Standard P

Understanding Teaching as a Profession

CRITERIA

Teacher candidates positively impact student learning that is:

P1: Informed by professional responsibilities and policies. All students benefit from a collegial and professional school setting.

P2: Enhanced by a reflective, collaborative, professional growth-centered practice. All students benefit from the professional growth of their teachers.

P3: Informed by legal and ethical responsibilities. All students benefit from a safe and respectful learning environment.

INTERPRETATION

P1: There are professional standards at the school, district, association, and state level. Engaging and honoring these standards enhance the learning experience for the student and the work environment for teachers.

P2: Honing the craft of professional teaching is an ongoing endeavor. Partnership with colleagues improves content understanding and delivery.

P3: A class environment that is engaging, respectful, safe, and relevant contribute to the learning experience.

META-REFLECTION

As I embarked on teaching as a profession, I found teaching to be more rewarding and more challenging than I imagined. To wit, I found value in the professional relationships I developed both during and after my internship.  The collegial and professional resources available at the building, district, and profession-wide level have been impressive and informative.

I find these resources to be particularly valuable as I come to appreciate the tremendous scope of responsibilities associated with being a teacher!  While my initial take on becoming a teacher was limited primarily to content knowledge and classroom instruction, I have come to learn that the role of educator is much broader.

P1: Informed by Professional Responsibilities and Policies

During my internship, I had several experiences that informed me of my responsibilities and the professional policies of a teacher. In monthly staff meetings, I participated as a full participant. We discussed changes in graduation requirements, changes in standardized testing at grade level, budget parameters and requirements, as well as identifying top student performers across the science curriculum.

I participated in school and department level meetings addressing breakdowns in community culture at the school level. I suspended planned lessons to address these same issues of school culture and student responsibility to their fellow classmates with the intention of improving the school culture.

Some professional responsibilities are well defined in policy and procedure manuals others are not so well defined. Here are some examples.

P2: Enhanced by a Reflective, Collaborative, Professional Growth-Centered Practice

Collaboration has always been my strong point. The department head where I did my internship said, “You are very good at networking.” What I do is seek input from the people I respect and offer my help in what is important to my colleagues. What has changed is my resources for my collaborations. Because of my program, I interact with colleagues around the country that teach the same subjects as I do. I connect via Twitter and blogs. I have ongoing relationships with instructors developing the technological classes of the future at Seattle Pacific University, and I participate in professional development programs such as the Energy Project.

Within the department where I did my internship, collaboration was minimally structured in a formal way.  Still, all instructors were reflective, collaborative, and growth oriented. My chemistry mentor designed a project to collaborate with the art department to create chemistry themed chapbooks. I also frequently observed teachers seeking advice on direction, focus, and issues of concern from their colleagues. I was inspired by my chemistry mentor’s use of collaborative teaching methods she learned and practiced from professional development courses through the POGIL organization. I incorporated many of the POGIL methods and materials in my own teaching. In addition, I identified colleagues I respected for their talents in student relationship, content knowledge, administrative acumen, and technological savvy. I sought their advice and opinion. I was able to contribute to them as well.

P3: Informed by Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Legal and ethical responsibilities of a teacher are a priority.

Staff development workshops have informed me of my legal obligations and responsibilities as a mandatory reporter. I have seen colleagues put in legal jeopardy for what they overheard when walking down the hall because they did not report what they heard within 24 hours. I have been in classrooms where a student experienced a grand mal seizure and observed the teachers’ roles in contacting 911, the school nurse, the departmental medical response team, while looked after the well-being of all the other students. I thoroughly debriefed with this teacher afterward and supported him in his own mental state and well-being. I have taught and managed a class during an intruder alert exercise and fire drills.

Ongoing professional development and association with state and national professional organizations are necessary to maintain the most current knowledge of guidelines, policies and laws regulating members of the teaching community.