Running head: TELLING MY STORY 1

Telling My Story Using My PDPQ

Samantha A. Yazzie

National University
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Telling My Story Using My PDPQ

Progress towards competencies

In standard 1: New Learning is Connected to Prior Learning and Experience, there are four

indicators. My progress towards achieving success in this standard, is learning and growing each

day. I feel that I have come a long way since my first day of teaching 2 ½ years ago, but there is

still so much to learn. According to my last evaluation dated March 15, 2018 I was rated a 3.5 out

of 4 in this standard. I have two indicators I would like to work on for this school year. These

indicators are: making clear the purpose and relevance of new learning and allowing all students

the opportunity to build on or challenge initial understandings.

Strengths and Needs

One strength I feel that I have is indicator 1, which is activating all students’ initial

understandings of new concepts and skills. Because I have a high English Language Learner

population within my classroom I felt that this was a necessity to master almost immediately. This

is accomplished daily with each lesson through questioning, discussion and the use of pictures.

One area I feel the need to work on would be indicator 3, making clear the purpose and

relevance of new learning. I have already identified this area as a weakness and have begun

working on strengthening it. There is an objective board posted in my room, that is large enough

for all to see. The board has three categories for each subject, one of the categories identifies why

we are learning the skills and how it will help us later in our academic journeys. The students

review this at the start of learning each new concept.

Potential TPE competencies

There are a few potential competencies that I would like to utilize within my PDPQ. The

first one is the use of technology. My students are expected to complete their standardized state
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testing on the computer. I am working to utilize more exit tickets, quizzes and ultimately more

student work assigned and completed on the computer. This would allow my students to become

more familiar with the use of technology and therefore more comfortable when testing. The second

competency might be showcasing the use of cross-curricular activities and units, such as

implementing science with reading and writing.

Rationale

According to National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (1997), “what

teachers know and are able to do is the most important influence on what students learn (as cited

in Constantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 11). The reason I chose indicator 3, making clear the

purpose and relevance of new learning is that students need to understand why they are learning a

new concept. They need to know how the new learning connects to previous learning as well as

future learning. Each concept we teach builds on another concept and is built on. If a student misses

out on a concept taught, they may develop a deficit that could cause them to fall behind

academically.
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References

Constantino, P.M., & De Lorenzo, M.N., (2009). Developing a professional teaching portfolio: A

guide for success. (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.