Standard 1: Learner Development (part 1)

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop,

recognizing that patterns of 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.
Artifact 1: As a Student Teacher in First grade at Wilson Elementary I
have had the experience in getting to understand how learners grow
and develop. In the first few weeks I have taken the responsibility of
teaching math only. The last topic was Measurement and Data and
learning about telling time. The students need to know how to write
and tell time to the hour and half hour using digital and analog clocks.
Some students were catching on quickly with the use of hands on
clocks. Students caught on quickly to reading and writing using the
digital clocks. With the analog clock students were struggling to read
the correct time, mostly the hour hand and where it was pointing in
particular. Students were reading the minute hand correctly but often
getting the hour hand placement wrong. After teaching students with
using many hands on scaffolding techniques, interactive videos,
games, and worksheets I then assessed students to get an idea of their
learning progress. I was able to see after a few assessments exactly
where students misunderstandings were. I was able to redesign and
modify my instruction. I was able to see exactly where I needed to
focus. I was able to see exactly which group of students needed
reteaching and what the focus skill would be.
Reflection:
This was a wonderful experience for me to see exactly how
students learn and develop. The whole process was fun and interesting
for me as a teacher. I was able to reflect on how well I taught the
information. With the math topic being time I was able to introduce to
the students a whole new topic and standards to the students and see
how well they performed first with my first few lessons. It was a great
opportunity for me to go from there and see what I needed to do next
as a teacher. It was comforting to know that the majority of the

students caught on and had no problem with the assignments and

assessments. Through many lessons I still had students that struggled
to have certain time rules click for them. Fortunately, I was able to
find time to have a small group reteaching instruction session. I
assessed all students regularly to see how I needed to modify and
change what I was saying. The first way I developed the lesson may
have not clicked for this particular group of students. I was able to
scaffold their learning in a small group setting. I re-assessed the
students to check for understanding again with the small group that
helped even more to see where their progress was.
It was fun for me to take on the challenge of helping these
students learn and develop more with this particular time math topic. I
created an environment for the small group to come and learn more
and hear the information in a new way. I met with the students and
was able to see them develop right before my eyes. It was great to see
that light bulb finally click on exactly where that hour hand needs to be
pointing when it is 5:30.
It was great to see that in the beginning not all students caught
on. It is not normal for all students to understand the new concepts the
first time. It developed me as a teacher to take a deeper look at the
individual students learning and how they develop. This gave me the
opportunity to create the appropriate instruction for these particular

students and find a way to see their strengths in the task and see what
needs they needed to enable them to accelerate.

Learner Development (part 2)

Artifact 2: In my student teaching class I have a student that shows
signs of ADHD. He has not been tested; as parents are not sure that is
the route they want to take with him. I have never seen this student sit
still. He has to constantly be tapping his feet, moving in his seat, or
touching some object on his desk. He is constantly inside his sweatshirt
or shirt messing around. He often stands up and walks in front of the
teacher without asking to get up. He never focus on the lesson or has
eye contact with the teacher during lessons. He is one that needs extra
monitoring and guidance. When it comes to his work he is performing
at a meeting level. He does not necessarily struggle with the content
or learning the skill. Its amazing that he is extremely disruptive and
distracted but still picks up on the lessons. As a student teacher I have
been given the opportunity to work with my cooperating teacher and
the schools counselors about a plan to help this student. This particular
student has caused distractions for himself and for other students. His
behavior affects the learner and his/her development all around. I have
gathered with other professionals to see what we can do to better help
this individual in hopes to not let his behavior get in the way of his own
and others learning.
Reflection:
This student with his particular behavior and constant disruptions
has given me the opportunity to see how it works in the schools to
collaborate with families, colleagues, and other professionals about
how to help certain students. With his behavior being a constant
problem it has slowed his learning growth and development. It has
been interesting for me to learn that students with different
personalities, learning styles, behaviors, and level of learning can
change the way they grow and develop. I have enjoyed meeting with

the counselors about this particular student on a monthly basis. The

meetings with the counselors are called kid talk It is where we get
together to develop new tactics to see what works and what doesnt
for our various learners. One thing in particular that I thought was
interesting is for this student being so disruptive we have found that he
will focus for a longer period of time if he has something to be touching
or doing that prevents him from being disruptive. We have him seated
on a cushion bubble seat. This prevents him from rocking backwards in
his chair. He can now just rock back and forth on this cushion. We have
also put strips of Velcro on the bottom of his desk so he can keep his
hands and fingers busy but still be quiet and more focused on the
teacher. As a student teacher I have learned so much about behaviors
and how we can better students environments in hopes to help them
learn and develop better mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially.
I have enjoyed collaborating with others to get ideas. This has helped
me to be a teacher that will always view each student as an individual
and create appropriate situations and change the environment for the
better for students that can use their strengths, interests, and needs as
a powerful learning tool for themselves.