Standard 5: Reflection
Teacher leaders contribute to systematic, critical analysis of learning in their classrooms and beyond. They are lifelong learners who model and support ongoing professional development. Teachers embrace critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation. Indicators are:
- Promote an educational culture that values reflective practice.
- Model the development of meaningful professional goals.
- Model personal and professional reflection to extend student learning and school improvement.
Final Exam/Reflection from RE 5715
Context:
The artifact was created as part of the final exam/reflection from RE 5715, Reading Assessment and Correction under the instruction of Dr. Darrell Morris. The last question on the final exam asked me to reflect upon my own thinking about assessment and instruction and describe changes in my own thinking and assessment as a result of the course.
Rationale:
Throughout the Reading Master's program at Appalachian State University, the common thread of reflection has been woven throughout each course taken. With each piece of new knowledge gained, I had to consider, am I using this best practice and if not what can I do to ensure I am. This artifact demonstrates that I have met standard 5 through the analysis of learning in my own classroom. This artifact also demonstrates that through professional reflection I made appropriate changes to my assessment methods that led to improved student learning. During the program, I realized I was leaving out a critical component of assessment when I was assessing my students. Therefore, my assessments were not accurate and instruction suffered because I was not instructing students at their instructional level. However, increased knowledge allowed me to understand that valid reading assessments must include rate, accuracy, and comprehension components. After changes to my assessments, I am able to properly instruct students at their instructional level and am seeing more growth than ever before.
Context:
This artifact was created as a final reflection for FDN 5840, Sociological and Philosophical Foundations under the instruction of Dr. Michael Dale and was written to answer the question, "Why read?" The artifact was created using course discussions and course readings.
Rationale:
At the beginning of this course, I looked at the syllabus and saw the question, "Why read?" and thought, well for many reasons; we read for entertainment, to learn, to enrich our lives, to function in society. We need to be able to read in most instances to hold employment. However, during the course of FDN 5840, I realized those are very shallow and superficial reasons that we read. While they are important, I moved those reasons further down the list and placed these at the top. One reason we should read is because words are powerful and transformative. The second is because books and characters help us navigate through a complex world and understand ourselves more deeply and they help us strive to be better. Reading allows us to imagine ourselves as another. So ultimately, reading is at the core of our morality and humanity. Reflecting upon my own reasons for why one reads led me to think more critically about unit choices and read aloud choices for my students. I edited some of the "fluff" from my arsenal and am now more intentional in my choices. This artifact demonstrates that I model personal and professional reflection to extend student learning.