Standard 4: Student Learning

Teacher leaders facilitate student learning through evidence-based practice informed by research. They understand and apply research in child and adolescent development, cognitive development, and general and specialized pedagogy. They encourage critical reading, writing and thinking in the learning process. They foster instructional and evaluation methods that embrace variety and authenticity. They promote student reflection and self-assessment. They encourage colleagues and students to take on leadership roles and work in teams. Indicators are:

I-Poems

Context:

The I-Poems were written by students and used to gage students' learning from a non-fiction research writing project, completed during RE 5111, Current Research, Trends, and Practices in Reading under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Frye and Dr. Woodrow Trathen.  The I-Poems have been linked to my blog.  Once directed to the blog, click on the link to read students' I-Poems that have been scanned and pasted into a Word document.

Rationale:

During this writing project, students began by researching a non-fiction topic of interest.  Students utilized traditional methods of research such as books and magazines and also incorporated the use of technology through webquests.  Students thought critically about their reading and synthesized information to write and publish digital books via PowerPoint.  Students' knowledge was assessed authentically as they were invited to apply newly aquired knowledge to compose an I-poem based on their non-fiction topic.  This artifact demonstrates that I encourage reading, writing, and thinking during the learning process.  In addition, the artifact shows that I utilize instructional and assessment methods that are authentic and integrate technology to support student learning.

Use Of Mentor Text With Reluctant Writers Research Project

Context:

This artifact was an action-based research project conducted during Re 5040, Teacher as Researcher under the advisement of Dr. Woodrow Trathen.  I collaborated with another second grade teammate who was also in the Appalachian State University master's program to investigate the use of mentor text with reluctant writers.

Rationale:

While my colleague and I were pleased with the changes we had made to our writing instruction during  the reading mater's program from Appalachian State University and the successes our students were experiencing with their writing, we each still had a couple of reluctant writers in our classrooms.  We hypothesized that utilizing mentor text with our reluctant writers would provide the scaffolding students needed and lead to improved student writing.  Through our action research we collected qualitative data and confirmed our hypothesis.  Student writing did improve and we were able to cite specific instances where students transfered elements of the mentor into their own writing.  This artifact documents that I met the requirements for this standard by designing action research to investigate and improve student learning.