Anchor Standard 1: Learner Development
Intasc Anchor Standard 1: The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
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I feel that learner development is so diverse and dependent on many factors. Being a teacher is so much more than just being proficient in, and teaching the subjects of science, language arts, physical education, math, and so on. Teaching is about looking at the whole student and understanding that student. If a student is struggling at school, there might be a personal, social, or emotional reason for this student’s difficulty. Something I learned during student teaching is to understand what they are going through both in and out of the classroom. This in turn helps me figure out how to get through to them, which in turn helps them achieve success in the classroom.
What experiences have these students had with the subject matter? Do they have previous misconceptions that need to be corrected? Do they have the ability to investigate and discover concepts, theories, and the meaningfulness of the topic? What do we as teachers need to provide them to successfully take these basic skills and carry them on throughout their education? Can they successfully carry out a discussion? All of these questions can be answered through student observations, class discussions, checking on classwork progress, and assessing if students can put the information provided to them in a sequential order and then summarize their understanding of a topic successfully.
What experiences have these students had with the subject matter? Do they have previous misconceptions that need to be corrected? Do they have the ability to investigate and discover concepts, theories, and the meaningfulness of the topic? What do we as teachers need to provide them to successfully take these basic skills and carry them on throughout their education? Can they successfully carry out a discussion? All of these questions can be answered through student observations, class discussions, checking on classwork progress, and assessing if students can put the information provided to them in a sequential order and then summarize their understanding of a topic successfully.
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To prove my understanding of Learner Development, I planned a discovery lab for Newton's Laws of Motion. In this lab, the student's wrote down observations, reflections, times for timed activities, equipment used, and how the activities made them feel (ex. weighed down, slower, made their arms sore, etc...). To wrap up the introduction, the homework assignment included answering question about each of the 4 stations. Students used their observation notes and then answered two journal questions. The journal questions were to help assess student's understanding of the basic concepts and to see where each of the students was in understanding the general concepts. Could the students apply them to an activity they regularly participate in? This type of activity allows all learning level students to express their understanding.
The journal entries were truly fantastic. Journal question one asked the students, "What do you really understand about Newton's Laws of Motion?" An example of an entry included, "It all has to deal with how objects are affected by motion. I understand rules 1 and 3, but it takes me a while to apply number 2 to a situation". The second question asked the students, "How can you apply Newton's Laws to a physical activity or sport you participate in? An example of an entry included, "Rules 1) If you take a hockey puck and pass it, without friction and gravity it would go on forever. If you keep it still it stays still unless you hit it, 2) When you kick a football, you can find out how much force is behind it with the equation f=ma, and 3) The 3rd law can be applied to Newton's cradle. When using the cradle the action of hitting on the ball, cause the others to move, action=reaction. I was truly impressed with how my combination of introduction with a creative learning lab and environment gave students the ability to discover the key concepts of Newton's laws. I loved how students got to investigate Newton's laws, discover the laws through hands-on labs, and formulate their own understanding to the laws through critical thinking.
The next lessons had students applying the knowledge learned from the introduction lab to labs individualized to explore Newton's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd law s individually.
These activity proved that I strive to understand each student and the importance of learner development in experiencing a topic, reflecting on that information, allowing students to think critically, and applying this knowledge to future labs. The supporting artifact support Anchor Standard 1 (a-k).
The journal entries were truly fantastic. Journal question one asked the students, "What do you really understand about Newton's Laws of Motion?" An example of an entry included, "It all has to deal with how objects are affected by motion. I understand rules 1 and 3, but it takes me a while to apply number 2 to a situation". The second question asked the students, "How can you apply Newton's Laws to a physical activity or sport you participate in? An example of an entry included, "Rules 1) If you take a hockey puck and pass it, without friction and gravity it would go on forever. If you keep it still it stays still unless you hit it, 2) When you kick a football, you can find out how much force is behind it with the equation f=ma, and 3) The 3rd law can be applied to Newton's cradle. When using the cradle the action of hitting on the ball, cause the others to move, action=reaction. I was truly impressed with how my combination of introduction with a creative learning lab and environment gave students the ability to discover the key concepts of Newton's laws. I loved how students got to investigate Newton's laws, discover the laws through hands-on labs, and formulate their own understanding to the laws through critical thinking.
The next lessons had students applying the knowledge learned from the introduction lab to labs individualized to explore Newton's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd law s individually.
These activity proved that I strive to understand each student and the importance of learner development in experiencing a topic, reflecting on that information, allowing students to think critically, and applying this knowledge to future labs. The supporting artifact support Anchor Standard 1 (a-k).
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Here is a response for a journal entry on Newton's Laws o f Motion. By reading the responses I was able to determine each 7th grade student's understanding of Newton's 3 Laws of Motion and if they could apply these laws to activities they participate both in school and outside of school.
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I chose to share this journal entry from a student specifically because this journal entry required them to show their summary skills. This student came to see me during their study hall. They asked for help and if I could provide them with some support on how to summarize. For this student, I was able to write a sequence of steps above where they were going to write the summary that allowed them to be successful. Sometimes it can be as simple as providing guidance for students to excel at a homework assignment. Understanding that not all students understand written information and that they sometimes need further explanation or guided prompts allows me to be the best teacher possible . Students need to be provided with equal opportunities to prove their understanding.
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My other moment during my student teaching internship that proved my understanding of Intasc Anchor Standard 1 and supported my desire to teach came from a student who had a D in science. I decided to help out and coach the 7th grade lacrosse team. When I got the list of 7th graders signed up this student was on it. I decided to try one last thing with this student but, to understand why I decided to try it I need to explain a little back story. During my student teaching internship, I attended a professional development workshop for coaches called 3D coaching. At this seminar a research professor from the University of Central Florida who studies the effects of coaching on today’s youth was the guest speaker. His research has found that 85% of today’s youth will listen to the words “coach says” over their teachers, parents, and administrators. So I decided to put this research to the test. I asked to speak with the student in the hallway. I told this student, I saw your name on the sign-up sheet for the lacrosse team. I told the student I’m going to be your coach. I then said, you currently have a D in science and this grade makes your ineligible to play. I said, you have until next Friday to turn in your missing assignments and bring your grade up and I can help you be eligible to play, you just need to ask for help. I told the student, I believe in your abilities to succeed in the classroom and I would really like to have you on the team. The student then told me, but coach my mom cannot afford the lacrosse stick. I said, if you bring your grades up to become eligible I will let you use my spare lacrosse stick for practices and games. She said thanks coach, I really want to play. I said here is the deal I need to see you during study hall and flex Friday today. Let’s get your makeup work done in science, and then I want you to visit all your other teachers and tell them you want help with your work and brining up your grade. Apologize for not completing the work on time and be honest with them if you don’t understand the assignments. The student showed up during study hall and flex Friday and brought their grade up to a C+. I loved the smile on the student's face. The student then said thanks coach. I said okay now go see your other teachers. After school the student's math teacher came up to me and said oh my goodness you are right, “coach says” really does work. The student came to see me and said coach says I need to bring my grades up and stop talking back. I’m sorry for my attitude in class and I want help making up my work. It truly is amazing the power those two words have in a student athlete’s life. I even was able to tell the student that if he/she turned in the next assignment on time and finished the invention planner that he/she could bump his/her grade up to a B for the close of quarter 3 on Friday, April 4. He/She said Mrs. Paquin; I’ve never had a B before in Science. This about broke my heart. I know it is a lot of work to find students struggling and then be persistent even when they push back, but you just never know what the student is going through. I guess I truly try to see the potential in each student and then try to work towards finding what will work to make them successful. Understanding Learner development is key in understanding student's and their needs.