5. Continuous Professional Improvement
The effective educator consistently:
a. Designs purposeful professional goals to strengthen the effectiveness of Instruction based on students' needs;
I was aware of my weaknesses when I began my internship and made a development plan with lists of my personal goals to achieve during my time at Three Oaks. I had also created one for an assignment but kept this one in my notebook and reviewed it on a weekly basis to remind myself what I wanted to change and improve on.
At the start of the new school year, the students were given goals that they were to achieve on a weekly basis. The students signed these contracts showing their understanding of what was expected of them. The teacher designs lessons to help the students work toward these goals. Throughout the year, individual students had different needs, such as improving handwriting, subtraction or addition difficulties or spelling problems. The teacher can adjust her plans and schedule to include these goals.
b. Examines and uses data-informed research to improve instruction and student achievement;
The teacher can use many tools to improve student achievement, such as test scores, pretests, textbook resources. He or she can see where the students may not "get it" , the math textbook features a common errors section that could help teachers understand what errors could happen.
c. Collaborates with the home, school, and larger communities to foster communication and to support student learning and continuous improvement;
The photo to the left is the agenda for a symposium I attended before the school year began. During the training, all the teachers and some of the instructional staff participated in many activities. We learned how to use a gradual release model. We analyzed test scores and applied that to future lesson plans in order to identify gaps in student learning and work on improvement strategies.
d. Engages in targeted professional growth opportunities and reflective practices, both independently and in collaboration with colleagues; and
During my internship, I was observed by my mentor teacher, my professor, the principal and vice principal at both Three Oaks and Spring Creek. The photo shows an observation form, in which my mentor teacher gave me feedback, both positive and negative. She gave me some great suggestions, told me what she liked, what could be improved and ways to scaffold on this lesson.
A good teacher is constantly improving and looking for ways to improve their teaching. To the left is a wonderful book that I used continually in my internship to work on my classroom management skills. I used other books, websites and resources to grow as a teacher.
e. Implements knowledge and skills learned in professional development in the teaching and learning process.
At an in service day at Three Oaks, we were given an introduction to Kagen techniques. All of the teaching staff participated in the training. We had to act like students and work together to complete a few tasks. After this training, we started to use some of these skills in the classroom. The students were delighted to work in groups to complete an assignment or task.