Georgia Intern Keys, Essay Example

The State of Georgia provides a set of Teacher candidate Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS) which describe several ways that teachers demonstrate proficiency in key areas. These standards are based around the core concept of differentiated instruction, and are used to establish and assess how teachers can develop and implement appropriate instruction, engage students in the learning process, and interact with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders. The following sections provide a brief evaluation and analysis of each standard with an emphasis on their practical implementation in the classroom.

Performance Standard 1: Professional Knowledge

This standard serves as the fundamental basis for all the standards to follow. This standard addresses the ways that course and curriculum content intersect with overall pedagogical skills and teaching abilities. It is imperative that students are not just provided with information, but that this information is presented in a context which promotes learning.  In a functional learning environment, students are able to connect current information with past information, and are also able to connect course content to information and learning both in other courses and in real-world experiences. This means that the information and course content acquired in class should have meaning and relevance in students’ lives, not just in the classroom but outside of it as well.

This standard is critical precisely because it exemplifies how the learning experience is about more than just memorizing information. As an educator, I will seek ways to connect course content to real-life experiences so that students can understand how the content can be relevant and useful in their lives outside of the classroom.  This will include the development and implementation of activities designed to support lectures and instruction related to course content.

Performance Standard 2: Instructional Planning

Instructional planning is particularly relevant in the context of differentiated instruction. As an effective educator it will be my responsibility to plan instruction based on curricular content as well as data and information that is specific to the needs and skills of each student. Such data and information will be acquired through appropriate assessment tools, in conjunction with parents, and coordinated with other teachers. As classrooms become increasingly diverse the need for appropriately-differentiated instruction will grow accordingly, and it will be necessary for me to make this approach a fundamental component of my teaching style. The most obvious examples of how I will demonstrate proficiency in this standard will be through the development of communication with parents and family members of students, and with thorough use of assessments that will allow me to shape instructions around the needs of each student.

Performance Standard 3: Instructional Strategies

This standard goes hand in hand with the previous standard. Instructional planning is of little value if it is not connected with instructional strategies that promote engagement among students. Classroom learning is about more than just the one-way transfer of information from teacher to student. Effective instructions strategies will allow students to contextualize information in ways that promote learning, and will support the development of problem-solving skills. Such strategies should be shaped around the skills and needs of each student, but should not constrain students or limit them to only working within specific parameters. One way to promote creative, higher-order thinking is by allowing students to collaborate in groups or as an entire classroom to solve problems or work on projects that connect course material to real-world skills. As an example, students may be encouraged to work together on creating a story or a play based on a person or event form history. Such a project can help students understand how the information from a history lesson can be contextualized into real-world situations.

Performance Standard 4: Differentiated Instruction

The significance and relevance of differentiated instruction has been a fundamental component of my educational experience. While all of these standards are important, and each fits together with the other standards to form a cohesive educational framework, this standard has particular importance to me. In a sense, it serves as the philosophical basis for my entire approach to education. Without a complete understanding of the importance of differentiated instruction, all of the other standards are practically useless. This standard serves as a reminder that each student has his or her own needs, skills, and attributes that will shape how he or she learns, and unless instruction is shaped to fit these issues it will not be entirely effective. It is possible, of course, to provide the same course material the same way to every student, but that approach will only serve the needs of a narrow set of students.

It is my responsibility to use appropriate assessment tools and to coordinate my efforts with students, family members, and other educators in order to provide differentiated instruction that meets the needs of each student. This requires me to be flexible and responsive, and to develop and implement alternate strategies and instruction as needed. One of the first steps I like to take is to open lines of communication with the family members of each student whenever possible. This helps me to understand the cultural and individual backgrounds of each student, which serves as a foundation for future instructional planning.

Performance Standard 5: Assessment Strategies

Assessment strategies are useful and necessary both to make determinations about each student’s overall skills, attributes and needs and to determine how well each student is connecting with course material. This means that there are a wide variety of assessment tools available to teachers for different purposes, and it is important that teachers are familiar with and proficient in using the appropriate tools for different applications. Assessments allow teachers to develop appropriate differentiated instructional plans and implement varied strategies, and also help to determine how well students are learning the course material. Students who are engaged in the learning process can help determine their own goals, which in turn can be useful for teachers in developing flexible, responsive assessment tools. The fundamental element of this standard is that assessments be about more than just testing how well students memorize information, but should comprise a set of tools that are as individualized as the instructional materials.  In a sense, the assessment tools and the strategies used to implement them are the mirror image of the instructional planning and strategies used to promote learning. Assessment strategies that are not suitably varied and flexible will not be adequate to measure the effectiveness of instruction, which undermines the entire rationale of differentiated instruction.

Performance Standard 6: Assessment Uses

As this standard makes clear, the appropriate application and use of assessment tools is critical in ensuring that such tools are useful. If the application and use of assessment tools is too rigid, inflexible, or routine, then the results gathered from such assessments will be less helpful for developing appropriately differentiated instruction.  The description of the proficient applicability of this standard indicates that “the teacher candidate systematically and consistently gathers, analyzes, and uses relevant data to measure student progress, to inform instructional content and delivery methods, and to provide timely and constructive feedback to both students and parents” (p.12).  This description is somewhat general, however, and does not emphasize the varied ways that assessments can and should be used.

Assessment tools do not just determine how well a student has learned a particular component of course content,  they also help teachers understand how well the student is connecting that content to past instruction and how well that content will be carried forward as the student continues to learn and grow. As one of the many examples of assessments I used in the classroom, I administered tests that were designed to assess individual student competency in mathematics. The results of these assessments helped to determine how differentiated instruction in mathematics would be provided for each student.

Performance Standard 7: Positive Learning Environment

According to this standard “the teacher candidate provides a well-managed, safe, and orderly environment that is conducive to learning and encourages respect for all” (p.14).

This description is very broad, and does not provide specific examples of how this standard is to be met. As a teacher, it is necessary to understand that meeting this standard will require the same sort of flexibility that underpins the development of instructional strategies, as the specific task of providing a safe and positive environment in each classroom will be shaped around the attributes and needs of individual students and the group as a whole.

An effective teacher will promote and maintain expectations and routines for students, while also engaging students in the development and application of those expectations and routines. For example, students can be encouraged to participate in discussions related to how class routines should function, and to vote on different choices related to such issues. This will help students become invested in the processes of classroom routines and activities, and will encourage them to adhere to and respect such frameworks by making them a part of their development and maintenance.

Performance Standard 8: Academically Challenging Environment

This standard both reflects and supports the significance of appropriately differentiated instruction. While it is necessary for teachers to develop instructional plans and strategies that are shaped to fit the needs of individual students, it is also imperative that instruction be suitably challenging for each student. While each student will have his or her own skill and limitations, instruction must be provided that acknowledges such limitations but supports the development of greater skill and proficiency.  This requires teachers to work with students to establish goals and to develop instruction that supports the attainment of such goals. This standard also reminds teachers (and students) that making mistakes is part of the learning process, and learning from mistakes supports the development of problem-solving skills. Students must be encouraged to ask questions and to work with other students in ways that allow every student to apply their own skills and learn from the skills of others. Such an environment promotes the process of learning, as opposed to simply memorizing information.

Performance Standard 9: Professionalism

This standard seems self-evident, yet it also serves as the basis for the rest of the standards. Teachers must adhere to the established rules, laws, and ethical standards set forth by the state as well as the standards of the local community. In practical terms, professionalism includes dressing in an appropriate fashion, interacting with co-workers and supervisors appropriately, and maintaining proper manners and decorum when meeting with parents, interacting with students, or otherwise coming into contact with others inside and outside of the school environment. Professionalism also mandates that teachers engage in an ongoing process of personal and professional development.

As someone who is new to the profession, one way that I will work to develop and maintain professional standards is to seek the advice and guidance of my more experienced peers, and to cultivate a mentor/mentee relationship where possible and appropriate. I will also strive to identify areas where I could make improvements in my professional skills, and look for ways to promote such improvements (such as taking courses or classes, or simply seeking the advice and input of other professionals).

Performance Standard 10: Communication

Communication is a critical and fundamental component of being an effective teacher. The description provided for this standard lists “students, parents or guardians, district and school personnel, and other stakeholders” (p.22) as the people I will communicate with in the course of being a teacher. This list underscores the importance of communication, as it includes virtually everyone I will come in contact with in the course of my job. It also demonstrates that effective communication will require a combination of skills and strategies, as the way teachers communicate with students will of course be different than the way they communicate with peers, parents, and other stakeholders.

Even in the context of the classroom, communication strategies must be flexible and varied as required by different circumstances. As an example of how I use flexible communication strategies, when I am leading an entire classroom in a specific lesson or task I will often adopt a more forceful or direct tone than I would use when working with an individual student. It is also important that I foster communication between myself and the parents of students, in order to provide them with information they need and also to acquire information I will need to develop appropriately differentiated instruction for each student.

Reference

Georgia Intern Keys Effectiveness System: Candidate Assessment on Performance Standards. (2014). Retrieved 24 September 2014, from http://www.westga.edu/assetsDept/coe/Intern_Keys_State_Document_1.10.14.pdf