The first artifact I have chosen to represent a characteristic is my literacy workstation project from last semester. I think it connects to characteristic four: facilitator of learning for all students and characteristic 9: diverse students. I think it connects to these two because it was made so that all students can learn from it and so diverse students can connect with what they are learning to their culture. I included several different books and materials for the diverse student so that they can feel like are part of the group and not different.
The second artifact I have chosen is a lesson that I just taught last week. It was a lesson on the Emancipation Proclamation that I used many different types of learning styles to teach and that the students absolutely loved. I had so much feedback and participation from the students! I think it connects to characteristic 6: in depth knowledge of content because my students were so engaged because I was so knowledgeable about the content and was able to inform them a great deal of the concept. I also connect it to diverse students as well because I was able to adapt the lesson for many different learning styles. I used the Elmo, an audio file, I had pictures, and I also provided a copy of what was on the audio file so that students could follow along. My fifth graders are usually pretty silent, but with this lesson they were engaged and so excited to learn more and continue on.
Looking at the ten characteristics, I see that there is still so much for me to learn about myself as a teacher. So far, I think that I'm doing a good job of becoming the best teacher that I can be, but there's still a lot to learn. Teaching is a profession that is not just learned or taught overnight. It takes tons of practice and the willingness to open yourself as a learner and become aware of yourself and your students.
