Competencies for ID

As an educator, I find myself following the role of instructor for most competencies that where discussed in chapter 27. Reading through the list of competencies I find I have numerous strengths as well as numerous competencies I can improve upon. One strength is the ability to communicate effectively. I teach middle school science without a classroom text. I need to design every lesson to communicate information orally and visually for my students. For example, I will model how to set up and perform a science experiment by demonstrating the dos and don’ts. Every time we complete an experiment, I notice instructions that work well and those that need improvement. I write notes to myself for the following year to make it run more smoothly. Communication with parents is another important aspect in teaching. The middle school faculty agreed to send a folder home with each student every Monday with essential information such as student’s progress reports to keep parents updated. All the information in the progress report can also be found on-line at the school’s website. In addition to the Monday folder and website, I send home a written note to recognize good behaviors and attitudes. I have a lot of practice communicating with parents and students. An additional strength is the ability to foster an environment of learning and performance. I have recently started to feel more confident with classroom management. About two years ago I started utilizing Capturing Kids Hearts (CKH) which is a program that teaches students how to learn that success in the real world takes more than academic knowledge. Success is the confidence to rise above their circumstances. It teaches students to get along with others, take responsibility, and handle problems and decisions when they arise. Students discover their own self-worth and approach life ready to achieve. CKH focuses on critical, life-changing skills. I feel my room promotes an emotionally safe atmosphere where students can perform to their full potential. On the other hand, I found several competencies I need to improve upon. I need to improve on how I provide clarification and feedback, assess learning and performance, and evaluate instructional effectiveness. I attended a two day conference about formative assessment which concentrated on the three competencies I chose to improve. “Formative assessment is a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of students is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students to adjust their current learning tactics.” – W. James Popham, Transformative Assessment, 2008. The major part of formative assessment is using feedback whether written or spoken to help the student to understand what to do to improve. I need to learn to provide descriptive feedback that will motivate and move students forward. One way to do this is through penalty free assessments which are based on targets and provide strictly feedback on the student’s knowledge without an actual letter grade. A target is an objective worded with student friendly language. After correcting the assessment, I will be able to find the targets learned and the ones that need re-teaching. I will group students according to whose getting there quicker. Some students will work independently while other will work in small groups with me to master the targets before moving on to new ideas. I feel I am ready to make big changes in my classroom to improve the way I give feedback, assess learning, and evaluate instructional effectiveness.