STANDARD FOUR REFLECTION
Think about your growth from novice to expert in this area.
1. Describe your evidences: What are they? In what context were they created and/or used?
The first artifact I have attached to Standard Four: Diversity is a Slide Rocket presentation I
created during Content Block. I made this for ED 544: Methods and Materials for Teaching Social
Studies, and it was intended to be used for any age. The objective of the assignment was to create a
presentation about a holiday and present how it is celebrated differently in countries around the world. I
chose to do my presentation on Christmas, and showed how it is celebrated in Italy, Mexico, and Greece,
along with how I celebrate it here in the United States. I hoped to show students how the same holiday
can be celebrated in so many different ways, and in turn hopefully help them understand how different
cultures can do many things differently. Students will know that this is not a bad thing, but something that
makes our world and the people in it special and interesting.
The second artifact I have attached to Standard Four is a reflection on my tutoring experience in
ED 515: Introduction to the Inclusive Early Childhood and Elementary Education Classroom. I had a
great experience tutoring a fifth grade girl in reading at Montevallo Elementary School and this reflects on
that time. Our objectives during tutoring were to build upon the material learned during the regular school
day, and to focus on the areas where our particular student was struggling. The fifth grade girl I was
working with mainly struggled with reading fluently. We spent a lot of time just reading out loud together
to practice fluency and going over vocabulary words that she may not know. The reflection I have
attached demonstrates my growth as a teacher from the beginning of the tutoring sessions until the end.
Working with this student taught me just how many individual learning differences there can be in a child,
and how much it can benefit them to take the time to work one on one.
2. Reflect on the following questions:
a. How does each assignment demonstrate your knowledge of the ways in which student learning
is influenced by individual experiences and out-of-school learning, including language,
family/community values and conditions, cultural, ethnic, and gender differences?
The presentation I attached as my first evidence for Standard Four demonstrates my
understanding that students need exposure to other cultures in order to increase their understanding and
acceptance, especially those who have not had as many cultural experiences in their life. The classroom
is the perfect place to expose students to many different cultures and environments and broaden their
horizons. Students need this exposure so that they are accepting of other people, even other students in
their own classroom. Students’ lives outside of school affect their classroom performance in many ways;
culture is just one of them. Family dynamic, beliefs and values, home living conditions, and many other
things can affect how a student learns at school. Students who are offered more experiences and have a
supportive family are more likely to perform well at school. Offering those students who may not have as
much support some exposure to other cultures and things they may not get to normally experience is an
excellent way to increase their learning potential.
b. How does each assignment demonstrate your knowledge of the major areas of exceptionality in
learning?
The second artifact I have attached to Standard Four is my tutoring reflection, and it
demonstrates my growth and understanding of individual differences in learning. While working with my
tutoring student at Montevallo Elementary I realized the many different ways that exceptional students
learn. The fifth grade girl I was working with was struggling in reading. Each week I was given the
classroom teacher’s plans so that I could successfully develop a tutoring plan to support the lessons in
the classroom. After I met with the student I would be tutoring I knew what her specific needs and wants
were and I was able to plan accordingly.
These lessons were fun to plan, because I was able to focus on one’s students specific needs.
These students that were receiving tutoring really needed this extra attention, so it felt great to help them.
They also seemed to really appreciate the extra attention that was focused on them, so that made it
easier to plan and teach them. I was able to plan things that I knew my student would specifically enjoy
and respond to, and focus on things that she needed the most help with. I tried to plan fun lessons so
that my student would stay engaged and enjoy what she was learning. I wanted her to have a fun
experience but also learn a lot. There are going to be all kinds of students with all kinds of struggles in a
classroom, and it is important to plan accordingly for each exceptionality. Every student deserves the
greatest opportunity to learn.
3. Reflect on this statement in regard to Standard Four and Diversity: "I used to think..., but now I
know..."
In regard to Standard Four and diversity, I used to think it was fine to teach all children in the
same way and they could be successful learners. Now I know that each student is special and different,
and therefore requires specific planning and support. I knew there were students with special needs,
gifted learners, and English language learners, but I never thought about the fact that the rest of the
students in a classroom have special needs and learn differently. There are students who have a hard
time staying focused, students who are a little ahead of everyone else, students who are a little behind
everyone else, students who just moved here from another country, and students who are fairly average.
That list could go on and on. Planning and teaching each individual student is a challenge, but something
that a teacher must do. It is also important to teach students that they are all different, but they need to
accept and love each other’s differences. The best way for the teacher to teach students this is to model
this behavior. If a teacher treats all students like they are special and important, then the students will
most likely follow. The teacher should let each student express their individuality (in an acceptable
manner), and support and encourage the way they want to learn. Providing this environment for students
is important in growing not only successful learners, but successful people.