Characteristic of a Novice Teacher #2

    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.