Teacher Application Essay

Education

Describe your most important accomplishment in the classroom or with a specific student(s)? What key strategies contributed to your success? How did you track your progress to ensure that you were successful?

Marcella was an Algerian-French student. She spoke good English, but not fluent enough to be a confident participator in classroom discussions. Because she was shy, she did not have many apparent friends. I could tell that Marcella had trouble in group lessons, collaborative learning environments, and any situation involving peer interaction. She also participated very little in class. Her assignments were usually good, and she tested well. Marcella was not the best student in class, but she was far from being the worst. However, it seemed that she was not reaching her fullest academic potential. I ascertained from her essays that Marcella was passionate about matters related to social justice, so I did something different. I surreptitiously designed an extra credit assignment with Marcella in mind, but which could also inspire other students. The assignment involved students investigating a human rights issue and the responses to that issue from non-profit and non-governmental organizations. As I hoped, Marcella excelled at this assignment. I had correctly intuited that her core strengths were a global understanding of world issues and the public policy measure that could be designed to mitigate those issues.

Wanting very badly to encourage Marcella to pursue her interests and apply to universities with solid political science and public policy programs, I decided to hold a special meeting for any students wishing to attend. The meeting was about planning for the future. Assuming the role of coach and mentor, I asked students to come as prepared as they wanted -- there was no obligation to bring me their personal statements related to university. I just wanted the students to think about their future, as I had no idea what their parents or the school counselors were doing to support them. During my meeting with students, we used the computer terminals and Internet access to help each of us research topics of interest and reveal career paths and educational trajectories. The students were surprisingly interested and enthusiastic about the assignment, and Marcella located a university to which she was eventually accepted. I did not need to track my progress to ensure that I was successful; I later found out that Marcella had graduated with honors and had already received an entry-level post with the World Bank in community development.

2. Describe how you establish instructional expectations for your students. Be sure to address the following in your description.

What key factors are considered when establishing these expectations?

I establish instructional expectations using several factors, including educational standards. Each of my lessons is rooted in a set of standards applicable to the subject matter. Other factors that I consider when establishing the expectations I have for students include my own perception of student aptitude and achievement, as well as prior learning experiences. My expectations will change for each class, and also depending on contextual issues like what students are learning at the time in their other classes or what is going on in the media/current events.

How are these expectations communicated to your students?

I communicate my expectations to my students in written and verbal form when possible. At the beginning of each lesson, I hand out the overview of the lesson, which outlines the key deliverables and points of assessment. This helps students understand exactly what I will be looking for, and provides them with a focus for their learning experience. I also send students periodic updates when necessary, if my expectations change or if I want to check-in with students.

How would you promote these expectations during instructional time?

During instructional time, I promote my expectations of the students differently depending on the lesson. I try as best I can to provide examples of what I am looking for, so that students are clear about my grading parameters. Moreover, I promote instructional expectations sometimes by showing why the lesson is relevant to the students' daily lives or at least, to their standardized test material. I might also refer to past examples of when my expectations were not met, or related anecdotes.

3. Describe the objective of your attached lesson plan and explain why you chose this as your objective. How did your instructional strategies address students with varied learning needs and modalities? How did you know that your students met the objective of your lesson?

The objective of the attached lesson plan on President Kennedy's reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis is to encourage critical and creative thinking in students, and help them to view history as a springboard for analyzing current events. I selected this topic because it reveals a lot about the leadership style and strategies of presidents; as well as showing how presidential administrations contend with foreign policy challenges. Moreover, the Cuban Missile Crisis example shows how the media plays a major role in administrative public relations. Each of these specific learning objectives is relevant to a comprehensive social science curriculum.