II. Master of Program Competencies

My artifact helped me improve in the following competencies:

Competency 1: Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
My curriculum map encouraged me to be more diverse and multicultural. It made me accept that diversity is one way to promote student learning. When I was designing my map, I pondered on each student’s intelligence(s) and different learning style(s) that may have something to do with their cultural background.

Competency 2: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
I have been teaching 3rd grade Science for three years now. However, my artifact made me see the big picture as I used the Backwards Design Model. From seeing the big picture or the learning goals, I was able to research and think of relevant and appropriate teaching practices. The instructional tasks and the assessments matched the standards and the essential questions. I can also say that they were more differentiated to accommodate the individual students’ needs.

I learned a lot from Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (2005). They discussed the qualities of best practice in teaching science. I have known some of them, but they expound a lot more. I have a better understanding about the difference between scientific inquiry and hands-on Science—that they are not synonymous. We can have hands-on activities, but students do not necessarily doing scientific inquiry. Also, scientific inquiry may not need hands-on activities in certain topics.

Competency 3: Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
This simply means that teachers have knowledge of instructional delivery and assessment. My artifact honed my skills in creating ability and age/level-appropriate evidence of learning.

Competency 4: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
My artifact made me a better decision maker. While making my curriculum map, I used mental imagery—or what I tell me students, TV on the Mind strategy. This was my form of reflection, “watching a scene where I execute the entire lessons with my students.” I thought of how my students would interact with such approach; whether the lesson will be productive or not.

My curriculum map also made me think of my past experiences:
Which learning strategies were effective?
Which activities were appreciated by my students?
Which assessments were more valid?
How can I make my unit plans more interesting to reach all learners?

Each program competency complements the others. The curriculum map binds them all together.

Zemelman,S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (2005). Best Practice: Today’s standards for teaching and learning in America’s schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.