In my opinion, I think this standard wants me to recognize that there are a variety of

factors to consider during instructional planning. It is important for teachers to not only reflect on

the curriculum and standards, but to also reflect on individual student interests and personal

experiences. By considering each of these factors, the instruction will benefit each individual

student in their own way depending on their learning styles and performance modes.

Furthermore, this standard also wants me to understand how to incorporate both technology as

well as other content areas into my classroom’s specific instruction. These are simply examples

of possible ways to adapt the instruction to address specific students’ needs.

For this standard, I chose to use an example of a detailed unit plan as the artifact to

demonstrate my understanding and application of the standard. I have used this artifact in

practice during student teaching this semester. This artifact clearly demonstrates my

understanding of “how to develop short- and long-range plans consistent with curriculum goals,

learner diversity, and learning theory.” In general, I have completed instructional planning a few

weeks ahead of time as well as figuring out details with short-range plans as the days for each

lesson approach. During instructional planning, I have consistently considered the curriculum in

addition to the individual students within each class and how the instruction should be modified

depending on their learning needs. However, my teaching will change in the future to further

meet this standard by finding more successful ways to integrate technology and other content

areas into the instruction. In my opinion, it is not difficult to incorporate primary resources based

on art or music into the classroom, yet I think it is also important to find ways to integrate two

different subjects together, such as math and social studies. Not only does this appeal to the

students who are better at one of the subjects more than the other, but it also provides students

with an opportunity to build their knowledge in both content areas.

 After demonstrating the importance behind considering each individual student’s diverse

learning needs during instructional planning, I feel more prepared to teach and learn in a diverse

society. ‘Diverse’ can be defined in multiple ways. For one, it can be interpreted as an ethnically

and racially diverse environment. With an ethnically and racially diverse student population in

the classroom, it is important to consider students’ backgrounds and personal interests during

instructional planning to help in creating connections between the curriculum and their lives.

‘Diverse’ can also be interpreted as an academically diverse environment. By satisfactorily

meeting this standard, I have demonstrated the importance in including cross-curricular

connections and technology as well as multiple representations for students’ different learning

styles to modify instruction to meet students’ diverse needs. This will prepare me as a

prospective teacher to provide the best education for a diverse group of students. I look forward

to using this knowledge in my future and am confident that my future experiences will further

build upon these understandings as well.