Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.
Standard 1 is ensuring the success of all students no matter the subject, lesson or classroom. Every student has different needs and part of our job as teachers is to make our classrooms and lessons equitable for all students. Some students need different resources in order to be successful and they should be given the same opportunities as the rest of the class. Standard 1 means that as an educator, I will care for all of my students no matter who they are. In Rita Pierson’s video, “Every kid needs a champion,” she says that you will not like every student that is in your class but you cannot let them know that. Teachers need to care about their students to help them achieve success. I think that educators acting in the best interest of students means being an advocate for all students and their needs. It also means teaching lessons that are engaging and enhance learning while keeping student safety as the top priority.
The artefact I have for standard 1 is a picture of the final products of a science lesson that I taught in practicum. We were learning about bears and the things that they need to live. The students had to draw and cut out a bear, food, its habitat and some water. They glued each piece onto a paper plate after to display. I ensured success for all students by cutting paper before the lesson so that there were size parameters. We talked about what a bear needs to live as a whole class first so that the students would have ideas. Another thing that relates to standard 1 is classroom management. We talked about classroom management a lot in our classes leading up to practicum and I learned very quickly how essential it is for teaching and learning. My coaching teacher had a doorbell that she pressed when the students were supposed to stop and listen. As soon as they heard it, they would stop what they were doing and put their hands on their head. I kept that tool when I taught my lessons because the students knew that routine and it was effective. I made sure to lay out my expectations for each lesson clearly so that the students knew what they should be doing. If they were not doing what I said then I could refer back to the expectations.
This artefact reflects the standard because I implemented the classroom management strategies such as pressing the doorbell, setting expectations, and doing each part in small pieces so it was not overwhelming. The lesson on bears and what they need to live reflects standard 1 because I wanted success for all students. To do that, we had a group discussion about a bear and its needs so that students would have ideas going into the lesson. If there were fast finishers, I asked them to add another detail such as an additional piece of food. Otherwise they could help someone else. The lesson got a little chaotic with calling them back to discuss, and then having them create the element we discussed and then going back but I used the classroom management techniques and remained calm and fair towards all of the students.