Professional Program Formative Assessment

Teacher Candidate: Keaton Gruner April 15, 2018

Teacher Candidate Email: kcgruner@lakeheadu.ca
Associate Teacher: Darryl Houghton
Associate Teacher Email: houghtond@hdsb.ca
Faculty Advisor: Airin Stephens
School: Trailhead Program, Gary Allan High School
City: BURLINGTON
Subjects: Trailhead Program
Grades: 10
No. of Days Absent: None

Commitment to Students and Student Learning developing as expected

On the very first day of his placement, Keaton immediately threw himself fully into the community, and he has
maintained this commitment to the students and staff, each day. Whether he is sincerely engaging in
conversation with students during the community lunch, offering patient and persistent suggestions to a
student struggling with an assignment, or running fully, literally, into an outdoor, Phys. Ed. game, as a
participant, Keaton constantly communicates to the students and staff that he is invested in each individual
student and the Trailhead community as a whole.

Knowledge developing as expected

Whether Keaton is running a macro model that explains how trees move nutrients through their systems,
offering feedback to students delivering an oral presentation outside, or running a session on Laughter Yoga,
he presents himself as a knowledgeable mini-expert on the subject. Keaton should continue to link his
lessons with specific and overall learning expectations from CHV20, ENG2D/2P, GPP30 and/or PAD20.

Teaching Practice developing as expected

Keaton has worked with a number of individual students struggling with a host of intellectual and/or emotional
challenges that create significant barriers to their success. In all of these situations, Keaton has exercised a
social grace and balance that has allowed him to move the students forward without ever jeopardizing his
relationships with them or the quality of their work. During his Sage-on-Stage lessons, he exercises a host of
effective communication skills that allow him to hold the students' attention and encourage their participation,
creating a truly engaging environment.

Professionalism developing as expected

Keaton exercises all the virtues of a professional. His actions and speech constantly communicate to
students and staff that he will approach all situations with a sensitivity, thoughtfulness and integrity that not
simply supports, but also promotes, the dignity of all.

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FACULTY OF EDUCATION
955 OLIVER ROAD, THUNDER BAY, ON, P7B 5E1 1 COLBORNE STREET W, ORILLIA, ON, L3V7X5
Leadership and Community developing as expected

There are a host of specific and significant examples that could be listed in this section, irrefutable instances
of Keaton demonstrating how to simultaneously embrace the role of a leader in a community and the role of a
team player in a community. However, I will instead capture this section by noting that Keaton will spend the
final day of his placement co-running a P.D. session on outdoor, experiential learning for teachers of English,
French and English Language Learners. Thus, he will spend the final day of his placement performing a
leadership role that many teachers go their entire careers without experiencing. So, as with all the other
criteria in this full assessment, Keaton is well ahead in the game. I should also stress that he was invited to
co-run this session because I am convinced that he will deliver meaningful content in an engaging activity,
but also because he will serve as an excellent ambassador for Trailhead, Gary Allan High School and
Lakehead University.

Ongoing Professional Learning developing as expected

Keaton participates in staff-team discussions on multiple occasions throughout each day. As the team strives
to develop strategies to meet the high needs of various students, Keaton actively seeks the ideas and
insights of the other staff members. And given the commitment and intelligence that he has demonstrated
thus far, the other staff actively seek his ideas and insights. He is a respected member of the team.

COMMENTS
Teacher Candidate's Growth Plan

-further create and apply specific strategies that attempt to meet the specific needs of individual students
-create an assessment tool (e.g., rubric) to assess student performances in Teaching the Teachers and
Project Wild
-Cross-mark on the following assignments: Teaching the Teachers, Project Wild and Round Table
-review the use of Markbook
-review process for writing student midterm reports
-participate in community check-ins, offering informal feedback to individual students
-increase the number of lessons taught (e.g., Lorax piece for Mindful Mondays and clothing piece for
Thoughtful Thursdays)
-further examine formal HDSB documents and procedures (e.g., Individual Education Plans, Safety
Guidelines, Administrative Procedures, etc.)

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FACULTY OF EDUCATION
955 OLIVER ROAD, THUNDER BAY, ON, P7B 5E1 1 COLBORNE STREET W, ORILLIA, ON, L3V7X5
The teacher candidate is developing as expected.

Official document produced by Lakehead University, Faculty of Education

Dated: 2018-04-15 Signed by:

Dr. Teresa Socha

Chair, Undergraduate Studies in Education

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FACULTY OF EDUCATION
955 OLIVER ROAD, THUNDER BAY, ON, P7B 5E1 1 COLBORNE STREET W, ORILLIA, ON, L3V7X5