Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

Week 1 Assignment 1: Telling My Story

Tony Sunzeri

National University

In Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements For

Capstone TED 690

Professor Weintraub
Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

ABSTRACT

This paper is an example of thorough understanding of the 6 Domains for teaching,

teaching Physical Education in particular. Knowing not only what the domains are but how to

use them so my students receive quality instruction is essential. This papers focus is on Domain

A: Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students. A lack of understanding of core subject

knowledge and content standards required was evident early in my teaching career so I took the

opportunity to look for Professional Development in this area and had several meetings with my

Principal. Strengths in the area of concentration chosen as a profession include modeling

physical fitness exercises and areas which need improvement are assessing in a subjective

manner which includes more question and answer sessions where findings which can alter the

course of the lesson be placed in the margin of my rubric. The last section includes rationale for

choosing Domain A.
Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

The Six Domains for Teaching

Constant reflection and continuing education is an expectation at Lake Tahoe Unified

School District, and a thorough knowledge of the California Content Standards for Physical

Education as well as the 13 Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) and their six domains is

vital for the success of my Physical Education students, “They enable students to develop the

skills and knowledge they need to become active for life.” (Commission on Teacher

Credentialing). The Six Teaching Domains are:

A. Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students.

B. Assessing Student Learning.

C. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning.

D. Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for Students.

E. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning.

F. Developing as a Professional Educator.

For the purpose of this assignment I will focus on Domain A: Making Subject Matter

Comprehensible to Students. I realized early in my teaching career that I was lacking in areas of

comprehension of material for my students. Reflection revealed that there was a lack of

understanding of core subject knowledge and content standards required on my end for success.

After a few months I reached out to my Principal in an attempt to grow in this area. Professional

development was necessary and evidence of this meeting is found in the artifacts section of

assignment 1a as well as inside my Professional Development Quest Portfolio at

https://tonysunzeri690capstone.weebly.com/. This meeting with the Principal was encouraging,

and several professional development (PD) options were chosen and completed and the overall

tone of each lesson began to change. These PD courses and conventions were paid for by the
Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

school and taught not only what should be taught, but how. The second artifact in my PDQP was

a year-end reflection BTSA assignment following up my first year as an instructor. Reviewing

this 2015 reminded me how difficult it was to be a full time Athletic Administrator and teacher

was. At times there wasn’t enough time in the day to get ahead and prepare for the next day as

much of the day was simply surviving. Now that I am teaching full time and there are not the

constant demands of being an Administrator attached to the profession, there aren’t any reasons

why I shouldn’t be reflecting constantly and planning ahead for student success.

Telling My Story

There is room to grow as my career as an educator continues. Being present and patient

with students leads being a better listener. This area has improved over the last three years and

having a grasp of the content being taught has increased as well. There have been many global

changes to the world since 2015 including technology which I have embraced as there is a

realization that my students will be entering a constantly evolving 21st Century workforce and

need certain critical thinking and creative skills in order to thrive. All of my students log in to a

tablet prior to their workouts in the weight room and we meet up as a group to go over the

physical activity in detail each day. They then enter their weights which calculates percentages

for the next time for them.

Reflection upon Domain A: Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students

TPE 1: Specific Pedagogical Skills for Subject Matter Instruction

TPE 1B: Subject-Specific Pedagogical Skills for Single Subject Teaching Assignments

Domain: Teaching Physical Education in a Single Subject Teaching Assignment

Strengths: As an athlete and avid outdoor enthusiast with vast amounts of time hiking, skiing

and backpacking in the mountains as well as playing football has helped me form a working
Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

knowledge of body mechanics and kinesiology. Modeling the exercises in my Strength and

Conditioning Classes is done with relative ease and precision due to similarity between content

and what I’ve personally accomplished in the gym as an athlete under close supervision of a

Division 1 College Strength and Conditioning performance specialist. I have the physical ability

to demonstrate required kicking, throwing, shooting and catching skills for all the required

lessons. Coaching football also provided me an opportunity to grow as a teacher in a setting

outside of the classroom. Group settings have been successful where participation is graded

heavily and keeps students accountable for their actions while promoting a positive and team

oriented atmosphere.

Areas for growth: Being flexible when there is wiggle room for a change of direction in a

lesson which suits the needs of the students as a whole group. Having high standards for

students is good when teaching Physical Education as it encourages students to exceed their

physical expectations and helps with keeping them healthy as individuals, but I could do a better

job of recognizing when it’s time for everyone to gather for reflection and informal question and

answer sessions to occur which could provide insight as to the progress of the lesson which

might need to change course for the betterment of the students. Moving too quickly through a

lesson while assuming understanding is something I have been working on.

Potential TPE Competencies to be used for Professional Development Quest Portfolio:

As I work on my PDQP I have realized how far I’ve come in just 4 years of teaching, and how

much there is still to know about the teaching profession. Each year brings diverse and

complicated individuals under my guidance, and differentiating instruction is essential for

success. Each year, month and even day requires attention to the TPEs’ as they provide for the
Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

foundation for a unifying vision needed to ensure consistency and compatibility with the many

approaches to teacher education and professional development.” (Costantino, 2009).

Developing active and healthy citizens through a curriculum made available to all students is a

potential TPE competency. I make attempts everyday to consider the individual and any

possible modifications for students with physical disabilities and English language learners

needed before presenting material and guiding the lesson.

Rationale for selection Domain A:

For the most part the most important items in a list are listed first. This is true with the TPE

domains as Domain A is essential for learning to take place. Comprehension is the single most

important aspect of teaching and ruminating over it and trying to find ways to contribute to its

implementation for student success is essential. The ways in which students comprehend differs

between person to person and there is no way in which every student can fully grasp everything

being taught; however, making subject matter comprehensible to all students who are interested

is possible. The task is in making them curious and thirsty for knowledge through whatever

means necessary, and this involves knowing as much as you can about each student, using

creative devices and games, garnering a vast amount of knowledge for the subject, and pressing

those buttons for comprehension when the time arrives. This PDQP will offer an opportunity to

provide artifacts of previous reflections, increase my current knowledge of pedagogy and serve

as a work in progress as I journey through my career.

Assignment 1 - TELLING MY STORY

References

Costantino, P.M., De Lorenzo, M.N., & Tirrell-Corbin (2009). Developing a Professional

Teaching Portfolio: A guide for success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). California Teaching Performance

Expectations. Retrieved from: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-

prep/standards/adopted-tpes-2013.pdf