Ensuring that ALL Rhode Island children learn
and perform at high levels requires excellence in teaching. Becoming an excellent teacher
is a developmental process. Beginning teachers bring a variety of academic, social, and
cultural experiences to their classrooms. As they learn more about their students, their
schools, and their communities, they are able to take their developing practice from a
solid foundation to higher levels of expertise. For teachers to become experts, they must
begin with an awareness of the types of knowledge and understandings necessary to develop
as professionals. Achieving, and then maintaining, excellence as a teacher requires a
life-long commitment to professional development.
The Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards were
developed by a committee of teachers, administrators, and teacher educators from across
the state to create a vision of teaching excellence. The Beginning Teacher Standards
articulate what excellent teachers do to promote learning both within themselves and their
students.
Teachers must have an in-depth understanding of their content in order to bring the
Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards to life. The Beginning Teacher Standards,
however, are teaching, rather than content standards.
The eleven standards are presented below. Each standard is supported by several
indicators which illustrate the types of performances that comprise that standard.
The indicators are meant to explain the standard and convey the thinking of the
drafting committee. Committee members agree that as we continue in the
development of a standards-based system, assessments need to be developed which will
define acceptable performance for beginning teachers. Institutions of higher education
need to evaluate teacher education programs in light of these standards and develop
appropriate assessments of teacher candidates that will provide evidence that these
standards have been met.
Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards
Standard 1. Teachers create learning experience using a broad base of general knowledge
that reflects an understanding of the nature of the world in which we live.
Standard 2. Teachers create learning experiences that reflect an understanding of the
central concepts, structures, and tools of inquiry of the disciplines they teach.
Standard 3. Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect an
understanding of how children learn and develop.
Standard 4. Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect a respect for the
diversity of learners and an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning.
Standard 5. Teachers create
instructional opportunities to encourage students' development of critical thinking,
problem solving, and performance skills.
Standard 6. Teachers create a
learning environment that encourages appropriate standards of behavior, positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Standard 7. Teachers foster
collaborative relationships with colleagues and families to support students' learning.
Standard 8. Teachers use
effective communication as the vehicle through which students explore, conjecture,
discuss, and investigate new ideas.
Standard 9. Teachers use a
variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to support the continuous development
of the learner.
Standard 10. Teachers reflect
on their practice and assume responsibility for their own professional development by
actively seeking opportunities to learn and grow as professionals.
Standard 11. Teachers maintain professional standards guided by legal and ethical principles.
Standard 1: Teachers create
learning experiences using a broad base of general knowledge that reflects an
understanding of the nature of the world in which we live.
Teachers...
1.1 reflect a variety of academic, social, and cultural experiences in their teaching.
1.2 use a broad knowledge base to create interdisciplinary learning experiences.
1.3 exhibit a commitment to learning about the changes in their disciplines and in our world
that models a commitment to lifelong learning for students.
Standard 2: Teachers create learning experiences
that reflect an understanding of central concepts, structures, and tools of inquiry of the
disciplines they teach.
Teachers...
2.1 know their discipline and understand how knowledge
in their discipline is created, organized, and linked to other disciplines.
2.2 Design instruction that addresses the core skills,
concepts, and ideas of the disciplines to help students meet the goals of the Rhode Island
Common Core of Learning.
2.3 select instructional materials and resources based
on their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness for representing particular ideas and
concepts.
2.4 incorporate appropriate technological resources to
support student exploration of the disciplines.
2.5 use a variety of explanations and multiple
representations of concepts, including analogies, metaphors, experiments, demonstrations,
and illustrations, that help students develop conceptual understanding.
2.6 represent and use differing viewpoints, theories,
and methods of inquiry when teaching concepts.
2.7 generate multiple paths to knowledge and encourage
students to see, question, and interpret concepts from a variety of perspectives.
Standard 3: Teachers create instructional
opportunities that reflect an understanding of how children learn and develop.
Teachers...
3.1 understand how students learn -- how students construct knowledge, acquire skills, develop
habits of mind, and acquire positive dispositions toward learning.
3.2 design instruction that meets the current cognitive, social, and personal needs of their students.
3.3 create lessons and activities that meet the variety
of developmental levels of students within a class.
Standard 4: Teachers create instructional
opportunities that reflect a respect for the diversity of learners and an understanding of
how students differ in their approaches to learning.
Teachers...
4.1 design instruction that accommodates individual
differences (e.g., stage of development, learning style, English language acquisition,
learning disability) in approaches to learning.
4.2 use their understanding of students (e.g.,
individual interests, prior learning, cultural experiences) to create connections between
the subject matter and student experiences.
4.3 seek information about the impact of students'
specific challenges to learning or disabilities on classroom performance, and work with
specialists to develop alternative instructional strategies to meet the needs of these
students.
4.4 make appropriate accommodations (e.g., in terms of
time and circumstances for work, tasks assigned) for individual students who have
identified learning differences or needs in an Individual Educational Plan (IEP).
Standard 5: Teachers create
instructional opportunities to encourage students' development of critical thinking,
problem solving, and performance skills.
Teachers...
5.1 design lessons that extend beyond factual recall
and challenge students to develop higher level cognitive skills.
5.2 pose questions that encourage students to view,
analyze, and interpret ideas from multiple perspectives.
5.3 make instructional decisions about when to provide
information, when to clarify, when to pose a question, and when to let a student struggle
to try to solve a problem.
5.4 engage students in generating knowledge, testing
hypotheses, and exploring methods of inquiry and standards of evidence.
5.5 use tasks that engage students in exploration,
discovery, and hands-on activities.
Standard 6: Teachers create a learning environment
that encourages appropriate standards of behavior, positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Teachers...
6.1 use principles of effective classroom management to
establish classrooms in which clear rules and standards of behavior are maintained.
6.2 establish a safe and secure learning environment.
6.3 organize and allocate the resources of materials
and physical space to support active engagement of students.
6.4 provide and structure the time necessary to explore
important concepts and ideas.
6.5 help students establish a classroom environment
characterized by mutual respect and intellectual risk-taking.
6.6 create learning groups in which students learn to
work collaboratively and independently.
6.7 communicate clear expectations for achievement that
allow students to take responsibility for their own learning.
Standard 7: Teachers foster collaborative
relationships with colleagues and families to support students' learning.
Teachers...
7.1 work collaboratively with their colleagues (e.g.,
other grade-level, content, special education, ESL teachers) to create a learning
community that benefits all students.
7.2 develop relationships with parents/guardians to
support student learning.
7.3 understand the role of community agencies in
supporting schools
7.4 understand state, district and school initiatives
(e.g. School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT), Statewide Student
Performance Assessments) to effect educational improvement.
Standard 8: Teachers use effective communication as
the vehicle through which students explore, conjecture, discuss, and investigate new
ideas.
Teachers...
8.1 use a variety of communication strategies (e.g.,
restating ideas, questioning, offering counter examples) to engage students in learning.
8.2 use a variety of modes of communication (e.g.,
verbal, visual, kinesthetic) to promote learning.
8.3 use technological advances in communication,
including electronic means of collecting and sharing information, to enrich discourse in
the classroom.
8.4 emphasize oral and written communication through
the instructional use of discussion, listening and responding to the ideas of others, and
group interaction.
Standard 9: Teachers use a
variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to support the continuous development
of the learner.
Teachers...
9.1 gather information about their students (e.g.,
experiences, interests, learning styles, and prior knowledge) from parents/guardians,
colleagues and the students themselves.
9.2 use a variety of assessment strategies and
instruments (e.g., observation, portfolio, teacher made tests, self assessments) that are
aligned with instructional content and methodology.
9.3 encourage students to evaluate their own work and
use the results of this self-assessment to establish individual goals for learning.
9.4 maintain records of student learning and
communicate student progress to students, parents/guardians, and other colleagues.
9.5 use information from their assessment of students
to reflect on their own teaching and to modify their instruction.
Standard 10: Teachers reflect on
their practice and assume responsibility for their own professional development by
actively seeking opportunities to learn and grow as professionals.
Teachers...
10.1 solicit feedback from students, families, and
colleagues to evaluate their own teaching.
10.2 read ideas presented in professional publications
and discuss current issues in education.
10.3 explore new instructional approaches and
strategies, including technological, in the classroom.
10.4 take responsibility for their own professional
growth by participating in workshops, courses, or other educational activities that
support their plans for continued development as teachers.
Standard 11: Teachers maintain professional
standards guided by legal and ethical principles.
Teachers...
11.1 maintain standards that require them to act in the
best interests and needs of students.
11.2 follow school policy and procedures, respecting
the boundaries of their professional responsibilities, when working with students,
colleagues, and families.
11.3 follow local, state, and federal law pertaining to
educational and instructional issues, including regulations related to students' and
teachers' rights and students' and teachers' responsibilities.
11.4 interact with students, colleagues, parents, and
others in a professional manner that is fair and equitable.
11.5 are guided by codes of professional conduct
adopted by their professional organizations.