Title: Best Practice Reflection

Date: Spring 2014

Artifact Description:
During my pre-student teaching placement in the spring semester of 2014 at the
University of Wisconsin Platteville, I had the opportunity to observe my cooperating
teacher apply many of the seven best practices, as defined by Zemelman, Daniels, and
Hyde in Best Practices: Bringing Standards to Life in Americas Classrooms. The
following artifact is a reflection on my observations and experiences in a classroom
that implemented these practices.
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment:
This artifact best aligns with Standard 4: The teacher understands and uses a
variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage
children's development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance
skills.
This experience best aligns with Standard 4 because it has allowed me to see first-
hand how instructional strategies are used in a classroom to direct and guide
student learning to achieve their highest learning potential. This is achieved by
using multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage students in active learning
opportunities. In order to do so it is crucial that a teacher have the knowledge and
ability to incorporate such instructional strategies as classroom workshop,
collaborative learning activities, independent study, and discovery learning in order
to achieve this. This teaching experience helped me to put into practice as well as
better understand these principles and techniques, along with advantages and
limitations, associated with different strategies. During this experience, I was also
able to incorporate SMARTboard technology into many of the lessons I taught. The
use of this technological resource for the vocabulary, spelling, and reading lessons I
taught on a weekly basis is another example of adapting instructional strategies to
meet the needs of learners.
I am more competent now in this standard because I was able to plan and apply on a
daily bases teaching strategies that are proven to enhance student learning. When
given the opportunity to plan my own lessons for a small reading group, I fully
embraced the concept of applying various strategies to meet learners needs by
incorporating aspects of group discussion, direct instruction, cooperative learning,
and independent study.
UW-Platteville Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Statement Alignment:
This experience best aligns with KS1.d: The candidate actively seeks materials and
resources to enhance instruction by utilizing school and district resources as well as
other resources available outside the school/district.

This experience from my pre-student teaching best aligns with this KSD because it is
important, as educators, to adapt instruction to provide children with the skills they
need to succeed. In order to do this, educators need to constantly develop their skill
set by staying up-to-date on effective teaching practices and strategiessuch as the
seven best practices defined by Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde.

I am more competent after this experience because I was able to apply the
knowledge I gained through research in my education and through the observation
of my cooperating teacher to develop a variety of clear, accurate presentations and
representations of concepts, understanding and presenting diverse perspectives to
encourage critical thinking which I utilize in the lessons I taught.

Secondary KSDs:

KSD1.e: Designs Coherent Instruction
KSD3.b: Uses Questioning and Discussion Techniques
KSD3.c: Engages Students in Learning

Personal Reflection:
What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience:
From this experience I have learned the importance of creating and presenting an
effective lesson plan which incorporates teaching strategies and materials that
achieve different instructional purposes and take into consideration the students
developmental stages, prior knowledge, learning styles, learning differences, and
interests. Allowing students access to multiple forms of resources increases the
understanding of complex subject matter. Experiencing this in a classroom, helped
me better realize how a well-fitted instructional strategy can heighten students
interest, involvement, and ultimate understanding of the content being taught.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this
experience:
As a result of this experience, I am more prepared, as an educator, to plan and
incorporate a variety of meaningful instructional strategies to meet the needs of a
diverse classroom of learners. I have gained an appreciation for the process of
planning lessons that meet these needs by adapting instruction based on students
responses, ideas, and needs. As a prospective educator, one of my beliefs is that to
better my students, I need to constantly better myself. One way to achieve this is by
using all the available professional development resources.