1PS I Professional Growth Plan Name: Samantha Leriger School: Practicum Dates: Teacher Associate: University Consultant: 1. Goal: To identify and personalize a number of strategies to best accommodate IPP and coded students into my classroom. (K.S.A. #5 & K.S.A. #7) Rationale: I believe educational inclusion is an important part of developing the academic and interpersonal skills needed for a child to find success in a school setting. In my ED 2500 practicum I was placed in two kindergarten classrooms, both of which contained a number of coded students. I observed my Teacher Associates and their classroom assistants adapt their teaching styles, lesson plans, and assignment requirements to a significant degree for each of these students. This was done in order to best meet these students’ specific needs and engage their unique interests and strengths. I now appreciate the level of effort and work involved in such an undertaking. I also realize how beneficial these efforts are for students, and how these actions facilitate a cohesive, inclusive educational environment that is beneficial for all students. Strategies: I will work closely with my Teacher Associates, classroom assistants, and support staff members to develop and implement at least five tangible inclusive policies and practices for the classroom environment, based on the established classroom culture and principles set forth by the Teaching Quality Standard. I will develop personalized lesson plans for these individuals that address their needs and highlight their strengths for each and every lesson I plan. I will modify the expectations of certain activities and assignments as necessary. I will incorporate feedback from my TA, support staff members, my University Consultant, and the students themselves to further develop these strategies in an effective and constructive way. Indicators of Success: Successful completion of assignments by these students A relative decrease in the number of uncompleted assignments, and disruptive incidents experienced by these students throughout the day A qualitative increase in the student’s positive attitude towards school and learning I will receive positive feedback from my University Consultant and Teacher Associate 2 2. Goal: To include at least two formative assessment techniques in every lesson and to develop at least one formative assessment that doubles as a good instructional activity for every lesson. (K.S.A. #11 & K.S.A. #9) Rationale: I believe formative assessment is essential to good learning as it provides students with opportunities to take risks with their learning that they would likely be disinclined to make during summative evaluations. Taking risks with challenging material is one of the ways students effectively develop a more robust understanding of various topics. Using these formative assessments, I would be better able to guide student learning by adapting my teaching strategies to students’ needs. Thus, I will be able to assess the effectiveness of my own teaching strategies as well, which would allow me to make adjustments both during lessons and afterwards. Incorporating assessments that double as instructional activities for students will improve my understanding of how to effectively connect assessments to the Program of Studies in order to improve the validity and accuracy of said assessments. Strategies: I will familiarize myself with a variety of assessment techniques and tools with an emphasis on formative assessment. I will become comfortable using my TA’s assessment techniques in class, and will adapt these techniques at my discretion to match my teaching style and meet the different needs of my students. I will keep detailed charts chronicling what assessment techniques I used, what went well, what did not work, as well as ideas for improvement including when exactly and how best to use these formative assessment techniques in future lessons. I will consistently seek feedback from my TA and the students to ensure that my assessment strategies are both connected to classroom expectations and Program of Studies learning outcomes. Indicators of Success: If formative assessments are done effectively, and I am able to adapt during the lesson, there should be positive student feedback regarding engagement level and quality of learning I will be able to collect evidence from the Program of Studies and the Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada which will show that the assessment techniques chosen and utilized are valid I will be able to see a quantitative or qualitative increase in successful completion of various assessments of student learning over time I will receive positive feedback from my University Consultant and Teacher Associate 3 3. Goal: To develop strong working relationships with other staff members, parents, and community members to best facilitate my own professional development as well as my students’ learning. (K.S.A. #13 and K.S.A. #14) Rationale: I believe that fostering a strong sense of community is beneficial to all. Creating a safe space where all individuals can both contribute their own skills and draw on the supports of others is an integral aspect of transcendent education. Being invested in a student’s education, whether in one’s capacity as a teacher, coach, parent, principal, or school staff member, can be a very positive force. I believe that this investment can and should extend further, to include one’s school and one’s community. I believe staking responsibility in one’s community further amplifies one’s sense of responsibility for their own individual actions as well, and as such, is a positive transformative force for teachers’ professional development. Strategies: I will volunteer for at least five separate types of events where teachers, students, parents and other community members will be present. These may include supervision, field trips, and other after-school or extracurricular activities. I will establish congenial working relationships with my colleagues and offer them my help when needed. I will build upon my relationships with my students to include their parents or guardians, their coaches and instructors, etc. in order to establish a network of individuals whose skills and services I can avail myself on the behalf of my students and my own professional development. I will advertisement my interest and availability for a wide variety of projects or events hosted by my school or the surrounding community or put on for their benefit. Indicators of Success: Quantitative increase in my level of involvement in school and community activities Being able to facilitate connecting students and colleagues with other individuals and services in the community in order to meet their specific needs Greater access to resources contributing to my professional development Establishing myself as an engaged member of the school community I will receive positive feedback from my University Consultant and Teacher Associate 4. Goal: To integrate my conceptualization of my own teaching philosophy with my day-to- day teaching practices in a dynamic and evolving way as I continue my professional development. (K.S.A. #15 and K.S.A. #16) Rationale: I very much value lifelong learning and hope to encourage my students to aspire to a lifestyle in which curiosity and self-regulated learning are highly valued and frequently practiced. I believe this will better equip students for success in all aspects of their lives. I appreciate that I am also responsible for sustaining and contributing to my own growth consistently as a teacher. One aspect of this professional development is self-reflection of my own teaching philosophy, and another aspect is effectively translating said philosophy into daily practices. As a new student 4 teacher this process is particularly important considering that a) my philosophy is still very much under consideration, and b) I am new to referring to my teaching philosophy to inform my teaching practices. As philosophy generally underlies the decisions a teacher makes, I appreciate the importance of fine-tuning my own and then learning how to effectively convey it through my chosen teaching strategies and sense of professionalism. Strategies: In addition to reflecting on lesson plans, I will also self-reflect on how I connect my daily classroom practices back to my personal teaching philosophy. I will keep a journal where I write down observations, impressions, and questions that I have. I will refer back to this journal when meeting with my Teacher Associate and University Consultant. I will use my philosophy to inform how I go about utilizing the program of studies, conducting classroom management, and establishing my professionalism. I will inquire about other, more experienced teachers’ philosophies and beliefs about the profession to get some perspective and guide my own ideological development. Indicators of Success: Development from seeking answers to questions and addressing concerns will be chronicled in my journal Feedback from my TA and University Consultant to ensure that my philosophy is coming across through my lesson planning, adopted teaching strategies, and manner in the classroom Strengthening of my convictions as time continues and I become more comfortable using my philosophy to inform my practices Becoming more comfortable making decisions in the classroom as I become more familiar with, and confident in, my personal teaching philosophy and its implications for classroom practices Timeline: PS I Goal #1 Goal #2 Goal #3 Goal #4 Week 1 Available resources assessed; collecting and/or familiarizing myself with information about individual coded students; relationships with these students established in which my investment is conveyed; research on a different teaching strategies addressing these specific circumstances Familiarize myself with the program of studies; meeting with my TA to discuss their expectations of students and learn about the formative assessment techniques they use in class; use my TA’s recommendations to successfully connect assessment strategies to the Program of Studies; develop lesson plans in conjunction with Introducing myself to school staff members; getting to know my students; meeting my students’ parents, caretakers, coaches, etc.; inquiring about upcoming events or activities I could become Personalizing teaching philosophy to school and classroom environment 5 numerous teaching strategies to best assess both student learning and my own teaching effectiveness involved with Week 2 Integrating IPPs into my lesson plans; utilizing a number of teaching strategies to determine what will work best in what situation Assessing the validity of different assessments by referencing the chart I’m keeping as well as my lesson plan reflections; incorporating more personalized assessments to accurately determine areas that need improvement for students and myself Volunteering at a variety of school or community events Integrating feedback from my TA along with my own self- reflection to determine how well I am conveying my philosophy in a classroom setting Week 3 Re-evaluation of IPPs based on efficacy and success—are students getting their assignments completed successfully? Are they engaged and involved in the classroom? Incorporating feedback from my TA and University Consultant; continuing forward with assessment methods that are successful; asking students for feedback on certain aspects of lessons Establishing a network of connections within my school and the community; utilizing these connections to the best of my ability in terms of professional development Making strong connections between my philosophy and my practices; referring back to my philosophy when possible Week 4 Working with TA, classroom assistants, and other support staff to fine-tune IPPs to further improve my ability to address the needs of coded students in my classroom Established methods and strategies fine-tuned to further improve assessment scope and effectiveness; increased comfort with program of studies allows me to tackle more advanced concepts and assessment techniques Strengthening my network; utilizing my network to the benefit of both my students and myself Consistently referencing my philosophy in my teaching practices Week 5 Taking on more responsibility of coded students in terms of lesson planning and classroom management; teaching lessons to all students while multitasking to facilitate learning of and activities for these students Putting all that I’ve learned into practice consistently; developing a diverse portfolio of formative assessment techniques, as well as knowledge of when and how to best use these various assessments Preserving my network of professional connections as I prepare to transition into the next stage of my professional path Taking my experiences into consideration with my philosophy to extrapolate how I will continue forward