Rational for Wisconsin Teacher Development and Licensure Standard Two

ED 452 was the first experience that I had with writing a Literacy Plan and I was the only one in my class to have never written one before. Along the way I was challenged a great deal and had to direct a lot of my own learning, and because of that, my learning experience was very rewarding and meaningful. The Literacy Plan demonstrates my understanding of the complexity of teaching literacy in my science teaching. As a Secondary Education teacher it is a necessity that I understand the importance of incorporating literacy into my teaching even though I am a science teacher. This means that I provide plenty of opportunities for my students to read, write, and speak like a scientist so they can become literate in science. Within the Literacy Plan there is a range of anticipated reading and writing behaviors, a selection of assessments to be included, and strategies to assist reading and writing development for all types of students. Wisconsin Teacher Development and Licensure Standard Two relates to the ability of an educator to know how their students grow both academically and intellectually and what is developmentally appropriate at that specified age/grade level. Within the literacy plan I list out a range of behaviors for readers and writers that a teacher could expect in a high school science classroom. Knowing what your students are able to do and what they will need to be able to do allows the teacher to scaffold instruction when appropriate to make the material developmentally appropriate for student learning/understanding and student growth. This also allows for an educator to challenge his/her students at the appropriate level, while still ensuring that the student is still is engaged and learning and showing growth as a learner.

The literacy plan also demonstrates Alverno Education Department Outcome of the Major Diagnosis, Conceptualization, and Integrative Interaction. In diagnosis, a teacher uses her ability to critically observe and make decisions based on observations through informal and formal assessment. This will be used when grouping students, designing assessments, implementing reading and writing strategies, as well as instructional components, which is also a component of conceptualization In conceptualization, a teacher integrates a variety of educational frameworks to drive her instruction. In integrative interaction, a teacher makes decisions based on what is needed by the learners in the community. Within the literacy plan there is a detailed account of the ideal classroom design. The layout of the classroom allows for organized learning groups and differentiation of material.