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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.

Education 4572: Secondary Education Internship

INTERN TEACHER: Kellyrose Castro

SCHOOL: Lord Beaverbrook High School

Grade Level(s): Math 10C and Math 10-3

Teacher Mentor: Margaret Young

Administrator: Amardeep Chana

University Consultant: Barbara Jemmott

Checklist

Final Conference Date: Date: November 26, 2021

Review the Portfolio:
Review the Professional Inquiry Project

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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University Consultant Comments:

It was a pleasure for me to observe Kellyrose Castro, as her calm and playful demeanor established a positive
climate in the class. She was very approachable, and students were engaged and responsive to her
questions. Kelly's confidence as a teacher also grew enormously during this practicum. The students came to
respect her and respect her leadership. She worked effectively one on one and eagerly supported the
students. She developed parameters of appropriate behavior and kindly reminded students of what was
expected. She developed an accurate 'read' of the tone of the classroom and she changed the seating
arrangements in the class to create clusters that were more conducive to learning. By interacting with
students individually, Kelly fostered a sense of belonging for all her students.

Kelly created lessons that met curriculum requirements and were also engaging for her students. Kelly’s
lessons required a great deal of preparation prior to the delivery of her lessons. She daily integrated digital
technology by developing a series of slides which were projected on the Smartboard. Further, she created
several interactive games, which required her to create the game components ahead of time. Kelly's units and
lesson plans were thoughtfully developed and structured to include learning objectives, an introduction and
closure, detailed procedures and clearly defined instructions, key questions, formative and/or summative
assessments and an area to document a reflection for each lesson. Kelly introduced her lessons by reviewing
prior knowledge and clearly outlined what the students would be learning/doing in the class. When she began
a new unit, she stated the unit objectives and provided an overview.

Kelly created written summative assessments and used a variety of formative assessments to gauge student
understanding. The assessments informed her teaching, and she used the information to 'reteach' some
components of lessons.

Kelly brought the Indigenous Voice into her Math 10-3 class during a unit on Angles and Parallel lines.
Students were given a website to research an artifact from various Indigenous groups in Canada. Once they
picked an artifact, they were required to find and label at least 3 different angles found in that artifact. They
also needed to answer questions about how the artifact was used and the significance of the artifact for the
specific Indigenous group.

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

11/26/2021
University Consultant Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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University Consultant comments (Page 2 continued):

Throughout the practicum, Kellyrose always presented herself in a professional manner and demonstrated
her commitment to the teaching profession. She sought out and responded extremely well to feedback from
her University Consultant and Teacher Mentor and implemented suggestions. She developed a professional
eportfolio and submitted weekly insightful reflections. Kellyrose took part in all Professional Development
opportunities and staff meetings, attended Parent/Teacher Conferences, and wrote report cards for the
classes she taught. Outside of the classroom, Kelly was also the score keeper for the volleyball team. She
is a highly motivated and dedicated educator who was an excellent representative of the University of
Lethbridge and the teaching profession.

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

11/26/2021
University Consultant Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

DocuSign Envelope ID: D819FB89-C1B2-4B5A-8383-8387503D34BB

Intern Teacher’s Descriptive Report:

For Professional Semester III, I taught Math 10C and Math 10-3, and volunteered to be the scorekeeper for
volleyball. Daily instruction in my classroom usually began with a warmup or an energizer, followed by “Today’s
Outline”. My lessons consisted of a mix of direct scaffolded instructions, hands-on activities, class discussions
and practice. I taught using the smartboard and created lots of opportunities to get students to answer questions
on the board. For my 10Cs, I broke my lessons up into mini lessons with “You Try” questions in between. I found
that this reinforced student focus as this gave them a break from listening and gave them the chance to try a
question directly related to what they just learned. This also gave me a chance to work with students one on one
and formatively check their understanding about that topic before moving on to the next. I tried to provide my
10-3s with engaging and interactive lessons that are 20-25 minutes long. After my lessons, I usually gave
students a game/puzzle to ensure my students are having fun whilst practicing their math skills. Most of the
conclusions I’ve done with my students were in the form of exit slips.

I believe that I have created a relationship with each one of my students and I worked hard to strengthen these
relationships. I encouraged students to foster the relationships they had with their peers and get to know their
classmates. Due to the relationships I’ve built with my students, I am able to create lessons that I know they’ll
enjoy and will be more engaging to their groups. I created my long range, and all my unit plans in August with
the knowledge that I will be making changes once I got to know my students. Before every unit, I created a
workbook organized in a way that complements my teaching style and based on my teacher mentor’s notes. It
included a calendar and a list of outcomes for the unit and the daily warmup, notes, and practice questions. I
created most of my lesson plans and activities/games during the weekends. I reviewed those lesson plans the
night before I taught them and made edits depending on how the last lesson went. After each lesson, I posted
the filled in notes on D2L and tried to reflect on what went well and what I needed to change for the next time I
teach this lesson. I also reflected on my relationships with my students and new things I learned about each of
them. To integrate technology into my teachings, I gave projects/tasks that required my 10-3s to use technology
to do some research. Additionally, the 10-3s used iPads to play some logical reasoning games during their
puzzle days and both classes played Kahoots as a review. To incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into
mathematics, I gave the10-3s a project where they had to research an artifact from a specific Indigenous group
and find angles contained within that artifact. Another project relating to Indigenous ways was the 10C’s
clinometer project where we went outside and measured the height of objects on the land.

Throughout the semester, I created many opportunities for students to demonstrate their skills and knowledge
through various formative and summative assessments. Some ways I formatively assessed my students were
through observations, exit slips, group discussions, worksheets, thumb checks, concept checks, and
games/puzzles. Some summative assessments I used with my students were unit tests, quizzes, problem sets,
projects, and assignments. Students were given the option to write their assessments in the learning lounge and
were given extra time. Furthermore, I encouraged my students to come to tutorials, which occurs every morning,
especially those who needed that one-on-one support. I also created a workbook with lines, specifically for one
of my students because he was more likely to write notes if there were lines in it.

11/22/2021

Intern Teacher Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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Intern Teacher’s Descriptive Report (Page 2 continued):

One of my goals for this practicum was improving my classroom management skills because it was
something that I had struggled with. This had been part of my goals for each of my practicums, and I’ve seen
such tremendous growth in myself from PS1 to this last practicum. As this semester went by, I have learned
new skills and techniques to help me manage my classroom better and have become more assertive when I
need to be. I learned that some classes required me to keep reinforcing my classroom rules and
expectations or they’ll start to disregard them. With the 10Cs, I did not need to continue emphasizing the
rules, but with the 10-3s I had to keep policing these expectations. Additionally, a seating plan was
necessary to keep my 10-3s manageable. Since I’ve built strong relationships amongst my students, I found
that even when I had to give them consequences for their actions, my relationship with them remained
strong. My other goal for this practicum was managing ongoing workload of marking assessments. I have
figured out various strategies to mark more efficiently and effectively throughout this practicum. I found that I
can still gage student understanding by marking every second assignment instead of all their assignments
and have learned to just write check marks (fully understanding), straight lines (getting there), or Xs (need
more help) as formative checks. I know that I will continue to gain more classroom management skills and
learn new techniques for managing workload throughout my career.

My Professional Inquiry Project has been a great reflection of who I am and what type of environment I want
my classroom to have. The focus of my Professional Inquiry Project is game-based learning. The purpose of
this project is to develop and utilize puzzles and games to encourage higher level thinking and relationship
building among students. Additionally, it provides teachers with fun resources that will help them implement
formative assessments into their lessons. This was a fun project to take on during this practicum because I
was able to provide fun math experiences to students who don’t like math. I wanted to show my students that
they can have fun learning new math skills. Games and puzzles are also a great way to bond with students
and for students to bond with their peers.

I have learned so many things throughout this practicum and am greatly appreciative of this opportunity. I
have enjoyed teaching Math 10C and 10-3 and learning what it’s like to be a “real” teacher. I have created
long range, unit and lesson plans and have integrated technology and Indigenous ways of knowing into
mathematics. I have made various formative and summative assessments and have learned how to mark
these evaluations efficiently. The knowledge I’ve learned from my experiences and previous practicums have
also helped me throughout this practicum. I feel better prepared to start my career in the teaching
profession with these practicums in my back pocket.

11/22/2021
Intern Teacher Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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Teacher Mentor Comments:

Kelly is completing her intern teaching assignment at Lord Beaverbrook High School. During this placement,
Kelly has been teaching Math 10C and Math 10-3 and she has been learning about how busy being a
teacher can be. She volunteered to help score keep for extracurricular volleyball home games, a
commitment of 2-3 times a week after school. Kelly often provides assistance during lunch hour or after
school at student’s request. She also keeps the classroom open for students at lunch, providing those who
need it with an alternate space to eat or spend time. This allows Kelly to interact with her students in a
different way than during class time, as students use this time to get to know her better and vice versa. Kelly
participated in our professional development days, including our Indigenous Professional Learning Day as
well as another about developing and implementing the School Development Plan at both the whole school
and department levels. She has also attended staff meetings and PLC meetings, and participated in student
progress conferences.

Kelly is kind and engaging, and the students were eager to get to know her from the outset. She has worked
hard to develop relationships with her students. She began her time with us with a slide show about herself.
She then had students complete a profile about themselves for her. Beyond keeping the door open at
lunchtime, Kelly is constantly circulating in the classroom to assist students. This availability often leads to
students discussing things with her that are outside the realm of the Math classroom and shows how much
trust they have gained in her. Kelly has looked into all of her student’s IPPs and makes sure that they
receive accommodations that are appropriate for their learning. She has also integrated appropriate First
Nations resources and Indigenous ways of knowing into some of her lessons and activities.

Kelly has shown that she is organized and efficient in her work. She has an excellent sense of how topics in
a unit flow together. Early in the semester, Kelly learnt that she has her own style that she prefers for making
lessons and that teaching from another person’s lessons can be difficult. As a result, Kelly has developed
her own excellent lesson materials for both classes she was teaching, including lesson notes, formative
assessments such as games, Kahoots, and exit slips, and summative quizzes and end of the unit problem
sets. She has worked on timing for lessons so that the formative assessment activities would fit well within
each period. As much as possible, she has tried to complete notes, activities, quizzes and tests in advance,
to review for errors. If Kelly was struggling to complete things, she asked for assistance and advice on how
to balance getting everything done.

Another area where Kelly has grown throughout her placement is in classroom management. She is
continuing to work on developing her own style for this as well, especially with classes that are more difficult
to manage. She has worked on her teacher presence and being more assertive in her tone of voice as
needed. Part way through the semester, Kelly recognized that further steps needed to be taken to manage
the Math 10-3 class, where the Math 10C class was doing fine with everything that she already

11/26/2021
Teacher Mentor Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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Teacher Mentor Comments (Page 2 continued):

had in place. She asked for advice and we looked at different options before she made her plan. After
giving students a warning, she implemented her plan and provided the students with more structure in their
routine. The class has changed completely to one that is more easily managed as a result. Kelly has
learned that different classes can require different management techniques depending on the students that
are in the room. She will need to continue working on her management skills to determine what works best
for her.

It has been a pleasure to watch Kelly grow as an educator over the past few months. Kelly is reflective in her
practice, always looking to try new things to find what works best for her groups of students and making
adjustments as necessary. She is comfortable integrating technology into her lessons in a variety of ways
that promote student learning. Kelly also uses technology effectively as a communication tool by posting the
notes for lessons and the weekly schedule in the class D2L shells. She recognizes the cycle of learning and
provides students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning. I have enjoyed our time working
together and I know that Kelly will be a fantastic educator.

11/26/2021

Teacher Mentor Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

DocuSign Envelope ID: D819FB89-C1B2-4B5A-8383-8387503D34BB

Administrator Comments:

It was my pleasure to observe Kellyrose Castro in her Math 10C and Math 10-3 classes on November
15th and 16th 2021 respectively. Prior to each observation, Kellyrose provided me with a detailed lesson
plan that included the Learning Objectives, Assessment, Task Design and Conclusion. The daily lesson
plan clearly described the general and specific learning outcomes as per the Alberta Program of Studies.
Kellyrose is extremely organized as she also has her unit plans and course plans completed. To
effectively deliver the Program of Studies to the students, Kellyrose’s task designs were student oriented
with a variety of instructional activities such as power point notes, direct instruction, whole class
discussion and independent work. To plan for her courses, Kellyrose works collaboratively with another
University of Lethbridge practicum student who is teaching the same courses as Kellyrose.

Kellyrose is well equipped to teach Mathematics as she will have a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mathematics. She will also have a Bachelor of Education degree. Kellyrose’s routine and structure in the
classroom is very timely. For example, in her Math 10C class, she already had a “warm up” question for
the students to complete when they enter the classroom. This allowed her students to be reminded of the
work they completed on the previous day. If the students did not understand, they had their peers and
Kellyrose to ask questions. Towards the end of her lesson, the students reminded her of the “protip”.
This is like the “Tip of the Day”. Her ability to be predicable yet flexible in the classroom was well noted.

Kellyrose teaches Mathematics 10C in a methodical and “step by step” approach. She guides the
students through example questions and she does not take shortcuts. For example, she will read through
the question with the students, write the formula, substitute the formula, include the unit measurements
and draw a box around the final answer. She mentors the work she expects her students to complete.
Kellyrose uses different colored markers on the SmartBoard. This assists students to the graph lines and
distinguish between some of the mathematical symbols. Kellyrose also is detailed and thoughtful in her
instructions. She will review the mathematical concepts and not assume that all students will recall the
concepts. For example, she will review the symbols and rules. She will also ask questions to ensure that
all students are at the same pace. Students who were unsure were comfortable asking Kellyrose
questions. For example, a student needed clarity on how a parabola’s y-value could decrease.
Spontaneously, Kellyrose used a flexible ruler and shaped it into a parabola. As the ruler was bending,
the student was understanding the concept. She clearly knows how to meet the needs of the diverse
learners, including the visual and auditory learners.

11/25/2021
Administrator Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)

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Administrator Comments (Page 2 continued):

I also observed Kellyrose in a Math 10-3 class. I recognized many of the students in this class I as
having behavioral challenges. Kellyrose did not lower her expectations or skip steps for this group of
students. She taught the students how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice versa. This
conversion required a formula, substitution and a final answer. Kellyrose was patient, encouraging and
positive during the entire lesson and the students were engaging in the lesson. Kellyrose continued to
use Mathematics terminology and literacy. She enhanced the Mathematics for these students by giving
them word problems. She underlined the key information on the SmartBoard and she read out loud the
word problems. One particular student who is familiar to administration, actually called Kellyrose over to
seek assistance. It is reassuring to know that our students feel comfortable, vulnerable and want to
learn with Kellyrose.

Kellyrose has created a learning environment that is safe, welcoming and encouraging. Her students
were working in partners collaborating with the instruction if they didn’t understand the concepts. They
also worked together for their assignment. Some students decided to write their equations on their
desks with an erasable marker. At one point, students had to use their cell phones to find the
temperature around the world. For those students who did not have cell phones, iPads were available.
Once a student had an answer, Kellyrose would seek confirmation from another student. This
collaboration between peers was evident in her teaching.

Kellyrose handed a quiz back to the students. The students had an opportunity to make corrections to
the errors on their quiz. As educators, we want students to learn from their mistakes. Even though the
students only receive a maximum of 2 marks for their corrections, the students were eager to learn.
Kellyrose also gave praise to those students who did well on their quiz. Kellyrose also walks around the
classroom assisting students. She provides formative feedback to the students so they are not
repeating the same mistakes on their assignments.

Beyond the classroom, Kellyrose was our official scorekeeper for our four volleyball games. Every
Tuesday and Thursday from 5-9pm, Kellyrose was committed to being part of our school culture. This
was a great opportunity for her to meet other students and staff beyond her classroom.

I wish Kellyrose all the best in her teaching career. If there are any questions or concerns, please
contact me at akchana@cbe.ab.ca or (403)259-5585.

11/25/2021
Administrator Signature Date

U of L: PS III Final Report: (Revised: January 2021)