Note: this is actually a form with check marks from "No evidence" to "Expert". This document only includes the comments for each section, correlating to the California teaching "strand". This was my first assessment by my cooperating teacher, which I include to show the contrast with my first supervisor. I didn't include the other assessments because I seem to have left them on his workstation--but his letter of recommendation seems sufficient for my purposes.

Overall

1. Michele has shown a good presence in front of the classroom. She is a natural instructor who reaches out to all her students.
2. Michele has good rapport with her students. She has built many good relationships with the students in her class.
3. She is great at explaining/working one on one with students.
4. She is thoughtful and reflective in her discussions about how particular classes went and what worked and what needed improvement the next time.
5. Michele has shown a desire to work with/reach out to some of the most neediest/at-risk students in our class. She has had some real successes with some students that have not experienced much success at school.

Standard One: Supports and Engages Students in Learning

Michele has developed some lessons that have been very engaging at the Algebra II level. While we have a curriculum in place she has had a couple of opportunities to create a lesson that was fun for the students and challenging at the same time. I have seen her make connections with a couple of students, getting to know more about them and engaging them in ways that make them get excited about math. As stated above, she is very good in a one-on-one situation and helps them to think about evaluating their own learning.

Standard Two: Supportive Learning Environment

Michele has a presence in the room that makes it an inviting and safe place. She has been working in the context of my classroom, so I haven’t actually seen her change the physical environment enough to judge that criteria, but as far as the 2.2-2.5, she has demonstrated advancement along the continuum. She is a big proponent of encouraging participation from all students, especially those that might quietly try and slip through the cracks.

Standard Three: Content Knowledge

Michele definitely knows her material well, and brings a perspective as a long-time teacher/tutor to considering students needs and pitfalls in an Algebra II class. She hasn’t had that much opportunity to organize the curriculum or lesson plan due to the fact that we have a curriculum in place, but I have seen her modify some lessons in order for better student understanding. I will be interested in seeing her work more on this goal in the 2nd semester.

Strand Four: Curriculum

Due to the in-place curriculum in Algebra II, Michele has not had a chance to demonstrate too much evidence for this category. While there has been some curriculum design, it is hard to say that it has been done with the diverse student population in mind. However, she has had a few opportunities to adjust and modify lesson plans based on the student backgrounds. In one instance, we took her probability lesson for Algebra II and adjusted it to work in a 9th and 10th grade support class. This was a good chance to see this, and it went well with this new group after several modifications.

Strand Five: Assessment

I think this category is where Michele’s strengths lie as a teacher. She is very thoughtful and introspective about assessment and student understanding. She has developed different types of assessments to get a sense of where the students are and she always wants to think about how the students seem to be grasping the new curriculum by pouring over their work, whether it is group work, traditional individual assessments, Homework or alternative assessments (lab write ups, posters, etc.).

Strand Six: Professionalism

Michele is definitely reflective about her teaching, as we always debrief about how our classes and lessons go afterwards. I’m not sure we have formally developed a professional development plan as of yet, but it is something we can do 2nd semester. Michele has been a consistent member of our curriculum team meetings in Algebra Support and Algebra II, coming to weekly meetings and offering insight and ideas to the team. We have often adopted some of those ideas as a team. She has worked in the past with many of our students at [name omitted], a program designed to get students into 4 year colleges. This gives her an idea of what the community that she is working in is like and where her students are coming from, and has put her in touch with some of those families.