Running head: ASSIGNMENT 2B – LITERATURE REVIEW: TPE 6 1

Assignment 2B – Literature Review: TPE 6

Rachel Wexler

National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

TED 690−Capstone

Daniel Weintraub
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Abstract

This assignment includes a review of Robin Averill, Dayle Anderson, and Michael Drake of

Victoria University of Wellington’s article “Developing Culturally Responsive Teaching through

Professional Noticing within Teacher Educator Modelling”. This supporting literature in relation

to the competencies in TPE 6 (Developing as a Professional Educator) discusses the importance

of teachers, especially student teachers and novice teachers, continuing to develop their skills as

an educator through coaching and practice via seasoned teachers. Engaging in such opportunities

aids in the continued development as an educator, and subsequently the continued success of

students.
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The Teacher Performance Expectations are composed of six different domains, all of

which hold equal importance in the quest to becoming an educator that is able to fulfill the

national teaching standards expectations. The sixth teacher performance expectation (TPE 6)

focuses on developing as a professional educator and seeking “opportunities to reflect on [your]

practice through collaborative inquiry, observation, feedback, and [your] own performance data”

(Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2016). This competency is supported in the article

“Developing Culturally Responsive Teaching through Professional Noticing within Teacher

Educator Modelling” by Robin Averill, Dayle Anderson, and Michael Drake, which explains the

challenges new teachers experience and the importance of learning through other educators to

continue to develop and improve in the field.

The education field is one in which is ever changing, standards and curriculum adjust and

the newest supported research in which pedagogical practices are deemed superior continuously

varies; which ultimately means that educators cannot remain stagnant and must continue to learn,

adjust, and grow over time. As TPE 6 outlines, teachers must “establish professional learning

goals and make progress to improve their practice by routinely engaging in communication and

inquiry with colleagues” (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2016). This requires teachers to

seek out colleagues that are “insightful adults whose repertoire of understanding and ideas can be

drawn upon to help expose and discuss practice” (Averill, Anderson, & Drake, 2015). The

intentional interactions, discussions, and observations of other teachers aids in professional

development by providing opportunity to learn from others experiences and by being exposed to

different teaching practices and styles.

One of many critical components in developing as a professional educator is for teachers

to “recognize their own values and implicit and explicit biases, the ways in which these values
ASSIGNMENT 2A – ASSIGNMENT 2B – LITERATURE REVIEW: TPE 6 4

and implicit and explicit biases may positively and negatively affect teaching and learning, and

work to mitigate any negative impact on the teaching and learning of students” (Commission on

Techer Credentialing, 2016). This is extremely important because we must not only be aware of

how our students’ cultural backgrounds contribute to how they learn, but how our own cultural

backgrounds contribute to our outlooks and biases, and how that impacts our teaching and our

students learning. To develop as a professional, and to become the best teacher possible for

students, we must teach “in ways responsive to the cultures of our students” which is “vital to

enhance equity of access to achievement” (Averill, Anderson, & Drake, 2015). In order to so, we

must have a wide range of strategies to ensure successful learning of all students, which can be

obtained through strategic interactions and learning opportunities with other professionals. When

we learn from others how students’ backgrounds contribute to their prior knowledge and

experiences, and ultimately how they learn, we can then pull from the various tools obtained

over time to adjust teaching if current strategies are not resonating with students. This ongoing

development in understanding of students and teaching strategies is a critical aspect of

professional development in the field.

By making it a focus to take the time and energy to learn through veteran teachers and

professionals via modeling, discussing, and observing; educators can learn to “discern, analyze,

and respond to student thinking and learning” which is “pivotal in becoming an effective

teacher” (Averill, Anderson, & Drake, 2015). To accomplish this, we as teachers must be open to

learning through others and applying our learning to our daily practices. Doing so aligns with the

competency in TPE 6 of reflecting on our teaching practices and “level of subject matter and

pedagogical knowledge to plan and implement instruction that can improve student learning”

(Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2016). To do so effectively, we must be exposed to these

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practices first hand through observing experienced teachers and developing behaviors exhibited

by veteran teachers, such as on the spot adaptations to ensure student comprehension when it is

recognized that students are not processing information. Overall, the ongoing development of our

pedagogical practices through teacher educator modeling is a critical aspect of professional

development in the field. To develop as an educator, you must remain open minded and never

consider yourself finished with learning and growing.

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References

Averill, R., Anderson, D., & Drake, M. (2015). Developing culturally responsive teaching

through professional noticing within teacher educator modelling. Mathematics Teacher

Education and Development, 17(2), 64-83. Doi:

Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2016). California teaching performance expectations

[PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-

prep/standards/adopted-tpes-2016.pdf

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.