Assignment 1B

Telling My Story Using My PDQP

Andrew Keane

4/14/2019

TED 690

Professor Hart
 Abstract

The Teacher Performance Expectations are designed to clearly outline the

necessary pedagogical skills it takes to be a successful educator. The following

reflection focuses on Domain A and TPE 1B which is Subject-Specific Pedagogical

Skills for Single Subject Teaching Assignments. The reflection explores my personal

level of competency as well as my strengths and weaknesses as they pertain to

domain A.
 Telling My Story Using My PDQP

I would like to start by saying I honestly enjoy this assignment and the

opportunity it provides us to look back on our experience in education at National

University as well as through out our lives. I really appreciate my education and life

experiences with out them I would not be the person I am today.

Domain A: Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students and TPE 1B lay

out the expectation and pedagogical skills necessary for teachers to teach subject

matter effectively. This is a crucial TPE for teachers and sets the tone for the rest of

the domains and TPEs. I would like to bring a mixed pedagogical approach to

teaching history. I plan to use multiple teaching and instructional strategies to

develop student’s analytical skills as well as their understanding of the state

adopted academic content standards. Students will participate and collaborate in

project based learning that will allow the students to have opportunity to show case

their academics skills as well as practice their weaknesses. I will develop lesson

plans that connect and relate to student multiple intelligences as well as student

learning styles. I will design a classroom environment that will keep students safe,

be efficient, multifaceted, as well as elevate student learning and creativity.

As I get more familiar with the TPEs and domains I become more aware of

my own teaching strengths and weaknesses with in them. Domain A was tricky in a

way because it is pretty broad and multifaceted. Through out my life long learning

experience I feel that I have acquired the tools to use to make subject matter

comprehensible for student. However in this early stage of my teaching career I feel

that in order to fully understand my competency level of domain A I need to apply a

mixed approach pedagogy to multiple classes. It is currently hard to assess my own

competency with out full time experience.

Within Domain A I feel that my strengths are a broad spectrum of knowledge

across multiple pedagogical strategies and a tenacious willingness to try them. I

have multiple tools to make subject matter comprehensible to students, however

my strength is also my weakness. A tool is only a tool until it is in the hands of a

skilled professional. It takes experience to master pedagogical skills and experience

is what I lack.

I see teaching in the early stages as a learning experiment. The pedagogical

strategies are the research-based hypothesis. The classroom is the laboratory and

the students are the test subjects. The Professional Development Quest portfolio will

be my data collection in this experiment. The PDQP will allow me to record the

results of trying multiple teaching strategies and lessons in the classroom. The

PDQP will allow me to analyze what works and what needs improvement and or

what strategies needs to be tossed out all together. This process will be imperative

to my professional development as a teacher.

 References

1. Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (Mach 2013). Teaching Performance .

Retrieved from: http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/standards/adopted-TPEs-

2013.pdf

2. Costantino, P., Lorenzo, M., & Tirrel-Corbin. C. (2008). Developing a

Professional Teaching Portfolio: A Guide for Success, 3rd Edition, Pearson

Publishing.