Professional Teaching Portfolio
TPE 8: Learning about Students
Candidates for a Teaching Credential draw upon an understanding of patterns of child and adolescent development to understand their students. Using formal and informal methods, they assess students’ prior mastery of academic language abilities, content knowledge, and skills, and maximize learning opportunities for all students. Through interpersonal interactions, they learn about students’ abilities, ideas, interests and aspirations. They encourage parents to become involved and support their efforts to improve student learning. They understand how multiple factors, including gender and health, can influence students’ behavior, and understand the connections between students’ health and their ability to learn. Based on assessment data, classroom observation, reflection and consultation, they identify students needing specialized instruction, including students whose physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or health status require instructional adaptations, and students who are gifted.
Suggestions
- Case study of student(s), class, or school
- IEP for student with special needs; survey you gave to students to learn more about their abilities and/or interests
- Assessments you have created or modified to learn student background knowledge, academic language abilities, reading/writing skills and how you use those outcomes in your planning and establishing of goals
- Photographic seating chart combined with interest survey information