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University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER THREE

Final Report

PS III 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 III 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 University Consultants in collaboration with Intern Teachers and school personnel.

Select the course in which you are registered:

Education 4571 Elementary Education Internship

X Education 4572 Secondary Education Internship
Education 4576 Native Education Internship
Education 4578 Early Childhood Education Internship
Education 4582 Inclusive Education Internship
Education 4583 Technology in Education Internship

INTERN TEACHER: Michayla Hochstein

SCHOOL: Ecole McTavish Public School

Grade Level(s): 7
Teacher Mentor: Alisha McDonald
Administrator: Scott Barr

University Consultant: Lorraine Beaudin

Checklist

Final Conference Date: X Date: 12/10/2020

Review the Portfolio: X

Review the Professional Inquiry Project X

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: November 2020) Page 1 of 6

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University Consultant Comments:

Michayla consistently developed well-balanced lessons that engaged students. It is clear from watching
Michayla that she loves teaching. She developed good relationships with her students and they responded
well to her.

Michayla was aware of classroom dynamics and responded appropriately to situations. Throughout the
semester she developed a strong sense of herself as an educator and grew to know herself as a teacher;
developing her skills as a reflective practitioner. Michayla developed her lesson delivery skills throughout the
semester—particularly in pacing and integrating a variety of learning activities. She was very open to feedback
and implemented any suggestions that were given.

Michayla demonstrated that she understands that teaching is not only about relationships with students and
parents but also the school community. Her strengths include planning and preparation. Michayla consistently
included a wide range of teaching strategies in her delivery of lessons, communicated high expectations for
all students, and linked lesson materials to intended learning outcomes. Michayla continued to work on
classroom management throughout her practicum.

Michayla demonstrates a strong interest and commitment to the teaching profession and I have little doubt
that she will have a great teaching career.

I have read the complete Final Report and certify that the assigned grade is Pass

12/10/2020
University Consultant Signature Date

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Intern Teacher’s Descriptive Report:

This term I had the privilege of teaching math and science to one grade 7 class of elite athletes at Ecole
McTavish Public High School in Fort McMurray, Alberta. This allowed for a great deal of relationship building!

As all of my students were athletes, all were driven, goal-oriented and competitive, but also very busy. Knowing
this, I designed my lessons around built-in assessment and work time instead of homework and take-home
assignments. I intended that students would only have to work at home if they didn’t use their time in class. I
tried my best to accommodate each students’ needs to help them succeed.

In this practicum, I was challenged by the idea of balancing consistency with novelty. For example, in math, I
had a reasonably stable progression – work through examples of the concept as a whole group, work through
problems as partners, then work independently on the material. The consistency and predictability was safe for
all students. Partner work is essential ¬– there is power in utilizing our peers' knowledge and contributions to
facilitate our own learning. However, I found that students were getting bored with the routine, so I incorporated
novelty within the routine itself. Students still worked in partners nearly every day, but we tried different
methods. Some of the partner work was prescriptive, while others encouraged more agency and ownership
from students.

My transition from the university classroom to my own classroom was challenging. Planning and preparing for
my classes felt all-consuming, but it did get easier as my practicum continued. However, I was privileged to
have incredible support from many teachers in the school, not only my Teacher Mentor. I learned a lot from
those around me, not just my own work. I tried to have a balance of learning opportunities, including: lecture,
partner/group work, practical analogies (some of which were rather entertaining – I got to throw popcorn at a
student for a purpose!) I also tried to "gamify" some of the content. Some of these didn’t always work out as I
had planned but learning still occurred (for both the students and myself). To increase technology integration, I
explored a variety of tools. Many assessments utilized different Google platforms, and I integrated various
simulations into my instruction. Technology integration was a massive learning curve for me. I had never used
Google Classroom before, nor any of the other interactive platforms I tried. There was a lot of trial and error
involved.

In order to be consistent, all grade-level math and science teachers use the same quizzes and tests. Having
these also helped guide my instruction – it may have felt like “teaching to a test”, but it provided a starting point.
I also incorporated projects – many were ones that I received from my Teacher Mentor and tweaked to suit my
students’ needs. I tried to showcase students’ strengths and provide choice. My formative assessment evolved
throughout the internship. I began with a very cut-and-dry perspective on formative assessment, but quickly
learned what my students responded to. I kept some “formal and tangible” assessments but came to rely more
on observation. Coming into practicum, I felt that formative assessment was complicated, but found it much
more intuitive than I initially thought.

Throughout my practicum I learned a lot about the subtleties of teaching – communication and organization

11/24/2020
Intern Teacher Signature Date

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Intern Teacher’s Descriptive Report (Cont’d):

skills, leadership, etc. – but now I have a better understanding of the “priorities” of teaching. I built a
community within my classroom that was supportive, where all felt welcome to share. I learned the importance
of building relationships and made that a priority. I learned a lot about the humans in my classroom, not just
the students.

11/24/2020
Intern Teacher Signature Date

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Teacher Mentor Comments:

Michayla has demonstrated professionalism in all aspects of her practicum. She showed up every day early
and well prepared for class. She put a lot of thought and detail into all of her planning. Michayla used some
resources from different teachers as a starting point and tweaked them to make them her own. She
understands the value in not having to “recreate the wheel”. She was always open to try what other teachers
have used successfully. Michayla also created many new resources and activities for her class that she
shared with her colleagues at the school. She displayed both leadership and collaborative skills, which are
valuable attributes in the teaching profession. Michayla worked extremely hard to make all of her lessons and
activities engaging, especially if she found the topic to be too dry or convoluted. If her activity/lesson did not go
as well as planned she would reflect on it and improve it for the next time.
This year has been a little different due to the pandemic. All teachers were expected to have a google
classroom and keep it up to date with everything and make as much of the work as possible online. Although
Michayla had little to no experience with this coming in she did a wonderful job. She took the time to learn how
to use google classroom and ways to make her resources digital. Her google classroom was always up to
date and easy to follow.
In the classroom she developed the same great relationships with her students as her colleagues. She
created a learning environment where the students felt comfortable to ask her questions, try their best, and
make mistakes. Michayla made school enjoyable and educational for them. This is especially important with
grade 7s because they don’t always willingly complete school work as easily as primary and elementary
students. She took the time to get to know each individual student’s strengths and weaknesses and provide
them support where possible. She understands that students often have different needs not just academically
but also emotionally. If she was unsure of how to best help a student she would always ask for opinions and
ideas. It was obvious that she wanted all of the students to do their best and be successful.
Michayla tried a variety of different types of assessments. She created performance based tasks to
compliment their quizzes and tests. She had many different hands on activities in both math and science.
Michayla experimented with different formative assessments, from hands up to indicate you're ready to move
on, to color coded cards for interactive multiple choice style questions. She used her formative assessments in
class to direct her lessons, paying attention to whether the students were ready for the next steps or if more
review was required.
Michayla continues to grow in the area of classroom management. This is an area where all teachers are
continuously growing and it changes with each class. She was consistently aware of the challenges in the
classroom and issues that needed to be addressed. She has great control of the students during structured
time and is continuously working to achieve the same level of control during unstructured class time.
Michayla will make an excellent teacher, and her students will be lucky to have someone who cares about
them both personally and academically.

11/26/2020
Teacher Mentor Signature Date

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Administrator Comments:

Michayla has been a student teacher with us at Ecole McTavish since start up this year. She has participated
in all aspects of kicking off a year as a teacher and staff. Not only that, she has done so in the world of COVID
where we have many new procedures and directives to follow. Not easy for a seasoned teacher, Michayla
has handled the new world well. I have been in her class several times and watched her teach one of our
PEAK classes. These are classes filled with student athletes in specific programs for their sports. They are
kinesthetic learners and tend to be very high achieving. A focus on relationship building is key to establishing
good classroom management. It was clear that Michayla had spent time getting to know her students and how
best to deal with them in class. When offered suggestions on new ways to deal with situations from class, she
was very open to them and put them into practice. Michayla's lessons moved well and were well thought out
on how they support past learning, while lay the foundation for future work. As with all new teachers, additions
of strategies and tools to keep the class moving should continually be added.

Michayla was a pleasure to have on staff and interacted well with the other members of the school science
and math departments. She attended all professional learning and always ensured to carry herself in a
professional way.

Best of luck as you start your career!

12/3/2020
Administrator Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: November 2020) Page 6 of 6