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Writing Your Autobiographical Sketch |
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v A good way for your future principal (and for me!) to
get to know you is to write a one-page autobiographical sketch that will eventually
become part of your teaching portfolio in ED 295 Service Learning.
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Instruction |
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Step 1: To help jumpstart your thinking, below are some
resources, categories, and questions that you may want to consider including
in your autobiographical sketch. |
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v
There
is no set format on how to
write an autobiographical sketch, but it is important to think of the paper
as a tool to sell yourself: What overall knowledge, skills, desires, and
experiences do you have that will make you an excellent educator? What is it
about you personally that your future principal will want to hire you? v
Keep the tone of the paper positive: Dont include
anything about yourself that is negative in your autobiography, for example,
I am lazy, I procrastinate, I didnt want to be a
teacher at first, teaching really wasnt a life-long
dream, I wanted to be a nurse, but it didnt work
out, I dont really like students, I really dont know what I want to do, I dont
like what schools are doing today, etc. v
It
is okay to overcome challenges that
made you who you are and dont have to framed negatively. Any negative statements detract
from your principal seeing your true qualities, dont
give him or her an excuse not to hire you! v
One
suggestion is that after writing your sketch, go back and read it over as if you were the
principal. Would you consider yourself to be a good person for the school
to hire? v
Review the Resources Provided Below to
Help Jumpstart your Thinking: ·
Text: p. 330 Teachers disposition definition and respect all students ·
Text: p. 21 Adopting a Professional Self-Concept as a Student ·
Text: p. 18 Figure 1.2. The top ten requirements for good teaching ·
Text: p. 203 205: Models of Teaching ·
Text: p. 55 Lifelong learner definition ·
Review the Autobiographical
Sketch Rubric to see how the assignment is graded ·
Read Autobiographical
Sketch Student Example 1 |
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Step 2: Write 3 paragraphs that address each of the
topics indicated below: Note You do not have to answer each question, but use
the questions to think about how you want to frame your answer. There are not
set formatting requirements for this paper, but 12 pt
font, single-spaced is a fine. The paper should be
about 1-2 pages. See examples above. |
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Paragraph 1: Why You Chose to Become a
Teacher/Teaching Experiences ·
Have you had a lifelong dream of becoming a teacher? ·
What set of circumstances in your life brought into the teaching field? ·
What experiences do you have working with students? ·
Have any of those experiences influenced your decisions to become a
teacher? ·
Who influenced you most as you were growing up or as you were making
decisions about your lifes work. |
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Paragraph 2: Your Personal Attributes or
Teaching Dispositions ·
What attributes do you have that would make you a good teacher? ·
Are you a warm and nurturing person who is especially encouraging to
others? ·
Do you have a professional demeanor and business-like attitude? ·
Do you hold high expectations for your own success and for the success of
your students? ·
Have you ever overcome some personal obstacles that would help you
empathize with students who must do the same thing? |
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Paragraph 3: Your Long-Term Goals and Ambitions ·
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? ·
What ambitions do you have as an educator? ·
How will your goals and ambitions make you a better teacher? |
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Step 3: Save your paper in a word-processor. Submit to
Laulima Assignments by the due date. |
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