Bria Koch

V.F. Diverse Learners

1. Reports on current policies and practices designed to support children, caregivers and families from diverse backgrounds.
   
   Reflection: I discussed the need for modifications and support in my student analysis section. The Goddard School has many students from different backgrounds, and it was important for me to be cognizant of this when teaching my lessons. I made sure that the activities that I planned were easy to follow and modify, if necessary. The students did a lot of work in small groups in order to lessen some of the difficulty for the English learners in the classroom.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation
   
   Artifacts :I discuss diverse learners in my student analysis section.
    

2. Analyzes, reports and presents on current efforts to support diverse learners and how the broader community views learning differences
   
   Reflection: I was able to talk at length with the classroom teacher about different ways to support diverse learners when I was teaching the lessons. I was familiar with many of the students from having worked at the school for almost three years, but it was important to recognize where they were at currently in order to make modifications. My discussions seemed to work because each of the diverse learners showed improvement in both technological and cognitive skills.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation​
   
   Artifacts: I talked about some of the classroom’s diverse learners in my analysis section. The progress made by the diverse learners (and all learners) can be seen in the evaluation section.
    

3. Communicates with families of English language learners (ELL) and culturally diverse learners to ensure that learners and their families have access to communication in their native language
   
   Reflection: The information that I presented to the students was done at a very age-appropriate level. Though the students were learning about Pittsburgh, a broad topic, I was able to pick and choose what I wanted to teach the students to make sure everything was on their level. As a result, I made sure that vocabulary was appropriate for all of the English learners in the classroom. We spent extra time looking at different words, and I made sure that all of the students had understanding (using physical cues) before moving to the next topic. I would say that I do not exceed the expectation purely because I didn’t need to produce content in any of the students’ native languages.
   
   Rating: Meets expectation
   
   Artifacts:These are the lessons that comprised my unit on Pittsburgh.
    

4. Advocates for the use of effective strategies and resources for students with diverse needs including, but not limited to, gifted, ELL and students with disabilities.
   
   Reflection: I was able to make sure that each of my lessons were designed especially for my student population. It was so great that I was able to spend a few days at the beginning of the semester in the classroom. I was able to get to meet the students and get a feel for where they were academically and technologically. This helped me tailor my lessons (in the design phase) to make sure that all sections were able to be quickly modified. Though none of my students have an official label because of their age. It was apparent that I needed to make modifications for some of them.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation​
   
   Artifacts:These are the lessons that I created based on my analysis of the students in the classroom.
    

5. Advises and supports educators in modifications to the learning environment that are evidence-based practices that do not compromise curricular intent and rigor.
   
   Reflection: In designing my professional development session, I decided that I wanted to devote an entire session to TED-Ed and its role in the flipped classroom model. I ended up only having one time period to complete my professional development session, so everything was compressed, but I was still able to give my colleagues a solid foundation on using TED-Ed to modify the learning environment.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation​
   
   Artifacts: This is my staff lesson design, and here is the handout and presentation that I created using TED-Ed.
    

6. Demonstrates positive and appropriate interactions with all stakeholders in the school environment and community at large.
   
   Reflection: As can be seen in both my student and staff lesson design, I made sure that everything was age-appropriate and skill-level appropriate. It was so important in both areas to meet the students where they were at in order to give them confidence in learning the material. With the adult learners, it was imperative that I not overwhelm them in my presentation of the material. I wanted each of them to gain something from the session, and I couldn’t do this if they were overwhelmed with the material.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation​
   
   Artifacts: These are the lessons that I designed for the students, and this is the material for the professional development session that I conducted.
    

7. Collaborates with educators and social agencies working with diverse learners to create a coherent vision for learning opportunities.
   
   Reflection: Through the professional development session that I conducted, I was able to collaborate with my colleagues and teach them more about apps that are available to help all students. It was important to include a variety of apps to make sure that many different needs were being met. VoiceThread is an incredible tool to use for students with visual impairments, and tools like Quizlet can help teachers tailor material for assessments to help students stay organized.
   
   Rating: Exceeds expectation​
   
   Artifacts:This is the presentation that I used with my colleagues in our professional development about Web 2.0 tools.