Advanced Field Experience (AFX) Growth Plan

Student Teacher Name: ​Molly Moar

ID Number: ​1481528 Course Number: ​EDFX 425

Mentor Teacher Name: ​Mellissa Smith

School Name: ​Keheewin Elementary School Date: ​October 20, 2019

NOTE: Prior to completing this document, please carefully review

the instructions and timelines found in the appendix.

Considerations for your growth plan

Student teachers are on a complex journey of growth towards becoming a professional teacher. In the
Advanced Field Experience, students are expected to continue​ ​to address the competencies and indicators
as outlined in the Teaching Quality Standard (TQS). It is common for student teachers to be at different
points on the continuum for different areas of their growth. You may refer to the ​Suggested Language to
Support Student Teacher Development​ document. (This document is available on the field experiences
website under the Forms / Mentor Teacher tab.) The Teaching Quality Standard is printed in the appendix
of this document.

Areas of Strength - student teacher to complete prior to day 10

Identify a total of 3-4 areas of strength from within the 6 TQS competencies and their indicators. Not all
competencies need to be addressed. Be reflective and use concrete examples to illustrate your strengths. You
may use paragraph format or point form.
My areas of strength:
● Competency 2: Engaging in Career-Long Learning ​(a) collaborating with other teachers to
build personal and collective professional capacities and expertise;
Throughout my Advanced Field Placement, I have been active in collaborating and discussing with other
teachers within my school. My mentor teacher, Mellissa, has been a great help in finding effective
resources. Mellissa and I have engaged in planning together to find resources and material that would be
effective for our group of students.
● Competency 3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge ​(a) planning and designing
learning activities that: consider student variables, including: - demographics, e.g. age, gender,
ethnicity, religion; - social and economic factors; - maturity; - relationships amongst students; -
prior knowledge and learning; - cultural and linguistic background; - second language learning; -
health and well-being; - emotional and mental health; and - physical, social and cognitive ability;
Mellissa and I have been constructing various learning activities that are designed to accommodate
student variables. During my two weeks spent with my students, I have spent time learning about
individual students backgrounds. In social studies, Mellissa and I have been spending time analyzing how

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 to group students to create a successful learning experience. When choosing student groups, the main
variables that I focused on was social and cognitive ability, relationships amongst students, and second
language learning. In mathematics I have noticed a student who is ELL, when instructions are verbalized,
this student is able to participate and demonstrate learning.
● Competency 3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge ​(a) planning and designing
learning activities that: build student capacity for collaboration
In social studies, I am planning an activity that is based on collaborative research. Groups will change
throughout the unit, this will help students practice and develop skills necessary to work effectively with
one another.

Areas for Growth - student teacher to complete prior to day 10

Identify a total of 3-4 areas for growth from within the 6 TQS competencies and their indicators. Not all
competencies need to be addressed. You may use paragraph format or point form.
My areas for growth:
● Competency 3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge ​(b) using instructional
strategies to engage students in meaningful learning activities, based on: specialized knowledge of
the subject areas they teach, an understanding of students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge and
experiences.
● a knowledge of how students develop as learners;
● Competency 3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge ​(c) applying student
assessment and evaluation practices that: generate evidence of student learning to inform teaching
practice through a balance of formative and summative assessment experiences
● Competency 4: Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments ​(f) employing classroom
management strategies that promote positive, engaging learning environments

Goals and Strategies - student and mentor teacher(s) to complete collaboratively on day 10.
Mentor teachers and student teachers will collaboratively write goals for the remainder of the AFX 
and develop a plan (strategies) for achieving those goals. ​(3-4 goals suggested​)
Reminder: Student teacher – Email a copy to your UF.
Goal 1:
My goal is to engage students in meaningful learning activities.

Strategies:
● Incorporating student background and prior learning into lessons, through KWL charts, class
discussion, concept review with video.
● Ensuring students have a clear understanding of the connection between classroom learning and
real-life, through classroom discussions, and student surveys.
● Including a variety of methods to demonstrate their understanding, including hands-on interactive
activities, student choice, and multimedia projects.

Goal 2:
My goal is to continuously have a variety of ongoing assessments to inform teaching practice.

Strategies:
● Use daily teacher check-ins with students.

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 ● Use exit slips at the end of specific lessons.
● Using a variety of assessments depending on the lesson. This may include the use of formal
written tests, quizzes, class discussions, game-based learning, correcting daily work,
student-created projects, rubrics, and teacher observations.

Goal 3:
My goal is to improve and employ effective classroom management techniques that sustain an engaging
and positive learning environment.

Strategies:
● Creating a respectful and positive environment through daily interactions.
● Break down processess into simplest possible steps to help make transitions between subjects
smooth.
● Use effective, clear, consistent, and fair consequences for the student’s behavior.
● Be precise and clear when giving instructions.
● Provide instructions in a variety of methods including oral, written instruction.
● Using proximity for responding to some behavior problems.

Day 25 Review ​- s​ tudent and mentor teacher(s) to complete collaboratively

Review of growth plan goals:​ Discuss and record how the goals are being achieved to this point. Use
either paragraph or point form.
Click here to enter text.

Preliminary discussion regarding the final assessment:​ Are there any areas in which additional
focus is required on the part of the student teacher?
Click here to enter text.

Additional mentor comments, as required

Click here to enter text.

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 Appendix

Instructions and Timelines:

1. Prior to day 10​ of the Advance Field Experience (AFX), student teachers will reflect on and identify
areas of strength and areas for growth. Student teachers can develop these based on their IFX growth
plan and assessment, their prior knowledge and experiences, and on the Teaching Quality Standards.
2. On day 10:
a. Mentor teachers and student teachers will discuss these reflections. Student teachers may
revise or add to their growth plan based on the discussion.
b. Mentor teachers and student teachers will collaboratively write goals for the remainder of the
AFX and develop a plan (strategies) for achieving those goals.
c. Student teachers will share a digital copy of the AFX growth plan with their UF by the end of
day 10.
3. On day 25:
a. Student teacher and mentor teacher will review this document.
b. Student teacher and mentor teacher should have a preliminary discussion about the final
assessment, identifying any areas of particular focus for the remainder of the field experience.
c. The UF may be invited to participate in the review meeting.
d. After the review is completed, student teachers will notify their UF.
4. Student teachers should retain a copy of their AFX growth plan for their own reference and records.

Teaching Quality Standard

Competency 1: Fostering Effective Relationships
A teacher builds positive and productive relationships with students, parents/guardians, peers and others in
the school and local community to support student learning.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by​ ​indicators ​such as​:
(a) acting consistently with fairness, respect and integrity;
(b) demonstrating empathy and a genuine caring for others;
(c) providing culturally appropriate and meaningful opportunities for students and for parents/guardians, as
partners in education, to support student learning;
(d) inviting First Nations, Métis and Inuit parents/ guardians, Elders/knowledge keepers, cultural advisors and
local community members into the school and classroom;
(e) collaborating with community service professionals, including mental health, social services, justice,
health and law enforcement; and
(f) honouring cultural diversity and promoting intercultural understanding.
Competency 2: Engaging in Career-Long Learning
A teacher engages in career-long professional learning and ongoing critical reflection to improve teaching
and learning.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by​ ​indicators ​such as​:
(a) collaborating with other teachers to build personal and collective professional capacities and expertise;
(b) actively seeking out feedback to enhance teaching practice;
(c) building capacity to support student success in inclusive, welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning
environments;
(d) seeking, critically reviewing and applying educational research to improve practice;
(e) enhancing understanding of First Nations, Métis and Inuit worldviews, cultural beliefs, languages and

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 values; and
(f) maintaining an awareness of emerging technologies to enhance knowledge and inform practice.
Competency 3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge
A teacher applies a current and comprehensive repertoire of effective planning, instruction, and assessment
practices to meet the learning needs of every student.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by indicators​ such as​:
(a) planning and designing learning activities that:
● address the learning outcomes outlined in programs of study;
● reflect short, medium and long range planning;
● incorporate a range of instructional strategies, including the appropriate use(s) of digital technology,
according to the context, content, desired outcomes and the learning needs of students;
● ensure that all students continuously develop skills in literacy and numeracy;
● communicate high expectations for all students;
● foster student understanding of the link between the activity and the intended learning outcomes;
● consider relevant local, provincial, national and international contexts and issues;
● are varied, engaging and relevant to students;
● build student capacity for collaboration;
● incorporate digital technology and resources, as appropriate, to build student capacity for: - acquiring,
applying and creating new knowledge; - communicating and collaborating with others, -
critical-thinking; and - accessing, interpreting and evaluating information from diverse sources;
● consider student variables, including: - demographics, e.g. age, gender, ethnicity, religion; - social and
economic factors; - maturity; - relationships amongst students; - prior knowledge and learning; -
cultural and linguistic background; - second language learning; - health and well-being; - emotional
and mental health; and - physical, social and cognitive ability;
(b) using instructional strategies to engage students in meaningful learning activities, based on:
● specialized knowledge of the subject areas they teach;
● an understanding of students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge and experiences;
● a knowledge of how students develop as learners;
(c) applying student assessment and evaluation practices that:
● accurately reflect the learner outcomes within the programs of study;
● generate evidence of student learning to inform teaching practice through a balance of formative and
summative assessment experiences;
● provide a variety of methods through which students can demonstrate their achievement of the
learning outcomes;
● provide accurate, constructive and timely feedback on student learning; and
● support the use of reasoned judgment about the evidence used to determine and report the level of
student learning.
Competency 4: Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments
A teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning environments where diversity is embraced and
every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by​ indicators​ such as:
(a) fostering in the school community equality and respect with regard to rights as provided for in the Alberta
Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
(b) using appropriate universal and targeted strategies and supports to address students’ strengths, learning
challenges and areas for growth;

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(c) communicating a philosophy of education affirming that every student can learn and be successful;
(d) being aware of and facilitating responses to the emotional and mental health needs of students;
(e) recognizing and responding to specific learning needs of individual or small groups of students and, when
needed, collaborating with service providers and other specialists to design and provide targeted and
specialized supports to enable achievement of the learning outcomes;
(f) employing classroom management strategies that promote positive, engaging learning environments;
(g) incorporating students’ personal and cultural strengths into teaching and learning; and
(h) providing opportunities for student leadership.
Competency 5: Applying Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis and Inuit
A teacher develops and applies foundational knowledge about First Nations, Métis and Inuit for the benefit of
all students.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by​ indicators​ such as:
(a) understanding the historical, social, economic, and political implications of:
• treaties and agreements with First Nations;
• legislation and agreements negotiated with Métis; and
• residential schools and their legacy;
(b) supporting student achievement by engaging in collaborative, whole school approaches to capacity
building in First Nations, Métis and Inuit education;
(c) using the programs of study to provide opportunities for all students to develop a knowledge and
understanding of, and respect for, the histories, cultures, languages, contributions, perspectives,
experiences and contemporary contexts of First Nations, Métis and Inuit; and
(d) supporting the learning experiences of all students by using resources that accurately reflect and
demonstrate the strength and diversity of First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
Competency 6: Adhering to Legal Frameworks and Policies
A teacher demonstrates an understanding of and adherence to the legal frameworks and policies that provide
the foundations for the Alberta education system.
Achievement of this competency is demonstrated by​ indicators​ such as:
(a) maintaining an awareness of, and responding in accordance with, requirements authorized under the
School Act and other relevant legislation;
(b) engaging in practices consistent with policies and procedures established by the school authority; and
(c) recognizing that the professional practice of a teacher is bound by standards of conduct expected of a
caring, knowledgeable and reasonable adult entrusted with the custody, care or education of students.

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