Teacher Practice

As a teacher at The Clinton School (02M260), I have had the opportunity to learn from our principal Jon Levin. Over the course of the last 3 years, I have received effective and highly effective ratings under the Danielson framework. This shows growth and professional development from my first year in the DOE at Bronx Legacy High School (07x625) where I scored ratings that were in the developing and effective categories. I have used the feedback given to me to inform my teacher practice and continue to evolve the lessons I use with students.

There's so many lessons to choose from; let's analyze one of my favorites!

As a teacher who believes in project-based learning, my co-teacher and I brainstormed how we could bring the struggles of the Early Republic to life in a 10th grade classroom.

We decided on a simulation where students would have to reenact a Congressional session during the Articles of Confederation. Students were assigned to delegations for each of the original 13 states and had to debate topics that were critical to our Early Republic. Please scroll to see the lesson plan, unit plan, APPR report, and student artifacts linked below.

If you would like to see all my APPR Teacher Observation Reports please scroll to the bottom or feel free to click here.

Unit 2 Civics and Citizenship - Unit Planner

This is the actual unit planner, Clara Yoo (my co-teacher) and I use to plan out our units. It is a good pacing reference point for both of us and is flexible enough to allow us to adapt our weekly lesson plans to our students needs. Please click the image or click here to be taken to this Unit Planner.

Articles of Confederation Simulation - Lesson Plan

This is the lesson plan that was submitted to my principal Jon Levin the day of the lesson that he observed. It is color coded as well to show which parts are on Day 1 of the lesson and which parts are for Day 2 of the lesson. Please click the image or click here to be taken to the lesson plan.

Observation Report by Jon Levin 11/16/2022

This is the Advance APPR teacher observation report given to me by Jon Levin after he observed this lesson. Please click the image or click here to be taken to to this APPR report.

A highlight from this observation was my scoring of Highly Effective in the following category:

3b: Using questioning and discussion techniques (JL: Three rounds of a challenge, but all of them centered student voice.)

Another highlight was receiving Effective in all of the following categories:

1a (obs): Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy
1e (obs): Designing coherent instruction
2a: Creating an environment of respect and rapport
2d: Managing student behavior
3c: Engaging students in learning
3d: Using assessment in instruction

Artifacts of Student Success from the Lesson

This is a two minute video clip from one of these Articles of Confederation Simulation lessons that I have taken over the years. As you can see, students are highly engaged in the lesson and are organized into heterogenous groups so that way students are able to collaborate with each other and come out of their shell. Students work together in their state delegations to advocate for their state's positions. As you can see from the video, students get very "into" their roles and are able to take the objectives of the Articles of Confederation Simulation and apply it to future assessments in our class. "Clearer objectives" was one of the main points of feedback Jon Levin gave me the first time he observed me and now in later years, the objectives students are supposed to gain from the lesson are more explicit. Please click the image or click here to be taken to the video artifact.

Overall Advance Ratings by Year

While I have not yet recieved my 2024-2025 Annual Professional Performance Review from Advance yet, you can see from previous years the level of professional growth I have been able to achieve in my teacher practice. I have used the feedback from my principals in order to improve my planning/preparation, classroom environment, and instruction.