Competency 3.

H Reflection
This is a competency that I intend to improve on and make use of every year as a teacher.
Like I have said before, being a teacher is no easy job. There is so much thought, dedication, and
sacrifice that goes into the profession. It is almost impossible to not lean on your other educators
for ideas, advice, and support in general. Teachers are people who care deeply about everyone or
else they would have chosen a different career path and so with this being said it is almost
second nature to support those around you in any way that you can. As someone who is up and
coming in this profession, I view myself as a sponge trying to soak up any and all forms of
knowledge and advice that I can from those who have come before me. In my life thus far, these
individuals have included my practicum teachers, professors, bosses, previous teachers, and
family friends who are in the education system. Personally, I absolutely love learning from my
elders. I think that they have so much wisdom and guidance to offer. Often I invite them to
critique me and tell me all of the things that they notice I can improve on or add to my teaching
approach. Making use of collaboration is an essential component of improving yourself as an
individual and an educator. My firm belief is that learning never stops, no matter how old you
get or how much you think you already know. Since this is a criteria that I feel very passionately
about, I feel very confident in my ability to display this competency. Most if not all of my
experiences or forms of evidence have a trace of collaboration from either my peers, teachers,
media evidence, or theories from psychologists. I think that through the use of this competency
you can really expand your ability to reach students of all literacy levels. Personally, I believe
one of the best things you can do as someone who is new to a job or profession is to ask
questions and use the resources that are around you. It would be silly in my eyes to not take
advantage of the potential knowledge that is around you.
My first form of evidence is the “Strategy Demonstration” from 413 where we were
instructed to create a presentation of a specific strategy that we can use in the classroom. We had
to first identify and define the strategy, then give some context on how we might use it in the
classroom, then finally provide students with an activity where they can practice the strategy. For
this assignment we made use of the techniques and classroom management skills that we have
learned from our practicum teachers. Based on this knowledge, we had to create a brief overview
of the strategy in which we were trying to teach our classmates. This assignment was made a lot
easier when we referenced other teachers thoughts and lesson plans for this online. Much of the
information we got for this assignment was from what we had seen from our classes and how our
mentor teachers used the strategy. Our strategy that we chose to use was close reading, which is
a strategy that is especially useful for ELL students because it teaches them to read with intention
and supports them when they come across a word or phrase that they might not have seen before.
I performed this assignment with 2 of my classmates and we collaborated about how we have
used this strategy ourselves and how we might use it in our own classroom. We each had
different experiences using the technique which actually helped because we all had different
perspectives or ideas about the strategy might be used by others. One of the main criterias was
how it would be specifically useful to ELLs. Through the collaboration that I participated in with
my partners I feel as if we produced a very intentional and inclusive lesson plan in order to teach
this strategy.
The second form of evidence that I have provided is a research paper I wrote in English
201 called, “Diving Deeper into Teaching”. This was an assignment where we were instructed to
construct a research paper on any topic of our liking. I chose to research teaching as it was
obviously the profession that was intending to pursue. Through this research I analyzed the
aspects of a teacher including what makes a good teacher, the role of a teacher, the
responsibilities, and additionally what I have learned from interviewing teachers. This
assignment allowed me to look at the profession of teaching as a whole and all that encompasses
the occupation. One thing that I really enjoyed about this paper was the freedom and lack of
restriction I had when writing it. I feel like usually when you write a paper there are a lot of
criteria or requirements you must meet, but this paper was one that was realistically up to our
interpretation. Honestly, to my surprise it turned out a lot better than I predicted. I got some
really great sources that helped me to discover the reality of this occupation and made me want
to be a teacher even more. Of course, as time has progressed and I moved further into the
program I was able to gain some field experience that has ultimately helped to shape and
complete my perspective on the expectations of a good teacher. In this paper, I was able to make
use of outside community partners. This included me interviewing a teacher that I know and
asking them some questions on their opinions and experiences. Overall, my intention with this
assignment was to conduct intentional research on my future reality and begin to comprehend the
expectations that would be expected of me in order to be a successful teacher.