Welcome To My Showcase Portfolio

Franca Perrotta perrotta@oswego.edu

Table of Contents

About Me Standard 1: Content Peda

gogy Standard 2: Student Devel

opment Standard 3: Diverse Learn

ers Standard 4: Multiple Instru

ctional Strategies Standard 5: Motivation an

d Management

Standard 6: Communication and Technology

Standard 7: Planning Standard 8: Assessment Standard 9: Reflective

Practice: Professional Growth

Standard 10: School and Community Involvement

About Me…

Hello!  My name is Franca Perrotta and I am a graduate student at SUNY Oswego.  I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Oswego, and I recently decided that I want to become a teacher.  I am currently working on my Master’s degree in Childhood Education.  I will graduate in December of 2009 and I can’t wait to start teaching! To read more click here.

Standard 1: Content Pedagogy

“The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.”

Reflection Artifact

Standard 1 Reflection

Literacy is a content area that is extremely important.  Literacy development is essential for all children.  It is important for teachers to give children many experiences with reading and writing.  It is also very important for teachers to make these experiences meaningful to each and every student.  This can be done by choosing a variety of literature that will appeal to the different cultures of the students who make up our school environment.  Research has proven that providing students with many opportunities to read and write will result in literacy development.  It has also shown that students are more motivated to participate when they can make a connection to their personal lives.  As a teacher, I will make sure to give students a variety of reading materials and writing experiences. 

Standard 1 Artifact

An example of a writing lesson that I will use to engage my students and allow them to work together to create a story is provided here…Writing Activity

Standard 2: Student Development

“The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities that support a child’s intellectual, social, and personal development.”

Reflection Artifact

Standard 2 Reflection

A teacher has to understand the cognitive level of the students in their classroom in order to teach them successfully.  Knowledge of childhood developmental stages will allow a teacher to provide lessons that are appropriate for the learner.  This knowledge and understanding will allow for teachers to assist students with the learning process when it comes to developing educational, social, and personal skills.  These are all very important skills that children need to learn in order to interact with others and have positive experiences during their elementary and high school years.  

Standard 2 Artifact

I have chosen to use a read aloud that I did of the book, Racoon’s Last Race, to represent one of my accomplishments of this standard.  This book is a fable that teaches a lesson about bullying, by using fun characters, colorful pictures, and a great story line that really appealed to the students that I shared it with.  I will be using the paper I wrote that has details about the read aloud.

Read Aloud

Standard 3: Diverse Learners

“The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.”

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Standard 3 Reflection

This is a very important standard because classrooms today are made up of students with various abilities.  Teachers need to be aware of this when we are creating lesson plans.  We need to be sure to include a variety of activities that will meet the needs of each and every student in our classroom.  This means teachers need to be flexible with instruction.  We also need to recognize the various cultures and backgrounds of our students and find ways to include these into our instruction and make it meaningful to all students.

Standard 3 Artifact

I have attached a literacy center below which includes a cassette tape of the story we read for students who are English language learners and students who may need extra help with reading the story.

Literacy Center

Standard 4: Multiple Instructional Strategies

“The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.”

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Standard 4 Reflection

Teachers need to be a aware of the multiple learning styles that make up the students in our classrooms.  It is important to use variety when teaching our students.  There are ways to get students to learn the necessary material without just lecturing.  Teachers need to use many hands on activities and games to appeal to the needs of our students.  We need to reach out to each and every student in our classrooms.  Using a variety of instructional methods will motivate our students and get them eager to learn more, and will help all students be successful learners.  It is very important that we do everything possible to meet the needs of all of our students. 

Standard 4 Artifact

As an example of my understanding of this standard, I have included a link to a picture and directions for a game that I included in a Science unit about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Life Cycle Game

Standard 5: Motivation and Management

“The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.”

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Standard 5 Reflection

It is important for teachers to effectively manage their classrooms in order for learning to successfully take place.  We can start by having a set of rules in the classroom, and making sure students understand them and know how to follow them.  Communication is a key component in creating this positive atmosphere.  Teachers need to make sure that all students understand their roles as learners and what exactly is expected of them in the classroom.  These should be clearly stated to students and also posted in the classroom to remind the students what is expected of them.   

Standard 5 Artifact

I have included my plan for classroom management in the attachment below.

Classroom Management Plan

Standard 6: Communication and Technology

“The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.”

Reflection Artifact

Standard 6 Reflection

It is very important that teachers pay close attention to the way they are communicating with their students both verbally and nonverbally.  Teachers need to model appropriate language and social interaction skills so that students will learn positive ways to interact with their environment.  Teachers also need to pay close attention to the signals they are sending to their students by their mannerisms. Verbal and nonverbal communication are not the only ways of interacting in the classroom.  Many students today have much knowledge of technology such as computers.  Many students have access to computers at home, in a school lab, or even right in their classrooms.  Students should be encouraged to use these computers to search the internet for information, use power point as a form of presenting projects, and even use interactive games to practice skills in many subject areas such as math and science.

Standard 6 Artifact

As evidence that I understand this standard and have knowledge of technology, I have attached two power point presentations that I have created for projects in my graduate classes.

EDU501powerpointEDU595presentation

Standard 7: Planning

“The teacher plans instruction based knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.”

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Standard 7 Reflection

Planning is a crucial part of a teacher’s job. Planning is about putting together lesson plans that teach facts about a topic in a way that students will understand and continue to learn more. When doing this, teachers need to be creative and use variety to meet the needs of all students. Teachers should be organized and be ready to make changes when necessary. Planning can also be collaborative. Teachers can work with colleagues or even community members to plan activities or field trips that will get the students actively involved in the topic that they are learning.

Standard 7 Artifact

As evidence that I understand this standard, I have included a link to a Science unit plan that I created.

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Standard 8: Assessment

“The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social and physical development of the learner.”

Reflection Artifact

Standard 8 Reflection

Assessment is very important when it comes to tracking the development and progress of students. Using various forms of assessments will give teachers a better understanding of both problem areas and successes. I will be sure to use a variety of means to assess my students in the best way possible. Although formal exams are a good way to test students’ knowledge of facts, I will also be using activities such as individual and group projects along with many hands on activities to assess my students. I feel that it is very important to give students many different opportunities to show what they can do.

Standard 8 Artifacts

In order to demonstrate my understanding of this standard I have included:

A picture of a student dissecting an owl pellet. The student was assessed by their active involvement in the activity.

Standard 9: Reflective Practice: Professional Growth

“The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.”

Reflection Artifact

Standard 9 Reflection

It is very important for educators to participate in conferences on a regular basis to learn the best ways to teach their students.  Although I am not yet a certified teacher, I know that when I am, I will seek out as many opportunities as possible to learn and grow.  I want to reach all of my students in the best ways possible, and with our ever changing world, it is very important to be up to date on the newest research and technology.  At this point in time, I am learning how to be an effective teacher through my graduate classes and practicum experiences.  In the future, I know that I will take on every opportunity that I can to continue to learn and grow.

Standard 9 Artifact

At this time, I have included my resume as evidence of my experiences that have led to my professional growth so far…

My Resume

Standard 10: School and Community Involvement

“The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students’ learning and well-being.”

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Standard 10 Reflection

It is very important for a teacher to maintain good relationships with others who work in the school and with the community.  There are many times when teachers will want to collaborate with each other and members of the community to create better lesson plans for the students and to allow the students to participate in events in the community.  Developing positive relationships with those around us will help create a better environment for our students. 

Standard 10 Artifact

As evidence that I understand this standard, I have included a link to an example of a letter I would send home at the beginning of each school year to introduce myself to the parents and welcome them to my classroom.

Welcome Letter