Illinois Professional Teaching Standards
1. Teaching
diverse learners
- Teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.
- Teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
2. Content area and pedagogical knowledge
- Teacher understands the central concepts, methods of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) and creates learning experiences that make the content meaningful to all students.
3. Planning for differentiated instruction
- Teacher understands instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
4. Learning environment
- Teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
5. Instructional delivery
- Teacher understand and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problems solving, and performance skills.
6. Reading, writing, and oral communication
- Teacher uses knowledge of effective written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
7. Assessment
- Teacher understands formal and informal assessment strategies and uses them to support the continuous development of all students.
8. Collaborative relationships
- Teacher understands the role of community in education and develops and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents, guardians, and the community to support student learning and well-being.
9. Professionalism, leadership, and advocacy
- Teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally
- Teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve student learning and well-being.
My Competency of the above standards:
- Teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.
- Teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
2. Content area and pedagogical knowledge
- Teacher understands the central concepts, methods of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) and creates learning experiences that make the content meaningful to all students.
3. Planning for differentiated instruction
- Teacher understands instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
4. Learning environment
- Teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
5. Instructional delivery
- Teacher understand and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problems solving, and performance skills.
6. Reading, writing, and oral communication
- Teacher uses knowledge of effective written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
7. Assessment
- Teacher understands formal and informal assessment strategies and uses them to support the continuous development of all students.
8. Collaborative relationships
- Teacher understands the role of community in education and develops and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents, guardians, and the community to support student learning and well-being.
9. Professionalism, leadership, and advocacy
- Teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally
- Teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve student learning and well-being.
My Competency of the above standards:
- In my educational foundation 305 class, Mr. Schultz asked us to design a progressive school. The school only existed in theory. Thus, we were allowed to design it any way we wanted. He divided us in groups of 4. My fellow group members and I wanted to design a school that served everyone without leaving anyone out. At Southloop Center for Innovation, we aimed to reflect the diversity of the surrounding neighborhood. Our school welcomes all kids for 6th through 8th grade regardless of ability, gender, race, sexuality or economic status. It also provides a hands-on learning experience, interacting with the community. Our school’s theme for the past two years was the environment. We worked, in theory, on an abandoned building to make it livable and environmental friendly. Our students also created a green roof. Incorporating and accommodating diversity, active involvement of parents and the community, providing differentiated instructions, and providing a learning, friendly and safe environment for our students show my competency of the standards above.
- My observation journal that I wrote during the observations at Gemini junior high for one of Educational foundation course displays my competencies in many of the above standards. During these observations, I paid close attention to the various instructional strategies the teachers used in their classrooms. They were well-prepared and organized. During the time I was there, both of them used many different instructional strategies. They knew their students well. Their instructions and teachings were molded around their students. They also continuously assessed their students so that they can modify instructions and lesson plans accordingly. This experience made me relate to everything that I learned in my psychology and instructions of teaching class. I observed what they did well and what they could have done better. I will apply what I apply what I learned to my own classroom when I become a teacher.
- The goal of our learning team project on technology was to bring awareness to teachers about technology and use that technology in their classrooms to enhance learning. Teachers can use technology such as smart boards, internet, overhead etc, to present new material and to build upon existing knowledge. We provided many resources for teachers so that they can have the opportunity to improve themselves and grow professionally.
- I used my knowledge of the content along with references from textbook in developing this unit plan. Throughout the 10 lesson, out of which 5 have fully developed lesson plans, I used multiple instructional strategies to engage students and enhance their learning. Some of the activities were hands-on learning experiences whereas some required collaborative work. I also used multiples assessments including formative and summative assessments to check for their understanding of the material presented.
- Stand and deliver is a movie about a new teacher, Mr. Escalante, who succeeds in teaching complex content to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He knows the content very well and understands that his students are not being taught the level of math that they should be. However, he recognizes why he needs plan thoroughly and, slowly, lead his students into doing higher level of work. He uses many strategies to motivate his students to try harder. He helps raise their self-esteem and self-expectations. In the reflection on the movie, I talk about two of the instructional strategies and techniques he uses in his classroom and whether on not they are effective.
- The Content Area exam tests one’s knowledge of the content as well as the concepts of the subject matter they are going to teach. I took my content area exam on November 12, 2011 and passed with a good score. This shows my competency of the content area and pedagogical knowledge of mathematics in secondary education.