Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards

Introduction

Section four of my portfolio is my opportunity to explain and justify knowledge and

ability to connect the curriculum and standards to each of my artifacts outlined in section

three. This section will demonstrate my comprehensive understanding of the New York State

and Ontario curriculum and professional standards and furthermore how I’m able to correctly

and optimally use them as the driving force behind all learning in the classroom. A graphic

organizer will help visually display this information by using the following headings: INTASC

Standards NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators, NYS P-12 Common Core Learning

Standards, NYS Learning Standards, DOE Claims & CAEP Standard, ISTE Standards for

Teachers and/or Students, ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards, CEC

Standards, Ontario Curriculum Standards, Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards.

Curriculum & Professional Educational Standards

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators / Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

There are many facets involved in being an effective teacher and using best teacher

practices. First and foremost, you need to be a caring educator that places students’ best interests

and wellbeing above everything else. Adhering to the NYS Code of Ethics Standards for

Educators and Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards is the most critically important part of being a

teacher because the code of ethics outlines how each student deserves to be treated with respect

and care, and how a teacher’s role is to gain the trust of the students, families and community

while always acting with integrity. The codes of ethics should not only be present within the

planning and instruction of curriculum material, but also dictates the classroom environment and

classroom community the teacher establishes along with the teacher’s interactions with students,
parents and community. Artifact #3 DASA training and certification represents my dedication

and commitment to all students being treated with care and respect. It showcases the importance

of professional development and my belief in adhering to each standard of the code of ethics

through my actions, relationships with students, parents and the community, as well as creating a

safe, welcoming, and nurturing classroom environment for all students.

DOE Claims /CAEP Standards

Through my fifth artifact, Science Unit Plan, I was able to demonstrate my knowledge of

and commitment to adhering to the DOE/CAEP Claims. My grade 6 science unit plan on flight

represents my extensive knowledge of the science concepts and principles of flight, as well

showcases my comprehensive knowledge of scientific procedures. This aligns with DOE/CAEP

Claim 1. Subject Matter. During my science unit I was able to demonstrate best teaching

practices, DOE/CAEP Claim 2, in my first lesson plan which was an introductory experiment to

provide students with foundational knowledge that would be useful throughout the unit, as well

as to ignite the student’s curiosity making the students want to further their knowledge. In this

lesson plan I also take into consideration IEP students and can accommodate to their learning

needs making the interactive and investigative lesson impactful for each student. It is evident in

the last lesson plan of the unit where I provide students with a summative formal evaluation that

I display being a caring educator, DOE/CAEP Claim 3. I ensure in the evaluation that each

student learning needs are being accommodated for, while at the same time still challenging each

student to their own individual threshold.

CEC Standards
 The Council for Exceptional Children assures that students with exceptionalities are

receiving an education and classroom experience that is inclusive, accommodating,

compassionate, and challenging. Being a competent and effective teacher requires the ability to

meet the learning needs of each student in your classroom, so that you’re able to appropriately

support the student in reaching their full potential. Artifact #4, Pecha Kucha Presentation, I

display my knowledge in a variety of possible resources and supports available to students with

exceptionalities and instructional strategies that can be implemented to enhance student

learning. Throughout my Pecha Kucha presentation on ADHD, I also incorporate the student’s

families because being a caring educator who meets the needs of students with exceptionalities is

a teacher who understands that it requires a team of support surrounding the student in order for

the student to thrive during their academic journey.

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) was created to ensure that

classrooms are properly preparing students for the technology driven society that exists

today. As well as provide students with the foundation of education in technology to equip

students with enough tools and resources that they will be able to capitalize on opportunities

during their careers. Teachers themselves need to be held to a certain standard of being

proficient in technology to effectively teach students how to be empowered digital citizens; to be

able to create lessons that incorporate technology to enhance engagement and interaction;

establish a platform to promote and maintain ongoing communication with students and their

families. My Weebly Teacher Website, Artifact #2, is an excellent example of my readiness to

meet the ISTE standards for teachers and students. It showcases my technology abilities through

the many tools I created to enhance my website to allow for the most optimal, user friendly, and
resourceful experience possible for students and their families. I provided an up-to-date google

calendar to hold students accountable and communicate to parents what is going on. I provided

students and parents with many resources and tools to encourage and empower them to be able to

enhance the students learning experience and become more engaged in the learning process. I

ensured that the information is delivered in fun, exciting and interesting ways, and is user-

friendly for people of all technology abilities. I also dedicate an entire page of my website to

teaching students and their families how to be empowered digital citizens and cyber safety

because the students having a positive and safe experience is the most important aspect of their

technology education.

ILA, International Literacy Association Professional Standards

The ILA Standards for Reading Professionals set forth six standards that describe what a

competent and effective teacher should know, how to deliver literacy curriculum to students, and

the dispositions that should be present in all educators. In artifact #7, Student Literacy

Assessment, I’m able to demonstrate my proficiency in the ILA standards 1-5 by providing the

student with letter identification skills which is foundational literacy knowledge necessary for the

student to continue to succeed in their reading abilities. Through my assessment and evaluation

of the student’s letter identification I showed my ability to properly assess, interpret the results,

and follow with an appropriate action plan to further students’ knowledge. I took into account

the individual student and created a plan that would suit their specific needs and goals and

established a positive literate learning environment for the student to feel motivated to continue

to work within.

NYS / Ontario Curriculum Standards

 Throughout my portfolio I have continued to communicate the critical component to best

teaching practices that involve a teacher’s ability to align their planning and instruction to the

appropriate curriculum standards. This ensures students preparedness and competency for

furthering their education with continued progress and success, and eventually lead to the

students being able to be contributing members of society. Educational standards have been

established to guarantee students reach their full potential during their academic journey and are

challenged to their individual limits, so they discover and nurture the skills and tools necessary

for them to develop career-readiness.

In my SMART Board Presentation, I display my ability to align ELA curriculum

standards as students develop skills in summarizing and analyzing. In my science unit plan I

showcased my ability to align the curriculum standards for the students to learn and practice their

investigation, observation, reflection, evaluation and teamwork skills.

InTASC Standards

The InTASC Standards were created for new teachers to provide support in their ongoing

development of enhancing the learning in the classroom, establishing best teacher practices, and

professional development. The 10 standards are broken into categories for teachers to

understand that their effort and attention should always be placed somewhere in each category to

be an effective teacher.

The Learner and Learning

The teacher holds high expectations of each student and can provide the environment,

information, resources, and support necessary for each student to reach their full potential. The

teacher promotes students to take ownership and accountability over their own learning
experience, while displaying the understanding that each student will progress in their own way

considering diversity and exceptionalities among students.

Standard 1 - Learner Development: This was displayed during artifact #1 of my SMART

Board Notebook presentation in my third lesson plan that focused on students becoming aware of

diversity and learning how to be compassionate accepting classmates to one another regardless

of their differences. Students learned how to build healthy relationships and each student was

challenged outside of their comfort zone to further develop and nurture an inclusive, respectful

and caring classroom environment that enriches each student learning experience.

Standard 2 - Learning Differences: In Artifact #4, Pecha Kucha Presentation, I display my

compassion and commitment towards making each student feel welcome and safe in my

classroom environment. I believe in students being celebrated for their differences and feeling

empowered, so they can use their individuality as a strength and asset. I demonstrate knowledge

and an ability to consider student’s differences and exceptionalities with being able to provide

the appropriate resources, support and learning aids.

Standard 3- Learning Environment: In artifact #2, Weebly Teacher Website, I clearly promote

and encourage open communication with the students and their families representing my focus

on building and maintaining healthy relationships with the students and their families. I provide

an environment that allows for interaction, collaboration, and provides tools to increase student’s

engagement in learning.

Content
 Teachers must have extensive content knowledge in the areas they will teach to students,

so they are able to create meaningful learning experiences that can be connected to real-world

examples and settings, social issues and relevant information for students. Teachers need to be

able to be flexible and adapt content to meet students’ needs and interests and apply content

knowledge in a way that promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the students.

Standard 4- Content Knowledge: In artifact #8, Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship

Presentation, I was able to communicate and demonstrate my deep, comprehensive knowledge in

this specific area of technology. I showed my ability to teach this information in a meaningful

way for the students and connected many of the topics to examples that the students would be

able to relate to in their own lives.

Standard 5- Application of Content: In artifact #1, SMART Board Notebook Presentation, I’m

able to showcase my ability to deliver material to students in a way that is creative and

encourages collaboration and interaction among the students. I enhanced student learning by

making the information engaging and relevant and furthered their learning by emphasizing the

application of problem-solving skills throughout each of the three lesson plans.

Instructional Practice

Teachers must be able to establish appropriate and effective objectives and seek to

implement practices that will ensure these objectives are met throughout instruction. A teacher

must be able to plan their lessons in a thoughtful way that allow each lesson to build on each

other, and lessons must employ a variety of instructional methods and strategies to ensure each

student is learning in an environment that is conducive to their learning style. A teacher must be

able to deliver appropriate assessments, read results and know what to do with those results.
Standard 6- Assessment: In artifact #7, Student Literacy Assessment, I demonstrated my ability

to proficiently administer a letter identification assessment. I clearly display the knowledge and

ability to properly read the results of the assessment and create an instructional plan based off of

the results to promote further progress and success in the students’ reading skills.

Standard 7- Planning for Instruction: In artifact #5, Science Unit Plan, I’m able to showcase

my ability to plan lessons in a subsequent fashion, building the concepts and instruction with

each lesson in the unit and aligning each lesson with the appropriate curriculum standard. Each

student needs were taking into consideration throughout my planning and modifications and

accommodations were effectively implemented when necessary.

Standard 8- Instructional Strategies: In artifact #5, Science Unit Plan, I showed my ability and

passion towards inquiry-based learning that allowed students to learn through hands on

interactive investigations. I challenged students to take on different roles and had the students

participate in investigations that were interesting and relevant to them, such as the paper airplane

competition.

Professional Responsibility

Teachers must engage in continual professional development through ongoing study,

self-reflection and collaboration with fellow educating professionals. Teachers have a

responsibility to each student reaching their full potential and providing safe, positive learning

environments for all students. Teachers should contribute to their school and school’s

community mission and fully participate and/ or collaborate with students, colleagues, parents,

other school professionals and the community.

Standard 9- Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: In artifact #3, DASA Training and

Certification, I demonstrate my commitment to ongoing professional development that will

provide me with more knowledge and tools that will enhance my teacher practices. Dignity for

All Students Act training will further allow me to be a teacher that practices with the highest

ethical standards and integrity.

Standard 10- Leadership and Collaboration: In artifact #6, Educational Survey, I demonstrate

my initiative towards wanting to collaborate with fellow teachers to learn and grow from their

opinions and experiences. I believe that each teacher can better themselves from collaborating

with colleagues and together can help each other learn best teacher practices that prove to be

most effective. After conducting my educational survey on standardized testing within Ontario, I

feel far more knowledgeable and prepared to face this issue once I’m in the classroom.

Please review the graphic organizers that are to follow that will provide my artifacts

spoken of in section three, as well as above, and align each with the according standards. I have

condensed the information into an organized chart that will provide the necessary evidence that I

am indeed a competent, prepared and effective teacher candidate that has the ability to create

meaningful learning experiences for students while adhering to curriculum and professional

standards.