Dear Beginning Alverno Education Student,

Welcome to the start of some of the toughest yet most rewarding years of your life.
When I entered into the Licensure to Masters program for education a year and a half ago, I
couldnt imagine being where I am today as I write this letter to you. The road to becoming a
teacher seemed daunting, the field placements seemed nerve-racking, and the list of Wisconsin
Teaching Standards and Alverno Advanced Education Abilities seemed intimidating. Now I am
entering the student teaching phase of my journey in education, I have completed three
successful field placements, and the Wisconsin Teaching Standards and Alverno Advanced
Education Abilities are ingrained in me.
Throughout your time at Alverno, you will be pushed beyond your limits. You will be
asked to evaluate and self-assess every aspect of your teaching over and over again in order to
get you to improve. You will have to step outside of your comfort zone and try a variety of
different teaching methods in an attempt to reach a variety of different students. It will seem
overwhelming at first, but the skills Alverno will teach you will mold you into a great educator.
As you progress throughout your courses and field placements, you will revisit the
Wisconsin Teaching Standards and Alverno Advanced Education Abilities time and time again.
At first you will be clueless as to how to apply them to your lessons, but in time they will
become second nature to you. Use them as a guide throughout this journey.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2012) defines the Wisconsin Teaching
Standards as an outline [of] characteristics of good educators that identifies the components and
defining qualities of best professional practice. Therefore, utilizing the standards as a guide will
only enhance your teaching. The standards highlight the importance of being knowledgeable on
your subject of expertise and expressing that knowledge in an effective manner so that all
students can learn. Not every student will care about the lesson you are teaching, so it is your
job to make it meaningful. Alongside those standards is the importance of understanding how
children grow and being able to develop lessons based on a broad range of abilities within your
classroom. Alverno will stress the importance of understanding the different levels of learners as
well as the different kinds of learners (kinesthetic versus visual learners, for example) and
adapting instruction to meet the needs of those learners. Differentiated instruction is the key to
success within your classroom. No two students learn the same! I can whole-heartedly say that
at this point in my journey I have utilized all standards, though I am still perfecting some.

The Alverno Advanced Education Abilities are required for all Education students at
Alverno College because they form a foundation for becoming a strong educator. The abilities
include Conceptualization, Diagnosis, Coordination, Communication, and Integrative
Interaction. By the time you write this same letter, you will have memorized them. To me,
conceptualization means using your understanding of the subject matter and integrating it into
various educational frameworks to meet learners needs. I utilized this standard often in my
lessons, as I combined my background knowledge in the subject of English with the educational
frameworks that I was taught at Alverno. Diagnosis means the ability to analyze and solve
problems. This is done through observation of classroom interaction, assessing student
knowledge, and providing appropriate feedback. Coordination is the ability to manage time,
space, materials, and other resources to support classroom learning. It is important to set clear
learning goals in each of your lessons and use the appropriate resources in order to reach those
goals. Communication requires you to have the capability to effectively communicate both
verbally and nonverbally with your students, making the learning goals clear and presenting
materials that will hold student attention. Finally, integrative interaction focuses on the
importance of interacting and developing relationships with your students. To me, this is the
most significant Alverno Advanced Education Ability. This ability centers on the importance of
expressing interest in your students ideas, concerns, experiences, and interests. It also stresses
the importance of respecting your students and providing a classroom built on open
communication, which are essential to my philosophy on teaching.
As you learn the abilities, youll notice that they all have one very important thing in
common: the ability to assess ones own performance. At Alverno you will have to self-assess
nearly everything that you do, and its for a reason. Your self-assessments will seem
overwhelming and tedious, but trust me, they are designed to help you understand how you meet
the standards and abilities, as well as how you can improve in the future. Embrace the process of
stepping back and assessing your own work, as it will only help you to become a better educator.
Another piece of advice that I will leave you with is to build strong relationships with
your instructors, your peers, your cooperating teachers, and most importantly, the students that
you teach along the way. Your relationships will be your most valuable resource throughout this
journey. All of the instructors at Alverno are wise and unique; utilize them as often as possible.
They will teach you to think outside of the box and guide you to look beyond simply following a
structured lesson plan. Rather, they will teach you to focus on the enduring understanding that

you hope your students will take away from each lesson that you teach. You will learn how to
ensure that your students will walk away from your class with lessons that they will take with
them for the rest of their lives.
Finally, remember why you started this journey. At some point youll probably question
whether or not you made the right decision to pursue a career in teaching. But remember how
you feel today: ambitious and excited. Hold onto that feeling and remember why you decided to
start this journey in the first place. Your heart is in teaching. Maintain that fire and passion for
education and for our youth.
Good luck and enjoy the journey!
Sincerely,
Shawna Hendrix

Wisconsin Educator Standards. (2012). Retrieved July 13, 2016, from

http://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/programs/standards