Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards

Introduction

In this section, I will be displaying the connection of all of my artifacts included in this

portfolio, to the specific professional and curriculum standards. These standards are not only to

guide teachers in their classroom practices, but are also statements that ensure I am following the

state standards, in order to professionally maintain my job. It is important to remember that

teachers are responsible for inspiring, enriching and shaping the lives of the students in a

cognitive, social and emotional way. My role as an educator is to instruct the given curriculum,

but to modify it to meet the needs of my learners. This section will solidify that I am

professionally practicing within the guidelines and standards given for students, as well as

practicing ethical and diverse accommodations.

Curriculum & Professional Educational Standards

INTASC Standards.

The new classroom in our society can be described as a melting pot, assorted, variety

or diverse on many different levels. We have so many varieties of students in our classrooms

today that make teaching such a unique and invigorating experience. Learning new cultures,

traditions and values come along with different learning styles, accommodations and preferences

for successful learning. As teachers, we must be able to accommodate quickly for each and every

individual we teach. The inTasc Standards are model core teaching standards outline what all

teachers across all content and grade levels should know and be able to do to be effective in

today's learning contexts. (Council of Chief State School Officer, 2013) Each student is a

different individual, with different learning needs. There are no two students that learn exactly
alike, therefore teachers need to use a variety in our application of instruction. Throughout my

few artifact selections, I used a wide variety of InTasc Standards, which implements the diverse

needs of the learners in any typical lesson.

The first standard Learner and Learning, provides guidelines to accommodate learner

development and learning differences. As I have previously stated, no two learners are alike,

therefore, the importance of planning a variety of accommodations and plans for the entire group

will ensure the higher success rate of the lessons. Some examples I have included from my

artifacts to represent this standard were from my Family Tree lesson, Oreo Opinion writing

lesson, Guided Reading and my Writing a Perfect letter lesson. All of these lessons incorporated

students own personal thoughts, ideas and abilities. I allowed students to choose their own topics

for Opinion pieces and letter writing, rather than force a topic they wouldnt be interested in.

Guided Reading lessons are chosen to be appropriate for the individual reading ability, rather

than reading one book for the whole class. Having variety and differentiated instruction will not

only keep students engaged and interested, but allow each student to thrive at their own level.

The most important thing for students to have is a safe learning environment, and I make a point

to thrive for that goal in every lesson I choose to teach.

Some of the other standards included in the InTasc Standards are; Content Knowledge,

Application of Content, Assessment, Planning for Instruction, Instructional Strategies,

Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, and Leadership and Collaboration. Many of my

artifacts followed Standard #7- Planning for Instruction, which is highly important to follow as

an educator. A teachers biggest asset is to know their students, and what will work for them.

Planning for instruction sets the lesson up for success, ensuring you have all accommodations,

variety of learning techniques, informal and formal assessments to check for understanding, use
of technology, classroom management skills and engaging lessons appropriately following the

curriculum.

All these standards play an important role in the pedagogy and best teaching practices

that I intend to use in my classroom. To be an effective teacher, the standards must be followed

to ensure proper instruction. I have shown that I have a very clear understanding about how

important each standard is, and have also incorporated accommodations and variety of

instruction to teach the variety of learning styles in the classroom.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators.

The six codes of NYS Ethics for Educators, set clear expectations for the professionalism

of teachers and their practices. Teachers have a huge influence on students lives, therefore they

are held high on their standards and should be required to practice ethical behavior and

professionalism at all times. Students look to teachers to fit their learning needs, and to become

successful in the learning environments. Meeting the needs of students promotes better learning.

It is the teachers job to promote learning and encourage them to enjoy it.

Ethical teaching requires the teacher to have the students' best interest in mind. The

teacher must be inspiring students to do their best, try their best, and be their best at all times.

Without this motivation, students can lack in their own motivation, and result in negative

learning environments. Teachers are held at high expectations, and I believe students should be

too. I want to encourage my students, as well as challenge them to be better readers, writers,

mathematicians and more. I look at myself as a role model to students, so I ensure that I am

doing everything I can to engage, challenge and push my students to be their very best. I use a lot

of ethical teaching practices in my chosen artifacts from this portfolio. The Principle I use most
often in my chosen artifacts, is Principle #1- Educators Nurture the Intellectual, physical,

emotional, social and civic potential of each student. I enjoy using this principle in my teaching

because my main goal is to promote growth and knowledge in my students In a variety of ways.

One example where I used Principle #1, was from my We Are Family artifact (#1), where I

modeled my own family tree for students and allowed them to reflect on their own learning, so

they could better connect it to their own families. Providing multiple ways for students to engage

in activities is promoting the high standards of learning.

The New York State Code of Ethics for Educators is such an important part of the

teaching field. I always want to put myself into the highest standard I am capable of achieving,

and beyond. As a professional, I am always seeking out new ways to improve and continue

learning opportunities. I chose this field because I want to educate young minds, and push them

to be the best they can be. I hold myself up high to these standards, and choose to continue to

follow them as a I advance in my career.

P-12 NYS Common Core Learning Standards (ELA, Math and Social Studies).

The State of New York follows the Common Core Learning Standards for grades Pre-K,

through 12th. The standards set the guidelines and expectations for students in each grade, with

subject matter in ELA, Math and Social Studies. Every single lesson plan I have created

throughout this portfolio has a NYS Common Core learning standard, and I base all of my

lessons, engagement activities and assessments on the Common Core learning. It is not only

required for teachers to follow these standards, but helps to guide lessons as the curriculum

continues throughout the year. It is helpful for educators to follow these standards so they can

pace the class and timing of lessons as needed. It is also helpful to refer to the standards in the
case of re-engagement lessons, in which I have included in my artifact section. For my Life

Cycle lesson plan, I based the activities and actual lesson off of the NYS Common Core

standards, to make sure I was following appropriate material and guidelines for Grade 1 students.

As a student, it is a challenge to figure out what students know, or should know by a certain time

frame in the school year. I found the Common Core Standards to be extremely helpful in

planning for instruction, and I was more confident that my material was appropriate for the grade

level and subject matter.

I will continue to follow the guidelines and Standards that Common Core requires for

educators. It is important to have set goals and standards for teachers and students, to ensure the

best learning environments.

NYS Learning Standards.

Similar to the New York State Common Core Standards, the NYS Leaning standards set

guidelines and expectations for students as well as educators. Rather than going through each

section of the curriculum for each grade level, the Learning Standards and more for curriculum

and instruction based for teachers. They have standards for The Arts, Career Development, ELA,

Health, Physical Education and Family/Consumer Science, Languages other Than English, Math,

Science, Technology and Social Studies. Each Standard describes a focus for what students

should be understanding. For example, Standard 1 for ELA states that Language for

Information and Understanding Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and

understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover

relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and

electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language

that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and
transmit information. Teachers are expected to meet these standards of learning in order to have

successful teaching practices. It is a great tool to use for planning and instructing lesson plans, in

which my artifacts have demonstrated. I follow and focus on achieving many of the NYS

Learning Standards, for example, my Celebrations Around the World presentation follows the

Languages other than English Standard #2- Cultural Understanding. This standard wants

students to develop cross-cultural skills and understandings, in which are fully displayed and

practiced during the presentation. My classroom will have a lot of open communication, and set

a positive learning tone for my students. I want to make sure I follow all of the Learning

Standards and use them as a guide to help my best teaching practices. I have demonstrated this

throughout many of my artifacts in this portfolio, and will continue to do so in the future.

TEAC/CAEP Claims.

These next set of claims, are guidelines and expectations set out by the Division of

Education at Medaille College. They specify the professionalism and capabilities of the

Colleges graduates in becoming school teachers have learned and experienced so much in my

education at Medaille. I am confident I have demonstrated all of these claims in my artifacts as

well as my professional experiences.

The first claim, Claim One: All Medaille College graduates know the subject matter. I

prove this in all my artifacts. In my lesson plans, I display my knowledge of the content through

standards, accommodations and assessments. I also demonstrate how I will best instruct through

modeling, guided practice, worksheets, checks for understanding and formal tests or

assessments. I have made sure to display what the students learning targets are in each lesson,

and how I will be able to discover if they have learned from the material. As a student in the
Medaille Education program, I have been exposed countless times to different subject matters

and curriculums. I have also been present in many classrooms where I need to know the subject

matter to teach students. I feel confident that I am capable of teaching any classroom and with

any subject that I am given as a result of my phenomenal education here at Medaille.

The next claim, Claim Two: All Medaille College graduates meets the needs of diverse

learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices. I demonstrate this though out

my guided reading lesson, lesson plans, and my PowerPoint presentation. My role as an educator

is to accommodate for all students and their learning abilities. I am responsible for

accommodating the diversity of learning in the classroom and to modify it for students in order

for them to gain as much knowledge as possible. All of my lesson plans provide

accommodations and alternative methods for learning. I use a lot of modeling and repetitive

styles to get students the most exposure to the content as possible. I ask open ended questions to

stimulate their minds and keep them engaged. During my guided reading lesson, I specifically

take small groups of students and guided them through different literacy strategies that they need

extra practice with. It is targeted towards their specific learning needs, so in result, each student

has a modified learning experience that best suits their success.

For the last claim, Claim Three: Medaille College graduates are caring educators. I think

this claim makes students from Medaille stand out from others. As s student, they want to make

sure that their teachers care about them and motivate them to fulfill their highest potential. I

didnt start out my educational journey thinking I would end up in the education field, so I know

that I chose this career path because I care. I want to help students grow and learn. I want to

motivate student learning and create fun and engaging lessons for them to take something from

it. I want to make memories that last a lifetime for students. As an adult student, with a family, I
set much higher expectations for myself than I have ever before. I have a son that I need to

provide for, motivate, model hard work and happiness for. It took me longer than most students

to find this caring side to myself, because it cant be taught to me. I think this is why it is such

a unique standard that students from Medaille have. In all of my lesson plans, I use multiple

methods of challenges, accommodations and extra work in case of a re-direction. I incorporate

many styles of learning through visuals, listening, writing, reading, group work and individual

work. These are all things that justify my ability to be a caring educator, and that I put forth the

most effort to make sure every student is learning in the way they can best succeed.

International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE).

Technology is important to integrate into the instruction because our society is ever

changing and growing. Students that we teach today are brought up in a highly digital world.

Technology surrounds them starting from birth, and by the time they are into school, they have

mastered many technological advances that adults struggle with. In my artifacts, I use a lot of

visuals that I display on computer monitors and SMART boards in my lessons. I also use movie

clips and PowerPoint presentations to demonstrate my abilities to integrate it into my lessons. I

think students are more engaged when they see technology involved. I believe there are pros and

cons to having technology used in the classroom, but overall it is a positive experience to have

in the instruction. It is convenient, easy to use, and can be helpful to ELL learners and students

who struggle with reading and writing. For my Celebrations Around the World artifact (#9), I

used a PowerPoint presentation to display all of the different traditions and holidays. I chose to

use technology, rather than read a book or lecture, because this lesson was targeted towards

students of diverse needs. The classroom anticipates the variety of culture and traditions, which

is why I chose to do this lesson. I wanted everyone to feel comfortable, not have to feel pressured
asking questions, and see all of the visuals if the language barrier discouraged them. Technology

is a great aspect to be used in the classrooms, and I feel comfortable and confident that I am

capable of integrating it into my classes.

International Literacy Association (ILA) Professional Standards.

The International Literacy Association (ILA) standards are to imply that each classroom

is open and accepting of all students and their cultural backgrounds, beliefs, gender and

diversity. According to the ILA website, The Diversity Standard focuses on the need to prepare

teachers to build and engage their students in a curriculum that places value on the diversity that

exists in our society, as featured in elements such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, and

language. This standard is grounded in a set of principles and understandings that reflect a vision

for a democratic and just society and inform the effective preparation of reading professionals.

All of my lessons and teaching practices focus on the needs of diverse learners and learning

styles, and I make a significant effort in my artifacts to create lessons that do so.

In my lessons, I have provided a full section of how I will accommodate the needs

of the diverse learners, as well as a full section of Culturally Responsive teaching practices. I

provided extra worksheets, or use of technology for students that struggle with language or

reading. I model very frequently, and choose lessons that have at least one hands on activity. I

allow my students to choose their own topics in the Oreo Opinion artifact and writing a Letter, to

provide options and endless opportunities for my students to succeed. My Family Tree artifact is

a direct reflection of meeting the cultural and diverse needs of the students. I wanted to learn

more about the students and their families, cultures and traditions in a fun and engaging way. It

helped me plan out future activities and lessons as a result of the Family Tree lesson. I was able
to understand more about the cultures inside the classroom, as well as build positive relationships

with the students and their families. I dont want any of my students to feel uncomfortable

sharing their traditions and beliefs in my classroom. I think diversity and culture is what makes

our country unique, and we should embrace it. I definitely incorporate the ILA Standards into all

of my lessons and activities, and my artifacts are proof of my abilities. I am confident that I will

be able to adapt and learn quickly about the needs of my students, in order for them to feel safe

and comfortable in my openly diverse classroom.

Council for Exceptional Children (ECE).

The ethical standards outlined by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)are

thoroughly ingrained into my teaching practice and beliefs. This set of ethical principles guide

professionals that work with students that have special needs. Students with special needs usually

need extra guidance, practice, accommodations and individualized learning goals. The CEC

Principle A- states that teachers need to maintain challenging expectations so that they can

develop the highest level of learning which respects their dignity, culture, language, and

background. I chose to use Principle A in the majority of my artifacts for this portfolio, because

I like to set high expectations for my students, as well as myself. In my Family Tree lesson plan,

I encourage students to share their Family Trees with the rest of the class, but do not make it a

requirement. For students that are shy or uncomfortable speaking in front of the class, I want to

encourage in a positive way, but without harming their grade, so they dont feel pressured to do

so. It is more of an experience I want them to practice, so they can grow and develop their skills.

I also included a lot of challenging expectations in my Finding the Main Idea lesson plan. The

lesson and literacy technique was difficult for the majority of the students in my experience, but
encouraging them to take notes, use context clues and the Main idea map encouraged them to

face the challenge and conquer it.

As a teacher, I understand that every lesson is not going to be successful the first

time it is taught. I have included my proof of understanding in this portfolio, as I had to re-create

a spelling word practice lesson. My students were doing poorly on their spelling tests, so instead

of continuing through the word lists and watching their grades suffer, I chose to develop an

activity that would challenge them, but also help them learn the material in a better way. I want

my students to succeed, and I have proven that I will go above and beyond to make sure all of

my students are excelling at their full potential at all times.

Standards Chart

The chart below separates all ten of my artifacts that I have chosen to display for my portfolio. I

have placed each artifact into the chart to display an organized way for the reader to see my knowledge

and application of the standards.

Conclusion
 As I have displayed, you can see my artifacts and how they align to the professional,

curriculum based and ethical standards. I have strong educational values, and want the best for

my students. I enjoy being a good role model, guiding students through learning experiences and

watching their growth and development shine. It is one of the best feelings in the world to watch

your hard work pay off, especially when it comes to a childs learning. The teaching profession

is not an easy job, and it takes someone who is dedicated to make this a lifestyle, rather than a

job. I have invested my heart and soul into the education world. I will continue to work on my

own learning, to make sure I can give students the best possible education they deserve.

I have learned so much about the diverse needs of students, and the wide variety of

teaching practices used to accommodate them. I have learned about techniques and learning

differentiations that I never knew existed, and thats what makes this field so intriguing. There is

never a dull moment in the classroom, and I feel so well prepared to face that challenge! All of

my experiences in the classroom as well as Medaille, have prepared me to develop into the well-

rounded educator that I have become. I never plan a lesson in one particular way. It has

become second nature to me to plan for multiple learning styles, and diverse classroom settings. I

think that this attribute sets me apart from other teachers that focus just on the content, rather

than the learners. My students teach me more things that I have ever learned in a graduate level

class. I am ready and fully prepared to accommodate, plan, instruct and develop the learning

needs of my students. The next section I will walk you through a reflection of my overall

experiences that I have endured through this journey, and my preparations I have fulfilled to be a

successful elementary school teacher.