Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner. (InTASC, 2013).

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Brief Description of Evidence:

During the process of taking my EDUC classes at Ivy Tech, I have had the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills to provide all learners with engaging learning experiences. Through the EDUC classes, I have had the opportunity to have meaningful class discussions, learn respective terminology, and social practices. I was able to experience working hands-on to have a deeper understanding of ideas, theories, and practices. I also researched and planned differential practices that were adapted to learners to meet their needs.   

I was able to get experience conducting a child-case study, simulated parent-teach conferences, professional interviews, along with participating in multiple real-world scenarios that I will have to face in my future career. 

I was able to create and design activities, meaningful questions, formative and summative assessments, and detailed lesson plans. I was able to evaluate and work with learners in a relaxed environment as well as working with learners in an educational environment. I had the opportunity to have first-hand experiences of creating and implementing lesson plans over and over again. This included designing and decorating as well as setting up, taking down, and cleanup of the classroom.

 

Analysis of What I Learned:

Through the processes of my EDUC classes at Ivy Tech, I learned how to engage in ongoing learning opportunities to develop knowledge and skills to provide all learners (future and present) with engaging curriculum and learning experiences based on the Indiana state standards.

Through these classes, I was able to actively seek professional, community, and technological resources, by participating in field experiences, listening to guest speakers, creating and designing lesson plans, creating my efolio, and given projects and tools to research. Through these resources, I was able to have support to analyze, reflect, and problem-solve.

I learned to understand and use a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies to analyze and reflect on my practices within the making and impending projects and lesson plans. I was able to plan for adaptations and adjustments. Through my EDUC classes, my class and I were taught the professional speech, behaviors and dress, and how to implement it into your practice. Through some reactions to this, I was able to learn and see firsthand how personal identity, worldview, and prior experiences affect perception and expectation, and I was able to see how they might bias behaviors and interactions with others. Throughout my EDUC classes, I gained a deeper understanding of the laws, policies, and regulations that relate to learners’ rights, code of ethics, professional standards of practice, and the teachers’ responsibilities.

As my EDUC classes draw to a close, I can see that John Dewey’s Progressive education theory (hands-on) and Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development greatly utilized through my learning experience. Dewey’s theory emphasizes the view of learning by doing. Vygotsky emphasizes independent problem-solving with collaboration with capable peers under the guidance of a more knowledgeable teacher.  My peers and I were often given tasks to perform, and we would use our resources from the internet, questions to the teacher, and then contact a specialist in a particular field of study. I believe this taught us how to independently look and find knowledge on any given area of need, as future teachers we will have to do this daily. 

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How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence of the InTASC Standard:

I demonstrated my competence in InTASC Standard 9- Professional Learning and Ethical Practice by effectually completing assignments and expectations of each of the EDUC classes at Ivy Tech. I engaged in meaningful and appropriate professional learning experiences aligned with my own needs and the needs of the learners, schools, and systems.

Throughout my EDUC classes, I independently and collaboratively used a variety of data to evaluate the outcomes of teaching and I learned to adapt planning and practice. For example, in my EDUC 121-Child and Adolescent and Development class, I independently conducted a child-case study as well as an action research project with a group of peers.

Through working on the projects and lesson plans through these EDUC classes, I used learner data to analyze practices and differentiate instruction accordingly. For example, in my EDUC 224- Introduction to Scientific Inquiry my group and I created many different authentic, formative, and summative assessments as well as a rubric for the assessments. After implanting these we would reconvene to analyze, reflect, problem-solve to adapt, and improve our practice, lesson, and assessments. I was/am committed to a deepening understanding of my frames of reference, and the potential biases in these frames and how they impacted my expectations for and relationships with learners and their families. For example, one of my projects in EDUC 101 was to complete forty hours of service-learning by volunteering at the Second Harvest and the YMCA Latch-Key kids after-school program. Throughout these experiences, I asked questions and got many answers as well as different stories that aided me in seeing different perspectives that I would not have been privy to otherwise.

Through my final education class at Ivy Tech, EDUC 250- Educational Psychology class, I was able to seek opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of analysis and reflection to improve practice. For instance, I was able to create an infographic about the lack of social and emotional learning in education that I felt strongly about. I was able to deep dive into the issue of social and emotional learning. I was able to create an infographic based on a professional organization that provides evidence-based resources to educators.

I was also able to perfect my efolio and grasp a deeper understanding of the standards for teachers. This was done through the revising process and collaboration with my teachers, professionals, peers, and my friends and family. Through creating this efolio I was able to use a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies to analyze and reflect on my practice and to plan for adaptations/adjustments.

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I chose this combination of work and experience to be my artifact because it involves much of the engaging professional learning and ethical practice that I was able to perform and accomplish during my Ivy Tech elementary education major.