InTASC Standard 1: Learner Development:

As an educator, it is essential that I understand the needs of my students in all areas of

their development. This InTASC Standard means that the teacher must consider their student’s

developmental age as well as maturity in order to design and implement appropriate instruction.

It is important to consider the stages of their development in order to design and implement

lessons that are most appropriate for their level of maturity. Through differentiation and using

formative assessments, I can gather information on how students are understanding and

performing. Using strategies such as formative assessments will help me gather data to assess

and analyze student performance so I can appropriately adjust instruction to meet the needs of a

variety of learners. As I assess student’s progress, I also need to take into consideration their

understanding as well as developmental maturity in developing lesson plans. Since adolescents

are in a stage where they seek social interaction, I can plan activities where students participate

in group-work or class discussions. This will help student engagement, as well as provide them

the opportunity to learn from their peers through social interactions. For Standard #1 of Learner

Development for performances of 1(b), It is also essential that teachers take into consideration of

learner strengths when developing instruction. As a teacher, I can provide the opportunity to

complete an interest inventory where students can provide information such as their interests,

their preferred learning style, and even their weaknesses in the classroom. I can take this

inventory into account when forming lesson plans and instructing to help enable students to learn

successfully. Since there are many different types of learners in the classroom with different

interests, I can provide opportunities where students have a choice. In my Biology classroom,

students may be learning about genetic disorders. Students may be provided the opportunity to

research a genetic disorder and then present the information they learned through different means

of representation such as writing a newspaper article on the disorder, creating a poster, or a

PowerPoint presentation. Through providing a choice in activities, students are provided an

opportunity to learn in a way that interests them.

What is this artifact?

The artifact used for this InTASC Standard is the Child Study. I conducted my child study in

spring of 2015 at Magnolia Middle School on a particular student of interest. For this artifact, I

completed several in-class observations on this student, taking note of their classroom behaviors.

I also interviewed my mentor teacher as well as the guidance counselor to gain more information

on this student. I used the data from my observations to reflect upon the student’s behaviors and

how I could appropriately plan lessons to teach this particular student in my classroom.

How does this artifact demonstrate mastery of the InTASC or COE standard?

This artifact demonstrates my mastery of this InTASC standard because I was able to use

information and data on a particular student and plan how I would address this particular

student’s behaviors in my own classroom. I was able to take into consideration my student’s

developmental needs as well as behavioral needs to plan activities that interest this particular

students and encourages them to participate and learn.

How does this artifact contribute to/ relate to a positive effect on student learning?

This artifact contributes to a positive effect on student learning because I used observations as

well as research to determine strategies and particular activities to encourage this particular

student to be engaged in the classroom.

How does this artifact demonstrate the Planning-Teaching-Learning cycle (judging prior

learning, planning instruction, teaching, assessing, analyzing, and reflecting)?

By using in-class observations as well obtaining information as information about the students

needs in the classroom, I was able to judge prior to learning. I was able to judge prior to learning

because I knew the student’s needs in the classroom and judge assess what classroom activities

would be most appropriate for this particular student. Based upon my judgments, I could plan

accordingly for the most appropriate instruction for that student. After observing the student in

the classroom, I was able to analyze their behaviors and reflect upon whether the student was

engaged or was successful during particular activity or instruction.