Professional Growth Plan Final Report (EDUC 429)

Jessica Smith
11/8/2022

Part 1

1a. What data are you using to guide the development of your professional learning goal (e.g.
reflections on teaching, teaching observations, mid-program evaluations, student feedback)?

● Self-reflection after teaching lesson.

● Cooperating Teacher feedback during fieldwork.
● Professor assessment and feedback.

1b. What does the data tell you? Describe your areas of strengths and weaknesses based on the
data collected above.

● Strengths
- I have knowledge of what needs improvement from listening and observing.
- I strive to improve my teaching ability and personality.

● Weaknesses
- I am quiet and not clear with verbal instruction occasionally.
- I struggle maintaining a clear learning outcome throughout the lesson.
- I struggle having a confident presence through my posture, instruction, and conducting.

2. Using the information from question 1, what is your focus area (write both the Danielson
domain and the component that you have identified as having the greatest potential for increasing
student learning below)? Remember to choose from Domains 2 and 3.

Domain: Domain 3: Instruction

Component: 3c: Engaging Students in Learning

3. What goal will enable you to strengthen your practice (write your goal statement using the
Danielson Framework language)?

I will be able to strengthen student engagement throughout each lesson in more creative ways.

4. Describe what will you do to build professional background knowledge related to the domain
and component that you have selected in order for you to achieve your goal (e.g. what
articles/books will you read, what Internet resources will you use, what workshops will you attend,
will you interview or observe teachers)? Describe four specific professional development
activities.
 1. Observe experienced teacher’s lessons in their classroom.
2. Research professional talks with teachers discussing effective teaching strategies.
3. Discuss strategies with other teachers and peers.
4. Research articles, books, internet sources to develop my knowledge further.

5. What activities/actions will you implement to help attain your goal (e.g. administer a student
interest inventory, develop lessons that include multiple project options for students, include the
use of formative assessments during instruction, video tape and critique one’s practice, establish
procedures for the distribution and collection of materials and supplies)? How will these help you
attain your goal? Describe three specific activities based on current professional background
knowledge related to your goal (this section will be updated during student teaching as you
continue to build your professional background knowledge described in question 4).

1. Create lessons with multiple options. I can assess student engagement during the lesson and
decide which part of the lesson to take based on how the lesson is going.
2. Conduct a student survey to gain feedback on their engagement in my teaching.
3. Video record my teaching so I can observe myself from a different perspective.

6. How will you collaborate with other professionals to meet your goal?

I will discuss and brainstorm with my peer interns, my CT, and my professors to learn from their
experiences and grow from a different perspective on my teaching.

7. What evidence/artifacts will you collect to demonstrate that your goal is being met? List three
specific evidence/artifacts you will collect.

1. Observe responses or listen to feedback from students, from observation or survey.

2. Collect feedback from CT.
3. Assessment on my teaching and my lesson plans.
PART 2

1. What did you do to build your professional background knowledge related to the domain and
component you selected? Did you add any new professional learning opportunities during
your internship? Describe four specific articles, books, webinars, podcasts, etc. that helped
build your professional background knowledge.

1. Mr. Powell: I observed and wrote several pages of notes of strategies he used that
helped engage students in class.

2. “7 good minutes, Good Inside” Podcast, is a short daily seven-minute episode with
motivational inspiration for working hard and achieving but is easily applied in band
class.

3. “Teach like a Champion” book: This book gives excellent insight to pages of teaching
strategies like “plan for error,” or “work the clock”. “All hands” is about utilizing hand
raising to help with pacing of the lesson. I chose this because it is an important part of
Mr. Powell’s classroom to always raise your hand before being called upon to talk.

4. “Comprehensive Classroom Management” textbook: This textbook gives several

teaching strategies. Activity 2.2: “Behavior Problems and Students’ Personal Needs,”
talks about designing classroom instruction based on a student's natural needs.

2. What specific activities/actions did you implement to help attain your goal? Describe at least
four specific activities. Connect each activity to a reading, webinar, podcast, etc. listed in
question 1.

Activity 1; Pacing: I was pausing a lot to think or waiting on students. Mr. Powell does
a fantastic job of pacing his lesson. He narrates just about everything he expects the
students to do, whether that is behavior or what he is thinking or what he expects in that
moment. He also allows himself only 90 seconds to work with a particular problem and
then he has to move on. This makes it so he is not too focused on one thing because we
can’t fix everything and just one day. We can work on it for a minute and then come
back to it tomorrow. I have been trying to incorporate these things more and more,
especially when it comes to engaging the entire class when I am only addressing one
student problem. I am not teaching one student; I am always teaching the entire class.
 Activity 2; Competition: this podcast talks about several different things that motivates
people. A big concept I have been working on is gathering activities I can do to make ordinary
band warm-ups and fundamentals more fun. Something the students enjoy is competition. I
have been incorporating more individuals playing and receiving stickers for it. The students
immediately are more engaged by practicing silently and moving their fingers through the note
names. I have tried this several times, and after I announce that we are about to play
individually, students immediately start preparing and are usually sound more prepared.

Activity 3; I chose two techniques from the book. The first is “tracking, not watching” which is
about being intentional instead of passive when it comes to scanning your classroom. I chose
this to practice the importance of making sure every student is engaged in productive learning.
The second is “Circulate” which urges the teacher to roam around the classroom with the
intention to engage the students and to make better assessments of the students. I chose this
because it is something I should work on. I have worked on this each day as I moved off of the
podium, away from my stand, and outside my comfort zone.

Activity 4; Student needs: in the Pearson textbook, it goes over Abraham Maslow ‘s pyramid
of basic needs. If a student is hungry, tired, feeling insecure, etc., this will infect their
motivation to learn. It is important that I took this into consideration while teaching. It was
useful to empathize with students and come up with a path to get them back on track with the
lesson.

3. Did you meet your intended goal? Why or why not?

I am not completely where I would like to be for engaging students, but I have made more
progress than I expected and gathered many tools in order to keep working

Artifact 1: PGP from CT

This piece of evidence shows my cooperating teacher’s focused observation on engaging

students. Mr. Powell noted some quotes I used that were positive such as critical thinking
questions and scaffolded activities. He also gives me ideas to engage students further with each
activity we completed. From here, I was able to try to model, ask more questions, and
challenge students independently. With this being in October, it shows a good starting place to
grow from.

Artifact 2: Observation 1

This first observation was in September. I was rated a two for “developing” for Danielson 3d.
As seen in the artifact, my biggest problem was pacing. I left a decent amount of silence
multiple times, giving students time to get distracted. Dr. LeFils said that he observed great eye
contact and engagement until I turned to the keyboard for even a second. That second is when I
lost the student’s engagement. I have been able to work on lesson pacing since then.
Artifact 3: observation 2

This second observation was in October. I was rated a 3 for “proficient” in this component,
showing growth after the last observation. Dr. LeFils observed a fast paced and scaffolded
lesson.

Artifact 4: Observation 3

This third observation was at the end of October. I was also rated a 3 for “proficient” in this
component. Dr. LeFils observed a fast paced, scaffolded lesson, “100% participation”, and few
behavior issues

Artifact 5: PGP from CT

4. How did you collaborate with other professionals to meet your goal?

I had many conversations with Mr. Powell each day centered around student learning.
Each strategy, or tool we use to teach directly affects student engagement. I also had the
opportunity to have conversations with other middle school directors to ask how they
teach certain topics. I also had conversations in class with my professors and peers on
strategies they recommend and have tried.

5. What new learning did you acquire as a result of the professional learning
opportunities in which you engaged?

When I had conversations with other middle school directors to ask how they teach
certain topics. I found that successful teachers often teach in contrasting ways. However,
the common theme is to always have a thought-out plan. By observing Mr. Powell, I have
collected an entire notebook full of engaging students in learning. He shouts as crazy
characters, creates analogies that perfectly relate to students' lives, he utilizes competition
positively, he teaches at a fast pace, etc.
6. What impact did the changes in instructional practice have on you as a
professional?

These changes got me excited to keep learning more ways to elevate student engagement
and be more critical of each second in a rehearsal. Each moment matters when it comes to
engagement. Seconds matter if I ever pause for too long while thinking, instead of
engaging the class in my thought process, or only engaging one student at a time, instead
of having the whole class actively participating. I learned there may be moments when I
say, do, or not do, something differently than I thought. It has encouraged me to record
myself to listen to how engaged my teaching truly is.

7. What impact did the changes in instructional practice have on your students’
learning?

Students went from slouched in their seats, dazing off into the distance, and talking out of
turn, to enjoying themselves performing a great product. When the students are engaged
and challenged, they enjoy it more and learn quickly.

8. How will you continue to develop in this area?

I will continue learning by researching, observing, having conversations, and going to FMEA.
The internet is filled with several resources including YouTube videos of good teachers
engaging their class. Observing and speaking to other experienced professionals is beneficial
because they have already tested and proved their methods. I will also continue to record
myself so I can listen and reflect on it later. One more thing that may be helpful is having
experienced teachers observe me and give me feedback.
Artifact 1: PGP CT
Artifact 2: Observation 1
Artifact 3: observation 2

Artifact 4: Observation 3
Artifact 5: