InTASC Standard 1: Learner Development The teacher understands how learners grow and

develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across
the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements
developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
InTASC Standard 2: Learning Differences The teacher uses understanding of individual
differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that
enable each learner to meet high standards.
InTASC Standard 3: Learning Environments The teacher works with others to create
environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Over the past three years, I have grown considerably as an educator across all domains of
teaching. In particular, I learned the importance of understanding my students development,
differences, and needs. I have grown to love these children as my own and believe that it is my
duty to provide them with the best education for them as individuals. With regards to learner
development, I am now able to distinguish between stages and domains of development and
recognize patterns of learning and development and identify the individual needs of each of my
students. I now understand that these patterns and stages generally happen in the same order, but
that they can vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and
physical domains.
Learner Development
During my time as an educator, I have grown to understand how my students grow and develop,
recognizing that their patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across
the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas. Using this understanding, I have
been able to design and implement developmentally appropriate and challenging learning
experiences that lead my students to achieving content mastery.

Using techniques learned through this program, I was able to recognize the developmental
differences of specific students in my classroom. Evidence of my ability to observe the behavior
of my students and determine developmental domains in which they are below, on, or above
target can be seen in my Observation Matrix. Using this matrix, I was able to get a better idea
on how to best group, support, and work with my students when creating my lessons. After
creating this observation matrix and delving deeply into the developmental needs of these three
students, I developed a series of lessons over the course of a week that address each individual
students varying needs across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical domains.
This Developmentally Appropriate Task was designed using my understanding of how
learners grow and develop, with the needs of my students in mind.
By placing students in partners and small groups, I provided a space for cognitive,
emotional, and social interaction among students. The assignment itself was cognitively
appropriate for 14-year-olds as it required students to solve equations, describe interactions
between variables, and think logically by identifying and rejecting hypotheses or possible
outcomes based on reasoning. The task was hands on, meeting the needs of the kinesthetic
learners in the class and those who require extra support in physical domain of development.
The assignment requires students to work with both their peers and the teacher, teaching them
how to collaborate with others and demonstrate self-control and the ability to deal with difficult
situations and new learning experiences. I have seen my students grow so much over the past
three years and am so impressed with their maturation and ability to master developmentally
appropriate and challenging learning experiences.

Learner Differences
In addition to achieving mastery with regards to understanding the ways my students learn and
develop, I am now also capable of identifying specific differences among students and using that
information to ensure that my classroom is an inclusive learning environment that gives each of
my students the opportunity to meet high standards. My Differentiated Lesson Plan proves my
understanding of the fact that all students learn in different ways and that I am capable of
creating lessons that celebrate students diversity.
This lesson plan, in particular, displays my understanding of how to plan instruction that
meets the needs of all students. Though I have found this difficult to do in the past, I really
focused on using the data collected at the beginning of the year to ensure that I was covering
each students strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. In speaking with my students families
and learning about both their academic and cultural histories, I gained a better understanding of
how these diverse cultures and communities impact the learning of my students. By providing
students with time to independently attempt mastery of the content and then moving to small
group and whole class discussion, every student is provided with the opportunity to work in a
way that is most beneficial to them. I saw great success by using this technique as there were
students with thrived in each part of the lesson. The facilitation of this lesson also promoted an
inclusive learning environment as all students were involved throughout the lesson and each
individual learner got the assistance they needed to meet the high standards of the content.
Students are assessed at the end of the lesson by completing an exit ticket in which they are free
to choose any three of the five questions on the exit ticket. This provides differentiation among
students as they are able to select the method of assessment that meets their personal needs to be

successful. Differentiation is additionally shown when students complete the end of unit
summative assessment as they are provided with a variety of evaluation options.
All of my students, regardless of academic level, should be able to show mastery of
specific Algebra I outcomes. The list of Content Mastery Standards is a modified version of
the CCSS Algebra I standards that I personally created for use by special education students with
IEPs and 504s who fell under Act 833 in Louisiana. For each and every assessment completed
by these Content Mastery students, they are provided with their necessary accommodations,
which are also stapled to their modified version of the assessment to prove that all
accommodations were met. I have found that this technique not only reminds students of the
accommodations that they are permitted to use during class, but also gives me and the Special
Education teacher a way to keep track of student progress.
Evidence of my implementation of these standards can be seen in the Content Mastery
Comparative Assessments. While these two assessments evaluate the mastery of the same
concepts, one was specifically created to assess only the Content Mastery Standards as opposed
to all standards covered in class. While these are both samples of a written quiz (as opposed to a
project), similar modifications are made for every assessment type. For some of my IEP
students, this is the first time they have been integrated into the normal classroom setting instead
of being in a self-contained special education classroom. Both the Special Education teacher and
I strongly disagree with the districts decision to pull the students out of the self-contained
classroom setting and throw them into a state-tested Algebra I course when they can barely add
and subtract. However, we have done our best to ensure that our students needs are met and that
they have the accommodations necessary to be able to meet the high expectations of Algebra I.

My relationship with the Special Education teacher flourished over my three years at
Ferriday High School. Because I have such a strong understanding of my students individual
learning differences, I became extremely invested in making sure that each student was able to
meet high standards. Our Special Education teacher, Mrs. Daniels, had deep ties in the Ferriday
community. With her help, I learned about the diverse cultures and communities that my
students live in and how I could create an inclusive learning environment in my classroom using
that information. Mrs. Daniels often praised my commitment to my students learning, as very
few other teachers ever reached out to her. In addition, I consistently sought out feedback and
support from her due to her years of experience. Teacher observations occur frequently at
Ferriday High School by both administrators and department heads to ensure that a fair and
elaborate evaluation is made. In her Differentiation Evaluation, Mrs. Daniels points out my
understanding of individual differences and my ability to successfully create an inclusive
learning environment that meets the needs of even the lowest level Special Education students.
By implementing varied learning modalities in my classroom, students receive instruction that is
informative and beneficial.
In addition to learning about meeting the varied academic needs of each of my students, I
also discovered the importance of using culturally responsive teaching in the classroom.
Understanding the individual differences of my students with regards to their diverse cultures
and communities is an imperative quality for all teachers to have. As an effective teacher, I must
recognize the different parts of culturally responsive teaching and what that they look like in the
classroom. To do this, I created a Concept Map and Synthesis to display my understanding of
the needs for culturally responsive teaching and how each practice, though technically separate,

relates to the success of the child and my need to go the extra mile in learning about the culture
and diversity of my teaching community.
In order to be a culturally responsive educator, I collected data to comprise profiles of a
variety of my students. These profiles showed me the relationship between the cultural aspects
of my students lives and how they could be related to their academic performance and behavior
in school. The summaries of two of the Student Profiles I created display my ability to identify
and understand the need for incorporating the diverse cultures and communities of my students
into my pedagogy in order to ensure that all students have the opportunity to meet high
expectations. One student who I created a profile for felt self-conscious in my classroom
because of both her race and her above target abilities in math. Another student was the
complete opposite, coming into class apathetic and feeling embarrassed to be so far behind.
These varying conclusions really got me thinking about how to be culturally responsive to all
students, regardless of whether their issues are academic, emotional, or social. When students
feel confident and capable in the classroom, the classroom culture is significantly improved.
Learning Environments
I believe that, whether in or outside of the classroom, a person needs to be comfortable in the
environment in which they are working and learning in order to be successful. Whether it be in
the classroom, on a soccer team, or in and office, it is important for people to have the
opportunity to collaborate, interact with their peers, and be engaged in whatever task they are
completing. I take pride in my ability to create a welcoming and inclusive classroom that
supports both individual and collaborative learning. Evidence of my mastery of InTASC #3 can
be seen in my Brain Targeted-Teaching Unit Plan. These slides identify the predictability of
rules and expectations in my classroom, how I make students feel valued, and how the set-up of

my classroom is beneficial to students. While the Brain Targeted Teaching Unit Plan provides
explanations of the necessity of these environmental factors, my Environment Tour displays
that I am capable of promoting individual and collaborative learning and encouraging positive
social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. Creating a list of the rules
and procedures in the classroom allows me focus on both classroom management and classroom
culture at the same time. The celebration of success, or even progress, is something that I
believe is truly necessary to build skills like self-motivation and grit. In my classroom,
celebrations and recognition were a vital part in developing a positive classroom environment as
they boost the morale amongst all of the students.
A key factor in this process is making students want to actively engage in the school
work by creating a sense of joy in the classroom. My ability to support my students emotionally
and socially can be seen in my break down of a lesson that was focused on collaboration and
classroom culture, my Joy-Factor Lesson Plan. In this lesson, students explore a variety of
approaches to using the quadratic formula by deriving it from scratch using the completing the
square method. From individual reflection, to group collaboration and fun, positive, social
interaction, students are in an environment where they can grow and develop as learners.
Throughout this lesson, students are encouraged to embrace learning as a joyful experience and
are given the opportunity to feel like they really belong in the classroom. These types of lessons
encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. While
social interaction should be a large part of a students education, it is important to place students
in an area of the classroom where they will be successful.
Understanding my students and their learning needs has been an imperative part of my
growth as a teacher. I have learned to motivate my individual students to act responsibly and

encouraged my classes as a whole to always do their best work both academically and socially.
My understanding of the need for a supportive, organized, and positive learning environment can
be seen in my dedication to making students feel comfortable in my welcoming classroom and
feel as if they are a part of a larger collaborative than just themselves. By setting expectations
that require my students to treat each other and my classroom with respect each and every day, I
promote positive social interaction and interdependence within the group. Transitions and
routines enable my class to run smoothly each day and allow more time for content related
activities. My understanding of my students learning needs and differences allows me to
provide my students with a well-rounded education that fits their learning style and makes them
feel loved and supported every day.