Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #1

Characteristic #1: We believe that the novice teacher should have a commitment to and skills for life-long learning.

The Benedum Collaborative defines life-long learning as "a continuing search for knowledge and understanding." I believe that this characteristic is one of the most important for teachers. Society and ever-changing and people are continually learning new ways to teach our children. Educators should be committed to continuously learn and better themselves as a teacher to be more effective for their students.

My artifact for this characteristic would be a copy of my memberships to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (WVCTM). These are two organizations that our C&I instructor suggested that we join. By joining these organizations, I am able to go to conferences around the United States to learn new ways to teach mathematics. Also, journals, lesson plans, and research findings are readily available by becoming a member. I would also include a copy of a lesson plan that I created using NCTM content standards, rather than the WV CSOs.

I feel this artifact shows that I am planning to continuously learn more to become a better and more effective teacher.