Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

4c. Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development,
effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.

Activity: Planning and Instruction of Remedial and Enrichment Groups

Time: 40 hours

Description: I planned and taught both RTI groups (tier 3) and the gifted and talented
(enrichment) groups daily for math and reading.

Reflection: Having knowledge of curriculum is important for a leader. A good leader knows
weakness and strengths of their students. The same can be said from a teacher standpoint. I
always want to be responsible for running all small groups to know where each student stands
academically. While many leaders may want to hand off the “weak links” to someone else, I like
to invest my time in bringing them up to where they should be. I also feel the same about my
gifted and talented groups. I know they are capable of working independently on projects, but
fully investing in their learning makes them want to work that much harder.

Artifact: Plans for intervention and enrichment groups

Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
4c. Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development,
effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.

Activity: Trout in the Classroom Implementation

Time: 10 hours

Description: I began the Trout in the Classroom at my previous school. This year I started it for
the first time ever at Yough Glades Elementary. This program teaches students how raise trout,
complete water testing daily, and ties in with the science curriculum for ecosystems and biology.

Reflection: The Trout in the Classroom program is designed to have students raise rainbow trout
and release them into a local river. Throughout this five month journey, I tie in science and math
lessons along with the rainbow trout that are located in our classroom. In addition to raising and
feeding the trout, I also teach students how to complete daily water testing. They are responsible
for recording the data while testing the quality of the water through a daily procedure. At the
start of each program year, curriculum has to be created and incorporated purposefully into the
science and math curriculum. As a leader it is important to choose programs that enhance
curriculum and not hinder it. Teachers have so many other topics to cover, I make sure that this
program is not seen as a burden and encourage other teachers to try it with their own students.

Artifact: Photos from Trout in the Classroom

Left: The trout tank set up and

ready for trout eggs.

Below: The trout eggs on delivery

day.
Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
4c. Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development,
effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.

Activity: Gifted and Talented Collaboration and Implementation

Time: 6 hours

Description: As a fifth grade teacher, I was in charge of collaborating with the Gifted and
Talented teachers from last year. This year was the first year, classroom teachers were taking
over implementing and teaching the program. I had four students in the Gifted and Talented
program, and I worked with the daily on projects. One of the main focuses was service learning
projects to benefit the community.

Reflection: Teaching the Gifted and Talented program was a beneficial experience. It pushed me
past my comfort zone of teaching fifth grade and caused me to think of how to push these
students. Many times, teachers are intimidated by Gifted and Talented students and I think that
happened to me at first. I decided to use their skills in math and writing and have them come up
with creative ways to help the community. Putting them in charge of these community projects
forced them to become leaders. It was a way for me as their leader, to teach leadership skills to
my students. A good leader does not just lead, she should also be making other leaders.

Artifact: Photo of Gifted and Talented students with their cards for HART for Animals and the
check with money they raised as a part of the community service project.
Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
4c. Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development,
effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.

Activity: Water Testing Lesson to all fifth graders

Time: 2 hours

Description: Implementing the Trout in the Classroom program allowed me to teach not only
my students, but also the other fifth grade class. I taught all of fifth grade the parts of the tank,
how to water test, and how to clean the tank. I also took charge of teaching the trout lessons
since I had the most experience with the program.

Reflection: Getting to teach another teacher’s class was a great way to practice my leadership
skills. Even though my fellow fifth grade teacher has more years of experience than I do, I was
able to be a leader in this aspect. This experience showed me that years of experience do not
matter, the person with the most knowledge about a topic should take the lead. I was also able to
practice teaching my fellow teacher how she could incorporate trout lessons more into her
classroom. Working with other teachers and leading them in their teaching is the kind of
leadership work I enjoy most.

Artifact: Lesson for water testing and water testing instructions

Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
4c. Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development,
effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student.

Activity: Textbook Selection Committee

Time: 20 hours

Description: As a member of the Textbook Selection Committee, I acted as a representative for

my fellow fifth grade teachers and my colleagues at Yough Glades. My role consisted of viewing
possible vendors for the new English Language Arts textbooks. I was also asked for feedback on
each of these members before selecting my favorite. In addition to these duties, I also had to take
information back to my colleagues to share and receive their feedback and questions.

Reflection: As a leader, there will be many times that I have to make decisions for the entire
staff. Staff feedback is critical decision making. It was not only me that had to use this new
program. I also had to consider that younger grades, as young as preschool, would need a
curriculum that was developmentally appropriate them those students. A leader does not focus
solely on herself; she also thinks about the impact on everyone else in the school. This
experience changed my thinking and views on several textbook series to allow me to choose the
one that was best for all.

Artifact: Professional Leave Form for Textbook Selection Committee

Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff
7b. Empower and entrust teachers and staff with collective responsibility for meeting the academic, social,
emotional, and physical needs of each student, pursuant to the mission, vision, and core values of the school.
7c. Establish and sustain a professional culture of engagement and commitment to shared vision, goals, and
objectives pertaining to the education of the whole child; high expectations for professional work; ethical
and equitable practice; trust and open communication; collaboration, collective efficacy, and continuous
individual and organizational learning and improvement.

Activity: PLC Meetings and Goal Setting

Time: 21 hours

Description: Monthly PLC meetings are held in grade level team with administrators. In these
meetings, we discuss student data and achievement. We are also given time to share ideas for
intervention for those students in need. It is a time to share ideas and concerns.

Reflection: This year was my first experience with real PLC meetings. My past school was very
small and there were never PLC meetings held either with other teachers or the administration. I
found these meetings to be beneficial to not only the teacher, but also the principal. PLC
meetings allowed the principal to meeting with each grade level to catch up on any concerns or
issues. It also guaranteed that the administration was involved with all students and kept up-to-
date on student data. From these meetings I learned how a PLC should take place. It should be a
place where teachers can be open about any questions they have. It should also be informative to
the administration and allow them to be involved in classroom decisions. The attitude in all of
these meetings was not to penalize or evaluate anyone. I enjoyed the structure of these meetings
and felt like it was great time for collaboration between staff and administration.

Artifact: PLC meeting invitation

Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff
7d. Promote mutual accountability among teachers and other professional staff for each student’s success
and the effectiveness of the school as a whole.

Activity: Collaboration with RTI Teachers

Time: 15 hours

Description: I was able to meet frequently with intervention teachers to discuss skills and
deficits that I noticed in the classroom. We would meet to discuss progress and share data. This
guided my instruction as well as the instruction during intervention time for students who need
extra support.

Reflection: This experience was once again a first for me at a new school. Coming from a
smaller school, I was provided no intervention services for my students. This did not allow for
collaboration either. Getting to work with intervention teachers at Yough Glades taught me many
leadership skills. Being the classroom teacher, gave me a sense of leadership. These were my
students and my responsibility. During collaboration time, it was nice to feel like I had a
teammate in working with these struggling students. There were great discussions held and
everyone’s opinion was valued. True collaboration ends with everyone feeling like they are
working together and making progress. I always felt this way after leaving a collaboration
meeting with intervention teachers.

Artifact: Email from RTI teacher

Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff
7d. Promote mutual accountability among teachers and other professional staff for each student’s success
and the effectiveness of the school as a whole.

Activity: Observation/Evaluation of Head Start Teacher

Time: 4 hours

Description: As a part of my EDSU 643 class on supervision and human resources, I was able to
observe and evaluate a head start teacher. I observed and met with this teacher on several
occasions. We were able to discuss pedagogy, content, student behavior, and the conditions for
learning. I learned so much about conferencing with a teacher and providing evaluation points.

Reflection: This experience truly tested my skills as a leader. The most uncomfortable aspect of
leadership to me is when I have to give feedback to a fellow teacher. I understand the struggles
and hardships that come with being a teacher, especially of young students. I never want to make
a fellow teacher feel as if they are being criticized. Having this practice allowed me to realize
that you can be supportive and provide useful feedback. I also learned the framework for
observations, including the one used in Garrett County Schools. It was a good introduction to the
process and methodology behind these evaluations. I felt more comfortable than I predicted in
the role of evaluator. I learned that the relationship between teacher and evaluator can be both
professional and supportive.

Artifact: Notes from observation

Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff
7b. Empower and entrust teachers and staff with collective responsibility for meeting the academic, social,
emotional, and physical needs of each student, pursuant to the mission, vision, and core values of the school.

Activity: Trout in the Classroom Curriculum Sharing

Time: 3 hours

Description: The Trout in the Classroom program is something that is completed within my fifth
grade classroom. Within the program, my students have access to unique resources that enhance
their science understanding. I decided to share these resources with teachers from the other
grades so that all students felt involved in the program in some way. I shared resources and
lesson plans that correlated with the trout program.

Reflection: As a leader, I feel that is important to share good resources and information when
you find it. I also believe that when one classroom does something that benefits students, all
other students should be given that same opportunity. This is an idea that a good leader follows.
There should be a constant sharing of new ideas and resources to better instruction. I felt that this
sharing made the other students feel included in the program and allowed teachers to have some
supplements that were hands-on in a new science curriculum.

Artifact: Trout in the Classroom resources shared among teachers