Running head: TELLING MY STORY 1

Telling My Story Using My PDQP

Brittany Vellutini

National University
TELLING MY STORY 2

Abstract

This paper details my story as an educator so far. Specifically looking at Domain A TPE 1B this

week (Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students: Subject-Specific Pedagogical Skills

for Single Subject Teaching Assignments). This paper will evaluate my progress in achieving

competencies within this TPE domain, identify my strengths and needs associated with this TPE

domain, discuss potential competencies to be utilized for my Professional Development Quest

Portfolio, and will provide a rationale for selecting and completing areas of professional needs

and goals achieved. The paper will give examples and justification for artifacts to be included

within Domain A of the Professional Development Quest Portfolio. Analyzing these artifacts

will help determine if I have been able to meet the criteria set forth in this TPE, or how much

work is still needed until I am able to meet the standards set forth by it.
TELLING MY STORY 3

The California Teacher Performance Expectations are arranged into six domains: Making

Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students, Assessing Student Learning, Engaging and

Supporting Students in Learning, Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for

Students and Developing as a Professional Educator. They are used to guide teachers and

teacher candidates in their own educational process and give them a sense of direction when they

are evaluating their own work. Having a proficiency in Domain A is necessary in order to be

successful in the remaining domains. It provides a foundational element and is something that

should be worked on continuously throughout your career.

Throughout my studies and student teaching, I have become more comfortable with my

ability to make learning history understandable for my students. Providing immersive and

current ways to give course work is something that I have become more confident in. It is not

always an easy task, but the challenge is worthwhile; not all students learn in the same way and it

can be challenging to find a way to make concepts digestible to them all in a way that does not

disrupt the tempo of the course. This is an area of the TPE that I still need assistance with but

collaborating with colleagues is a helpful way to gain more proficiency.

Due to the subject area that I teach, the focus on TPE1 is on 1B which is: Subject-

Specific Pedagogical Skills for Single Subject Teaching Assignments. The artifacts chosen for

the portfolio quest will be representative of teaching history-social science. For this TPE,

appropriate artifacts that help demonstrate my competency can include a lesson plan, an example

of course work to be completed by students, and a copy of an observation of my teaching done

by my university support provider. These artifacts provide evidence of my ability to provide

content-specific material to the students and give an example of how they are expected to work

in my class. The observation allows others to see how successful I am in implementing the TPE
TELLING MY STORY 4

into my work with my students. I continue to work on my ability to make the content accessible

to all students, which I believe is a career-long task. Getting complacent in my abilities is not

good for the students, or for my professional growth.

The six domains of the TPEs are: Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to

Students, Assessing Student Learning, Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning, Planning

Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for Students and Developing as a Professional

Educator. These domains are used to guide teachers and teacher candidates throughout their

educational process and provides them a sense of direction when they are evaluating their work.

Having a proficiency in Domain A is necessary in order to be successful in the remaining

domains. It provides a foundational element and is something that should be worked on

continuously throughout your career.