PTS 6.

The competent teacher understands and uses a variety of

instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical
thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

1.  Write  a  paragraph  explaining  your  knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  standard—

put  the  standard  into  your  own  words.  

I  think  that  this  standard  wants  me  to  be  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  are  a  variety  of  

instructional  practices  that  and  be  useful  in  the  classroom  to  engage  students  and  

increase  effectiveness.  Traditional  practices  are  no  longer  seen  as  efficient  in  the  

classroom,  and  this  standard  encourages  exploring  new  ways  to  encourage  students  

to  be  more  hands-­‐on  in  the  classroom.  If  students  are  able  to  identify  with  the  

purposes  of  a  lesson  or  activity,  they  are  more  likely  to  take  more  away  from  that  

lesson.  I  think  that  having  hands-­‐on  opportunities  that  promote  critical  thinking  

provide  students  with  a  desire  to  learn.  

2.  Explain  how  the  artifact  you  chose  demonstrates  your  understanding  and  

application  of  the  standard.  

My  artifact  is  a  lesson  plan  that  I  wrote  and  used  with  a  kindergarten  class  for  my  

initial  practicum.  My  cooperating  teacher  at  the  time  encouraged  me  to  create  my  

own  lessons  based  on  the  current  thematic  unit  of  the  class.  At  the  time,  the  students  

were  exploring  restaurants  and  I  wanted  to  think  of  a  fun  and  interactive  lesson  

plan  that  would  stick  with  the  theme  and  still  teach  the  students  something  new  or  

build  on  concepts  previously  covered.  Therefore,  I  decided  to  create  a  lesson  plan  

that  introduced  informal  measuring  by  having  the  students  measure  things  around  

the  classroom using 3-inch circles to represent “pancakes.” In doing so, I provided
“enhance[ed] learning through the use of a wide variety of materials as well as human

and technological resources.”

3.  A  If  the  artifact  has  been  used  in  your  practice,  reflect  on  how  your  teaching  will  

change  in  the  future  to  further  meet  the  standard.  

       B.  If  the  artifact  has  not  been  used  in  your  practice,  i.e.,  a  class  assignment,  reflect  

upon  how  your  teaching  will  be  impacted  by  the  assignment.  

In  having  used  this  lesson  plan  in  the  classroom,  I  think  seeing  the  students’  

reactions  and  how  excited  they  were  to  complete  the  activity,  I  can  definitely  justify  

using  manipulatives  in  my  future  classroom  to  enhance  learning  and  engage  

students.  I  think  that  the  use  of  manipulatives  gives  students  an  opportunity  to  take  

ownership  of  their  learning  because  they  become  a  part  of  the  learning  process  

rather  than  just  sitting  as  passive  learners  listening  to  a  lecture  on  a  topic  and  

completing  a  worksheet.    

4.  Conclude  with  a  paragraph  discussing  how  you  are  more  prepared  to  Teach  and  

Learn  in  a  Diverse  Society  as  a  result  of  satisfactorily  meeting  the  standard.  

The  use  of  manipulatives  in  the  classroom  gives  students  at  a  variety  of  learning  

levels  an  opportunity  to  participate  in  a  lesson/activity  that  they  might  not  have  

been  able  to  if  there  were  not  manipulatives  available.  Manipulatives  help  students  

create  connections  in  what  they  are  learning  through  hands-­‐on  applications  of  the  

materials.  Therefore,  providing  manipulatives  give  students  the  ability  to  more  

concretely  understand  the  intended  concept.