IMPLEMENT – Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning (connects with Rubrics 5, 6, & & 7 in Implement Section)Purpose: Demonstrate how you facilitate students’ developmental understanding of the content you are teaching. You will provide evidence of your ability to engage students in meaningful learning, monitor understanding, and use your responses to students to guide their learning.

A. Implementation Commentary - Identify and explain strategies applied for instructing and engaging students in learning.1. Cite and describe examples of situations in which you scaffolded language development. (connects with Rubric 5 in Implement)

There were many vocabulary terms in this unit that the students were unfamiliar with. In many of these situations, I directed the students to find the meanings of the words using their glossary or another resource. This unit is meant to encourage independence and teamwork and so I tried to support that by having students use their resources and/or ask members of their team to answer any questions. However, at the beginning of the unit I scaffolded language development to set up the students for success throughout the simulation. By teaching the students the terms latitude and longitude and giving them different tactics for remembering which one is which, I provided the students with information they needed throughout the simulation.

2. Cite and describe examples of situations in which all students were engaged in meaningful learning. (connects with Rubric 6 in Implement)

Throughout this unit, students were almost constantly engaged in meaningful learning. The variety of tasks pushed students out of their typical comfort zones and encouraged them to use a variety of sources to find the information they needed. Students completed postcards, journal entries, calculculated latitude and longitude, and created tasks such as a replica of an animal skin painting or a speech to congress. In addition to these hands-on activities, students participated in various speaking roles. They practiced their discussion and speaking skills frequently by deliberating the options of the Daily Dilemmas.

3. Cite and describe examples of situations in which you elicited student thinking through questioning. Explain how your responses to student answers elicited further thinking. (connects with Rubric 7 in Implement)

A major example of a situation in which I elicited student thinking through questioning was during our debrief after we completed our simulation. Students were asked a range of high-level questions to allow them to think more in-depth about the situations and events of the Lewis and Clark simulation. One of these questions was, “If you were President of the United States today, what land might you offer to purchase, and why?” This question required students to think beyond the simulation and a typical answer. They could not provide an answer simply because they liked that area of the world. Instead, they needed to choose a country or other piece of land and give valuable reasons why this would be a beneficial purchase. The answers that the students gave were beyond impressive. I had expected to hear that they wanted to buy places mostly for the tourism aspect, but some of the answers given were incredibly selfless. Students responded that they wanted to purchase areas in Africa and the Middle East because we could assist the innocent people there.

Another example of a situation where I elicited student thinking through questioning was when we were discussing a Daily Dilemma. A portion of the dilemma states that the Corps made a historically significant move when each Corps member casted a vote to decide where to set up their winter camp. I walked the students through why this was significant in history by asking a series of questions. To begin, I asked them who was part of the Corps of Discovery and when I received the answers that included Sacajawea and York, Clark’s slave, I elaborated on this. By asking the students more about Sacajawea and York, they realized that during the time of the expedition, women and slaves did not have the right to vote. Instead of simply explaining why this was significant, I found it was much more beneficial to the students’ learning to have them come to the realization partly on their own.

4. Cite and describe examples of situations in which you utilized effective classroom management. Explain how effective classroom management contributed to student learning. (connects with Rubric 6 in Implement)

There were various classroom management strategies that were implemented throughout this unit. The classroom had original procedures that the students were familiar with. This included the use of a clip chart where students would either clip up or clip down according to their behavior. Another classroom procedure was the use of “money”. Positive behavior would be rewarded with various amounts of money depending on the behavior, while negative behavior would result in the student having to give money back to the teacher. I also used chants to gain the attention of the class. “Macaroni and cheese!” (Everybody freeze) and “1-2-3, eyes on me” (1-2, eyes on you) were two attention-getters that were helpful, especially when the class was busy throughout the classroom working on their various tasks. The expedition also supplied a type of classroom management. The simulation included Expedition Cards which were awarded to groups for successful completion of daily tasks and also for any exceptional work or behavior. It also included Penalty Cards which were given out for negative or off-task behavior, incomplete or missing work, and/or uncooperative behavior within a group. There were a couple of instances where I awarded students with a bonus Expedition Card for work that was above expectations.

B. Video Clips – include a brief description of the video content in the portfolio implementation section1. Collect permission forms from parents or school to prepare for filming.