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Professional Educator Portfolio

Creating a Professional Educator Portfolio

Questioning is the foundation of all learning.
The first step in rejecting not knowing is to ask, why?
Sweetland

Overview

Resources

Introduction

This page includes an outline of steps to create a Professional Educator portfolio, possible steps to create one, and starter resources to use.

Collect relevant documents

Before we consider the steps of putting a portfolio together, let's review some documents that you may have already created to use.

The most important information for making a portfolio is either professional teaching standards or a principled procedure to use to connect the artifacts with powerful ideas to evaluate them.

Along with documents to indicate what you as a professional educator believes with respect to teaching in general and possibly also refer to teaching a specific subject or discipline. Therefore, it is important to select what will be recognized as relevant and powerful to use to document your professionalism and teaching effectiveness.

Sample documents:

Principled procedures. Sample principle procedures

Other documents or artifacts to include as evidence to support your abilities related to your principled procedures.

National standards

Philosophy or beliefs

Mission statement

Conceptual framework or outline of what a teacher knows and does...

Documentation related to subject areas to support your specialization in the discipline.

  • Science related knowledge necessary for professional science teachers to teach science and documents to represent science literacy and what an outstanding science educator need to know and be able to do.
  • Mathematics Educators knowledge necessary for professional math teachers to teach math and documents to represent math literacy and what an outstanding math educator need to know and be able to do.

Instructional assessment standards.

Planning documents

Steps for making a portfolio

The steps below can be used to create comprehensive documents to document your knowledge base as a professional educator. However, steps do not need to be followed sequentially.

When you put a portfolio together it is important to capture a limited number (10) of comprehensive powerful ideas to use to support your abilities with artifacts. These examples use the principled procedures for science.

1. Decide on documents to describe your beliefs for teaching, learning, and professional development.

2. Decide how to Match possible artifacts to the principled procedures.

Sample documents with different amounts of completion.

4. Design an organization that allows people to see the coordination of the principled procedures to the type and name of artifacts and how each demonstrates your abilities along with how and why it does. Explanations that use the ideas and same vocabulary in or related to your beliefs and principled procedures make the portfolio stronger.

5. Write explanations that link the principled procedures, to the artifacts with explanations.

6. Include several teaching plans, instructional videos, and teaching assessments used to assess your teaching along with the results.

6. Decide how the artifacts will be organized and displayed.

  • Whole artifacts that are included, such as video tapes, should have a link or other reference as to where to find the specific artifact being referenced; in addition to the explanation of how it demonstrates each specific referenced standard or principled procedure.
  • Links, should be labeled so the information can be located quickly. Employers will not take time searching for information.
  • Parts of an artifact may be incorporated for example one or two reflections from a semester journal.

Summary

  1. Start with the principled procedures and select artifacts that have specific information to support your abilities to implement each procedure.
  2. The portfolio should list each principled procedure, identify artifacts used to demonstrate each, and provide an explanation for how and/or why the author believes it does.
  3. Major artifacts may be referenced in multiple principled procedures as appropriate. An explanation for what the artifact demonstrates should be different and specific for each principled procedure where the artifact is referenced. Be selective.

How well did you do?

Resources

National standards for a Middle Childhood Generalist

Standard I: Knowledge of Students - Accomplished teachers use their knowledge of child development, their knowledge of students as individuals, and their knowledge of students as learners to develop and strengthen relationships that enhance learning.

Standard II Respect for Diversity - Accomplished teachers respect and comprehend the complex nature of diversity. They provide opportunities for all students to access the knowledge, skills, and understandings they need to become caring and thoughtful participants in a global citizenry.

Standard III: Establishing an Environment for Learning - Accomplished teachers establish and maintain safe and respectful learning communities that nurture relationships and create climates that promote student engagement in learning. S

Standard IV: Knowledge of Content and Curriculum - Accomplished teachers draw on and expand their knowledge of content and curriculum to determine what is important for students to learn and experience within and across the subject areas of the middle childhood years.

Standard V: Instructional Decision Making - Accomplished teachers are effective instructional decision makers. They use a process of assessing, planning, implementing, and reflecting to guide teaching and learning.

Standard VI: Partnership and Outreach - Accomplished teachers establish and maintain partnerships with families and the greater community to enhance teaching and support student learning.

Standard VII: Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy - Accomplished teachers are leaders who advocate for the teaching profession and student learning.

Standard VIII: Responsiveness to Change - Accomplished teachers are cognizant of the changes that occur in society and in education. They thoughtfully and proactively analyze and respond to change as it affects their students and their profession.

Standard IX: Reflective Practice - Accomplished teachers reflect on their practice continually to improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning.

August 27, 2024

Science principled procedures

Pedagogical

1. Teachers plan alone and with colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels. They plan inquiry-based science programs for learners by knowing developmentally appropriate multidimensional science goals and plan sequences to achieve those goals based on learners' knowledge, skill, and interests. 

2. Teachers continually and systematically assess learners' multidimensional understanding and use of science literacy. They continually gather authentic data on learners through multiple methods with their own, learners and colleagues' observations of learners' actions and in-actions to make inferences about their understandings. They analyze the information alone, with learners, and colleagues and make recommendations to help learners set and achieve goals, assess them, and report their progress to teachers, parents, and other interested people.

3. Teachers facilitate science literacy by using science inquiry. They model and encourage learners to take responsibility for their use of scientific procedures, processes, skills, and attitudes to understand scientific ideas and the nature of that understanding in a manner that can be used responsibly in a variety of real life situations. They achieve this by using methodologies consistent with theory and wisdom of practice - such as a learning cycle. They see assessment as ongoing and integrate it into their methodology seamlessly to include diagnostic, formative, summative, and generative for all dimensions of science literacy.

4. Teachers design and manage learning environments to facilitate learners collaboration to take responsibility for the understanding and learning of all members of the community by nurturing collaboration among students, structuring experiences to help learners increase theirs and others scientific communication abilities, and increasing their appreciation for the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry in a variety of environments. They assure time is available for safe extended meaningful scientific investigation with different groupings of learners who seek intellectual rigor with respect of each others diverse ideas, skills, and experiences in a manner that encourages them to share the content and context of their work.

Professional

1. Teachers continually and systematically assess their teaching. They gather data of their teaching actions and in-actions from personal, learners, and colleague observations. They inquire, analyze, reflect on the data, and draw conclusions to guide future actions and in-actions to improve learners' understanding and ability.

2. Teachers actively participate through truly democratic means in the development of K-12 school science programs. They seek, for all K-12 educators, sufficient and consistent allocation of resources, sufficient class time for science, continual professional development, and time to plan, implement, assess, and evaluate quality science programs at every grade level. 

3. Teachers are citizens who are curious and actively continue learning science by investigating and reflecting on all dimensions of science as it relates to different topics and situations. They continue to use scientific inquiry and reasoning in their daily lives to increase their personal science knowledge. 

4. Teachers develop professionally alone and with colleagues an appreciation for lifelong learning and professional development through research and experiential knowledge to validate and generate new knowledge about how learners learn science and teachers facilitate that learning.

Ideas to create principled procedures for middle level teachers

Essential Attributes

An education for young adolescents must be

  • Developmentally Responsive - using the nature of young adolescents as the foundation on which all decisions are made.
  • Challenging - recognizing that every student can learn and
  • Empowering - providing all students with the knowledge and skills they need to take control of their lives.
  • Equitable - advocating for every student's right to learn and providing challenging and relevant Iearning opportunities

16 Characteristics

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

  1. Educators value young adolescents and are prepared to teach them.
  2. Students and teachers are engaged in active, purposeful learning.
  3. Curriculum is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant.
  4. Educators use multiple learning and teaching approaches.
  5. Varied and ongoing assessments advance learning as well as measure it.

Leadership and Organization

  1. A shared vision developed by all stakeholders guides every decision.
  2. Leaders are committed to and knowledgeable about this age group, educational research, and best practices.
  3. Leaders demonstrate courage and collaboration.
  4. Ongoing professional development reflects best educational practices.
  5. Organizational structures foster purposeful learning and meaningful relationships. Organizational Structures

Culture and Community

  1. The school environment is inviting, safe, inclusive, and supportive of all.
  2. Every student's academic and personal development is guided by an adult advocate. Adult Advocate
  3. Comprehensive guidance and support services meet the needs of young adolescents.
  4. Health and wellness are supported in curricula, school-wide programs, and related policies.
  5. The school actively involves families in the education of their children. Family Involvement
  6. The school includes community and business partners.

 

Source:

This We Believe Keys to Educating Young Adolescents. AMLE at www.amle.org.

Association for Middle Level Education Successful Schools for Young Adolescents

This we believe

Evidence to support principled procedures of science

Evidence that can be observed in planning and classroom activities and communications as described by the science principles 1-6.

  • Plan - Inquiry based not fact based.
  • Evidence of appropriate planning. Year planning and lesson planning with appropriate scope (broad with big ideas described (generalizations), concepts and deep with facts and detail to be comprehensive for the content of all required dimensions - multidimensional) and sequence that is intellectually challenging and developmentally appropriate for all learners.
  • Evidence of modeling inquiry and attitudes of scientist.
  • Evidence of reflective teaching.
  • Evidence of assessment of learners in all dimensions of science. Learner outcomes are identified and described by observable outcomes at different levels as appropriate.
  • Evidence of good management and learning design. Provide adequate opportunities for students to develop understanding and assess their development. Content includes all categories for required dimensions (as described by the National Science Teachers Association Standards, and/or Project 2061, and/or Nebraska Standards) for the level or students. Threads are logical, easy to follow with the use of a grid, matrix, outline or color code. Ideas can be supported with research and/ or wisdom of practice.
  • Evidence of ability to create communities of science learners.
  • Evidence of professional development (working with groups on curriculum development, learn as a scientist, integrate science knowledge, professional life-long science learner and educator.
 Principled Procedures for Science Curriculum Decision Making to list artifacts to demonstrate competency
Pedagogical Principled Procedures
1. Teachers plan alone and with colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels. They plan inquiry-based science programs for students by developing yearly and shorter term plans with students based on their interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences. They select educational and assessment strategies to support student's development of science understandings in a nurturing community of science learners.
  • Identify an artifact and describe what it demonstrates you can do with respect to the principled procedure.
2. Teachers facilitate learning by modeling skills of scientific inquiry and attitudes such as curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism in their interactions with students to show students how to focus inquires and discourse about scientific ideas and challenge them to accept responsibility and full participation for their understanding of science.
  • .
3. Teachers assess their teaching. They continually and systematically gather data of their teaching actions and in-actions from personal, student, and colleague observations. They inquire, analyze, reflect on the data, and draw conclusions to guide future actions and in-actions to improve students' understanding and ability.
4. Teachers assess students. They continually and systematically gather data on students through multiple methods with their own, students and colleagues’ observations of students’ actions and in-actions as they relate to their understandings. They analyze the information alone, with students, and colleagues and make recommendations to help students set and achieve goals, assess them, and report their progress to teachers, parents, and other interested people.
5. Teachers design and manage learning environments with students so that time is available for safe extended meaningful investigations to help students learn scientific inquiry methods with a variety of tools in a variety of environments. In a manner that also nurtures positive dispositions and conceptual understandings of science content and perspectives of science by all students.
6. Teachers develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and the attitudes and social values conducive to science learning by requiring respect for diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students. Allow students to make decisions about the content and context of their work. Require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members of the community by nurturing collaboration among students, structuring experiences to help students increase theirs and others scientific communication abilities, and appreciation for the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.
Professional Principled Procedures
1. Teachers actively participate in the development of aK-12school science program through truly democratic means that seek appropriate allocation of time, resources for planning and implementing a science program, professional development, and ongoing program evaluation.
2. Teachers actively investigate and reflect on science topics that are significant to the participants in the science field; using scientific methods to expand their personal science knowledge and ability to generate further knowledge while at the same time understand different perspectives of science and maintain positive attitudes towards science.
3. Teachers integrate knowledge of science, learning, pedagogy, and students so that science learning can be integrated with all aspects of science, different disciplines, and generalized to a variety of real life situations.
4. Teachers develop professionally alone and with colleagues an appreciation for lifelong learning and professional development through research and experiential knowledge to validate and generate new knowledge about how students learn science and teachers can facilitate that learning.

Principled Procedures for Science Curriculum Decision Making with artifacts and explanations on how it demonstrates competency

Pedagogical

1. Teachers plan alone and with colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels. They plan inquiry-based science programs for students by developing yearly and shorter term plans with students based on their interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences. They select educational and assessment strategies to support student's development of science understandings in a nurturing community of science learners.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

2. Teachers facilitate learning by modeling skills of scientific inquiry and attitudes such as curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism in their interactions with students to show students how to focus inquires and discourse about scientific ideas and challenge them to accept responsibility and full participation for their understanding of science.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

3. Teachers assess their teaching They continually and systematically gather data of their teaching actions and in-actions from personal, student, and colleague observations. They inquire, analyze, reflect on the data, and draw conclusions to guide future actions and in-actions to improve students' understanding and ability.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

4. Teachers assess learners They continually and systematically gather data on students through multiple methods with their own, students and colleagues’ observations of students’ actions and in-actions as they relate to their understandings. They analyze the information alone, with students, and colleagues and make recommendations to help students set and achieve goals, assess them, and report their progress to teachers, parents, and other interested people.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

5. Teachers design and manage learning environments with students so that time is available for safe extended meaningful investigations to help students learn scientific inquiry methods with a variety of tools in a variety of environments. In a manner that also nurtures positive dispositions and conceptual understandings of science content and perspectives of science by all students.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

6. Teachers develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and the attitudes and social values conducive to science learning by requiring respect for diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students. Allow students to make decisions about the content and context of their work. Require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members of the community by nurturing collaboration among students, structuring experiences to help students increase theirs and others scientific communication abilities, and appreciation for the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

Professional
1. Teachers actively participate in the development of a K-12 school science program through truly democratic means that seek appropriate allocation of time, resources for planning and implementing a science program, professional development, and ongoing program evaluation.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

2. Teachers actively investigate and reflect on science topics that are significant to the participants in the science field; using scientific methods to expand their personal science knowledge and ability to generate further knowledge while at the same time understand different perspectives of science and maintain positive attitudes towards science.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

3. Teachers integrate knowledge of science, learning, pedagogy, and students so that science learning can be integrated with all aspects of science, different disciplines, and generalized to a variety of real life situations.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

4. Teachers develop professionally alone and with colleagues an appreciation for lifelong learning and professional development through research and experiential knowledge to validate and generate new knowledge about how students learn science and teachers can facilitate that learning.

Artifact Demonstrates
   
   

Principled Procedures for Science Curriculum Decision Making with actions to demonstrate competency and artifacts

Pedagogical Principled Procedures
1. Teachers plan alone and with colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels. They plan inquiry-based science programs for learners by developing yearly and shorter term plans with students based on their interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences. They select educational and assessment strategies to support student's development of science understandings in a nurturing community of science learners.
  • Strong commitment to inquiry would include plans that followed science inquiry methods within their procedures. Over time would include teacher directed and student directed inquiry with all ranges between with the teacher directed inquiry being used to model at appropriate times and learner directed when students will have an opportunity to be successful. (inquiry)
  • Ability to plan alone and with others can be demonstrated with the inclusion of plans authored by you as an individual and you and other educational professionals.
  • Plans with quality assessment would have assessment throughout all plans and include diagnostic, formative, summative, and generative for multidimensions of science and appropriate outcome levels described.
  • Ability to plan would also demonstrate competence in sequencing activities in multidimensions to facilitate learners' construction of concepts and generalizations in a relatively short period of time and also planning for a school year.
  • Quality plans would include ideas that would unquestionably motivate students to learn science and create a desire for them to communicate science ideas that will create a community of science learners.

Artifacts

  • Interest inventories
  • Misconception activities
  • Research articles or notes about children and science
  • Year plan with appropriate concepts and activities
  • Diagnostic assessments
  • Activities and assessment that are developmentally appropriate
  • Student self assessments
  • Activities that start with open student participation
  • Cooperative learning and open student discussion
  • Video tapes and reflections that
  • Recognize students' differences and intervene with appropriate interactions
  • Give students choice
  • Create risk free environments

2. Teachers facilitate learning by modeling skills of scientific inquiry and attitudes such as curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism in their interactions with students to show students how to focus inquires and discourse about scientific ideas and challenge them to accept responsibility and full participation for their understanding of science.

  • Ability to model skills of scientific inquiry and attitudes can be demonstrated in video tapes, reflections, peer and supervisor evaluations, and plans where you (the teacher) model science inquiry and/or process skills and abilities along with the requisite attitudes that are beneficial for scientists to be successful in a manner that students can understand and perform them selves. (inquiry) (attitudes)

Artifacts

  • Videos and or reflections that show teacher modeling or teacher facilitated
  • Curiosity
  • Open-mindedness to new ideas
  • Desire for novel, diverse, and multiple solutions
  • time to think, time to solve problems, and personal ownership of ideas and problems.
  • Searching for and desire opportunities to learn

3. Teachers assess their teaching. They continually and systematically gather data of their teaching actions and in-actions from personal, student, and colleague observations. They inquire, analyze, reflect on the data, and draw conclusions to guide future actions and in-actions to improve students' understanding and ability.

  • Desire, ability and quality of self assessment and reflection can be demonstrated in video tapes, reflections, peer and supervisor evaluations where with reflect and critically discuss your teaching using quality indicators of outstanding teaching methodology about the success of facilitating meaningful science learning in multiple dimensions of science. (quality indicators) (dimensions of science)

Artifacts

  • Personal reflections
  • Critiques from peer teachers, cooperative teachers, administrators
  • Student evaluations
  • Video tapes
  • Rationales for teaching select concepts
  • Interviews with students about what they learned

4. Teachers assess students. They continually and systematically gather data on students through multiple methods with their own, students and colleagues’ observations of students’ actions and in-actions as they relate to their understandings. They analyze the information alone, with students, and colleagues and make recommendations to help students set and achieve goals, assess them, and report their progress to teachers, parents, and other interested people.

  • Quality assessment of students can be demonstrated in video tapes, reflections, peer and supervisor evaluations that include descriptions of assessment techniques and results that include a variety of important science concepts/ generalizations across different dimensions of science and how they were communicated to students, parents and other stake holders with beneficial results.

Artifacts

  • Rubrics designed for teacher and/or student assessments
  • Parent letters
  • Newsletters
  • Assessment plans for collecting student data to share with students, parents, and /or administrators to see growth.
  • Reports, check sheets…
  • Activities students do at home or outside of class
  • Plans that have good diagnostic, formative, summative, and generative assessment.

5. Teachers design and manage learning environments with students so that time is available for safe extended meaningful investigations to help students learn scientific inquiry methods with a variety of tools in a variety of environments. In a manner that also nurtures positive dispositions and conceptual understandings of science content and perspectives of science by all students.

  • Quality management can be demonstrated in video tapes, reflections, peer and supervisor evaluations where you (the teacher) manage the entire class in a meaningful scientific investigation that empowers students with opportunities for student centered inquiry in cooperative groups where you are able to move into and out of groups as needed to focus each student's attention on learning, but the need to do so is minimal because of good proactive decision making.

Artifacts

  • Plans that include steps where students are given time to explore, categorize, construct, negotiate, assess, reflect, translate, and extend
  • Activities, videos, student journals, that show students know how scientists investigate and examples of them experimenting and communicating as scientists
  • Examples of student notebooks, lab books, science fair projects, activity records that show a diverse sample of science investigations, uses of a variety of processes, positive dispositions, and accurate perspectives of science
  • Curriculum plans where students are given opportunities to create understandings in all the dimensions of science
  • Philosophy with strong statements for the inclusion of all dimensions in science
  • Lesson plans with plenty of opportunities and time for students to discuss what and how to investigate and process not only the data, reasoning, and conclusions after the experiment, but to critique the experiment's design and investigation to suggest how it might be improved or adapted for later investigations and the affect the investigation and outcomes might have on themselves, science, and society

6. Teachers develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and the attitudes and social values conducive to science learning by requiring respect for diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students. Allow students to make decisions about the content and context of their work. Require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members of the community by nurturing collaboration among students, structuring experiences to help students increase theirs and others scientific communication abilities, and appreciation for the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.

  • Ability to create a community of science learners is demonstrated by video, evaluations, and reflections that describe a classroom where students know how to inquire and are involved in inquiry, have proficiency in the use of process skills and abilities, know and have the attitudes that lead to successful inquiry and learning and desire to investigate and are excited about the discovers and understanding they gain of the natural world through their and their classmates investigations and sharing of ideas. They are eager to share not only what they learned about their world, but are as excited to share anything new they find pertaining to other dimensions of science as well.

Artifacts

  • Plans that include steps where students are given time to explore, categorize, construct, negotiate, assess, reflect, translate, and extend
  • Activities, videos, student journals, that show students know how scientists investigate and examples of them experimenting and communicating as scientists.
  • Examples of student notebooks, lab books, science fair projects, activity records
  • Curriculum plans where students are given opportunities to ask their own questions, design experiments, carry them out, and report their findings; science fairs, challenge days; KWHL charts
  • Philosophy paper with strong statements on this
  • Lesson plans with plenty of opportunities and time for students to discuss what and how to investigate and process not only the data, reasoning, and conclusions after the experiment, but to critique the experiment's design and investigation to suggest how it might be improved or adapted for later investigations and the affect the investigation and outcomes might have on themselves, science, and society
Professional Principled Procedures

1. Teachers actively participate in the development of aK-12school science program through truly democratic means that seek appropriate allocation of time, resources for planning and implementing a science program, professional development, and ongoing program evaluation.

  • Describe how you have been involved or will be involved in a K-12 science program (work with other faculty to plan... judge science fairs, participate in science night, support raising money for science equipment ....

Artifacts

  • Philosophy includes statements about how to grow professionally
  • Evidence of attendance at professional conferences, memberships
  • Parent nights samples
  • Newsletters
  • Evidence of curriculum meeting participation

2. Teachers actively investigate and reflect on science topics that are significant to the participants in the science field; using scientific methods to expand the teacher's science knowledge and ability to generate further knowledge while at the same time understand different perspectives of science and maintain positive attitudes towards science.

  • Describe what you do to learn more science. NOT as a teacher, but as a citizen. Read Discovery magazine, Scientific America, watch Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, NOVA, will conduct science experiments when you hear of an idea that you want to investigate, visit nature centers, science centers, museums, planetariums...

Artifacts

  • Investigation notebook, journal with samples of personal investigations as a scientist

3. Teachers integrate knowledge of science, learning, pedagogy, and students so that science learning can be integrated with all aspects of science, different disciplines, and generalized to a variety of real life situations.

  • Describe the integration of science dimensions, science related to the students' world, and integration of science into other subjects. Quality descriptions include significant science from multiple dimensions. Careful not to describe activities that are questionable as to their value for students learning quality science.

Artifacts

  • Year plan activities will incorporate all dimensions of learnings and how they relate to each other and the real world
  • Plans that integrate different subjects or integration beyond subject.

4. Teachers develop professionally alone and with colleagues an appreciation for lifelong learning and professional development through research and experiential knowledge to validate and generate new knowledge about how students learn science and teachers can facilitate that learning.

  • Describe what you have done and plan to continue to do to develop professionally and convince me that you are a lifelong learner with a passion of learning, particularly science.

Artifacts

  • Evidence of conferences attended
  • Workshops attended
  • Classes taken
  • Attending science centers, science fairs
  • Personal science log
  • List of personal readings
  • Philosophy

Teaching assessment categories

1. Structuring: Establishes an intellectual psychological, and physical environment that enables learners to act and react productively.

2. Accepting Instructional Accountability: Holds learners accountable for their learning and is willing to accept the responsibility for learning outcomes.

3. Demonstrates Withitness, Pacing, and Overlapping: Is able to intervene and redirect potentially undesirable student behavior and attend to several matters simultaneously.

4. Provides a Variety of Motivational, Challenging Activities: Uses a variety of activities that motivate and challenge all students to work to the utmost of their abilities.

5. Models Appropriate Behaviors: Uses behaviors that are expected of the students and that are consistent with the behaviors related to effective learning.

6. Facilitates Student Learning: Insures that information is accessible to students as input they can process to achieve the learning outcomes.

7. Creates a Psychologically Safe Environment: Encourages a positive development of student self-esteem, provides psychologically safe learning environment, encourages creative thought and behavior, and offers appropriate non evaluative and nonjudgmental responses.

8. Clarifies Whenever Necessary: Seeks further elaboration from students about the students' ideas or comprehension of ideas.

9. Uses Periods of Silence: Effectively uses periods of silence.

10. Questions Skillfully: Uses thoughtfully worded questions to induce cognitive learning and to stimulate thinking and the development of students' thinking skills.

Teaching assessment with checklist with indicators

Indicators
Yes No N.A.

1. Structuring: Establishes an intellectual psychological, and physical environment that enables students to act and react productively.
     

Lesson has a clear flow from one to another (e.g. begin, middle, and end; activity to activity).
     

Learners will have choices (e.g. what to do, study).
     

Learns and uses students' names.
     

Helps students assume responsibilities and complete tasks, thereby empowering them in their learning.
     

Communicates clearly with an instructive vocabulary orally and visually.
     

Establishes and maintains clearly understood classroom procedures, expectations, and boundaries.
     

Helps students organize their learning (e.g. creating an outline, setting goals).
     

Provides clear definitions.
     

Provides clear directions, orally and visually, and motivates students to participate.
     

Helps students identify time and resource constraints.
     

Provides for frequent summary reviews and generalizations, often with the use of student self-assessment of their learning.
     

Attends to the organization of the learning environment to establish a positive, safe, and efficient environment for all student learning (e.g. not allowing student put downs, assuring all have opportunities to learn, have appropriate materials and distributes materials in an appropriate manner).
     

Structures and facilitates ongoing formal and informal discussion that focuses on the purposes of the activity.

2. Accepting Instructional Accountability: Holds students accountable for their learning and is willing to accept the responsibility for learning outcomes.
     

Attends to students' questions, discussions, and other communications.
     

Provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning, to refine and explore their questions, and to share their thinking and results (e.g. pair share, cooperative groups, students challenge and correct other students, requires students to provide objective evidence to support conclusions).
     

Communicates to students that they all will be called upon to demonstrate their learning (e.g. has all students contribute, all students share results of their work, uses a method of random selection of students, asks all students if they agree or disagree).
     

Plans exploratory activities that engage students in learning (e.g. anticipatory set, has students predict, reviews, motivates students)
     

Provides continuous support for desired learning behaviors (e.g. scaffolding, social skills, goal setting, processes, metacognition, positive dispositions).
     

Provides feedback based on desired performance.
     

Communicates to students that accomplishment of learning goals is a responsibility they share with the teacher.
     

Holds high expectations for all students to participate and learn. (e.g. asks students to repeat, asks for multiple responses, asks if all hear, calls on students by name to focus attention, uses thumbs up.., choral response, teacher asks students to show me...).
     

Establishes a clearly understood and continuous program of assessment (e.g. diagnostic, formative, summative, and generative and).
     

Assumes responsibility for decisions making and risk taking with the students.

3. Demonstrates Withitness, Pacing, and Overlapping: Is able to intervene and redirect potentially undesirable student behavior and attend to several matters simultaneously.
     

Attends to the entire class while working with one student or with a small group of students (e.g. communicate awareness with hand gestures, body language, verbal cues in a positive way).
     

Reinforces or shifts activities for a student whose attention begins to fade.
     

Dwells on one topic only as long as necessary for the students' understanding.
     

Continually and simultaneously monitors all classroom activities to keep students on task and provide them assistance and resources (e.g. moves about room, positions self to see all, aware of what is happening).
     

Demonstrates an understanding of when to assess.
     

Continues monitoring the class during any distraction, such as when a visitor enters the classroom.

4. Provides a Variety of Motivational, Challenging Activities: Uses a variety of activities that motivate and challenge all students to work to the utmost of their abilities.
     

Shows pride, optimism, and enthusiasm in learning, thinking, and teaching.
     

Allows students to discover and solve problems to increase their intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy (e.g. doesn't tell answers when students can, provides learning experiences beyond directed instruction).
     

Demonstrates the expectation that each student can work to the best of his or her ability.
     

Demonstrates optimism toward each students' ability (e.g. persists until students are successful).
     

When appropriate, provides exciting and interesting activities with the students (e.g. concrete activities, students use materials, applicable to real life, problems that challenge, social interactions of students).
     

Paces activities so they move along smoothly and briskly.
     

When appropriate, provides activities that take advantage of the students' natural interests.
     

When appropriate provides students interactions for social learning.
     

When appropriate provides students with choices.

5. Models Appropriate Behaviors: Uses behaviors that are expected of the students and that are consistent with the behaviors related to effective learning.
     

Models behaviors expected of students (e.g. lowers voice volume for size of group, listens to other students, drinks pop or coffee at appropriate times).
     

Models and emphasizes the skills, attitudes, and values of inquiry.
     

Models self control, patience, and how to resolve conflict with win/win solutions.
     

Demonstrates rational problem-solving and explains to students the processes used by the teacher when he or she solves a problem. (e.g. thinks aloud while solving a problem, uses visualize, outlines, and other organizational structures).
     

Demonstrates that making "errors" is a natural event during problem solving and readily admits and corrects her or his mistakes.
     

Models higher order intellectual processes.
     

Thinks aloud while reading to students.
     

Is prompt in returning student work and offers comments that provide feedback and feedforward.
     

Models moments of silence for thoughtfulness, reflectiveness, and restraint of impulsiveness.
     

Provides concrete evidence to support his or her tentative conclusions.
     

Shows respect for all students (e.g. listens, lowers body to be at student's eye level, leans forward, and is polite).
     

Uses "I" when "I" is meant, "we" when "we" is meant (e.g. I feel upset, I need your attention).
     

Uses communication that is logical, meaningful, clear and to the point.
     

Spells correctly, uses proper grammar, and writes clearly and legibly.
     

Does not interrupt when a student is showing rational thinking, even though the teacher may disagree with the direction of the student's thinking (does not mean that the students' conclusion will automatically be accepted).
     

Turns out the lights upon leaving the room.

6. Facilitates Student Learning: Insures that information is accessible to students as input they can process to achieve the learning outcomes.
     

Provides clear and specific instructions in a timely manner to develop independence.
     

Allows for the adequate development of the concept(s) (e.g. listening, manipulating, writing, talking, and availability of ideas).
     

Creates a responsive classroom environment with most students actively involved (e.g. questioning strategies, pacing, using students' ideas, active listening).
     

Provides concrete learning experiences (e.g. students manipulate objects to learn and demonstrate their understanding).
     

Students are used as resources (e.g. Cooperative learning to use students as resources, uses students ideas and products).
     

Uses other teachers and community members as resources.
     

Assures sources of information are readily available for student use.
     

Equipment and materials are readily available to facilitate learning.
     

Uses instructional strategies to help students make connections between what is being learned and what they already know (brainstorm, KWL POE, charts, review).
     

Provides feedback and feedforward about children's performances and progresses through diagnostic, formative, summative, and generative assessment.
     

Encourages students to organize and maintain their own devices to monitor their progress in learning and thinking (e.g. goal setting, goal checking, time maintenance).
     

Uses visuals to focus students' attention and as an aid to understanding.
     

Catches students up if they are tardy or return from a special class.
     

Students want to think and solve problems.

7. Creates a Psychologically Safe Environment: Encourages a positive development of student self-esteem, provides psychologically safe learning environment, encourages creative thought and behavior, and offers appropriate non evaluative and nonjudgmental responses.
     

Uses positive statements and smiles (e.g. avoids the use of sarcasm and criticism, accepts tardy students by simply catching them up and moving on, waits for students attention before beginning).
     

Creates a risk free environment (e.g. regards mistakes as learning experiences, allows students to pass).
     

Uses strong praise infrequently and privately or praises the entire class. 
     

Uses specific praise privately with student(s) and without dramatizing.
     

Frequently uses minimal reinforcement (nodding of head, writing student's response, or saying I understand).
     

Students ask and answer questions freely.
     

Has students repeat their answers as necessary (doesn't repeat students' answers).
     

Uses paraphrasing and reflective listening if needed.
     

Uses empathic acceptance of a student's mood or expression of feelings.
     

Lessons include times for students to show respect for the experiences and ideas of individual students (e.g. uses student's ideas, has students honor groups).
     

Uses nonverbal cues to show awareness and acceptance of individual students.
     

Writes reinforcing, personalized comments on students' papers.
     

Provides positive individual student attention as often as possible (e.g. get at eye level, lower voice volume, talk privately, relate ideas to students' life).
     

Empowers students (e.g. uses students' ideas, lets students write on the board, pass-out materials, moves to the back of the room during student demonstrations, gives student choices, allows students to clean-up their own messes. lets students repeat their answers).
     

Accepts responsibility for student errors.
     

Provides logical incentives and rewards for student accomplishments rather than praise and tangible reinforcer.
     

Provides opportunities to all students without bias.

8. Clarifies Whenever Necessary: Seeks further elaboration from students about the students' ideas or comprehension of ideas.
     

Provides frequent opportunity for summary reviews and self-assessment of the learning (e.g. questioning strategies, check for understanding, thumbs up/down, multiple responses, probes the depth of students' understanding).
     

Provides students opportunities to communicate detailed explanations of ideas concretely with manipulatives, semi-concretely with visuals, and symbolically.
     

Has students discuss until all students have an understanding of the information. (e.g. has students repeat, paraphrase, teacher may paraphrase to see if students recognize any misunderstandings).
     

Helps students to connect new content to that previously learned.
     

Helps students relate the content to their other school and nonschool experiences.
     

Selects instructional strategies that help students correct their misconceptions (diagnose what students know, provide disequilibration, allow students to communicate what they learned in a variety of ways, and assess for generalization).

9. Uses Periods of Silence: Effectively uses periods of silence.
     

Pauses for thinking and reflection while talking.
     

Uses waits time of longer than two seconds after asking a question or posing a problem and after a student response.
     

Uses teacher silence to stimulate group discussion (e.g. keeps silent when students are working quietly, limits teacher talk during student work, and encourages students to listen and question each other during class discussion).
     

Actively listens when a student is talking (e.g. makes eye contact, leans forward).
     

Uses teacher silence when students are attending to a visual display.
     

Uses nonverbal signals to maintain classroom control.

10. Questions Skillfully: Uses thoughtfully worded questions to induce cognitive learning and to stimulate thinking and the development of students' thinking skills.
     

Uses a variety of questions, including questions that stimulate divergent thinking as well as those that cause convergent thinking.
     

Helps students develop their own questioning skills and provides opportunities for students to design plans to find answers to their own questions (e.g. how to ask questions, creatively generate alternative questions, seek answers to questions).
     

Plans questioning sequences that elicit a variety of thinking skills and that maneuver students to higher levels of cognition.
     

Uses questions designed to help students to explore their knowledge, to develop new understandings, and to discover ways of applying their new understandings through generalizations.
     

Encourages student questioning without judging the quality or relevancy of a student's question.
      Attends to student questions and responds often by building on the content of their questions.

 

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