Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #2

In order to be a good teacher, one should also be an effective communicator. This is characteristic #2 of a novice teacher. I was able to demonstrate this characteristic in my PDS by introducing the Census to my students and holding an in depth discussion. In the discussion I was able to communicate to my students what the Census was, why it is important and then guide them to engage in a discussion about their own personal experiences. It was important for students to activate their prior knowledge when working with this concept because it helped them to put meaning behind the idea of the Census, through their our experiences which helped to build their comprehension of the subject. Being an effective communicator was imperative for this lesson because of its strong background in social studies content. The students that I presented this lesson to are all special learners and do not have a lot of exposure to learning social studies concepts because this time during their school day is used to work on the basics that they are still struggling with. But by holding this discussion I was able to observe my students communicate their own experiences once they started to understand the concept of what the Census was, and in turn it prompted other students to communicate and share. I believe that being an effective communicator is one of the most important characteristics of a novice teacher because it is a learning strategies that can be used where ever, and whenever, no materials are needed. Students are also able to learn from their peers experiences as well as what their educator brings to the instruction.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #4

Characteristics number 4 of a novice teacher states, We believe the novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all students. The artifact that I believe demonstrates this characteristic would be a lesson that I created within my special education placement at my PDS. In my classroom I needed to create a lesson that would facilitate learning for students with a wide range of disabilities, as well as in grades kindergarten through 5Th grade. The students were engaging in a creative writing/ visual arts lesson which incorporated technology. In order to make sure that all of my students got the most out of the lesson, after large group instruction I organized them into group according to what I felt was most appropriate for each individual learner. I had one group in which created their piece of art first then use their art to help with they creative writing, and then a second group which started their creative writing first and then moved to their art. I did this because the students that created their art first needed a way to put their ideas on paper in order to develop it into writing. The other group starting the writing process first because I believed these students would benefit from writing before their created their corresponding piece of art. Organizing the students into different groups really ended up working well for the lesson because I was able to work with both groups at the same time even though they were engaging on two separate activities. I also was able to observe how the different ways of completing the lesson complemented each student and helped them to successfully complete the lesson.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #1

The artifact that I have chosen to represent the #1 characteristic of a novice teacher would be an assignment that I completed this week for a reading class. This assignment required us to read educational articles to help provide insight to different teaching techniques. The three articles focused on the idea of communication and how it can enhance comprehension as well as the need for appropriate skills when using the web to communicate ideas. After reading these articles I created a reflection on how I can use this information to enhance my teaching and promote life long learning in my students. I was able to reflect on the ideas and create lessons that use the techniques suggested. I believe that it is extremely important as an educator to seek outside resources to improve the learning in your classroom. I also believe that it is important to try out new skills and strategies so that students are challenged and do not become bored with the same everyday instruction. Educators also need to use the resources available at their school by participating in sit based seminars, and even participating in co-teaching. These collaboration techniques will not only provide professional development as an educator, but also the learning of students.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #4

Characteristic #4 of a novice teacher, focuses on the idea that a teacher needs to be a facilitator of learning for all students. My unit was planned on the idea that students differ in their approaches to learning, because I believe that all students bring different experiences and knowledge to the classroom. Also while planning this unit I made sure that I created activities that addressed the needs of my diverse classroom of learners. My artifact is a unit plan that I created for my CHPR class about nutrition. I believe that this artifact demonstrated the learning for all types of students because I created and provided the students with lessons and activities that helped them look at their own personal experiences and their everyday lives in relations to nutrition. I focused on keeping the activity exciting by motivating the students with different popular foods and restaurants that I knew they were familiar with.