Student Teacher: Shar Johnston

Grade/Class: Humanities 7 & Business 7

School: Nose Creek
Teacher Associate: Brad Murray

Reflection on Strengths and Areas of Growth

One of my strengths that Brad acknowledges is that I respond well to feedback and I am

open-minded. He’s right! I deeply value the feedback I have received as it helps me become

more cognizant of the areas I need to grow in in order to further develop my skills as an

exceptional and effective teacher. Overall, the areas where I exceed expectations are not

surprising to me only because I am passionate about teaching social studies, building

relationships, and incorporating FNMI knowledge into my lessons. From what Brad has seen

thus far, I have talked about historic events that include Indigenous people and tied it to a current

event that has overlapping themes and also involves Indigenous people. I believe my unit has

started off strong and well, as Brad notes that my other strengths include the level of engagement

in my lessons, my enthusiasm, and the thoughtfulness of my lessons. As for developing

relationships, Brad highlights my professionalism alongside my personable and welcoming

aspects that make me a relationship builder. All of the strengths he has mentioned are things I

have been working hard to incorporate to my teaching (especially confidence!), so it’s

encouraging to hear. Even my areas for growth are encouraging, considering it is motivation to

do better.

The areas that I hope to develop stronger skills in include assessment, instruction, and

planning and preparation. For assessment, Brad describes the classroom as diverse and complex.

Although it is difficult to read a classroom of 60 students (not an excuse by any means!), I

believe I should’ve taken more initiative to ask about and look into students who are ELL or

have IPPs, IEPs, etc., and as I planned and prepared my lessons, I should have been more

cognizant of students’ prior learning and learning needs. I think from here on, I need to consult
Student Teacher: Shar Johnston
Grade/Class: Humanities 7 & Business 7
School: Nose Creek
Teacher Associate: Brad Murray

with Brad and Megan about how I can further modify my online lessons to accommodate those

students so I can provide the best possible learning experience for each student. Yet, the

feedback already gives me ideas such as toning down my vocabulary! I am aware I have been

using some higher-level vocab, so I’ll be more cognizant of that as we move online. I am unsure

of how exactly we will deliver lessons, but I was planning to make a website for students to

gather information on lessons alongside embedding short video lessons! On that note, I am

hoping that I can work on providing clearer directions, instructions, and explanations through

online learning. I need to be more aware of simplifying instructions into steps! A great piece of

advice Brad has given me is to try and look at tasks from perspectives of students who struggle

with focus, reading, and other areas as there are multiple entry points into tasks. Although Brad

says my lessons are thoughtful, I would like to put more thought into my plans about making

them more inclusive for all learners.

Other areas of growth for me are no surprise, as I would like to be able to provide clearer

directions, instructions, and explanations, and to ask clearer questions at a variety of cognitive

levels. Further, I need to implement strategies for appropriate wait time! I think a good way to do

that would be to first ensure my question is clear and understood by the class, then in my mind,

count to seven. That is an area I need to constantly be aware of alongside having patience for an

answer! Lastly, in relation to this last section, I should work to incorporate more ways for

students to provide me quick and useful feedback; whether it is formative assessments such as

fist of 5, thumbs up/down, repetition of instructions, or exit slips.

Student Teacher: Shar Johnston
Grade/Class: Humanities 7 & Business 7
School: Nose Creek
Teacher Associate: Brad Murray

My honest impression regarding my strengths and areas for growth is that Brad’s

assessment is completely fair and valid, and it is helpful to know where exactly I am doing well,

and where and how I can improve.