Standard9

Standard 9 Teachers are able to evaluate themselves. The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on pupils, parents, professionals in the learning community and others and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

Evidence 1: Reflection and Action Plan for Educational Change Rationale 1: My reflection and action plan for educational change starts on page 29 of my action research paper. My action research paper was focused on the success of differentiated instruction in the classroom. When I designed the research project I assumed that the research would strongly show that differentiated instruction is successful in the classroom. I had developed this perception from different courses and professional development workshops I had attended that were all supportive of developing differentiated instruction. To my surprise, the research did not strongly show this relationship. As I looked back on the digital storytelling unit and the differentiated instruction I really looked at the methods and instruction I used. I feel that I could continue to modify the project to include more instructional methods and strategies to meet my students learning needs and that may show greater growth from the instructional methods used. Upon the completion of the unit and my self reflection I redeveloped some of the lessons based on my observations and student feedback. I have also attended a student motivation course to help myself better meet the different learning needs and give the students greater self-responsibility for the completion of the project. I will be delivering the modified lessons this next year and then will compare the final results to the documented results to see if there is continued student learning and growth.

KSD

9. K.1 The teacher understands methods of inquiry that provide him/her with a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies for reflecting on his/her practice, its influences on students’ growth and learning, and the complex interactions between them.

Throughout the computer 5 digital storybook unit I used several different tools to help me collect information on the students learning and understanding of the concepts to help me better develop the unit. I provided the students with a pre and post self assessment to see what skills they feel they have previously mastered from my courses, what skills they are comfortable using, and what skills they still need my guidance. By comparing the pre and post exams I was able to see the skills that I should have taught better previously to the unit and the skills that I needed to focus more on during the unit. I also compared final scores based on a project rubric. From the rubric I was able to see the general concepts students missed and look at new ways to teach and cover those topics. Lastly, I had the students write a reflective journal on the unit about what they liked, disliked, and would like to see changed. By receiving direct feedback from the students I was able to see areas that I needed to directly change in the unit and my instructional methods.

9. S.3 The teacher seeks out professional literature, and other resources to support his/her own development as a learner and a teacher.

When I developed my research project I referred to several different books and documentation available on differentiated instruction to help gain better understanding of the concept and its implementation. There are several citations throughout the research paper about the research I read and how I gained new knowledge and understanding from the literature. I also turned to the Business Listserv to receive feedback from other business educators on their use of differentiated instruction in the classroom. It was helpful to receive examples and feedback from other professionals, as well as, gaining a better understanding through documented practices of differentiated instruction in the classroom. It really gave me some insight and helped me to see some of the struggles and strengths I might see.

9. D.4 The teacher is committed to seeking out, developing, and continually refining practices that address the individual needs of students.

As an educator reflecting on the units I teach is a large part of my student’s success. It is important for me to look at the strengths of each unit and the weaknesses that I need to modify, alter, or improve. To help the reflection process I typically develop tools such as a pre and post skills evaluation or a journal assignment from the students to discover their individual feeling and better meet their learning needs. Specifically from the digital storytelling unit I had several different pieces to help me reflect on the areas that I need to modify or alter before facilitating the unit again. It was helpful to review the information right after the completion of the unit when my observations and the feedback was fresh in my mind.

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