analysis and Probability set by the Maryland State Board of Education. In this assignment, I developed and created lesson instructions as part of a developmental lesson for the topic of circle graphs in which students would be able to read, interpret, organize and draw information and data from circle graphs. I have prepared a set of warm up questions to reflect on the students understanding of the previous lesson and make a connection to the new information that would be presented in this lesson. I have also created a packet for the students with key definitions, examples and illustrated graphs. The content of this packet would be revealed using direct instructions in addition to multiple representations and explanations of the concepts. In addition, I have included a collaborative activity to engage students in the learning process and get them to participate in the organization and interpretation of the data in the circle graphs. I have integrated the use of technology to reinforce the students’ understanding by giving a live demonstration to represent circle graphs using MS Excel and the Inspiredata software. I have also prepared formative and summative assessments to measure the students’ understanding of the content as well as their participation in the collaborative activity. I have also made sure to include all students in my lesson plan and have made numerous accommodations and modifications to meet the diversity and special needs of the students.
  • Strategy Lesson I EDRS 610: This artifact is a fifty-minute lesson plan that was created for the content area of Mathematics/Calculus in the unit of Limits and Derivatives. It was a developmental lesson in which I have planned for students to learn a new and advanced mathematical notation for continuity and continuous functions. Students will use their prior knowledge of continuous functions and their knowledge of limits to correlate that knowledge to the new definition of continuity. The strategy lesson is based on the observation notes of my field experience that was conducted at James Hubert Blake High school for a full class period of an AP Calculus class, along with the Reading Lesson Components Checklist, Reflection and feedback from the critical friend in the study group.
  • Strategy Lesson II EDRS 610: The artifact is a fifty-minute lesson plan prepared by the team work of Lauren Grover, one of my classmates, and myself. The lesson plan integrates using math concepts in analyzing and interpreting data and charts in a history lesson that discusses the impact of Global Connections on the waves of immigration to the United States in the 20th century. The lesson plan is based on using the questioning strategy which is among the most common classroom activities that prompt thinking, learning and recitation (Alvermann, Phelps & Gillis, 2010, p. 203). Students will develop their learning skills using the questioning strategy. The teacher will model the questioning strategy and the students will participate in several independent and collaborative activities using that strategy.
  • WebQuest EDTP 600: The purpose of this assignment was to integrate technology in the teaching process by creating a WebQuest that promotes students’ self-learning. Students explore the material presented in the WebQuest through a number of links to websites, videos and other internet resources. Instead of having the students spend a lot of time searching the net for resources on a specific task, teachers can prepare WebQuests that would help the students focus on a number of useful resources and guide them through a list of instructions in order to complete the WebQuest task. I have chosen the subject of solving a system of linear equation for my WebQuest and used a real-life example to teach the students the methods of solving systems of linear equations. These methods include substitution, elimination/addition, graphing and transformation of augmented matrix.
  • Vocabulary in content area discussion EDRS 610: The artifact is a conference discussion that gives examples on the difference between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge for terms and vocabulary in the content area of math as well as giving an example of vocabulary learning strategy.
  • Difference between studying and reading EDRS 610

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