Overview of Portfolio
- The following is my Masters in Teaching Portfolio. There are nine goals in ascending order. Each of the goals, written as headlines, are followed by strands which are written in blue font. Under each of these strands I provide proof of my having accomplished this strand and integrating it into my classroom. The purpose of this portfolio is to demonstrate my having excelled as a teacher and demonstrates my ability to teach at a professional level.
- Three evaluations are included at the beginning of this portfolio. The first evaluation is from the Fall of 2009 where my mentor teacher, adviser, and myself signed my self-evaluation. The second is the evaluation from Fall of 2009 that my mentor teacher and myself signed. The last is the evaluation from Spring 2010 where my adviser, mentor teacher, and myself all agreed on the scores collaboratively.
- There is another evaluation done by the NCTE that looks similar to the ones above. You can find a link to this document here; NCTE evaluation. This evaluation is a self rating based on the evaluations complied by mentor teacher and adviser. There is a small description about why I earned the grade that I did below each section.
About me
- My goal is to facilitate success throughout any school that I am placed in. I hope that I can contribute to the community and develop excellence in any student that walks into my classroom. I have a sign that has been above my desk at every school that I have taught at as well as taken with me in each of my outdoor classrooms stating, "Mr. Dwyer's Big 3; 1. You will change the world, it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of how 2. You are important 3. Your life is your statement." These are the reasons that I continue to teach.
- Refer to my resume for more background knowledge on my professional career and abilities.
- Refer to my Philosophy section of my portfolio where I explain more about myself and why I teach.
How to access material provided
- The reader must be online in order to access my portfolio.
- Each of the goals are in ascending order and the reader can scroll down the screen to see a quick overview and summary of how I accomplished the goals provided under each strand.
- For further information each strand has a hyper-link to google documents where I have posted more information defending my mastery of the skills mentioned in each goal strand. Some formatting of documents may have been changed as they were uploaded to the web. Scanned documents will come up with a thumbnail, sometimes looking like a negative, but when the item is downloaded the reader will be able to see the document fully.
- If at any point a question arises or more material is requested do not hesitate to email me at WdwyerIII@gmail.com.
1a Support their philosophy of education with research-based theory and evidence. - Refer to the Philosophy Essay where I critique various different philosophies of education that we have studied in the MAT. This essay shows philosophers like Dewey, Hahn, and Sizer, and shows how I have taken their beliefs and synthesized them with my own. I wrote this essay after researching different philosophers and ultimately integrating them with my life experience.
- Refer to the Philosophy Paper where I take the reader through how my personal educational philosophy evolved. This essay shows how my personal educational philosophy evolved over the course of my career as a teacher, guide, and Outward Bound Instructor. In this essay I explain how starting my work at the Outward Bound School exposed me to the philosophies of Kurt Hahn by practicing them in the field. As an instructor at Outward Bound I was required to research and understand the philosophies of Hahn and experiential education.
1b Apply philosophy, beliefs, and theory to practice.- Refer to my explanation paper, where I show how this assignment links to my educational philosophy stated in 1a. I did many assignments throughout the year that required students to draw on their personal experience and background. Students were allowed to be as creative as they wanted to be, but were given a direction and support to facilitate success. My assignments show that I am influenced by the experiential education of Hahn, and the philosophies of Dewey, in that I give every student a chance to link their assignment back to their personal experiences and mental schema.
- Refer to my final assignment for Science Fiction class. This assignment shows my philosophy by letting students bring their opinions to the table, and having a croup project that is built by the whole class. The assignment was to make a magazine by editing and polishing up your favorite work. This allowed students to bring their personal background into the class as well as getting them to contribute to the class as a team.
- Refer to the introduction to Science Fiction page one and page two that I made for the students at the beginning of the second semester. Notice that I write in a language that the students can relate to and get the students focused on coming together as a team. I also call on them to draw on their own experiences and creativity to excel in class.
- Refer to the paper written by a senior student of mine (page 1, 2, and 3) where he writes about my teaching practices. In this paper the student comments on the lessons that I gave and how they stuck with him. He also comments on my personality and the way that I made every student feel included.
1c Abide by a philosophy of education and remain flexible to revising it based on new research and teaching experience.
- Refer to my philosophy video where I go through how my philosophy has changed and adapted over time. This video shows how I arrived at my philosophy through the Outward Bound School, but experienced other educational philosophies that have influenced and frustrated me. Ultimately I end the video by summarizing where my beliefs currently are and where I see them going.
- Refer to the evaluation of my philosophy by my host teacher and adviser. You will notice that both of them ranked me very high, showing that I have a solid philosophy for a beginning teacher and they believe that I am meeting expectations.
- Refer to the Big Three Sign that I had hung up in the back of the classroom. This sign was above my desk as I taught in New Mexico, and followed me to Alaska. I changed the words around a little, but I would bet that any student in my class if asked what Mr. Dwyer's philosophy was would be able to point at the sign and tell a stranger. I keep my philosophy posted at all times in my classroom and continually refer to it during the lessons that I teach. Students in my class have a clear understanding of what I think, and why I am a teacher.
2a Identify ways students' developmental levels affect their thinking processes and learning- Refer to my teacher work sample where I explore the various aspects of my students developmental characteristics and how they learn differently for their developmental stages. When I introduce the unit that I taught in my teacher work sample I explain the background of my students and comment about what I think the benefits and drawbacks are within my classroom. I explain how the cognitive level of my students is taken into consideration before I teach, and reflected on after I am finished.
- Refer to my paper on Hemispheres, where I examine the different sides of how the brain learns and operates. This paper is a personal reflection on hemispheric differences, but illustrates my knowledge on the differences in brain development and operations. In this paper I also write about how knowing the different hemispheres of the brain will change my teaching styles.
- Refer to my paper on brain development where I explore the different ways that the brain learns as it grows and matures. In this paper I talk about the psychologists that we explored during my Summer classes on Educational Psychology and add my personal beliefs about what I think is the best method for student learning.
2b Accommodate difference in how students learn based on knowledge of individual's social, emotional, and intellectual maturation.
- Refer to my Brave New World paper explaining the connection between the unit and the developmental stages of my students. In this paper I show how I used the maturity level and developmental interests of my students to my advantage as I introduced a book from the 1930s. this book deals with controversial issues such as sex, drug use, and feminist criticism. I knew that I was teaching a senior level class that was heading to college so I decided that we could bring up these topics. I do examine the pitfalls of this unit, however, and explain some of the interferences that I had as well.
- Refer to my teacher work sample where I comment on my students social and emotional development as I plan my lessons. I explore where the students are coming from financially, socially, and ethnically and explain why this can affect their brain development and learning. In my teacher work sample I explain how I accommodated for these challenges and lead the way toward student success.
2c Appreciate unique thinking processes of learners at different stages of development.
- Refer to my evaluation where my host teacher and supervisor rank me higher than the average first year teacher. This evaluation illustrates that I have shown to expert teachers that I can accommodate unique thinking processes and learners at different stages.
- Refer to my reflection paper where I look back on my year as an MAT and comment on how I did with teaching students while appreciating their unique thinking processes and maturity levels. In this paper I explain what some of the challenges were for me teaching seniors. Many of them lost interest in high school and were focused on the next step in their lives. I reflect in this paper on how I maintained interest in my classroom and was able to harness their unique thinking processes throughout the remainder of the year.
3a Identify strategies for differentiating instruction based on student differences. - Refer to my paper on reading disabilities where I examine various types of disabilities that can hinder students in an English class. In this paper I point out resources that can be used to help these disabilities as well. I also go through some online sources where teachers can get more information on reading disabilities. I wrote this for a research paper in my education psychology course and was able to apply it this year as I oversaw 3 students with dyslexia in my classes.
- Refer to my journal on multi-cultural education where I write about what I am learning in my multi-cultural education class and how I can apply it to my classroom. In this paper I comment on the various diverse learners in my class due to race, sexual preference, or religion on a near daily basis. Everyone learns differently and I believe that as an educator we must be continually reflecting on what we can do to reach each student on those individual needs. This journal allowed me to continually reflect, adjust, and experiment with my teaching styles for students from different backgrounds.
- Refer to my personal traits paper where I reflect on my personal background as a learner. In this paper I talk about what parts of my personality will be helpful in my teaching career as well as what parts of my personality I need to work on in order to become a teacher that reaches all students. By self reflecting I am able to point out my potential faults before they happen. Being honest and conscious of what I do well and what needs to be worked on keeps me continually growing as a teacher. By knowing the different strands of education that I teach with automatically I am able to work on the ones that I am challenged by improving my overall teaching.
- Refer to my paper on the different learning styles of students. In this paper I reflect on my personal learning styles and how I dealt with high school. After doing this I state how that I can change the way that teaching is done in order to better reach all students with multiple intelligences. This paper illustrates my knowledge of the multiple intelligences as well as illustrating how I can use them in my teaching. This paper shows that I have the knowledge necessary to be a teacher that differentiates on a daily basis.
- Refer to the section of my teacher work sample where I talk about the various kinds of learners in my classroom and how I differentiated instruction accordingly. In the teacher work sample I prove that my philosophies and ideas that I talk about in the papers above are put into practice by the formative assessments that I gave the students. The formative assessments show that I drew on different ways of learning in order to teach the standards of my class. I also point out the different kinds of learners in my class showing that I was taking learning styles into account before I began my unit.
- Refer to the graphic organizer that I used in my Science Fiction class. I used graphic organizers for all the texts that we unpacked throughout the year. These allowed me to differentiate and help students that struggled with their reading skills.
3b Design instruction that incorporates characteristics of the local community's culture and that is appropriate to students' individual and special needs.- Refer to my paper on the presentation of Father Oleska for my multi-cultural education class where I explore the various types of cross cultural communication in Alaska. In this paper I explore the parts of education that need to be recognized in order to reach all students as well as the historical aspects of Native Alaskans in public education. This paper shows that I am able to listen to an expert, analyze the content, and apply it to my own teaching.
- Refer to my final paper for my Education Seminar class where I explore the aspects of a diverse classroom. In this paper I talk about how to create a classroom community where everyone is able to come to the table on an equal level. I also talk about how to create an atmosphere where everyone is able to learn by differentiating instruction for all students. I finish by stating my personal goals as a teacher so that I can remain conscious of where I want to be headed in order to maintain a productive career direction. This paper shows that I value a classroom where all students are able to pull in their background and link the education to it.
- Refer to my post assessment for the Alien unit (page 2) that my science fiction class did. You will notice the amount of options that the students were allowed to do gives them enough room to truly pull in their personal background and skills. This differentiation allowed students to truly succeed from any learning style or cultural background. The amount of options gives students the ability to succeed.
- Refer to my drawing assignment. I instructed the students to draw a relevant scene while we were reading Frankenstein. I split the students up into different groups and assigned them specific page numbers. After doing this I hung the pictures up around the room so that we had a visual for everything that happened in the story. This helped the students that struggled with reading the advanced text and gave us a visual aid for visual students.
- Refer to my paper on teaching on the Navajo Reservation where I talk about how I changed instruction in order to better accommodate the cultural relevance of the community I was living in. In this paper I demonstrate that I am able to take a situation that is uncomfortable, and create a community within my classroom. I was able to be open to learning other cultures and adapting my teaching accordingly.
- Refer to my teacher work sample section where I recognized the various cultural backgrounds of my students and consciously modified my lessons in order to take in the backgrounds of all students. In the formative assessment part of the teacher work sample you will see demonstrations about how I modified assignments for ESL and ELL students.
3c Apply local and Alaska knowledge to the selection of instructional strategies, materials and resources.
- Refer to my paper on how I brought in the various aspects of Alaska History into my instruction and used local knowledge to drive my instruction on various levels. In this paper I refer to the unit that I taught on Japanese Literature, and how I brought the students to an understanding of the different culture by identifying it with Alaska studies.
- Refer to my writing assignment that I gave out in Science Fiction class. This is a typical assignment that I made for the students, and you will notice that there are multiple places where the students can bring in their personal background into the work. I keep the writing assignments loose enough to incorporate personal experience, but keep enough structure to support students that are struggling. In this situation a student could write about any character that is in their personal life or someone that they identify with.
- Refer to my teacher work sample where I recognize local Alaska knowledge and pull in various parts for my instruction. In this sample I bring up the background of Juneau Alaska and how it affects teaching. I also comment on the school and how the community is affecting the teaching that goes on. I demonstrate that I am not only conscious of Alaska background in my instruction, but I change my lessons with the knowledge of student background.
3d Appreciate multiple perspectives and value individual differences.
- Refer to my evaluation where my host teacher, supervisor, and my self evaluation all reflect the appreciation of various cultural and individual differences and how it guided my instruction. You will see on my evaluation that I rank above the average teacher in this category showing that the people who have observed me throughout the year saw me use multiple perspectives in my lessons everyday.
4a Demonstrate knowledge of the content area taught, including structure of the curriculum, the tools of inquiry, central concepts, and connections to other areas of knowledge.- Refer to my paper on my content knowledge in which I discuss how I came to teaching English, and my academic background in the content area. In this paper I discuss how my writing knowledge and academic success has led me to be a credible teacher with a wealth of knowledge.
- Refer to my evaluations, that I wrote for class as well as my paper that links each of these evaluations to the standards necessary for learning in my content area. These tests and formative assessments link back to the standards and show that I was continually getting students to succeed in understanding the standards through my own mastery of the content.
- Refer to my teacher work sample where I connect what we are learning to the standards created by the state of Alaska for the students of the same age.
4b Connect the content area to other content areas and to practical situations encountered outside the school.
- Refer to my paper on collaborating with my fellow MAT students in order to make an integrated unit on the atomic bomb. In this paper I show how I link the content and standards in the English curriculum to other content standards in order to create a small learning community and a teaming process that facilitates success. By creating a unit that pulled in different content areas students were able to learn the information by forming similar neurological pathways throughout their brain making it easier to link content to their schema.
- Refer to my Teacher Work Sample as well as my paper where I defend the purpose of my unit plan. In this paper I discuss the way that my unit relates to other content areas, practical situations outside the school environment, how my personal knowledge is demonstrated through the curriculum, and how I facilitated further inquiry from the students. This paper proves that I am conscious of what students can do with my content, and that my knowledge of the content helped students become successful learners.
- Refer to my final project for our alien unit (page 2), you will notice that on page two I explain the skills that they are getting out of this creation and how they will be able to use this assignment outside of class. This reminds the students that even though the assignment is a fun way to learn new things it is also giving them skills that they will be able to use in other classes and outside of the school environment when the graduate.
4c Commit to professional discourse about content knowledge and student learning of content.
- Refer to my evaluation from my host teacher and supervisor. You will notice that they ranked me higher than average, showing that I am able to work in a group and have done so throughout the year. These master educators continually engaged with me about the school, the standards, and the content that we were teaching. The fact that they rated me so highly shows that I contributed to the professional discourse well.
- Refer to my comments about how I contributed to the English content area of Thunder Mountain High School and enabled students success through teaming and maintained discourse with other teachers. In this paper I explain how teaching the science fiction seminar enabled me to talk with the science teachers at the school, and having a history teacher next door that was teaching similar content helped me team as well.
- Refer to my evaluation of time at Tohatchi High School where I contributed to the discourse of the English curriculum in order to maintain standards and work with other teachers to create a professional discourse. The turn-over rate at the high school was so quick that by the end of the year I found myself collaborating with other teachers on content and curriculum plans, in this paper I discuss these issues.
5a Understand how to plan for instruction that is based on student needs and curriculum goals.- Refer to the papers that I wrote in strands 2b, 3b, and 4b. In these papers I discuss the way that I designed my curriculum in order to encompass all learning styles, cultural norms, developmental needs, and content knowledge. These papers show how I based my curriculum goals on the students needs and planned accordingly. These papers not only show that I am conscious of my student needs, but show how I applied that knowledge in my teaching.
- Refer to my evaluation where my mentor teacher and supervisor comment on how I planned my instruction in order to encompass my students needs and abilities. I am ranked above average on this assessment which shows that two master teachers think that I successfully tailor my lessons to students needs and remain flexible and adaptive to change.
5b Plan, teach, and assess for optimal student learning.- Refer to my teacher work sample section where I explain how I planned my unit in order to assess student knowledge and learning at the optimal level. I explain how my planning this unit after observing my students led to the optimal student learning for each individual in my class. The results from this unit in my post assessment section and conclusion shows that I was able to teach to the optimal student learning because of the high growth in student scores.
- Refer to my evaluation by mentor teacher and supervisor where they explain how I planned and taught for optimal student learning. Both master teachers ranked me high in this category showing that I was able to successfully teach to the students abilities.
5c Value assessment and instruction as integrated process.
- Refer to my teacher work sample assessment section where I show that I was able to backwards plan my unit based on the list of things that I wanted my students to be able to do at the end of the unit. I show that the assessment of the unit was a base for my teaching the unit. This organization helped me facilitate success by having a vision of where I wanted to go. Having the pre-test and post-test mirror each other showed that I was successful in teaching my formative assessments to the standards desired.
6a Investigate and use a variety of classroom management techniques to establish and maintain a responsive environment in which all students are able to learn. - Refer to my paper on classroom management in which I discuss how my classroom is maintained for optimal learning. In this paper I also discuss various other methods of classroom management that I have seen and explain what I have taken from them as well as what I have graciously left behind. By showing that I am conscious of different forms of classroom management and integrating them into how I teach my class it shows that I am maintaining a responsive environment that enables student success.
6b Establish and maintain a positive classroom climate in which students develop self-direction and collaborative skills.
- Refer to my evaluation made by my mentor teacher and supervisor. In this evaluation both master teachers show that I am above average in the environment I created. They have ranked me exceptionally high in this catagory for a first year teacher because of my ability to create a climate where all students are able to learn. Their high rating is evidence of this climate through their observations and time in my room.
- Refer to my paper on maintaining a climate in Tohatchi New Mexico where I taught freshman English on the Navajo Reservation. In this paper I write about how I entered the community as an un-trusted outsider that students did not want to talk with and was able to create an environment where discussion and collaboration occurred successfully. My time on the reservation is proof that I have been in difficult situations and worked hard to create a positive environment for all students.
6c Commit to ensuring student well being and development of self-regulation and group interaction skills.
- Refer to my evaluation by my mentor teacher and supervisor where they prove that I was able to maintain group interaction skills. The high rating on this evaluation, again, shows that I am able to create a group that interacts well with one another and creates optimal student learning.
- Refer to my paper on working as an instructor for Outward Bound Colorado as well as Outward Bound Australia where I show how I was able to help students work together for a common goal and facilitate success. Working for Outward Bound was my first experience as an educator, and pulling from these group experiences I am able to apply them to a successful classroom. My experience working with getting youth to become self-regulating goes back to this beginning of my educational career and the 6 years since have helped me refine and master the technique.
7a Develop and sound, broad-based understanding of students' families and the local communities.- Refer to my Teacher Work Sample where I map out the student background in the area that I am teaching. In this paper I discuss the economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds that come together in my class. By being conscious of the student's backgrounds I show that my understanding influences my teaching and helps facilitate success. In this paper I explain how I apply my knowledge of families and the local community in my instruction.
- Refer to my personal learning of the Navajo Nation . In this paper I discuss how I learned the differences in education from my own schooling and the Navajo Nation, and applied them to my teaching. In order to teach on the reservation I needed to learn about the community and become accepted into it. Being trusted when I was an outsider was difficult, but by practicing and being accepting I was able to engage the local community and bring successful change for students.
- Refer to my journal on multi-cultural education in Alaska. This journal is from my class on indigenous education in the state of Alaska and reflects on the differences of education.In this journal I illustrate my thinking process and how I apply my knowledge of local Alaskan culture to my teaching practices. I also reflect on where I come from and how my experiences influence my teaching.
- Refer to my paper on how I took a group of students to Minnesota in order to engage in a conference on community involvement. I was one of two teachers that took four students to a conference on the 40 asset program in order to learn how to make a healthier school community for the youth. This conference was headed up to get the community involved in the school and helped bridge the gap between the school and families on the reservation.
7b Communicate effectively with parents and community and incorporate local ways of knowing into decision making about all levels of schooling.- Refer to my paper on incorporating the 40 assets in Tohatchi High School. In this paper I discuss how I brought the community into the school in order to bridge the gap of communication that has happened on the reservation for decades. I explain how I organized things like barbecues and school paintings to get the student's families coming into the school. I was then able to learn about the local ways of knowledge so that I could apply them to my classroom.
- Refer to my Brave New World blog, where I posted homework so that parents and students both could access the assignments and see what was expected of them. This also let students communicate with each other, post their own assignments, and allowed parents to see what we were doing in class.
- Refer to the letter that I sent home at the beginning of the year where I opened up communication with the parents of my students and established a direct line of communication.
- Refer to my paper on building schools in Tanzania. In this paper I discuss how I got people from the U.S. to help build schools in Tanzania and learn how to work across language barriers as well as cultural barriers in East Africa. This paper shows that I am not only able to bridge the communication gap in American schools, but able to do it in foreign difficult environments.
- Refer to my paper on taking the Haines High School students up Kilimanjaro with their parents. In this paper I discuss how I had to teach both parents and students the basics of mountain climbing while we went up the highest peak on the African continent. The successful expedition shows that I am able to work with a high school and their parents when we are outside of the classroom and on a more personal level.
7c Recognize the school as an integral part of the community and value parents as partners in promoting student learning.
- Refer to the evaluation sheet where my teacher and supervisor comment on how I used the school as a part of the community. My high rating shows that I continually promote student learning by engaging the parents with my classroom.
- Refer to my paper on how I incorporated the community into Tohatchi High School as English teacher. In this paper I discuss how I brought in guest speakers and used the local community to create lessons for my class. By bringing speakers that were of the same ethnic background students were able to see what success could look like.
8a Keep current in knowledge of content and teaching practice.- Refer to my paper on keeping up on content knowledge where I explain how I have pushed myself to keep up with the emerging content in my area throughout my experience in the MAT, working as an English Teacher at Tohatchi High, and my work getting published in national magazines while in the program. In this paper I explain that my content knowledge does not just end with the classroom, but I am using it in many ways outside as well. I continually grow and reevaluate what I am learning.
- Refer to my paper on the NCTE where I discuss literacy and explore the new concepts that teachers are getting into. In this paper I explain how the new content area for English teachers is literacy, and how I synthesize literacy with technology by getting my students literate in the web. This is the new media for an English teacher, and the fact that I am keeping up to date with it shows that I am a strong future educator.
- Refer to my MAT blog under the sections "3 Awesome sources to be used" and "Socializing Online; joining discussion forums" where I discuss and document my exploration of new technologies and developments in my content area. In these articles I explain how I used online resources to keep current with the emerging content and utilized this knowledge in my lesson plans.
8b Participate in and contribute to the teaching profession. - Refer to my paper on the 40 assets where I discuss how I organized teachers to come up with a support system for each other and students in the school community around Tohatchi New Mexico. I worked with my vice principal collaborating to get the community involved in our school and increase connections between teachers and students. This paper shows evidence of the way that I contributed to the teaching profession beyond expectations.
- Refer to my literacy final paper where I explain how I collaborated with 4 other teachers in order to make an integrated unit on the atomic bomb. Working together we were able to create a 'team' atmosphere at the school that was project based and interdisciplinary. This paper shows my ability to contribute across curricular borders in order to promote success.
8c Communicate effectively with students, colleagues, and supervisors.- Refer to my evaluation, where I am ranked above average by my observers. When going through these evaluations I sat down with my host teacher and supervisor and talked about what I could do to make myself a better teacher, as well as what I do that is already good. From these evaluations I was able to grow and reflect on my process.
- Refer to my paper on the reflection process for the Japanese Literature. In this paper I explain how I was able to teach a unit twice and get feedback from my mentor teacher in order to make the second time much more powerful. Using resources, like other teachers, shows that I am able to effectively communicate with supervisors in a comfortable productive way.
8d Value professional ethics, democratic principles, and collaborative learning communities.
- Refer to my evaluation, where teachers comment on my ethics in the classroom as well as what I contributed to the school environment. In this process of evaluation I was able to sit down with my host teacher and supervisor and reflect on how I contributed to the school community. My high ranking shows that I exceeded their expectations.
- Refer to my letter of recommendation from Ian Hoke and Ann Walker from Tohatchi High School. In these letters of recommendations colleges and fellow teachers comment on how I was able to contribute to the school community and worked with them n order to contribute to the positive environment of the school.
9a Operate computers and other technologies and evaluate their potentials and limitations
- Refer to the I.E.P. section of my MAT blog where I document my use of computers through blogging in my MAT classroom. Under the I.E.P. section of my blog the reader will be able to follow along my lessons where I got my Science Fiction Seminar class to start blogging and posting their assignments online. There is a date followed by what was accomplished that day, as well as details about the problems that I ran into and overcame.
- Refer to the Anthro-tech assignment, where I document the technologies available at my school. This paper documents my findings as I went around Thunder Mountain High School in order to see what I could do technologically and what problems I would encounter so that I could trouble-shoot past them before they happened.
9b Integrate technology in planning, instruction, and assessment to support students learning.
- Refer to the Brave New World blog assignment where students posted their research online. Students explored different parts of the novel Brave New World and posted their research online. The Brave New World Blog was the home site where all the students could gain access to the other student blogs and comment/ explore their research. Due to the slow computers at the school I was only able to cover the top of the iceberg, but this shows that I am using technology in my classroom and teaching the students to be literate in it as well.
- Refer to an example student blog where they have posted their final assessment for the unit. This shows the ways that students used technology in order to create a final product that explored a topic, but also helped gain technological literacy.
9c Value technology as a tool for student and teacher lifelong learning.
- Refer to the evaluation where my supervisor and mentor teacher commented on my technology usage in class. you will notice that my successful rating shows that the two master teachers think that I am utilizing the technology at Thunder Mountain High School for lifelong learning with the students.
- Refer to the "Socializing Online" section of my MAT blog where I document my continual effort towards learning new technology. This section documents the new technologies I found, and the date that I found them on. Then, I explain how I can use these new technologies in my classroom.
