Sunday, February 10, 2013

Characteristics

After looking over the Characteristics of the Novice teacher I became most interested in characteristics two and three.

Characteristic 2: WE BELIEVE THAT THE NOVICE TEACHER SHOULD BE AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR.

I think that the big idea for this trait is for the teacher to be an effective communicator. Teachers need to communicate in many ways, especially with students, parents, and colleagues. An artifact that I think would connect well with this characteristic is a letter home to the parents. This opens a door to have great communication with the child's guardians. The best communication you can have with a parent is when there is a two way communication. You want the parents to feel comforatable coming to you with their comments and concerns. Allowing your parents the opportunity to stay involved in their child's learning makes this a great way of communication. As long as you are getting responses from the parents you will be have an effective communication which incorporates this characterisitic.

Characteristic 3: WE BELIEVE THAT THE NOVICE TEACHER SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT TEACHING IS A PROFESSIONAL, MORAL, AND ETHICAL ENTERPRISE, SHOULD UNDERSTAND MORAL ISSUES AND ETHICAL PRACTICES IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND SHOULD HAVE DEVELOPED ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS WHICH FACILITATE EFFECTIVE TEACHING.

The big idea for this characteristic is the professional, moral, and ethical relations. Preservice teachers need to focus on these issues immensely throughout their time teaching and thereafter. The teacher should know his/her own morals and the social ethics of their community. An artifact that works great with this characteristic is an observation of a lesson plan. The lesson plans focus would be on the professional, ethical, or moral views of the preservice teacher. This artifact lesson could come from the character education lesson. I think that this ties into characteristic 3 by showing the ethical, professional, and moral values of the teacher and what they are teaching.