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Explain your current understanding regarding classroom instruction with:

·       Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction (name one educational theorist in this part)

·       Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire

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The first core belief that I have identified is that classroom instruction is at its best when it is research based. Particular strategies and styles that have been tested scientifically and proven to work are best.

Another core belief is that the teachers role is to build the thinking and learning toolkits of our students. This is in line with Jean Piagets theory on cognitive constructivism in which learners must actively participate and build (or construct) their own knowledge.

Finally, 3 particular instructional techniques I plan to incorporate are: assigning specific practice based homework for certain topics, recognizing and rewarding effort via explicit guidance, and incorporating more nonlinguistic representations into my class such as graphic organizers or physical models.

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My core beliefs on instruction are: (1) it is better to teach students how to think then to get them to repeat what I’m doing (this is consistent with Lev Vygotsky's constructivist theory to get students to experience concepts and ideas for themselves instead of being instructed on them), (2) students must collaborate and teach each other, and (3) I must make the work meaningful with a sense of purpose.

I’m going to do this by: (1) implementing activities explained in John Liljedahl’s book "Building Thinking Classrooms in Math K-12", including getting students into small “random” groups to solve problems standing at the White Board and facilitating how to take notes that are meaningful to the students; (2) purposely setting up my room into groups of 4 desks with the goal of having a variety of students with different intelligences support each other; and (3) incorporating a year-long project based learning activity to have students design a backyard oasis (she shed/man cave, fire pit, wooden chairs) that incorporates what they are learning in Geometry and gets them familiar with homedepot.com.

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One core belief I have of classroom instruction is that it's effective when it's culturally responsive (coined by researcher Geneva Gay in 2000). Students' experiences, viewpoints, and unique characteristics are taken into consideration to make the material more relevant and purposeful.

An additional core belief I have of classroom instruction is that students learn best when instruction is based on exceptional, evidence-based practices. Many effective teaching strategies are those that have been validated through peer-reviewed studies.

Three instructional practices I intend to make part of my repertoire are: 1) Building relationships with my students, which helps create an environment where students excel by the teacher's knowledge of them as individuals 2) Reciprocal style, a teaching style in PE where students work in pairs to practice a skill. Taking turns as one who does the skill and the other the observer 3) Cooperative learning: which promotes positive mutual dependence and equal participation in PE activities.

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·       Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction (name one educational theorist in this part)

1.      Making education relevant to the real-world and helping students know that what they are learning is useful, relevant, and related to the world around them is very important to motivation and interest.  Drawing on the work of Steve Revington, I want to create engagement that helps develop useful and relevant problem-solving skills.

2.      Motivation must be created at an intrinsic level through modeling and motivating the desire to find purpose and true interest in the process of learning.  Extrinsic motivations such as compliance and grades may be a good way to get started but they cannot be the endpoint.

·       Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire

1.      Project-based learning: I want to take my knowledge of project management from my professional career and provide students with the opportunity to understand the full life cycle of a problem from ideation through solution through implementation.

2.      Collaborative learning: If facilitated correctly, peers learning to work together and fairly on effective teams is a significant instructional aid and life skill that I want students to gain from my classroom.  The numerous benefits include developing social skills, communication, delegation, leadership, etc.

3.      Discussions and seminar method: I thoroughly enjoyed a few classes I had that used the Socratic method of exploring complex topics as a group through teacher-led questions and starters.  Learning to build on others’ ideas and collaborating in this open and shared forum is a valuable skill I want to emphasize.

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As I currently understand it, classroom instruction must be diverse.

For one, it must activate the multiple intelligences that people possess in varying degrees, according to Howard Gardner. To that end, I will vary the ways in which I check for understanding (e.g., essays, performances, graphic representations) across assessments--not just as a differentiation technique for individual students, but in order to cultivate different kinds of intelligences in all students.

Diverse activities must also comprise any instruction period. Lemov describes how varying the kinds of classroom activities in a given session can improve the pacing and maintain student engagement. Of course, even if varying the activity is a necessary condition for effective classroom instruction, it will be insufficient if the activities do not result in real learning. For example, however useful direct instruction can be, it is best combined with inductive approaches to learning that Piaget called "constructivist." In my high school social studies classroom, I will therefore design lesson plans with multiple kinds of activities, arranging first those that allow students to attempt learning the material on their own first. Specifically, prior to group discussions I would institute "wait time" and "think-pair-share" and I would incorporate opportunities for students to "sort, rank, and justify" course content, to give students a chance to develop their own thinking.

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A few core beliefs integral to classroom instruction are positivity and genuine interest in the content, and the students. Mindful engagement in a growth mindset is also important for every student, including the student writing this. From her book Carol Dweck writes, “...my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.”(Dweck, 2006)

Three instructional practices I would like to incorporate into my instructional repertoire are Personalization (as an extension of differentiation), Grouping Students Strategically, and Project-based learning assignments. I think these approaches are appealing and practical for any classroom.

source: Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset : The new psychology of success. Random House.

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Two core beliefs in differentiated classrooms and the theorists that support them include:

1. Active Learning: This belief centers on the idea that students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process rather than passively receiving information. This can include activities such as discussions, problem-solving tasks, and hands-on experiments. John Dewey emphasized the importance of experiential learning and believed that education should be grounded in real-life experiences where students actively participate in their learning.

2. Differentiated Instruction is based on the idea that teaching should be tailored to meet the diverse needs, interests, and abilities of each student in the classroom. It involves modifying content, processes, products, and learning environments to accommodate different learning styles and levels. Carol Ann Tomlinson is a prominent theorist and advocate of differentiated instruction. Her work emphasizes the importance of adapting teaching methods and resources to better support diverse learners in the classroom.

These two core beliefs reflect different aspects of effective teaching strategies that foster a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. To my personal repertoire, I plan I have added the following instructional practices:

Tailored Learning Experiences

Leveraging Technology

Self-Directed Learning

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Core Beliefs of Instruction:

1) It’s more important to create opportunities for student thinking than to create opportunities to cover every piece of content.

2) Connect praise and other feedback to things that students have the ability to control, such as their work effort and achievement toward a goal, rather than relative to the performance of their peers. (This relates to Maslow’s theory of motivation, helping students meet their needs for safety, love and belonging, and esteem.)

3) Techniques – such as means of participation, effort, cooperative learning, summarizing and note-taking – have to be explicitly taught to students. I’ll need to model them with familiar material before trying to use any technique with new material.

Instructional Practices:

1) I’d love to use thinking routines regularly. In planning each lesson, I'll need to get clear about the type of thinking that best serves the learning target and then integrate the appropriate thinking routine.

2) Facilitate lots of cooperative learning, especially in ways that have students share and refine their thinking with one another.

3) Give students as much personal choice as possible through project-based learning. I’m excited about the potential of having students build their personalized plan for life after high school in my economics and personal finance class.

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My core beliefs regarding instruction are: teach to the whole person (care about students' needs - Abraham Maslow), every students has unique strengths (Howard Gardner) and it's important to help students' learn through the lens of their interests (see Geometry from a welder's perspective, etc).

Instructional practices I want to make part of my instructional repertoire are 1) Note taking + summarizing, 2) Active learning 3) Project-based learning 4) Growth Mindset 5) Peer Teaching 6) Blended learning - traditional and digital

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My first core belief of instruction would be experimental learning theory, identified by David Kolb, which focuses on learning by doing. Examples of this for my future science classroom would be growing a plant to learn about the process of photosynthesis or going to the zoo to learn about animals through observation rather than just reading the material from a textbook (Experiential Learning Theory, 2022).

My second core belief of instruction is including differentiated instruction to teach to the many different learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds. I believe it is a proactive approach to tailor instruction to meet specific student needs.

One instructional practice I want to make a part of my instructional repertoire is guided-notes. Guided-notes support students by giving structure to students who are not ready for independent note-taking and models good note-taking practice for their future (Guided Notes in a Modern Classroom — Modern Classrooms Project, n.d.).

A second instructional technique I would like to incorporate into my teaching is different variations of nonlinguistic representation. This would include creating graphic representations, making physical models, generating mental pictures, drawing pictures and pictographs, and kinesthetic activity (Marzano et al., 2001).

My third instructional technique I would like to incorporate into my teaching is collaboration. Collaboration will be especially important as the students work in the lab on experiments, but I would like to incorporate it into regular class time as well for in-class projects and discussions.

Experiential learning theory. (2022, October 24). Western Governors University. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/experiential-learning-theory2006.html

Guided Notes in a Modern Classroom — Modern Classrooms project. (n.d.). Modern Classrooms Project. https://www.modernclassrooms.org/guided-notes

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. ASCD.

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Providing meaningful connections between curriculum and a student’s life or their goal increases student motivation to engage with a subject and promotes attentiveness. However, Social Studies teacher Alex Brouhard identifies the frustrating perception of many students that history class is simply an exercise in memorization with little to no critical thinking or analysis. Furthermore, there’s a hefty amount of reading associated with historical texts and that is often perceived as an individual task. Thankfully Dr. Anita Archer demonstrated techniques to establish active participation in the classroom using call and response, turn and talks, and group reading methods that will work well for diving into the social studies text and terminology. Thus, enabling history teachers with techniques to make instruction interactive.

In addition to using Dr. Archer’s techniques for interactive instruction, I will incorporate Brouhard’s strategies to present history lessons in a way that promotes interest and engagement. Firstly, I would like to offer students the opportunity to conduct biographical research of historical figures, so students are exposed to primary sources and able to see how people viewed these events as they unfolded. Secondly, I will seek opportunities for students to connect historical events with their family or community histories. They could interview a relative that lived through a historical period to see what their perspectives are or discuss the significance of Manassas during the Civil War. Finally, I would use Brouhard’s technique of promoting historical investigation. For example, I can ask students to determine why did the U.S. join WWII on December 8, 1941, and not when the war started on September 1, 1939? This allows students to be sleuths and investigate a ‘gap’ in history, charting their own learning path.

Most Students Think History Is Boring. Here's How We Change That. | EdSurge News

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Most Students Think History Is Boring. Here’s How We Change That. - EdSurge News

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Do you recall Mr. Lorensax from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”? Anyone? Bueller? With his monotone voice and lack of enthusiasm, he could convince anyone…

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction:

My first core belief in instruction is to advocate for differentiated instruction. According to Tomlinson (2001), teaching methods need to adapt to the diverse needs of students in the classroom. Teaching methods must be tailored to adapt content based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning styles to support all learners.

My second core belief in instruction is the constructivist approach, which emphasizes that students gain understanding and knowledge through experiences and reflections. This includes hands-on activities, collaboration, and critical thinking activities.

Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire.

1. Socratic seminars:  students engage in research, problem-solving, and collaboration to explore a central question or challenge. This is important in English because text can be interpreted in many different ways. This instructional practice allows for students to express their ideas with their peers.

2. Collaborative learning: students work together in small groups to complete tasks or projects, fostering collaboration and communication. This can also be done in the form of peer reviews and peer assessments. The students then will get an idea of how to work together and receive feedback from each other. An example of collaborative learning in English class is students peer reviewing and revising each other’s writing.

3. Hands on instruction: implementing reading and writing workshops. Workshops allow students time to read independently and write, with guided instruction and opportunities for sharing their work. It also gives students choices on what they would like to write, which helps differentiate the instruction.

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I have really appreciated the thinking and learning that I have experienced in the EducateVA coursework and readings.

I think Maslow’s hierarchy of needs greatly influences my beliefs about instruction. Although I don’t agree with Maslow’s thinking process and there are some flaws in the theory, the basic concept resonates with me and will serve as a continual reminder of how to properly ‘humanize’ my classroom. My main beliefs about instruction that I can identify so far are:

(1) A baseline of clear, consistent classroom expectations and strong community-building elements are essential to insuring student learning.

(2) Student engagement on emotional and cognitive levels is very important--and requires more intentional planning and input from students than behavioral engagement.

3 instructional practices:

(1) Dialogue Journals - or at least regular student reflections that I respond to.

(2) Learning Playlists/Menus.

(3) Nonlinguistic Representations - which I think can have huge benefits in a language classroom! - OR Non + Linguistic Representations: for example, students write and perform a skit in Latin.

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Two Core Beliefs of Teaching:

1)     Constructivism – Jean Piaget – teaching should support students in actively building their own understanding of knowledge rather than passively receiving information. Knowledge is like building a wall, with each brick resting on and supporting the next

2)     Social Learning Theory – emphasis on role of social interactions with peers and observable learning in learning process. Learning occurs within a social context and through observation, imitation, and modeling.

Three Instructional Practices

1)     Differentiated Learning – tailoring teaching methods to reach students with diverse backgrounds, interests, and learning preferences. For example, adjusting pace of instruction, offering choice in material studied, or allowing students to decide how they will demonstrate learning.

2)     Use of formative assessments to ensure students engagement and know the progress of each individual toward learning objective. It will also allow me to adjust future instruction.

3)     Small-group Project-based learning – Project-based instruction will increase student engagement and motivation, help build social and interpersonal skills, and improve educational outcomes.

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As a dyslexic soon-to-be English teacher, my core beliefs about teaching are closely aligned with the Science of Reading research. In particular, it is important to emphasize all of the strands of Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope. She published the graphic above that shows how students become skilled readers by being explicitly taught both the foundational skills of decoding language and comprehension skills that include vocabulary, background knowledge, semantics, and strategies. At the high school level, students should already have foundational skills in reading, so my job will be to continue emphasizing more of the language comprehension side of the rope while reinforcing foundational skills.

I also believe that students benefit from differentiation for a variety of reasons from different levels of neurospiciness to varied lived experiences to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Therefore, it is important to give students multiple avenues of access when learning the material as well as offering choice and different ways to show success within the classroom.

Because of these beliefs, the three instructional practices I hope to implement are jigsaw learning, Socratic seminars, and project-based learning. I’ll use jigsaw as a collaborative learning method when I need to cover a lot of content quickly. Students can take responsibility for their learning and become experts in their chosen topics while teaching their classmates what they learned. I’ll use Socratic seminars when I want the class to explore a topic more deeply together, especially when we’re exploring an open-ended topic that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. Finally, as I learn what my students are most interested in, I’d love to implement project-based learning so that students can explore topics that interest them while creating a product that will be usable in the real world. These could include preparing for a mock trial within the class, creating a blog that features how to build Lego sets, or creating a Ted talk for a research project.

Scarborough’s reading rope. Really Great Reading. (2015). https://www.reallygreatreading.com/scarboroughs-reading-rope

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What Is Scarborough's Reading Rope?

In 2001, Dr. Hollis Scarborough created the Reading Rope using pipe cleaners to convey how the different "strands" of reading are all interconnected yet independent of one another. For many students, learning to read is a challenge. Scarborough's Rope captures the complexity of learning to read.

Scarborough's Reading Rope is made up of lower and upper strands. When all these component parts intertwine it results in skilled and accurate, fluent reading with strong comprehension.

The lower strands include:

Phonological awareness

Decoding

Alphabetic principle

Letter-sound correspondences

Sight recognition

The upper strands include:

Background knowledge

Vocabulary

Language structures

Verbal reasoning

Literacy knowledge

The Lower Strands

Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness is a skill set that includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language - parts such as words, syllables, onsets, and rimes. Did you know that you can improve your students' ability to read unfamiliar words without showing them a single printed letter?

Decoding

Decoding is the ability to apply knowledge of sound-letter relationships (phonics) to correctly pronounce written words. Did you know that in 2019, only 35% of 4th graders were at or above (NAEP) proficient level on the reading assessment?

Sight Recognition

Our sight word memory is also referred to as our orthographic lexicon, which includes all the words we can read accurately and effortlessly. Literate adults have a sight word memory of 30,000 to 70,000 words. Starting in 3rd grade, it is estimated that "skilled orthographic mappers" anchor 10-15 new words a day into their sight word memories. Sight word recognition is foundational to fluent reading.

The Upper Strands

Background Knowledge

Background knowledge is an essential component in learning because it helps us make sense of new ideas and experiences. Readers rely on background knowledge to attend to and make sense of what they are reading. This is especially important for readers who are still relying heavily on word decoding rather than rapid word recognition. Having knowledge about a variety of subjects, topics, and ideas makes it more likely that they will be able to make sense of what they are reading and more likely that they will add to their body of knowledge.

Vocabulary

An extensive and rich vocabulary enables readers to make sense of what they are reading. A reader with rich auditory and oral vocabularies will find it easier to read through texts that contain words they have not seen in print before. If the student can use their growing decoding skills and match their result with a word they already know the meaning of, they will be more confident in their abilities and will spend less overall effort on reading a text.

Language Structures

Syntax - The arrangement of words in a phrase or sentence. The English language has patterns and rules for the way we order our words. It also has some flexibility and variety in acceptable patterns, and even then, speakers and writers are allowed some leeway with these patterns.

Semantics - In linguistics, semantics is the study of the meanings of morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences. Knowledge of the meaning of a text is essential to reading.

Verbal Reasoning

Inference - a conclusion one can draw from known facts or evidence

Metaphor - a word or phrase used to say that something is another thing in order to suggest that they are similar

Literary Knowledge

Print Concepts - letters vs. words, 1:1 correspondence, reading left-to-right and top-to-bottom, spaces between written words, letter order matters, etc.

Genres of Literature - different types of books or stories defined by special characteristics

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row][oneHalf][/oneHalf][oneHalf]What Is Scarborough's Reading Rope?In 2001, Dr. Hollis Scarborough created the Reading Rope using pipe cleaners to convey how the different "strands" of reading are all interconnected yet independent of one another. For many students, learning to read is a challenge. Scarborough's Rope captures the complexity of learning to read.

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1. Instruction should be differentiated to meet every student's needs (Carol Tomlinson)

2. Vygotsky's constructivism: Students should have more control over their learning and instructional strategies should reflect that--encouraging collaboration among students is key

I plan to incorporate both of these strategies, in addition to the use of visual aids (graphics) and gamification to make learning more visible and engaging.

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In this assignment, we explored varied instruction beyond traditional lecturing.

I still think teacher-led lecturing is essential when it comes to teaching high school math, but it doesn’t need to be the only thing we rely on. According to Hatti’s list, teacher credibility plays a big role in student achievement. So, while a solid lecture is key, I need to mix in engaging activities that help students truly dive into the learning process. This means making sure that’re not just going through the motions but are engaged mentally and emotionally, as Almarode pointed out.

In my lesson plan, I focus on three main strategies: questioning, collaborative learning, and individualized practice using Mathspace. Leaning math is like building a Jenga tower. If there is a gap, the whole thing can come down. That’s why it’s so important to check for understanding throughout the lesson, which is why I use questioning frequently. Also, like Gonzales said, engagement doesn’t have to be fancy, it could be as simple as writing and talking. I want my students to have plenty of changes to talk with a partner or in a group and develop their thinking. Lastly, I initially planned to use online platforms like Mathspace mainly for practice, but after reading this week’s materials, I am shifting to using it more for personalized learning. This will allow students, especially those struggling, to set their own goals and take ownership of their learning, which can really boost motivation.

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I believe understanding and implementing Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is the first step in ensuring students are ready and have the motivation to learn. As a popular saying in education goes: "You need to Maslow before you Bloom." My other core beliefs about instructional methods and strategies are:

1. While subject-matter expertise is clearly important for teaching, it is only one of several factors that lead to success in teaching.

2. Building meaningful, caring relationships with students is key. Doing this early in the school year, and doing it often in small blocks of time is also important.

In the introduction to the Classroom Instruction that Works book, I was particularly struck by the anecdotal story of Ms. Hastings and Mr. Somerville. I think as teachers, we all want to be more like Ms. Hastings!

Building on the model provided by Ms. Hastings in the book, there instructional practices that I would like to incorporate in my own teaching would be:

1. Develop strong relationships with students and create a welcoming, caring, and supportive environment for all students.

2. Have high expectations for students and convey the love of learning through a variety of means including short storytelling, the history of the mathematics being learned, and practical applications.

3. Understand the kind of support needed by diverse students, adjust/differentiate instruction accordingly, and incorporate technology to the extent possible to make the most efficient use of the time available for instruction.

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Two core beliefs:

·       Cooperative Learning is a core belief I feel is paramount. I love small group instruction as a part of cooperative learning.  However, in cooperative learning there can be many different layers. Positive interdependence is a key element as they grow together from the individual level. Accountability as a whole class rather than the individual, assists in promoting skills as a team. Processing not only as an individual, feeds the group perspective for reflection.

·       Constructivism is another core belief from Piaget – the essence that students construct knowledge as they learn, instead of passively taking in information.  https://positivepsychology.com/piaget-stages-theory/#:~:text=Piaget%20argued%20that%20children's%20cognitive,changes%2C%20reflecting%20these%20cognitive%20developments

Simply listening to a lesson does not always assist in creating the big picture. The students (and teachers) must build that knowledge:  individually, small groups and as a classroom.

Three Instructional Practices that Work:

·       Small Group Instruction – I believe in this as a core belief. I have been working with both General Education classes and Special Education students and when you set students into smaller groups it works. They promote sharing of ideas and collaboration to come to a synthesis of learning for most lesson plans, especially in History & Civics. It allows varying backgrounds of the student populus within the classroom to bring ideas, thoughts, and critical thinking to the table.

·       Personalization – This also will be a part of my future practices and really brings the student to the table.  They can be a part of the learning and add their voice to the classroom. This can be challenging and must have some boundaries but can be accomplished with proper classroom expectations that the students help create.

·       Gamification – I really like this teaching practice. So much of our students love gaming. If you can use a Kahoot, Quizizz or similar software that they can learn from, then I see this as a win – win. Especially if they connect the dots and even design a question or two through group activities. I will add this teaching practice and it needs to blend with other foundational strategies of learning. Although this cannot be the only focus.

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I believe instruction happens socially, and that our connections with others make our learning meaningful. That explains why the audience is so important when we think about students' motivation, or what makes our work as teachers meaningful - we want to make a difference in students' lives and futures. Because of that, one of my core beliefs align with the constructivist theory of Vygotsky - students can learn better by working with peers, building over their previous knowledge by experiencing themselves.

Another one of my core beliefs is differentiation. Humans are unique, diversity is our norm and strength, and we have to take that into the classroom, allowing that diversity to bloom in ways to learn and in showing the outcome of learning. Allowing students to open their mind for possibilities, and how to find their unique path on that.

My chosen instructional practices are aligned with my core beliefs:

1 - Project-based assignments, to allow students to learn by experiencing, and to make a classroom a safe space to try things.

2 -  Cooperative learning, to allow students to work and build their knowledge with peers.

3 - Differentiation: adapt instruction and assignments to embrace the different kinds of needs or facilitate learning to the students. Allow advanced students to go further or to help peers, adapt instruction to ELL or special needs students, allow different kinds of output works to students to better show their knowledge.

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I believe in creating an environment of high expectations for students’ behavior, efforts, and learning targets, and for my effective and responsive teaching as well. That if I am prepared, respectful, professional, energetic, ambitious, and understanding that they will be induced to be so as well (Lerner 2012). I also believe that instructing students clearly and purposefully in how to learn (for example, how to read a text, how to take notes, how to discuss with and learn from others, how to think critically about their own work) is in the long term at least as important to them as their knowledge and enthusiasm for history and government (my areas of certification). I associate this line of thinking with C. Dean and her colleagues at McREL.

Three practices I intend to include in my teaching are: See/Think/Wonder; Investigation and Hypotheticals (for exploring cause and effect in history); students’ self-assessment and revision and maybe peer assessment and revision, using rubrics.

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core beliefs that I have in instruction are that students should have a choice in what they do. I think this is a way for students to have a sense of autonomy. A way to be in control of and take responsibility for themselves. Jean Piaget's cognitive learning theory states that as children grow, so does their intelligence. This is evident in how we place children in schools. as they grow intelligence does increase and change. They should have a choice in assignments. They should share their interests which would make learning more interesting and more fun. Student engagement is a big core belief of mine as well. Students learn more when they are engaged and not just going through the motions by being compliant or as a part of the back drop of the classroom. Student-teacher relationships and student peer relationships thrive in an environment where engagement is high. Content is important but it isn't the most important thing. Students need to be shown that they are cared for. Praise should be tied to a students hard work and not to their natural ability or affinity for things. Effort matters.

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Some core beliefs I currently hold regarding education are as follows:

1. Students cannot reach their full potential in the classroom unless they feel safe and comfortable. This is in line with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow created a pyramid with the most basic human needs - physiological needs at the bottom, and each level becomes increasingly complex. The top level is self-actualization, or reaching one's full potential.

2. Teachers should employ consistent expectations, procedures, and routines in the classroom so that students know what it is expected of them. This can limit chaos in the classroom and help everyone stay on topic to maximize learning.

Some instructional practices I want to make part of my instructional repertoire are:

1. Having information for students to review on the board when they arrive in the classroom: a "do now" activity, information on the lesson of the day, the standards, date, etc. I think this is a good way to reinforce expectations and routines and keep students on task.

2. A mandatory stretching or brain break half-way through the class period for everyone to unwind a bit and regroup. I think this is a good way to avoid burnout and students zoning out.

3. Frequent in-class formative assessments like Padlets, Quizziz, cold calling, students sharing out, etc. so that I am always aware of what content students are understanding or not.

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The three pillars of my instructional philosophy are "Collaborative Learning, Differentiation, and Constructivism." Students actively create new knowledge through the process of learning, drawing from their experiences. Constructivism places a strong emphasis on the idea that learning occurs best when students actively participate in the process and interpret their experiences. All students' needs should be taken into account when designing instruction. Carol Ann Tomlinson is an advocate of differentiated instruction, in which educators modify the process, content, and final product based on the learning profiles, interests, and readiness levels of their students. Learning requires social interaction. Collaborative learning emphasizes the value of group learning in which students share knowledge and work together on projects while being guided by the "zone of proximal development."

My three instructional practices are "Formative Assessment, Project-based Learning (PBL), and Collaborative group work." Establishing frequent check-ins to assess student comprehension and modify instruction as necessary. This is consistent with my view of differentiated instruction because assessments enable customization of the learning process. Constructivist learning by doing is supported by Project-Based Learning (PBL), an inquiry-driven, practical approach that pushes students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Collaborative group work reinforces the idea of social learning through peer interaction by having students work in pairs or small groups to solve problems and explore concepts.

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John Dewey is a prominent educational theorist whose philosophy aligns with my beliefs about effective instruction. Dewey emphasized the importance of experiential learning and active engagement.

Based on Dewey's principles, here are two core beliefs I hold about instruction:

1. Meaningful Learning: Students learn best when they can connect new knowledge to their prior experiences and real-world contexts.

2. Active Participation: Students should be actively engaged in the learning process, rather than passive recipients of information.

Instructional Practices

Here are three instructional practices I aim to incorporate into my classroom:

1. Inquiry-Based Learning: This approach encourages students to ask questions, conduct research, and develop critical thinking skills. By providing opportunities for exploration and discovery, I can foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter. (Vigotskiy constructivism)

2. Differentiated Instruction: Recognizing that students learn at different paces and in different ways, I will implement strategies to meet the individual needs of all learners. This might involve providing tiered activities, flexible grouping, or alternative assessments. (Carol Tomlinson)

3. Technology Integration: Incorporating technology into the classroom can enhance learning experiences and prepare students for the digital age. I will use tools and resources to support instruction, promote creativity, and facilitate collaboration.

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Core beliefs of instruction:

1. As stated by academic researcher, Olivia Goldhill, student learning is not determined by their affinity towards specific learning styles. Learning styles are Nueromyths that have not been rigorously tested or researched. A factor that does impact student learning would be the level of differentiation of instruction within the classroom. Students learn best when they can engage in a multitude of activities that require that they participate in class instruction in a wide variety of ways. Engaging with learning from differing angles maintains their motivation.

2. Student engagement increases when educators adopt the constructivism philosophy that involves students using their previous knowledge on the topic to shape their ongoing learning processes. Approaching learning standards from multiple angles increases the rigor of student learning.

3 instructional practices:

1. Levity and humor are always welcome in my class because they allow students to appropriately express themselves and ease class tension. Laughter and joy in a classroom will also keep students more motivated to stay alert and pay attention in class.

2. Participation in class material will always give students partial credit so that students who may struggle with the material are at least motivated to submit work that will benefit their grade more than refusing to submit work.

3. I will always provide students with a physical copy of notes that are used for class lectures whenever they need so that they can keep a copy of class source material that they can study whenever they aren't present in class. I will also do my best to record video lectures for units that may prove especially challenging for students so that they have access to the lecture that they can choose to rewind and watch as much as they like outside of class.

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3 of my core beliefs of instruction are:

1. Instruction should be interactive. This believe was shaped by the videos featuring Anita Archer. She clearly illustrates that interactive instruction leads to more engaged and more motivated students.

2. Student choice is a necessary component of instruction. When students are given choice, they feel autonomy over their learning and are more likely to be motivated to learn.

3. Instruction must explicitly show how content is relevant to students' lives. When students are able to see why what they're learning is important and how it is relevant to the real world, they will be more engaged and motivated.

3 instructional practices I plan to use are:

1. Strategic grouping. Grouping not only helps to make instructional activities collaborative, but it is also an opportunity to differentiate and better meet students needs.

2. Encouraging a growth mindset. So often students are stuck in a fixed mindset in which they do not believe they can succeed. By encouraging a growth mindset (through targeted praise and other methods) students are more likely to believe they can succeed and will put in the effort to do so.

3. Interactive learning activities. Interaction and movement are so important for learning. With interactive instruction students are more likely to be engaged and really learn the content.

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I believe that students learn best when they are (1) intrinsically motivated, (2) actively engaged, and (3) able to make meaningful connections. Inspired by John Dewey’s experiential learning theory, I see education as an active process where students construct knowledge through hands-on experiences. Dewey emphasized that learning should be relevant to students' lives, fostering curiosity and critical thinking. By encouraging active participation and interdisciplinary connections, we help students develop a deeper understanding and a lifelong love of learning.

4 Instructional practices I plan to use

1. Teach and Encourage Metacognition – Use fewer assignments with detailed feedback and opportunities for revision to help students reflect on their learning process and improve understanding.

2. Small Group and Individual Project-Based Learning – Engage students with real-world applications, fostering investment in the content and creating urgency through an authentic audience.

3. Scaffolding Instruction in Math – Model thought processes during guided practice, emphasizing the "why" behind concepts to develop deeper problem-solving skills.

4. Peer Teaching for Mastery – Encourage students to explain concepts to peers, reinforcing their own understanding and identifying gaps in knowledge.

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My current understanding of classroom instruction is shaped greatly by the constructivist arguments we have studied and now seen applied throughout the toolkit lessons. In particular, I have found the social constructivist perspective espoused by Vygotsky very persuasive. Learning is inherently a social activity and it matters that my students are learning how to learn together as a group. This is why it is so important for me as a teacher to be a model of thinking; the teacher is just as much a part of the learning community as the students.

In terms of instructional practices, I found the thinking routines to be an excellent resource and would use them to help make both my own and my students thinking more visible. Specifically, I want to consider ways that I can mold my direct instruction/ lectures into their most engaging form, for instance by using questioning to move student understanding forward more effectively. Finally, I would like to find ways to allow students to personalize their learning path more so that they have a stronger sense of ownership over their learning and are self-motivated to continue on their learning journey.

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Classroom instruction should not be a "one-size fits all" approach

Core Beliefs...

1. A "learner-centered" approach that is tailored to individual students needs, curiosity's and interests is vital to student learning

2. Students should regularly engage in hands-on experiences and exploration

3. Personalization in learning should be fostered by the teacher AND the learner as students should seek to acquire skills to better incorporate their own learning styles and preferences

These core beliefs stem from theorists such as John Dewey and Dan Buckley, advocates and pioneers for pragmatism and personalization in education.

Instructional Practices I Plan to Incorporate ...

1. Student Choice Boards - Allowing students to select topics, learning methods, or project formats that align with their interests and learning styles.

2. Collaboration - Encouraging peer interaction through group work, pair sharing, and collaborative projects to build on each other's strengths.

3. Active Learning - Students actively engage with the material through discussion, problem-solving, and critical thinking rather than passively receiving information

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Three core beliefs I have about education include:

1) Education needs to be engaging and interactive. As Dr. Anti Archer has pointed out, passive students are more likely to mentally check out and not actually learn. They need to be doing something whether it is during a lecture portion of instruction or an activity. If they are not doing something and acting as passive observers, then the lessons might not stick. In science this usually means getting hands on in a laboratory section, but as edutainment figures such as Bill Nye have demonstrated, even presentations can capture an audience's interest if done right.

2) Critical thinking is an integral part of science education. As a prospective Biology teacher it is my responsibility to do more than just teach students a mountain of factoids that they repeat only for a test. I must teach them the science mindset and methodology, and the core of that is critical thinking skills. If I'm not teaching them to evaluate claims and evidence to weed out falsehoods and junk science so that they can arrive at real facts, then I'm not teaching them real science. Dr. Michael Shermer is a prominent advocate of critical thinking education and teaches Skepticism 101 at Chapman University.

3) Differentiated instruction is necessary to meet the diverse needs of students. In a world where classrooms will have a mix of advanced learners, students with disabilities, ELLs, and students who fall into the middle of a learning curve it is necessary to modify content, processes, and certain products to meet students where they are at different learning and skill levels. Carol Ann Tomlinson has been a strong advocate of adapting teaching methods to such diverse classrooms.

Three instructional practices that I intend to make part of my repertoire include:

1) Project-Based Learning: They need to be applying what they learn and learn by doing whether I have them doing a lab activity, a research project, or making their own presentation.

2) Generating and Testing Hypotheses: This is integral to developing a critical thinking and research-based mindset. In a biology lab, for example I will have them make hypotheses and test them rather than telling them what the outcome of an assay ought to be.

3) Differentiated Instruction: Knowing that students learn at different paces, with some needing more help than others, I will need built in modifications to meet individual needs.

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My three core beliefs of instruction:

1.      Learning is inherently social- Students engage in the classroom based on their relationships with the teacher and with other students. Creating opportunities to communicate with other students is important. (Gerlach, 1994)

2.      Growth mindset- Commenting on effort and growth for students shows them they have control over their performance and have the potential to improve.

3.      Students must do before they can understand- They must engage in the work and practice to cement their understanding. They need guided practice and then individual practice. Without demonstrating learning to themselves, they will not be confident in their understanding.

My instructional practice I will make part of my repertoire:

Notetaking skills- Creating skeleton notes and graphic organizers helps me plan my own lessons and keeps everyone on the same page and recognizing the main points.

Guided practice- Students should have opportunities to practice together and with scaffolding and guidance before working independently for a grade. This is an opportunity to find points of confusion

Students share their own understanding and knowledge with others in class- It shouldn’t only be the teacher talking. Students should have opportunities to talk in class but in lower stress approaches, such as think-pair-share.

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Core Beliefs:

One of my guiding principles on how to foster students’ love of learning is to create a safe and positive environment where they have the time and tools to investigate what matters to them.  My job as an educator will be teach students how the human mind works, so they understand my approach and are motivated to actively participate in it; and then to teach them skills that will empower them to follow their curiosities.  In Classroom Instruction that Works, the authors cite Linda Darling-Hammond’s paraphrasing of Suzanne Donovan and John Bransford’s principles, which include: “Students learn more effectively when they are aware of how they learn and know how to monitor and reflect on their learning.”  By breaking down how knowledge is formed by recalling information and transferring it from Working Memory and Long-Term Memory repetitively, I hope that students will understand the importance of repetition and different instructional strategies seeking to turn new information into knowledge throughout our time together in class.

Another core instructional belief I hold, popularized by John Dewey, is student-centered “progressivism,” which holds that students are motivated to learn when they have a problem to solve or, I would add, a curiosity to follow.  While my classroom will not be entirely student driven, I do hope to set up my classroom instruction strategies so that I am more of a “guide on the side” than a “sage on the stage”.   By identifying specific problem sets that could bridge curriculum and student interests, I could then formulate learning situations to exercise them.  One key difference between my belief and Dewey’s is that I will not focus on encouraging the students to solve civic and social problems – although they will be welcome to take this approach – but instead to investigate gaps in knowledge about anything they find to be stimulating.

Instructional Practices:

1)       Mastery-Goal Orientation: To help students develop a pathway of learning, I’ll work with them to set individual goals and work backwards to create a plan to identify their learning gaps, then guide them through a menu of activities they can choose from to address the gaps.  This approach allows students to compare their process against reaching a goal as opposed to comparing themselves to peers.  Instructional strategies include tracking the relationship between effort and achievement, earning rewards for rote or routine skill development, and recognition in the form of sincere and precise praise or from a wider audience for their presentations or other products that showcase learning.

2)       Blended Learning:  Given students different levels of readiness, language capabilities, and learning styles, I’ll incorporate differentiation into my student centered, or “personalized,” classrooms.  Blended learning is a mix of differentiation and personalization (the latter comprised of customization and student choice of activities).  Instructional activities included differentiated learning stations (including linguistic and non-linguistic activities), scaffolds, playlists, and choice boards.

3)       Cooperative Learning:  During rotations around learning stations and also during other instructional strategies (see below), I’ll foster teamwork and social cohesion because they are psychologically important given our human need for connectedness and belonging (read: social and emotional well-being) and because social interaction is an essential skill for operating successfully in the adult world regardless of industry. Instructional activities include Turn and Talks/Tasks, Think-Pair-Shares, and Project Groupwork.

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Three core beliefs of instruction include:

1) Students learn by building upon previous knowledge, which is the theory of Constructivism, the educational theory that people learn by building on what they know. As such, instruction needs to be varied to connect to different students with different backgrounds and context.

2) Learning is best done by experience and doing things, which also helps increase student engagement. The educational theorist David Kolb developed a four-step model for such experiential learning: concrete experience, reflection on that experience, forming new concepts based on that reflection, and then testing the new concepts.

3) Collaborative learning can improve engagement while teaching valuable interpersonal skills. Intentionally designed group projects can enhance student learning and help differentiate instruction as well.

Three instructional practices I want to add to my educational repertoire are:

1) Designing projects in such a way that allow for milestones for me to provide feedback at regular intervals to provide constructive feedback and help keep students on the right track.

2) Give students some choice in the types of project they want to work on, even co-creating rubrics that allow them freedom of expression while also ensuring they still can demonstrate mastery.

3) Reflection periods where students write short journal entries to reflect on the concepts they’ve learned and how they relate to their personal lifes.

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My beliefs on instruction are that I’m going to have to find the right balance of practices that result in an active learning environment.  In terms of theory, components of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs resonate with me as I will need to meet students where they are and forge connections. Instruction methods I employ need to be authentic.

With instructional practices I want to insert ample amounts of visible thinking exercises, self-paced learning and small group problems solving to balance out direct math instruction where practical.

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My core beliefs of instruction:

1. Student engagement is multifaceted and crucial: John Almarode's work, as highlighted by Schwartz (2016), emphasizes that engagement is not simply compliance but a complex process involving multiple factors. It's about making learning relevant, providing choice, fostering emotional safety, and connecting to real-life situations. Without actively engaging students, instruction falls short.

2. Differentiation of instructions addresses diverse student needs: Tomlinson (2017) emphasizes the importance of differentiation in instruction in the classroom. Recognizing that students learn in diverse ways requires adapting instruction to meet their individual needs, strengths, and learning styles. This requires the creation of multiple pathways to learning and offering varied levels of support (as needed).

3. Emotional safety is paramount: Desautels (2014) highlights the crucial role of emotional safety in the classroom. It is important that students feel safe, respected, and supported to take risks, ask questions, and fully engage in the learning process. Building a positive and inclusive classroom environment is therefore crucial.

Instructional practices I want to implement in my classroom:

1. Real-world connections: I want to consistently connect chemistry concepts to real-world applications, current events, and students' lives. Hopefully, this will help my students see the relevance of the concepts and increase their engagement.

2. Choice and Autonomy: I plan to incorporate more opportunities for student choice and autonomy in their learning in my classroom. This could involve offering options for assignments, projects, or even the format of assessments.

3. Active Learning Strategies: I plan to incorporate more active learning strategies into my instruction, such as more hands-on experiments, group work, discussions, presentations and debates. These strategies encourage student participation and promote deeper understanding.

References

Desautels, L. (2014, February 6). Addressing Our Needs: Maslow Comes to Life for Educators and Students. Edutopia.

Schwartz, K. (2016, December 9). How to Ensure Students Are Actively Engaged and Not Just Compliant. KQED.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2017). Differentiated Instruction. In C. M. Callahan, & H. L. Hertberg-Davis (Eds.), Fundamentals of Gifted Education (pp. 279-292). Routledge.

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Core beliefs about instruction:

1) Bloom's taxonomy has become an important part of my thinking about instruction. As I have prepared a history lesson in the ID module, I have been careful to identify the Bloom's level on which I am focusing the instructional activity. It is important that I focus on "evaluating" and "explaining" as it pertains to the 11th grade history standards I intend to teach.

2) Students learn in multiple ways. Our lessons on Gardner's multiple intelligences theory helped me to learn that some students learn through text, others through listening, and others through graphical presentations or maps. I have tried to differentiate my instruction to ensure that my lessons are accessible to a wide variety of students. Once I get to a classroom, I will have to be mindful of this as I seek to address each student's learning needs.

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3 instructional practices that I want to use:

1. Think-pair-share: in several contexts we have seen examples when this technique is useful to build collaboration among students and to help students interact constructively with their peers.

2. Graphic organizers for note taking: from Garnder's multiple intelligences, I have learned that students learn in different ways. Some students will find it useful to have a structure through which to take notes from direct instruction in class. I would hope that use of graphic organizers can help students learn good strategies for note taking moving forward, for their college coursework when this will be more important.

3. Primary source analysis: in reviewing a peer's ID module lesson, she relied on primary source analysis to help students understand the Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights. I learned how asking students understand the thinking and perspectives of those involved in the underlying historical event can help them achieve higher Bloom's levels of learning.

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CORE BELIEFS

1. Students learn best when they’re actively engaged. Learning isn’t just about listening and taking notes—it’s about making connections, asking questions, and thinking for themselves.

2. Instruction has to be varied because students learn in different ways. Some need direct instruction, others do better with discussion, inquiry, or hands-on work. Lee Shulman’s idea of pedagogical content knowledge reminds me that knowing a subject isn’t enough—I’ve got to teach it in a way that actually works for my students.

3. Students do best when they have some control over their learning. Letting them make choices—about content, process, or pace—helps them take ownership and stay engaged.

INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES

1. Thinking Routines – Help students share their thinking and engage in deeper discussions.

2. Blended & Personalized Learning – Use technology to meet students where they are.

3. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) – Make learning more relevant by tackling real-world problems.

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My 3 core beliefs are:

1. Teaching should be student-centered and responsive to the diverse needs of individual students. For this belief I was inspired by Carol Tomlinson and her approaches to differentiate instruction to engage students, encourage them to think critically, and make the content/skills meaningful and relevant. The intended outcome is for students to retain as well as transfer skills and knowledge.

2. Teachers should set high expectations for their students. Students should feel challenged, motivated, and a sense of accomplishment and mastery so that students can fulfill their potential in the classroom and out of the classroom.

3. Formative assessment and feedback are critical tools to guide students in their learning and should be integral part of lesson.

Instructional practices I will incorporate:

Thinking Routines - I want to incorporate these routines into activities and build a "Culture of Thinking" so students are regularly thinking deep and critically about what they are being taught.

Problem-Based Learning - I want to design activities to the best of my ability that encourage students to produce real and authentic work that is meaningful to students.

Provide specific and meaningful feedback as soon as possible after a student produces work.

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(A):

1. Jean Piaget and John Dewey posited that students actively construct knowledge through past experiences.

2. Howard Gardner suggests that there is not one single intelligence. Instead, students may construct knowledge through nature, logic, words, music, pictures, their bodies, and their relationships with others and themselves.

3. Erik Erikson and Abraham Maslow claimed that students have different needs and challenges in various developmental stages.

(B):

1. Constructivism

2. Multiple intelligences

3. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

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I strongly believe in the power of growth mindset. Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. is best known her work on this concept which focuses on how motivation can be driven by students belief in their own abilities. When I taught college Physics, I had students telling me that they were bad at math. If students recognize that math is a skill that needs practice and with that practice they can get stronger, they are more likely to have more motivation and resilience when faced with a challenging problem.

I also believe that collaboration and cooperation are essential skills necessary for student success. While working in small groups students develop skills in communication and leadership. Students can reinforce their own learning by sharing what they know with each other.

Three practices I want to make part of my repertoire are cooperative learning, experimental inquiry and utilizing more non-linguistic representations, such as graphic organizers. Cooperative learning and experimental inquiry is essential for the study of physics. Graphic organizers can be a powerful tool that offers an opportunity for differentiation that benefits every learner.

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My current understanding regarding classroom instruction:

1) Learning should be social and collaborative. The classroom should be a learning community where inquisitiveness and independent thought are encouraged and supportive. Students need opportunities to engage with the content in a tangible and meaningful way with their peers.

2) Learning should be personalized based on the interests, needs and learner profiles of the individual students.

3) According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, learning cannot happen until basic physiological necessities are met. Through intentional relationship building, a teacher will become aware of any lack of needs and will be able to take steps to address it.

Instructional practices:

1)  Implementing daily “Do Now” activities as a routine for when students first enter the classroom. This will immediately engage the students and make use of class time effectively by setting a tone of expected productivity.

2) Model visual thinking through the use of thinking routines. This will give the students the tools to organize ideas and make deeper connections and more thoughtful analysis.

3) Non linguistic representations of the content, such as graphic organizers, models, pictures and kinesthetic activities, that will allow varied learners to “process, organize and retrieve information from memory” (Classroom Instruction that Works, 2012).

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One core belief of instruction is to make students the priority of teaching, rather than the teacher or curriculum (Ritchhart et al., 2011). Without engaging the student, the curriculum is worthless. The material must engage the students’ curiosity and support their personal growth. Another core belief is that learning should always be paired with real-world application to add relevancy to the curriculum. This is directly in line with Dr. Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy that learning should be “linked to the home and the outside world” (The Montessori Teaching Philosophy: Montessori Academy, 2024). Three instructional practices to be included in my repertoire are to emphasize curriculum-related activities, instead of strictly lectures, since Dr. Montessori stated “children learn naturally through activity,” (The Montessori Teaching Philosophy: Montessori Academy, 2024). The second practice is to encourage growth mindset in learning (Dweck, 2008) to all students. Advanced learners need to experience the value of being less than perfect in order to grow and develop resilience (Tomlinson, 2017), something that would have benefitted me in my days as a student. Third, I will teach study skills, like varieties of note-taking (Dean et al., 2012), in addition to the curriculum to help them be life-long learners.

References:

Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. J. (2012). Classroom instruction that works. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to fulfill our potential. Ballantine Books.

The Montessori Teaching Philosophy: Montessori Academy. The Montessori Teaching Philosophy | Montessori Academy. (2024, October 31). https://montessoriacademy.com.au/montessori-philosophy/#:~:text=The%20teacher’s%20role%20is%20to,larger%20capacity%20for%20self%2Ddirection.

Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. The Main Idea. https://www.nesacenter.org/uploaded/conferences/FTI/2016/handouts/Mark_Church/D_MakingThinkingVisible_Summary_TheMainIdea.pdf

Tomlinson, C. A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms, third edition. ASCD.

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction (name one educational theorist in this part)

Here are three core beliefs of effective instruction based on John Dewey’s philosophy of learning through experiences which helps me to focus on real-world math applications and Gardner’s role in differentiating instruction which helps me to vary my teaching in different ways to help differentiate in order to support diverse learners so they can grow in their knowledge of math.

1. All Students Can Learn and Grow

o    Every student is capable of developing mathematical understanding with the right support.

o    Instruction should focus on a growth mindset, emphasizing effort, persistence, and learning from mistakes.

2. Understanding Is More Important Than Memorization

o    Students should grasp mathematical concepts deeply, not just memorize the procedures of doing math

o    Instruction should emphasize problem-solving, reasoning, and connections between concepts rather than rote memorization.

3.      Math Should Be Meaningful and Applicable to the Real World

o    Students learn best when they see how math connects to their lives and future careers.

o    Instruction should incorporate real-world problems, data analysis, and financial literacy to make learning relevant.

o    Using project-based learning, and hands-on activities helps students develop to problem-solving skills they can use beyond the classroom.

Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire

Based on my vision for instruction, here are three instructional practices I'd like to incorporate into my teaching practices:

1. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) with Real-World Applications

Design math lessons around authentic, real-world problems that require critical thinking and application of concepts.

Encourage students to explore, model, and justify their solutions, rather than just solving equations.

Connect problems to career fields (engineering, business, technology, healthcare, finance) to show math’s relevance.

2. Mathematical Discourse & Collaborative Learning

Use think-pair-share, math debates, and structured group problem-solving to get students talking about math.

Encourage students to explain their reasoning and critique the thinking of others.

Create a student-centered classroom where learners build understanding through discussion rather than just teacher-led instruction.

3. Inquiry-Based Learning with Technology Integration

Use exploratory, hands-on activities where students discover patterns and derive formulas themselves.

Integrate technology tools like Desmos, GeoGebra, or Python coding to enhance engagement and visualization.

Allow students to investigate and make predictions before formal instruction to deepen conceptual understanding.

References:

Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. ASCD.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House Publishing Group

Graham, C. R., Borup, J., Short, C. R., & Archambault, L. (2019). K-12 Blended Teaching. EdTech books. https://edtechbooks.org/k12blended/personalizing_instruction

Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2020, September). Making thinking visible:. The Main Idea - Making Thinking Visible. https://www.nesacenter.org/uploaded/conferences/FTI/2016/handouts/Mark_Church/D_MakingThinkingVisible_Summary_TheMainIdea.pdf

Sidekick, C. (n.d.). Cognitive development: The theory of jean piaget: Educational psychology. Educational Psychology. https://www.collegesidekick.com/study-guides/educationalpsychology/cognitive-development-the-theory-of-jean-piaget

Strauss, V. (2013, October 16). Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles.’ The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/

Tovani, C. (2017, August 11). No More Telling as Teaching. Heinemann Podcast. other, Heinemann Publishing. Retrieved February 19, 2025,.

Willis, J. K., & Johnson, A. N. (2001). Multiply with MI using multiple intelligences to master multiplication. Teaching Children Mathematics, ₇(5), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.5951/tcm.7.5.0260

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Core beliefs

1.      Students need input(choices): involving students in how they learn allows for positive engagement. Often, this also motivates students to participate more since their wants/needs are being considered. Abraham Maslow's theory states that humans are encouraged to fulfill their needs.

2.      Students need feedback: I use constructive feedback as much as possible. Constructive feedback focuses on the student's strengths and areas for improvement, encouraging and motivating students to strive to be their best selves.

3.      Students need variation: Changing how you teach a lesson as often as possible is essential. Students learn differently from one another and don’t thrive with repetitive teaching lessons.

Instructional Practices

1.      Thinking routines: this may not seem like a typical choice for physical education, but it allows for students of all skill levels to succeed with their skill sets. There are many ways to impact a soccer game: offense, defense, playing goalie, kicking, passing, running, using angels, vision of the field, and many, many more. Being great at all of them is essential, but if you are good at one, you can affect the game, too. Teaching students to figure out what they are good at and what they find fun allows them to think about the game differently.

2.      Cooperative learning: Working together in groups always happens in the gym. Students need to work together to find ways to compete in activities. Rotating teams as often as possible so students work with different classmates allows them to see how other students have different perspectives on how best to play the game.

3.      Differentiated instruction: Students have diverse ways of learning and understanding. As their teacher, it is my job to manipulate how I teach them. Some students might be slightly behind their peers, and some might be lightyears ahead. Easing the barrier of entry for students who might be behind and giving students who are ahead more challenging goals to strive for is essential.

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction:

1) Developing students’ ability to think is more important than covering every piece of content, rather use content to improve students cognitive process and ability to think critically.

2) Lessons must be relevant and tangible to the student. Interesting is good but making a history lesson real and tangible to the student and their life improves motivation and promotes better engagement and learning.

3) Students learn best when they can personally engage with the material. John Dewey emphasized the importance of experience in learning, arguing that people need to experience the consequences of what they are learning to really internalize it.

3 instructional practices:

1) McDowell describes incorporating two to three open ended questions to promote learning stamina and promote deeper learning. Using some common prompts in historical thinking in this way I can also engage higher order cognitive processes and encourage more effective critical thinking in my students.

2) Alex Brouhard discusses several ways to better engage students in learning history. Wherever possible connect the so what of the lesson with current events and periodically challenge students to do the same. Where appropriate and available bring artifacts in that the students can see and touch (like my grand-fathers WWII army jacket) and assign projects that provide student choice but require engagement with local history through biographies, interviews, visiting and writing about local sites. AI offers unique and engaging opportunities; I can have the AI engage as a historical figure and task students with arguing a point with it.

3) Incorporate group exercises as much as possible, ideally daily. I’ll break students into groups and have them work on answering a prompt that requires engagement with the course material, have them present what they came up with, explain their process, justify how they arrived at their conclusion, and defend their position.

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction (name one educational theorist in this part)

I will be using Maslow's theory to break down my core beliefs in instruction. The first core belief I believe is important based on Maslow's theory would be making sure to address the physiological needs of students. It's important for student's phycological needs to be met because it can improve their overall readiness to learn by making them feel comfortable. In a classroom, this can be seen by creating a safe and supportive environment for student's to be apart of and making the learning space as secure as possible.

The second core belief I believe is important would be promoting self-esteem and confidence. When a student feel as if a teacher believes in them, they start to believe in themselves and become more motivated to do good in school. Teachers can promote high self-esteem and confidence in students by giving them positive criticism. This also helps students develop a growth mindset, and this feeling of confidence they can develop will carry on to the real world when they are adults.

Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire

The first instructional practice I would like to be a part of my instructional repertoire would be differentiated learning. This is important to me because I would to be able to adjust to all students learning styles and help them the best way that I can.

The second practice would be incorporating technology into my lesson plans. Technology can be a tool that can help reach different learning styles, and can also give students a sense on independent learning.

The third practice would be formative assessments. This is important because it allows me to monitor how much student's are learning while also being able to provide them feedback.

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Core Beliefs

1. I believe constructivism in the classroom requires students to attend to the material and engage with it in a way that internalizes the learning and makes it relevant for that student. (Lemov, 2021) Among constructivists like Piaget and Montessori, Jerome Bruner offers a clear example:

“The concept of prime numbers appears to be more readily grasped when the child, through construction, discovers that certain handfuls of beans cannot be laid out in completed rows and columns. Such quantities have either to be laid out in a single file or in an incomplete row-column design in which there is always one extra or one too few to fill the pattern. These patterns, the child learns, happen to be called prime.” (Gonzalez, 2015)

2. SEL impacts the learning environment in the classroom - whether students feel safe to make mistakes - and requires modeling and teaching emotional constancy. (Lemov, 2021)

3. The “Joy Factor” matters, and is influenced by whether Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is being met and whether the classroom environment invokes a team spirit for students to celebrate one another. (Lemov, 2021)

Instructional Practices

1. Differentiation: My classroom will likely have ELL students, and the increasing diversity in classrooms indicates at least 10% will have ADHD, and even more students likely to be experiencing trauma. Therefore, it will be important to have appropriate supports so that every student has an opportunity to learn and understand material, as well as demonstrate their progress.

2. Movement: People need to move to stay alert and attentive, so it will be important to integrate opportunities to move into lessons daily.

3. SEL: Addressing SEL when setting up classroom procedures will be important. integrating it into lessons to increase self-awareness and support positive interactions among the students during discussions will improve our classroom learning environment.

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Three Core Beliefs that I strongly believe should be incorporated in Instructions are:

1. “Learning is a social activity – it is something we do together, in interaction with each other, rather than an abstract concept” (Dewey, 1938). Although direct instructions and notes play an important role, still I strongly believe that students learn more deeply through peer collaboration and social interactions.

2. Differentiation– As an ESOL teacher I also believe in “one glove doesn’t fit all” policy. Similarly, teachers cannot expect all students to learn in a similar way. Every student has unique needs, and instruction should be scaffolded and differentiated accordingly.

3. Active engagement– Students learn best when they are actively involved through class discussions, hands-on activities, and by building connections with real-world.

Instructional Practices I plan to incorporate are:

1. Project-Based Learning (PBL): This will involve hand-on projects to draw connections with real life, encouraging creativity and critical thinking.

2. Questioning: Starting an open-ended question forum to stir up students’ thinking process, promoting the ideology that there are multiple ways to think about a perspective, which in turn will promote deeper understanding of the content being taught.

3. Activating prior knowledge: Using a quick recall method to connect with prior knowledge acts as a bridge between old and new knowledge. Sometimes repeating or recalling an important concept helps students remember it.

Reference: Simply Psychology. (2024, February 1). Constructivism Learning Theory & Philosophy of Education. https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html

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Mohammad Bashshiti - Business & IT Teacher

My first core belief aligns closely with the following quote from John Dewey - "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Our learning does not stop upon high school or college graduation, and we should never be passive recipients of knowledge. With that in mind, project-based learning is a very effective way to learn, and in my classes (Computer Solutions & Coding), students get the opportunity to learn by doing and making mistakes along the way.

This leads to my second belief of instruction - education must have real-world implications. When students come out of my classes, my expectation is they will have learned skills that not only make them better workers, but better communicators, citizens, and thinkers. In the end, while computer skills are important, they are only part of what is required in the business world.

My instructional practices will include 1) building relationships (greeting my students every day, knowing their names, and recalling facts about them) to show my level of caring, which should result in greater engagement and higher levels of motivation 2) using heterogenous grouping so students of all abilities and comprehension levels can work together - similar to the business world, where we must collaborate with individuals of all backgrounds and abilities to accomplish tasks, and 3) differentiating my lessons so students can show mastery of the core skills in the manner of their choosing (for example, demonstrating their Excel skills on the data of basketball players instead of the data of businesses).

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john dewey quote: education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

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John Dewey Quote: Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

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Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. | John Dewey Quote

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Instruction should be tailored to student's interests, strengths, and learning styles. My goal is to inspire curiosity, creativity, and a growth mindset. Students can learn best through hands-on experiences, experimentation, and problem-based learning. I believe instruction should be student centered and include project-based learning. I agree with Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory, recognizing that students have diverse ways of learning.

I look forward to using thinking routines in my classroom. These routines will deepen my students understanding of content and nurture a growth mindset. I will use blended learning strategies that will encourage learning to be differentiated and personalized. I will include cooperative learning in my class to encourage positive interdependence, individual accountability, and motivation.

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Classroom instruction, according to Linda Darling-Hammond and colleagues (2008), is built upon some core beliefs or principles, namely:

1. To promote student learning, teachers must address and build upon a students prior understandings and experiences.

2. To develop deep understanding and retrieve and apply knowledge in real-world contexts - students must have factual and conceptual knowledge.

3. To learn more effectively, students must be aware of how they learn, monitor, and reflect on their learning.

In order to embed and bring these instructional beliefs to fruition, I will frequently use a cooperative learning strategy to promote a deeper understanding and learning on the part of students to promotive positive interdependence, "one for all, all for one,' and individual and group accountability, each persons effort contributes to everyone's success!

Enhance students' understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by reinforcing effort and providing recognition to students for their attainment of specific goal(s) - as part of providing the learning activities and using feedback mechanisms to do so.

Finally, work to enhance enhance student's understanding of and ability to use knowledge by engaging the students in mental process that involve identifying ways in which items are alike and different - teaching them how to compare, classify, and create analogies and metaphors to more easily breakdown and deeply embed the learning.

(Dean, C.B., Hubbell, E.R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B.j. (2012).

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Two Core Beliefs: I am a budding Constructivist (Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky) and Visible Thinking (David Perkins and Ron Ritchhart) acolyte, and I was not surprised to learn that the latter grew out of the former. The principles of constructivism feel intuitive to me (at least, after 6 weeks of the EducateVA program):

Knowledge has to be built, and we all do it in our own unique way based on our prior knowledge, experiences, and beliefs. It’s personal and contextual.

We learn how to learn, which is why teachers have an important role to play.

Learning is not a passive process; it requires engagement and even struggle.

Learning is a social activity.

Motivation is key.

Similarly, the Visible Thinking folks “put thinking at the center of the educational enterprise.” Covering as much math as possible is ineffective if it's done in a thinking vacuum. They also argue that elevating thinking empowers students to take ownership of their learning and develop intellectual independence: After all, teachers can’t think for students.

Three Instructional Practices that align with my beliefs:

Thinking Routines like See-Think-Wonder or Claim-Support-Question could help my students articulate their thought processes when solving math problems.

Inquiry-Based Tasks present content in a more open-ended way, requiring students to construct knowledge. As one example, students could be told, “A student claims the surface area of a cube with a side of 5 cm is 125 cm².” And then asked to discuss whether the student is correct, and, if not, where they went wrong.

Collaborative Learning: I want to build routine opportunities for dialogue, such as  Think-Pair-Share or Turn-and-Talk, to get students to verbalize their reasoning.

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Core Beliefs for Instruction:

My core beliefs for instruction are greatly influenced by Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. I intend to make my classroom a safe, inviting space that gives the students a sense of security so that they are able to learn to the best of their ability. Another belief I have is that learning should appeal to the students’ stage of development (Jean Piaget) and their learning strengths (Howard Gardner). I also believe that a strong student-teacher relationship sets the groundwork for successful classroom management.

Three Techniques to Carry into my Teaching Practice:

1.      Differentiation. Thinking about how to meet the needs of a variety of students while keeping in minds not only physical limitations but socio-emotional limitations as well.

2.      Double planning. I often plan activities according to objectives for the students and will start including my own “teacher will do” objectives and plans alongside so that I can best position myself for various assessments and opportunities for student support and feedback.

3.      Cooperative learning, where students can work with other students directly to improve a skill or concept. In addition to those things, they will also greatly improve their social skills.

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction (name one educational theorist in this part)

1. Differentiation of instruction is a clear and important part of modern classrooms. As Tomlinson (2017) discussed, addressing the variety of diverse students within the classroom needs to be a multifaceted and varied approach to ensure differentiation.  Content should be adjusted to students' readiness levels, interest and learning styles to properly address the needs of learners.

2. I believe addressing student needs is paramount to ensuring both motivation and participation in the classroom. Using Manslows hierarchy of needs, we can address student needs step by step on the hierarchy to ensure all needs are met within the class. Providing for physiological needs, addressing safety concerns and fostering a welcoming classroom culture can help address some of the foundational needs of all learners.

Share 3 instructional practices you want to make part of your instructional repertoire

1. Thinking Routines - The thinking routines shown to use in Foundations modules are excellent practices that I wish to incorporate within my own teaching. Using the “I used to/now think”, “Think, Puzzle, Explore”, and “Connect, Extend, Challenge” are all excellent ways to incorporate thinking using structured formats.

2. Differentiated Procedure Assessments - Providing students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their mastery of the standard is absolutely something I wish to incorporate within my teaching. Allowing students to choose how they tackle material is important, and is an excellent way to encourage motivation.

3. Collaborative Learning - On the topic of differentiation, adjusting lessons to encourage collaborative learning is something I wish to implement. Collaborative learning allows students to share and pool knowledge, while also allowing for differentiation for students levels of readiness. Group work, team reading, and peer review are all practices I wish to incorporate into my own lesson plans.

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Core Beliefs

1.      You must pay attention to the neurobiology of the learning experience. Issues around working memory access and cognitive load are super important to keep in mind, as are different ways of learning from a neuroscience angle. Dr. Barbara Oakley and her coauthors discuss this in their work Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn. They also discuss the differences between declarative and procedural learning, and focused vs diffused learning, recognizing that all forms activate inside the learners’ psyche- and that all forms are essential elements to the creation of a learning experience.

2.      Students need to own their own learning. To do this they need to be helped to understand the nature of what learning is. Since people are recalcitrant to learn in a unidirectional fashion, from and expert teacher to a willing learner, it is much preferred to “level the field” by acknowledging openly that you, as the instructor, are also a student- with much to learn. It’s vital to present material as a challenge, not to expect “right” answers, but rather to seek betterment of understanding through critical thinking, debate, and problem solving.

Three Instructional Practices:

1.      Concept maps. I will probably introduce this practice early in the semester, and revisit many times throughout the course. This way the students get better at constructing them and finding connections- as well as identifying gaps in their understandings. Prior topics can be integrated into newer material easily.

2.      Developing a daily practice of having the students learn to create their own questions and figure out the answers. The role of the instructor becomes less of instructions, and more of a collaborator in their learning. By ending classes (and then starting them again) with a brainstorming session for interesting questions, we set the stage for this kind of work, and we reinforce the important concept that science is mostly about questioning the world.

3.      Use long-term real-world examples of phenomena as a framework to explore topics in biology. Examples can include areas where students have shown interest. For example, if some students have shown interest in fishing, we can create lessons easily around fish behavior and from there topics such as homeostasis, adaptation, food webs, water cycle, and a lot of other topics.

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As new teachers we often have limited tools for classroom instruction and heavily rely on how we were taught when in school. One of my core beliefs in instruction is using a student-centered approach as described by Piaget. Teaching needs to focus on the student and not the material being taught. This can be difficult since as teachers we tend to focus on the topics that need to be covered. Instead the main focus should be how to encourage student engagement in the material. Another one of my core beliefs is that various forms differentiation is required in the classroom. In my science classes I have standard, honors and academic support students who vary widely in their levels of ability and needs. Being able to tailor classroom instruction to meet the diverse needs of students is one of the most important aspects to their success.

The instructional practices I will be implementing are:

1) Recognition and Praise - to strengthen their will and make them more resilient during difficult tasks.

2) To use cooperative learning more frequently in class. I have been reserving group work for labs, however research shows that collaborative learning works best when done at least once a week.

3) To teach students a variety of note-taking formats including webbing, outlining or a combination of both.

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I believe that great teachers should

build a strong personal connection with their students by letting them know that she supports them, she appreciates them, and (hopefully) she enjoys being with them.  In addition to promoting a better classroom experience for everyone, this will increase student motivation and engagement (Lemov).

create a “culture of thinking” in which collective and individual thinking are respected, valued, and promoted as part of the classroom routine (Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison).  This will allow the class to reach higher cognitive levels within Bloom’s taxonomy.

promote active student engagement with creative, differentiated lessons that trigger the interest of a diverse array of learners (Lemov).

I plan to institute several instructional practices to support these values, including:

structuring a positive learning environment by welcoming my students every day and setting clear expectations that our class will have a norm of mutual respect;

employing thinking routines such as Red Light, Yellow Light (to encourage students to think critically about sources) and Tug of War (to help them evaluate the strength of arguments), borrowed from Project Zero and other sources;

designing differentiated activities and assessments to engage all students; and

making history meaningful to students by drawing parallels to their lives, having them engage from an angle that interests them, or exploring the long-term impact of historical events.

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I found Constructivist Learning Theories (most attributed to Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky) to heavily resonate with me.  Core ideas include 1) knowledge is constructed through experiences and constant updating of mental models, 2) learning is best done through active social interaction, rather than passive absorption of materials, and 3) learning is more effective when it’s personalized and tied to real-world context.

I plan to adopt the following practices:  1) Student centered activities, with teachers more as facilitators guiding students through the learning process than as information delivery vessels.  This means more student-guided activities with a focus on choice and exploration, standardized tests be damned.  2) Active learning strategies with an eye towards more group based and project based learning.  3) An emphasis on deeper understanding rather than memorization through open ended projects and open discussion or reflection time, tight curriculum schedule be damned.

I talk a big game, but I do fear that standardized tests and the tight curriculum schedule will curtail my efforts and would love to see how more experienced teachers approach this.

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Core Beliefs:

In considering the core beliefs of education from our course, there are two common threads ultimately that hold all instruction together. First is the importance of relationship building and developing classroom culture. Doug Lemov writes in Teach Like A Champion, that "students learn about what they attend to," and that "selective attention has reverberating effects on success in language, literacy, and mathematics" (Lemov, 2021). This ultimately originates with the teacher and how the teacher models classroom culture and structure. In a similar manner as a magician uses "sleight of hand," the teacher has the ability to direct student attention toward what they should prioritize, but only if they have built a thorough and respectful relationship with the student and meets the student at that student's vocabulary and worldview. Jennifer Gonzalez thoroughly builds on this and puts the idea front and center of her philosophy through her Cult of Pedagogy podcast, particularly when she examines the five questions all teachers should ask themselves in regard to student motivation: the first pillar of these is, "What do my relationships look like with my students?" (Gonzalez, 2016). By learning about our students as individuals, we can thereby better serve them, not how we believe they should learn, but how they will most successfully grasp, absorb, and retain information.

This leads to the necessity of establishing differentiated, visual instruction as it is communicated by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Alan November. According to each, successful education is, for lack of a better single term, the practice of empathy (Tedx Talks, 2016). When we are able to provide opportunities to make learning visible while also offering choice and variety in our activities and assessments, we thereby open doors for students to take ownership, agency, and authority over their own educational journey. This is most successfully communicated by Tomlinson's theory of "content, process, product" through which she establishes a cycle of learning not only to achieve a goal, but also to instill a deep and substantial awareness of one's own learning routines that transcends the needs of the classroom and will last a lifetime (Tomlinson, 2017)

Instructional Practices:

1. Cooperative Learning: In order to most fully meet the needs of a variety of students, I will ensure that the majority of my assignments have the opportunity for students to work collaboratively. Generally, I will adhere to informal opportunities to do such as a means of differentiation, but I will also intentionally find times by which I require formal and base-group collaboration (particularly within daily journal entry peer-reviews), as Dean et. al. recommend.

2. Further exploring differentiation methods: I will continue to strive to offer a plethora of opportunities for student choice and differentiation in order to further engage students and meet them in their own educational journeys. For example, I will provide directions to assignments in both English and Spanish in order to provide an equitable opportunity for MLL students. I will also aim to always have visual representations of lessons and activities available, including clearly modeling my expectations as a key element in my giving direction.

3. Building curriculum based on student-relevant content: after learning who my students are and where their priorities lie, I will strive to communicate content in a way that is most pertinent to their needs and the anticipated trajectories they desire from their lives, whether that be academic, personal, or professional. Particularly in working in language arts, I am aware that almost all learning must first pass through the lens of language: however, if students are unable to view that lens in a context that feels relevant and important in their own lives, they will be limited in their capacity to digest information and be have their natural curiosities stunted.

References:

Dean, C.B., Hubbell, E.R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. ASCD.

Gonzalez, Jennifer. (2016, February 20). 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Unmotivated Students. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/student-motivation/

Lemov, Doug. (2021). Teach Like A Chamption (Ver. 3.0) (pp. 19-35). Jossey-Bass.

TedxTalks. (2016, November 3). What is the Value of a Teacher? - Alan November. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN4c0EqY61o

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2017). How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms (3rd. Ed.) pp. 1-11. ASCD.

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What is the Value of a Teacher? | Alan November | TEDxWestVancouverED

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Core beliefs of classroom instruction:

1) Instruction needs to be student-centered and the students' should have some autonomy over their learning. From the article Personalizing Instruction, “Blended teaching allows us to shift from teacher-led practices — in which the teacher determines what should be learned, when it should be learned, and how it should be learned — to more student-centered practices that give students power over their own learning journeys".

2) Instruction should be differentiated to accommodate the diverse learning of all of the students in the classroom.

3) Teachers need to build strong positive relationships with each of the students. This encourages students to do their best in that particular class and sets a mutual foundation of trust between student and teacher. Students are more responsive to those who are trustworthy to them. With a strong positive relationship, students will want to engage more in daily instruction.

Instructional Practices

1) Active Learning: students will actively engage with the material rather than passively receive information. This can be done through critical thinking and problem solving as well as discussions. I use active learning in my classroom by encouraging students to critically think about the content and having them work in pairs or small groups to encourage peer discussion.

2)Differentiated Learning: each student learns differently and can excel in different types of learning activities. I implement differentiated learning in my classroom to accommodate the diverse learners that I teach.

3) Formative Assessments: these assessments evaluate students learning as we progress through the content. I use formative assessments in my classroom to highlight learning gaps, misconceptions, and struggling learners so I can intervene and provide support where needed.

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One of my core beliefs about instruction is constructivism, Jean Piaget’s theory that students should hold active roles in their education. Learning needs to be an active process by the students, so implementing tools such as blended learning and student choice will help foster this idea (McLeod, 2024).

Another core belief of mine is students are more engaged and want to learn if connections are established with the teacher. Asking students questions, getting to know them on a personal level, and sharing personal interests of my own can help create a genuine connection.

One practice I want to establish is a routine. I love a routine to my day to help keep myself on track, know what to expect, and properly track my progress. I can also create a standard in the classroom from the first day to help with classroom management.

Another instruction practice I want to implement is a teacher-station during math lessons where learners who need more assistance can approach me but those who do not can freely explore, giving students a choice in their education.

One final instruction practice I want in my classroom is to use a lot of hands-on activities that reference real life. This can help students conceptualize topics and create a relatable learning experience.

McLeod, S. (2024, February 1). Constructivism Learning Theory & Philosophy of Education. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html

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-Regarding classroom instruction, I think Almarode’s focus on the importance of engaging students is spot on. A core belief I’ve derived from that and our study of motivation is that room for student personalization within lessons is absolutely core. Personalization seems to be a core feature of both motivation and engagement, while allowing students to map content into their own personal reality (Ferlazzo, 2015) (Schwartz, 2016).

-As an extension of that, I believe centering clear authenticity in every way possible would be my other core belief. Students should know why they are doing what they are doing, and how it will help them. They should know why they are learning what we are studying. They need to know exactly what will help them. Everything we are learning has a purpose, and student should be able to (with some facilitation) see how it fits into the picture with their own life.

3 Instructional Practices

-Introducing thinking routines into lessons to make thinking visible (Ritchhart et al., 2013).

-Implementing more self directed learning assignments to allow broader personalization.

-Moderating my language to ensure I give feedback promoting growth over a fixed mindset. My feedback should let students clearly connect their effort and restuls.

References:

Ritchhart, R. Church, M. Morrison, K. (2013). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. The Main Idea.

https://www.nesacenter.org/uploaded/conferences/FTI/2016/handouts/Mark_Church/ D_MakingThinkingVisible_Summary_TheMainIdea.pdf

Ferlazzo, L. (2015). Creating the Conditions for Student Motivation. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/creating-conditions-for-student-motivation-larry-ferlazzo

Schwartz, K. (2016). How To Ensure Students Are Actively Engaged and Not Just Compliant. KQED.

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/47102/how-to-ensure-students-are-actively-engaged-and-not- just-compliant

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After completing the thinking tool this week, I have organized three core beliefs of instruction and instructional practices I would like to incorporate into my instructional repertoire to help foster these beliefs.

1.      Personalized learning can help students with unique strengths and learning needs: Based on my readings in Carol Ann Tomlinson's book Differentiated Instruction, I intend to incorporate differentiated instruction by tailoring content, the learning process, the learning environment, and the assessment products. Dr. Tomlinson is an expert on differentiated instruction and encourages creating more inclusive classrooms.

2.      A growth mindset is essential for fostering a productive learning environment: “Praise the process, not just the outcome.” (Dweck, 2006, p.34)  I intend to work hard to ensure my students can recognize their effort and perseverance by rewarding their improvements rather than final scores.

3.      Real-world connections can make learning relevant: I intend to make sure my middle school science students are able to make real-world connections with the use of a science journal.  This is a place where the students can make those connections and I can collect the journals, read them, and use the information inside for classroom discussion. This is another example of differentiated learning, where students can make those connections (Tomlinson, 2017).

References

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2017).  How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse

Classrooms, Third Edition (p. 207). ASCD. Kindle Edition.

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Core Beliefs:

1. Student engagement is key to learning. Robert Marzano discusses numerous way student engagement supports student success and reminds teachers to incorporate simple things like movement into their classroom (https://www.marzanoresources.com/resources/tips/hec_tips_archive/).

2. Teacher-student relationships are critical to success and are founded on mutual respect (Lemov, 2021, pp. 26-33). Additionally, helping build relationships between students creates a sense of belonging and community for students that helps them thrive.

3. Teachers and students must have a growth mindset, where abilities are understood to be the result of effort. This includes what Daniel Leonard calls creating a “mistake-friendly classroom” (https://www.edutopia.org/article/addressing-work-refusal/).

Instructional Practices:

1. I would like to use mini-lessons followed by immediate processing/application instead of longer stretches of direct instruction, as suggested by Alexis Wiggins (https://authenticeducation.org/a-veteran-teacher-turned-coach-shadows-2-students-for-2-days-a-sobering-lesson-learned/)

2. I would like to incorporate visible thinking, including visible thinking routines, into my instruction to invest in teaching my students how to be robust thinkers, as advised by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison (https://www.nesacenter.org/uploaded/conferences/FTI/2016/handouts/Mark_Church/D_MakingThinkingVisible_Summary_TheMainIdea.pdf).

3. I would like to tryout the practice of dialogue journals with my students, as described by Jennifer Gonzalez in her blog Cult of Pedagogy, to personalize my students learning and build individual relationships with them (https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/dialogue-journals/).

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One core belief I have in instruction and education is to help students make meaning in what they are learning. Students are more likely to engage in learning and thinking when they can make connections to the content to something relevant in their world, and if it helps them makes sense of the world around them. In my experience, when there is some sort of reflection built into lessons or units, that is a great opportunity to engage in meaning making. Another core belief I have in instruction is that learning is active, not passive - and that exploration or learning can happen best when we are actively involved or immersed in it. John Dewey, educational theorist, believed that learning is both understanding theoretical knowledge, but then doing something with that theory - and gaining experience in practical application. I share a very similar belief in that it is one thing to learn theory, and it is another to do something with that theory. One leads to better understanding of the learning!

1. I want to offer choice to students and practice personalization, in order to be a partner with them in learning - as often as I am able to, I want them to have voice and autonomy in the classroom - from offering multiple options on assignments, to being flexible and offering students choice on how certain instructional time could be spent.

2. I want to make collaboration a foundation of my classroom - I want to ensure that not all work and learning is completed independently, because I recognize the importance and the skills that can be gained when students learn to work with one another.

3. I want to limit homework as much as possible, and let students have a break during class time to either engage in mindfulness, spend time outside, or find other ways to decompress from their school day. I've learned very creative ways to create formative assessments that don't involve assigning homework and recognize the importance of getting students to engage in healthy breaks throughout the day so I hope to make both practices a part of my practice in teaching.

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Identify 2-3 Core Beliefs of Instruction

Student learning, motivation, and engagement is increased when teachers follow the principles of personalization and differentiation in their instruction. Educational theorist Carol Ann Tomilson encourages teachers to differentiate their instruction in four ways: content, process, product, and learning environment. The content can vary on how the student will receive the information, the process in the type of activities the student will engage with during the learning, the product by varying the method of assessment, and the learning environment by the work the classroom works and feels.

A second core belief is non-linquistic representation, such as graphic organizers, making models, or engaging in kinesthetic activities. These tools are considered effective because they tap into students’ natural tendency for visual image processing, helping them to construct meaning and promoting better recall (Dean et al, p.64, 2012).

Three Instructional Practices I wish to Incorporate

Three instructional techniques I want to incorporate into my repertoire are student choice through learning menus, collaborative group work, and authentic/Project-Based assessments.

In this week’s prompt, Chapter 4 of K-12 Blended Teaching gives an example of a learning or choice menu for a high school government class. Assignments are worth varying amounts of points based on difficulty but the choice menu allows students to decide which assignments they want to complete, based on either topic interest (term limits for Supreme Court justices versus the Second Amendment) or preference of task itself (writing a paper versus designing a quiz).

Classroom Instruction that Works stresses the effectiveness of cooperative learning through the use of consistent and systematic small group work (Dean et. al, 2012). Cooperative learning provides an environment where students can reflect on new knowledge through talking and active listening with their peers, working through common misconceptions and developing a deeper understanding of knowledge (p.37). Aside from keeping groups small and using them consistently, the key to effective cooperative learning is assigning individual group roles to students and holding them accountable in their contributions through formative assessment.

The third instructional method is providing opportunities for authentic assessment, which often take the form of Project-Based Learning(PBL). PBL tasks students with tackling real-world problems which adds novelty and purpose to the assessment. Envision School calls this type of assessment, which focuses on tasking students with how to “know, do, and reflect”,  “Deeper Learning Outcomes” (Lenz, 2013). This might look like having students write a college-level research paper, presenting it to a panel (which includes people from outside of the school), and being subjected to panel questioning.

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1). Tomlinson (2003, p. 28) recommends that teachers consistently respond to their students with invitation, opportunity, investment, persistence, and reflection.

2). According to Carol Ann Tomlinson and Marcia B. Imbeau (2010), ― "differentiation is a growth mindset endeavor—it asks teachers to find an academic entry point relative to essential learning outcomes, to make instructional plans designed to move students to mastery of those outcomes, and to adopt a 'whatever it takes‘ approach in doing so. It also calls on teachers to work with students to show them the direct link between effort and success (p. 33)".

3). “The development and implementation of pedagogy that promotes students’ engagement in the learning process could encourage students’ critical thinking abilities and the transfer of those abilities necessary for academic achievement, personal success, and success in the work force (Karbalaei, 2017).”

There are some instructional practices I have applied in my ESL classes and I would like to continue using them because they are very beneficial.

1). Visual Learning & Graphic Organizer (they are very useful for students to come up with the ideas before writing, and to read articles with more logical ideas)

2). Collaborative Learning: usually work as different groups

3). Differentiation: Always create "Plan B", and download more materials online in case some students need extended exercises in the classes

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My two core beliefs of instruction include “student-centered learning” and “emotion drive cognition”.

1) Student-centered learning— As Cris Tovani stated, student-centered learning is more efficient than teacher-centered learning. Students learn best by authentic learning, solving the real-world problems. Students work in small groups to investigate the projects, design their own learning objectives, find solutions through extensive self-guided study with help of teacher, and deliver their final outcomes in their own way of choices.

2) Emotions drive cognition-- Emotions strongly influence how students think and learn. When students experience positive emotions, they are more likely to stay engaged and learn in more depth. Positive emotions can be promoted by interaction, collaboration, and supportive environment.

Three instructional practices I would like to implement in my instruction include:

1) Cooperative learning – incorporate positive interdependence and individual accountability.

2) Reinforcing effort and recognizing the achievement—promote students’ self-confidence and intrinsic motivation.

3) Identifying similarities and differences—simplify the work by grouping or classification.

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Core Beliefs of Instruction:

1) Instruction begins with relationships.

Building relationships with students early and developing them as the year goes on directly supports learning. I will ask students about themselves, which will help me start to develop an understanding of the students’ needs and abilities. This helps me be a more effective teacher.

2) Instruction must actively engage students.

Students need to be engaged behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively.  I can do this by keeping lessons active and varied.  Real engagement helps students move beyond compliance and into meaningful learning.

3) Instruction thrives through cooperation.

I can incorporate cooperative learning which allows students to support one another in their learning by engaging with each other and sharing ideas.  Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivism shows that learning is a social process where knowledge is built through interaction. Not only does it have a positive effect in the classroom, but it helps build positive attitudes about school and self-esteem.

Instructional Practices:

1) Project-based learning – I would use this to connect history content to real world problems, which keeps students curious and invested in the work.

2) Differentiation - By planning different ways for students to show understanding, I can meet individual needs and make sure every student has a fair chance to succeed.

3) Thinking Routines- Using routines like Connect–Extend–Challenge helps students build on what they already know.  It also deepens their understanding and raises new questions.

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Core beliefs of instruction:
1) While some students may be able to jump different levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, instruction will almost always be better received if students feel safe and loved in a classroom.

2) Humans learn best when they care and are entertained - while I likely won’t be able to convince every student that English class is the best thing ever, as a teacher it is part of my job to help them buy-in through thoughtful and engaging lesson plans that include student choice, opportunities for social interaction, assignments that think outside the box, and generally go beyond talking at students for an hour and a half.

3) Students need to be taught how to learn - note taking, summarizing, practicing and studying are not skills that we are born with. The smartest, most hardworking student may fall flat on their face if they are not given the tools to succeed.

3 practices that will be a part of my instructional repertoire:
1) Nonlinguistic representations: For ELA, much of what we are doing is processing language and text. I will constantly be on the lookout for ways for us to engage with content in a different way.
2) Modeling: I know that I learn better by watching someone do something than by reading an instruction manual - so I plan to walk students through a process when possible in addition to always having a written step-by-step guide for them to refer back to.
3) Rule-based summarizing strategies and summary frames (Dean et. al): In an ELA classroom it is imperative that we learn to get to the “root” of the text, but this can be overwhelming. Utilizing these practices will hopefully help the process of summarizing feel more attainable.

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(1) Inspired by Carol Tomlinson. I am teaching individuals, not a classroom. My classroom is a collection of desks, chairs, and papers, I cannot teach any of those things. My goal is to enable all students to learn well in my class, and that’s going to require me to make lessons that reach all students, not just the brightest ones.

(2) None of my students are “Math kids” or “English kids” or “Theater kids”. There is nothing that someone cannot understand with enough effort and help. I aim to be that help to my students, and hopefully show them that learning something start by believing that you’ll walk out of the class a smarter person. My students will be well-rounded individuals and they will like it.

(3) I am to be a teacher, not a talker. My job is to facilitate learning, not speak aloud my assigned textbook. If my silence would lead to the best learning, then I will be silent and listen carefully to my students. In the same vein: I am a guide, not a grader. Any grading that doesn’t serve as feedback is an assignment that should be reworked.

Three Instructional Practices: Class-wide notetaking will be vital in uperclassmens’ learning, as they will soon be in college where that will be the standard. See-Think-Wonder will also serve a major role to get students predicting what might happen, which is a massive aspect of science. The final is praising growth, because I want to make it clear that I believe in students and that when they make strides, they should be recognized.

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Core Instructional Beliefs:

1. Students need a positive environment where they feel physically and psychologically safe, and experience a sense of belonging before they can thrive academically (Abraham Maslow - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs).

2. Differentiation, which involves providing various entry points to the lesson and access to knowledge, is necessary to meet the diverse needs in our classrooms. We can’t use a one-size-fits-all approach or teach to the middle.

Instructional Practices:

1. Interactive Instruction (Anita Archer): I will give students plenty of opportunities throughout the class to participate and engage in the lesson. Even while I instruct, I will pause and have them finish the sentence for me, ask them questions, and discuss ideas.

2. Clear Instruction: John Hattie lists “Teacher Clarity” as one of the factors that significantly influence student achievement. I will give clear instructions to my students about how to work towards expectations and goals. Their ability to follow instructions can only be as good as the quality of instructions themselves.

3. Collaborative Learning: We are social creatures who learn better when we work with others and engage in social interactions. My students will have the opportunity to work with their peers, which will encourage them to explain their thoughts as they problem solve.

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Two Core Beliefs

1) Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction teaches tailoring your teaching to meet the wide range of needs in the classroom. With so many different and unique minds it would not make sense to give a one size fits all style of teaching. Even in physical education! Carol Ann Tomlinson is one of the main theorists behind this idea.

2) Engaged Learning

Even in physical education it is just as important to strategized how to keep students engaged. If certain students aren't as engaged with a certain lesson or activity it might bring you to differentiating the instruction being taught.

I want to use these ideas and be able to put them both into practice. One practice I plan on using is small groups. I believe that while it is important for students to play and learn individually, it is also as equally important to learn and play in small or big groups. Another practice would be tailoring. This is one I did not use a lot in my first year of teaching PE. I want to be able to tailor lessons to certain students or groups in each class to meet their needs. I also want to use assessments more, to be able to track and watch improvement of my elementary students throughout the year.

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My core beliefs center around the importance and wide-ranging benefits of building community through trust in the classroom. I also believe in the importance of socio-emotional learning as articulated by Albert Bandura, and its relationship to differentiated instruction. His theory implies that as naturally social creatures, people do not learn in a vacuum. People learn from others. (Deaton, 2015).

The instructional practices I want to make part of my instructional repertoire are: (1) Engage in kinesthetic activities as part of learning vocabulary, (2) Teach students rule-based summarizing strategy, (3) Guide students in engaging in the process of understanding metaphor and analogy by identifying similarities and differences with structured tasks. (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, & Stone, 2012)

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My core belief in instruction is represented by the pedagogical triangle - that the teacher's goal is to build a student's relationship with the content. To accomplish this, it's important to remember Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. In a given high school class, students will be operating on different levels of development and thus not experiencing the content the same way. Which means that relationship between you, them, and the content will be unique as well. The triangle also implies the teacher's role as facilitator, not a "sage on the stage." It reminds me that my time with the student will be short and it is their connection to the content which will benefit their future learning, more so than my relationships with them.

To foster an environment where students can meaningfully connect to content, my other core instructional belief is the modeling, building, and maintenance of a professional working environment. A classroom where students feel safe because of the routines and procedures in place, and that safety allows them to take intellectual risks and be bold. And by modeling the environment on a professional setting, I hope it makes the experience more authentic to students and creates an air where all assignments (at least theoretically) have an audience beyond myself as teacher.

Thus to live out my core beliefs in the classroom, I need to incorporate the instructional practices of differentiation (by student interest, by student readiness levels), authentic learning utilizing project-based activities, and a focus on communicating the purpose of assignments and how students stand to gain from their completion. I also plan on incorporating thinking routines to make student thinking more visible and allow me to better track their cognitive development.

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Identify 2-3 core beliefs of instruction:

1. As Carol Ann Tomlinson has shared it is vital to differentiate instruction to allow for more student-centered learning and an increased focus on addressing as many student needs as possible (Tomlinson, 2017). I believe this is important for instruction because it acknowledges that every student, and person, is unique and we must make every effort to provide them with instruction that will give them every opportunity for success.

2. My second core belief of instruction is centered on building a culture of thinking and communication within the classroom (Graham, et al., 2011). I believe it's important that students expect to be challenged cognitively and that they have clear expectations of how to demonstrate respectful and engaged communication with their peers and their teacher.

3 instructional practices I plan to use:

1. Collaborative Learning- I envision using group and partner work almost daily in my classroom. I feel that students enjoy having opportunities to work with one another especially when this is a consistent practice of the classroom (Dean et al., 2012).

2. Thinking Routines- After reading about thinking routines I see myself using both See-Think-Wonder and Red Light, Yellow Light (Graham, et al., 2011). As a Social Studies/History teacher I believe both of these routines enable students to take on different perspective and to analyze inaccuracies/uncertainties being presented in texts.

3. Summarizing and Note Taking- I'm excited to use this as an instructional strategy as I realize I've taken for granted that students know how to take effective notes. The ability to use summary frames and, periodically, teacher-prepared notes will prompt students to be thinking not only about the content they're learning but also how best to summarize it (Dean, et al., 2012). I believe that will create strong habits of attention in the classroom and will benefit the students with move beyond school.

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Instruction must be varied and meaningful to students. As Cris Tovani outlines in "No More Teaching as Telling," students need "learning experiences". These could be problem-based learning based on real-world examples. This should include a discussion of why learning matters.

Three approaches I want to try:

1. Nonlinguistic representation - have students to graphic organizers, role playing and other strategies.

2. Teach note taking skills, with cooperative approaches that break out components of summarizing and taking different kinds of notes.

3. Have students do thought exercises like "see-think-wonder".

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Core beliefs

I believe that all students should feel safe and included in school, no matter what their background is. By observing Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I can ensure that students feel secure in my classroom and learn more effectively(McLeod, 2025).

I believe that the study of history and the humanities is fundamental to being a well rounded person and a good critical thinker.

Instructional practices

Interactive debate centered activities for major historical inflection points.

Choice boards to allow students to chart their own way through a unit while still arriving at the same goal(Graham, 2019)

Make the coursework relevant to the real world by modeling the drawing of connections between historical events and the current time(Tovani podcast).

Graham, C. R., Borup, J., Short, C. R., & Archambault, L. (2019). Personalizing Instruction. K-12 Blended Teaching: A Guide to Personalized Learning and Online Integration, 1. https://edtechbooks.org/k12blended/personalizing_instruction

Mcleod, Saul (2025, Aug 3) Maslows Hierarchy of needs. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#:~:text=

Love%20and%20belongingness%

20needs%20%E2%80%93%20friendship

,family%2C%20friends%2C%20work).

Tovani, Cris (2025) No More Telling as Teaching with Cris Tovani. https://art19.com/shows/the-heinemann-podcast/episodes/d2e5ff3d-a7d2-41a7-8367-a3d03bd60142/embed?theme=light-custom

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My first core belief is one of David Kolb's principles of experiential learning theory: "Experience is the foundation of learning" (McLeod, 2025). I teach at a school that emphasizes experiential learning and I have seen firsthand that what students retain the most from is concrete experiences, especially those where they have the chance to explore, observe, and experiment. I was previously unfamiliar with Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle, but I think it's a great framework for structuring experiential learning and making it meaningful by incorporating intentional observation, reflection, and experimentation; I also appreciate that this model views experiential learning as a continuous cycle rather than a linear path (McLeod, 2025).

My second core belief is that it is important to give students a variety of opportunities to learn. While strict "learning styles" have not been supported by research, it is accepted that different students have different aptitudes and preferences. Planning instructional experiences that allow all of these students to access the material and learn is key. I think that giving students choices about how to engage with a concept is valuable, but I also think it is a good learning experience for students to have to engage with materials in a variety of ways, including some that they may not have chosen. Through this process, they not only learn the course material, but also learn about themselves and how they learn.

My third core belief is that differentiation is key. Just as different students will find different activities most appealing or effective, students also have different needs in terms of how much they need to be supported or challenged. All of these students deserve to get that appropriate level of scaffolding or extension of the material, and ideally, this can happen within the same basic activity so that students do not feel singled out or separated from their peers.

Three instructional techniques that I want to incorporate into my teaching are Cooperative Learning (Dean & Marzano, 2001), modeling interest through authentic questions that I do not know the answer to (Ritchhart et. al., 2011), and Turn and Talks (Lemov, 2021).

References

Dean, C. B., & Marzano, R. J. (2013). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Pearson Education.

Lemov, D. (2021). Teach Like a Champion (3.0). Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.

McLeod, S. (2025a, March 19). Kolb’s learning Styles & Experiential Learning Cycle. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html

Ritchhart, R., Morrison, K., Church, M., & James, D. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.

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Three core beliefs about instruction:

The quality of instruction is directly proportional to the interest and passion of the teacher.

Instruction is constructivist in nature. As Jerome Brunner theorized, students discovery learning by building new ideas upon existing knowledge. A teacher must be able to assist students by helping them assemble and build upon previous information.

Instruction must reach and activate students through multiple means interacting with multiple senses, e.g., lecture, text, images, sounds, diagrams, and physical representations.

Three instructional practices:

1. Providing models of what we expect from students (including models at differing levels of complexity and sophistication).

2.Problem/Project based learning.

3.Giving the ability and opportunity for students' to share their work with an audience beyond just the teacher.

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Inspired by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I believe students cannot fully engage in learning until their basic needs for safety, security, and belonging are met. Instruction should also go beyond memorization. Students must develop critical thinking, reasoning, and perspective-taking skills to thrive, especially in the AI era. I believe learning should be connected to students’ lives and prior knowledge so they see it as meaningful, relevant, and lasting.

For Instructional Practices:

1. Modeling with concrete examples: showing both strong and weak samples so students know what is expected rather than only receiving feedback after they complete the work.

2. Building meaningful relationships: checking in frequently and creating a safe, supportive environment where students feel ready to learn.

3. Using real-life connections in math: helping middle schoolers see math not just as numbers, but as a way of thinking that applies to everyday life.

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Core Beliefs of Instruction

Humanistic Theory of Education

This approach (which aligns heavily with the ideas underpinning Maslow’s Hierarchy) emphasizes the importance of attention to cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of learning, as well as looks holistically at things like environmental factors that affect a student’s ability to prioritize learning (Drew, 2024). This approach resonates deeply with me.

Constructivist Theory of Education

This approach, developed by Jean Piaget and others, emphasizes active student engagement in their own learning processes, including through project-based learning and collaboration with peers, to “construct” knowledge. Constructivism positions teachers as guides, rather than the primary repositories of information that must be imparted (McLeod, 2025) - something I feel very much aligned with, personally.

Instructional Practices I Plan to Utilize

Inquiry-Based Learning—especially as framed by Guided Inquiry Design (Guided Inquiry Design, 2025). This practice builds lessons around questions, encouraging and prioritizing student curiosity as a motivating technique for learning, Deeper thinking and the development of critical reasoning skills are both facilitated by this approach.

Differentiated Instruction. This is at heart about adjusting instruction and student application to accommodate both student need and student preference, facilitating student ability to most effectively access course content.

Arts-Enhanced instruction, as defined by Silverstein & Layne (2020) and laid out in practice by Jennifer Gonzalez (2018). Gonzalez argues explicitly for the essential goal of students being given the opportunity to meaningfully apply the information they’re being presented with.

Drew, C. (2024, May 30). Humanism in Education: Definition, Pros, and Cons. HelpfulProfessor.com. https://helpfulprofessor.com/humanist-theory-in-education/.

Gonzalez, J. (2018, November 4). To Learn, Students Need to DO Something. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/do-something/

Mcleod, S. (2025, March 31). Constructivism Learning Theory and Philosophy of Education. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html.

Silverstein, L. & Layne, S. (2020, January 14). What is Arts Integration? The Kennedy Center. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/articles-and-how-tos/articles/collections/arts-integration-resources/what-is-arts-integration/.

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Core Beliefs of Instruction

1. Instruction must be student-centered. As Making Thinking Visible explains, effective teaching happens when the learner is at the center, actively engaging with ideas rather than passively receiving them (Ritchhart, Church, & Morrison, 2011).
2. Instruction is built on relationships. Students learn best when they feel respected, valued, and connected to their teacher. Dean et al. (2012) stress that setting objectives and providing feedback works best when linked to students’ prior knowledge and experiences.
3. Instruction should cultivate thinking. Learning is not just about completing tasks but about developing understanding. Visible thinking routines show how instruction can help students question, reason, and construct meaning (Ritchhart et al., 2011).

Instructional Practices I Want in My Repertoire

1. Think–Pair–Share: To encourage all voices in the classroom and support active engagement.
2. Visible Thinking Routines (e.g., See–Think–Wonder, Chalk Talk): To make student thinking explicit, monitor understanding, and promote deeper learning.
3. Goal Setting and Feedback: From Classroom Instruction That Works, I want to consistently use clear objectives and provide meaningful feedback to guide student growth (Dean et al., 2012).

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My two core beliefs of instruction are that (1) students must physically and emotionally be able and ready to learn before their brains will even begin to focus on learning, which comes from Maslow’s Hierarchy. If they have other, more pressing needs (like needing the restroom or feeling unsafe), anything I try to teach them will not stick. So it is my job, then, to make sure their hierarchy of needs is being met. And (2), individual students need individualized education-not that every student needs their own project or one-on-one meetings, but that students need choice and power to learn for themselves while still being guided by the teacher.

Three instructional practices I want to use in my classroom are: (1) gamification, (2) learning centers and choice boards, and (3) graphic organizers, particularly timelines.

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My first core belief is that students learn more, understand more, and remember more when they study and come to class with the goal of learning and understanding rather than merely with the goal of achieving high grades. I came to this belief fairly late and life, and I understand that students are also facing pressures to pass their AP exams, be admitted to college, uphold their own senses of pride and self-esteem, and remain competitive with their peers. Nonetheless, Bryan Goodwin and Kristin Rouleau, in Classroom Instruction That Works, support this belief, writing that mastery goals are more important than performance goals.

Another core belief of mine - formed through life experience but also supported in Lemov's Teach Like a Champion - is that learning takes place through experimentation and failure.

A third core belief I hold is that retention requires periodically revisiting old material - either when the review is necessary for building on old concepts, or simply to revisit core ideas to help ensure that they aren't forgotten.

These beliefs lead to three instructional practices that I hope to implement. The first is to set specific learning goals for lessons, and to link these goals to mastery of the material rather than to higher grades, completing the lesson, passing the test, or being able to move on to the next topic.

The second is to build what Lemov called a culture of error, in which students are encouraged to try to answer questions out loud, to form theories and opinions, and to risk being wrong without embarrassment with the goal of developing greater understanding.

The third practice that I hope to implement is spaced over time, interwoven review (Goodwin and Rouleau), particularly before summative assessments. My goal is to increase retention and to help the students transfer information from short-term to long-term memory.

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1. Students learn more when they are enjoying their studies. This means that the classroom experience has to offer opportunity to engage meaningfully with other studies, try new things, and participate in a mix of learning opportunities that can keep the subject matter interesting.

2. Related to the first, emphasizing more peer learning and group work provides a vehicle to address many instructional goals, including differentiation, building a sense of belonging in the classroom, enhancing teamwork skills, and preparing students for more real-world experiences. Carol Tomlinson goes a step further, and notes that teachers should make it a priority to "continually coach students to be contributing members of a group" (Tomlinson, 47).

3. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to show the student that I believe in their success and that I'm primarily concerned with helping them succeed. As author and psychologist David Yeager noted in an interview with Edutopia, "Be honest and tough and critical, but make sure that your supports are high enough to help students live up to the standard of performance that you just demanded. The mentor mindset is saying: 'This is hard, but it’s hard for a reason.'" (Terada, Y. 2025).

Three instructional practices that I plan to use include 1) use of graphic organizers. I haven't yet used these but, as we learn more about the varied needs of learners, I am recognizing how these can be vital in helping students organize their work and overcome feelings of being overwhelmed; 2) teaching and practice of study skills. In noting some of the deficiencies of assessment, it has been clear that some students just lack study skills. Focusing on this in the middle school setting can help students avoid falling further behind their peers; and 3) exploring additional means of feedback. Showing the students that their learning is my top priority may include creating space for others to come and praise, mentor, or provide helpful feedback to students. For example, arranging fora for other teachers or administrators to hear student presentations.

Terada, Youki. (2025). The Science of Student Motivation. Retrieved on September 13, 2025 from https://www.edutopia.org/article/the-science-of-student-motivation/.

Tomlinson, C.A. (2017). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (3rd Ed.). ACSD.

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I believe math instruction should be authentic, as advocated by John Dewey who wrote in 1913 “Things indifferent or even repulsive in themselves often become of interest because of assuming relationships and connections of which we were previously unaware. Many a student…has found mathematical theory, once repellent, lit up by great attractiveness after studying some form of engineering in which this theory was a necessary tool”. I also believe that developing meta-cognition skills (thinking about how we think) is key to the teaching of math.

3 instructional practices I want to include in my math teaching toolbox: (1) project-based learning, to ensure authenticity; (2) “non-linguistic representation”, because most math concepts can be represented graphically, and the technique can also be used to develop meta-cognition; (3) the use of adaptive technology to help with differentiation in our highly diverse classrooms.

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1) The base of any instruction is building a relationship of trust and respect between the teacher and the student. Everything else is built upon this, and without it you will get no where.

2) It is too easy to get distracted by Behavioral Engagement, because it is so much easier to see. In reality, this is the low hanging fruit. The real work is in targeting emotional and cognitive engagement. (Cris Tovani)

3 instructional practices

Muddy Point exit tickets to provide anonymous input to confusing parts of the curriculum which can be covered in better detail.

Posting a precedence map on the classroom wall making the interdependencies of math instruction visually clear to all students.

Gamifying progress on the progress map through tiered expertise levels of each block, informed through daily fact facts reviews.

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Classroom is a miniature society. In the classroom, students learn and prepare how to live and pursue their dream in society. Therefore, classroom is not just academic preparation but goes beyond holistic human preparation. The miniature society needs to be well designed model where students can practice and thrive.

In this context, learning needs to be authentic and purpose driven. John Dewey (1859 -1952) advocated for “experimental, hands-on curriculum where student engage in genuine inquiry and problem solving”. This belief is to shift the focus of learning from theory exercise to preparation for society participation. In business education, project-based learning where students investigate, engage, and solve problems in real world setting is good rehearsal.

Classroom norms are what is agreed to make the class well function and productive. These connect to rules and responsibilities that each member of society should respect. Teachers should be mindful about the democratic aspect of class norms or even they can try to create the norms with discussion and consensus between students. Classroom norms need to be structured in a way to teach students to be good citizens by respecting the law and bearing accountability for their acts.

Diversity is the power that advances society since society can thrive by actively accepting different perspectives, capabilities and background of its members. Acceptance is the driving force for innovation and advancement. Teachers need to think the ways to foster differentiation and adopt personalized learning to leverage the benefits of diversity in the class and later in the society.

As my instructional practices for these beliefs, students will engaged project-based work for the entire class period. The student will investigate and address complex questions about real problems in the community, and this will lead to developing tangible product ideas and presentations outside of the classroom.

Establishing the norm is not good enough. What is matter is execution. Teachers need to put effort into having a class plan that would reinforce the class norms such as respect, listening and collaboration. Teachers need to explicitly apply compliance to the agreed norms in the classroom.

Teachers need to accept diversity, but more important task is to leverage it to provide benefit for students. With universal design concept in mind, teachers can offer flexible ways of engagement, expression, and assessment so that every student can fit in and develop their strength.

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I believe that classroom instruction needs to be varied and respond to the needs of the students. Vygotsky's emphasizes the needs to provide different types of support and scaffold learning to make it most effective. Additionally, by connecting learning to students' prior knowledge and linking to to their experiences, learning can become more meaningful and engaging as described by John Dewey.

Instructional Practices I would like to incorporate:

1. Using nonlinguistic representations: Incorporating visuals, graphic organizers, and models to help students process and retain new information.

2. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition: Help students see the connection between effort and achievement, and celebrating progress to help build their motivation.

3. Offering students choice in assignments: Allowing students to select from different formats or approaches to demonstrate their understanding fosters ownership and increased engagement in learning.

My current understanding is that varied instruction is not about changing everything for every student all the time, but about having a toolkit that I can draw on to meet different needs to make learning meaningful.

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Core Beliefs of Instruction:

1. Constructivist Learning: Rooted in the theories of Jean Piaget, I believe that knowledge is actively constructed by learners through experience and interaction with the world. This student-centered approach encourages exploration and discovery, fostering deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.

2. Differentiated Instruction: Inspired by the work of Carol Ann Tomlinson, I hold that teaching should be tailored to meet the diverse needs of students. Recognizing each student's unique learning style, interest, and readiness promotes a more inclusive and effective educational environment.

Instructional Practices to Adopt:

1. Inquiry-Based Learning: I aim to incorporate more activities that encourage students to ask questions, conduct investigations, and develop their understanding through exploration.

2. Project-Based Learning: Engaging students in real-world projects that require critical thinking and collaboration will help them apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful contexts.

3. Flipped Classroom: By providing instructional content outside the classroom and utilizing class time for interactive, hands-on learning, I plan to create a more dynamic and engaging learning experience.

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My three core beliefs of instruction are drawn from the work of Paolo Frere. The first is that education should be a practice of freedom, meaning that it should empower learners to question, reflect, and transform their world rather than passively accept it. The ultimate goal of this principle is that education should help students develop a critical, reflective approach to learning. Second is that dialogue is at the heart of learning. This means that instruction involves a collaboration between the teacher and student where they learn from each other instead of the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student. The third is that learning should be linked to lived experience. Lessons should reflect the social, cultural, and personal contexts of the students, leading them to see education as meaningful and relevant. Three instructional techniques I plan to incorporate into my practice are working with students to develop individual learning goals beyond those used by the class as a whole, sequencing instruction to allow for students to choose to work on different learning goals instead of using a linear approach that introduces one goal at a time, and increasing the number of learning activities available to students to introduce greater choice and flexibility in how students learn.

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Core Beliefs of Instruction:

1. Instruction should be student-centered. Every student learns differently, so lessons must engage all learning styles (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, & Stone, 2012).

2. Active participation enhances learning. Students learn best when they construct knowledge, not just receive it (Vygotsky, 1978).

3. Instruction must be flexible and reflective. Teachers should adapt strategies based on student needs and ongoing assessment.

Instructional Practices I Want to Include:

1. Using visible thinking routines – Helps students process ideas, reflect, and deepen understanding (Ritchhart, Church, & Morrison, 2011).

2. Incorporating technology and hands-on activities – Engages different learning styles and makes lessons interactive.

3. Frequent questioning and discussion – Encourages critical thinking and lets students actively participate in learning.

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One core belief of instruction is constructivism, first put forward by Jean Piaget, which lays out that people need more than just lecture in order to learn, but that learning is best achieved through doing and experiencing things.

A second core belief of instruction is that engaged students learn better and retain more knowledge, so a primary goal for teachers is to keep their students engaged in the lesson.

Three practices I intend to make part of my instructional toolkit are personalization and choice (history is so vast, there are plenty of opportunities to allow students to choose their focus while still achieving the state learning goals), project- or research-based learning (allowing students to explore topics on their own will enhance their understanding of the topics the class is covering) and, while not en vogue, I still imagine myself working to practice engaging lecture or direct instruction to compliment the work the students are doing on their own.

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Core beliefs of instruction

1. Students make meaning of their learning by connecting it with their experiences and prior knowledge, as argued by Jerome Brunner and others in the constructivist school of learning. As a parent and in my work life, I've found it more effective to explain concepts using analogies that draw on what I know of others' experiences, so that I can give a familiar starting point for new learning.

2. Students can't learn effectively if they are hungry, thirsty, feel unsafe, or feel like an outsider; put another way, they can't learn if their basic physiological needs, needs for safety, and needs for belonging (as described by Maslow) are met. I can't teach effectively if my students don't have an environment that meets these needs, and if I don't recognize their needs shift from day to day.

Instructional practices

1. I want to use project-based learning to provide my middle school science students opportunities for deep, authentic learning experiences that align with their interests. As a parent, I've seen how effectively project-based learning engaged my child and their friends, and my reading convinces me further this is a good approach for my classroom.

2. I may use a flipped classroom approach (e.g., Dunnavant (2015)) when appropriate, especially when in-class instruction would depend on a significant amount of reading. A flipped classroom would allow me to share more advanced text with my students, give students time to engage with the text more fully, and allow me to check their reading (through small formative assessments) more completely than if we have only class time. It would also allow students more time for reading if they are English Language Learners or students who need quiet space to concentrate fully.

3. I will devote time to help my students build their strengths in note-taking and organizing their research. I will help my students build habits of storing materials in an online reference library (e.g., Zotero) as they work through projects, so that it is easier to cite sources in the final product. I will also expose my students to different note-taking methods, such as mind-mapping, Cornell notes, and sketchnotes (Pillans, 2017).

Linda Dunnavant. (2015). Flipping the Classroom in Science. Educational Innovations Blog. http://blog.teachersource.com/2015/08/21/flipping-the-classroom-science/

Sue Pillans. (2017). Sketchnote your Science. Dr Sue Pillans. https://drsuepillans.com/education/sketchnote-your-science/

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Core Beliefs:

Differentiation: Instruction doesn't have to be constant lecture. As studied by Cris Tovani(Heinemann, n.d.), lecture can leave a drain on not only the teachers, but the students. Differentiation into other types of learning styles can greatly increase engagement and motivations of the students.

Application: What students learn in class should be applicable to the real world. Making sure that students have a reason to use this information outside of school, specifically in my content area of mathematics, will get them motivated to learn and grow.

3 Instructional Practices

Think-Pair-Share will allow for students to converse about different methods they find when solving mathematic problems, and then provide a discussion to the whole class about what they feel is the best method of solving.

Activation of Prior Knowledge is key in Math classes. To be able to know the prior aspects, and have in my teaching a recall method for each topic needed will be crucial in the application of new math procedures mixed with the old math procedures.

Constant feedback is the 3rd practice I would like to bring into the classroom. Being able to provide constructed feedback at each stage of the learning process will allow for the students to know exactly what they're doing wrong and how to correct it before they become too lost in the content.

References

Heinemann. (n.d.). No More Telling as Teaching with Cris Tovani. https://art19.com/shows/the-heinemann-podcast/episodes/d2e5ff3d-a7d2-41a7-8367-a3d03bd60142/embed?theme=light-custom

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Core Beliefs:

1. One of my primary core instructional beliefs is the idea of student-centered learning. In this paradigm, our role as teachers is that of facilitator and guide rather than merely instructor. Allowing a degree of student choice in the classroom increases engagement by giving students ownership of their education. John Dewey is one of the primary theorists behind the concept of student-centered education. He argued in his 1902 book The Child and the Curriculum, and later in his 1916 book Democracy and Education, that curricula and instruction should be informed by student interest.

2. Another core instructional beliefs is the idea that education should be collaborative, social undertaking. Collaborative education promotes positive interdependence, where the success of an individual student promotes success of their peers. It also models methods of collaboration that will be important for students' success after they have finished school.

Some instructional practices I plan to implement:

1. I want to use group work as much as possible. All the reading we have done has demonstrated to me the value of group work. I plan to implement it in different ways such as: group projects, small group discussions, turn-and-talks, think pair shares, and other similar methods.

2. I want to model critical thinking for my students. As a prospective history teacher, I realize that teaching students how to think critically and synthesize ideas is more important than teaching them raw historical facts. Our reading this week highlighted how important it is that we as teachers model the kinds of thinking we want to see our students develop.

3. I want to implement instructional techniques that get students up and moving during class. Not only is sitting all the time boring, but it's also not healthy. Creating opportunities for students to move around a bit, even if it's something as simple as a stretching period, is something I think is important for student engagement and success.