Katie Halderman

EDSC 591
September 18, 2015
Concept Map & Personal Reflection
This assignment was truly eye opening for me. As I learned more about the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession, the Five Core Propositions of the NBPTS, and the
National Board Standards for Mathematics, I realized a very common theme spreading
throughout all three documents the need to be an effective teacher. Although each document
provided different contexts and examples, they all had an underlying theme of effective teaching
to help students better understand the standards.
All three documents had a heavy focus on the need to engage students and support all
students in learning (Standard 1) in order to be a more effective teacher. To me, this was actually
the easiest standard to make connections to because all three documents focused so heavily on
student accessibility and engagement. The Five Core Propositions main theme was that teachers
need to be committed to students and their learning. This related directly to Standard 1 as it
discussed the need to make knowledge accessible to all students, as well as use diverse
instructional strategies and know how to keep students engaged to ensure a disciplined learning
environment. This also showed a major connection to NBPT Standard I, commitment to
mathematics learning of all students. If we, as educators, can value and acknowledge the
individuality of each student, we will better comprehend the critical need to differentiate
instruction for them and support EVERY learning style that is in our classroom.
In addition to differentiation and engagement, teachers need to consistently develop as a
professional educator (Standard 6). This seemed to be a theme throughout the documents that we

were able to easily map out as we noticed a heavy focus on the need to grow as an educator in
order to be more effective in teaching standards to our students. Propositions Four and Five
talked profoundly about the need for teachers to read, question, create, and try new things in the
classroom. They also mentioned the need for teachers to collaborate, build partnerships, and
work with other professionals on instructional policy and curriculum development. The NBPT
Standards for Mathematics also clearly laid out the importance of collaborating with other
teachers to strengthen the mathematics programs within schools, promote program quality, and
improve knowledge and practice in the field of mathematics education. This reminds me greatly
of the theme of Module One, where we discussed the importance of content knowledge.
Although we can all agree that content knowledge alone does not make an effective teacher,
these three documents as well as our concept map shows the clear importance of professional
growth in our content areas.
Standards 2-5 also make very strong connections that explain how teachers can become
more effective in their practice. Proposition 2 seemed to connect to many of the standards as it
discussed the need to know your content area as well as how to teach. Familiarity with the skill
gaps and preconceptions, as well as mastery over subjects and diverse instructional strategies, we
can design learning experiences for all students and organize subject matter for efficient student
learning. Proposition 4 also made frequent appearances in my concept map as well as my groups
concept maps as it discussed the need to be familiar with learning theories and instructional
strategies as well as try new things in my practice. The themes running throughout all Standards
and Propositions lead to what makes an effective teacher. I was surprised by how many
connections there were between these standards. The fact that the documents all connected- even

though they all had different purposes, helped me to realize the need to incorporate these
standards into my teaching in order to become a more effective teacher and educator.

Mind Map: https://bubbl.us/?h=239010/5a5a6a/23YDoDT//J1tM&r=1870991162