Rationale for Take a Learner to Lunch

Alverno Advanced Education Ability: Communication Uses verbal,

nonverbal and media modes of communication to establish the environment
of the classroom and to structure and reinforce learning.
Wisconsin Standards for Educator Development and Licensure:
Standard 9 The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually
evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students,
parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively
seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
To obtain desired outcomes with students, staff, and parents, clear and
effective communication is vitally important. In order to communicate effectively
you must be clear and straightforward with your words, know your audience, and
substantiate your information with well-defined observations or research.
In the assignment titled, Analysis of a Take a Learner to Lunch interview,
written for LTM 611 which explores the foundations of educational theory, I
developed a clear and concise line of questioning for my subject based on the
research of three theorists. Through these questions and my delivery of them, I
elicited clear responses that I was able to relate directly to the theories explored.
The output of this interview was a written analysis of the development of my
subject in which I demonstrate my ability to communicate through written words
meeting Alvernos educational outcomes for communication.
This assignment also represents my ability to reflect on how students lives
affect their learning when they enter into a classroom. What a student brings into
the classroom will affect how I teach. It will influence where I begin and where I will
take them as they continue to strive for high standards. Wisconsin teaching
standard 9 says that an effective teacher will reflect on information and make
conscious choices that will guide students to their full potential. This assignment
provides evidence that I can reflect on student information and draw connections to
theories that will develop my understanding as a teacher to make sure students
have the right tools, academically and emotionally, to succeed.
While I was not able to prescribe learning outcomes for this student, I was
able to demonstrate my ability to diagnosis behaviors and relate them to
frameworks of education to better understand the student. Alvernos ability of
Diagnosis asks students to relate observations to known theories and to put those
ideas into practice for the benefit of the student.