Education

Question 3

High-leverage practices (HLP) promote students' learning and help teachers in advancing skills. Based on HLP 2, teachers are required to collaborate with professionals and parents in making decisions and share multiple perspectives (CEC, n.d).  Based on HLP 3, teachers are required to involve families in making decisions concerning the children's needs. A teacher-parent relationship promotes a positive relationship and encourages parents to identify children's needs and support them (CEC, n.d). Focusing on the instructional program, I can rate myself 4 out of 5.This is because, during a lesson, I create instructional goals and build a supportive environment to meet the needs of every student. To meet the instructional goals, I interact with students and create a collaborative environment where students develop a sense of belonging. I also use explicit instruction to capture the students' attention to help students understand the topic and the contents. I encourage students to work together in a learning activity and share skills in solving the problems. My weaknesses in this area is that I am unable to construct an effective instructional program due to lack of knowledge about students' cultures, religious backgrounds, and other social status. To improve in this area, I will integrate culture and religious perspectives in interacting with students since these factors impact students' academic life. 

              On information about individual students, I can rate myself 5 out 5.This is because I provide individualized instruction to every students. The purpose of an individualized specialized instructor is to meet the students' academic, functional, and emotional needs. In general, in my instructional program, my instructional activities include communicating clearly to the students, providing feedback, and being responsive to their needs. On the engagement of families, I can rate myself 3 out of 5. This is because I have not met full professional responsibilities especially in the area of communicating with families. I rarely communicate with parents/guardians concerning students' behavior. I only deal with students and my goal is to adhere to the established standards to help students gain knowledge and skills. To improve in this area, I will engage families in students learning and allow them to add input to the education program. I look forward to have a meaningful interaction with families to learn more about culture, interest, and expectations. 

Question 5

In HLP 1, teachers should not work independently but they should collaborate with other colleagues and parents to form professional relationships. The collaboration allows the team to develop a support system toward improving students learning (CEC, n.d). On a scale of 0-5, I can rate myself 5 out of 5 in the area of improving content knowledge and pedagogical skills. I apply research-based participants to produce positive outcomes. I interact with other teachers to review the learning standards and plan lessons that adhere to the curriculum standards.  I also like reviewing educational periodicals to learn about the instructional strategies to improve teaching practices. Through interaction, I identify the important pieces of content, I narrow my focus and address the specific subject, and focus on a subject that has anticipated responses.  On receptivity to feedback, my rate is 5 out of 5. This is because, when working with other professionals, I receive constructive feedback and I use the feedback to improve students' learning. I view the feedback from colleagues as a gift that has a potential value in students' learning.  My service to the profession is 5 out of 5.  Focusing on HLP 1, teachers must collaborate with other professionals to improve learning.  By collaborating and interacting with other teachers, we share knowledge and knowledge helps in providing quality education and bringing social changes in the community. I also share knowledge with other teachers to assist them with the newly gained knowledge toward improving the learning. In general, teachers are required to adapt to the current skills. To stay informed, they need to interact with others and   join professional organizations and attend conferences. On this area, I do not have weakness and this means that collaboration or working as a team has enabled to grow professionally.

Question 7

 On HLP 6, reflection is an important element and teachers must engage in reflective practices to maintain the effectiveness in teaching (CEC, n.d). Reflection helps teachers to appraise themselves and create a new perspective or gain a new awareness of personal behaviors.  According to Gheith & Jaberi (2018), refection allows teachers to have proper planning. Rather than depending on routine activity, teachers engage in critical thinking where they think and analyze the teaching events and practices. Reflection is important in that the teacher will assess the classroom environment and make amendments to ensure that the teaching practices improve students' learning. Having understood the role of reflection, I can rate my accurate reflection as 5 out of 5. After introducing the lesson to the students, I conduct an assessment to evaluate whether the lesson was successful or not.  I do not just assume that the lesson was 'okay' or 'terrible'. I reflect on what happened through collecting data, analysis data, and planning. In case of any dissatisfaction, I seek help from my colleague on how to solve the problems and meet the students' needs.The teachers’ help in becoming more accurate by providing me with additional strategies. The teachers not only help in solving the problems but they also engage in the refection practices by observing the students' responses. Thus, I include mentoring teachers in my professional work as they help in growing professionally and improving students learning. A point to note is that reflection helps to become more accurate in teaching. Secondly, reflection helps in assessing the effectiveness of teaching practice by using specific examples such as students' questions. Finally, reflection help in using reflections in future teaching. Note that in the future, I will reflect on what happened to the previous lessons and improve the practice. 

Question 11

Based on HLP-1 through HLP 22, teachers are required to support the students by ensuring that they receive fair treatment (Danielson, n.d). They should also show a high level of commitment to using the available resources to meet the students' needs. Furthermore, they should participate in decision making and adhere to the schools and district regulations. These are some of the ways in which teachers should show professionalism. Personally, I can rate myself 5 out of 5 in advocacy to students. As a teacher, I am aware that sometimes students' voice is not heard. Therefore, they require supportive teachers who would advocate for them and ensure that the decisions made have a positive impact on the life of students. I advocate for students by listening to their voices and connecting them to a support system. On service to students, I can rate myself 5 out of 5 simply because I am aware of the students' needs and use the best tools to support learning. Serving students is a high priority and I am interested in providing students with a positive experience.  I am aware that the role of my professional expertise to make a great contribution to the life of students. In integrity and ethical conduct, my rating is 5 out of 5 in that I support a culture of integrity by encouraging students to work hard with determination and to believe in themselves. My professional ethics is also 5 out of 5 in that

 I treat students with care and commitment.  I do not only provide quality education but I adhere to good values to achieve desirable outcomes. I also apply my professionalism in making decisions. I adhere to the professional standards in interacting with students and other professionals. Finally, my compliance with school and district regulation is 5 out 5 because I do not only comply but I also go beyond the compliance. For example, I adhere to the current regulation of curriculum and I work with my colleagues to under the new curriculum and the best practices.

Question 9

Focusing on the learner's profile, it is important to note that learners have different abilities, interests, and talents (Cooper, 2011). Teachers must recognize individual needs in order to design instructional programs that fit every student. Another point to note that learning profiles allow teachers to use different variables when planning programs. While analyzing the learner's profile, I learn that there are four areas to focus on. The first area is group orientation- this is a group of students who enjoy working as a team. The cognitive style profile entails focusing on the learning styles of students as well as their behaviors. Learning environment profile entails analyzing how environment impact students learning and intelligence preference entails analysis of how the surrounding environment including places and things influences learning (Cooper, 2011). The four learning profiles reveal that teachers are required to conduct a diagnostic assessment to understand the students’ interest and readiness to learn. The information will help come up with an effective plan and integrate the essential concepts in the program. It is important to note that in the 21st century, students have diverse needs and it is difficult to recognize these needs unless the teacher gets the right training that goes beyond focusing on subject areas to include diverse learning (Cooper, 2011). However, while analyzing the learners' profile, the question that came in my mind is 'does each learner profile require specific learning resources? My worry is that since the learning profile is shifting to personalize learning, it means that the teachers will not achieve desirable outcomes unless specific methods of teaching and resources are used. My concern is if it is possible to use collaborative learning where students' problems are addressing in a single learner profiles.

References

 

Cooper, D. (2011). Redefining Fair: How to Plan, Assess, and Grade for Exellence in Mixed-

Ability Classrooms. Solution Tree Press.

 

Council for Exceptional Children. (CEC). HLP2.  High-leverage practices in special education.  https://highleveragepractices.org/collaboration/hlp2/

 

 Council for Exceptional Children. (CEC). HLP3. High-leverage practices in special education. https://highleveragepractices.org/collaboration/hlp3/

 

Council for Exceptional Children. (CEC). HLP1. High-leverage practices in special education. https://highleveragepractices.org/collaboration/hlp1/

 

Council for Exceptional Children. (CEC). HLP6. High-leverage practices in special education. https://highleveragepractices.org/assessment/hlp6/

 

Gheith, E., & Aljaberi, N. (2018). Reflective Teaching Practices in Teachers and Their Attitudes

toward Professional Self-Development. International journal of progressive

education, 14(3), 160-179.

 

 Danielson, C.  Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (2011) Correlation to Special Education

High Leverage Practices.  https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/tpep/frameworks/danielson/Danielson%20FrameworkHighLeveragePractices.pdf