Jana Turner

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• Jana Turner
• Electronic Portfolio

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Philosophy of Education
• Resume
• Conceptual Framework/Praxis III Criterion
• Strand 1- Content Knowledge
• Strand 2- Pedagogical Knowledge
• Strand 3- Diversity
• Strand 4- Technology
• Strand 5- Professionalism
• Strand 6- Emotional Intelligence
• Final Reflection
• Acknowledgements
• Praxis 19 Criteria (A B)
• Praxis 19 Criteria (CD)

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Introduction

• Welcome to my electronic portfolio. This
  electronic portfolio is primarily based on Wright
  State Universitys College of Education and Human
  Resources conceptual framework. Furthermore, the
  evidence contained within the portfolio aligns
  with the 19 Praxis Criteria.
• Viewers can easily navigate through the
  portfolio in a variety of ways. The slides can be
  viewed in order, but those looking for particular
  information can utilize the hyperlinks located on
  the bottom right hand corner of most pages. These
  links allow the viewer to return to the table of
  contents or to the criterion summary pages. Also,
  the viewer may use the table of contents slide at
  the beginning of this portfolio.

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Philosophy of Education

• A successful and effective teaching is more
  than just a wealth of knowledge and a list of
  facts. A successful teacher is one who reaches
  out to all students, makes an effort to learn
  about their lives, and believes she can make a
  difference. At times, a teacher needs to be a
  facilitator, a mentor, and a leader for students
  to follow.
• Teaching is more than just a 9-5 job. It
  requires patience, thought, intelligence, and
  many hours of planning and grading. However, the
  final outcome makes education worth every lesson
  and late night. In the end, teaching is all about
  the students. Each student who enters my
  classroom has the opportunity to find success.
  Whether this success is in English or in another
  academic class, it is my responsibility to equip
  students with the tools they need to succeed
  outside of the walls of the school. Students
  today need to enter the work force with the
  skills to be good readers, writers, thinkers,
  communicators, and listeners. These are the
  essential skills I want my students to have when
  they exit my class.

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Resume
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Conceptual Framework/ Praxis III Criterion

• This portfolio is based on Wright State
  Universitys conceptual framework and the Praxis
  domains. The following slides illustrate how I
  met each of the six strands of the conceptual
  framework and each of the 19 Praxis criteria.
• The included documents, student illustrations,
  and pictures were collected during my student
  teaching experience at Minster Middle School.
• The links provided below give direct access to
  evidence for each strand of the conceptual
  framework.
• Strand 1 Content Knowledge
• Strand 2 Pedagogical Knowledge
• Strand 3 Diversity
• Strand 4 Technology
• Strand 5 Professionalism
• Strand 6 Emotional Intelligence

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Strand 1Content Knowledge

• Praxis Correlation
• A3 Demonstrating an understanding of the
  connection between the content that was learned
  previously, current content, and the content that
  remains to be learned in the future.

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Content Knowledge

• Praxis Correlation
• B1 Creating a climate that promotes fairness
• C1 Making learning goals and instructional
  procedures clear to students.

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Content Knowledge

• Praxis Correlation
• A3 Demonstrating an understanding of the
  connections between the content that was learned
  previously, current content, and the content that
  remains to be learned in the future.
• B3 Communicating challenging learning
  expectations to each student.
• C1 Making learning goals and instructional
  procedures clear to students.
• C3 Encouraging students to extend their
  thinking.

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Content Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• B3 Communicating challenging learning
  expectations to each student.
• C1 Making learning goals and instructional
  procedures clear to students.

In this picture, two students are working
cooperatively to complete an advertisement with a
specific propaganda technique. Students often
worked together to learn a specific skill then
taught their peers the newly learned information.
Each student was given the goals of the lesson
and then specific tasks to follow in order to
teach the entire class.
Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Strand 2Pedagogical Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• A2 Articulating clear learning goals for the
  lesson that are appropriate to the students.
• A5 Creating or selecting evaluation strategies
  that is appropriate for the students and that are
  aligned with the goals of the lesson.
• C4 Monitoring students understanding of
  content through a variety of means, providing
  feedback to students to assist learning, and
  adjusting learning activities as the situation
  demands.
• Nothing But the Truth Exam

• In order to informally evaluate students
  progress, I used journal prompts to make sure
  students were achieving the goals of the lesson.
  These prompts asked students to discuss what they
  learned, how I could help them succeed in the
  classroom, and what their goals were for the
  year. The journals were kept in the classroom and
  were used on a daily basis.

Here are two examples of formal assessment used
in the classroom.
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Pedagogical Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• B5 Making the physical environment as safe and
  conducive to learning as possible.
• C2 Making content comprehensible to students.

I used various bookcases and shelves around the
room to display young adult literature and to
keep books in one area of the classroom. Students
were able to go to these bookcases to select a
book to read on Fridays or during any free time
throughout the week.
Various quotes from literature were posted around
the room to help students think about the content
around them. In the picture, the quotes are
posted on my desk. These quotes were often used
as writing prompts or writing assignments
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Pedagogical Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• A2 Articulating clear learning goals for the
  lesson that are appropriate to the students.
• B1 Creating a climate that promotes fairness.
• C2 Making content comprehensible to students.
• C5 Using instructional time effectively
• At the beginning of each project, students were
  given a list of the project requirements so they
  knew the expectations and goals of each
  assignment. This helped students become more
  independent, and they also used higher level
  thinking skills to complete each task
  individually. Each step was broken down so all
  students could comprehend the steps needed to
  take.

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Pedagogical Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• A2 Articulating clear learning goals for the
  lesson that are appropriate to the students.
• B4 Establishing and maintaining consistent
  standards of classroom behavior.
• C3 Encouraging students to extend their
  thinking.

After completing a project, students published
their work in order to display it in our
classroom or around the school. In the above
picture, students projects are posted above
their lockers in the hallway. Publishing student
work allows all students to show off their
talents and encourages students to put their best
work forward. Students were also required to
finish their work on time and complete all
necessary steps of the project.
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Pedagogical Knowledge

• Praxis Criterion
• A4 Creating or selecting teaching methods,
  learning activities, and instructional materials
  or other resources that are appropriate to the
  students and are aligned with the goals of the
  lesson.
• C4 Monitoring students understanding of the
  content through a variety of means, providing
  feedback to students to assist learning, and
  adjusting learning activities as the situation
  demands.

Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Strand 3Diversity

• Praxis Criterion
• A4 Creating or selecting teaching methods,
  learning activities, and instrumental materials
  or other resources that are appropriate to the
  students and are aligned with the goals of the
  lesson.
• C3 Encouraging students to extend their
  thinking.
• C4 Monitoring students understanding of
  content through a variety of means, providing
  feedback to students to assist learning, and
  adjusting learning activities as the situation
  demands.
• C5 Using instructional effectively (Lesson
  Plan)

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Diversity

• Praxis Criterion
• A3 Demonstrating an understanding of the
  connections between the content that was learned
  previously, current content, and the content that
  remains to be learned in the future.
• B3 Communicating challenging learning
  expectations to students.
• C2 Making content comprehensible to students.

During the final 9 weeks of school, students
examined elements of a persuasive essay and used
this knowledge to participate in a classroom
debate. In the above picture, two students and a
mediator are debating about the advantages and
disadvantages of school uniforms. Students were
able to connect with past content to perform
these debates and chose topics that were current
in their lives.
Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Strand 4Technology

• Praxis Criterion
• A4 Creating or selecting teaching methods,
  learning activities, and instructional materials
  or other resources that are appropriate to the
  students and are aligned with the goals of the
  lesson.
• D1 Reflecting on the extent to which the
  learning goals were met.
• In this PowerPoint presentation, students viewed
  several examples of propaganda found in the
  media. This interactive lesson gave students the
  opportunity to critically view propaganda and
  think about their interactions with propaganda.
  There were several checkpoints for students to
  demonstrate their knowledge.

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Technology

• Praxis Criterion
• B5 Making the physical environment as safe and
  conducive to learning as possible.

The mounted television in the classroom served
various educational purposes. When showing film
clips, PowerPoint presentations, or a webquest,
the television projected the images to all
students in the classroom. Because the television
was in one corner of the room, all students were
able to view the screen and be active in the
learning process. Students were also able to use
the television to share their projects and
presentations with their peers.
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Technology

• Praxis Criterion
• D3 Builds professional relationships with
  colleagues to share teaching insights and to
  coordinate learning activities for students.
• Collaborative assessment with cooperating
  teacher and supervisor
• Throughout my student teaching experience, I
  worked collaboratively with both my CT and
  supervisor to share teaching ideas and discuss
  various teaching strategies. We used e-mail to
  plan assessments and to suggest new teaching
  strategies to try with the students. Through
  these assessments, I learned how to better my
  teaching and provide my students with the best
  opportunities possible.

Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Strand 5Professionalism

• Praxis Criterion
• D1 Reflecting on the extent to which the
  learning goals were met.
• D2 Demonstrate a sense of efficacy.
• Jana is able to discuss what has occurred
  during the lesson and searches for ways to
  improve. She will ask for my opinion on what will
  work and how to make the lesson go better the
  next time. Jana is very conscientious of all
  lessons and is able to successfully determine if
  learning was achieved by all students.
• - Peg Rindler
• Cooperating Teacher

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Professionalism

• Praxis Criterion
• D3 Building professional relationships with
  colleagues to share teaching insights and to
  coordinate learning activities for students.
• D4 Communicating with parents or guardians
  about student learning.

As a student teacher, the most effective way to
promptly and efficiently communicate with parents
was through e-mail. Many parents felt comfortable
expressing concerns or comments through this
method of communication, and I was able to
respond during my conference period or in between
classes. Each teacher had a list of parent emails
and various ways to reach parents/guardians
during the day. I took advantage of this system
and communicated with parents on a daily basis.
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Professionalism

• Praxis Criterion
• D1 Reflecting on the extent to which the
  learning goals were met.
• D2 Demonstrating a sense of efficacy.

As my student teaching progressed, I kept journal
to reflect on my lesson plans and overall
experiences with my students. Through these
journals I was able to learn from my mistakes and
find ways to improve on my successes.
Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Strand 6Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• A1 Becoming more familiar with relevant aspects
  of students background knowledge and
  experiences.
• B2 Establishing and maintaining rapport with
  students.
• At the beginning of the year, I used several
  journal prompts in order to learn more about my
  students. These journals helped me to know about
  interests, motivations, goals, and different
  learning styles of my students. For one journal
  prompt, I asked students to discuss their
  experiences in past language arts classes. This
  allowed me to learn more about their academic
  history.

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Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• A1 Becoming more familiar with relevant aspects
  of students background knowledge and
  experiences.
• B1 Creating a climate that promotes fairness.
• B2 Establishing and maintaining rapport with
  students.
• Soundtrack of My Life Lesson Plan
• Brainstorming Sheets
• One way I learned more about my students and
  built student rapport was through the projects
  they completed in class. In one project, students
  were to create the Soundtrack of My Life in
  order to tell about important moments, events,
  and people in their lives. This project allowed
  students to share personal information with the
  class in a comfortable and secure setting. By
  circulating the classroom during prewriting
  activities, I was able to help students with the
  writing process and learn more about their life
  experiences.

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Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• D2 Demonstrating a sense of efficacy.
• D3 Building professional relationships with
  colleagues to share teaching insights and to
  coordinate learning activities for students.

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Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• A1 Becoming familiar with relevant aspects of
  students background knowledge and experiences.
• B2 Establishing and maintaining rapport with
  students.
• B4 Establishing and maintaining consistent
  standards of classroom behavior.

Jana completed an activity in which students
drew a tree and then found what their renditions
said about their personalities. She also had
students write a poem about themselves. These
activities made students feel comfortable around
Jana, and they opened up to her style of
teaching. In return, this helped with classroom
behavior and her rapport with the students. -
Peg Rindler Cooperating Teacher
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Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• B4 Establishing and maintaining consistent
  standards of classroom behavior.
• C5 Using instructional time effectively.

These classroom rules were posted in the
classroom and on a welcome sheet students
received my first day of student teaching.
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Emotional Intelligence

• Praxis Criterion
• D4 Communicating with parents or guardians
  about student learning.

Communication with parents is essential in any
classroom. On a weekly basis I sent postcards
home to students parents/guardians in order to
let them know about their childs success in my
classroom. These postcards were a way to
encourage positive student behavior and to
celebrate their achievement and growth throughout
the year. Parents/guardians could also check on
ProgressBook to keep track of their students
grades in the classroom. Parents were also able
to see if their student was missing any work or
having any difficulties with an assignment.
Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Conclusion

• I learned a great deal during my student
  teaching at Minster Middle School and my
  placement at Piqua High School. I have had the
  opportunity to work with numerous teachers who
  have shown me what it takes to be a successful
  and effective educator. These teachers
  demonstrate intense dedication and compassion for
  their students and continue to strive to learn
  all they can about their discipline. All the
  lessons and struggles along the way will only
  help to make me become a strong teacher and
  leader. As the year went by, I learned to improve
  on my classroom management skills and how to
  effectively fill every minute of the class
  period. I also improved on my content strengths
  and found ways to improve vocabulary instruction
  and assessment. I cannot wait to take all I have
  learned and apply it to my own classroom.

Go back to Criterion Summary Go back to Table of
Contents
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Final Reflection

• These 6 conceptual framework strands and Praxis
  Criteria strictly follow what every teacher
  should strive for in his or her classroom. First,
  a teacher must have a strong knowledge for her
  content field. Second, the teacher must show that
  she is able to tailor learning to help students
  succeed. Then, it is extremely important to show
  diversity. A teacher must be able to help
  students of all types. Fifth it is vital for a
  teacher to integrate technology whenever
  possible. Technology is shaping lives and is an
  integral part of students futures. Sixth,
  students must be able to communicate and
  effectively work with others. Teaching is not an
  individual job and communication is a key to
  overall student success.
• As a teacher, I am constantly informally and
  formally evaluating my students. As a teacher, I
  am also always evaluating my own strategies and
  ideas. These 6 frameworks and 19 Praxis criteria
  are a great tool to ensure I am meeting the
  standards and my students are learning.

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Acknowledgements

• My success and experiences during student
  teaching would not have been possible without the
  support of the following people.
• First, I would like to thank Peg Rindler, my
  cooperating teacher, for opening up her room and
  her knowledge during my student teaching
  experience. She made me feel welcome in her
  classroom and treated me as an equal. Her
  cooperation, knowledge, support, and countless
  discussions made it possible to find success in
  the classroom.
• I would also like to thank Carrie Cubberley, my
  supervisor from Wright State. She was a constant
  source of encouragement and motivation during my
  student teaching. There was never a time that she
  failed to give me advice or share her own
  teaching experiences.
• In addition, I would like to thank the faculty
  at Minster Middle School for making me feel part
  of the school community. I would especially like
  to thank the 8th grade team for offering guidance
  and a source of collaboration through this
  experience.
• Finally, I would like to thank Dr.
  Beumer-Johnson for her ideas, expertise, and
  encouragement. Without her, I would not have
  chosen this program at Wright State. She
  continues to be a strong influence and offers
  advice and knowledge when I need it the most.
• For anyone else I might have left out, thank you
  for all you do. Without you, I would not have
  found success in this program.

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Praxis III Criteria (A-B)
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Praxis III Criteria (C-D)
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• Thank you for visiting my
• electronic portfolio!
• It must be remembered that the purpose of
  education is not to fill the minds of students
  with facts... it is to teach them to think, if
  that is possible, and always to think for
  themselves
• --- Robert Hutchins