A7. The teacher plans for an inclusive, nurturing, stimulating, and academically challenging learning environment.

Evidence: Bulletin Board

Justification: This standard states that the teacher should create a nurturing and academically stimulative environment for students so that they can feel safe while they are achieving their academic goals.

One of the ways I helped create an inclusive and stimulating environment for my students was creating a bulletin board. I worked with another student teacher to create the bulletin board. Many students may feel represented or included in this bulletin board because of its subject matter. A lot of students in the elementary school like to hunt, and it’s very prominent in that community’s culture. Bringing this part of their culture to school makes way for a connection between their life at home and their life at home.

This bulletin board is academically stimulating because it will be used to showcase students’ grades. Students who receive a hundred percent on an assignment will have their assignment hung up above the bulletin board. This bulletin board will help motivate students to do their work, and to try their best while doing the work. Students were excited to see the bulletin board hung up in the hallway.

I believe this piece of evidence supports this standard in three ways:

  1. The bulletin board is inclusive because most of the student population can relate to its subject matter.
  2. Having students who get a hundred percent on an assignment have their assignment hung up above the bulletin board makes it academically challenging.
  3. Students were excited to see the new bulletin board and were excited to see it completed.