Artifact and Characteristic of the Novice Teacher #1

The artifact that I am using is my Project WET certificate that I received from my Science Methods course in Fall 2009. Project WET has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education. The first part of the Project WET training was during our class time. However, to receive the curriculum book and completion certificate, you had to come on another night that week at 7:00 p.m. I have decided that the Project WET certificate goes with Characteristic #1. Characteristic #1 is: We believe that the novice teacher should have a commitment to and skills for life-long learning.

Upon completion of the workshop, each person received a certificate and Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide that is filled with excellent lessons for any grade level. This workshop was a great learning experience and really expanded my science knowledge. The workshop provided great methods to incorporate science into the curriculum and hands-on activities to demonstrate how to use this information in the classroom. When I include this in my portfolio, I would like to include a lesson to go along with the Project WET certificate to show that I am committed to using the curriculum that I learned about. I believe that the certificate goes with Characteristic #1 because by completing this training to learn new skills and ideas for my lessons, I believe that I committed myself to life-long learning. I also believe that by going to the last section of this training outside of class time, I committed to taking personal time to gain new information.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #2

The artifact I am using is my Scholastic Homepage that I created in my EDUC 401 class. Scholastic is great website that can be used to develop a homepage for any grade level. I like that Scholastic provides a newsletter format on the website and the only thing the teacher has to do is input the information for the classroom. The options on the side of the page make it easy for parents to navigate through the page and find the information they need to know. I like that teachers have the choice to add book lists, software lists, and other resources for students to access at home. This is an excellent tool to help parents become more active in their child’s education and keep students engaged in educational activities at home. Also, I think the Email option at the top of the homepage is a quick and easy way for parents to stay in contact with the teacher throughout the school year. I have decided that the Scholastic Homepages goes with Characteristic #2. Characteristic #2 is: We believe that the novice teacher should be an effective communicator.

When I include this in my portfolio I will show every page of the homepage that I created for my classroom this year. I think using a classroom homepage is an excellent method to keep parents, grandparents and other family members connected and informed about their loved ones education even if they are far away. In the future, I want to continue to incorporate a classroom homepage in my teaching. However, I will make a point to find out if everyone has internet access at home, if not then I will provide a printed copy for students each week to make sure they are informed like everyone else. Also, I plan to stay in contact with my parents in other ways such as, notes, Emails, and conferences throughout the school year.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #3

The artifact I chose to use is my Character Education lesson plan that I developed for EDUC 401. This lesson plan focuses on teaching students about the pillars of character education. This lesson was conducted in a fifth-grade classroom and I thought that the pillar of respect would be appropriate for the grade level. For this lesson, I read the students a book called, Mr. Peabody’s Apples, which focused on the pillar of respect. After the book, we held a class discussion about the book and talked about the moral of the book. After I read the book, the students researched all of the pillars of character education as well as decided which pillar they were like the most and which pillar they needed to work on. A class discussion was held about character education afterwards and students were allowed to talk about which pillars they chose. I have decided that the Character Education lesson plan goes along with Characteristic #3. Characteristic #3 is: We believe that the novice teacher should recognize that teaching is a professional, moral, and ethical enterprise, should understand moral issues and ethical practices in educational environments, and should have developed ethical frameworks which facilitate effective teaching.

I believe that this lesson plan fits in with Characteristic #3 because the lesson includes activities for students to understand how to develop good character as well as morals and ethics. The lesson also includes questions for students to think about that can apply to their own lives and responsibilities. The lesson plan allows time for students to talk with the teacher about moral and ethical situations and allows time for the teacher to respond using moral reasoning skills. I also think that by teaching this lesson, it shows that the teacher has moral practices in place and wants her students to have the same. Sometimes I think people do not realize that school is an excellent place to teach students about character education. I have learned that there are a lot of great children books that discuss this topic in an age appropriate manner, which allows teachers to develop excellent lessons to help students understand the importance of character, morals and values. I think teaching this lesson was very valuable to me because in my future classroom, I want to be a role model for my students, and I want them to reflect the same behavior so they can set a good example for others.

Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #7

The artifact that I am using is my Learning Cycle from my Science Methods course that I took in Fall 2009. A Learning Cycle had five phases to get students involved in the content being taught. The Learning Cycle spanned for three days in the classroom. I have decided that this Learning Cycle goes with Characteristic #7. Characteristic #7 is: We believe that the novice teacher should effectively integrate content and pedagogy.

The Learning Cycle that I made was about magnets. This was conducted in a third grade classroom at my PDS. The Learning Cycle encompasses many qualities and subject areas. Reading, Science, Math, technology and diversity are included in this project. The main reason I picked the Learning Cycle for this characteristic was because it included all of these subject areas. I got to use many different CSO’s for this lesson plan and by using so many subject areas every student in the class could participate in the activities that I provided. I also included modifications for the different types of learners: kinesthetic, auditory and visual. For the auditory learners I had a video about magnets; for the visual learners, I provided a transcript of the video about magnets; and for the kinesthetic learners, I included hands-on materials that went with the video. I also picked activities for this learning cycle that would be engaging and meaningful for the students. I included journaling after the lessons to see what students were understanding and misunderstanding. After the lesson, I read the journals and wrote down students' misconceptions to talk about in class the next day. This was very helpful for the students and for me.