Andrea Slingerland’s PS III Professional Goals/Growth Plans

Professional Development Goal 1

How can I create interesting and educational unit and lesson plans for the new math curriculum?
Goal 1: Follow legal frameworks when considering math and the new curriculum
TQS 5: A teacher demonstrates an understanding of and adherence to the legal frameworks and
policies that provide the foundations for the Alberta Education system.

Rationale: I have really struggled to plan math this semester and the new curriculum certainly has not
helped. Facing that roadblock is important to me. This learning curve will support me not only in the
coming months, but also in the rest of my career!
Strategies to achieve the goals:
1. Not leave planning math for the last subject to plan on the weekend.
2. Make actual comparisons between old and new curriculum as well as what was expected in
the grade 1 curriculum for each unit.
3. Plan out each unit carefully when making unit plan so it will be easier to plan each lesson.
4. Recognize that the new curriculum is part of the coming months professional development at
the school, so use the tools provided or other teachers as resources as well.

Indicators of Achievement:
1. I look forward to planning math first somewhere along the way!
2. Unit plans start to come together easier and are not as time consuming to make.

Timeline for the plan: September to December; making a small note at the end of each unit on how
the planning for that unit went.

Checking In:
Midway Point: At this point, I have been able to create my second math unit called Numbers and
Place Value. Having made it completely through the first unit, I felt there was a better understanding
of what students were able to complete and how much could be done in 50 minutes. I also have
gotten to know each student more and can see where their strengths and weaknesses fall some in
math. Then when it came time for prepping the second unit, I put the old and new curriculum beside
each other, figured out the goals, and moved on to finding activities for the unit. Working in this
backwards form of making a unit plan, I have also found most of my activities to meet the general and
specific learning goals from this unit. This leaves small activities I will still need to prepare, but it will
assist me when it is time to prep lesson by lesson. There is of course still going to be moving activities
around, based on student understanding, and the length of time things take but it feels more
manageable in that regard. I have also found since starting the second unit, I have not been leaving
math as my last subject to prep for the week. That may also be helping as I am getting to it earlier in
my day Friday or Saturday.
At the end of the second unit, I recognized how smoothly that unit went. I was excited to put together
lesson plans as I knew what my end goal was!
In future it is still important to remember that not all units are going to be as easy to plan and there
will still be challenges. So far I have not seen any professional development at the school as part of
the new curriculum, but we do have an upcoming PD session where we will focus on math games.
Reflection at End of Term: At the end of the term, as I reflect on my growth towards creating
interesting and educational unit and lesson plans for the new math curriculum, I can see growth. My
uncertainties and expectations at the beginning of the semester have come full circle and I now
recognize how students learn so well starting at a lower level of a concept and building off it. So,
preparing my units in this way, because of comparisons between the old and the new curriculum have
created a theme in my planning. It has also allowed me to ease in slowly with the teaching, to
understand where students are at. Having a clear unit plan assisted me in not leaving my math prep
until last, but it also assisted me when that did happen, as I had a clear list of activities that would be
beneficial for students to learn. If skills were too easy, I could skip those activities but then there were
still others to choose from.

Professional Development Goal 2

How can classroom management assist in building effective relationships with students?
Goal 2: Fostering effective relationships with students through classroom management
TQS 1: A teacher builds positive and productive relationships with students, parents/guardians, peers
and others in the local community to support student learning.
Rationale: Although there are not drastic behaviours in the classroom, there are still times that I find I
am nagging at students to follow instructions and other times that students simply do not follow
appropriate directions.

Strategies to achieve the goals:

1. Point out the students who have followed the direction much more frequently.
2. Continue using the fill a bucket jar – perhaps stepping it up more.
3. Talk to students individually, to foster better relationships and recognize what are ways I can
help them to achieve this goal for themselves.
4. Give less steps at first, before increasing expectation.

Indicators of Achievement:
1. Students will try to be the first ones that you notice following directions.
2. The fill a bucket jar is being filled more frequently.
3. Can raise expectations when giving steps from 2, to 3, and maybe eventually to 4.

Timeline for the plan: September to December

Checking In:
Midway Point: I have been focusing on pointing out students who are doing what was asked!
Sometimes allowing them to put a pompom in the bucket and other times just the complement is
enough! Perhaps I should be giving it to them every time to see what that does! I do still feel I need to
give full class complements and putting a pompom in the jar. Also ensure I am doing it immediately
rather than saying we will put one in later. I have not started goal 3 so need to focus on that as well in
the coming months. The giving less steps overall is going well. I do still notice some students really
struggle with it. So, I will be staying between 2 and 3 steps when possible.

Reflection at End of Term:

At the end of the semester, I can see how beneficial it is to point out students who are following
directions or doing what is part of our routines rather than calling out students who are not doing as
they are told. By complementing one or two, the majority of the class will quickly follow suite since
they want to be complemented or noticed as well! This has helped me with not feeling like I am
calling out certain students all the time. I have found on occasion it is beneficial to meet individually
with a student when you are having to call their name often. Sometimes just raising awareness has
helped, but it has also helped build a connection in a way that you would often feel is missing at other
times because you are always asking them to do something. Lastly, I can see that students are being
able to follow more directions at one time. To help with this, I have made sure students are freezing
until I have finished giving all directions before telling them they can go. Other times it has been
helpful to have students repeat the directions that were given as a second reminder. In this way I
found we were able to work well as a class, to complete everyday tasks, and not allow behaviours or
reprimanding to get in the way of having fun and learning! I do need to add an additional note at the
end of this reflection, and that is recognizing the challenges we are having with one of our students. I
have noticed that reprimanding and calling her out often do not work. She loves being recognized for
doing well or listening along! We are nearing the end of the semester, but I feel I still have a lot of
growing to do, in supporting students with larger emotional and behavioural needs. It helps to see
that even the seasoned teachers often do not have the answers to these questions and wonderings.

Professional Development Goal 3

How can I strive to create lessons with realistic expectations for a grade 2 classroom?
Goal 3: Engage in career long learning while demonstrating a professional body of knowledge when
managing time based on what can be achieved during the length of a lesson.
TQS 2: A teacher engages in career-long professional learning and ongoing critical reflection to
improve teaching and learning.
TQS 3: A teacher applies a current and comprehensive repertoire of effective planning, instruction, and
assessment practices to meet the learning needs of every student.
TQS 4: A teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning environments where diversity is
embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.
Rationale: I have noticed that during the first few weeks, I have been unable to complete any of my
planned lessons on time. By focussing on recognition of what students can complete, hopefully with
time I will be more aware of how much to plan during that time.

Strategies to achieve the goals:

1. Create a chart with where I can jot down whether a lesson was completed or not based on
lesson to ensure I am still following the legal framework required by the Alberta education
system.
2. Be mindful of the amount of table work students are expected to do and how long it takes at
the beginning of the year. Plan accordingly, only giving 1 or 2 pages. Also, important to note
that every day will still vary some.
3. Recognize that students have different strengths and abilities and use that professional body
of knowledge when planning lessons to ensure an inclusive learning environment.

Indicators of Achievement:
1. I will start to see more yes’ on the chart of whether the lesson was completed or not.
2. Students are completing the 1 or 2 pages in the set amount of time given.
Timeline for the plan: Monthly check-ins on my own chart, but also checking in with Jackie Price on a
monthly basis for her observations and suggestions.
Checking In:
Midway Point: The first strategy fell by the wayside. However, I did talk to Jackie, and she mentioned
it is very common at the beginning of the year for things to take longer. As students learn more,
things will speed up. It is also important that students fully grasp what is being taught. I do feel I have
a better understanding of what students can achieve in a given time frame and it is a whole lot less
than I expected! I do not necessarily find the chart important right now.

Reflection at End of Term:

At the end of the semester, I was pleasantly surprised to look back and realize that for most lessons
this goal naturally fell into place! Of course, there were still lessons where students could not
understand a concept or we took time for some additional exploration where I found myself adapting
lessons for the following day to ensure we stayed on schedule. I found myself especially for math and
social in the later units and lessons I was checking off in my agenda or on a class list what got
completed and this directly let me see where we were at in our lessons being completed as well. I also
found that students were not completing much pencil and paperwork and when they were it was in
centres or together as a class. Flexibility remains key in this professional goal, and I will continue to
adapt and change according to my classroom needs in the coming months and years.

Professional Development Goal 4

How can I create an inclusive learning environment in grade two by spreading awareness?
Goal 4: Provide more awareness in the school towards different challenges and gifts God has given
others around us to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all.
TQS 4: A teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning environments where diversity is
embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.
Rationale: Provided the experience I have in this area I find it important that there is an awareness
around us for the disabilities students are faced with in the world around us. Having an awareness
also provides more acceptance, support, and understanding.

Strategies to achieve the goals:

First, I will create a website for students and parents. From there I will select 6 disabilities and build
awareness, different accommodations, and how to use those accommodations.
Indicators of Achievement: Achievements will be noted based on 2 special needs being achieved each
month.
Be prepared to present to the students by end of November so they can take it home and explore on
their own time.

Timeline for the plan: September to early December

Checking In:
Midway Point: I have the website started and pondered items but have not gone further on this. The
expectation is that this coming week I will prepare my PIP writeup to submit and then start doing
research. I have continued to build awareness in the classroom surrounding the girls that spend time
in my care, whether through stories or with ways they have helped prepare lessons for the grade 2
classroom! I may need to consider adapting my PIP project to be more manageable to complete
during a four month practicum.
Reflection at End of Term:
I have come a long way towards achieving this goal, but wish it was not time to wrap up the semester,
so I could continue! I wish we could go beyond the grade 2 classroom into the school and wider
community. I hope that the website I have made can be used for this, and that the students who have
been given the opportunity can go forward in life with an impression made in grade 2. They can also
share the website with family, staff, and community if desired. Looking at my final PIP project and the
way students have summed up what they learned in their own words I know a small impact was
made.