Kerry O\'Connor - Electronic Portfolio

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Kerry O’Connor Education Portfolio

description

Professional portfolio which includes exceptional undergraduate work to exemplify my pedagogical knowledge, experience, and growth.

Transcript of Kerry O\'Connor - Electronic Portfolio

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Kerry O’ConnorEducation Portfolio

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Table of Contents

• Knowledge

– Demonstrates knowledge of content:

• Liberal Arts: Math222 Exam 1

• Pedagogy: EDUC 340 Final Exam

• Instructional Application

– Utilizes research:

• Annotated Bibliography

– Assess student learning:

• Language Arts Unit Assessment

• Ethics and Values

– Demonstrates a caring and respectful manner with all students:

• Fall 2010 Mid-semester Evaluation

– Demonstrates ability to collaborate with colleagues:

• Exploring Biomes WebQuest

• Professional Development

– Reflection on performance:

• Fall 2010 Post-Observation Reflection

– Active Participation in educational conferences/workshops:

• Verizon’s Thinkfinity Workshop

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• Description: In my Elementary Mathematics class, we learned many different topics that are seen in the typical elementary school classroom. The exam that I took covered information in fractions, decimals, rational and irrational numbers, divisibility rules, scientific notation, and rounding numbers. Of a possible 100 points, I received 98.

• Reflection: Elementary Mathematics covered various topics throughout the year. The information I learned has benefitted me in more than just expanding my knowledge in the subject. It has helped me to effectively create lesson plans and assessments. Additionally, the instruction in this Liberal Arts area has helped me to excel in the mathematics sections of the LAST and Multi-Subject CST New York State Teacher Certification Examinations.

Knowledge

Demonstrates knowledge of content (Liberal Arts):

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• Description: This artifact is the final exam from my Introduction to Students with Disabilities class. The exam demonstrated my strength in special education pedagogy. Acronyms such as FAPE, IDEA, IEP, and LRE are shown throughout the exam and are included in multiple questions. Of the 20 questions, I answered 19 correctly and have reviewed the question I answered incorrectly. Of the possible 10 points, I received 9.5.

• Reflection: This exam exemplifies my knowledge in special education pedagogy. Throughout the semester, I learned what different acronyms and words meant and how they are used in an educational setting. Knowledge of the pedagogy demonstrated on this final exam is necessary when working with a variety of students. Being aware of the diverse learning needs of all students requires an understanding in education pedagogy and practice. Having this background information will help me understand the pedagogy that is displayed in schools with different types of learners.

Knowledge

Demonstrates knowledge of content (Pedagogy):

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• Description: For Practicum, I created an annotated bibliography. For this assignment, I researched five children’s literature books that were appropriate for math instruction. After reading the books, I included a summary of each book. To tie the book in with math content, I related the books to classroom instruction. Book titles and authors were written in APA format, while the summary and math content sections were written with a minimum of 150 words total. Because of the annotated bibliography, I applied my research skills for this assignment to find children’s literature for a third grade math lesson that I taught during the Spring 2010 semester. Fraction Fun by David Adler provided great instructional activities that were grade appropriate. Utilizing my research during this lesson helped me to engage the students in the lesson.

• Reflection: After looking for books for the annotated bibliography, I learned that many children’s literature books can actually be applied to other instructional contexts. Books that are only used for literacy purposes in classrooms can actually be used for math, science, and other content areas. While looking for children books for my annotated bibliography, I came across many books that I would have never thought of using for math lessons. As I actively researched books for math instruction, I came across many books for a variety of math topics that meet New York State standards. Applying my research skills of finding children’s literature that is useful for various content areas has been beneficial in my lessons. Many useful and engaging lessons can be created using children’s literature.

Instructional Application

Utilizes research to enhance one’s personal knowledge,and transfer learning to instructional context:

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• Description: During my student teaching in the Fall 2010 semester, I conducted a Language Arts unit plan for a fifth grade class. I taught many topics including: proper and common nouns, singular and plural nouns, and capitalizing proper nouns. At the end of the unit, I developed and administered a quiz to assess the students’ learning about the information in each lesson. After I graded the quizzes, I created a data spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel to organize the students’ grades as well as their scores for each question. Additionally, my supervisor demonstrated her strong opinion of my assessment strategies on a unit plan rubric.

• Reflection: Assessing student learning helps teachers to understand the types of learners who are in the classroom. Additionally, it helps teachers to see what aspects of each lesson need to be emphasized or what lessons need to be taught again. Creating a data spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel also helps to organize information that can be utilized to assess both student learning and teacher performance of a lesson or unit. On this particular unit, class 5L did very well demonstrating their Language Arts knowledge on the unit quiz.

Instructional Application

Assesses student learning:

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• Description: In the Fall 2010 semester, I did my student teaching in a fifth grade classroom in P.S. 205. Throughout the semester, I worked with various types of students, each with a different personality and learning style. Because of the diversity in the classroom, it was important for me to be patient, positive, and supportive for the students. Additionally, it was important to manage the classroom so the students possess those same qualities. Midway through the semester, my cooperating teacher provided a mid-semester evaluation on my knowledge, instructional application, ethics and values, and professional development. She demonstrated her strong opinion of my caring and respectful manner with all students in the classroom.

• Reflection: Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment is an important part of classroom management. When both the teacher and the students possess these qualities, the classroom environment becomes an easier place in which to teach and learn. I strongly demonstrated these qualities the first day I stepped into the classroom. The challenge is teaching the students to understand and demonstrate the qualities on their own.

Ethics and Values

Demonstrates a caring and respectful manner with all students:

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• Description: In the Fall 2009 semester, a science-related WebQuest was assigned. For this particular assignment, each student worked with a partner. My partner and I decided to do a WebQuest on the world’s biomes, directed towards a fifth grade class. Collaboration was a huge factor in making sure the PowerPoint was appealing and the oral presentation went smoothly.

• Reflection: For this WebQuest, my partner and I split the work evenly between us. This assignment required a great amount of time; therefore, working together helped minimize individual work and helped the project to be completed quickly and efficiently. Collaboration took place in person and over the Internet. I was grateful for working with my partner for this project because we both put a great deal of work into the presentation, and we were pleased with its outcome. Working with a fellow classmate on a project has provided practice for collaboration with teachers in the future. Effective collaboration in school settings creates a positive learning environment for students and a positive working place for teachers. Having the ability to collaborate with others helps accomplish certain tasks quickly and easily.

Ethics and Values

Demonstrates ability to collaborate with colleagues and/or parents:

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WebQuest

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• Description: In Fall 2010, I taught an engaging math lesson on comparing and ordering fractions to a fifth grade class. In order to effectively plan and assess the lesson, I met with my field supervisor for pre-observation and post-observation meetings. Before the post-observation meeting, I reflected on my teaching performance from the formal lesson. At the meeting, I met with my field supervisor to further reflect on my performance, as well as reflect on student learning from the lesson.

• Reflection: Being able to reflect on teaching performance helps improve teaching skills and strategies. Because I reflected on my teaching performance, I learned from the few mistakes I made, and made the decision of teaching a follow-up lesson to emphasize important points of the original lesson. Additionally, I noticed strengths to my lesson, which helped me to see what worked for the students. Knowing what worked and what did not work in a lesson helps the teacher to understand what approaches and methods can be used in a follow-up lesson, or for next year’s students. It is important to always reflect on teaching performance, so that strengths and weaknesses can be utilized to effectively plan future lessons.

Professional Development

Reflects on performance:

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• Description: In Spring 2010, a representative from Verizon held a professional development workshop about Thinkfinity, an educational resource site hosting various links to other educational sites. During the workshop, I was introduced to many sites that incorporate technology with various content areas. Additionally, the sites held links to lesson plans and activities that were previously made. A scavenger hunt of each site provided information that helped me to learn more about Thinkfinity and expand my knowledge to help improve my teaching abilities.

• Reflection: The Thinkfinity workshop was extremely useful for me. Being shown the various sites to find lesson plans, activities, and other ways to improve teaching performance has helped me in my student teaching. Additionally, the sites on Thinkfinity have helped me to incorporate multiple subjects into one lesson, while using various activities. Because of this professional development workshop, I learned that ongoing development helps keep teachers up to date with various ways of engaging students and expanding teacher knowledge. Using outside resources, such as sites seen on Thinkfinity, enhances teaching by offering various ways to teach lessons and providing engaging activities.

Professional Development

Active participation in educational conferences/workshops:

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