CSTP Artifacts
Standard 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
CSTP: 1-1 states that candidates connect to students' prior knowledge, life experience, and interests with learning goals. In order to engage and support my students in learning, I have to make it my absolute priority to understand them. In the All About Me handout that I give at the beginning of my relationship with my students, I learn about their families, their likes and dislikes, and what they expect from me as their teacher. This is probably one of the most valuable activities that informs my teaching of the specific students that will be in my classrooms because I get a sense of who they are as learners, thinkers, and social individuals.
This student believes it is important for me to know his family's schedule and routines. Knowing this student's usual bedtime, although a minor detail, is important in supporting his learning throughout the school year as circumstances arise.
This student, like most students, has a strong understanding of her academic needs even before we begin instruction. On the last line of this sheet, she explains that she needs help with her writing and even uses the language to describe her needs, "write more proficient." This initial mode of communication helps to establish and set the tone of our relationship, that I respect her as a learner, and that I am here to work in partnership with her.
Finally, this shows that some students need practical things that they would like assistance with as well. As a teacher, I will never know what is on the mind of my students until I ask. Knowing that this is on her mind and may cause a potential distraction from her academic learning, I will be able to help her with this need so that she can be further engaged in the current lessons.
The above and below pictures represent the various journals that I share with my students. Through this form of communication, I am able to share my passion for writing with students as well as engage in an on-going conversation with them even outside of the classroom. The content that students provide in their journals allows me to engage them in student learning throughout the day because they will have already shared their interests, concerns, comforts etc.
To engage my students, I design lessons so that they are in a real-world context or so that the content is directly related to their prior knowledge. My students are explicitly told the "why" factor: Why is this useful? Why do we need to know this? Why does this matter? Having these conversations creates a purpose for their learning and understanding. By setting my students up with the "why" information, I can now support my students as they develop the "how" factor. This involves the deeper, critical thinking that takes place when material is presented. This is their ability to explain how they know and understand the information presented in a topic. In order to expect this of them, I have to make sure that my presentation of the lessons are engaging and that they have purpose. Here is an example of a meaningful activity that fifth grade students took part in. After reading an article about an individual who is a "champion" (this was our theme for the year), students received a prompt asking them to make connections to the champion in the article and a champion in their own lives. In the student essays below, students write about this individual and a loved one of their choice. By allowing my students to make connections to their own lives, I value my students' personal experiences and model the fact that their personal experiences also connect to their learning.
Standard 2: Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning
CSTP 2-2 encourages teachers to establish a climate that promotes fairness and respect. To create and maintain an effective environment for student learning, I make several observations in the beginning and throughout the school year. I have to assess the current social environment against the type of environment that I wish to create for my classroom. Even if the proper techniques and strategies are in place, I have to understand how my students are interacting with one another so that I know how best to use my techniques. Below is an example of a sociogram where I observe my students as they transition to different locations and social groups at recess. This sociogram has been useful both inside and outside of the classroom.
From my observations, I work to create a safe, supportive, and caring environment for my students in the classroom. I explain that the classroom is a learning center where ideas are shared and great learning takes place. For students to feel safe to share their ideas, I make sure that their environment shows that their needs are valued and respected.
The support corner is used to respect my students' sense of space. When students need a break, feel distracted, or need to be inspired, they are free to move to the support corner of the room to continue with their independent or whole group work. As the year progresses, the support corner wall gets filled with pictures of their families and friends, their pets, favorite celebrities, authors, etc. On the desk in the back of the room, you can see a flower cup, a stuffed animal pet (just in case students want to be comforted) and a box of tissues. This gives the classroom a home-y feel and allows students the freedom to seek support when needed. Students understand that this space is open to them at all times during instruction.
To create a safe space for students in my classroom, I use themed walls such as this one to celebrate all of my students. Notice the pom poms at either end of the wall. As students bring their checked papers up to pin it on the wall, students are allowed to wave the pom poms to celebrate their classmate's achievement.
The pictures above and below represent my attempt at making our learning environment more comfortable and suitable for student learning. In the above case, this first grader needed the stuffed animals in order to feel safe in the classroom. While she initially had the bear stuffed animal at her table, I felt that it was important for her and the other students in the room to see this animal as an integral part of the classroom community. For these reasons, we worked together as a class to come up with a name for the bear, find the bear friends, and to give Chris the Bear his own name tag at his new desk.
The same goes for the picture below. The use of writer's hats (all were fun and crazy hats) and other objects in my classroom was another strategy used to promote individuality, acceptance, and support for one another. (Notice the drawing of the student holding the pom poms that were used at the champion wall.) )
The same goes for the picture below. The use of writer's hats (all were fun and crazy hats) and other objects in my classroom was another strategy used to promote individuality, acceptance, and support for one another. (Notice the drawing of the student holding the pom poms that were used at the champion wall.) )
The above is an accommodated chart to help students remember certain social/emotional and academic expectations in a school setting. This specific chart helps students remember to raise their hand during whole group activity in order to respect others. The image in the top right corner can be changed to meet the needs of the specific student. Using star charts such as this one promotes a safe learning environment as the goal of my classrooms.
Standard 3: Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning
CSTP 3-2 states that candidates should plan curriculum to best support student understanding of subject matter. To be an effective teacher, I must organize curriculum to facilitate student understanding. It is a goal here that I organize curriculum for children to asess their own understanding as well. The following are examples of organizing subject matter to best fit my students' needs.
On this first grade chart, students progressively move through the different activities during their word study. The order at which the activities take place is important because the activities build upon each other. While I used this chart to initially keep track of student progress, I gradually released my responsibility over to the students so that they could keep track of their own progress. To make this chart personal, I used the favorite colors that this student wrote in the About Me handout that I gave at the beginning of my instruction. This further shows my students that I value their interests.
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The fourth grade lesson sequence above demonstrates my ability to organize subject matter around my students' current understanding. I begin instruction of the new unit by first activating their prior knowledge and providing the necessary supports to enhance their understanding of the new material.
Standard 4: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
CSTP 4-3 Urges candidates to develop and sequence instructional activities and materials for student learning. Planning instruction is probably one of the most exciting times for me as a teacher. When I know my students and their learning styles, I have a better idea of the type of experiences that will best support their learning. In the following example, fourth grade students were learning about static electricity. I designed several labs for my students to experiment with positive and negative charges and to build on their learning. For one of the labs, I called it the Beauty Salon experiment in which three fourth grade scientists from our classroom needed to come up and comb their teacher's hair. They would then place the comb over tissue paper and record their observations. To give this experiment context, the activity took place right before Valentine's Day and my Master Teacher needed her hair done before her date with her husband later that night. However the strips of pink tissue paper that my Master Teacher would use for her husband's gift was scattered all over her desk and my scientists tested how they could use the comb to attract large amounts of the paper.
To help the diverse learners in my classroom and support their understanding, I created several posters and handouts of our experiment. After watching the experiment, the above handout was used to help students process and reflect on their observations as well as make connections to their readings about positive and negative charges.
I used this larger poster to create a larger visual for my students as we discussed the concepts of static electricity. As our class discussion progressed, we added to this poster and the students added to their handouts as well.
This poster demonstrates my understanding that my students need multiple experiences with a concept to deepen their understanding. In this second experiment with the balloons and the wool cloth, students could relate their knowledge of the prior experiment to help make connections for this one.
This activity is used to review or wrap up the lesson sequence. I create this brochure for students to map out their understanding of positive and negative charges and how it relates to static electricity.
Standard 5: Assessing Student Learning
CSTP 5-1 states that teachers should establish and communicate learning goals for all students. Assessing student learning is extremely important for me to help my students grow in their learning. For these reasons, I design lessons so that there are multiple opportunities for me to assess their learning throughout. While it is important for me to assess my students, it is also just as important for my students to assess their own learning as well. Below is an example of a math rubric given to students at the end of a unit on integers as a post assessment. The style of this assessment is very different from the usual worksheet or test. Here, students must write about their understanding and use statements to support their thinking. As they take this assessment, they are able to monitor their own progress in completing this task.
The above is an example of the differentiated assessment that I created for the same math lesson. This is for students who may not have the language to explain their thinking. Thus, it is important for me to recognize symbols, arrows, circles, etc as a means for demonstrating their understanding. While keeping my high expectations for the assessment, I understand that the rubric will be adjusted to consider all learners in my classroom.
Student pre-assessment.
Student post assessment; given the correct language and demonstrations to expand her understanding, this student improves her ability to effectively communicate her ideas through writing.
Standard 6: Developing as a Professional Educator
CSTP 6-2 states that teachers should establish professional goals and pursue opportunities to grow professionally. In order to best meet my students' needs, it is my responsibility to continue learning and growing as a professional. I continue to stay informed, reflective, and supportive by attending and participating in conferences, writing for education reform, attending seminars and trainings, and learning from my colleagues. I have also attended the Greater San Diego Math Council Conference and I am a member of the California Mathematics Council. Both conferences teach innovative approaches to math for the common core.
In the above article, I explain my experiences integrating art curriculum into the overall framework of the classroom. I also participated with my fellow group members as a speaker in the Education in Action Conference that took place at the University of California, San Diego.
The JTL trainings, seminars, and observations help educators prepare students for the new common core model. With this program, students learn how to be critical thinkers and apply their learning to real world concepts. The above is a first graders work in which she read and took notes on an animal for her animal research project. She then produced a nonfiction informational piece.