For me, standard three exemplifies the reason I want to become a teacher. Standard three is what I want my teaching career to be based upon. It is personal for me and hits home.
Standard three means understanding that your students will have different needs, backgrounds, and even different education levels coming into your class. This understanding will be at the forefront of your mind while you are creating the content for your students, the lessons they will do, how they will take notes, and the assessments they will do. You will have to ensure that the way you are teaching meets the needs of all students in your classroom, not only the neurotypical but the neurodivergent, students with learning differentiations, and everyone in between.
In high school, I had many teachers who did not accommodate my needs and in a sense, left me “high and dry” with my education. I struggled through school and I vowed that if I ever became a teacher, I would ensure that I supported my students, I met their needs, and I would make sure my classroom was a space where they felt accommodated for and that I care about their academic futures.
This is one of my lesson plans for my formal evaluation. In this lesson, I did not follow a generic “just lecture and have them listen” approach. I made sure that the lesson was accessible, easy to follow, and straightforward. I understood that complex lessons & activities can create bigger issues for students with or without accommodations. With the activity portion of my lesson, I provided a variety of options for my students to complete, as I knew that my students have diverse needs and abilities. I created written activities and drawn activities, as some students struggle with writing while others struggle with creatively expressing their thoughts and knowledge.
Overall, the lesson went very smoothly and was received very positively by the students (and my coaching teacher). The different options for activities, although students were encouraged to try something out of their comfort zone, allowed students to play to their strengths and do an activity they enjoyed and felt best reflected their knowledge and understanding of the content.
After going through high school with very cookie-cutter assignments, and no real understanding of my needs as a student with ADHD, I want to change that experience for my students. I want to ensure every project/assignment I do in my classroom is accessible in a variety of options to cater to the needs of all students, and where they feel seen and supported.
