Running head: DOMAIN D LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Domain D Literature Review

Ashlynn Griffith
National University
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Abstract
The following literature review provides the rationale for my artifact selection in Domain D of

my Professional Development Quest Portfolio. All the artifacts demonstrate my progress in

planning instruction and designing learning experiences for students. Within this review, I will

make connections between my artifacts and the article “Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for

Empowering Student Choice” by John McCarthy.

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Domain D focuses on planning instruction and designing learning experiences for

students and contains two TPE standards. TPE 8: Learning about Students focuses on learning

about student’s academic abilities and individual interests to maximize their learning

opportunities. TPE 9: Instructional Planning focuses on planning lessons and assessments that

evaluate students’ progress towards achieving learning goals (Commission on Teacher

Credentialing, 2013). My first artifact was selected because it showed my needs and goals for

instructing students with special needs. The second artifact that I chose is the action plan that

followed my self-assessment and demonstrates what I did to achieve my goals. My third artifact

is a class profile that shows my ability to learn about my students and the special needs that they

bring to the classroom. Finally, my fourth artifact is a California Mission Report assignment that

I used with two different classes of fourth graders.

An article that complements the standard of Domain D is “Learner Interest Matters:

Strategies for Empowering Student Choice” by John McCarthy. The article discusses the power

of student interest and how it can affect a student’s ability to learn. Teachers are encouraged to

learn about the interests of their students and differentiate activities so that students have a choice

in how they create their final product. An example in the article is a teacher who allowed a

student to build a model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home using Minecraft instead of traditional

materials. In this example, the student’s motivation to complete the activity increased

significantly and the student was able to learn more about the subject. “When a topic connects to

what students like to do, engagement deepens as they willingly spend time thinking, dialoging,

and creating ideas in meaningful ways” (McCarthy, 2014). This article presents a highly

engaging way for teachers to plan their instruction and design learning experiences for their

students.
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When selecting my first artifact, I reflected on the question, “are the artifacts credible and

do they support progress toward your professional growth, learning, and goals?” (Costantino,

2009, p.49). My Teaching Special Populations Needs Assessment is a credible document because

it was one of my BTSA assignments and it shows progress towards my professional growth,

learning, and goals because it was a baseline assessment of my teaching strategies that served my

special populations. Although I was only emerging in eight of the thirty-eight sections, my

overall assessment of myself did not demonstrate that I was meeting standards in this area yet.

My next artifact, my Action Plan, proves that I reflected on these short fallings and planned to

grow.

When creating a working teaching portfolio, teachers are encouraged to select “a

professional development plan for increasing effectiveness in planning, delivery, and assessment

of instruction” as an artifact in the area of planning, delivery, and assessment of instruction

(Costantino, 2009, p. 47). My second artifact, Teaching Special Populations Action Plan, was

my professional development plan in response to my low self-assessment scores. I completed

this Action Plan during my second year of BTSA as part of my Special Populations Portfolio.

Within this Action Plan, I researched, summarized my research, applied the research in my

classroom, then reflected on the results of using the research-based strategies in my classroom.

This research and implementation of research helped me improve in my ability to plan

instruction that benefits all students, but especially those with special needs.

My third artifact, Class Profile, was a tool that I used during BTSA to help me “identify

students who need specialized instruction, including gifted students and/or students with physical

disabilities, learning disabilities, or health conditions requiring instructional adaptations”

(Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2013). This BTSA tool required me to look through the
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cum folders for each student and research their academic and home history. This tool helped me

learn more about the needs of my students and serves as “a sample of how (I) keep accurate

records” within my working portfolio (Costantino, 2009, p. 48)

The final artifact that I selected, California Mission Report, was included in my portfolio

because it demonstrates my ability to empower student choice and appeal to the interest of my

students. This assignment was created by myself and my fourth-grade team and was intended to

be completed over the course of one month. The project had three parts: a research report, a

project completed at home, and a presentation integrating the research report and project. The at-

home presentation gave the students several choices so that the final product is differentiated.

“differentiating products are a common place to embed interests” (McCarthy, 2014). By

differentiating the options for the final at-home product, we increased student interest and

motivation to complete the project without teacher assistance. We also gave the students the

option of coming up with their own proposal for a project and asking the teacher for approval

before beginning it. This proposal option assisted the students that were not interested in one of

the proposed ideas. “A higher level of activating interest is to have students propose their own

ideas for products and activities” (McCarthy, 2014). By giving students choice in their final

product, this time-consuming project was transformed into an engaging activity for students to

complete at home and connect to their in-class activity.

Domain D contains standards that are vital for teachers to master if they wish to be

effective teachers. We must develop the ability to know our students, both their academic needs

and their personal interests, and then plan appropriate activities for the students that we have

gotten to know. My four artifacts were carefully selected in order to prove that I have been

developing in my ability to learn about my class and plan lessons that hold their interest and
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meet their diverse needs. Although I know that I still have room to grow, I am pleased with the

progress that I have made so far in my six years of teaching.

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References

Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013, March). California Teaching Performance

Expectations [PDF]. Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Costantino, P. M., & De Lorenzo, M. N. (2009). Developing a Professional Teaching Portfolio:

A Guide for Success (Third ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

McCarthy, J. (2014, August 25). Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student

Choice. Retrieved November 17, 2018, from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-learner-interest-matters-john-

mccarthy