Quality Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate mastery of and pedagogical expertise in the content

they teach. The elementary teacher is an expert in literacy and mathematics and is
knowledgeable in all other content that he or she teaches (e.g., science, social studies, arts,
physical education, or world languages). The secondary teacher has knowledge of literacy and
mathematics and is an expert in his or her content endorsement area(s).

● Element A: Teachers provide instruction that is aligned with the Colorado Academic
Standards, their District’s organized plan of instruction, and the individual needs of their
students.

Reflection:

During this lesson the students were learning how to use addition to solve a subtraction equation
through solve & share problems, as well as guided practice questions. This was the first lesson
that I taught in this practicum experience, so I used this as an opportunity to practice conducting
whole-group lessons and managing a class of students. The teaching aspect of this lesson went
well as understanding and comprehension of the topic increased as the lesson went on.
Additionally, the organization of the lesson flowed well as each section of the assignment was
separated into direct instruction and individual practice, so this is something that I would like to
take into my next teaching experiences. Since the students are not used to learning from me, it
was difficult at times to get them to focus all of their attention on me. Due to this, I will focus
more on my classroom management strategies in future lessons. My mentor teacher has a variety
of effective classroom management strategies that I would like to implement into my own
teaching practices.

This artifact aligns with teaching quality standard 1 as I was conducting a lesson on mathematics
that was based on specific standards, organized instruction, and the needs of each student.
Additionally, this lesson was embedded into the District’s plan of instruction because it was
directly from the mathematics book and the organizational plan for the lesson was followed.
Overall, I will take my new understanding and knowledge into my future teaching experiences
and lessons.