An educator is responsible for taking on essential leadership roles and collaborating with other team members, school professionals, families, and community members. This multi-tiered approach ensures students are reaching their full potential, which in turn benefits society as a whole and is deeply rewarding for both the teacher and student. I demonstrate these standards effectively by collaborating with other 4th grade ELA teachers on lesson plans, actively participating in grade level team meetings, and attending PLC meetings with other educators and staff.

Co-Planning

Planning lessons with another 4th grade ELA teacher enhanced my teaching and learning experience. We collaborated on creating engaging lessons that helped students develop valuable creative thinking skills, discussed individual student needs and progress, and provided feedback on lesson plan application. Sharing ideas with other 4th grade ELA teachers gave me the opportunity to be a leader and take responsibility for student learning.

Team Collaboration

During my student teaching I met weekly with the 4th grade team which consisted of ELA, Science/Social Studies, Math, EIP, Gifted, ESOL teachers and administrators. As part of the team I participated in sharing ideas, analyzing data, reviewing standards, and planning lessons. These weekly meetings helped me to gain new insight into their disciplines and build collegial relationships.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

As an active participant in frequent school wide PLC meetings I collaborated with other teachers across grade levels and content areas. These collaborative meetings improved my teaching practice which benefited my students’ learning. Attending PLC meetings kept me informed and engaged in school-wide initiatives such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI).