Introduction to this artifact: For EDU6136, Content Area Methods, I created three lesson plans incorporating in each plan three of Marzano’s instructional strategies outlined in Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2001). This is one of three lesson plans I will be posting along with detailed reflections of how these lessons demonstrate my competency on many criteria for Standards S and T. Below you can find a lesson plan, various reflections on Marzano’s strategies and Standards S and T, and artifacts that document my competency. This post refers to a lesson I taught to eighth graders to help them practice three different verb tenses in Spanish. This lesson involves note taking, Venn diagramming and lots of questioning.

Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection

In this lesson I implemented identifying similarities and differences, summarizing and note taking, cues, questions and advance organizers from Marzano’s strategies. I think this lesson went very well because it was a learning opportunity that necessitated lots of questions from the students and different ways to organize the complicated material they were learning. The students were glad to see the different connections between the different tenses of verbs and they really enjoy graphic organizers that can help them compare and contrast things. It makes it easier to understand all of the things together and really see the differences than to learn each separately and forget one while they are learning the other. I think each strategy was good on by itself and together but the part of the lesson that did not go well was the fact that I tried to compact all of the material and learning into a 45 minute period. Students would have benefitted from having a longer period, such as our 85 minute ELO, or two class periods to spread out the learning and answer more questions. I teach in my own classroom so I did not get any input on this lesson from my mentor teacher.

Standard S Criterion-Referenced Reflection

(Standard S – Content driven) By seeing the material presented in a comparative manner, students can now more easily use the information shared and gathered during this lesson to communicate in all forms, reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is a very multi-functional lesson. All of our learning can usually be applied to multiple situations. It is a good reading and writing skill to be able to make a Venn Diagram as well because it can be used in literature analysis.

(Standard S – Aligned with curriculum standards and outcomes) All of the teaching I do is very standards based. Our school focuses on reporting assessment through a standards based report card so I align everything to a standard and learning target. Also as a department we focus on sharing learning targets during each lesson so students can be more aware of their learning. I think the students were very receptive to seeing a lot of material presented at once even though it meant that we were using several learning targets.

(Standard S – Integrated across content areas) Students use mathematical reasoning to think about different verb conjugations and endings in the context of the Spanish language in this lesson. The subtraction of the ending and the addition of a new ending to the stem is a very mathematical process. The Venn diagram is also a very scientific process and it the comparison skill used in identifying similarities and differences is a skill that can transfer across disciplines. They can also use a Venn diagram in humanities.

Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

(Standard T – Informed by standards-based assessment) As I mentioned previously I used standards based assessment often as required by my school report card system. I will give a quiz before I give a final summative assessment and I give informal checks and feedback as students are working in groups. At the end of the lesson I ask for a thumbs up self evaluation which makes the students think about their learning and lets me know how they are doing too. I also had students answer some questions similar to those that they answered in the anticipatory set so they could see their growth from one period of instruction.

(Standard T – Intentionally planned) Students definitely benefit from standards based planning that refers to a learning target. I have found my students to be very receptive and thankful to have learning targets introduced at the beginning of each lesson. They appreciate graphic organizers and strategies to help remember the tricky facts and rules in Spanish.

(Standard T – Influenced by multiple instructional strategies) I use the different strategies from Marzano such as note taking for those who like written and individual work. Venn diagrams representations are good for kids who need more visual organization. Cues and questioning are great for students that need to talk and engage with others and the teacher to learn.

(Standard T – Informed by technology) We did not use technology in this lesson but they often use it in other situations in class such as project time.

Lesson Plan

Notes and Venn diagram

Introduction to this artifact: For EDU6136, Content Area Methods, I created three lesson plans incorporating in each plan three of Marzano’s instructional strategies outlined in Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2001). This is one of three lesson plans I will be posting along with detailed reflections of how these lessons demonstrate my competency on all criteria for Standards S and T. Below you will find a lesson plan, various reflections on the Marzano’s strategies and Standards S and T, and artifacts to document my competency. This post refers to a lesson I taught to my HS students to help them practice the regular and irregular preterit tense in Spanish. This lesson involves creating a funny poster to create a memorable way to remember the irregularity in their assigned verb.

Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection

In this lesson I chose to use three different strategies: cooperative learning, non-linguistic representations, and homework and practice. This lesson went very smoothly. Students worked well together and created memorable nonlinguistic representations to share with their classmates. I would probably assign pairs the next time so that classroom management would be easier and students could be more focused on the work at hand. With more focus they would get more out of the learning and they would likely remember more as well. The cooperative learning portion should have been assigned partners for better management and work quality and for homework and practice I should impress the importance of practice through homework to get a higher percentage of work completed. My students were very receptive overall and enjoyed creating nonlinguistic representations. I teach in my own classroom so my mentor teacher generally doesn’t go over each of my lesson plans.

Standard S Criterion-Referenced Reflection

(Standard S – Content driven) My students will use the information shared and gathered during this lesson to communicate in all forms, reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is a very multi-functional lesson. All of our learning can usually be applied to multiple situations. We did not use digital technology as it is not always necessary to accomplish learning objectives.

(Standard S – Aligned with curriculum standards and outcomes)All of the teaching I do is very standards based. Our school focuses on reporting assessment through a standards based report card so I align everything to a standard and learning target. Also as a department we focus on sharing learning targets during each lesson so students can be more aware of their learning.

(Standard S – Integrated across content areas) In this lesson students use mathematical reasoning in doing verb conjugations. The subtraction of the ending and the addition of a new ending to the stem is a very mathematical process. Also in creating non-linguistic representations, students were able to practice their aesthetic reasoning.

Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

(Standard T – Informed by standards-based assessment)As I mentioned previously I used standards based assessment often as required by my school report card system. I will give a quiz before I give a final summative assessment and I give informal checks and feedback as students are working in groups. At the end of the lesson I ask for a thumbs up self evaluation which makes the students think about their learning and lets me know how they are doing too.

(Standard T – Intentionally planned) Students definitely benefit from standards based planning that refers to a learning target. I have found my students to be very receptive and thankful to have learning targets introduced at the beginning of each lesson.

(Standard T – Influenced by multiple instructional strategies) I use the different strategies from Marzano such as homework and practice for those who like written and individual work. Non linguistic representations are good for kids who like to draw and be creative. Cooperative learning is great for students that need to talk and engage with others to learn and it’s a bit of focused socialization which kids always like.

(Standard T – Informed by technology) We did not use technology in this lesson but they often use it in other situations in class such as project time.

Lesson Plan

I have met criteria P1 of being informed by professional responsibilities and policies through completion of an assignment from my Introduction to teaching class which required me to read and reflect on the WAC and RCW.

My weekly reflection on this blog and my work with my colleagues at school on a daily informal basis and weekly formal basis are further examples of my progress on the P2. These are visible throughout the blog itself. Also, for P2, the knowledge and skills I have gained from my Educational Research course make me a stronger as a teaching professional because I now know how to properly interpret and utilize the research on education. As criteria two describes the importance of collaborative work, I believe it is important to mention I completed this study of educational inquiry largely in a group setting. Furthermore my principal’s observation notes, my Dean of Academic’s evaluation and my University Coordinator’s observations show my proficiency as a teacher and my focus areas for growth and reflection.  Furthermore, my philosophy of education is an artifact that describes my reflective thinking on how I can be the best language teacher using the most methodologies possible. I also want to be an educator constantly reflective of the nature of adolescents in the age group I teach (6-12). The biggest thing I am doing outside of SPU is a Professional Learning Community on Assessment for Learning at my school with several colleagues in many disciplines.

I have met P3 of being informed by legal and ethical responsibilities through completion of an assignment from my Introduction to teaching class which required me to read and reflect on the WAC and RCW.

I have also met all three criterion of Standard P through completion of several assignments for my Professional Issues course at SPU. In this course I had to interview a colleague to learn about CPS (Child Protective Services) and I did my own research on topics such as teachers unions and teachers’ rights in private school, student discipline and cell phones in classrooms, and students’ rights in the school.

4 Observation Notes

2 Observation Notes

Dean of Academics Standards Based Evaluation

A debriefing session with my MS principal and the 6-12 Dean of Academics followed.

Principal Observation Notes

A debriefing session with the MS principal and the 6-12 Dean of Academics followed.

I have met L1 with teacher and student evidence through modifying student materials and planning developmentally appropriate service projects such as Pie Baking and Tent City for my students. I changed materials geared for University students into more high school friendly language because I knew the context wasn’t good for them. The chapter was about alcohol and addiction and since I didn’t want the kids talking about inappropriate topics I changed the themes too. The students responded much better to that. Then I designed great service projects with and for the students. It has made a large impact in their lives since then.

I meet L2 for students and teachers through different projects that I do with my students such as the recent geography project. In an age where everyone just turns to google and wikipedia for information, I require my students to still use textbook and database sources that expand their skills and provide them with more reliable  factual information. The students ended up having to write MLA citations for their project with 5 sources of which half had to be textbook or database sources. They don’t like doing it but the process is good for them. They also worked on making country puzzle pieces which required the students to negotiate borders with each other as they worked.

I can also demonstrate that the students and I have thought a lot about social, political, environmental, and economic systems through my geography project which encompasses L3. The entire project was not based solely around geography but the students had to research information about presidents, capitals, types of governments, exports and imports, geographical landmarks and the meaning of the flag. After researching their own country, they presented about the countries to their classmates who had to take notes about each one for a test afterward.

Standard L4 is my strongest suit because I excel in helping students get involved in their communities. Through our Pie Baking and Tent City projects became more responsible citizens with my guidance. I had several students with very strong opinions about the existence of Tent City and I remember standing behind the kids as they got their tour and hearing my most stubborn, opinionated student say that this wasn’t as bad as he thought. That statement from his mouth just made me feel like I had really accomplished something for that year.

Social Context-Centered Teaching Practice

I know that my teaching is learned centered because I know that I am first and foremost concerned for my students’ well being and then the content. I try my best to connect my students’ learning to other communities through the Spanish content itself and through integration with other subjects. I also keep in constant contact with all my students’ families especially my advisees’ parents. Surprisingly, because I am in a private school setting,  I have a huge amount of parents who are willing to help out all the time. It’s unusual but I appreciate it and take advantage of it whenever possible.  I also work with the parents so they know they things I am trying to teach them are to help them become responsible citizens. Things like me not accepting late work and being strict but supportive helps me prepare the students.

Contribution to the Learning Community

I wonder how I engage students sometimes because my mentor tells me the students really like to work for me. I know that I try to have a few minutes of fun each day and then I get the kids to do really good work for me. A lot of the time it just comes down to having good rapport with the kids and knowing that they are really smart so you have to constantly challenge them. I also have them working in partners a lot of the time so it is not only something that engages them but it teaches them how to interact properly. I help the students engage in Tent City which is a unique and local opportunity (sometimes right within their own parishes) which is very neighborhood and community centered. By holding the students responsible for attending these events, they have gained a lot of wisdom without even realizing it. Hopefully what I have instilled in them will go with them for the many years to come.

It is interesting to see where we agreed and disagreed in our assessments and it makes them take ownership in the assessment process.