Inquiry Question/ How can clear classroom expectations lead to a more effective shop

Professional Goal environment.

Rationale Often I find that the classroom has many different projects and
different levels of proficiency so through having expectations set
beforehand I can allow all students to work at their own pace more
effectively.

TQS 1, 4

Strategies Using classroom expectation reminders before each class: Respect

others, respect yourself, respect the shop

Indicators of success Being able to remind students of expectations rather than just tell them
off

Resources

Reflection mid round I have found that through establishing my own expectations that allow
for some flexibility and are easy to remember, I can more easily point
out places where students are not fulfilling expectations. Through the
reminders in class I hope that students don’t feel like I pull rules out of
nowhere and instead can trace my corrections on behaviour back to
the original expectations set on the first couple classes. I have seen
the most gain in this during the grade 9 class, having a quick call out
and refocus back to expectations is very helpful. Down the road I
would hope to have the expectations posted so students see them as
an additional reminder throughout their day.

Reflection post The grade 9s were in need of expectation reminders but as my time
with them progressed, I found that they needed less and less
reminders of specific expectations and they could place their
behaviours inside of my 3 expectations on their own, thus leading to
more self regulation and me being able to focus my attention on safety
and teaching students new processes.

Inquiry Question/ How can we effectively incorporate reflection into a shop environment?
Professional Goal

Rationale The CTS modules all ask for some aspect of reflection but often in a
shop setting it is overlooked since students don’t want to sit down and
fill out a reflection sheet. This also would help me refine and improve
on projects I ask students to do.

TQS 2,4,6

Strategies I want to get students to fill out a quick project reflection as they hand
 in each project to me.

Indicators of success Filled in reflections so I can improve my teaching and student projects
as well as students seeing how their projects connect with the trades.

Resources CTS project reflection

Reflection mid round I only began to institute this during the midpoint of the practicum but it
was based on talking with students who had initially finished the
plywood project for grade 10. I had a few students tell me what they
would have changed or improved on and it led to more effective
methods for the students afterwards who I changed the plans for. It
directly affected my teaching and all students who I have chatted with
before bringing in the reflection sheet seem to see the value in the
trades and are interested in different aspects of the projects. Hopefully
through all the projects we bring forward we can use different methods
of building and joinery to give the students the knowledge that will
serve them well for years to come.

Reflection post I really liked the reflection as I had very small expectations for students
and it was not marked, but it allowed me to see where they struggled
with projects but also allowed them to see how they could have
changed things going forward and what they would do differently. I
think that conversation is probably the most effective form of reflection
in the shop but through the reflection sheets I was still able to ensure
students were reflecting on their projects and seeing how they can
improve on their work in the shop.