Wisconsin Teacher Standard #10

Professionalism
Julie Rollins
St. Marys University of Minnesota
Masters of rts in !ducation " Wisconsin Pro#ram
!$UW %&% Portfolio Production and Presentation
Martha 'ronholm( dvisor
July )01*
WTS 10 +a#e 1
Wisconsin Teacher Standard #10
Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community.
The teacher fosters relationshi+s ,ith school collea#ues( +arents( and a#encies in the
lar#er community to su++ort students learnin# and ,ell-.ein#.
Knowledge
The teacher understands ho, factors in the students environment outside of school /e.#.
family circumstances( community environments( health( and economic conditions0 may
influence students lives and learnin#.
Disposition
The teacher is ,illin# to consult ,ith other adults re#ardin# the education and ,ell-.ein#
of his1her students.
Performance
The teacher ma2es lin2s ,ith the learners other environments on .ehalf of students( .y
consultin# ,ith +arents( counselors( teachers of other classes and activities ,ithin the
schools( and +rofessionals in other community a#encies.
Professional Development oals
3t seems that 3 tend to communicate more fre4uently ,ith the +arents of the to+ 105 and
the .ottom 105 students. Therefore( 3 ,ill increase the amount of +arent communication
,ith the middle 605 of the student .ody7 3 +lan to share ,ith +arents their childs
accom+lishments and im+rovements in the classroom more fre4uently.
WTS 10 +a#e )
3 ,ill use the school( home( 8 community resources to im+lement the most effective
teachin# strate#ies to successfully meet the needs of my students.
3 ,ill .ecome more involved in community +ro#rams1activities. 3t is essential to .ecome
involved in the community and ta2e a #reater interest in the lives of my students outside
of school.
3 ,ill +artici+ate in +rofessional develo+ment o++ortunities that ,ill increase my a.ility
to im+rove student achievement.
Self!"ssessment
s an educator( 3 understand the im+ortance of meetin# the needs of my students so that
they can ma2e the most of their learnin# e9+erience. 'no,in# each student as a learner at
school as ,ell as a +erson outside of school are .oth essential. 3t is im+ortant to understand the
family .ac2#round( economic situation( and community involvement of each student. These
as+ects can affect the ty+e of learner that a +erson is and are 4uite im+ortant ,hen tryin# to
understand ho, a student learns .est. The .est ,ay to learn these facts a.out the students is to
have t,o-,ay communication ,ith the +arents. :ommunicatin# ,ith +arents ,ill sho, +arents
your interest in their childs education( and research sho,s that student achievement im+roves
,hen +arents are more directly involved in their childs education. This is one area that 3 need to
im+rove on as an educator. My #oal is to use the strate#ies and tools that 3 have learned
throu#hout the courses of the Masters Pro#ram to ma2e im+rovements on my communication
,ith +arents. :ommunication is an essential 2ey to student success. 3 also feel that it is
im+ortant to ta2e an interest in ,hat my students are involved ,ith in the community. Some
students are on s+ort teams( others ta2e +art in contests such as s+ellin# .ee or s+eech contest(
and yet others are involved in scouts or even community theater +erformances. 3 encoura#e and
WTS 10 +a#e ;
su++ort all community activities. 3 al,ays ma2e it a +riority to as2 students a.out these activities
to sho, them my interest in ,hat they are involved ,ith outside of school. These activities all
have somethin# to offer students and enrich their learnin# e9+eriences.
My current teachin# <o. is teachin# at one of the five elementary schools in the
Marshfield School $istrict. !ach of the elementary .uildin#s includes 2inder#arten throu#h
si9th #rade. The .uildin# that 3 teach at is a four-trac2 school ,ith a.out 100 students in each
#rade. The si9th #rade at our .uildin# is set u+ as a middle school format ,ith each of us four
teachers teachin# one of the core su.<ect areas. 3 am the :ommunication rts teacher teachin#
readin#( ,ritin#( #rammar( and s+ellin#. =ne essential s2ill that 3 must have to .e effective in
this <o. is the a.ility to ,or2 as +art of a team. To .e a.le to ,or2 to#ether ,ith three collea#ues
effectively( 3 must al,ays .e ,illin# to +ut in the time and effort to colla.orate each and every
day. 3 am res+onsi.le for the success of teachin# the :ommunication rts curriculum to all 100
si9th #rade students( and it is necessary to ,or2 coo+eratively ,ith the other si9th #rade teachers
to trac2 student success and needs. =ne strate#y that 3 have used that has .een effective is
trac2in# student +ro#ress .y creatin# a s+readsheet of student data and assessment results. This
+iece of data ensures that 3 am a.le to monitor students ,ho are meetin# and students ,ho are
not meetin# the e9+ectations. +lan of action can then .e develo+ed and im+lemented for those
students. s +art of our teachin# team( 3 also colla.orate and ,or2 ,ith the s+ecial education
staff( intervention s+ecialists( and school counselor to .est 2no, the needs of the students. 3 feel
that our si9th #rade team is very effective in ,or2in# to#ether to .est meet the needs of all of the
si9th #rade students.
#amilies and $ommunity
WTS 10 +a#e *
3 have .een a mem.er of the Marshfield :ommunity for nearly )0 years. fter attendin#
UW-Stevens Point( 3 moved to Marshfield ,here 3 com+leted my student teachin# and settled
do,n ,ith my hus.and. 3 .e#an su..in# in the Marshfield School $istrict and also tau#ht a
variety of courses durin# the summer school session at .oth the elementary and middle school
levels. My children attend the Marshfield schools7 my dau#hter ,ill .e a freshman at Sr. >i#h
and my son ,ill .e in si9th #rade at ?incoln !lementary. My family has .een actively involved
,ith @irl Scouts( Middle School s+orts( Par2 8 Recreation activities( community s+ort +ro#rams(
hel+in# ,ith s+ortin# activities throu#hout the year( and church youth +ro#rams and activities. 3
have also .een involved as a +arent volunteer ,ith .oth of my children in school ,ith activities
such as hel+in# at the school carnival and cha+eronin# a field tri+ to Madison. =ne of my #oals
is to .ecome more involved ,ith community +ro#rams7 it is im+ortant for students to see me
actively +artici+atin# in the community so that they .etter understand the conce+t of life
e9+eriences.
t school( 3 am involved ,ith a variety of +ro#rams and committees that are .eyond the
school day. 3 have .een on our Auildin# ?eadershi+ Team ,hich addresses .uildin# needs and
concerns and communicates the issues and +lans .ac2 to the #rade level teams. 3 am the advisor
for Aattle of the Aoo2s at our school. This is a readin# o++ortunity for #rades *-% to ,or2 as a
coo+erative #rou+( read a list of .oo2s( and +re+are for a com+etition that 4uiBBes them on these
.oo2s. 3 am very +roud to say that @rant !lementary has scored in the to+ t,o for the +ast t,o
years. 3 have .een the coordinator for our S+eech :ontest and S+ellin# Aee in si9th #rade. 3 am
also involved ,ith the after-school tutorin# +ro#ram ,hich focuses on readin# and math for our
stru##lin# learners. 3 have volunteered at my elementary school to hel+ ,ith activities such as
Cs+rin# clean-u+D( school carnival( school rumma#e sale( cri..a#e clu.( and community-.ased
WTS 10 +a#e E
fundraisers. Aein# involved .eyond the classroom is an im+ortant as+ect of .ein# an effective
educator.
%earner
3 am continually see2in# o++ortunities that ,ill im+rove my teachin# s2ills and .enefit
student learnin#. To #ro, as an educator( 3 ,ill continue to attend +rofessional develo+ment
,or2sho+s +rovided .y my school district. These ,or2sho+s stren#then my 2no,led#e and
s2ills on a variety of to+ics( and they directly have a +ositive im+act on student learnin#. fe,
e9am+les of ,or2sho+s that 3 have attended in the +ast include the s2ills of ,ritin# summative
assessments( a refresher on teachin# the P!FS conce+ts for the :ommunication rts curriculum(
learnin# a.out the domains of the $anielson Model and !ducator !ffectiveness( and the conce+t
of differentiation. 3t is necessary to continue learnin# ne, strate#ies and refinin# s2ills that ,e
already im+lement .ut need to im+rove to .e an effective educator of today.
The Marshfield School $istrict im+lements the +hiloso+hy of P?: /+rofessional learnin#
community0. !ach ,ee2 ,e meet ,ith our .uildin# teams to discuss issues( com+are student
learnin#( share su##estions and ideas( and revie, student assessment results and data. !very
month( ,e meet ,ith our district teams to discuss these same items ,ith our collea#ues at the
other elementary schools. P?: +rovides a constant learnin# o++ortunity for us teachers to ta2e
.ac2 2no,led#e and strate#ies from other teachers and im+lement them in our o,n classroom to
.etter teach our students.
The courses that 3 have ta2en in the Masters Pro#ram throu#h SMU have +rovided me
,ith 2no,led#e( s2ills( and strate#ies that 3 have im+lemented in my classroom and ,ill continue
to use in my teachin# situation. C:lassroom !nvironmentD tau#ht me to evaluate my classroom
s+ace( routines( and +rocedures. fter some reflection( 3 identified areas that needed
WTS 10 +a#e %
im+rovement and made the necessary chan#es. 3 ,ill continue to evaluate myself and my
classroom and ma2e chan#es to .est meet the needs of my students. Procedures that ,or2 .est
for one class of students may or may not .e the .est +ractice for a different class of students.
Reflection and self-evaluation is on#oin# and necessary chan#es need to .e made. C!thics and
3ssues in !ducationD tau#ht me the s2ills of ma2in# a decision more carefully. Aefore ma2in# a
decision( 3 must consider all of the facts and loo2 at .oth sides of the situation. 3t is also very
im+ortant to consider filters that ,ill affect the decision 3 am #oin# to ma2e. #e( ,or2 ethic(
life e9+eriences( values( and economic status are <ust a fe, filters that ,ill ma2e a difference on
the decisions 3 ma2e in my classroom. CTechnolo#y and :ommunicationD sho,ed me many
,ays to effectively incor+orate technolo#y into my classroom. Technolo#y is a ma<or factor in
the lives of students of todays society. 3t is essential that 3 teach the s2ills and +rovide many
o++ortunities for my students to use technolo#y in their learnin# e9+eriences. 3 certainly ,ill
continue to im+lement many of the s2ills and strate#ies to +rovide the most effective student
learnin# in my classroom.
%eader and $olla&orator
3 have .een involved in several leadershi+ roles durin# my teachin# career. My +revious
teachin# <o. ,as at a catholic school in a small to,n. 3 tau#ht Math for #rades %( G( and 6 as
,ell as the Readin# and Writin# for #rade G. While at that <o.( 3 ,as the +erson to develo+ and
im+lement an dvanced l#e.ra course for students to .e a.le to test into and ta2e durin# the
school year. This class ,as develo+ed throu#h colla.oration ,ith the 6
th
#rade Math teacher at
the +u.lic school. 3 created a test that students needed to ta2e to .e a.le to 4ualify for the
dvanced l#e.ra course. The course that 3 develo+ed follo,ed the curriculum of the &
th
#rade
l#e.ra class tau#ht at the +u.lic school. Students in #rade 6 ,ere a.le to 4ualify for and ta2e
WTS 10 +a#e G
the advanced class( and 3 ,as also the teacher for the course. Students ,ho too2 this course and
met the re4uirements ,ere then a.le to ta2e 10
th
#rade math as a &
th
#rader ,hen they entered
hi#h school. This leadershi+ role allo,ed students to ,or2 to their a.ility in the area of
mathematics and advance to a hi#her trac2 of classes in hi#h school.
3 am certified to .e a mentor and a P$P revie,er. This certification allo,s collea#ues to
have someone to colla.orate ,ith in their teachin# situation. 3 am currently a P$P revie,er ,ith
the Huality !ducator 3nteractive ,e.site. 3 .elieve that ma2in# myself availa.le to the many
teachers out there ,ho are ,ritin# a P$P and need someone ,illin# to .e their revie,er is an
im+ortant leadershi+ role in education.
t my current school( 3 am involved ,ith the after-school tutorin# +ro#ram. This
+ro#ram focuses on math and readin# s2ills for stru##lin# readers. 3 am res+onsi.le for +ro#ress
monitorin# and trac2in# the #ro,th of these students. 3 ,or2 ,ith the si9th #rade students on
fluency( com+rehension( voca.ulary( ,ritin#( math facts( +ro.lem solvin#( and a++lyin# readin#
s2ills to the core su.<ect areas of science and social studies. Aein# involved ,ith the tutorin#
+ro#ram #ives me an o++ortunity to hel+ students ,ith the s2ills that they use durin# the school
day in all of their class. My involvement in this +ro#ram sho,s the students that 3 ,ant them to
.e successful in their learnin# e9+eriences.
'eflective Summary
fter this self-assessment and reflection +rocess relatin# to Wisconsin Teacher Standard
#10( 3 have discovered some of my stren#ths and ,ea2nesses. 3 .elieve that an effective
educator can ta2e a loo2 at their classroom environment( routines and +rocedures( and instruction
and evaluate ,hat is effective and ,hat needs to .e chan#ed. 3 reco#niBe that communication
,ith families is necessary( and this is one area that 3 need to im+rove u+on. 3 +lan to ,or2 on
WTS 10 +a#e 6
increasin# the amount of communication ,ith +arents via emails( notes home a.out C#ood
.ehaviorsD( and +hone calls to share my concerns a.out their child. 3 es+ecially ,ant to increase
the communication ,ith +arents of the middle 605 of my students. 3 realiBe that 3 need to
.ecome more involved in my community. 3 have set a #oal for myself to volunteer for +ro#rams
that ,ill #et me more actively involved ,ith students outside of school. Arin#in# school and
community to#ether has a +ositive im+act on student learnin#. :olla.oratin# ,ith other teachers
is a definite stren#th of mine. Wor2in# as a middle school ,ith my si9th #rade team has
certainly stren#thened this s2ill. 3 +lan to continue my efforts in .ein# connected ,ith other
teachers and the community to ensure a +ositive im+act on student learnin# and achievement.
WTS 10 +a#e &