FEAPS 5

5. Continuous Professional Improvement. The effective educator consistently:

a. Designs purposeful professional goals to strengthen the effectiveness of instruction based on students’ needs

I designed a purposeful professional goal to strengthen the effectiveness of instruction by setting goals with my CT for the last half of my final internship. Being a preservice teacher, their are always aspects of my practice that need to be fine tuned in preparation for having my own classroom at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. The goals that we set are continuing to work on modeling clear and acceptable oral and written communication skills by reviewing expectation and holding all students to them and adapting the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs of my students by constantly allowing them to give me input on what they believe will help them. By continuing to hold students to high expectations, there will be no confusion when it comes to everyday activities and what needs to be accomplished and how it should be accomplished. Also, allowing students to give me input their journal reflections will help strengthen the effectiveness of instruction because I will be able to see exactly what students believe they need to be successful.

b. Examines and uses data-informed research to improve instruction and student achievement

I examined and used data-informed research to improve instruction and student achievement by looking over how the students scored on my assessment that I gave them. Through this, I was able to see where the different disconnects were and it allowed me to research ways to help me better convey my lessons the next time I taught. After implementing the research, I was able to see better student achievement and less misconceptions.

c. Uses a variety of data, independently, and in collaboration with colleagues, to evaluate learning outcomes, adjust planning and continuously improve the effectiveness of the lessons

I used a variety of data, independently, and in collaboration with colleagues, to evaluate learning outcomes, adjust planning and continuously improve the effectiveness of the lesson by taking my lesson plan and assessment data and discussing it with some of my fellow colleagues. We were able to evaluate the learning outcomes of my students to show me what I needed to do to better help my students moving forward.

d. Collaborates with the home, school and larger communities to foster communication and to support student learning and continuous improvement

To foster communication and support my students learning and continuous improvement, I implemented a grade storing folder system. My collaborating teacher was always getting emails from parents asking how some students grades are so I set up a folder with pages to store quiz, test, participation and iReady grades. The students log each grade from the day under the proper paper and take it home on the weekends to have their parents sign to confirm they see what grades their child is receiving in their math and science classes. This limited a lot of emails and improved parent engagement greatly. I was also able to foster communication with a larger community through presenting my inquiry project at the National Association for Professional Development Schools conference. While sharing, I was able to give valuable insight about learning styles and how they can benefit a classroom environment as well as receive valuable feedback that helped reshape my inquiry to fit the needs of my students. I came away with many new ideas to make my inquiry the best it could possibly be.

e. Engages in targeted professional growth opportunities and reflective practices

I engaged in professional growth and reflective practices by doing an assignment with my classmates. We talked about what classroom management means to all of us. It opened my eyes to how classroom management means something different to each person.

f. Implements knowledge and skills learned in professional development in the teaching and learning process.

During my time at the National Association of Professional Development Schools conference, I sat in on a seminar that talked about the importance of students self-reflecting on their work. It opened my eyes to how instrumental this can be in the process of my students developing meta-cognition. After self-reflecting on my practices, I realized that I do not have my students reflect on their own learning and citizenship as much as I should so I started having my students write about what they understand as well as what they struggle with in the classroom. This might relate to content or working with others. I have the students do this a minimum of three times a week. The prompts can always change but this is one that allows my students to see patterns in their understanding and misunderstanding as well how they work with others.