RUNNING HEAD: JUSTIFICATION FOR DOMAIN F 1

TED 690 Capstone: Justification for Domain F

Carrie Reid

National University

Instructor: Clifton Johnson

December 10, 2017

Justification for Domain F 2

Abstract

As teachers, we must not only reflect on our teaching, but also set goals and seek improvement.

Developing a professional growth plan is one way to look forward at a plan for our development

in a variety of areas. In this paper, I will discuss several ways in which I plan to expand my

professional knowledge and skills that will positively impact my classroom instruction. I will

discuss and justify the artifacts I chose to include in Domain F of the Teacher Performance

Expectations, Developing as a Professional Educator.

Justification for Domain F 3

Justification for Domain F

Domain F focuses on developing as a professional educator, and encompasses TPEs 12

and 13. For the purposes of this paper, I will focus on TPE 13, Professional Growth.

Throughout our teaching career, we will reflect and evaluate our teaching practices, and

determine which areas we are strong in, as well as which areas we could use some additional

growth. Standards and curriculum are continuously changing, and therefore, we must

continually update our teaching knowledge base, including new strategies to implement the new

curriculum. TPE 13 states, They improve their teaching practices by soliciting feedback and

engaging in cycles of planning, teaching, reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new

strategies (2013). I have taken into consideration where I feel I have strengths, and where I

need additional training. That reflection determined what I chose as my artifacts in my PDQP in

Domain F.

The first artifact I chose is a photo of an upcoming annual Project Lead the Way

Conference. Although I do not plan to attend this particular conference, I would like to look into

attending within the next few years if possible. Project Lead the Way provides a hands-on

learning environment that inspires students and teachers to believe in their abilities, empowers

them to reimagine their potential, and prepares them to bring their dreams to life (PLTW, 2017).

Hands-on learning experiences have shown to be more effective, and have a lasting impression

on students. PLTW incorporates collaboration and solving real-world problems, which can also

increase the engagement and learning experiences. These types of experiences can be

incorporated into every content area, making learning more fun for students. I do not feel that I

am strong in, so any additional training in this area would be beneficial to my students.
Justification for Domain F 4

No Excuses University (NEU) believes that every child deserves the opportunity to be

educated in a way that prepares them for college (2017). There are six pillars to accomplishing

this: culture of universal achievement, collaboration, standards alignment, assessment, data

management, and interventions. Before this school year, I did not know much about NEU,

besides we wanted to encourage our students to plan for their future and get excited for college.

I had the opportunity to attend a local NEU Institute over the summer, which gave me more

insight to the whole belief system. I was able to attend four sessions with inspirational speakers

that gave me some great strategies for classroom management and teaching strategies for

struggling students. I want to further my understanding of NEU, and take on more of a

leadership role within our school. For that reason, the second artifact I chose was some of my

notes from the No Excuses Institute I attended, as well as a screenshot of the next two NEU

National Conventions. I hope to attend one of the National Conventions as part of my 5 year

plan.

Upon reflecting on my strengths and areas of need, I find one of my areas of need is in

the content area of science. Our textbooks and student packets are very outdated, and do not

completely align with the newer Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). I have found

myself struggling to incorporate NGSS standards into the curriculum, since we do not have

anything that directly correlates. I have been able to attend one training, but it was not a

comprehensive training. When I further researched upcoming trainings, I found the California

NGSS STEM Conferences. Although there was not too much detailed information, I found one

that is coming up in March of 2018. I plan to look further into this conference and see if our

school district will allow us to attend. I also found some weekend teacher workshops that are not

comprehensive, but several different workshops offered in San Francisco at the Cal Academy of
Justification for Domain F 5

Sciences that I may attend on my own. I believe with this additional support, my teaching

strategies in NGSS will benefit my students greatly. For this reason, my third artifact is a picture

of the upcoming information on the conference through the Exploratoriums Teacher Institute.

Artifact four is a picture of an upcoming Math Training through Stanislaus Office County

of Education. Our district adopted Eureka Math within the last 3 years, so it is still new, even to

veteran teachers. This curriculum has come with much debate and controversy. As a parent and

teacher, I can see both sides of the argument. I have taken our district up on several math

trainings as they have come up throughout this school year. Math was my best subject as a

student, but I feel that I definitely needed some help when it came to teaching the subject. The

trainings have definitely helped me this year, but I feel that more training would be very helpful.

This particular training is with fractions, decimals, and percentages, incorporates Number Talks,

a program that helps students think about and verbalize their thought process when solving math

problems. I feel this training would be beneficial, since these are standards we address in fourth

grade, and Number Talks has shown to be a very effective strategy in classrooms.

Artifact five is a photo of my 5 year professional growth plan. Before this course, I did

not even think this far into the future. I just take the opportunities as they come up for furthering

my education and experience. Reflection is a key part in bettering ourselves in any part of our

life. In the teaching profession, reflections should provide evidence of your ability to think

critically, problem solve, make decisions, relate theory to practice, learn from experience, and

analyze your performance and growth (Costantino, Lorenzo, & Tirrell-Corbin, 2009, p.57).

This plan forced me to really think about what I could do to reach my potential in several areas.

For year one, I listed that I would obtain my Masters degree in Education, attend the 2018 ETC

(Educational Technology Conference), Number Talks training, and the NGSS training. Year two
Justification for Domain F 6

consisted of completing BTSA year 1, beginning year 2, incorporate STEAM in my classroom,

and attend Eureka Math trainings. Year 3 consisted of completing year 2 of BTSA, and attaining

tenure. For year 4, I listed obtaining PLTW certification. By year 5, I would like to attend the

NEU National Conference, and gain more leadership opportunities within our school.
Justification for Domain F 7

References

Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). The California Teaching Performance

Expectations. Retrieved from: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-

prep/standards/adopted-tpes-2013.pdf

Costantino, P.M., De Lorenzo, M.N., & Tirrell-Corbin (2009). Developing a professional

teaching portfolio: A guide for success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

PLTW. (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.pltw.org/experience-pltw