PTS 11. Profession Conduct and Leadership: The competent teacher understands
education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and
provides leadership to improve students’ learning and well-being.
1. Write a paragraph explaining your knowledge and understanding of the standard—put
the standard into your own words.
I think that this standard provides a broader perspective on teaching. It shows that I will
not only be able to concern myself with my own classroom and students. Instead, I will
need to adhere to various organizational systems within the school and community as
well as legal mandates. I will also need to take responsibility for my development as a
teacher. I will also need to honor the most basic rights of the people with whom I work,
including my students.
2. Explain how the artifact you chose demonstrates your understanding and application
of the standard.
I chose to use an essay about the No Child Left Behind Act for this artifact. In the essay,
I specifically discussed issues regarding English Language Learners in the No Child Left
Behind Act. I examined some basic principles of the law, or the “expectations of current
legal directives.” I also discussed numerous different perspectives on the impact of the
law on students and proposed changes to the law, which gave me clearer insights into
“legal issues in education.” Because No Child Left Behind Act aims to improve the
performance of English Language Learners regardless of their varied backgrounds, I
think that the essay also gave me a “positive regard for individual students and their
families regardless of culture, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.”
3. A If the artifact has been used in your practice, reflect on how your teaching will
change in the future to further meet the standard.
B. If the artifact has not been used in your practice, i.e., a class assignment, reflect
upon how your teaching will be impacted by the assignment.
In general, I think that the assignment helped me to realize that every student presents
their own unique needs and challenges, and I may need to adapt my practices and
curriculum to fit them so that students can all achieve at similar levels. More
specifically, this assignment caused me to become aware of many of the challenges that
English Language Learners face in the classroom. I also learned that many teachers do
not recognize these challenges, or they do not feel that they are capable of effectively
dealing with the problems. As a result of this knowledge, I think that I will make a
greater effort to really get to know my English Language Learner students and analyze
any difficulties that they face in the classroom. I also think that I will be more committed
to finding and using strategies that may help to resolve their problems.
4. Conclude with a paragraph discussing how you are more prepared to Teach and
Learn in a Diverse Society as a result of satisfactorily meeting the standard.
I think that understanding the different challenges faced by students, particularly English
Language Learners, will help me to teach in diverse situations because I will be more
aware of and thus able to identify a variety of unique needs. I think that I will also have a
better idea of strategies that do and do not work with different needs, so I can implement
effective strategies faster. However, I also recognize that my knowledge of these needs
and strategies will continue to grow as I have more first-hand experiences with diverse
students.