Standard 3 Content and Curriculum Expertise

Teacher leaders have a deep knowledge of the subjects they teach and understanding of curriculum theory and
development. They value collaboration and the interconnectedness of disciplines. They understand the
importance of curriculum relevance in engaging students in content. Teacher leaders:

Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

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Model the integration of 21 century content and skills into educational practices.
Develop relevant, rigorous curriculum.

Artifacts:
CI/SPE/FCS 5112 The Power of Blocks Personal Reflection Paper
FCS 5100 Personal Theory/Philosophy Paper

Through the experiences that led to the creation of these artifacts I have begun to change the way I view
the environment that I set up for the children in my classroom. Young children learn from their
environment and I now see it as my job to set up an environment that fosters optimal learning. In early
childhood education the curriculum is presented through the environment of the classroom. I learned
through the Power of Blocks assignment that there are different stages of learning for children and the
age of the child does not determine the stage or level, this varies per individual. Before, I had not
thought much about the individual stages of learning rather just the age appropriateness. It was
through this graduate course assignment that I began to think of ways to challenge all the children in my
classroom, as I challenged myself to create a successful and progressive classroom environment. I setup the learning areas in my classroom to meet the needs the all the children. In order to accomplish
this, I make sure materials vary in levels of difficulty to use. For example, there are a variety of puzzles
in the manipulative area. Some puzzles have knobs for easy grasping, board puzzles with 6-8 pieces, and
puzzles that have up to 24 pieces. In the art area, I place glue sticks, as well as, bottled glued that has to
be squeezed out. The reason being, some children have not yet mastered squeezing the glue out of the
bottle, therefore they have the stick glue available which they are able to use with more success. My
goal is to ensure that all children in the classroom can be successful at their level of development, while
also providing materials and opportunities for the child to move forward when ready.
Previously when setting up learning centers I tended to focus on the label or name of the learning
center. I have found it necessary to not limit each learning center to only materials that identify to the
name of the center. For example, in each learning center there are writing materials for the children to
use to record their findings. There are also books available in most centers and written labels to
encourage literacy development. I find it effective to read books related to the topic of interest during
large group time and then placing items in the learning areas that expand on the topic. For example,
when discussing the life cycle of frogs, I place live tadpoles in the science area so the children can

witness the transformation or pretend tadpole to frog items, then placing other books in the book area
that discuss the life cycle of a frog. At times, I find myself sitting with the children in the learning areas
and engaging in play with them. During the Power of Blocks assignment, this was discussed as
invitations to play. Although, I had engaged in play with children in my classroom before, I now had
more of a purpose behind the interactions, to foster success in the use of a material or provoke a higher
level of thinking for the child. Engaging with the children and certain materials fosters the childs
progress in development and success of using tools. For example, if I see a child is having difficulty using
scissors, I may sit beside them and help guide them to use them successfully with as little assistance as
possible. If this is continued over a period of time, the child begins to be able to use the scissors more
successfully independently.
As part of a graduate course that focused on child development theories, I researched various theories
that reiterated what I had previously learned about how children respond differently to different styles
of guidance and discipline, as each child has their own temperament. As a result I began to consider
how I could better handle negative behaviors in my classroom. Therefore, when guiding children I may
use a different phrase with one child than I would use with another, even though I am conveying the
same message. For example, I need you to put your feet on the floor rather than Where do your
feet belong?or Is that a ball? rather than Do not throw toys. I have found it to be effective to use
questions when redirecting children. I feel it helps the child to think about and process their actions and
the effects of their actions. Typically when I ask these questions I find that the child stops briefly and
considers their action, often times changing the action to a more appropriate one. I have found that
when I use positive phrases of praise with certain children, the other children tend to correct their
actions as well. For example, I like how _______ is sitting quietly in the hall. In my classroom my goal
is to help children to become independent thinkers who are able to make good decisions for them
themselves.

Standard 4: Student Learning

Teacher leaders facilitate student learning through evidence-based practice informed by research. They
understand and apply research in child and adolescent development, cognitive development, and
general and specialized pedagogy. They encourage critical reading, writing and thinking in the learning
process. They foster instructional and evaluation methods that embrace variety and authenticity. They
promote student reflection and self-assessment. They encourage colleagues and students to take on
leadership roles and work in teams. Teacher leaders:

Seek out and use existing research to inform school practices.

Design action research to investigate and improve student learning and school policies and
practices.
Model technology integration that supports student learning.
Critically analyze student and school performance data to determine needs and plan instruction that
is rigorous, coherent, and substantiated within a theoretical and philosophical base.

Artifacts:
Teacher Communication: Benefits and Strategies- Methods Paper
Observation and Reflection: TK and Foster Family
Multicultural Research Reflection and Action Plan: Foster Care
As a graduate student, I have found out that I will never quit learning. The graduate program has given
me more confidence in my abilities as an educator and advocate for children by requiring me to conduct
research on various topics. As I come across situations in which I am not sure what is the best practice, I
now turn to research.
I discovered through researching foster care and its effects on children that there was a lot of valid
information available to help me to develop effective practices to ensure success for these children in
my classroom. For instance, I was struggling with how to help a child deal with bursts of anger that
seemed to have no obvious trigger. Due to the outbursts in the classroom at the child care facility in
which he was enrolled the child had been removed from the child care facility before entering my
classroom. As I also found the behavior to be disruptive and at time dangerous for the other children in
the classroom, my desire was to help the child learn to cope and be as successful as possible. When I
conducted my multicultural research, I chose to focus on foster care. Through the research I found quite
a bit of information that reiterated there is no one answer as to how to fix negative behavior, that this
is based on the individual and their prior experiences. Due to this information, I decided to talk with the
foster family and gather as much information about the childs past, present home life, concerns in the
home, and what strategies were being used in the home to deal with the negative behaviors. In talking
with the foster family I found out that the child had come from an abusive and neglectful home, then
placed with a grandmother, before being placed with the foster family. Knowing this, gave me the idea
that the child was dealing with emotions he did not understand nor know how to express in an
acceptable way. I began reading more information about how to help children understand feelings and
circumstances they have no control over. With this particular child, when he would become upset I
would allow him to sit in the cozy area and draw in his personal notebook. The drawing and time alone
seemed to help the child to calm easier. Also, the drawings at times seemed to give me an idea as to
what the child was thinking. This technique I am aware may not work with any other child I work with in
the future, however, it did seem to be effective for this individual and allowed him to spend more time
in the classroom being productive rather than being disciplined for behavior he could not control.
Also, due to researching information about the benefits of communication between home and school, I
found it reiterated how it is highly important to maintain open and positive communication with
families. I decided to try some strategies that were new for me in fostering communication between
this particular childs foster family and myself. I began recording incidences in a notebook daily and the
notebook was then sent home with the families in the evening. The family would also record details of
what was occurring in the home and how this was being dealt with. Through this ongoing
communication the family and I were able to work together and get more consistent with approaches to
helping the child cope with his feelings. The consistency allowed the child to feel more stable and
develop trusting feelings for the new caregivers in his life. Over a period of time the negatives behaviors
did begin to decrease and the child appeared to spend more of his time being a child rather than dealing
with frustration, anger, and confusion.