Appendix
Integrating Technology into Lessons: Throughout my student teaching experience, I relied upon and integrated technology in an almost all of my lesson plans. From instructional delivery to engaging student activities, technology served a crucial role in my classroom and reflected the larger role that technology plays in today's society. Examples of how I utilized technology within the classroom during my internship include:
http://katsindt501eportfolio.weebly.com/index.html Learning Environment: One of the principle responsibilities of a teacher is creating a safe and equitable learning environment and during my internship experience, this was a responsibility of which I was perpetually aware. As my student teaching experience occurred during the spring semester, I entered a classroom that already had very clear guidelines and procedures in place. From the established classroom environment that my mentor teacher had created, I attempted to match and maintain the tone by emulating and adapting her classroom rules and procedures, and maintaining the same classroom layout. To see how I envision creating a safe learning environment in my own classroom, please look at my classroom management plan at the following link:
Classroom Management Plan Communication and Relations: Teaching today involves being a part of a community that extends to fellow teachers, school staff, parents and, of course, students. During my internship experience, I immersed myself in the community at Riverbend High School by: attending CLAW meetings, department meetings, and staff meetings; participating in PLC meetings; introducing myself and contributing my autobiography to the classroom newsletter; getting to know parents at Parent-teacher nights; utilizing 'SCORE' (Spotsylvania County's online resource) to provide important information to students and parents; and finally, I made myself available to both students and parents by e-mail and over the phone (and both methods were used regularly by parents and students).
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Instructional Strategies: To be an effective teacher that engages students in content, diverse instructional strategies need to be utilized within the classroom. During my internship experience, I differentiated instruction and employed a host of different instructional strategies to reach all of my students, including:
Food Miles Project Description Taste of the World Project Directions Passport Stations Activity Professionalism: As a career-switching individual, I had already developed a set of professional attributes that were beneficial to this experience. Yet, throughout my internship experience I was able to hone and adapt my professional skills to the educational environment and as a result of this experience, I have a new set of professional competencies to proffer in my future endeavors. To any future endeavor, I bring a strong work ethic, a flexible nature that adapts to a variety of environments, a great deal of education and life experiences, respect for my colleagues, staff, and superiors, an openness to new experiences and challenges, and an eagerness to continue to learn and grow in new directions.
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