For Competency 3, “Communicate Knowledge”, I have chosen three artifacts for the four sub-competencies. For the first sub-competency, “Communicates effectively in oral and written form”, I have chosen my Unit Assessment Evaluation project from EDCI 54900. I have chosen this project because there two different written components and an accompanying video. These three pieces of information all work together, providing an assessment of a unit lesson as well as a new written assessment for that lesson. In the video, I introduce the lesson, describing what the purpose of the lesson is, and then discuss the assessment I wrote for one of the activities. This information is also included in the paper. The video demonstrates my ability to present written information to an audience. Communicating clearly is important in a classroom environment. Students rely on the instructor to tell them the information. When I have training for my instructors, we will often talk about presentations, how to convey the information in an engaging and accurate way.

For the second sub-competency, “Effectively communicate content from discipline through the design and delivery of effective teaching/learning activities”, I have chosen my Unit Lesson from EDCI 55800. In this project, I have created a unit plan to teach about the lunar rover VIPER and what it intends to study. I start by discussing the information about VIPER, then I present them with a challenge where they must attach an ultraviolet (UV) light to a rover as well as a camera. They then record while the rover is driving up to craters on a simulated lunar surface while using the UV light to identify water ice, indicated by rocks that illuminate blue under the UV light. All of this will be aided by a drone flown by the group to provide a live video feed, which would simulate satellite imagery. These activities are not only relevant to current space exploration missions as VIPER is expected to launch November 2024, but also a unique and engaging activity that will supply data for the students to use in future lessons in that program. This activity has become a part of one of my new programs, and future development may include making the cameras on the rovers have a live feed. This way they would be able to drive the rover more easily and the technology could be used with a future activity either with this program or another program.

For the third sub-competency, “Demonstrates the ability to adapt instruction and support services to the needs of diverse learners” and the fourth sub-competency, “Demonstrate ability to appropriately assess learning outcomes”, I have chosen my Research into Practice project from EDCI 54900. With this paper, I discuss an assessment given to a student with Attention Deficit Hyperactive/Hypoactive Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The student was learning about water in the air, and with his ADHD, writing down answers was difficult. Once he processed what to write, by the time he was writing it, he had forgotten what he was going to say. To adapt this assessment to accurately reflect what he knows, we instead engaged in one-on-one conversations. This allowed me to accurately assess what he knew, but in a way that worked with his needs. I would ask him questions about his observations, what he learned, and would give him the time and space to talk as freely as he needed. Once, when he grew frustrated, we took a break, did something different, got his mind off the problem, and then came back. In my program, students come from all over the world, with different backgrounds needing various accommodations. Some may be additional language support, some may have Autism or ADHD, some may have a mobility concern. Sometimes these are communicated ahead of time, so we can work with our Accessibility and Inclusion Specialist, sometimes we do not know, and we must adapt our learning environment. This project has shown me that verbal communication can be an adaptation to an assessment. Knowing this, I will continue to encourage the instructors in my program to exercise patience when communicating with students, giving them the time to fully complete thoughts to understand what they know and what they need help with.