INTASC Standard #9 Reflection

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The teacher intern is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

One valuable way to reflect upon teacher effectiveness is to have students complete a survey at the completion of a year/class. I did this during my student teaching (see Survey) and gained a tremendous amount of insight. The most important piece of information I gained was that my students not only really liked me but also felt that I taught them effectively (see Student Evaluation 1; 2; 3; 4). Both are things that I strived to achieve throughout my experience, and the rest (pacing of lessons, etc) can be modified much more easily. I will continue to have my students fill out surveys because their feedback is so important. However, it would also be useful to give a survey to students once we settle in for the year so that I do not have to wait until the following year to make necessary changes.

Teacher effectiveness may also be measured by assessment results. Upon giving a quiz or other graded assignment, it is important to look at qualitative and quantitative data so as to recognize potential teacher shortcomings. This was especially evident during my student teaching when I completed item analyses on my online quizzes (see Assessment Analysis). I reflected upon and then implemented needed changes (dropping certain questions, reviewing with students common mistakes they made, providing for remediation and study sessions, etc). It is important to make all assessments as valid as possible and reviewing students' performance is an important component of determining this. For example, if 70% of students miss a particular question it can be assumed that the question was either worded poorly or the material was not covered adequately in class.

Another valuable reflection practice is to write down both successes and areas needing improvement after each lesson, as I did for my unit on classification during my student teaching (see Unit Plan Assessment and Reflections). I also did this informally throughout my field internship experience by keeping a daily log with similar information. It is hard to remember exactly what occurs during each lesson and therefore writing it down is key. Changes are more likely to be made in this case. Also, unless you take the time to critically think about a lesson, you may not even recognize a very important point.

Throughout my graduate program, I also reflected upon my general experiences in the following: (1) School Community Context, (2) School Learning Environment, (3) Adolescent Learners and Diversity, and (4) Teaching in the Real World. It is important to critically think about the community and school whom you are an integral part of, the students in your classroom, and the teaching profession overall. This allows you to stay better connected to, and develop a better understanding of, your students and how you should teach.

Throughout my career, there will be supervisors and others in my classroom evaluating my performance. This occurred frequently throughout my graduate program, as my supervisors and cooperating teachers gave constant constructive feedback (see Evaluation). These evaluations are extremely important, as an outsider can often identify positives and negatives to my teaching that would otherwise go unnoticed. It is important, then, to implement insightful suggestions as I did throughout my field internship and student teaching.

Lastly, it is important to remain actively involved in the education profession, as this provides for ongoing professional development and reflection opportunities. I attended the "Teacher of Promise" Institute in March 2006 at James Madison University where I gained valuable insight into what makes an effective educator. Throughout the institute, I reflected upon my own teaching practices and set personal and professional goals for growth. I also attended the Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) conference in the Fall of 2005 after becoming a paid member. This provided me with the opportunity to gather ideas from other professionals. Lastly, I also joined the National Science Teachers Association and was initiated into Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education in the Spring of 2006. Both provide for important networking and access to educational materials. I will continue to seek out professional development opportunities in the future because of their value in the person and professional growth process.