InTASC Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
InTASC #9 - Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Related NSTA Standard
Professional knowledge and skills - Effective teachers of science strive to continuously improve their knowledge and understanding of the ever changing knowledge base of both content, and science pedagogy, including approaches for addressing inequities and inclusion for all students in science. They identify with and conduct themselves as part of the science education community.
Artifact #1: Reflection - Student Internship at FLVS
Artifacts and Reflection
Description: This artifact represents one of three reflections developed during a short-term internship with the Florida Virtual School (FLVS). The reflection provided me an opportunity to be thoughtful about what I learned during the internship, and it helped me identify my strengths and weakness.
Artifact #2: Field Observation - Learner Engagement
Description: This artifact represents a summary of an observation of a high school biology inclusion class focused on evaluation of student on task behavior during active learning activities versus passive activities (i.e., watching a video).
How Do These Artifacts Demonstrate Achievement of the Standard: Artifact #1 demonstrates my desire for continued improvement through identification of my weakness and specific steps I can implement to address those weaknesses. The reflection also demonstrates what I learned about effective teaching in the online environment, and the insights I gained about the importance of giving detailed, constructive feedback. Artifact #2 demonstrates this standard through the collection of data used to evaluate what teaching practices reduce off task behavior of students.
How Have These Artifacts Impacted My Understanding of Teaching/Learning?: Creation of these artifacts helped me realize that continued learning and evaluation are essential parts of becoming an effective teacher. The FLVS internship was the first opportunity I have had to work with students since I was a teaching assistant in graduate school. The requirement to developed the written reflection helped me get the most out of the internship through the process of being thoughtful and documenting what I had learned. Completing the field observation and analysis helped me identify some simple ways to collect both qualitative and quantitative data that can help me evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching practices and make adjustments as needed.
Strengths: I am able to reflect on my current practices and performance and identify ways that I could improve both.
Areas for Improvement: One of the critical dispositions of this standard is that “the teacher is committed to deepening understanding of his/her own frames of reference (e.g., culture, gender, language, abilities, ways of knowing), the potential biases in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships with learners and their families (CCSSO, 2011). Though my teaching internship, I will strive to not only understand my own frame of reference but my students’ frames of reference and use this information to deliver instruction that meets my students’ needs.
References
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2011). Interstate teacher assessment and support consortium (InTASC) model core teaching standards: A resource for state dialogue. Washington, DC: Author.