Standard 1

"The teacher understands how students' learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences."

My Interpretation: Teachers understand students' different needs and abilities and design instruction that is appropriate to each student's ability.

Artifact 1: CFA

Indicator 1 (h): Respects learners' differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner's development.

Introduction to Artifact: CFA stands for contextual factors analysis. I completed my CFA before I went into my placement to gather background information on my student teaching placement. It is a breakdown of the specific characteristics of not only the town in which the school is located, but also of the students themselves. Through my CFA, I analysed gender demographics, socioeconomic status, specific student information, and racial diversity. All of these factors affect the students who attend the school, and in my CFA, I analyzed what effect I believed each would have on the students. It was a tool I used to understand my students on a deeper level and guide my general relationship building with them.

Rationale: The CFA clearly demonstrates how I prioritized and respected my students' needs. In this document, I analyzed various factors that could contribute to challenges in their learning environment. This insight directly informed my lesson planning and helped shape how I built relationships with my students. Through that process, I gained a deeper understanding of my students' backgrounds and their communities, allowing me to create a classroom environment tailored to their success. Through my CFA, I found that many of my students had 504s or IEPs, which greatly influenced how I planned and implemented my lessons. To meet the needs of all my students, I started doing guided notes on an online note-taking app that all students have on their iPads, which the school provides. The app allows the students to get what they need, from color coding to speech to text, or even turning their writing into text. It has helped many students. My CFA also showed me that many students are living below the poverty line and have many other stressors on their plates. DUe to this fact I try to give plenty of in classtime for work so students don't have to worry about the added stress of school work when they are home. These examples highlight how the CFA shaped my approach in the classroom, allowing me to honor the needs of my students and support their growth as learners.

Artifact 2

Indicator 1 (b): Creates developmentally appropriate instruction that takes into account individual leaners' strengths, interests and needs and that enables each leaner to advance and accelerate his/her learning.

Introduction to Artifact: To get to know my students better and start the relationship-building process, I gave them a Google form titled "Get To Know Me." The form asked them questions about themselves as individuals and learners. I also provided a space for them to tell me anything they thought I would need to know about them. I used this information to guide my lesson planning and to build relationships with each one of my students.

Rationale: This survey was a key tool I used to identify individual student strengths and interests.The insights I gained directly influenced my lesson planning and helped shape our classroom norms. Every lesson I designed I tried to meet the needs of every student based off the information I collected from this survey. Prioritizing their unique learning styles and personal interests, many of which I uncovered through the survey, allowed me to craft lessons that genuinely resonated with them. As a result, my classroom became a productive and engaging space where all students felt they could learn. Through the survey I found that many of my students are visual learners. As their teacher, this informed me to make color-coded and step-by-step instructions where I could show them the breakdown of an example. They also followed along with the notes in front of them. This allows them to visualize the steps and the process and to resonate and understand my teaching. Every aspect of my instruction was rooted in the data from the survey. My goal was always to build lessons that reflected their strengths and needs to foster an environment where their learning could thrive.