| In order to become an expert teacher, we need to be aware of the challenges that lie ahead. Provide an overview of what you may encounter at the beginning of your teaching career. | 1. Standards and accountability.
2. Teacher licensure and evaluation.
3. Learner diversity.
4. Technology.
5. The influence of neuroscience. |
| In a school setting, what is meant by academic standards? | Academic standards are statements set by the curriculum/Ministry of Education that describe what students should know or be able to do at the end of a prescribed period of study. |
| In a school setting, what is meant by accountability? | Accountability is the process of requiring students to demonstrated that they have met standards as met by standardised tests. |
| There are 2 stages of teacher licensure and evaluation. What are they? | 1st stage: Before I begin teaching I will have to pass a licensure exam.
2nd stage: Throughout my career there will be ongoing evaluations on my performance. |
| What is meant by teacher evaluation? | It is the process of assessing teachers' classroom performance and providing feedback they can use to increase their expertise. |
| According to a report by the American National School Boards Association Center for Public Education (2013), what are some of the trends in teacher evaluation? | 1. Stakeholders (including teachers) need to be involved in providing input for the design of evaluation systems.
2. Teachers are evaluated on multiple measures. In addition to test scores and classroom observations, these evaluations may include measures such as student and parent surveys, examinations of lesson plans, teacher self-assessments, student artifacts, and teacher portfolio.
3. Student test-scores are naturally very important to teacher evaluation.
4. Classroom observations are a necessary component to teacher evaluation. The goal is to use well-trained observers to ensure that teachers being evaluated received similar scores regardless of who conducts the observations, and observation instruments are supposed to be based on practices most likely to increase student learning.
5. While most evaluations are done with the purpose of raising teacher performance, some are done to inform personnel decisions, such as teacher retention and salary increases. |
| What is the feeling/spirit one should have towards teacher evaluation? | Teacher evaluation should be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise and receive feedback that will help you improve in areas where needed.
None of us teach perfect lessons, and we can all improve. |
| How should teachers approach learner diversity? | Students now come for many diverse backgrounds, and this diversity will be both enriching and challenging. However, an expert teacher must have high knowledge of learners and learning so he/she should acknowledge and embrace diversity in classrooms. |
| Give some examples of the evolution of technology in the classroom. | 1. You will sometimes email various members of the school.
2. You will store lesson plans and many teaching resources on the computer.
3. You will access and display slides from a projector connected to a computer.
4. Some classrooms come equipped with an interactive whiteboard.
5. A growing number of teachers are using social media, such as blogs, wikis, Twitter an others to promote learning (Seo, 2013).
6. Students are becoming more technologically savvy.
Teachers should capitalise on the benefits of technology and meet its challenges instead of avoiding technological progress. |
| How do we define neuroscience? | Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system develops, how it's structured, and what it does. It is an an interdisciplinary science that links with other fields such as law, psychology, and education. |
| Describe 2 ways that neuroscience can contribute to our understanding of learning and teaching. | 1. It provides evidence that confirms teaching practices that we have long believe are important, such as the need for active learning. "Many research studies suggest that active engagement is a prerequisite for changes in the brain (Van Dam, 2013, p. 32).
2. Neuroscience provides insights into the brain and the way it works. |
| What is the concept of neuroplasticity? | Neuroplasticity (or brain plasticity or simply plasticity) is defined as the brain's ability to physically remodel itself in response to experience (Dubinsky et al., 2013; Pascual-Leone, Amedi, Fregni, & Merabet, 2005).
In other words, as we acquire experiences, the brain can literally wire itself (Schachter, 2012). |
