Professional Self-Assessment Form

Teacher Candidates Name: Brittany Benjamin Date: 04-18-2013 Mentor Teachers Name: Ms. Little-Robinson School: Brookdale Elementary School Grade Level (s)/Subject Area(s) Math/Science ___________________________________________________________________________________ Instructions to the teacher candidate: Please reflect on your professional performance, and respond to each of the following prompts. 1. In terms of the ADEPT Performance Standards, what are your professional strengths? How have you built on these strengths so far, and how do you plan to do so in the future? In terms of the ADEPT Performance Standards, my professional strengths are ADEPT Performance Standard Four: Establishing and Maintaining High Expectations for Learners and ADEPT Performance Standard Five: Using Instruction Strategies to Facilitate Learning. My strengths for ADEPT Performance Standard four is I believe that students perform in ways in which teachers expect them to so I always give my students encouragement, positive feedback, and I tell them that they are just as bright as any other student. In the future I plan to continue to let my future students know that they can be just as successful as students anywhere and I will continue to encourage and give positive feedback. Also, My strength for ADEPT Performance Standard five is not just lecturing students I show videos, have the students complete activities, and I utilize different interactive websites. In the future I plan on building on that strength by researching and implementing more instructional strategies and I will ask more of my colleagues what I could do to better teach a lesson.

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In terms of the ADEPT Performance Standards, what are your professional challenges? How do you plan to meet these challenges?

In terms of the ADEPT Performance Standards, my professional challenge is ADEPT Performance Standard Nine: Managing the Classroom. This standard was the biggest challenge for me. I had two classes and in each class there were five students with constant behavioral issues. To meet these challenges I had to really assert myself because even though Im petite and young I had to let them know that I was the teacher. Teaching is acting so by the end of this experience I had to get into character and be really assertive. In the future when I get my own I will be a much better actress. Even, when Im unsure of something I will not show the facial expression because showing a sign of uncertainty can translate to the students that youre young and you may not know what youre doing. I will have to find a classroom management system that works for me.

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Describe your students overall progress and achievement. What insights have you gained into ways to improve student progress and achievement?

My students have made significant progress. Earlier in the semester many of my students had difficulty retaining information my mentor teacher or I previously taught so I began to spiral previous standards in my PowerPoint Presentations. Constantly reviewing old standards instead of just constantly learning new material has really improved my students ability to retain information. Teaching single gender classes has allowed me to see the differences between teaching girls and boys. Teaching single gender is a challenge because I believe that you have to change the way you teach each class in order for your students succeed. For instance, the boys have a higher physical activity level and they dont have as much self
control as the girls so they need to move and be kept constantly busy. Keeping this in mind when I get my own classroom I will be well aware of the differences and I will be able to better tailor my instruction to meet the needs of all of my students.

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How will you use the knowledge you have gained through this professional selfassessment to promote your continuous professional growth and collaboration?

Student teaching has been a challenge and I can honestly say I have grown from this experience. As an Elementary Education major Ive learned various theories on learning and Ive taken a plethora of classes but having to actually implement the information youve learned in your classes is challenging. It can be challenging if you dont see what youve been taught being implemented in the classroom. Through this self-assessment, I had the opportunity to really reflect on my experiences and the knowledge Ive gained. I have learned so much about the art of teaching from my mentor teacher, the vice principle, and from other teachers. I say an art because its easy to know the science of teaching. For instance, having a detailed lesson plan doesnt matter if you dont know how to effectively teach the content to the learner. I enjoyed this experience because I have finally learned what type of teacher I want to be.