Lauren Grumka

Professor Suk
Education Field Experience EDUC 230-01
Spring 2016
Rationale Statement for Standard Five
Standard Five: Application of Content:
The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage
learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic
local and global issues.
Name of Artifact: Sample Spanish Travel Project
Date of Completion: April 14, 2016
Course Completed in: Education Field Experience EDUC 230-01
Rationale Statement:
The attached document and accompanying poster board are the instruction page and a
sample of a project that I will integrate into my teaching repertoire. The project itself is a
yearlong research assignment about an ideal trip that the student would like to take to a Spanishspeaking country, which will ultimately culminate in an oral presentation at the years end. The
instructions are an in depth explanation of the extent to which I would one day like to push my
students. Covering the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the project, the page lets them
know what I expect out of their oral and visual presentations. Part of the page is also a
background section about my travel experiences to hopefully inspire them, and again reinforce
my desire to show the practicality of learning a language.
Even reading it over myself I realize that it is a big project, but this version of the project
would be for a higher level class, and would be accordingly scaled back for a lower level one.
Personally I find it easier to edit than to add, and will adjust this main document accordingly, to
each class that I teach. As well I find that having more options gives the kids a good place to
start, and will hopefully take some of the intimidation factor off of this. Because of this I also
created a sample project based upon a trip I took to give them a more concrete idea of what I

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would be looking for. The visual representation should be an aid and accompaniment to their
oral presentation. I want there to be a tangible aspect to this project to, not just for the fun factor,
but to help those students who are more visual and creative; I would hope that this part of the
project would be a good means for those students to formulate their project. They could start off
with the visual and then map out their speech around that.
The aforementioned checkpoints for a lower level class would be much more frequent
and would have a more step-by-step approach. As I stated in the instructions, this would be a
yearlong project so it should encompass many of the grammar and vocabulary topics we would
cover. In a higher level class the students would be more on their own to pick out and formulate
their projects, but in a lower level one I would be much more involved. For both, and more so
for the latter, I would take time in each block to do examples that could be used in their projects
and have considered making some of the checkpoints homework assignments relating to the
current material. They would write some parts of their presentation using the current material to
ensure that they are grasping the concepts and not falling behind on the project. These will
probably be simple examples that they will have to elaborate on, but I want them to have a good
base to build this project on. What I really want my students to get out of my class is an
authentic and relevant education, which I feel falls perfectly in line Standard Five Performance
VII The teacher facilitates learners ability to develop diverse social and cultural perspectives
that expand their understanding of local and global issues and create novel approaches to solving
problems (NJPST, 2014, p7). Overall this project fully encompasses this ideal: the students are
learning to investigate new cultures and are preparing to adapt themselves to possibly visiting
these places. As well this project is a realistic and quite possibly practical means of using their
knowledge; I want to show them this is where you can use this; this material is not just

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something to memorize for a test. If they were to go to their country of choice then look at all
the different things they could say.
Lastly in regards to what I learned about being a teacher is what it really takes to
complete a whole year. As a whole I want to encourage global exploration and created that as
my mantra from the beginning. It has been intense and prophetic to turn that simple concept into
the basis for a whole class. This project is a common thread that I will use to keep this theme
alive and as an active part of their education. I went from concept to actualization and that was
really profound for me. I felt so much more connected to being a real teacher. Before it still felt
like a far away dream, but now it feels so much more real and I feel prepared to take on such a
monumental task. This project, along with my lesson plan, are two pieces that gave me the most
practical and fulfilling practice in being a teacher.
Reference List:
New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers Alignment with InTASC NJAC 6A:9C-3.3
(effective May 5, 2014). (2014, May 5). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from
http://www.state.nj.us/education/profdev/profstand/teacherstandardscrosswalk.pdf