InTASC Standard 1: Learner Development

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.

Reflection:
This standard emphasizes the importance of teachers respecting each
learners differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to
further each learners development. This standard was met when I began the poetry
unit. After asking the students to do an evaluation of The Odyssey unit, I assessed
the type of learning environment each student needed. Many students expressed
that they really enjoyed group work and class discussions while at the same time
other students felt they needed more individualized practice activities. With this
knowledge going into the poetry unit, I was able to assess how to differentiate my
lessons to accommodate for the varying learning styles and differences. The
evaluation helped me to focus on learner development in our next unit which was
poetry.
In order to demonstrate my advocacy for this standard, which engaged the
entire spectrum of learners (cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical) in
classroom instruction, I provided an artifact of my lesson that introduced students
to poetry. The lesson was a two day activity and demonstrates how I have
deliberately designed a lesson that aligns with this standard. The activity
accommodated for many learners. To begin, the poem was first read out loud as a
class. We read the poem out loud together for the students who needed that
structure and guidance with reading a poem. This also serves to help students who
learn linguistically. For the cognitive learners, the students were then asked to
answer discussion questions individually. This allowed time for those who need to
think and process on their own the time to succeed in mastering the poem. Next,
the students were told that they could work with a partner to discuss what they
wrote and offer other possible interpretations of the poem. This accommodated for
the social aspect of learning. Lastly, the class was brought together and asked to
share what they talked about with their partners. The first day of the lesson
integrated multiple learning styles and areas of development. The second day
accommodated for the emotional and physical areas of learning development. We
had a classroom debate on the meaning of the poem. (Typically, students think that
the poem is either about an abusive father or a loving father). The classroom space
assumed the place of a courtroom. The students were divided in half and placed the
meaning of the poem on trial. This engaged many physical and emotional learners
because it allowed students to be up and moving and express their thoughts in a
different way.
This was a very effective lesson because it was executed in a way that
encompassed a variety of different learning patterns. Many different types of
students were enthusiastic interpreting the meaning of the poem because each

individual student was able to feel successful in at least one aspect of the lesson.
Every students needs were accounted for and considered when designing this
lesson.
I learned a lot from the design and effectiveness of this lesson. For one,
because it was successful, it demonstrated to me how important this first standard
is. My classroom became alive and engaged when I accommodated for the learning
development of all students. Every student felt confident and challenged to
succeed. This inspired me to continue designing lessons that would be versatile to
all patterns of learning.

Artifact:
Day 1
1. Pass out My Paps Waltz Poem by Theodore Roethke
2. Read the poem twice out loud. (I will read it once and then call upon a student to
read) (5 min)
3. Read and explain all the discussion questions that are on the bottom of the poem.
(3 min)
4. Have the students individually work on answering the questions (12 min)
5. Have the students work with a partner to discuss what they wrote for each
question. (10 min)
6. Come together and discuss what the students wrote for each question. (15 min)
o By the end of class, have the students determine what they think the
meaning of the poem is: abusive father or loving father
7. Tell the students to come prepared to further discuss what the meaning of the
poem is tomorrow!
Day 2
1. Verbally explain debate rules (10 min):
a. If you believe this poem is about an abusive father, stand to the left of the
classroom. If you believe this poem is about a loving father stand to the
right.
b. Now imagine yourselves as lawyers. Your side will be defending what the
meaning of the poem is.
c. To do so, you need to come up with five pieces of textual evidence to
support your claim.
d. I want to hear from five different lawyers.
e. I will be the judge and will grant each person permission to talk and
rebuttal.
2. Class will divide up based on what side they are on.
3. Take 10 minutes to work together to find 5 pieces of textual evidence in which
you will use to support your claim.
4. Activity (35 min)
5. After the debate, have the students take a seat. Explain that the real meaning of
the poem is in fact about a loving father. Explain that with poetry, it can be

interpreted many different ways. And that with this unit, there will not always be
one answer. (Although in this case there was)