Initial Educator Statement

Jeffrey Hayward
As the calendar turns to May and I enter the final full month of student teaching, it is time to think back
on all of the personal and professional growth that I have made over the last year and a half in
Edgewoods ASP program and in particular, at Verona Area High School during this semester of student
teaching. Entering into the ASP program, I had already been in the professional world and worked rather
successfully at NCBE but I knew that I belonged in the classroom. I am extremely proud of the growth
that I have made in the ASP program. I can say that I did not anticipate the amount of skill and
information required to successfully run a classroom. To learn the myriad pedagogical tactics required to
facilitate every student in a classroom is a daunting task but I put considerable effort to take everything
into account and strive to one day be a master teacher. I think I have made great strides over the last
year and a half but I can improve in every one of the DPI teachers standards and continue to reflect on
how I might improve. Though continual improvement is the goal, I would like to set out two standards
with which I am the most comfortable and two upon which I would like to focus for improvement.
DPI Teaching Standard #3: Teachers understand that children learn differently.
Coming from a background where I was not the most engaged student in high school, I intuitively knew
that this was an aspect of teaching that was important. I think that taking this standard into
consideration should affect not only the lessons and the assignment but the classroom setting itself. This
begins with the lesson. I use the backwards planning method to form my lessons. The initial planning
comes from an essential question which is my ultimate goal. The lesson itself is fundamentally a series of
steps in order to answer that essential question. With this goal in mind, I can employ a variety of
techniques to help all of my students achieve this goal. I do not use typical lecture format but rather
more of a discussion format. I think that it is important to include multimedia components in every
lesson so I search for supplemental multimedia material for every lesson that I teach. Throughout the
lesson, I stop at crucial points and ask questions to help scaffold the material. I find that discussions tend
to be among the most effective tools to answer essential questions. Not only does it give me a sense of
how effective my lesson is, it allows the students to interact with their peers and often make intellectual
leaps that they might not make on their own. When we do academic readings, I provide a scaffolded
reading guide with leading questions to assist the students to pull out the key points. This allows me to
breakdown a reading into smaller pieces. This type of differentiation benefits all of the students and
makes a text accessible to students of all skill levels. We subsequently discuss their answers so that they
can consider their classmates questions about the text and their answers to guide. Finally, I like my
classroom to be set up in a U-shape so that all of the students are facing each other. I like that there is
no back row where a student can hide from interaction. I want all of my students to be a part of the
discussion. Additionally, I think that an integral component of discussion is looking at the speaker while
he or she is speaking. This again benefits all students but particularly ELL students. Often, ELL students
verbal ability is beyond their writing ability so this allows for another way to access the information.
DPI standard #10: Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community
I think that if one were to go back and speak with former co-workers and supervisors, all would say that
I work well with others. I strongly believe in collaboration because, while I am confident in my own
knowledge and abilities, I have the utmost regard for the different perspectives that colleagues offer,
which may be preferable to mine own or could lead to a completely different perspective entirely. I
actively seek out different methods and ideas because I believe in constant improvement. Additionally, I
look forward to having an open dialogue with parents and the community. I will have a class blog in
which both students and parents can follow to see what we are working on, what has been assigned and
what is coming up. I also think that being connected to the community is a key part of forming
relationships with students. I get to know which activities my students are involved in and inquire
regularly about their progress and their interests. I do my best to attend some of their games,
performances, etc. because it is helps the teacher/ student connection and it is a good way to meet their
parents too.
DPI Standard #7: Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.
Creating different kinds of lessons is something that I strive for with every lesson I create and an aspect
of teaching upon which I reflect daily. It is something that I endeavor to improve upon every day. My
lessons try to account for different learning styles and I stop often to question the class to check in but
I strive to make my lessons more dynamic. I include multiple kinds of media into my lessons but I have
set a goal for myself to include activities as a larger part of my lessons. Of course, the most difficult
aspect of activities is making sure that they are meeting learning objectives and not just activities for
activitys sake. I continue grow my lessons through personal study, interaction with other teachers
(particularly veteran teachers) and by taking every opportunity offered to me for professional
development.
DPI Standard #8: Teachers know how to test for student progress.
Assessments are a critical method for a teacher to communicate with his students regarding both their
progress and his effectiveness in presenting the material. I strive to have regular formative assessments
that focus on a small part of the material or help with the evaluation of a certain skill such as thesis
writing or citing information. My focus for improvement is specifically on summative assessments. I
continue to strive for a variety of summative assessments that are rigorous and content-appropriate but
allow for students to express their learning in different manners. I think it is important to not just
differentiate our teaching but to allow for differentiation in the expression of the students learning.