We believe the novice teacher should have an in-depth knowledge of
content. Content is information that is found within our discipline that
we may be teaching. Especially for elementary students, this a vast and wide
range of information ranging from all content areas. It’s not just knowing the
information, but rather the common structure of knowledge and processes used to
develop new knowledge within the content area. With so much information within
a discipline, it is important that teachers figure out what is important for
the students to learn at each grade level. The possibilities are endless, and
no one will ever learn all there is to know about a topic, often because
concepts alter after time. If the teacher does not know the content, then
students will be the ones that will be hindered because they can possible
develop misconceptions, have the misconceptions be reinforced, or not have the
exposure at all.
An artifact that represents
having in-depth knowledge of content would be my science portfolio created for
C&I444. I am a science specialist, and we created a portfolio to represent
that we met the national science standards which included work we completed in
the class as well as other science class taken at West Virginia University.
This demonstrates in-depth knowledge because it is compiles a lot of the data,
assessments, and artifacts that we have made throughout our vast amount of
courses and tests from PRAXIS in the content area of science. With this
information, someone can now see that I have a vast amount of experience in
many science courses and can apply it when it comes to products as well as
assessments, such as PRAXIS science. A WebQuest that we create for Education
450 would also be another example because it shows that we not only know how to
create a lesson using interactive and engaging methods, but that we can find
sources and information that is useful, accurate, and fits into the WV CSOs as
well as the national standards for social studies. By deciding on a topic and
information for the WebQuest, I am demonstrating that I have chosen what I want
my students to learn and the sources/information that I believe is important
for students to know.
We believe the novice teacher
should have a commitment to and skills for lifelong learning. To be a lifelong
learner, a teacher needs to strive to continually be developing and searching
for knowledge and deeper understanding. The process of teaching is a nonstop
and ongoing every moment we are awake. Our world is constantly changing and
evolving as we live in it. Technologies advance, new tools are invented, and
strategies are being researched and developed into best practices. It’s up to
us, the teachers to keep up to date with that process, and even partake in that
process, in order to be the most effective teachers we can be for our students.
Our professional selves must evolve into those that know the best possible way
to reach all students and have all students learn in a way that best
suits their abilities and strengths. We are models for our students, and if we
demonstrate to them that we live a life that is full of learning and wondering,
then they will also want to continue probing for knowledge the rest of their
lives.
An artifact that represents
commitment and skills for lifelong learning could be attending workshops or
professional development. For my C&I 444 course, we attended a NASA
workshop in order to become trained in the NASA Star Lab. It was a 3 hour
course where we learned what features the Star Lab offered, how to use it, and
the lessons that we could do when we were using it. This is commitment to
lifelong learning because I wanted to develop skills that I could use for the
rest of my teaching career. Without the training, the resources are not
available to me, or my students. I know that the process of active learning and
being hands-on activates learning for students, so this is a viable method to
achieve that learning style for those students. Also, during my time in the
same course, we applied and were accepted to attend and present at the WVSTA
conference. We were able to see what other teachers from across the state were
doing with their students and the gains they have made in their learning. We
were also given materials to use in our classroom and had speakers that were
authors and photographers for National Geographic. By learning about other
peoples’ experiences and perspectives, we are giving students a new lens to
explore through, as well as a new one for us, the teachers, to investigate.
