Prentice J. Sargeant
Social Studies: Licensure 6-12
Student Academic Progress
Student academic progress is important because it demonstrates that the teacher has created lesson plans that allow students to showcase their mastery of new concepts and skills. This standard can only be achieved when the educator knows how to generate acceptable, measurable, and appropriate results from student learning. To do this, teachers need to know how to set appropriate goals for their students, accurately document progression throughout the school year and communicate it to students, parents, and when necessary, members of the school community, and use these results to demonstrate knowledge and skills mastered in the classroom.
Setting Goals:
Daily Objectives serve as excellent short-term goals for students to strive for in every class. I always made sure to have a general objective posted for the class, either focusing on a new topic or a new skill to develop in that particular class. They make for good starting points in each lesson.
Communication:
Successfully documenting and communicating student academic growth is critical for continued progress. As a student teacher, I used a program called Synergy to communicate grades with both students and parents. Whenever a grade is entered, both the students and his/her parents have access to the program to see the grade. Occasionally, I communicated directly with a parent to explain a certain grade or detail any missing assignments. In my future classroom, I will use a program similar to Synergy to promote transparency between myself, my students, and their parents.
Developing Knowledge and Skills:
In my time as a student teacher, I made sure that my students were developing new knowledge and learning how to apply it in a meaningful way. Through a curriculum I designed around project-based learning, my students created thought-provoking artifacts that demonstrate not only their knowledge, but their research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills.
Below I have student-created examples from five projects I designed in World History II and Government.
20th Century Genocide Project (on the Bosnian Genocide):
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Major Events of the Cold War Project:
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Making a Bill Writing Assignment: Sample Student Bills
Letter to a Politician Writing Assignment: Letter to Senator Mark Warner
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Contact Information:
Prentice J. Sargeant
prentice.sargeant@gmail.com
540-797-8373