This artifact demonstrates my adherence to standard 5 in three ways. First, it shows that I have an excellent grasp of the length of time that students can focus on one activity.  It also ties the students’ learning to the concepts that they already know, therefore activating prior knowledge. This concept is argued by Jerome Bruner through his cognitive psychology position. By using what the students already know, I am producing a scaffolding effect to link their previous knowledge and interests to concepts that they may not already know. Furthermore, this lesson is using the concepts that students have about what comedy is and producing the appropriate terminology so they understand what they are thinking, therefore allowing them to think critically about what they already think, and gain new knowledge, or deeper knowledge.

Second, there are clear links to the Prescribed Learning Outcomes from the Ministry of Education’s Integrated Resource Package. This lesson, as well as the other lessons in the unit, is clear representations of innovative learning required by the PLOs in the IRP. Furthermore, the lesson is using technology which is a firm learning objective put forth by the Ministry of Education. The lesson both links to the physical PLOs involving interaction and learning, as well as the demonstration of 21^st century learning, using technology to teach students how to learn and find information for themselves.

Third, this lesson is both independent and interactive, showing that I understand that students need to have a knowledge base before learning on their own, but also need to be independent learners, as it is important that they become responsible for their own learning. Collaboration is extremely important in the method of education that the Ministry of education and most school districts are aiming toward. In this lesson, I, as the teacher, act as a facilitator to the learning of each individual in the classroom.

This lesson shows that I have thoughtfully considered all of the aspects of teaching from planning through reporting, and understand the relationships among them. The lesson plan addresses planning, assessment, instruction, and evaluation. Reporting is something that needs to be done after each lesson if the student does not comprehend, or does not complete or hand in the assessment to be marked.

This artifact also shows that I employ a variety of instructional strategies. The lesson begins with direct instruction, then with group interaction, and finally assisted learning through individual note-taking in a small group. This lesson is also clear as to how it will be linked to the next lessons, cross-curriculum, and the unit as a whole. The planning aspect of this standard is clearly shown in the format of my lesson plan, with teacher and student activities, as well as how the lesson will be paced.

This video represents my understanding of this standard because it shows how I teach. It shows that I understand the relationship between planning, instruction, and assessment. I cover each element of a lesson plan, with the exception of assessment and adaptations. It shows that I understand the relationship between each of the elements of lesson planning and how they are presented through instruction. In this lesson there is also a variety of different types of instruction. Therefore, although all of the learning is based around the concept, the students are always being engaged in a variety of ways, including presentation to the class, questioning techniques, group work, direct instruction, and discovery learning. All of these methods were used in one lesson, showing that I see the importance of planning a variety of activities, reinforcements, and interactions between students with teacher, student with student, and student with self. Furthermore, this instructional video shows that I can teach a variety of ages, as I have taught in the high school classroom, can teach to colleagues, and can present to an adult group as well. This will help with the reporting portion of Standard 5, showing that I can report to parents and students with self-control and efficiency.

The video is clearly organized into the various headings of instruction and planning, therefore showing that I value organization. The assessment of prior knowledge format I chose to use shows that I value anonymity because I made sure that none of the students were singled out. This shows that I am able to facilitate learning for all students, especially those that do not understand the concepts being presented. Furthermore, it also shows that I am teaching a concept that most students do not already know. Although it does not show it in the video, this lesson is also easily adjustable to include all students in the classroom to challenge those who have the basics of the concept being taught, and also shows that I am staying within the Zone of Proximal Development of the students. The theory of the ZPD is presented by Vygotsky, and argues that students are only able to learn concepts when it is within their ZPD, and thus one must assess where that Zone is prior to teaching. The “assessing prior knowledge” portion of the video shows that I have done this, and that I also have a basic knowledge of what my students already know, given the occurrence of the rest of the lesson being focused around things the students already know and scaffolded to the prior knowledge. This video also shows that I have the ability to use technology, not only for my own personal use, but in the classroom.  

This artifact shows that I know how to objectively and fairly evaluate. The rubric is comprehensive as to what is expected of the students and precisely how I will be assessing them. Often it is difficult to remain objective, especially when marking written work. Rubrics allow for complete objectivity. Furthermore, the aim for assessment is not only to see what the student knows and to be purely objective in marking, but also to use rubrics to evaluate so that students know the criteria and assessment. This artifact shows that I can do all of those things.

 This artifact also shows that I have created a variety of evaluation strategies. The students, according to this rubric, are being evaluated on many different ways of expressing their knowledge. Not all students express their knowledge in the same way, so it is important that teachers give a variety of ways of evaluating. This rubric deals with organization, completion, creation, and illustration. This varies from lower level thinking to the highest levels of the reconstructed Bloom’s taxonomy, through the creation of new poems using specific formatting and rules of which the students have the knowledge.

This rubric is merely a small demonstration of how I would evaluate students. It is an analytic rubric, meaning that I know the importance of giving valid feedback. Analytic rubrics are specific to the task given and can be used only with one particular assignment. Although holistic rubrics are also useful, they do not give specific feedback. Some smaller assignments can be marked through using holistic rubrics to give students an idea of how to improve their work, but analytic rubrics should be used for all bigger assignments. This knowledge proves that I know the relationship between assessments and evaluation. Assessment can be done through the holistic and analytic rubrics, depending on whether one is formatively assessing or summatively assessing. Furthermore it also shows that I see the importance of assessing both summatively and formatively. This rubric also shows my adherence to the fifth standard because it shows an effective and valid way of correlating the assessment and evaluation to the reporting process.

This artifact proves my adherence to Standard Five in three ways. First, it shows that I am capable and proficient in using technology and interaction in order to formatively assessment to ensure that my students are comprehending and learning. Students are often more technologically adept than teachers, but it is important to use a variety of ways to assess what the students are learning. In the 21^st Century learning theory, there is a strong emphasis on the use of technology. Using this as a framework, i could also have the students create their own jeopardy games to review for summative assessment, teaching the students to use technology, and removing myself as the teacher to a position of guidance or facilitation and teaching the students to use technology to take control of their own learning. Furthermore, this is a fun way to look at assessment without the students even realizing they are being assessed. This artifact shows that I value my control over assessment, but also see the ways in which I can release control to the students and give the students more responsibility while still assessing.

Second, it shows that I can assess in a non-threatening manner to determine who in my class is learning and who needs support or further review. It is important that students do not realize they are being assessed, otherwise they feel as though they are constantly being tested. Therefore, this artifact shows that I have the ability to assess in a variety of ways so that my students do not feel as though they are constantly being tested.

 Third, this artifact shows that my planning is linked to my formative assessment. All of the terms on this jeopardy template must be taught prior to playing the game, and students must have a deep understanding of what each of the terms mean and how they are used in order to remember all of the terms. It also shows me which ones I need to re-teach, which I will do if necessary. Furthermore, the students are exposed to the types of questions that will be on the examination, showing that instruction, assessment, and evaluation are all linked in a way that students know since it follows the same criteria and does not give any “surprises” to students and does not play any “tricks” on the students. Often, students believe that they are being “tricked’ by teachers, which is not the goal of education. The congruency shows that I value student input and development and integrate that into the planning and assessment of my lessons.

This artifact proves my adherence to Standard Five in two ways. First, it shows that I know how to communicate with parents. Often parents feel left out of the education process, specifically in a high school setting, because teenagers have a tendency to remove their parents from their school lives and try to become independent. However, ultimately the parents still have the right to know what is going on with their child in school. Therefore, this e-mail between the parents, the Individualized Education Plan advisor, and myself, shows that I know how to report both to the parents, ensuring that they are included in their child’s education, and also with the IEP advisor in order to ensure that the goals of the IEP are being met, or that those goals are being included in the planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation, and reporting process. With the IEP in mind for this particular student, I planned and assessed with each of the individual goals in mind, and kept in touch with his parents in order to make sure they were aware of the goals being met.

Furthermore, this e-mail shows that I have a deeper understanding of what reporting is. For instance, many people believe that reporting is only based on the interim and final term report cards, but reporting needs to be included on a day-to-day level in order to ensure that each and every student in the classroom is being accounted for and succeeding rather than having the student fall behind. It also ensures that the people who have the student’s best interest in mind are being kept informed instead of having to guess or rely on the student to report or advocate for themselves. Given the need for inclusive classrooms, in accordance with the Red Book provided by the Ministry of Education, the reporting process must be clearly linked to all other aspects of teaching. The e-mails show that I understand that connection and value inclusive classrooms.

This record sheet shows my adherence to Standard Five. Since I have removed the names of my students on this record sheet, it shows that I have an understanding of how my conduct contributes to the perception of the professionals a whole. It shows that I respect the dignity of my students and do not have their marks displayed for anyone else to see. This also shows that I have an understanding of the education system in British Columbia, and the laws that relate to my duty as an educator. There are many confidentiality laws that protect the identity and security of children, and this record sheet, with merely the initials of my students shown that I am able to respect their individuality and identity, since only my cooperating teacher and I know whose marks belong to which student.

Furthermore, it shows that I am aware that I am accountable for my conduct while I am both on and off duty as a teacher. Since I completed this practicum, but have maintained my marking sheets, I have demonstrated that although I am off duty as a teacher, I am still responsible for protecting the students that I taught, and responsible for maintaining the confidentiality laws.

Finally, it shows that I have kept records for all students. Each mark that is below a certain acceptable level, it is highlighted in red. This shows that I value the relationship between assessment, evaluation, and reporting, since it shows that I keep records to ensure that all of my students are being successful. These records can also be printed and not merely kept online, therefore showing that I ensure that all of my records are confidential, up-to-date, and effective. I would alter both the electronic and the paper versions of the records to ensure that all records were valid and current instead of outdated. This allows me to keep students accountable and to assess the needs of students and instruct according to those needs.