Running Head: ASIGNMENT 1: TELLING MY STORY 1

Carrie Creger
TED 690
Assignment 1: Telling My Story
June 7, 2019
ASSIGNMENT 1: TELLING MY STORY 2

Abstract
The following highlights Teacher Performance Expectations, or TPE’s, and emphasizes one

particular TPE as a main focus. Three artifacts are presented which includes a video clip,

National University lesson plan and finally, an article related to classroom management for the

literature review. These artifacts provide further evidence related to TPE A; making subject

matter comprehensible to students. Additionally, details related to the selected artifacts are

expressed and rationale for the selection of the given artifacts is explained. Additionally,

strengths and needs are addressed as it relates to TPE’s and information as it relates to the PDQP

is presented.
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Teacher Performance Expectations

During the course of becoming a teacher, candidates must show their competency as it

relates to a specific group of guidelines. These guidelines are known as Teacher Performance

Expectations, or TPE’s. These TPE’s include the following:

A. Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students

B. Assessing Student Learning

C. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning

D. Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for Students

E. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning

F. Developing as a Professional Educator

The TPE I have selected to focus on is TPE A; Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to

Students. For this particular TPE, I selected a video of myself teaching an ELA lesson to first

graders as one of my artifacts. This video was recorded during my student teaching experience.

My second artifact is my written lesson plan completed in the National University format and

provides greater detail as to what my content standards include and what my plan was for this

lesson. Finally, because this lesson includes a lot of movement, I felt that it is critical to include

the importance of strong classroom management skills. This is because without these skills,

taking risks such as incorporating a lot of movement during instruction in a room full of young

students has the potential to become a chaotic environment. Due to this, I have chosen an article

that examines key elements that create the foundation for a high functioning classroom

environment for the literature review.

Telling My Story

I believe that one of my strengths is brining energy and excitement to a lesson. In my

opinion, this is especially helpful with younger students as their attention spans are very short. I

also try to be creative in terms of my delivery and therefore movement is incorporated into my

lessons so that students don’t get bored and unfocused. During this lesson I used standards from

the curriculum and presented it in a PowerPoint format. I implemented opportunities for students

to get out of their seats and focus on the content being presented on the monitor. Although I like

to try new ways to presents lesson material in creative ways, I know that I have a lot to learn and

with any risk taken in the classroom as it relates to the presentation of information, without

strong classroom management skills, lesson objectives can become obsolete and learning goals

will not be achieved. As stated in the text, Developing a Professional Teaching Portfolio; A

Guide for Success, “Student achievement is dependent on teachers who have strong content

knowledge and a multitude of skills that continue to evolve throughout their careers” (p.12).

When looking at my classroom management skills from the first day I subbed, to the subbing I

have completed after I finished student teaching, I know that I am much better at leading a

classroom full of students in a positive way and I am not as easily overwhelmed by possible

obstacles. I am however still learning and I remain extremely open minded to learning new

strategies so that my skills in this area can continue to improve.

Strengths and Needs within TPE Domain A

During this PowerPoint I had students join me on the carpet, rather than to remain seated

at their desks. I also used movement such as “dribble, dribble, shoot” when practicing spelling

high frequency words. Although I believe that I am strong when it comes to thinking of creative
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ways to get my students up and moving, this can also prove to be a challenge. It can sometimes

be counterproductive to get kids moving if they are easily distracted and there are times that I am

so focused on getting the lesson accomplished that I forget that it is often more beneficial to get

students to refocus before moving through the content. I believe this is due to my lack of

experience and my personal mission to always complete lessons I set out to teach. I believe I

need to work on my comfort level with falling behind schedule if students are unfocused. I know

in my heart that trying to teach a group of unfocused students can be exhausting and yield very

low results, whereas stopping the lesson, refocusing the kids and then trying again, will yield

better cognitive results, even if it takes longer to accomplish.

Potential Competencies to be Used for the Professional Development Quest

As I have had more opportunities to teach young students and take risks, such as

incorporating movement, I have learned that the ability to be creative with my presentation,

while keeping the classroom behavior in check, can yield very positive results. Students can have

fun, stay engaged and want to continue practicing the skills presented during the lesson. I believe

as I grow in terms of creativity and classroom management strategies, these attribute can will be

great additions to my PDQP.

Rationale for selecting TPE Domain A

I selected TPA A to focus on because making subject matter comprehensible to students is

an imperative part of an effective teacher. This is also a component of the teaching profession

that I personally want to master. It’s one thing to understand the material that is on the lesson

plan or that in in the curriculum. It is another thing to present this information in a way that

makes sense to those who may not have any previous knowledge about the subject matter. I

believe this domain is one of the most important parts of what makes a great teacher. I also
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believe that this is a domain that can help drive personal goals related to performance and

delivery. “…teacher candidates need to give considerable thought to how ongoing teaching

responsibilities (such as designing lessons, delivering instruction, assessing student learning,

managing the classroom, attending professional activities, communicating with colleagues, and

working with diversity) fit into supporting their growth toward a performance standard” (p. 18).

Becoming an educator that can clearly and effectively teach lesson material does not happen over

night and does not even happen every time a seasoned teacher teaches. All teaching professionals

can work toward improving their own ability at making subject matter comprehensible. After

assessing my professional needs and goals, it is clear to me that I have creative drive and that my

classroom management abilities are improving as I gain more and more experience in the

classroom. I know that although I have more to learn, I am capable and eager to address my

professional strengths and weaknesses as a new teacher and most importantly, I know that I open

minded and willing to learn new strategies to implement in my own classroom.

References

Costantino, Patricia M., De Lorenzo Marie N., & Tirrell-Corbin,Christy. (2009).

Developing a Professional Teaching Portfolio: A Guide for Success. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson.