top of page
Teacher Quality Standard Four Reflection:
My leadership skills were one of the significant things tested during my Student Teaching journey. Still, through professionalism, ethical conduct, much reflection, and seeking support from my mentors and Coach, I believe I have a proficient rating for this standard.
ELEMENT A: Teachers demonstrate high standards for professional conduct.
Artifact 1
Rationale:
I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to complete my Student Teaching in Valencia, Spain, in an internship at Iale International School. My observations were recorded, making it difficult for my Coach to see my teaching abilities fully; however, these Artifacts demonstrate my professional conduct, meeting the standards of high regard from what she watched, as well as from my mentor teacher, who was present for the whole experience.
Artifacts 1 and 2 are from two of four recorded observations viewed by my Coach, Michelle Bigler. As you will see in each artifact, Michelle praised me for a few professional qualities teachers should have, such as - relationship-building, activating prior knowledge, modeling behaviors, and student encouragement.
Artifact 3 is one of the lesson observations from my mentor teacher, the Head of English, Pedro Calero—his high remarks on my abilities according to the CEP's rubric. Again, the lesson was based on Iale's curriculum, vastly different from Colorado State Standards. This explicitly shows flexibility, adaptability, and intentional preparation for student success in growing as learners.
Artifact 2
Artifact 3
ELEMENT B: Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.
Rationale:
My name is constantly mispronounced, and in the past, I've dealt with instructors who would never call me by name because they were either afraid of saying it wrong or they really didn't know it. Don't get me wrong, I was born and raised in Memphis, TN, where terms of endearment or nicknames are often used more than your actual name; however, when it comes to professional settings, everyone would prefer to be called by their given name.
These instances are why I set the goal of learning student's names. Although I was in several different classrooms with students of different ages, I made it a habit to use the strategies listed in Artifact 1. I was able to meet my goal by learning and using the students' names, as shown in Artifact 2. In this instance, I was able not only to connect professional growth to my goals, but it also came from personal development of being the change I wish to see in the world by acknowledging students as individuals and not just bodies in the classroom.
I
Artifact 1
Artifact 2
ELEMENT C: Teachers respond to a complex, dynamic environment.
Rationale:
When I signed up for the Native American Heritage Month unit, my schedule needed shifting so that I could work with the History teachers for the ESO 2 grade level I had to work with. Artifact 1 is the timetable I initially agreed to; Artifact 2 shows the changes that were made for the sake of the unit.
This schedule change added complexity to my professional goal of learning students' names by adding me into a new classroom more than halfway through my time there. However, I was familiar with most of the faces of the new students since I incorporated spending more time around students during break time to learn their names. Although I didn't intentionally set out to know their names initially, hearing the others call to them let me informally meet them, which also helped with the relationship building in such a short amount of time. This dynamic environment allowed me the opportunity to work with the entire ESO 2 class of over 50 students.
Artifact 1
Artifact 2
ELEMENT D: Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school, the community, and the teaching profession.
Rationale:
I firmly believe my time at Iale International School was too short; 12 weeks go by quickly. Although I spent time observing at Loveland High School to make up for the hours needed for the CEP program, Iale is where I gained the most experience, one I'll never forget.
The most unforgettable will be my Native American Heritage Month unit. It was the most stressful thing I've experienced because I wanted to do so much in such a small window of time. I was asked to do a 'Thanksgiving' project for the theme of November because I am an American, and it was assumed that I celebrated the holiday. The project was tasked for me to work with the ESO 2 class (9th grade US) at the beginning of October. However, I couldn't start it until the first week of November. As an Afro-American woman, and after recently discovering that my family has Indigenous roots, I found it necessary to bring awareness to the fact that the month of November in the US is designated Native American Heritage Month, and the Thanksgiving holiday is a distorted celebration that caused long-lasting effects for some Indigenous groups.
After speaking with my mentor teacher and my new co-teachers about my ideas for the project, I set a meeting to talk with the Technical Director to give her an update on the project's focus. I spoke with her about the proposal, and she sent me Artifact 1 to confirm our meeting time and note her pushback for bringing relevance to Thanksgiving again.
In the end, we were able to make a compromise: I was able to teach the unit I planned (Artifact 2); she wanted the project to focus on gratefulness so that we could fill the art wall on campus with the traditional 'Turkey Tail" project in (Artifact 3). To do this, I added a caveat to one of the projects: Students had to present a small presentation based on what they learned about the Thanksgiving holiday and what was most enjoyable. In the original project, students were required to discover what they were thankful for through Native heritage and culture. They had to share this same idea with the Primary students as they all wrote things they were grateful for on the feathers provided by the TD (Artifact 4).
Overall, my only regret was not starting the unit sooner. Due to the holidays, breaks, and having to make room for compromise, I didn't see it complete. I am confident that my co-teachers are capable of helping them get through, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everything turns out. This experience and the artifacts demonstrate my leadership in the school and the teaching profession, such as disrupting preconceived ideas, taking risks by educating against them, and effectively solving problems.
Artifact 1
Artifact 2
Artifact 3
Artifact 4
bottom of page