Christina Russo

Dispositons Essay
CEF 552
Professor LoMonico
Methods II: Dispositions Essay

As a pre-service English teacher I have come across many interesting lessons in

my one hundred hours of field experience. This semester particularly I focused on grades

nine through twelve. Many teachers have different approaches to similar material, and

this makes for a good comparison on what works and what does not. Every hour of my

field experience is valuable and will help me in my journey to become an English teacher.

At Commack High School, the faculty is comprised of exemplary individuals who

motivate and challenge their students every day. In a tenth grade honors class, the teacher

had just completed teaching sections of Beowulf and the students were required to write

their own boast about something about themselves which they are proud. They were to

include alliteration and were to follow the format of Beowulf’s own boasting in the text.

Finally, they had to read their boasts to the class in an enthusiastic manner. This lesson

followed the NCTE attitude: “A conviction that teachers help students grow by

encouraging creative and appropriate uses of language.” During the process of writing

their boasts, the students also were given a day of peer review so they could obtain

feedback on their projects. Therefore, the lesson also follows INTASC Core Standard

Five: “The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and

behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction,

active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.”

In the twelfth grade IP class I observed, the teacher was kind enough to explain to

me the multi-modality projects he assigns his students. He provided me with a power

point presentation showing the usefulness of these projects for the students as well as the

statistics and experts who have done research on this type of learning. He had presented

his power point at the NCTE Convention and was continuing his research in doctorate

program. The students would pick out a passage of the text and create a visual which

showed their analysis of that piece. They would also have to include the analysis

somewhere in the visual. The assignment had students thinking critically as well as using

multiple intelligences. This exemplified Principle Three of the New York State Code of

Ethics: “Educators commit to their own learning in order to develop their practice.” The

assignment also follows INTASC Core Standard Nine: “The teacher is a reflective

practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices on others and who

actively seeks our opportunities to grow professionally.”

In my hours of field experience I have seen a variety of standards, attitudes, and

principles followed; this has all worked to show me how to be an effective English

teacher. I have seen teachers striving to improve their methods for the benefit of their

students and that is they type of educator I will always try to be.