Summative Evaluation of

Practicum
Master of Teaching
Teacher Candidate: Ajay Da Costa
Year: 2 Practicum Session: 2
Dates: February 16, 2016 to March 11, 2016

Associate Teacher: Dargine Rajeswaran

Grade level and/or subjects: English
School: C. W. Jefferys C.I.
Board: TDSB

ASSESSMENT, PLANNING AND INSTRUCTION

Mr. Da Costa worked diligently while at C.W. Jefferys C.I. to teach two inclusive and Africentric ENG1D classes
and to provide support to various students throughout the school during his SST period which was created as
a support for our inclusive classes in grades 9 and 10.
Mr. Da Costa is a conscientious and determined teacher who understands the current research in education.
Throughout his practicum, Mr. Da Costa tried to infuse theory with praxis and reflected on the difficulties of doing
so - though he continued to push for this possibility. For example, he understood that while students may not feel
confident with reviewing one another's work, the research suggests that students can gain much more from their
peers. So, he implemented a regular practice of peer review and used the reviews to provide feedback. By the
end of Mr. Da Costa's placement, it was obvious that students had developed a better understanding of its
importance and had effectively used this strategy to support their own development.
Mr. Da Costa made it a point to review the curriculum, in order to develop effective lessons which were both
relevant to and engaging for students. He included a gradual release of responsibility and ensured that he met
the diverse learning styles of the students in the classes by presenting information through visual forms, in
Socratic discussions, and through discovery-focused learning, in groups. Mr. Da Costa also made use of various
pairings in order to advance the learning potential of activities - students worked independently, in pairs, and in
groups. At times, they also worked as a whole class to meet the needs of the assessment, through roundtable
discussions.
Through his desire to advance students' current skill level and his flexibility to adapt his lessons each day, Mr.
Da Costa was able to build on his previous day's lesson very effectively. Mr. Da Costa's lessons responded to
the previous day's strengths and challenges. He made an effort to scaffold each concept very clearly and
provided transparent marking schemes/rubrics. He used the same rubrics in his formative assessment so that
students were well prepared for the assessment they were about to receive. Mr. Da Costa had no interest in
surprising the students - he was clear in the purpose of his lesson each day and the real-life connections so that
students could appreciate the importance of the skills they were being asked to develop. He was sure to stress
important ideas and effectively tracked student progress.
With a number of students with IEPs in the classroom, Mr. Da Costa offered each student one-on-one support

as he circulated the classroom. He also offered this support outside of class time, which many students took
advantage of. His encouragement went a long way with these students.
Mr. Da Costa effectively collaborated with me to develop lesson plans that would meet the course expectations
while meeting students where they are. He was also able to use pre-existing assignments and make them his
own so that they felt more authentic to his teaching style, while still meeting the same curricular expectations.
Mr. Da Costa also initiated an assignment which allowed students to consider advertisements they see each
day, through higher level analysis. The principal who sat in on this lesson was impressed at the depth of analysis
that Mr. Da Costa was engaging the students in.
Through Excel, Mr. Da Costa created his own assessment tool which allowed students to receive effective
feedback and an understanding of the level that they were in. Mr. Da Costa's efficiency in Excel allowed him to
reduce the time required to mark as many assignments as he did.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Mr. Da Costa got involved in the class, right from his days of observation. He effectively learned students' names
within his first couple of days and conversed easily with them in order to begin to develop positive relationships.
Mr. Da Costa's confidence is something that struck quite a few students - he taught in the classroom with ease.
He maintained pre-existing classroom routines and expectations.
At the beginning of Mr. Da Costas practicum, it became clear that a few students would benefit from a change in
the seating plan. Even though I offered to make the change, Mr. Da Costa insisted that he take on that
responsibility and the responses that came with it. Mr. Da Costas choice to take ownership of the classroom in
this way allowed him to gain the respect of the class.
He also used a variety of techniques to manage inappropriate behaviour - waiting patiently for the class to settle
down, reminding students of time restraints when they lost focus on their work, speaking to students one-on-one
etc. He treated each student with respect and always responded to students who needed behavioural reminders
with care - rather than singling them out or asserting his power in the room.
His academic support outside of the classroom allowed students to feel as though they were cared about and
this limited many behavioural responses that might be prevalent elsewhere. As a result of these combined
efforts, Mr. Da Costa did not experience significant challenges with behaviour.

UNDERSTANDING CURRICULUM AND THE LEARNER

Mr. Da Costa got involved in the class, right from his days of observation. He effectively learned students' names
within his first couple of days and conversed easily with them in order to begin to develop positive relationships.
Mr. Da Costa's confidence is something that struck quite a few students - he taught in the classroom with ease.
He maintained pre-existing classroom routines and expectations.
At the beginning of Mr. Da Costas practicum, it became clear that a few students would benefit from a change in
the seating plan. Even though I offered to make the change, Mr. Da Costa insisted that he take on that
responsibility and the responses that came with it. Mr. Da Costas choice to take ownership of the classroom in
this way allowed him to gain the respect of the class.
He also used a variety of techniques to manage inappropriate behaviour - waiting patiently for the class to settle
down, reminding students of time restraints when they lost focus on their work, speaking to students one-on-one
etc. He treated each student with respect and always responded to students who needed behavioural reminders
with care - rather than singling them out or asserting his power in the room.

DIVERSITY AND EQUITY

Because of his understanding of the need for respect for the students and the classroom, Mr. Da Costa treated
all students with dignity and provided a reliable, caring patience showing every student that he knew they

could be successful. He ensured that students were fine academically by circulating the room as they were
working to check in on their progress and providing multiple opportunities to show evidence of learning while
providing lots of additional support.
But, Mr. Da Costa also ventured out to bring a sense of critical consciousness into the classroom, under the
expectations of CRRP and the Africentric curriculum. As we worked through our unit, Mr. Da Costa pointed out
power dynamics and biases found in the various materials that we viewed and read. He was sure to encourage
students to think beyond the surface and beyond what the media tells us. Mr. Da Costa created a critical
analysis assignment where students analysed advertisements and showed students how privilege and
discrimination subtly contributed to the ideals of beauty that we have subscribed to, as a society. He also
prepared students for and guided a very important roundtable discussion which was focused on the way that the
media has influenced the way we feel about specific groups of people allowing students to not only critically
analyse the world that they live in but to use their own experiences in an academic setting as valuable
knowledge. Students were thoroughly engaged in both of these tasks and they were even frustrated that the
roundtable had to end. With Mr. Da Costas ability to bring these important issues to the forefront, students were
able to benefit greatly.

PROFESSIONALISM
Through his professionalism, Mr. Da Costa built and maintained relationships with students, teachers,
caretakers, office staff, counsellors, and even the administrators. Our principal even took the time to observe
one of Mr. Da Costas lessons because of Mr. Da Costas ability to develop a good working relationship with him.
He interacted with all students and staff members in a positive manner regardless of the situation.
Mr. Da Costa was also early each day, and stayed back after school. On the occasions where Mr. Da Costa
became ill, he provided clear lessons and materials so that the students could continue to benefit and move
through the unit in his absence.
It is Mr. Da Costas flexibility that really stood out throughout his practicum. He always comfortably adjusted his
plans to fit the students needs, to accommodate for last minute assemblies and events, and to allow for
collaboration between Mr. Da Costa and myself. Through reflection, Mr. Da Costa often changed lesson plans to
allow for more purposeful and meaningful lessons. He also questioned practices very effectively with an
openness that encouraged rich discussion among the department. Through these questions, we collaborated to
develop consistent marking efforts, interesting evaluative tasks, and meaningful lessons.
As part of a TDSB initiative, a seconded teacher researches activities in my grade 9 academic English
classroom to further understand how students are engaging with materials presented in the classroom. While
this is not an evaluative project which considers the teacher, it is difficult to run classrooms with experienced
adults in the room. Mr. Da Costa worked well with the teacher-researcher and even invited feedback from him.
What was striking about Mr. Da Costa was his expressed interest in continuing to become stronger in his
understanding that no teacher is ever perfect and it is a craft that we will continue to work on for the rest of our
careers. This sort of outlook ensures that he will continue to be open to new initiatives and to try various things in
his classroom.

INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL / COMMUNITY LIFE

From the very first day of Mr. Da Costas observation, he expressed interest in participating in extra-curricular
activities. Every day, in the mornings, at lunch, and after school sometimes well past an hour after classes
were done for the day, Mr. Da Costa provided additional academic support to students in his classes as well as
students who were not in our classes. While most students sought out support for work from his class, students
also came to him for support with subjects like Science and Math. Mr. Da Costa took the time to get to know
students in various ways to build more personal relationships with students which was important for building
trust in the classroom.
Mr. Da Costa also participated in lunch time social events with staff members. He collaborated with the Special
Education ACL, Guidance ACL, and Student Success ACL to discuss students progress in his classes. Mr. Da
Costa took the time to look through OSRs to gain a wider understanding of students academic experiences, in
preparation for supporting students better in the classroom.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It has been a great experience to have Mr. Da Costa in our classroom. I have learned quite a bit from his own
questioning as he reflects on what he experiences in the classroom. Students have acknowledged that they see
improvement in their own writing skills because of Mr. Da Costa's work on paragraph writing. His confidence and
interest in supporting students' learning has allowed students to make great strides in their courses. Mr. Da
Costa would be a wonderful addition to any school - his patience, willingness to do additional work to ensure that
students learn, ability to maintain positive relationships with students, and his understanding of the balance
between challenging students and meeting students where they are are just a few of the positive traits that he
brings to the classroom. It is this sort of enthusiasm that benefits our students the most. I welcome Mr. Da Costa
to this exciting profession!

Overall appraisal:

Pass

Fail