Knowledge exists to be imparted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Standard 2
Knowledge of Human Development and Learning - The teacher understands how students learn and develop, and provides opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal development.
Reflection
A knowledge of human development and learning is vital to the teaching profession because you have to understand your students and how they learn in order to tailor assignments to the appropriate developmental level and understanding level so students are challenged but not overwhelmed. The first artifact that I have included to demonstrate my knowledge of student development and learning is a piece made up of two different types of readability tests. These tests are focused frequently on elements such as number of sentences, length of words and sentences, and difficult vocabulary present that represent an overall developmental stage. The first part details the Fry Graph that estimates Reading Ages or Grade Level based on the average number of syllables per 100 words and the average number of sentences per 100 words.
The second part of this artifact is a paragraph in which I used the readability test based on the Flesch-Kincaid Model which comes standard to most new copies of Microsoft Word. This program determines readability by examining several elements, such as overall word count in the document, sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and overall reading ease. These two readability tests demonstrate that as a teacher, I am demonstrating an understanding for tailoring material to my students’ reading level. This artifact was especially important to me because I frequently used the second readability test for my teaching lessons in order to generate text appropriate for my class.
The next artifact that I included was notes that I generated based upon the five stages of spelling and a practical assessment of two second graders’ writing pieces. I first found the stages of spelling to be useful within Language Development and Literacy as we were asked to use the information in order to determine what stage each of our pen pals were at. This was also important when I was grading students’ work during Content Literacy because it allowed me to see where students were at as far as spelling levels by measurable stages even though I did not specifically deduct any points based on conventions. Similarly, we were able to determine students’ writing levels by similar conventions, including spelling. Lastly, this knowledge is helpful for my overall experience as a teacher because it has increased my understanding of students’ spelling levels in a concrete way that I will be able to use in the future.
The third artifact that I included in my portfolio is a conversation that I had with a two year old. During the conversation, we were asked to listen for important details, such as sentence structure and word choice. By analyzing a toddler who is just beginning to talk, I really learned about the way students begin to form their language, which frequently then matches their reading abilities as they begin to develop I also learned about focus and really trying to engage someone with a small attention span. This has made me reconsider how to engage students in order to help their overall development.
My last artifact is the brief summary of my unit that I planned to address the mathematical concept: Understanding Data. This unit is planned for second grade students and is intended to supplement the SRA instructional materials. In planning this unit, I analyzed the material in comparison with state standards of appropriate skills for second grade students and determined what skills are currently taught at that level of elementary school. This was necessary in order to ensure that my lesson plan was at the appropriate level of human development so that it was able to be well understood by the target audience, in this case, 7 and 8 year olds. This demonstrates that I understand that typical second grade students will be fairly concrete thinkers and therefore much of my unit is based upon concrete manipulations of data instead of abstract concepts on a worksheet. I feel this artifact is important in demonstrating that I am acknowledging the research on development and integrating it in a practical way within my classroom.
The second part of this artifact is a paragraph in which I used the readability test based on the Flesch-Kincaid Model which comes standard to most new copies of Microsoft Word. This program determines readability by examining several elements, such as overall word count in the document, sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and overall reading ease. These two readability tests demonstrate that as a teacher, I am demonstrating an understanding for tailoring material to my students’ reading level. This artifact was especially important to me because I frequently used the second readability test for my teaching lessons in order to generate text appropriate for my class.
The next artifact that I included was notes that I generated based upon the five stages of spelling and a practical assessment of two second graders’ writing pieces. I first found the stages of spelling to be useful within Language Development and Literacy as we were asked to use the information in order to determine what stage each of our pen pals were at. This was also important when I was grading students’ work during Content Literacy because it allowed me to see where students were at as far as spelling levels by measurable stages even though I did not specifically deduct any points based on conventions. Similarly, we were able to determine students’ writing levels by similar conventions, including spelling. Lastly, this knowledge is helpful for my overall experience as a teacher because it has increased my understanding of students’ spelling levels in a concrete way that I will be able to use in the future.
The third artifact that I included in my portfolio is a conversation that I had with a two year old. During the conversation, we were asked to listen for important details, such as sentence structure and word choice. By analyzing a toddler who is just beginning to talk, I really learned about the way students begin to form their language, which frequently then matches their reading abilities as they begin to develop I also learned about focus and really trying to engage someone with a small attention span. This has made me reconsider how to engage students in order to help their overall development.
My last artifact is the brief summary of my unit that I planned to address the mathematical concept: Understanding Data. This unit is planned for second grade students and is intended to supplement the SRA instructional materials. In planning this unit, I analyzed the material in comparison with state standards of appropriate skills for second grade students and determined what skills are currently taught at that level of elementary school. This was necessary in order to ensure that my lesson plan was at the appropriate level of human development so that it was able to be well understood by the target audience, in this case, 7 and 8 year olds. This demonstrates that I understand that typical second grade students will be fairly concrete thinkers and therefore much of my unit is based upon concrete manipulations of data instead of abstract concepts on a worksheet. I feel this artifact is important in demonstrating that I am acknowledging the research on development and integrating it in a practical way within my classroom.
Readability tests, A method for determining reading level subject agreement
readability_test0001.pdf | |
File Size: | 951 kb |
File Type: |
Five Stages of Spelling, detailing the stages students go through
rules_of_spelling_and_grammar0001.pdf | |
File Size: | 859 kb |
File Type: |
Analysis of Two Second Grade Writing Pieces, showcasing developmental differences
second_grade_assessment0001.pdf | |
File Size: | 1246 kb |
File Type: |
Conversation with a two year old, showcasing development understanding
conversation_with_a_two_year_old0001.pdf | |
File Size: | 399 kb |
File Type: |
Unit Brief Summary, demonstrating understanding of progression of math skills
unit_summary_portfolio_2.docx | |
File Size: | 10 kb |
File Type: | docx |