Post #2 TIP Charts!

This week I had the opportunity to rate myself as a 21st Century classroom teacher. I always enjoy an experience where I get to take the time to find areas of growth and reflect on my abilities as an educator. It is so important that as much as we expect our students to reflect and grow, it is equally important that we as teachers constantly change and grow!

As you may know, I am a third grade teacher in a rather large rural school. I also have my ESL certification, so I often work with students who speak English as their non-dominant language. Technology resources are so incredible when it comes to working with both of these groups. There are apps, websites, search engines, and resources around today that were not even thought of when I was growing up. Students have the opportunity to learn so much more than was previously possible. I wanted to take the time to do a self evaluation to make sure that I was giving students all the resources possible to them!

I decided to self assess myself using the Teacher Innovation Progression Chart Rubric that was explained to me during my second week of Education 776 out of Dominican University. I chose this chart because so often in third grade I assess my students using rubrics, and I thought it would be appropriate to assess myself in the same way. There are four different components to the TIP charts; Research and Information Fluency, Communication and Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and Creativity and Innovation. I assessed myself on all four components.


Research and Information Fluency

Picture Courtesy of Henrico 21st Century Teaching and Learning

I rated myself as developing in this category. I think this is a category that I could grow in. I chalk some of this up to teaching 3rd graders, but in this day and age I could work harder to take on more a facilitator role rather than instructing them on how to do everything. I rated myself in this category because when I teach students about research I tell them exactly where to find the information and exactly what questions to ask. They don't do much research before they get to me so I feel that it is appropriate to ease them into the research and informational fluency world. All that being said, I see some opportunities for growth as well. I think with some practice, I could switch to modeling strategies that will help them with their research rather than giving them all of the resources to find the information. I am going to work on changing my teaching model from a direct instructor to a facilitator.

Communication and Collaboration

Picture Courtesy of  Henrico 21st Century Teaching and Learning

 I rated myself as approaching in this category. I feel that communication and collaboration are two of my strengths when pertaining to technology. I model a range of communication methods and digital tools. I am always looking for different ways for students to express their ideas other than traditional methods. I have several different avenues in which I communicate with my students and the families of my students. I use Remind, a class website, and a blog where families and students can see pictures and videos that we have used in the classrooms. Almost all of the projects we work on in the classroom involve some sort of collaboration. I feel that collaboration allows more challenging and engaging curriculum to be implemented in the classroom. I do take on a facilitator role in these instances and step back and allow my students to use each other as their resources.

Picture Courtesy of Henrico 21st Century Teaching and Learning

I rated myself as developing in this category. I rated myself in this category for the same reason that I rated myself this way in the research component. During critical thinking and problem solving projects I take on a direct instruction model, which may not be the most effective. This ties in with my classroom management issues. Many third graders are scared to make mistakes and when they are left to critically think and figure out their own problems, they shut down or follow me around the room screaming they don't know what to do and don't understand. By directing them how to solve problems, it saves me a headache and keeps everyone on task. I understand there is room for growth here, but it is also important to understand that with the age I teach there is only so much we can expect for them to do without guidance and instruction in the beginning.

Picture Courtesy of Henrico 21st Century Teaching and Learning

 I rated myself as approaching in this category. We focus on creativity and different ways to express ourselves all the time. I model with my students the importance of taking risks and expressing ourselves. We celebrate differences, and that means we celebrate that we are all good at different things and learn in different was. Every day is a new day to learn something. That is a mantra we focus on in my classroom. Students have opportunities every day to take the real world skills they are learning and implement them through the use of projects, research, and communication.


Overall, I know that I have areas of growth as a 21st century teacher. However, I know that I bring a lot to the table as a "millennial" teaching our youth. I grew up knowing how to use a computer and how to communicate in a variety of different ways. I learn a new thing about the resources available to me every day. I hope to continue to grow and to continue to teach my students how to become 21st century learners as well!