InTASC Standard #1: Learner Development is important for teachers to

understand and master during their careers. This standard demonstrates how
teachers understand the growth and development of each learner in their
classroom. They do this by recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the
students and use them in order to work towards creating lessons that utilize
appropriate, yet challenging learning experiences. In order to master this standard,
the teacher needs to work with their students, their families, their teacher
colleagues, and other staff members that have useful information in order to create
a positive learning environment.
This artifact is a part of the Child Study project, which I performed during
my middle school rotation. The Child Study focuses on an 8th grade student in the
Spanish I course, who I felt was having an easy time in this class due to him being a
native speaker. Included is the Child Study, the article summaries, which I read in
order to help with this project, and the notes I took in regards to the project. This
artifact demonstrates my proficiency in this standard because it shows how I was
able to understand how the specific learner grows in that classroom environment. I
was able to understand that the specific child I chose for this study was advanced in
the course and felt bored due to already knowing the topic. I was also able to get to
know the student and understand what he specifically needed in the classroom in
order to feel engaged with the lessons. I was also able to see how all students differ
from each other and that a technique that works for one specific students, may not
work for another specific student. This artifact relate to positive impact on
student learning because I was able to understand that each student brings their

own sets of strengths and weaknesses to the classroom and that their abilities all
vary. This artifact will help me plan for different ability groups in the future. This
artifact demonstrates part of the Planning-Teaching-Learning cycle because it
gave me the opportunity to judge the students prior knowledge to every lesson
taught at my middle school rotation. The artifact also gives me insight on how to
plan for different ability groups and gave me the opportunity to reflect on what the
specific student needed.