UPDATED ON: Dec.17, 2001CLICK on the blue underlined words below to go directly to the area you want to know more about...
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READINGS for 405
It is our expectation that you will continue to read professionally throughout the semester in order to enhance your teaching practice.
We will periodically give you some articles to read, and you may also go to websites such as www.findarticles.com to help you with your practice.
Evidence of your readings will show through your lessons and unit plans and in our many discussions: on campus, via email, during our "Mini-Module Meetings", in our Mentoring Sessions, as well as in the one required Annotated Bibliography Assignments and in your five website descriptions. For each website, write a two to three sentence descriptor including grade level, subject area, and type of information (ie. lesson plans). Please bring these six items to Spring Collection.
Some possible book titles are found below.
CLICK on each book for a link that will tell you more about the book and/or the author. We've tried to find books that are aligned to the 12 SFU PDP Goals.
Stuck?
Check our Annotated Bibliographies that we put together in 401/2 and posted in our room.
Ask those in our module who have explored books that may be of interest.
Check out our Module Library.
Talk with other teachers and with your SA. They may have books that could target a special interest area (ie. issues/concerns).
Go to Amazon.com or Chapters.ca. Type in a name or two and you're on your way!
Check the SFU bookstore.
A used bookstore may help too! Do you know any in the Fraser Valley that others in the module could utilize? Email others to let them know.
Unit Plans for 405
Unit plans must be complete for each subject before you can begin full immersion. You need to develop at least three detailed unit plans (at least 10 lessons per unit). Although you only need to develop three units in detail, you will be assuming your SA's full teaching load and you need to be prepared for that (other units for other classes/subjects).
Therefore, you need to discuss with your SA what you will be teaching in all subjects and gather the appropriate resources early on in 405.
Communication
During 405, please ensure that you are connected to e-mail. This can be at home or at school (many schools will allow you district access while you are a student teacher). If there is absolutely no way you can access e-mail, form a partnership with another student teacher to receive any information sent through e-mail. Remember, your SA is entitled to free internet access through SFU.
Connection via e-mail is an important way for you to feel connected with the other student teachers in the module.
We will send information, assignments and feedback through e-mail and/or on the website. We noticed that many of you checked your email and the website on a regular basis during 401/2. You told me how effective it was to stay in touch!
PLEASE check your email and the website on a regular basis (once a day?). We're going to work hard to get back to you as soon as we can. Please do the same for us. Thanks! :)
Mini-Module Meetings
Look closely at the NEW 405 Schedule. Note the Mini-Module meetings (A or B). Ray and Kate will tell you which group you are in (A or B).
You will be expected to attend each meeting.
It will follow an informal format. During the meetings, you will be asked to share your practice. During the sharing, we will focus on how you:
- make informed, carefully considered comments to our group discussions and critiques, and
- how these comments are especially insightful or probing...as well,
- how you make empowering or nurturing contributions to the friendly and efficient operation of the group, and...
- how you might model the attributes of a self-reflective thinker...
This format will begin to give you practice as you begin to share your ideas with others on staff.
DATES:
Mini-Module A: Feb. 7 and March 4. (Both in the afternoons only).
Mini-Module B: Feb. 8 and March 5. (Both in the afternoons only).
Keep an eye on your emails. They will inform you what evidence to bring with you to the meetings (ie. your portfolio or one of your video shoots or some Weekly Plans or a few reflections from your readings, etc.).
Mini-Module Meetings:
(Commencement times and locations will be decided by each group).
The first Mini-Module meeting (Feb. 7th or 8th), will consist of video sharing (see information below). Please have your video ready to share.
Subsequent Mini-Module meetings (March 4th or 5th), will focus on pertinent topics related to your practice.
Please be certain to leave detailed lesson plans when you are absent for the Inservice, Mentoring, or Mini-Module sessions.
This will be excellent practice for you when you need to leave a detailed dayplan and all the learning activities for a TOC!
VIDEO share
You're a Star!
There will be two video sharing session during 405 (second mini-module visit). It is expected that you will use video taping frequently as a self-evaluation tool.
Permission forms must be sent out immediately so that you will be able to tape during the phase-in period. You will share one short video segment during the first Mini-Module meeting (either Feb. 7th or 8th). During Mini-Module meetings, issues, concerns and insights will arise. They may form topics for future meetings, weekly reflections, and/or email conversations with us.
NOTE: You will make 2 videos each (one for Feb. 7th or 8th, and one for the Final Week). We will use both of your videos as observations.
Please come prepared to share a critical moment in your lesson (a five minute video clip). Often we learn the most by showing a portion of our videos that did not go as we anticipated,acknowledging that this can be a risk. Please have a focus for observation ready for your Mini-Module audience and come prepared with questions to stimulate discussion. We will give you a template that you can use to help the process. We ask that you also prepare a brief written reflection about your video in which you identify areas of strength and areas requiring further growth. Please include an action plan describing how you intend to address those areas requiring further growth. Please also include any suggestions arising from the group discussion. The video written reflection will be due at your next observation visit (the week of Feb. 11 - 14). Please read the PDP video guidelines on pages 24 and 25 in your PDP Handbook.
The Weekly Plan will allow you to chart and analyze your progress and growth in Education 405. You will be asked to reflect on the PDP goals. You will identify areas of strength and areas for further growth. This is a model for goal-setting that you will be able to use throughout your teaching career.
We may not see you as often as in Educ 401/2 and you will be doing much more teaching. These weekly plans will allow your SA, Kate and Ray (and you!) to see what your concerns are and your methods of dealing with them.
From these plans you will be able to set a focus for observations done by your SA and FA. Please share these plans with your SA and ask for feedback.
Process: You will fill out the first Weekly Plan on Monday, January 21st, 2002. On Friday, January 25th you will review the week and make plans for the week coming up. In the following weeks you will fill out the plan on Mondays and review them/write on Fridays.
Please send these forms to me via e-mail or FAX our office every Friday by 4:00 pm.
Submitting these Weekly Plans on time will be considered evidence of reliability (ie. Profile 6). A thorough reflection will show evidence of Profile 8.
Some questions are:
- What PDP goal(s) will you focus on this week?
- What specifically will you do in your practice to achieve that/these goal(s)?
- What classroom management strategy will you try this week?
- What assessment and evaluation strategies will you try this week? How will you include them in your planning?
- In what ways did you achieve your goals? How would you do things differently?
CLICK on the glowing lightbulb (left column) for a printable copy of the Weekly Plan.
SCHOOL Requirements
The first two weeks of 405 (January 7 - 18) will be spent on campus and in your school. This is a time for you to get to know your SA and the students. Do not begin full immersion yet. It is crucial that you do not jump in too soon, but rather use this time to understand the classroom and the students as fully as possible. Do some "kid watching".
Observe your SA carefully, as you will be required to understand his/her methods before you are able to implement your own. You may participate in some informal teaching experiences with students. This is not merely a time to sit at the back of the room, however. Use your observations of the class in your planning. Circulate and help students with seatwork and any other task your SA may give you.
The third week (Jan. 21 - 25) is when you could be able to "phase in" to teaching following the plan set out by you and your SA. You will slowly take over subjects so that you are teaching everything during full immersion. During "phase out" you will hand over to your SA the subjects you took over. Full immersion will last six or seven weeks. This will vary from person to person.
You must fill out the daybook according to requirements set by contract. Your daybook needs to be detailed enough for a TOC to follow. Your SA will need to see your plans each day.
The reporting/conferencing process will be one of your major responsibilities (this depends of course on any job action which may/may not take place). Although your SA will still be required to write report cards and lead the conferences, you will be responsible for most of the assessment and evaluation.
Keep your SA informed of student progress and concerns so that report card writing will not be difficult for the SA. Hand over all your evidence for learning as the term goes on. Please do not surprise your SA, parents, students, principals, and/or Kate and Ray by showing very little or no evidence for some students when it comes time to write the Report Cards and/or meet with parents.
Please follow the Ministry guidelines. For Elementary: Do not average marks. Do not use percentages from K-10, unless it is an official school policy. Use criteria. Use performance standards. Etc. See this link for more information.
The Deal for ELEMENTARY Teachers:
We ask that you write at least six report cards which may or may not be used by your SA. The reports should be on six students of differing abilities. Ask your SA what role you can play during conferences... Please include anecdotal comments on the report cards. While cut and paste on a computer is recommended for a generic "What we did this term", we ask that you consider each report card carefully.
How much could you show/say/give evidence of what the students are able to do; the areas in which students require further attention or development; and, ways to support students in their learning?
The Deal for SECONDARY Teachers:
We ask that you keep a complete record of all marks for all assignments and tests. You will give this record to your SA at a time which must be negotiated with your SA at the very beginning of 405. You will be required to choose appropriate computer comments for at least one class. For parent-teacher conferences, consider how you could show/say/give evidence of what the students are able to do; the areas in which students require further attention or development; and, ways to support students in their learning.
TOC Day
On March 11th, you will be part of a TOC day. This means you will be going into another beginning teacher's class for the day as a TOC. You will also be required to write a dayplan for the beginning teacher who will be coming into your class as a TOC. More details to follow.
Be prepared. This means that you are ready for your day and for each lesson, and you are not running to photocopy things or gather materials at the last minute. Be consistently punctual and reliable in your school. Detailed instructions and necessary materials for lessons that you would have taught should be available for the SA in your absence.
I can help you with this as well. I'll take a peek at your Dayplans as I come in to engage in a discussion with you about what's working for you and questions you still have.
On Campus time (January 7th - January 11th and January 15th ):You are required to attend to all classes/workshops at the UCFV campus during the brief time we are together.
Use after school and before school times to meet with your SAs/classes during these weeks on campus.
According to the PDP Handbook, page 21, you are required to notify your SA and FA of planned or unavoidable absences from school, preferably 24 hours in advance. When you are absent from class, you are expected to follow procedures used by regular teachers. For absences not due to illness that are longer than a single day, you must obtain prior approval from both your SA and FA. For more information on absences, please refer to the handbook.
During Week 6/7 a midterm three-way conference will be held with your FA and SA. The conference will be led by you and will include a written summary statement of your assessment of professional growth to that point in the semester and a written plan for your future professional development. To do this effectively, gather as much evidence as you can and write about these 3 areas (as discussed in the Module, see Profiles). Keep all 12 goals in mind as you write on the following: Along with this summary and plan, you will submit a portfolio of documents and artifacts that back up your judgments- examples from both the theoretical and practical work to that point in the semester. Both FA and SA will discuss your mid-term assessment with you and add their data and opinion to yours. Where perceptions differ, the conferees will apply diagnostic skills to learn how the discrepant perceptions have come about. An important goal in carrying out these evaluative procedures is to help you become more critically aware of your own performance. Additions/changes to your draft document will be made and signed by all three partners. During Week 12 a final three-way conference will be held with both your FA and your SA. Once again, the conference will be led by you and will include a written summary statement of your assessment of professional growth to that point in the semester and a written plan for your future professional development. To do this effectively, gather as much evidence as you can and write about these 3 areas (as discussed in the Module, see Profiles). Keep all 12 goals in mind as you write on the following:
- You as a Growing Professional (be specific)
- You and the Pupils (be specific)
- You and the Curriculum (be specific)
Along with this summary and plan, you will submit a portfolio of documents and artifacts that back up your judgments- examples from both the theoretical and practical work to that point in the semester. Both FA and SA will discuss your final assessment with you and add their data and opinion to yours. Where perceptions differ, the conferees will apply diagnostic skills to learn how the discrepant perceptions have come about. An important goal in carrying out these evaluative procedures is to help you become more critically aware of your own performance. Additions/changes to your draft document will be made and signed by all three partners.
- You as a Growing Professional (be specific)
- You and the Pupils (be specific)
- You and the Curriculum (be specific)
The Goals of the PDP (found in the PDP Handbook) represent the criteria upon which your work will be evaluated. These statements represent the kinds of characteristics that we in this faculty consider to be hallmarks of the professional educator. We do not expect that you will have mastered these goals at the end of your professional year. Competence is not something that appears in a flash, like a thunderbolt, upon the program's completion. Rather, it occurs in gathering power that evolves steadily, over a professional lifetime. That is why the goal statements are not phrased as final accomplishments - behaviors to be seen unequivocally in your performance. Instead, they are presented as professional pathways that allow for your growth to be assessed in relation to your progress on these pathways. What is considered "significant" growth in your professional development is, of course, determined by thoughtful and judicious evaluative procedures. The responsibility for assessment and evaluation is held by all three partners: beginning teacher, school associate, and faculty associate. Everyone in the triad partnership keeps data and contributes to the ongoing and final assessment of your work in Education 405. However, you, the beginning teacher, hold the primary responsibility for collecting and demonstrating evidence of your professional growth through the semester. It is expected that you will document both your growing understanding of educational theory and your growing competency as a practitioner.
Interruptions or Withdrawals in PDPPlease read pages 26 to 33 for the policy regarding interruptions or withdrawals during 405.
Click on the lightbulb to get a copy of a 405 CHECKLIST. You might find it useful. You might not. Please add new items to your checklist, as things may change...
