Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals

September 7, 2020

PSIII PROFESSIONAL GOAL #1:

Use classroom management strategies to create a classroom atmosphere that is safe
and inviting for all of my students regardless of learning styles.
TQS #4: Establishing Inclusive Learning Environment; a teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning
environments where diversity is embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.
Rationale  I want all of my students to feel safe and comfortable in order to learn.
(Within the  I want to take the routines and strategies already in place and integrate them with newer ones I have
context of made myself.
intern  I want my students to have a connection to me, but respect and respond to me, even though I am a new
environment) teacher in their classroom.
 I want my classroom to be energized, and full of life. I believe that if you have low energy, that translates
to a lack of motivation and willingness to engage, leading to less learning.
 I want to enact a no phones policy, as well as a no airpods. Phones are to be in the bag, or on the desk
face down on silent. It is a form of respect, and it becomes a distraction to others.
Strategies  Discuss strategies with my mentor teacher, how I can implement her strategies properly so students feel
(used comfortable and can expect consistency between my mentor teacher and myself.
throughout to  Make concise decisions regarding discipline, even when it makes me the bad guy.
achieve goal)  Research and ask other teachers for suggestions of classroom managements techniques.
 Use my own strategies with different students, since one strategy might work for one, but not another.
 Request my mentor teacher observe my classroom management techniques and offer suggestions on
areas of improvement.

Resources  Mentor Teacher

(used  Administrator
throughout to  Attention grabbing tools at the start of class, like riddles (especially in the morning) to stimulate
achieve goal) conversation and cooperation.
 Engagement tools like crash course videos
 Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals
September 7, 2020

 Less formal discussion-based approaches

 Mediation and relaxation breaks.
 Mindfulness within the classroom
 Brain Breaks – Little Yoga
Indicators of  Students respect my authority in the classroom.
Progress  Students are present and engaged in the classroom.
(throughout  Noise is only heightened when we are doing group and discussion based activities.
practicum)  Rules are automatically followed.
 My Mentor Teacher acknowledges my management techniques as effective.
 Students look for my guidance even when my Mentor Teacher is in the classroom.
Timeline  Become familiar with the current routine and climate of the classroom – September.
(September 7th  Introduce my own strategies to ensure classroom climate is a climate I can comfortably teach in and my
– December students can learn in – Mid-September.
18th, 2020)  Consult my Mentor Teacher with her observation of my classroom management strategies and anything
I can improve on – Ongoing.
 Request my Admin (McKenty) and UC to observe my classroom management strategies and get their
feedback – Ongoing.
 Reflect on my strategies daily, weekly, and by unit – Ongoing.
 Feel in control and comfortable running the daily classroom. – December
Reflection (at I feel as though I successful met and achieved this goal!
the end of
practicum) Students seemed to really enjoy the stimulation I began each class with. In my morning classes I provided
riddles, or anagrams, which allowed the students to work together to solve. It stimulated their brains, and
really primed their moods for learning, and collaboration. I felt as though by the ned of the semester I
commanded the classroom. When we went online, it through a curve ball into my plans, but instead of
keeping the long talking or activities, we chatted in breakout groups, and collaborative activities that
allowed students to work together or be self-directed at their own pace. I found it hard to monitor the
engagement of the students while online, as it was easy for students to be on a separate web page while I
was in class with them.
 Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals
September 7, 2020

Within the classroom the students were able to look up to me as an authority figure. I was able to maintain a
comfortable balance of authority that was both fun, yet assertive when necessary. I believe I developed good
relationships with my students that was translated into respect. While in the classroom, I was able to ensure
it was a safe and comfortable space for my students. I really tried to make everyone feel included and tried
to never shut down anyone. I always tried to make my students feel as though they are always accepted
within every avenue of learning.
I had incorporated various movement breaks. Using various activities to get students proving was
important. I felt that through Covid, I struggled with this as we were not really able to be out of our desks. I
was able to squeeze a couple big group activities in my classes, however when covid is no longer an issue, I
hope to progress this goal to have a 50/50 slip of movement and in desk time. Some of these activities were
easier in some classes than others, but the movement included yoga, mindfulness activities and Mini
Movement Quizzes. The students enjoyed these very much!
My Mentor Teacher and Admin came in and observed many different times. They were able to see
improvement and growth within my classroom management. Often continually giving me advice on how to
better my skills, which I always took graciously. My Mentor Teacher even said that he would be adopting the
riddles as a morning activity into his teaching.
 Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals
September 7, 2020

PSIII PROFESSIONAL GOAL #2:

Have a better understanding of how to accurately and appropriately assess student’s
summatively in all subject areas.
TQS #3: Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge; a teacher applies a current repertoire of effective planning,
instruction and assessment practices to meet the learning needs of every student
Rationale  I want to have solid evidence of student achievement for report cards.
(within the  I want to have solid evidence that there is progress being made throughout the semester.
context of  I want to have solid evidence of student achievement to demonstrate for parents.
intern  I want to have a good understanding at the end of a unit what information the students have taken away
environment) from the lessons taught.
 I want to ensure that the GLO’s and SLO’s have all been effectively met for each unit taught.
Strategies  Detail expectations for each unit
(used  Communicate with students on outstanding assignments,
throughout to  Have a resubmit policy with no penalty
achieve goal)  Have a no penalty late assignment submission policy.
 Have frequent in-person, and email check-ins with students via conversational observations
 Communication with Teacher Mentor and Admin about effective summative assessment
 Record formative and summative student assessment in a grade book (D2L) to keep track of
assessments
 Research effective summative assessment strategies and ideas.
Resources  Mentor Teacher
(used  Administrator
throughout to  50 Assessment Strategies Book.
achieve goal)  Learn Alberta http://www.learnalberta.ca/
 Assessment for Learning
http://www.assessmentforlearning.edu.au/professional_learning/student_self-
assessment/student_strategies_enhance.html
 Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals
September 7, 2020

 D2L
 Power Teacher
 Gmail (For Emailing Parents and Students regarding outstanding assignments)
* Will add more when necessary

Indicators of  I have assessments planned and completed at the beginning of the unit
Progress  Students are successful throughout the unit
(throughout  All students have all assignments submitted by the end of the semester.
practicum)  I have demonstrated a proper distribution of formative and summative assessment
 I am accurately summatively assessing students on the correct material ( Checking in with the GLO’s and
SLO’s and matching assignments with outcomes)
 I have sufficient summative grading material recorded
Timeline  Summativly assess students in various subjects through D2L – End of September
(September 7th  Email Students regarding outstanding assignments, with links to the D2L assignment page, place to
– December submit, and rubrics – Ongoing (Monthly)
18th, 2020)  Introduce self-evaluation form for students as both formative & summative assessment – November
 Ensure grade book is kept updated and is well created and allow students to see their grades and
submissions. – Ongoing
 Verbally communicate with students which assignments are missing, and where to access them. –
Ongoing (Weekly/Monthly)
 Reiterate the importance of resubmission if they don’t like the grade they got, and encourage them to
come and talk to me if they have questions on how I came up with the grade. – Ongoing.
 Students successfully met the GLO’s and SLO’s covered – December
Reflection (at I believe that this was a goal that will be constant goal. I felt as though I did good in keeping an eye on
the end of grades, and making sure they were up to date, I felt as though I could have done and email reminder more
practicum) frequently, but I did see a very good result when I did email out missing assignments. Usually, the kids didn’t
know that they were missing something. In this regard, I felt as though I met my goal. I also aimed to have
many formative assessments, including participation in less formal discussions as a means to check for
understanding.
 Gerald Fitzgibbon’s PSIII Professional Goals
September 7, 2020

I assessed my students in many ways. Majority of assessment was formative, as I knew this was important
to solidify what was being learnt without the anxiety of it being graded. I found that while this worked with
most students, there were some that felt that because it wasn’t being graded, they didn’t need to do it. This
was an issue and required a more hands on approach to making sure they got it done. This is an area where
I feel I will need to continue to grow. I would have students complete an outcome in multiple different ways
to allow them to build up their skills.
During my internship, I was a part of the winter report card period. This helped strengthen my
understanding of how to effectively assess my students, and what was required for the report card itself.
My Teacher Mentor was a huge help in this area, as he was able to help identify the main areas of focus and
how to assess multiple students at once. He also showed me how to write up report cards so as to give the
students the best grades possible.
An area where I feel I fell short was in letting kids know that there was a re-submission policy. I mentioned a
few times over the semester, but I feel like the students were ultimately unaware that this was the case. I
feel that this is an important tool in terms on not thwarting the needs of the students and making them feel
as though they have some autonomy in their grades. This will be a focus for my next class. I think maybe
having a visual stimulus like a poster in the class near the from that they can see daily as a visual reminder
so it can be at the back of their minds more frequently.
Incorporating GLO’s and SLO’s within the daily schedule was something I was able to successfully compete
as well. I had a printout of the full outcomes at the front of my logbook for the class, as well as the desired
outcomes for each unit, for each assessment, I would use a highlighter, and cross of the outcome, showing
that I was able to achieve it. I put the outcomes at the top of my lesson plan as a means to ensured that they
were always a part of every lesson and being included in each plan. I also reviewed each lesson at the end of
the day and tried to reflect upon ways I could’ve better delivered the outcomes for future lessons.