Professional Semester Ill Final Report Faculty of Education Field Experiences Fall ¥ Spring__ Semester, 2015 (Please check appropriate semester) Professional Semester Ill is a five-course equivalent integrated semester including half-time teaching and professional study in curriculum design, leadership, advanced methods, and reflective practice. Intern Teachers are assigned full time to schools for the semester during which they assume responsibility for approximately one-half of the teaching day. PS Ill professional study is designed to complement and enhance the internship. The professional study components may occur on or off- campus and are coordinated by the Faculty Mentors in collaboration with Intern Teachers and school rsonn Place a checkmark (/) in front of the course in which you are registered % Education 4571- Elementary Education Education 4572- Secondary Internship Education 4573- Special Focus Internship Education 4574- Fine Arts Internship - Art or Drama Education 4575- Fine Arts Internship - Music Intern Teacher Michelle Hager Grade Levels) Grade 1 School Acadia Elementary School ‘Administrator b James Teacher Mentor Barbara Jemmott Faculty Mentor Debra ireland Intern Teacher's Descriptive Report: | taught grade one at Acadia Elementary School for my final teaching Internship. During those four months, | taught the Math Patterns and Number Sense Unit, the Science Creating Colour, Seasons and Senses Unit, Physical Education, and Computer lessons once a week. | also read with grade one students at least once a week to introduce or reinforce reading strategies. This internship provided me the unique opportunity to attend organizational meetings prior to school beginning and observe the classroom setup and year preparation. 1 was able to build a strong relationship with the grade one students from the very beginning of the year, learning more about them throughout the months. Based on the students’ personalities, 1 could then set up routines and appropriate guidelines for positive classroom management. Page 1 of7PS Il Final Report for Michelle Hager Intern Teacher's Descriptive Report: (continued) earned how to differentiate each activity for various academic levels in the class in addition to creating effective, interactive and age-appropriate lessons. | found ways to create hands on games and activities to communicate curriculum, develop routine and have student's “buy-in” to the concept being taught. | found that routine, friendly competition or a rewards program worked best for these students. | created ‘math centers for the Number Sense unit and used these centers to solidify the math concepts taught in class. Through individual and small group games, students were given the freedom to work on the material on their own pace and level of understanding. The centers were successful and the students were talking and asking about them after the classes were over. To me, this was a good sign! had to differentiate and simplify the assessment pieces to match the grade level. | initially found this, challenging, as the students are unable to read and write, however through trial and error and great suggestions, | was able to figure out methods to accurately assess the student’s knowledge. | found consistent assessment the most effective, as students would be changing daily. | also found different modes of assessment to be very informative. This included various types of oral conversations, written and drawing components, matching and manipulative assessments. The best feedback came from the various pieces of evidence of the student's learning throughout the lessons, showing their progress daily, weekly and over longer periods of time, ‘Communication has been the greatest skill that | have worked on. I have learned a lot in regards to ‘communication with fellow staff, my teacher mentor, parents, grade one students and even myself. | have learned the importance of communication among staff through staff meetings and Professional Development days. These conversations ranged from how the staff and support staff can meet the needs of all students, developing a school wide Opera, discussing the difference between Compliance ‘and Engagement and how the Little Green Thumbs Program highlights nutrition and plant importance in our lives. 1 was also given the opportunity to observe three different grade one teachers at Acadia ‘School. Each of the teachers shared their values as educators and displayed their strengths through th learning activities. 1 observed literacy centers, guided reading, and McCracken phonetic spelling/printing lessons during my time in the different classrooms. Communication between my Teacher Mentor and | was key to create a strong and positive learning community within the grade one classroom. In the best interest of the students, completely splitting the ‘teaching 50/50 was not realistic in order for expectations and routines to maintain the same. Having “two cooks in one kitchen” can be troublesome when you have different teaching styles, however | earned the most from this difference. My Teacher Mentor had many years of experience. Her energy, commitment, creativity, spontaneity and unconditional love for her job and students are aspects | admired. Her suggestions and feedback always required me to reflect upon, not only my lessons and activities, but myself as well. | learned compassion, patience, perseverance and awareness to my own mental and physical state. Teaching a grade one class can be a stressful, mentally draining and a petri dish of germs. Bringing awareness to my own emotions and energy level is critical to maintaining a positive learning environment for the students, as | am the one facilitating it. | am and always will be learning as an educator. | learned how important itis to keep my health strong and understand when to step back and take a break. Picking my battles with students is one key to the longevity of teaching. Page 2017PS IIL Final Repor for Michele Hager Intern Teacher's Descriptive Report: (continued) During my time at Acadia Elementary School also | learned the value in having regular conversations with parents regarding their child’s successes, progress and areas of improvement. | was able to have these conversations by making phone calls, sending emails, sending letters home with students and conducting Parent /Teacher conferences. Having the student's family involved with the class activities ‘and learning maintains that strong communication and family participation. With the families’ help, the students made a class recipe book compiled of each student's favourite family recipe. tt is filled with diversity and each student took pride in sharing his or her favourite meal with the class. | was very fortunate to have such a rich experience at Acadia Elementary School. The administration, staff and students made this internship fun, enlightening, but also hard to leave. 1 will carry the lessons learned to wherever my next step will be, fern Teacher Signature This page is to be attached to the Intern Teacher's Report. Page 3 of 7SII Final Report for Michelle Hager School Administrator Comments: Ms. Hager has developed very strong relationships with the school community. Her respectful, enthusiastic and caring manner has supported the school’s belief in providing a positive and nurturing environment for our students. She frequently gives up recess and lunch break times to provide support for students requiring remediation and instruction. Ms. Hager contributed and participated in parent teacher conferences held in December 2015. She was very careful in what she said and shared. She provided work samples and anecdotes of work she had done to support students. Parents were appreciative in the time and efforts Ms. Hager had put in with her students. Ms. Hager’s planning and organization facilitates active student participation and collaborative learning. Lesson materials are prepared in advance and are readily available for students. Students are actively engaged in a variety of ways (ie. listening, speaking, performing, reading, and writing). Ms. Hager guides students in the construction of knowledge using a variety of effective strategies (ie. clearly stating activity goals and learner outcomes). Ms. Hager has very good verbal skills and uses a variety of classroom management strategies to support the warm and positive learning atmosphere in her classroom. Ms. Hager has clear expectations for learning and behavior that are obvious in the classroom. Routines and rules are consistent and assist students in effectively managing time and completing tasks. Students are cued and coached in a positive and respectful manner. All interactions observed were positive and encouraged student participation. iministrator Signs This page is to be attached to the Intern Teacher's Report. Page 4 017PS Il Final Report for Michelle Hager ‘Teacher Mentor Comments: Michelle Hager was a student teacher in our Grade One class at Acadia Elementary from August 28th - December 18, 2015. During this time, | found her to be energetic, skillful, creative, encouraging, organized and flexible. During Michelle's four months at Acadia Elementary, she very capably taught Patterns and Number Sense in Math and Season and Color units in Science. She taught Physical Education to two Grade One classes two days a week and introduced, organized and directed a computer class once a week. Midway through her practicum, Michelle participated in our Wee Reads program where she listened to students read. All of the students she worked with in the various settings ranged in ability levels, cultural and economic backgrounds and their willingness to follow instructions. Michelle's skills as a teacher were vast. Every lesson she created was engaging, active and fun, meeting the needs of a diverse group of Grade Ones. She, very quickly found that the needs of the students and. her teaching style would best be met through interactive learning centres. During her time with us, she created a number of Math centres, which allowed the students to identify, explore, and extend the concepts they had learned. Each centre engaged each student and when she noticed that particular children required either a greater challenge or more support, she adapted the centres to provide for the needs of the individual students. When it came time to assess the students understanding, Michelle devised clever assessments that appeared to be craft projects. While the students were continuing to enjoy themselves, Michelle was gathering data. Something | most appreciated about Michelle was her ability to make connections with what the students already knew to what they needed to learn. She used songs, pop culture references and relatable examples to guide the students into unknown concepts. She brought the world in to the classroom and she also took the classroom into the world. On a number of occasions, Michelle took the students outside to help them understand and/or appreciate a concept. We walked to our community garden, explored our neighborhood, sketched our natural habitat and played games on the field. The students thrived outside and always wanted more. Michelle was a knowledgeable teacher, covering all of the curriculum connections as outlined in the Program of Studies for each unit she taught. She took large concepts and chunked them into manageable “morsels for students to digest’. Not only was the content of her lessons thoughtfully mapped out, she also attended to how the lesson would flow from one location to the other. She managed the students like a seasoned teacher and she was viewed as someone they respected as well ‘as someone who was their best advocate. Michelle continually encouraged the students. She not only used encouraging words to uplift individuals, she also used her words to motivate others to do what they needed to do to receive her recognition. She identified students publicly and the class celebrated their accomplishments with joy. When students had difficulty cooperating with her or their peers, Michelle experimented with a variety of strategies that felt comfortable for her and effective for the child. She dealt with the child on her ‘own and did not shy away from the more complex student. She contacted parents when it was prudent ‘and made many connections with parents. Michelle's greatest strength that kept her on top of a very busy schedule in an extremely busy school was her ability to organize her ideas, train of thought, materials, students, and extracurricular activities Page Sof7PS ll Final Repor for Michelle Hager while maintaining her life outside of school. While here, she needed to juggle field trips, parent teacher interviews, a school opera, regular classes, the creation of bulletin boards, a school wide Polar Express ‘theme, kitchen duty, report cards, supervision, university assignments and working with substitutes. She participated in three professional development workshops including “Zones of Regulation”, “Engagement vs. Compliance” and “The Little Green Thumbs” program. She also made observations in three other Grade One classrooms, gathering information that would give her further insights into various teaching styles, classroom management, literacy and Math centres. Michelle is a very goal oriented person who delights in challenges and accomplishments. She is 2 steadfast worker who is focused and flexible. She is a natural teacher with a very promising future. She will be a welcome addition to any staff and her future students will enjoy her to no end. ‘This page is to be attached to the Intern Teacher's Report. Page 6017PS II Final Report for Michelle Hager Faculty Mentor Comments: Michelle has had an outstanding internship at Acadia School, where she taught mathematics, science, and physical education to students in grade 1. She attended organizational days, staff meetings, grade team meetings, and all professional development activities, which were expected of teachers. Michelle also assisted with outside supervision twice per week and met parents at a "Meet the Teacher" evening. Although she did not have an opportunity to offer an extra-curricular activity, she assisted in a variety of ways at the Terry Fox Run, assisted with a Remembrance Day bulletin board display, made a power point of important vocabulary for a school opera, and volunteered with Calgary Reads. Michelle developed positive professional relationships with her students and she successfully created a respectful environment in her class. Her students valued her highly energetic personality and her sense of fun, and they immediately wanted to please her and engage positively in their lessons. Michelle consistently set firm clear boundaries and dealt with misbehavior. She was always aware of her students’ behavior, she was proactive, and she developed effective strategies, which resulted in an environment where all students saw themselves as learners. Michelle developed long range and unit plans, which demonstrated an understanding of the Program of Studies. Her daily lesson plans ensured that she was well organized and prepared for her students. Her excellent organizational skills allowed for smooth transitions and maximized learning opportunities. Michelle incorporated a variety of teaching strategies into her lessons. | observed teacher-direct instruction, and individual and group activities. She is very skilled in the use of technology and used the SMART Board to share video clips to introduce or review concepts. During a mathematics lesson, a variety of stations were set up, including a bingo station, a "build a fence" station, a "110 chart puzzle" station, a clay center, and a whiteboard/printing center. During a science lesson, students compared and contrasted colors using paint chips and bottles of oil and colored water. These activities allowed students to have kinesthetic, interactive learning opportunities. Michelle was always moving around ‘the room, encouraging students and providing support. Michelle developed assessment tools, including rubrics. She has a solid understanding of the needs of her learners and ways to support those with special needs. She was also aware of the need for her young students to have regular movement breaks, and could predict when they were required. | believe that Michelle is an outstanding beginning teacher. | am confident that she will be a valuable staff member and will serve her students well as she begins her teaching career. It was a privilege to work with Michelle during the last four months. 'have read the complete Final Report and certify that the assigned grade is PASS. athocheeland: he. 9/5 September 2000 FE_Forms_PSIIl Page 7 of7