Professional Growth Plan Final Report (EDUC 429)

PART 1

1a. What data are you using to guide the development of your professional learning goal (e.g.
reflections on teaching, teaching observations, mid-program evaluations, student feedback)?

Self-reflections, verbal and written observations from cooperating teachers and Education professors,
formal and informal student assessment results.

1b. What do the data tell you?

I am very adaptable when it comes to relating to the students on a personal level, which makes it easier
to communicate with them. I am great at improvising, as well as using outside resources to support my lessons.
I am, however lacking in disciplinary situations.

2. Using the information from question 1, what is your focus area?

Domain: 2

Component: 2d– Managing Student Behavior

3. What goal will enable you to strengthen your practice?

My goal is to create a positive classroom environment by implementing an effective classroom

management system and responding to student misconduct in a respectful and effective way.

4. Describe what will you do to build professional background knowledge related to the domain and
component that you have selected in order for you to achieve your goal?

Teach Like a Pirate by David Burgess seems like an interesting read, and definitely geared towards what
I am looking for in classroom management.

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids by Chris Biffle sounds like something that could help me
for more severe cases of misconduct.

Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson is exactly the kind of atmosphere I am looking for in my classroom. I
want to learn how to discipline without the negative association with it, like “getting in trouble” and the
like.

A lot of the issue begins with my confidence. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re
Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown seems like a good fit for me in what kind of
confidence booster I am looking for. Confidence is very personal to each individual, so I think anecdotal
data from people will assist me the most.

5. What specific activities/actions will you implement to help attain your goal?

I will work on being more assertive when disciplinary action is required. I will work on interrupting
conversation between students that is not productive in some way. I will be more authoritative in
ensuring that the rehearsal runs smoothly. When I have the chance, I will generate my own class rules so
 that way I can implement those. I must be consistent in my responses to unwanted actions.

6. How will you collaborate with other professionals to meet your goal?

I will monitor my progress by seeking input from professors, cooperating teachers, and colleagues
either through in-person observations or through reviewing videos of my teaching.

7. What evidence/artifacts will you collect to demonstrate that your goal is being met?

Evaluate student responses to my disciplinary action. If the students stop the unwanted behavior
immediately or close to it, then I have done my job as a teacher. If they persist as if I was not there, then
I need to work on it a bit more.
PART 2

1. What did you do to build your professional background knowledge related to the domain and component
you selected? Did you add any new professional learning opportunities during your internship?
Describe four specific articles, books, webinars, podcasts, etc. that helped build your professional
background knowledge.

I actually explored a few different things besides the books that I had discussed in Part 1. I explored a
book suggested to me by my CT called Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE, and Other Special
Areas. This book helped me improve my classroom management immensely by providing alternatives to
the lecture-style of teaching that I have learned so much about. I also looked into Whole Brain Teaching
for Challenging Students, which was quite a wonderful read. There is also a website about Whole Brain
Teaching that I checked out related to the book. I would like to invest more time into learning about
Whole Brain Teaching, Also, there were some PLC meetings and staff meetings at our school that
specifically addressed behavior and management that I took notes on, some of which were extremely
useful for me and others not so much, as they related more towards their classroom setting rather than
special area.

2. What specific activities/actions did you implement to help attain your goal? Describe at least four
specific activities. Connect each activity to a reading, webinar, podcast, etc. listed in question 1.

Activity 1: Interactive Modeling – This is something that I borrowed from the Responsive
Classroom book mentioned above. In Chapter 3 it discusses modeling things without lecture then
asking the students what you did so they learn to identify it. Then, let a single student practice
and show the class, then the whole class practices. This is really well-done concerning
classroom procedures, but can be done for any classroom activity in general.

Activity 2: Attention Getter – The Attention Getter is both something I learned from my CT, but
also something I found from Whole Brain Teaching. I use a song called “Eyes on Me”, which is
very simple in melody and they sing it back to me when I sing to them. This means that they get
quiet, their attention is turned to me, and they stop doing what they’re doing. It works like a
charm, especially at the beginning of class.

Activity 3: Movement Activities/Brain Breaks – I got the advice to use brain breaks from several
places, including my CT, a PLC meeting, and from class meetings with the other interns. I do not
call them brain breaks, and I usually implement them into my lesson during the planning stage. I
begin with a movement activity to get their blood flowing and to get their brains engaged. This
prevents any classroom disruptions due to excessive energy or lack of focus from the start. With
my littles, I use more than just one, having a smaller one inserted in the middle instead.

Activity 4: Teach using Gestures – This is a huge concept taught in Whole Brain Teaching, but it
was also touched on in Responsive Classroom. It was also something I learned through trial and
error myself without a name to it before I read the book. Teaching using gestures shortens the
amount of explanation time and goes hand-in-hand with Interactive Modeling. It has the students
watch to create a much more engaging activity that they have to keep their eyes on to know what
is happening. It also shortens talking time, which restricts the loss of student engagement. I have
learned that I can make my lessons consistently more exciting simply by gesticulating a lot
during my lessons.

3. Did you meet your intended goal? Why or why not?

 I met my goal of improving my classroom management skills. After careful study and lots of
practice, I am finally able to keep students significantly engaged and prevent most events before they
even happen.

Describe the evidence and artifacts that demonstrate the professional learning goal was met (include at
least 5 descriptions of evidence). Two pieces of evidence must be the focused observations by your
cooperating teacher in your selected area of growth (attach the feedback provided by your cooperating
teacher). Label and describe each piece of evidence and explain why each piece helps meet your
intended goal. Attach the artifacts to the end of the report.

Artifact 1: PGP Observation 1 – During the same week, my CT did my first PGP observation. In
the notes, you can see that my behavior management strategies are there, but extremely
inconsistent. Talking goes unaddressed sometimes but not others. I struggle to figure out which
behavior methods to use and which ones not to use. I do not have a whole lot of positive feedback
either, and my proximity control was lacking as I stayed mostly at the front of the room.

Artifact 2: Week 5 Reflection - In my reflections when I first started off, I was sincerely
struggling with managing the class. I began by implementing Classroom Dojo as an incentive
system for the class teams to earn points for positive behaviors during my class. Week 5 was
when we were first beginning to try it and setting up all the classes. It was an experimental way
to address behavior in class. It worked for a while, but I realized it was taking up too much
instructional time and I was losing out on teaching content. This is evidence that I am putting
forth effort to work on it.

Artifact 3: Supervisor Assessment C Observation 2 – In my Assessment C for my 2nd

Observation, my supervisor marked me as Developing, which is entirely fair. Again, I show
inconsistency in how I respond to behavior, but I am showing implementation of more
techniques. I show implementation of body language (raising my hand for questions I ask when
students are required to raise their hands) alongside clear explanations of expectations. With
additional techniques shown here, all I have left to work on is consistency.

Artifact 4: PGP Final Observation – My CT makes note of all of my efforts that I have used, all
of my different techniques still in use. I am much more consistent, though still not 100% perfect
at making sure all of it is maintained. I stopped an activity that became out of control and
explained that we stopped because learning was not happening. I implemented every strategy I
knew much more consistently and achieved a much better result than my past observations.

Artifact 5: Supervisor Assessment C Observation 3 – I am still marked as developing here. It

seemed that I was a bit more consistent about implementing it, but not clear as to when I should.
I had small group work that I was working on, and it was unclear to the students if they should
or should not be talking during the small group work. My supervisor said that I was doing much
better in this, and still much improved, but I still had a bit of ways to go to achieve mastery.

4. How did you collaborate with other professionals to meet your goal?

I consistently discussed with my CT and Supervisor about different techniques and options, as well as
when I should implement these techniques during class. Also, during several meetings with the other
teachers on campus, we also discussed different classroom management techniques.
5. What new learning did you acquire as a result of the professional learning opportunities in which you
engaged?

I learned all sorts of new management techniques thanks to my readings and my colleagues. I learned
when to implement all these techniques during class time and how to implement them effectively without
losing student engagement. I have learned both proactive and preventative techniques to work through
behavior issues.

6. What impact did the changes in instructional practice have on you as a professional?

I learned what kind of classroom I plan to have when I have my own classroom due to differences in my
teaching style compared to that of my colleagues. I plan to have my classroom a little more structured
than that of some of my colleagues, which will help in keeping my management in check.

7. What impact did the changes in instructional practice have on your students’ learning?

The students are learning so much more now that I am taking preventative action on negative behaviors.
They are much more focused on the content, and I am getting through more content now that I have
limited negative behaviors. Also, with the positive praise that I have been giving, they have been more
likely to start out with the wonderful behaviors that I am looking for without question.

8. How will you continue to develop in this area?

I plan to continue to read more books. I want to continue to become more consistent in always
implementing the behavior management and levels so that way I can reduce any infractions to 0. I also
plan to work with the colleagues at the school in which I will be working at to find out how the general
population of students functions and learn more about students as individuals so I can provide the best
and most consistent behavior management plan to each student.
 Professional Growth Plan Focused
Observation Form
Intern MQAn_ MCAleer
Subject 5th_ Grade
Teacher EYiN CoMHieyL Date and Time
10/05121 e 140pm
PGP Area
2D-ManaQing Studt BehavMor
Description/Comments
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StudETiS Sh outing out duing dirgciions- 1anored
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7 0 0ddressrd WSt(UC 1Ons or men duOng choter
Singin9 song 107 STe ngm YOHeS" Hh CrOY Or
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Spote =7 Dll SUdiis g0 bock ore stHna guieHIy
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yeS on U- "hnR yOu Very inCh For putHng yoJY eyS O1
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 Description/Comments
I1OVPte rules proceduvcs odeliverd ckaYly effeC1 IVely
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Strengths observed:

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Suggestions for improvement:

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 Professional Growth Plan Focused Observation Form

Intern gM Mal Subject KLduait

Date and Time ll0312-920am
Teacher lU loaihuy
Behaou
2 MaMagung Studunt
PGP Area

Description/Comments

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Boryo nd yb, 2 Dly appuueAUY Cammain y Mbtong sO

ahk Au, Cadtn, n g c h an MYple

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 Description/Comments
9od coctm with suppmg youMDL MpNg to Map ths (0OALDIALL
hdung h asung: Anenmlev "t i ouh pit to
hanUng tok placa

Strengths observed:
awan- COtINUL t
Motu Ml bmUng Muuch moU ONJent d
ead o ocknutudgng potuye Aehavio n t MSt Louusng on
thon tlak muded to twvicad
Suggestions for improyement:
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-hon tho studvnts ot aont WNt ts gt stuck at th, Ond tU AANO
NMMbe Mpually wth owTa nadk unNdb, wt m tenchuing
thayou, Mot ut Hddnmg U
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Overall conmmit
imprgssion
w lanung
pf teaching effectiveness in
hames- t wll hulp se muh
the areálof focus:
COtunue to make thuw a MAN
EMDKmUMe), u haNt to tlach