ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #4
ARTIFACT DESCRIPTIONS:
Philosophical Chairs; Position Paper; Magic Ring
The items included for this standard are a lesson, Philosophical Chairs, that
I have borrowed from AVID, a Position Paper drafted by one of my students
for preparation and participation in the discussion and a Magic Ring of
activities that I employed during several summer school sessions teaching
and running camps during the summer for the Madison metropolitan School
District. I observed Philosophical Chairs being conducted in a classroom
when I was a fairly new teacher and said to myself, I need to create this
kind of experience for my students. Well, I did just that and I held at least
one Philosophical Chairs Discussion a semester in courses that I taught as
a Social Studies teacher. It calls for intensive inquiry into a topic to be able to
form an informed opinion and choose a position when prompted with a
polarized statement. It creates opportunities for intense discussion and
exchange of ideas, yet with parameters so that all opinions and participants
are secure and respected. This is a very engaging activity that brings out the
opinions of even the meekest in the class. The Position Paper is a product
of the discussion activity. This paper was written by a student that prepared
for the discussion after researching a topic. The paper is the ticket into the
discussion and provides evidence of background information and reasoning
on the part of each participant. The Magic Ring is a great resource to use
when there is down time in a classroom or when there just needs to be some
life put into the class. The activities are a wealth of strategies to elicit ideas,
opinions and interaction in the classroom. I continue to use these in teaching
my classes and consider the variety of approaches as part of my toolkit.
ALIGNMENTS:
Wisconsin DPI Teacher Standards
Standard Four - Teachers know how to teach.
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.
These artifacts demonstrate that I have an understanding of methods and
teaching strategies that go beyond the sit and get experience that can so
often be the default for many teachers, students and classrooms. There is a
place for direct instruction and I have often been the sage on the stage
lecturing to my classes and expecting them to be awed by my intellect and
depth of knowledge. The Chairs activity and the process leading up to it
create very powerful outcomes within each and every student in a class. The
Magic Ring is a valuable tool to keeping things fresh and new and exciting
in a classroom. This again illustrates a characteristic of knowing how to teach
or reach the students that are right in front of you. Often the answers for

ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #4
hooking the kids in your room can escape you because you get lost in
thinking that the students should just be thrilled with the subject matter.
News Flash: Sometimes Not!

UWP School of Education Knowledge, Skill and Disposition Statement

KSD 1.d. - DEMONSTRATES KNOWLEDGE OF RESOURCES
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.

KSD 3.b. - USES QUESTIONING AND DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

The candidates questioning techniques and instructional strategies are of
uniformly high quality with special attention given to available time for
student response, varied levels of questions, and adequate student
involvement in the discussion/instructional process.

These artifacts show that I have worked to gain or gather assets to my

teaching that keep things new, fresh and exciting. There is a wealth of ideas
to break up the time or routine in your classroom. Identifying them, trying
them and perfecting them is the key to using them to augment what you do
in the classroom. I take little credit for paying attention to AVID strategies
and systems and making them part of my routines. There are a vast number
of activities and techniques to elicit input and participation from your
students. My utilization of the strategies and techniques illustrates that I am
focused on finding new ways to reach my kids and make their learning
experiences powerful.

REFLECTIONS AND IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

What I learned about teaching I learned that teaching is much more than
the teacher sharing pearls of wisdom. I had a mentor teacher that lectured
for 80 minutes every day. Five minutes at the start for everyone to be ready

ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #4
and five minutes at the end for everyone to pack up. It was dutiful, tedious,
routine and truly drudgery. I never wanted to teach that way and never will.
Please reference an excerpt from my learning log for Standard Nine that
references one of my high school teachers that made sitting through
Economics a living hell.
What I learned about myself as an educator I have learned over the years
that I wanted to be a source of excitement and enjoyment for my classroom
full of students. Not just fun mind you, rather a source of an authentic
appreciation for making leaps in knowledge and judgment. Arming students
with skills and confidence from activities like Philosophical Chairs does
more for their learning than pouring information and opinion at them through
a fire hose. I have learned that the purpose I serve as an educator is to get
students into the game and help them succeed by helping them develop the
tools of inquiry, analysis and presentation. I am the facilitator and just a crew
member on the cruise ship of learning.