How INTASC Standards are Applied in my Lesson Plans

Each of the INTASC Standards is applied in my lesson plans. In correspondence with the first standard, I am competent in my subject area. I have a thorough understanding of my field of study which enables me to provide a detailed explanation to my students when teaching. I am trained to create lesson plans with questions from the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy that will challenge my students cognitively.

Parallel to the second standard, I understand how my students learn. In one of my lesson plans, I administered a worksheet entitled, Finding Your Learning Styles. After the students completed the worksheet, I was better able to understand how my students obtain knowledge. As a result, I could provide instructional strategies that would ensure that all my students learned each day.

For diverse learners, I provide interventions in my lesson plans. For example, if I have a student who does write English well, I will pair the student with a partner to assist him/her. I will also provide many visual aids, demonstrations, and outlines for this student so he/she can visually see English letters and words.

In my lesson plans, I also use multiple instructional strategies. For example, I use direct instruction, clinical teaching, differentiated instruction, and whole-class instruction. I also allow students to work individually at times and in groups at other times.

In addition, I am extremely motivated when I teach and I motivate my students. I also provide motivating work for them. Specifically, I make sure the work that I give them is not too difficult and not too easy for them. I make sure it is in their zone of proximal development. By doing work that they can achieve in, they will become more motivated to complete their work. I also encourage my students to be self-motivated.

When I teach, I make sure my verbal and nonverbal communication match. This way, I won’t confuse my students and I will be clear about what I am saying. Also, I make use of technology in each of my lesson plans. We use the television, DVDs, computers, electronic dictionaries, overhead projectors, transparencies, and even electronic spellers in the classroom. The use of technology makes the assignment more stimulating and less strenuous on the students. For example, many students find out that using word processors is exciting and makes writing a lot easier because they can use the spellchecker to correct their work. By doing this, they are also learning how to look for and correct their own mistakes.

For every lesson plan that I create, I have to plan while creating it. I have to plan around my time, resources and the way my students learn. In addition, I include an assessment rubric in each of my lesson plans. This is to ensure the continuous intellectual development of my students. Along with these informal assessments, I include formal assessments as well. In March, my students participated in two national assessments.

Each day, I reflect on what I did the previous day and how I can improve for the next day. I seek out every opportunity to grow professionally. I have attended workshops such as an extended school year workshop (ESY). I also communicate with my students’ parents and my colleagues to better understand and teach my students.