A college degree and a teaching certificate define a person as a teacher, but it takes hard work and dedication to be one.
~Paul McClure
~Paul McClure
Standard 9
Professional Commitment and Responsibility - The teacher is a reflective practitioner who demonstrates a commitment to professional standards and is continuously engaged in purposeful mastery of the art and science of teaching.
Reflection
Commitment and responsibility are fundamental attributes of a great teacher. Many times people think the requirements of becoming a great teacher are easy because they think that teachers simply recycle the same material over and over, plan to only be at work for the required hours, which does not include summer planning, and use shortcuts whenever possible. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are some teachers for whom this could be true, the truly great teachers are always looking for newer and better ways to approach their subjects, always keeping in mind the professional standards that must be upheld. The first artifact that I submit for this standard is my NIH (National Institutes of Health) certification for successfully completing the training course for "Protecting Human Research Participants". This I feel demonstrates that I am carefully considering ethical standards because this was the basis on which I conducted my ethnographic case study. This course helped me to learn as a teacher what to do when conducting any studies involving students. It was also a very good reminder of the ways in which we need to protect against any liability by making sure to preplan and send home permission slips.
Next, I submit artifact two, a poverty paper written during Teaching in a Diverse Society. I feel this demonstrates commitment because it shows recognition of the fact that many of our state's students are socio-economically and racially diverse. This always, I believe, needs to be kept in mind when a teacher is preparing lessons because lessons are dependent on students' resources, either mental resources, such as background knowledge, or monetary resources, such as supplies for completing projects. By recognizing that poverty is not only a problem for the major cities, but also for our smaller cities, I have demonstrated knowledge and commitment to responsibly designing lessons that are appropriate and accessible to all of my students.
For my last artifact, I demonstrate my commitment to observation and teaching within the classroom in the form of a teaching log. This log was completed during Mrs. Harvey's classroom observation and demonstrates that I am predictable and willing to go beyond, because the requirement was surpassed. As teachers, I believe that we must always remember that the extra time spent to develop material that fits our students' needs is worthwhile. This log demonstrates the time I have spent learning, teaching, and growing within a fourth grade classroom. This time is exceptionally important for me because it is at the grade level that I am student teaching in during the spring semester.
Next, I submit artifact two, a poverty paper written during Teaching in a Diverse Society. I feel this demonstrates commitment because it shows recognition of the fact that many of our state's students are socio-economically and racially diverse. This always, I believe, needs to be kept in mind when a teacher is preparing lessons because lessons are dependent on students' resources, either mental resources, such as background knowledge, or monetary resources, such as supplies for completing projects. By recognizing that poverty is not only a problem for the major cities, but also for our smaller cities, I have demonstrated knowledge and commitment to responsibly designing lessons that are appropriate and accessible to all of my students.
For my last artifact, I demonstrate my commitment to observation and teaching within the classroom in the form of a teaching log. This log was completed during Mrs. Harvey's classroom observation and demonstrates that I am predictable and willing to go beyond, because the requirement was surpassed. As teachers, I believe that we must always remember that the extra time spent to develop material that fits our students' needs is worthwhile. This log demonstrates the time I have spent learning, teaching, and growing within a fourth grade classroom. This time is exceptionally important for me because it is at the grade level that I am student teaching in during the spring semester.
NIH Certificate for Ethnographic Case Study
nih.pdf | |
File Size: | 1454 kb |
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Poverty Paper
poverty_paper.pdf | |
File Size: | 2726 kb |
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Teaching Log
teaching_log.pdf | |
File Size: | 244 kb |
File Type: |