Performance Standard 6: Professionalism  

The teacher maintains a commitment to professional ethics, communicates effectively, and takes responsibility for and participates in professional growth that results in enhanced student learning. 

 

Reflexive Statement: 

Over the past ten years while teaching at PGSMST, my professional growth has been exponential in nature.  My focus has been a vision of providing exceptional, college level instruction to students whom I believe are the future of our country.  Seeking methods to accomplish this, I choose professional development activities for which I can implement or enhance classroom instruction.  Most beneficial has been that of the Instructor’s Blackboard Class through DCC in 2008, which enhanced my abilities to use the features of Blackboard.  Though I utilized Blackboard previously, most had been self-taught with short workshops offered by DCC.  The class offered a more in depth training thus enabling me to utilize more beneficial items to implement with classes.  The second most beneficial growth was the Mini-Tab conference attended in 2007 which enabled me to employ more features of the statistical software that is used in our statistics curriculum.  Many hours of self-growth is attained by implementing technological advances into my classes; most is self-taught such as the use of Math Type and TI-Interactive software or through the use and study of internet resources.  Most recently (Fall 2012) I attended a STEM Conference at VMI which provided much overview insight in various educational topics of interest.  As a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, I do read “The Mathematics Teacher” which provides various topics of mathematical interest.

When communicating with parents with regard to their child’s progress/concern in class, I make every attempt to communicate with a positive, encouraging, precise and prompt manner.  Though a student may not excel in mathematics, I do believe that the child possesses the abilities to excel in some field and stress the importance of studying each night for respective classes.  Likewise my communication with students via email strives to be positive, prompt, and informative.

 

 

Artifact 1: Log of Professional Growth

 

      Description: A listing of professional growth activities participated in for consideration of possible Virginia

                   Certification Renewal.

 

Artifact 1A: STEM Conference Certificate

      Description: Copy verifying VMI STEM Conference attendance and Education Units received.

 

 

Artifact 3: Sample of Student Email and Reply

 

     Description:  Sample of correspondence between student and teacher.