Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Personal journey as a teacher
Personal journey as a teacher
My first career experience as a teacher
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Personal journey as a teacher
You have been dropped by helicopter into the heart of Beijing. You know a smattering of Mandarin and twice have tried to eat with chopsticks. You know that silk and fireworks originated in China and that you are obviously a novice trying to find your way in unfamiliar surroundings. What do you do? (Esch, 2010, p. 307) For many first time teachers, they often feel as if they have been dropped into a foreign land. According to Ferguson (2010), 25% of first-year teachers will leave the profession after three years. Beginning teachers are often disappointed by their first year of teaching (Hellsten et al, 2009). First-year teachers have many obstacles to overcome. It is their job to implement effective instruction, develop and maintain relationships among faculty, staff, and parents, and cope with all of the demands of teaching. In today’s classroom, student achievement is one of the components in measuring teacher success. It is critical that administrators provide the needed support for new teachers. “The quality of teachers and teaching are undoubtedly among the most important factors shaping the learning of students” (Ingersoll, 2004, p. 1). Student achievement suffers when new teachers lack experience and professional development (Brandt, 2005). Haycock (1998) reports that the achievement of at-risk students is even more influenced by the quality of the teacher. This research proposal is concerning the local school system’s teacher induction program and its effectiveness on new teachers within this school system. This researcher would like to know if the local school system’s induction program meets the new teachers’ expectations and specifically how this program has impacted the new tea... ... middle of paper ... ...ion program “gave us human faces and a soft place to land when we fell.” Leimann, Murdock, and Waller (2008) wrote about their personal experiences with an induction program in their county of Wicomico. All three are new teacher mentor/consultants for Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland. The mentoring program in their county consists of three major components. A workshop during the summer provides information on rules, procedures, and routines. Teachers with less than four years of teaching are offered monthly professional development seminars. The final component of this induction program includes a one-on-one mentoring program. According to Leimann et al (2008) the success rate of their induction program shows retention of new hires after the first year of this program has been consistently “above the 78% national teacher retention rate”.
I can help my teachers be professional learners by using observation and evaluation processes, like those found in Danielson’s model, to promote self-assessment, reflection on practices, and professional conversations with them. The Framework can help me have honest, reflective conversations with the teachers about their instruction and I can use it as a guide to help all involved in professional development decisions. In other words, I can use such teacher evaluation models to promote active engagement and encourage professional growth in all
Wolf, M.A. (2009). The 'Secondary' The Importance of Teacher Professional Development. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com.
During Teach For America's first year of operation, the organization received applications from 2,500 candidates and chose 500 of them to become teachers for the program who began their two-year teaching commitment in low-income communities all across the cou...
This paper explores the factors involved in success in the teaching field regardless of the environment. The information is based on the interview of current teacher Jane Satrom and her experience with a variety of adversities as a long time educator such as attending professional learning community (PLC) and department planning period (DPP) meetings. Her responses to various questions are compared to written advice for success in the college textbook Peak Performance: Success in College and Beyond in order to verify which skills and strategies are necessary in order to succeed. Major themes discussed are self-control, motivation, time management, and goal setting as used to succeed in the classroom. There are varying perspectives in the definition
Taylor, Ronald L., Lydia Ruffner Smiley, and Steve Richards. Exceptional students: preparing teachers for the 21st century. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. Print.
The first day of field marks the beginning of a new teaching experience, and for that reason, the first day of field will forever be a nerve-wracking day for me. On September 13, 2016, I, Mr. Cataldo began a new teaching journey, at Carlstadt Public School, a suburban school, in Carlstadt, New Jersey—Mrs. Mariano’s sixth-grade language arts literacy classroom. While walking through the front doors of the school, numerous questions began to come to mind, such as the following: Will Mrs. Mariano and her students feel comfortable with my presence in their classroom? Will I establish a positive relationship with Mrs. Mariano and her sixth-grade students? Albert Einstein once said, “The only source of knowledge is experience” (Albert Einstein Quotes, para.1). Today, I am fully aware that in life, one’s personal and professional experience, both good and bad, enables he or she grow as a person and more importantly as a learner. For that reason, I find it pivotal for one to realize that in life, it is normal to feel nervous, as well as make mistakes; what matters is that he or she is more than capable of transforming his or her mistakes into successes.
Richards, S., Taylor, R., Smiley, L. 2009; Exceptional Students: Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century
Through exploring multiple learning theories and reflecting on my own teaching beliefs, I have developed my own theory of learning. As I developed my theory, I wanted to consider what it takes to be a highly effective teacher. An effective teacher must have mastery of instructional strategies, classroom management, classroom curriculum design, and use assessments as feedback (Laureate Education, 2010a). By using a variety of instructional strategies, teacher’s can meet the learning styles of all the students in the classroom. Effective classroom management can lead to students feeling safe and more willing to take risks. When a student feels comfortable to take risk, then learning will increase and the students’ confidence will grow. Classroom management also creates order in the environment, which will allow effective learning to occur. By understanding curriculum, the teacher can target skills and causes learning to take place. Teachers need to deliberately plan lessons around standards and specific goals based on curriculum and the school’s mission (Marzano, 2010). Assessments need to be use to guide instruction and used as a “method for improvement and mastery,” (Marzano, 2010). While determining my own theory of learning, I believe that I need to consider what effective teachers demonstrate in the classroom.
Professional development is a component of being a highly effective teacher. Danielson and Garmston expressed the need for teachers to continue to learn new skills, show professionalism, and complete self-reflections. The teacher, as a role model, must demonstrate a love for learning by continuing to grow and develop. The students will learn to be life-long learners when their teacher demonstrates the same skill.
Everyone knows that when it comes to making a difference in a child’s academic and life achievements, their teachers play a large role. A teacher’s ability to relate to their students, and teach them to achieve both socially and academically contributes to how effective they are. What does it mean to be an effective teacher? Overall there seems to be an emphasis on teacher effectiveness related to how well their students are performing on standardized testing. As teachers we know there is more to being an effective teacher then just teaching our students based on tests. This paper will identify different definitions of an effective teacher along with how to assess teachers on being effective.
The teacher was rated using a rubric with specific criteria in four domains including planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities (Hillsborough County Public Schools, 2012). Within each of these domains are components which are the performance factors that are relevant to classroom teachers. In domain one the components include: demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy, demonstrating knowledge of students, setting instructional outcomes, demonstrating knowledge of resources and technology, designing coherent instruction, and designing student assessments. The components for domain two include: creating an environment of respect and rapport, establishing a culture for learning, managing classroom procedures, managing student behavior, organizing physical space. In domain three the components included are: communicating with students, using questioning and discussion, engaging students in learning, using assessment in instruction, and demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. There is only one component that was rated for domain four which is reflecting on teaching.
The state’s new evaluation system was in response to administrators who produced, “superficial and capricious teacher evaluation systems that often don't even directly address the quality of instruction, much less measure students' learning” (Toch, 2008). Too often, the “good-ol-boy” attitude would insure mediocre educators would remain employed. Realizing this was often more the rule then the exception, the governor created educational mandates to focus, “on supporting and training effective teachers to drive student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, they expected the school districts and the teachers would have issues and experience growing pains, but in the end the goal was, “to improve teacher performance, year by year, with a corresponding rise in student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013).
It provides the fundamental and advanced knowledge needed to improve the well-being of a country. Education is critical to the development of a country’s youth, as the popular saying goes, children are the future. The education received from teachers can either leave a lasting impact or have little or no effect on understanding. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation asserted that there is a need for “new paradigms, new practices and new people” (as cited in Holaday et al, 2007, 99). Professional development of teacher is required, as mentioned by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, “to build a culture supportive of a new generation of scholar citizens” (Holaday et al, 2007, p.99). Thus, it is imperative that the teachers’ in all institutions in a country receive the best possible training and resources needed to fulfil the responsibilities set before
For teachers to be effective in ways that increase students’ academic achievement, teachers must have the competency needed to teach in their respective content areas. For the purposes of this paper, teacher effectiveness and competency will be discussed in terms of a teacher’s ability to improve student’s academic achievement. Teacher competency is associated with the teacher’s readiness to teach their subject. According to the National Research Council (NRC), an estimated 10-20% of math and
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching