Rationale
Proposition 3 states that teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. To me that means planning and making changes based on the changing needs of students. These two lesson plans were created sequentially before and after learning new inclusion and diverse-learner operations skills. The first lesson plan was created to suit my actual students. I displayed a great amount of organizational skill and an understanding of my student needs, based on ongoing monitoring of their learning, in the creation of this lesson. The second lesson shows that I know how to change and grow with my students if their needs change. Each lesson also reflects a thorough understanding of the state standards and a differentiated approach to assessment to ensure that each student masters the objectives offered.
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Artifacts
This lesson plan consists of planning and development for a short two lesson unit entitled "Understanding Conflict in Fiction." It was focused on linking assessment with instruction, teaching methods and strategies for obtaining high levels of achievement, considering diversity perspectives, and active student involvement. The plan was created with my own students in mind and acted as a jumping point for the following lesson plan.
This lesson plan consists of planning and development for the same short unit as the lesson listed above. However, instead of planning for the group of student I actually had, the unit was planned for a given scenario. The scenario was made up of an inclusive student group and had some diversity and representation of students with disabilities. The focus remained the same, but inclusion and diversity aspects were more centralized. This lesson is accompanied by a reflection.
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Reflection
As a teacher, it is often easy to forget about the assessment phase of learning, as many see it as the dirty part of the job. I have come to not only accept assessment and its place in my job, but I have also come to love assessment. Don't get me wrong, I'm still no lover of standardized tests and long laborious essay questions that may serve only to let us know that our students can retain information and regurgitate facts. No, instead, I have come to love the observation of and discussion with students as a form of assessment. The conferencing periods are particularly important to me as a teacher as they open my eyes to personal connections to learning the students are making, or a lack thereof, and allow me to make changes in the direction of my teaching. I look forward to becoming a master of differentiated assessment.
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