InTASC Standard: 

Standard #9: The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner (InTASC, 2013).

 

Brief Description of Evidence:

In the fall of 2022, I participated in two training opportunities—coding and computer science for elementary teachers with TechWise and suicide prevention (QPR). In coding and computer science, we had the chance to learn how to use coding in the classroom and how beneficial it is to incorporate into our classroom. We were allowed to play different coding games and code a robot to lap around a cone. In the QPR course, we were taught other techniques to approach someone who may be thinking about suicide. We were also taught that it is okay to openly talk to someone who is thinking about suicide and how to normalize talking about it.

 

Analysis of What I Learned:

I learned how vital coding in the classroom can be and that you must teach coding in our classrooms. I learned how to make coding fun for the school through different games. I learned how to talk to someone who is thinking about suicide properly. That way, if a child in my classroom may be thinking about suicide, I can approach them and properly help them through those thoughts. I also learned about different resources that are out there for people who may be thinking about suicide. 

 

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the InTASC Standard:

This artifact demonstrated my competence in standard #9 through ongoing professional learning. Through attending these courses, I learned more that will allow me to be a better teacher. Through the QPR course, I had to evaluate myself and how I handled different situations. This allowed me to consider how my choices and actions to handle those situations can affect a student, family, coworkers, and my community’s life. Through the TechWise training, I learned how to adapt my teaching to each learner’s specific needs. I can find a coding program that students can work on in pairs, individually, or with help from an assistant or teacher. Jerome Burner’s theory of cognitive learning states “that learners construct their knowledge and do this by organizing and categorizing information using a coding system” (Jerome Bruner’s Constructivist Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development, 2022). By taking this course, I am now equipped with the tools to teach students how to construct their knowledge through coding. This will allow me to help learners in different subjects when they may need it through coding.