Standard 6: Instructional Planning

means to me...

Lessons are planned based on the Utah Core Standards. This ensures that students are getting a well rounded and developmentally appropriate education. The core standards have an order and sequence in the sense that students will not learn how to multiply until 3rd grade when they have learned all the appropriate steps of adding and subtracting repeatedly. Utah Core Standards offer guidelines of how and when to teach specific concepts and allow for integration of multiple subjects in each lesson.

Having a team to bounce ideas off of and share teaching responsibilities is an important part of working in a school. During student teaching I independently created learning experiences that would engage students and meet core standard requirements. I would then pass my lesson plans on to my Westminster supervisor and my mentor teacher for analysis. My mentor and supervisor would then give me feedback on changes I could make to my lesson to effectively deliver my lesson and optimize student learning.

During student teaching I followed my mentor teacher's daily schedule and routines to help students with the transition of teachers.

At Edison Elementary the fourth grade team worked together with administration to plan weekly curriculum. The team offered a framework of curriculum that would work well to prepare students for standardized tests. The team would discuss what worked well and did not work well in the past. Administration would invite curriculum coaches to PLCs to walk teachers through concept strategies, pass on materials, and review test scores. After testing review the fourth grade team would team teach to reteach concepts where students scored poorly. Teachers would also collaborate and tutor math concepts in the morning before school started.