Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. My Rationale
3. Current Resume

Professional Standards

1. Content and Curriculum
   
   
2. Knowledge of Students and their Learning
   
   
3. Learning Environments
   
   
4. Assessment
   
   
5. Planning and Instruction
   
   
6. Professionalism
   
   

Learning Environments

"Teachers create learning environments that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation."

Artifact (as evidence of meeting standard)

The type of environment that we as teachers create is one that can either turn students on to social studies, or it can simply turn them off. This segues me as an educator to address how good teaching can be implemented in such a manner that it leads to a rich and meaningful environment that fosters student learning. In my student teaching seminar I was exposed to a definition of good teaching that I had never thought of before. Good teaching is seen as teaching that leads to each student being actively engaged in worthwhile learning. I took this definition to heart and carried it with me throughout my student teaching experience. I feel that by actively engaging students it allows them to view themselves as a part of the and even an example of what is being taught. Worthwhile learning is different for each student. This is an area of my practice that I wish to address more fervently throughout my teaching career. It is tough to decide what is worthwhile and most importantly, who is it worthwhile to. I feel that that is a huge undertaking and by tackling this issue I will better prepare myself to teach meaningful lessons throughout the duration of my teaching career.

If you took note of my strengths in the Content and Curriculum section you would have noticed that I lack exposure in economics. When I found out that my placement would land me in not one, but teaching two economics classes I suddenly became a nervous wreck.(As if I wasn’t enough already!) Interestingly though, I feel that my experiences in teaching economics let me know more of who I was as a teacher. Seeing that I had minimal exposure to the in-depth concepts, I aimed at using creative methods at doing the best that I could and relate the material to the student’s lives. This worked wonders for the classroom environment. I spent a majority of my time grappling with the material the night before in order to somehow make sense of it in the morning to not just myself, but make it worthwhile to a set of twenty eyes staring holes right through me. I am fully convinced that the experience made me a stronger teacher, as well as it has prepared me with a solid base to possibly teach economics in the future.