Standard Two: Student as Learner

In what ways does the student teacher:

1. seek information about the learner’s background and culture?  (RIPTS 4.2)
2. seek information about the learner’s life experiences, achievements and interests?  (RIPTS #4.2)
3. seek information about and observe the learner’s strengths and weaknesses, developmental levels and learning styles?  (RIPTS #4.3)
4. seek information about and observe the learner’s patterns of language use?  (RIPTS #4.2)
5. seek information about and observe learner’s interests and talents?  (RIPTS #4.2)
6. seek information about and observe learner’s organizational skills?  (RIPTS #4.2)
7. use efficient and effective ways to document student characteristics and progress of individual and class performance?  (RIPTS #9.3)
8. listen carefully and respectfully to students?
9. check in with students about inferences and assumptions s/he makes about them?
10. develop an understanding and awareness of students as individuals without overgeneralizing or stereotyping?  (RIPTS #4.1, 4.2)
11. help individual learners develop conceptual understanding?  (RIPTS #2.4, 2.5)
12. challenge individual learners to develop higher level cognitive skills?  (RIPTS #5.1)

Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect an understanding of how children learn and develop.  (RIPTS #3)

Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect a respect for the diversity of learners and an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning. (RIPTS #4)

Teachers create instructional opportunities to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.  (RIPTS #5)

Meeting Standard Two:

The teacher candidate demonstrates a heightened awareness of, and concern for, the diverse backgrounds, strengths, talents and needs of learners in his/her classroom. Focusing on individual learners, the teacher candidate observes, documents and learns about each student. S/he works hard to “understand their understandings” and uses this knowledge to further individual student learning. S/he holds high expectations for all learners and helps them accomplish the curriculum standards of the host classroom by focusing on students’ developing thinking skills, and conceptual understanding in all areas of the curriculum. The teacher candidate demonstrates a heightened competency in all of these areas, particularly in those targeted during the self-assessment conference at the end of the fall semester.

This standard is met if the teacher candidate consistently demonstrates through her/his planning and instruction that students are considered as individuals with a variety of strengths, talents and specific needs.