Professional Goals and Growth Plan

Name: Dakota Bradley

School: Raymond Junior High
Practicum Dates: September 4th-
December 22nd
Teacher Mentor: Tyler Runquist
School Administrator: Corey Bevans
Faculty Mentor: Danny Balderson

A. Professional Goals

#1: I would like to further my experience with critical inquiry and project- based
learning.
Rationale: My PS2 unit was built on a critical inquiry model, and certainly
included many projects, but I think I can expand the scope of these techniques,
developing a long- range plan based on inquiry questions and including real-
world, current events, analysis to promote more meaningful engagement in my
students.
KSA Connections:
#9: Approaches to Teaching and Learning.
Know a broad range of instructional strategies appropriate to your area of
specialization and subject discipline taught, and know which strategies are
appropriate to help different students achieve different outcomes.
#10: Technology and Teaching
Know how to use and engage students in using these technologies to present and
deliver content, communicate effectively with other, find and secure information,
research word process, manage information, and keep records.
#11: Student Assessment
Know how to assess the range of learning objectives by selecting and developing
a variety of classroom and large-scale assessment techniques and instruments.
They know how to analyze the results of classroom and large-scale assessment
instruments and how to use the results for the benefit of students.

#2: I would like to develop student literacy in social studies materials, specifically
in examining media bias and skills in non- fiction literacy.
Rationale: One of the school goals in Raymond Junior High is literacy
development, in prior experience Ive found that literacy skill building outside of
Language Arts often lacks resources and strategies, I would like to work on that
alongside my placement school.
 KSA Connection:
#3: Programing Guidelines
The teacher understands the purposes of the Guide to Education and programs of
study germane to the specialization or subject disciplines they are prepared to
teach. They know how to use these documents to inform and direct their planning,
instruction and assessment of student progress.
#4: Subject Disciplines
Complete a structured program of studies by acquiring the knowledge, concepts,
methodologies, and assumptions in one or more areas of specialization or subject
disciplines taught in Alberta schools.
#14: Making Contributions
Know strategies to independently and collegially, enhance, and maintain the
quality of your school to the benefit of students, parents, community, and
colleagues.

B. Strategies

Strategies for addressing Goal #1: Goal 2 will be accomplished primarily in

my planning, but to keep the projects and critical inquiry relevant to students
lives, Ill be keeping up with current events to implement into my lesson plans.
Having students critically assess media and news sources is an essential part of
the social studies curriculum, and this can be addressed in the examination of
worldview to fit grade 8. To address my goal to increase project based learning,
I will be including approximately 4 projects into my unit assessment.

Strategies for addressing Goal #2: My planning will be a major part of

addressing this goal. Many of the lessons in my unit plan are based off skill
building with the textbook or responding to another source. These kind of
analytical research skills are present throughout the unit. I will need to adjust my
sources once I am more familiar with my classes literacy levels and experience
but this will not be difficult, if need be I can write synopsis of the response
sources to differentiate. Early in the year I will include opportunities for
diagnostic assessment of student literacy in social studies, and then increase the
academic reading level of my sources throughout the year to measure student
growth. My Personal Inquiry Project will also be based on developing student
literacy outside of language arts.

C. Indicators of Progress Towards Goals

Indicators of Progress for Goal #1:

One early measure of Goal 1 will be in the first two weeks when we are still
defining and examining worldview. There is a lot of time allotted for critical
examination when discussing worldview, and including current events in the
 discussion can help students critically reflect on their own worldviews. This
critical reflection can be assessed early in my practicum in the first quiz, and
throughout the assessment projects.

Indicators of Progress for Goal #2:

Goal 2 will be assessable as a skill building component in my formative and
summative assessments. My first lesson with the textbook early in the unit will
be valuable as diagnostic assessment to gauge student progress as we learn. The
indicators of progress will follow the natural assessment of my instruction, with
more of a reflective lens on my own strategies for building literacy and whether
they have been effective for the students. My plan to introduce higher reading
level source materials as the class progresses will act as another indicator for my
progress.

D. Timeline for Completion

By end of my placement, all these goals will be met and reflected on.. My daily
reflections will be a consistent commentary on my progress. These goals are long-
term in nature, and will only be truly assessable at the end of my placement, but daily
reflection will show a more specific timeline.
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E. Summary of Growth and Goals Achieved (Final plan only)

F. Reflections on Professional Growth (Final plan only)