Professional Growth Plan

Name: Breanna Campbell School: St. Mary’s

Practicum Dates: 3/9/19 – 20/12/19 Teacher Mentor: Michelle Miller

School Administrator: Mike Weisgerber Faculty Mentor: David George

Goal 1: To implement teaching strategies and assessments that require students to take a

leadership role in their learning while focusing on achieving higher-order thinking.

Rationale: Having students take a more active role in their learning increases the likeliness of

student engagement, and requires that students actually understand concepts. Focusing on

higher-order thinking (Bloom’s Taxonomy), requires that students develop a deep understanding

of learned concepts.

Strategies:

 Use Socratic seminars as a form of both formative and summative assessment. I will

scaffold the activity so that students are provided with discussion questions at first, and

then moving forward I will have them bring questions to their groups.

 Explicitly teach students about the various levels of thinking according to Bloom’s

Taxonomy, and practice both creating and answering questions at each level.

 Provide opportunities for inquiry/research activities that allow students to discover

information and report back to the group.

 Provide a degree of choice in assessments whenever possible.

Timeline: September 3, 2019—December 20, 2019

Indicators/Measures:

 Formative and summative data from students

 Increased on-task behaviour

  Visual, aural, and written evidence from students regarding their involvement in their

learning. Include a question on mid-point and exit surveys regarding their

engagement/involvement in their learning.

Reflection: Over the past four months, I have utilized various strategies to place more

responsibility in the hands of students when it comes to their learning. Strategies included:

having students research a topic and report back to the class in a three-minute talk, exploring

Bloom’s Taxonomy in class, and extending quick-write activities into student-driven, spirited

discussions among others.

Goal 2: Develop meaningful relationships with my students to benefit the classroom community

as a whole, as well as individual student learning.

Rationale: Building relationships with students will benefit students in that I will be able to shape

my lessons to the interests of my students, thus increasing their engagement in classroom

activities. Relationship building will also contribute to the creation of a positive classroom

environment where students feel safe. When students feel safe in a classroom they are more

likely to participate and grow as learners.

Strategies:

 Greet students as they enter the classroom from day one.

 Contact home frequently, especially to celebrate accomplishments.

 Conduct student survey that stays between the student and myself that provides students

with a way to share anything they feel I may need to know on day one.
  Frequent one-on-one check-ins during which time students will be asked to hold their

questions until I am finished talking to each of them.

 Provide students with leadership roles in the classroom to fulfill tasks such as handing

back assignments to increase a sense of community.

 Seek out students in the hallway to say hello and have a positive interaction, especially if

there are behaviour issues in the classroom.

Timeline: September 3, 2019 – December 20, 2019

Indicators/Measures:

 Qualitative data from discussions with students.

 Include a question on mid-point and exit student surveys regarding classroom

environment.

 Willingness of students to ask questions—both one-on-one, and in whole-class settings.

 Increased attendance

 Decreased behavioural issues.

Reflection: I have had incredible success in achieving this goal with my classes this semester.

Strategies such as taking the individual circumstances of each student into consideration,

greeting students each day and in the hallways, making students responsible for small-tasks in

the classroom (ex. making sure the Chromebooks are all plugged in), conducting student surveys,

and maintaining open lines of communication among others, have all contributed to this success.

I have found that students are more willing to ask questions, be honest, give me their full

attention, and struggle with difficult material as I have built a relationship with them.