HOW I MEET THE KSA'S
PLANNING FOR LEARNING
Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently that they understand:
a. contextual variables affect teaching and learning.
c. the purposes of the Guide to Education and programs of study germane to the specialization or subject disciplines they are prepared to teach.
d. the subject disciplines they teach.
f. the purposes of short, medium and long term range planning.
Below is a link to my cross curricular unit plan for grade 2 science (liquids) and math. Each lesson in this unit plan was created after thorough examination of the Alberta Program of Study.
Throughout this unit I incorporate at least one “Educated Albertan” outcome in each unit. Students will become globally aware of water, becoming entrepreneurial. They will utilize communication skills, becoming engaged. They will also think critically, becoming more ethical.
In each lesson within this unit at least one Kagan Strategy or Instructional Intelligence are used. These include techniques that allow me to check for understanding, such as Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down with students eyes closed. I also include strategies that allow students to think in groups, like mind mapping. These strategies are important to include because they promote cooperation and engagement.
Each one of the Multiple Intelligences are included in some way throughout this unit. For example, interpersonal inclined students will excel when the students work in groups and bodily-kinesthetic inclined students will excel when they build their own water cycles using pictures. Covering all of these intelligences is incredibly important throughout the unit so each student can understand the material, no matter how they learn.
Bloom’s Questions are included in this unit with at least one per lesson. An example of this question is, recall the water cycle and recreate it. These questions are integral since they allow you to focus the students' learning and deepen thinking.
FACILITATING LEARNING
Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently that they understand:
e. all students can learn, albeit at different rates and in different ways.
i. there are many approaches to teaching and learning.
j. the functions of traditional and electronic teaching/learning technologies.
k. the purpose of student assessment.
m. student learning is enhanced through the use of home and community resources.
In my Kindergarten practicum I utilized tin foil boats to meet the outcome of exploring length, weight, and volume. I began our exploration with examples of some boats that I handmade that varied in length, weight, and height. I explained to the students that they could create their boat in any way that they wished, the only criteria they had to meet was that there boat had to be able to float in the water table with five marbles in it. The students understood the instructions clearly and went on to explore their given materials (the tinfoil and the marbles) and each create a unique boat that met the criteria. Through this experience the students learned about length, weight, and volume while they experimented with the creation and testing of their boats. This activity was successful for because students were engaged in the activity, due to its rich nature, and because the students understood the instructions and the criteria that they had to meet. Below is the link to a photo of our boat exploration.
During my grade 6 practicum I was teaching a lesson on the five different types of mathematical angles. I used a variety of educational techniques in this lesson. I began the lesson on the smart board, having the students take turns coming up to the board and writing down their answers.
Later in the lesson I encouraged the students to discuss where they see angles in everyday life. This brought up some very interesting comments and led to an amazing class discussion.
To finish of the lesson, the students completed a set of questions on the smart board in their math journals. I gave them specific instructions to both write down the question and the answer that they came up with. I encouraged the students to ask specific questions throughout the assignment to make sure they received the necessary instruction exactly when they needed it.
ASSESSING LEARNING
Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently that they understand:
k. the purposes of student assessment and how to assess the range of learning objectives by selecting and developing a variety of techniques and instruments.
Below is an assessment I used to check for the students understanding of angles. Before this we had three lessons which included the 5 different types of angles, how to measure angles using a protractor, and angles inside of shapes.
This assessment was to assure that the students understood basic concepts of angles before we continued on in the unit. However, when I went over these worksheets, the students marks did not reflect great understanding in angles. I was quite surprised that the students didn't get higher marks. During our lessons, the students seemed confident. I decided to give the students back their worksheets and correct the errors that they made. I also had them write on a sticky note something they learned after making these corrections to improve the chances that they would learn from the mistakes they made to develop a growth mindset. The students immediately realized the mistakes that they made and fixed them. Having the students reflect on the mistakes that they made on their assessment allowed them to grow as learners.
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Student Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently that they understand:
g. students’ need for physical, social, cultural and psychological security.
h. the importance of respecting students’ human dignity.
During our unit on angles at my time at the Medicine Hat Christian School I provided the students with numeracy centers. These centers were part of our classroom routine during math class. We begin each math class with about 10 minutes of teacher led instruction. The students then partner up and move on to their math centers for about 20 minutes. We then end with individual math time where the students complete an assignment based on the lesson from today.
To successfully get through our math classes, the students have had to master this routine. By the third class the students were flowing from lesson to center time smoothly.
The students also understand that they have to be respectful to one another both during lesson time and during center time. This means raising your hand instead of blurting out as well as collaborating with your partner during center time. After the ground rules were set for the students they seemed to understand how they were expected to act if they wanted to have center time incorporated into math class (which they all really enjoy).
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently that they understand:
b. the structure of the Alberta education system.
l. the importance of engaging parents, purposefully and meaningful, in all aspects of teaching and learning.
n. the importance of contributing, independently and collegially, to the quality of their school.
o. the importance of career-long learning.
p. the importance of guiding their actions with a personal, overall visions of the purpose of teaching.
During my Kindergarten practicum I had difficulty incorporating brainstorming techniques that promoted 100% engagement. I tended to use a group discussion more often than not. My practicum teacher, Laura Gale, suggested that I begin to try new discussion/brainstorming techniques. This caused me to reflect on how often I was using group discussions and how effect they were for the students' learning. I ended up including sharing strategies like think-pair-share and elbow partners into my teaching. The result was more engaged students and more opportunities for learning! This made me realize how important it is to build strong professional relationships and to reflect on your teaching practice.
The lesson plan linked below was planned as part of the local government unit in grade 6. It covers a general outcome from the Social Studies section part of the Alberta Program of Studies as well as strategies, such as Kagan, that are proven to be effective in the classroom. Before I taught this lesson to my practicum class, I presented it to my mentor teacher. She gave me feedback on how I could increase student engagement as well as challenged me with incorporating Christian concepts into it (seeing as my practicum was at a Christian School). I took her advice and we ended up collaborating to create this lesson as an end product.