INTASC+Principle+9

**__ Portfolio Reflection Artifact #9: Conference Response to the topic “Academic Talk” __**  

** Description of Artifact: ** This artifact is a response to a Week 3 conference (Appendix B) about the topic “academic talk”. After reading the instructor’s weekly essays, my task was to respond to her weekly conference question. My response was directed to my professor and fellow classmates, answering the following question: What do you see as the relationship between classroom organizational structures (including student academic talk), teacher planning, and the development of literacy skills? My response describes academic talk is, its importance to classroom instruction, and how I will use the approaches my own instruction.

** ITASC Principle #3: ** **Learning styles/diversity.** The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.

** ITASC Principle #4: ** **Instructional strategies/problem solving.** The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

** ITASC Principle #8: **** Assessment. ** The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner.

** ITASC Principle # **** 9: ** **Professional growth/reflection.** The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

** Explanation of How Artifact Demonstrates Achievement of Principles: ** The artifact is an example of my ability to explain a teaching strategy by breaking down parts of the concept and analytically putting the parts of meaning back together, while reconstruction and simultaneously bringing forth meaning. The conference response also demonstrates my ability to connect concept, student, and curriculum. This is evident in my description of how I would use academic talk in classroom instruction. My description on eavesdropping reflects my ability to recognize how non-verbal communication can be just as effective as verbal communication. Last, my own academic talk with a classmate (Appendix B) in the conference demonstrates Metacognition by explaining how I can modify my own teaching to accommodate students’ diverse needs.

** Description of how the completion of this artifact has affected your understanding of teaching and learning, and/or how it may contribute to your effective teaching/learning in the future. ** This conference encouraged me to become more metacognitive about my own background knowledge about the topic of “academic talk” and “eavesdropping”. By reading the text books (Alvermann) and essays assigned by my professor, I gained insight into how I could use these approaches in my own teaching. I understand that computer science is not the typical learning environment for most teachers, however I was able to evaluate, analyze, and explain how I would utilize academic talk and eavesdropping. Most important my responses to other classmates displayed a metacognitive approach to my academic growth.

** Strengths: ** Creativity and determination has always been a strength in my professional growth. This allows me to seek information and increase my awareness of different organizational structures, planning, and literacy skill development strategies. I feel very confident in my ability to prepare lesson plans with emphasis on diversity, social context, and instruction strategies that will stretch the minds of my students.

** Areas for Improvement: ** I can always increase my ability to think critically about teaching strategies for students who I will teach. I also need to real-world experiences to incorporate “academic talk” and “eavesdropping” strategies. Last, I need for insight on how to integrate This all leads to my lack of experience in the classroom to increase my teaching strategies, comprehension, and Metacognition.