The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

For my artifact, I selected my interactive journals to demonstrate alignment with Standard #8, Instructional Strategies. Throughout my visits to CK Burns School, I documented my reflections and insights in these journals, identifying innovative instructional strategies that will be useful in my development as a future educator. Each visit provided an opportunity to collect data, which allowed me to evaluate effective techniques that I will certainly incorporate into my teaching practice. These journals have led me to more deeply understanding content as it gave me an opportunity to ask questions and build on different strategies. 

As a future educator, my interactive journals have proven to be a great resource for reflection and growth. They allow me to revisit and analyze effective teaching techniques I observed, which I can then incorporate into my own lesson planning. One key takeaway from my data and journal entries is the significant impact of positive reinforcement on student participation, particularly in mathematics. While taking data on this concept in my journals, I have been able to more deeply understand the impact that certain instructional strategies can have on students. Through this process, I have learned multiple ways to encourage students and make them excited to learn math.