LEARNER

AND
LEARNING
I N TA S C # 3
ERICA CONDON
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

INTASC STANDARDS
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.

INTASC #3:
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

The teacher works with others to create environments

that support individual and collaborative learning, and
that encourages positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self-motivation
Each area of the standard above can be identified throughout this
presentation based on the following color coding descriptions:
Working with others to create environments that
Support individual and collaborative learning and that encourages
positive social interaction, active engagement in learning,
and self-motivation

BRAIN TARGETED-TEACHING
UNIT PLAN
The Brain Targets addressed in my Brain Targeted-Teaching Unit Plan opened
my eyes to the plethora of ways in which I can reach my students in the
classroom, based on their learning style and individual preferences. Brain
Target #1: Establishing the Emotional Climate for Learning and Brain Target
#2: Creating the Physical Learning Environment display my ability to create
an environment in which my students are self-motivated to actively engage in
the learning experience while both socially interacting through collaboration
and participating in individual learning techniques.

BRAIN TARGET #1
ESTABLISHING THE EMOTIONAL CLIMATE
FOR LEARNING
Personal connection between teacher
Predictability
and student and a warm and supportive
environment

Students are greeted at the start of each class

with a professional handshake (taught to them
at the beginning of the year: firm grip, eye
contact, and a strong, friendly tone).
Starting at the beginning of the school year,
students are scheduled to have a lunch
conference with me to evaluate how they are
feeling and doing in class. Students have that
opportunity to share their concerns and give
me feedback as the teacher.
Every 6 weeks, students are given a survey to
tell me about how supported they feel in my
classroom.
Students are told every single day how much I
care and believe in them and pushed to meet
the high expectations I hold.
Students support each other and welcome
diversity in the classroom, pushing each other
to try their best and be inclusive.

Following a professional handshake,

students come in every day and turn in
their homework in the same place, sit in
the same seat, and open to the same
section of their binder. When the bell
rings, students know that the Mad
Minute (a two minute, 16 question
math sprint used as a warm-up) will
immediately appear on the board and
that they will lose points if they are not
ready. This keeps students actively
engaged from the start of the class
period and helps build self-motivation
skills by students having to take
responsibility for their own readiness.
Students are assigned homework every
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday every
5 day week. Thursdays homework is to
study for Fridays quiz. Students
assume there will be a quiz every Friday
unless they are notified in advance (i.e.
there is a shortened school week).

BRAIN TARGET #1
ESTABLISHING THE EMOTIONAL CLIMATE
FOR LEARNING
Celebrations
Students are given daily praise for both behavioral
and academic accomplishments, particularly when
showing grit, during the class period. Students receive
weekly recognition based on their academic
performance the week before. If students achieve
80% or above mastery on the quiz, meeting our
classs Big Goal, their name goes on a certain part
of the Class Achievements bulletin board. If they
earn one of the three highest quiz scores, their name
and score goes on the Top Scores section of the
board. If they complete 100% of that weeks
homework, their name goes on the board. This allows
some students to feel recognized for their academic
success but also allows other students to be
acknowledged for their effort in class. Students
engage in positive social interaction following the
revealing of the weeks achievers by congratulating
each other.
Weekly class averages are posted on the achievement
wall following the completion of each assessment.
This supports both individual and collaborative
learning as well as self-motivation in the classroom,
as students must encourage each other to succeed

BRAIN TARGET #2
CREATING THE PHYSICAL LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
My room is color coordinated (blue,
green, and yellow) and decorated
with curtains, fabric, and colorful
posters. The environment is warm,
welcoming, and familiar as
students enter the classroom.
Desks and tables are set up in ways
that promote both individual and
collaborative learning, depending
on that days lesson.
Students know exactly where to
find required materials, locate the
date, objective, and homework,
look for their weekly quiz scores,
and turn in assignments. From the
moment class begins, they are
actively engaged in the learning
that is about to take place.

ENVIRONMENT TOUR

ENVIRONMENT TOUR
Vision and Big
Goals:
Common Core
Mathematical
Practices to support
our vision of
becoming strong,
independent learners
by promoting both
individual and
collaborating learning
Vision and Big
Goals: Mathlete
Goals at the front of
the room, constantly
reminding students to
be self-motivated

ENVIRONMENT TOUR
Consequences:
Lunch Detention lists
by class period as a
reminder to teacher
and students. The list
itself is used as a way
for students to keep
track of their behavior
and motivate
themselves to
Class
Rules:
improve.
Rules and
Consequences posted
at the front of the
room for easy
reference, reminding
students of the
differences between

ENVIRONMENT TOUR

Class Rules:
Students are required to stay actively engaged
throughout each lesson by sitting in Mathlete Position.
They are encouraged to use positive social interaction

ENVIRONMENT TOUR
Absentee Folders:
Folders labeled by day of the week
where students can find work if they
were absent. Students are
encouraged to be self-motivated
and self-sufficient by retrieving
these documents themselves.
Group Work and
Collaboration
Storage for student
workbooks, separated by
class period and seating
group to make transitions
from individual to
Individual
Learning:
collaborative
learning run
Individual student
portfolios,
smoothly.
organized alphabetically, used to
keep students actively engaged
in their personal progress

ENVIRONMENT TOUR
Classroom Culture:
Shout out board where
students can support each
other and create an
encouraging classroom
climate by participating in
a positive form of in-class
social interaction.
Supply Collaboration
Student supply center
complete with calculators,
rulers, markers, colored
pencils, scissors, glue,
tape, stapler, tissues, etc
to promote self-sufficiency
and cooperation as
students prepare for

STUDENT PROGRESS TOWARDS VISION

Self Motivation
Each week, students who
have emulated our class
values are selected as
Mathlete of the Week.
These students are selected
based on their hard work
and their progress towards
our class vision and goals of
becoming champions of the
Algebra I classroom.
Throughout the year,
students are pushed towards
self-motivation to become
independent learners and, in
doing so, receive these

JOY-FACTOR LESSON PLAN

Positive Learning
Environment
Students feel supported
in the classroom as they
realize that they are a
part of a collective
whose academic goals
are alignedStudents
with their
Motivating
own.
Throughout
the lesson,
students are reminded of
the joys of learning,
actively engaging them
in the activities. The
interactions that they
will have with their
classmates will be
positive in that they will
have the chance to
express their
conceptualization on the

JOY-FACTOR LESSON PLAN

Individual and
Collaborative
Learning
Throughout this
lesson, students
work and reflect
both individually
and collaboratively
in their groups.
They are selfmotivated to be
contributors to the
task at hand and to
pull their own
weight among their
teammates.