Inquiry Presentation Rubric

Introduction
Slide 1
Hello my name is Kellie Coker. I am a level one intern here at
USF Sarasota Manatee. I have had a long and somewhat grim
adventure in my education.

Slide 2
I began with a wonderful school and teachers in kindergarten
and first grade and this was when I decided that I loved school
and wanted to become a teacher so I could spread the joy of
learning to everyone.
However, once the school discovered I was having trouble
learning how to read I was placed in special education and I felt
that I was simply forgotten. I remained there for a few years
with teachers that seemed to be just really mean babysitters. I
was homeschooled for a couple of years before joining
mainstream high school.
Slide 3
It was a struggle every step of the way, but I am thankful for it
and thankful for having a loving supportive family. Because
these two things in my life shaped my beliefs and taught me
many valuable lessons.
I feel so fortunate that I was able to use my negative
experiences in education to help motivate me. And I feel even
more fortunate that I can create a, different experience, for my
future students.
School should be an awesome place where students are happy,
feel at home, and excited to discover all of the wonderful
knowledge our world has to offer. My goal as an educator is to
cultivate a loving classroom community and a love for lifelong
learning.

Slide 4
This semester I had the honor of being an intern in a wonderful
first grade classroom at Rowlett Magnet Elementary School in
Bradenton, Florida. This charter magnet school has a mission to
teach leadership, a love of learning, creativity, and excellence in
academics, through a communications and arts theme. Here
are some of the demographics of the school…. And this is the
first-grade classroom I was in….
Slide 5
Teaching Beliefs and Data Collection
My teaching beliefs were both solidified and changed for the
better this semester.

Slide 6
My first belief is
“It is important to have a loving classroom environment where
the focus is being kind and supporting each other.”
This belief is important to me because I think the students need
to know that we care about them, and they are important to
us, and that is the reason we want them to learn. This places
importance and purpose in student learning.
This belief was further solidified in many ways I felt that
everywhere I turned this semester I saw a great example of
why it is important to have a loving classroom environment.
Examples:
In my internship I was able to be a part of the perfect example
of a loving classroom community with a teacher that had more
than 20 years of experience. This both showed me how well a
loving classroom community works and how to implement it
into my practice.
I also discovered that in every class I was taking at USF we were
learning how it is in fact very important to have a loving
classroom.
In Math 1 we learned that it is imperative to have an inclusive
classroom, where everyone is supportive of the productive
struggle so that no student is afraid to be embarrassed if they
have an incorrect answer or when explaining their
mathematical thinking.
In science we built a loving classroom community where we
talked about how we were feeling often in class and those
feelings were held very important by the professor and the
other students. We also supported each other in our
groupwork, whole class discussions, and with compliments and
celebrations when preforming our teaching units.
In seminar we talked about the importance of a loving
classroom environment in so many ways. We learned that in
the most challenging classrooms and with the most challenging
students, having the support of a loving classroom environment
is what is needed most. I learned that the students need to feel
safe and cared for and “Leading with Love” will help guide the
teacher and the students to the root of the bad or disruptive
behavior instead of simply punishing them for it. We talked
about how unwanted behavior is a communication that there
may be something wrong and it should be approached with a
open caring heart instead of a harsh punishment.

Slide 7
My second belief has thankfully changed this semester
I had a belief that
“Having a classroom community centered on love and kindness
would not be accepted well in the schools by other teachers
and the administrators.”
When I started this semester, I thought that I would hear
something like this as feedback after explaining, my plan for
classroom management based on a loving classroom “That’s
sweet hunny, but what are you really going to do to control
students’ behavior?”. However, my belief changed because, as I
was explaining earlier, schools and teachers are seeing that this
actually works best.
This semester I actually saw Rowlett Academy implement a
School-wide effort to teach kindness. And even my professors
signature message includes a quote about how kindness is
important.
Slide 8
My third belief is about how students gain new knowledge.
I hadn’t realized that I believed that “Teachers introduce the
new information and then do activities to reinforce the new
knowledge.” Which is somewhat true but not exactly.
Now, through learning more about guiding students with
questioning, my belief has changed. I now believe it is best to
guide the students in “discovering” the new knowledge and
constructing it themselves with the teacher as a guide.
In both my math and science class we designed lessons, and
experiments to guide the students learning in a student-
centered classroom. I learned that the students have a deeper
more concrete understanding of the content when they
construct the new knowledge themselves in their own way of
understanding. I feel that this happened because the education
community is realizing how students learn best and working to
teach us future teachers the information so that we can
implement this in our future classrooms.

Slide 9
Wonderings
1. Beginning the first day of school how do I establish this
loving classroom community with new students?
I have seen how the classroom operates with it but I have
not seen how to establish this with new students.

2. How do I help others see that a classroom centered on

love and kindness works well with students and supports
their learning?

3. How can I train myself to ask the right questions when

guiding students in learning new concepts?
Introduction
15 pts
Full Marks
The PST includes a clear and compelling description of each
bullet point.
Visual support included for each bullet point enhances and
deepens the text.
● Background of self
● School/university context
● Classroom context Title, purpose and wondering are included.

Data Collection & Teaching Beliefs

20 pts
Full Marks
The PST includes 2-3 beliefs that are distinct and clearly
articulated. Data/visual support included enhances and
deepens understanding of each belief. Each belief includes:
● what the beliefs means to them as a teacher.
● why the belief is important for student learning.
● data/visual support with captions from campus course
experiences, AND classroom experiences that support each
belief

Conclusion & New Wonderings

15 pts
Full Marks
The PST includes thoughtful conclusions with concrete
examples and visual support that address all of the following:
● successful and challenged in enacting your teaching beliefs
● Shifts or growth in initial beliefs about what it means to be a
teacher? Why?
● Ideas for continued growth Several wonderings are included
that are open ended and connected to teaching practice and
student learning