Jenny Gough

Exit Performance Description

Spring 2010

Michigan State University Teacher Certification Program

Michigan State University’s (MSU) certification program requires a yearlong internship
in the fifth, post-baccalaureate year of study. The teacher certification program at MSU
has eight standards, which are: 1. Employ a Liberal Education; 2. Working with Students,
3. Creating and Managing a Classroom Learning Community, 4. Organize a Class, 5. Use
an Equipped Classroom, 6. Join a Faculty and School, 7. Engage Guardians and
Community, 8. Teacher as Professional and Reflective Learner. As Field Instructor, I
will use standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 to assess the intern’s development over the course of
the school year. Standards 6 and 7 will be assessed by the intern’s mentor teacher.

Teaching Situation
Jenny Gough completed her undergraduate degree at Michigan State University with a
major in International Studies of Social Sciences and a minor in English. Jenny spent her
internship year teaching at Coopersville High School in Coopersville, Michigan.
Coopersville is comprised of a predominantly Caucasian population coming from a
variety of socio-economic backgrounds. Over the course of the school year, Jenny has
primarily been responsible for teaching several sections of a sophomore World History
course. During the second half of the year, Jenny also took on responsibility for teaching
a course in Sociology.

1. Employ a Liberal Education

Jenny continually emphasized to her students the importance of a well-rounded education
in becoming productive and active citizens. She modeled effective communication skills
in her ability to listen to and learn from her mentor, colleagues, and field instructor. She
recognized the unique character of each of her students as well as the rights and
responsibilities shared by all. Her genuine care and concern for her students was evident
in their open and trusting interactions with her.

Jenny modeled respect for the unique perspectives and experiences each of her students
brought into the classroom and worked to incorporate these experiences into her teaching
of content. In the World History classes she taught, Jenny worked hard to develop
lessons that helped students make connections between the past and the present. In one
lesson dealing with the philosophies and legacies of Confucius and Lao’tzu, Jenny had
the students engage in a mock press conference with a group of students representing
each of the philosophers. The rest of the class was asked to generate questions that dealt
with problems in the contemporary world. The panel representing each thinker answered
the questions based on their respective philosophical perspective. This is only one of
many examples in which Jenny helped students grasp foundational content knowledge
and designed activities that would help them connect this knowledge to important
personal and social issues in the present.
2. Working with Students
Jenny has strong interpersonal skills. She exhibited a genuine interest in the lives and
perspectives of her students that allowed her to build trusting relationships with them
from very early in the year. Jenny began nearly every class with a warm-up journal
activity in which students were asked to review material they had previously covered,
make predictions about topics that would be part of upcoming lessons, and/or make
connections between material covered in class and their own lives.

Jenny was sensitive to differences amongst learners and gave each individual the
attention he/she required to grasp subject material. She presented material through a
variety of mediums and encouraged students to use one another as resources for learning.
During each of the lessons I observed, Jenny afforded time to answer students’ questions
and to clarify any existing confusion. She often moved around the room to speak to
individual students, gauge their understanding, and adjust her instruction accordingly.

3. Creating and Managing a Classroom Learning Community

Jenny set up clear and concise guidelines regarding her expectations for student work,
participation, and behavior. Students were aware of what was required of them, the
deadlines for completing work, and the standards by which their work would be
evaluated. Jenny created predictable routines while also planning and introducing novel
lessons and activities to keep instruction lively and engaging.

Recognizing that some students were consistently more willing to share and participate in
class, Jenny created opportunities for less vocal students to share their viewpoints. She
encouraged students to ask questions, share opposing viewpoints, and debate intelligently
and respectfully with one another. Because of her strong rapport with students, Jenny
rarely encountered major problems with classroom management. We did talk over the
course of the semester about some different ways to approach issues related to classroom
management. Jenny quickly learned that a simple verbal request for the attention of the
class often was insufficient. She gradually learned how to address classroom
management issues centered around individual students as well as issues that involved the
entire class. Students’ respect for Jenny and one another can largely be attributed to the
respect she modeled for them. She created an effective balance between lecture, large
group discussion, and small group work ensuring each student would have a forum in
which to feel comfortable communicating.

4. Organize a Class
Jenny maintained high academic standards and willingly provided extra assistance
outside of class to struggling students. She provided students opportunities to share and
display their work. She made sure the same students did not dominate conversation and
she gave everyone a chance to participate. Her planning of units and individual lessons
was thoughtful and consistent with local and state standards and benchmarks.

Jenny implemented instructional activities that engaged students in meaningful inquiry,

problem solving, participation, and cooperation. Jenny often began lesson on particular
periods of World History with questions that engaged higher-order thinking skills. For
example, Jenny began a lesson on medieval Europe with the question: How does fear
affect people? Students were asked to think about this question in terms of the time of
Charlemagne, the feudal system, and the present. After students discussed three major
groups that existed during this period, she presented the class with a two-paragraph first-
person narrative on an episode from the lives of a group of Vikings and asked the class to
consider the following questions: Who is the author? What is his/her point-of-view?
What could be the author’s interests in writing this account? Is this an authentic source
for understanding the Vikings? Is there anything problematic with this as a source?
This was just one of many examples in which Jenny encouraged students to think about
questions of authorship, voice, point-of-view, and perspective. This lesson also
illustrated Jenny’s ability to incorporate individual thinking, small-group collaboration,
and large-group discussion.

5. Use an Equipped Classroom

Jenny was extremely adept at using the technology available in her classroom to make
her teaching and planning more efficient, engaging, and well-organized. She utilized the
smart board and audio equipment in the classroom not only to organize her instruction
but also to make sure all visual and verbal presentation was accessible to all students.

Jenny utilized the World Wide Web to enhance instruction in a number of ways. She
used the web to identify and share with her students contemporary articles and topics that
were related to those being studied in class. In addition to using the web to find resources
to enhance instruction, Jenny also encouraged student’s to critically engage with material
and mediums found on the web in order to have them think more deeply about the
broader impacts of these technologies. For example, Jenny designed a lesson in which
students were asked to view a set of postings on Twitter and to reflect on a set of
questions. Students were asked to list the different things they saw on the website, to
think about the way Twitter worked in our society, how Twitter can potentially benefit
society, and the limitations of such technology. She taught this lesson within the context
of teaching the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press. In this
activity, Jenny provided students with a bridge for thinking about the role, function,
limitations, and overall societal impacts of new technologies and how technologies
cumulatively build off of other, pre-existing technologies.

8. Teacher as Professional and Reflective Learner

Jenny made a concerted effort to gain exposure to and learn about a variety of subjects
within the social studies as well as a variety of teachers and teaching styles. Early in the
year, Jenny took on responsibility for planning, implementing, and assessing lessons for
several sections of World History. As the year progressed, Jenny became more
comfortable getting involved in other aspects of the Coopersville school community. She
gained valuable experience communicating and working with parents and administrators.

Jenny exhibited a mature and professional attitude throughout her internship. She
purposively interacted with her mentor, colleagues, and administrators and drew off of
their experience to enhance her practice. She invited feedback and constructive criticism
on her practice from peers and colleagues and worked to incorporate it into her teaching.
She remained open to suggestions and new ideas from her mentor teacher, colleagues,
field instructor, and MSU course instructors. She consistently assessed her students’
level of understanding and engagement and adjusted instruction to meet their needs.
Jenny views herself as much as a learner as a teacher. This quality will help her to
continually refine her practice and make her a welcome addition to the school in which
she finds employment.

Kevin Holohan
Field Instructor
Michigan State University