Licensure to Masters (LTM) Student Teaching Portfolio Criteria/Evidence Record

Candidate: Natalie Nickolas

Criteria Demonstrates graduate level writing throughout the portfolio

Date: June 5, 2013

Candidate Evidence I believe that I demonstrate graduate level writing ability throughout my portfolio. I open my website with a warm introductory message and explanation of my organization on the Welcome page. My writer's voice comes through at times, adding personality to my rationales, but I consistently maintain a professional tone throughout. In each of my rationales I placed the theories, standards, and Abilities in bold print for easy identification. I varied the flow of my written rationales, sometimes incorporating the standard/Ability into sentences and sometimes including them in parentheses in support of my connections. I consistently labeled each page and artifact title, followed by a rationale first, then the embedded artifact itself. Lastly I checked for appropriate use of conventions to further strengthen my writing and overall website. Assessor Comments

I Artifacts and reflections clearly align with the state teacher standards and the Alverno graduate education abilities o Standard 1 (weave in abilities throughout standards)

Evidence of Standard 1: Learner Development can be found in I - Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: My literacy plan addresses the developmental levels of first graders. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, E P D

Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I broke my students into smaller groups based on their preassigned vocabulary lists and my judgment of their maturity and developmental levels. - Coordination/IEP Brochure: My IEP brochure demonstrates my understanding of the importance of collaboration and joint efforts in supporting learner growth. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: I address developmental appropriateness of this activity and topic. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I activated students' prior knowledge and encouraged personal connections to them using their imaginations.

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Standard 2

Evidence of Standard 2: Learning Differences can be found in I - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: I incorporated student choice throughout the unit, allowing students to play to their strengths while working together towards a common goal. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: The compare and contrast assessment let students respond in the manner more comfortable to them. - Diagnosis/Gifted & Talented Resource Guide: This demonstrates my ability to make connections between resources and specific learner needs. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson,
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Cause & Effect: The visual and hands-on aspects of my homemade kamishibai stage provided additional support for students that needed it. - Coordination/IEP Brochure: I included specific information pertaining to cognitive disability, specific learning disability, and emotional behavioral disability. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: Students participated in various intelligences, including bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, and interpersonal. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I decided to read the story out loud to address the range of reading abilities in the classroom. - Integrative Interaction/Arts Night Participant: The level of difficulty of my mosaic activity could be tailored to the individual child.

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Standard 3

Evidence of Standard 3: Learning Environments can be found in I - Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: I addressed the importance of creating a community of learners. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: Inviting students to provide me with feedback showed that I valued their opinion. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: The student selfassessment following the SAVI lesson communicated to students that their actions, behaviors and efforts influence others and should be something to think about.
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- Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I supported individual and group progress and overall student learning by circulating the room throughout the lesson. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I set context for the lesson and provided overview of what we would be doing that day. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I provided thoughtful and respectful feedback during the discussion. - Coordination/IEP Brochure: The purpose of the IEP is to create a positive and supportive learning environment for the individual child. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: I provided thoughtful and respectful responses to students contributions and participation. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: I asked students to collaborate with a partner to successfully complete a Venn diagram. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I provided an overview of what we would be doing during the lesson. - Integrative Interaction/Arts Night Participant: I engaged students in positive, supportive conversation and modeled my activity as they visited my station.

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Standard 4

Evidence of Standard 4: Content Knowledge can be found in I

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- Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: The plan addresses building students knowledge and abilities pertaining to literacy. - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: The unit plan incorporates KWL charts to build on students' prior knowledge. - Conceptualization/Fourth/Fifth Grade Bulletin Board, Place Value: The bulletin board demonstrates my understanding of place value in our base ten number system. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: The lesson engaged students in using academic language (synonym/antonym). - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: The lesson built students' understanding and experience with the academic language of cause and effect. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: Students worked with persuasive, expository, and descriptive writing. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: I explained we would be focusing on first stage of the writing process. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: Students worked with the academic language of compare & contrast and Venn diagram. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I used familiar forms of storytelling to introduce the new concept of kamishibai storytelling.

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Standard 5

Evidence of Standard 5: Application of Content can be found in I - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: I wanted students to grapple with bigger ideas, such as what the national parks represent to different people. - Conceptualization/Fourth/Fifth Grade Bulletin Board, Place Value: The board included a real life application using the example of money. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I encouraged students to look for cause and effect relationships throughout everyday life. E P D

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Standard 6

Evidence of Standard 6: Assessment can be found in I - Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: My literacy plan addresses a variety of formal and informal literacy assessment strategies. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: Both the assessment and self-assessment provided me with a better sense of student understanding during the compare & contrast lesson and SAVI lesson. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: Allowing students to write or draw in response to the compare and contrast lesson gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I followed the lesson with feedback and a brief self-assessment.
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- Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I asked students for thumbs up/down responses when discussing recall/comprehension questions. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: I wrapped up the lesson with a short assessment. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I used questioning to gather information pertaining to student comprehension of the story.

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Standard 7

Evidence of Standard 7: Planning for Instruction can be found in I - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: The integrated unit plan incorporated crossdisciplinary skills. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I tweaked the traditional SAVI model to fit this situation. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I effectively used technology in planning and preparing for the lesson. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I used my cooperating teacher as valuable resource for planning. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I sequenced this second of two back-to-back lessons appropriately and performed a second read-through for a different purpose - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson,
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Cause & Effect: I was in contact with one of my cooperating teachers while planning and preparing for this lesson. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: I was aware that students had had some previous experience with the genres and this lesson would serve as a review. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: I sequenced the lessons so that students would have slightly more of a challenge and slightly less support. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I tailored the lesson appropriately for my students. - Integrative Interaction/Arts Night Participant I used my instructor as guide in selecting and designing my activity.

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Standard 8

Evidence of Standard 8: Instructional Strategies can be found in I - Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: My literacy covers a variety of instructional strategies and means of providing opportunities based on student needs. - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: Students would participate in problem solving discussions and higher order thinking. - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: I integrated instructional approaches introduced in LTM 635 throughout the unit plan. - Conceptualization/Fifth Grade Unit Plan, Our National Parks: I incorporated technology tools in
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appropriate places throughout the unit. - Conceptualization/Fourth/Fifth Grade Bulletin Board, Place Value: Students are invited to interact with the board in different ways. - Coordination/Fifth Grade Lesson, Student-Activated Vocabulary Instruction: I modeled for students how to brainstorm synonyms and antonyms based on a sample vocabulary word. - Coordination/Third Grade Lesson, Cause & Effect: I provided students with a hands-on example of kamishibai storytelling. - Communication/Seventh Grade Lesson, Writing Genres Review: The lesson engaged students in multiple modes of communication. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: Students engaged in speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing and representing. - Integrative Interaction/Third Grade Interactive Read Aloud: I used questioning throughout the lesson.

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Standard 9

Evidence of Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice can be found in - Conceptualization/First Grade Literacy Plan: The literacy plan included selfreflection/goal setting as on-going professional development. - Diagnosis/Fifth Grade Assessment and Self-Assessment: The purpose of using both the assessment results and feedback from students was to help me reflect on ways in which I could improve my practice.
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- Diagnosis/Gifted & Talented Resource Guide: The guide demonstrates my ability to seek out community resources to ensure all students have access to quality learning experiences. - Coordination/IEP Brochure: This brochure is evidence of my understanding of learners rights and educators responsibilities. - Communication/Fifth Grade Lesson, Compare & Contrast: I appreciated my cooperating teachers suggestions for future improvement.

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Standard 10

Evidence of Standard 10: Leadership and Collaboration can be found in I - Diagnosis/Gifted & Talented Resource Guide: The guide further builds connections between the learner and his/her school, family, and community. - Coordination/IEP Brochure: The brochure shows my understanding of the importance of the teacher taking on a leadership role to advocate for the needs of learners. - Integrative Interaction/Arts Night Participant: My participation supported the relationship between Tippecanoe and Arts @ Large. E P D

Artifacts and reflections effectively align with the candidates philosophy of education as well as critical educational frameworks (e.g., UbD,

The main components of my philosophy of education address the importance of providing a safe, nurturing environment, building a community of learners, allowing student choice in learning
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theorists) that guide the candidates work, including his/her strengths

opportunities, and making ties between current and past learning. Throughout my portfolio, I make connections and alignments between this philosophy and my artifacts and reflections. I have shown that I am respectful of students and work towards building a positive learning environment. I strive to provide students with expectations for each lesson, and I avoid being critical of mistakes - both the students' and my own. I demonstrate my attempts to foster growth in the community of learners by asking students to be aware of their participation and how it affects others. Several of my artifacts incorporate aspects of providing students with choices. Between selecting partners, deciding which role to play in group efforts, choosing which topics and materials to work with, and asking students to provide me with feedback, I believe my artifacts demonstrate my respect for students taking ownership of their learning. The evidence in my portfolio also demonstrates the value I place on setting learning in context. I want students to make connections between past and present learning, and I do this by appropriately sequencing lessons, questioning to determine what they already know, and building new material on that knowledge.

Analysis and reflection make a compelling case for the candidates readiness to assume the responsibilities of student teaching

I believe that my portfolio demonstrates thoughtful reflection and analysis of the work that I have done thus far in the Licensure to Masters program and
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regarding my development as a beginning teacher. I am professional, dedicated, conscientious, and hardworking. I know that I still have a lot to learn, but I am confident in my readiness to assume the responsibilities of student teaching, and I look forward to the challenge and reward of being the best teacher I can possibly be.

Assessor Signature:

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