Maria Guadalupe Andrade

"Good teachers, effective teachers, matter much more than particular curriculum

materials, pedagogical approaches, or proven programs...expertise matters"

(Richard L. Allington, 2002).

My beliefs and actions regarding effective teaching

As an educator, I am always focused on ways to continue to learn
and develop my skills and improve my ability to deliver my best as a
teacher. I know from experience that what the article What Ive Learned
about Effective Instruction said numerous times: student learning is based
more on the teaching than on the materials or any other factor. I believe
everyone has the right to the best education available. For this reason I
want to be a teacher who sees the special gift each child possesses, and
then helps in their progress to be successful.

I view learning as a lifelong process. Not only do I apply this

perspective in my own learning, I also work to instill this perspective in my
students. From this perspective, I work to teach my students not only the
materials I teach, but also how to learn and how to teach themselves,
without me. To do this, I believe I have as much to learn from my students
as they have to learn from me.
One of my goals as an educator is to use each days experiences as
a learning tool. By identifying and reflecting on things that worked and
those which did not work too well, I get to know my students better and
improve my methods and increase student success. In addition, I teach
them how to continue teaching themselves and continue being successful.
I am highly motivated and work beyond just knowing the materials
that I am teaching, but also the learning methods of my students. I prepare
projects and lesson plans which address the learning styles and abilities of
my students. I believe every child has unique gifts, and it is my
responsibility to recognize and celebrate these special talents and help
them see their talents and use them more effectively. I believe that by
incorporating students interests, gifts, and talents, I can maximize the
benefits of their learning experience.

My belief is that by helping students feel capable and successful, they

will be more motivated to learn and develop a lifelong love of learning
which will carry over to all their life experiences. My students remember me
as being a fair, kind, professional, patient and helpful teacher. This
approach makes the students see me as their helper instead of someone
who is just trying to push knowledge onto them.
I believe that focusing on the following points will help me to
accomplish my goals as a successful teacher:

to provide a positive and caring learning environment, which

focuses on student driven instruction which has students taking
responsibility for their learning, taking leadership roles in the
formation of their understanding, and taking an active
participatory role in their education.
to differentiate and pace instruction, varying techniques and
materials, and incorporating technology in the curriculum so
students can experience successful learning and be driven by
their success to learn more.

to help my students develop high academic standards for

themselves to drive their learning with personal goal driven
understanding of the materials. I have frequent communication
with parents about their childs academic progress and their
self-motivated, personal goal driven focus to work
collaboratively with parents to help their child achieve greater
success.

to enhance classroom instruction by providing active

participatory activities in which the students are in charge of
their learning and take pride in their success. I use homework
to enhance their achievement by creating an active role for their
parents to play in their education and achievement. This not
only reinforces classroom learning, but also helps them
generate a focus on learning outside of school and helps build
life skills.
 Above all, I hope to help students be successful in all of their
experiences, to give them a strong self-esteem and self-confidence, to take
charge of their learning, and to understand how to learn. I want them to
feel capable and knowledgeable, to work cooperatively with others, and to
show respect to everyone and value others as they value themselves.

Every day I am learning with my students that we have a dynamic

enterprise and are thus mutually constructed through our interactions,
between teachers, students and families. Every day, I reflect on my belief
that there is a fundamental mutuality in the classroom for which I am
accountable. I seek to be a model, not of teaching, but of learning. My
focus is not on delivering knowledge to students, but on modeling how to
learn what there is to know. Through continuous learning and refinement
of my skill and knowledge base, I can instruct my students effectively in a
way that passes learning skills on to them not just the accumulated
knowledge of subject areas. I believe that my love for learning will
encourage my students, by example, to develop a motivation and ability to
learn that will never stop.

I learned many strategies from the article What Ive Learned about
Effective Instruction and have developed a commitment to a Balanced
Literacy action plan which incorporates all of the six Ts of effective
literacy instruction.

Time: Classroom time for my students is focused on both independent

reading and shared reading activities. By incorporating student reading in
all subject areas, I help my students sharpen their reading skills. I focus on
reading as a way to acquire learning, not just as something that needs to
be learned. Instead of delivering instruction, I model learning techniques
for the students to practice. Instead of focusing on listing facts for students
to remember, I spend a majority of time modeling the learning methods and
demonstrate how to find knowledge, not just remember it. By putting
reading in the center of the learning of all subjects, I also provide extensive
practice which helps my students hone their reading skills and develop
strategies for learning which they can take with them into all other
environments.

Texts: In my selection of reading materials, I individualize my approach to

provide materials which address individual learning styles and abilities. I
focus on materials which address individual interests and are at levels that
ensure a high degree of success for the students. I choose materials which
produce high-accuracy, fluent, and easily comprehended reading. By
providing materials which students can read independently with success, I
get them excited about learning and instill a sense of pride in their learning.

Teaching: When I work with the students, I focus on demonstrating

their learning for them. I approach the materials as if I am learning it and
think out loud the learning process and demonstrate different learning
methods. I discuss the material with the students and turn each lesson into
a discussion of the material in which they are actively involved. I ask them
to show me things that they see and explain things to me from their
perspective.

By encouraging them to work actively at their learning and share their

understanding, ideas, questions, and concerns about the topic, I am sure
that my students understand the lessons and are able to explain the
concepts to others. I like to ask questions and have the students
participate cooperatively in small groups in order to help them understand
concepts from different perspectives. By demonstrating learning to my
students, I help them take responsibility for their learning and work more
independently. At the same time, when they share reading experiences in
small groups, I feel that they are developing and integrating their learning
and comprehension skills cooperatively and practicing the ability to interact
productively with their peers by sharing their work.
Concepts are taught by modeling learning, highlighting different
perspectives and demonstration of useful strategies, such as think aloud,
and student led activities like discussions, reflections, and peer to peer
explanations which are integrated into all subject areas. Students are
given choices for reading, projects to investigate, and topics for writing.

Talk: Each student comes to the classroom with a unique profile of

abilities, knowledge and interests. Some do better when they first try to
figure things out on their own, others do better when a teacher can first
provide an explanation, others need to be encouraged to be engaged in the
classes and develop an interest learn. For this reason, I encourage my
students to discuss the learning materials from their own perspective. I
frequently ask them to tell me what they think about a concept, how they
might use it, and what it means to them. I encourage peer discussions and
student feedback by asking open questions like asking about similarities to
other concepts or examples from their own lives that relate to the topic
being discussed.

I also regularly ask students to explain things to each other, or to me,

as if I am learning right alongside them. By using a combination of self
talk in my presentation of the material, think aloud approaches to
digesting the material, and turn and share approaches to demonstrating
comprehension, I encourage the students to do the majority of the talking
during most classes. This greatly increases both student comprehension
and confidence.

Tasks: With regard to tasks, I rely heavily on student driven tasks

that are a combination of whole class activities, small group projects, and
individual projects. I give students choices of options and encourage them
to suggest alternatives which are relative to the learning. I like to go in
depth on concepts by relating to them from different subject perspectives
over longer periods of time.

An example of this approach is my presentation of my solar system

lessons. I have the students take turns reading aloud about the solar
system as a whole and then its parts and have both whole class and small
group discussions and reflections of the material during reading class. In
science, we do whole group research and discussions about the study of
the solar system. I have them choose a planet to research. They do
independent research and write an essay about their planet during writing
class. They draw pictures of their planet. They take turns giving
presentations about their planet. Also, in art class they cooperatively build
dioramas of the solar system to display in the classroom. This is a two
week concept area which is addressed at multiple times of the day.

Testing: My assessments are not tests as they are commonly

understood, but demonstrations not only of their knowledge, but also their
learning. By focusing on regular, interactive demonstrations of their
learning and comprehension during the learning process, instead of
cumulative tests after learning, I get a much better understanding of their
learning achievements and efforts.
 Testing after the fact only tells who knows how much afterward, but
ignores where their comprehension was at the beginning of the lessons
and ignores their growth. By being focused on growth, even the lowest
level learners are rewarded for their effort and provided encouragement to
continue to grow and succeed. This approach also encourages students to
take more responsibility for their learning because it also shows them their
growth and improvement and develops a sense of pride in them for their
success.

By stopping frequently during instruction to ask students to reflect on

what is being taught and provide feedback from their personal
perspectives, students are encouraged to form the concepts being taught
using their own perspectives. By focusing on utilizing formative-reflective
assessment techniques intertwined with instruction, regularly asking for
student input, and getting responses and reflections on the instruction,
assessments drive both instruction and learning, while the learning is
happening. By incorporating regular assessments through student
reflections of comprehension into my instruction, pausing regularly to ask
comprehension and feedback questions, I enable the students to more
closely consider the material being taught from their own perspective. By
getting my students to take this closer look at the concepts being taught, I
help them gain a deeper understanding and a familiarity with the material.

References:

Richard L. Alllington, P. D. (n.d.). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from a
decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers. Phi Delta Kapplan.
Zemelman, S. (2012). Best Practice, Bringing Standards to Life in America's Classrooms.
Heinemann, pp. 1-286.