PPEGoal1:Tolearnsustainableapproachestolesson&unitplanning

Ihaveexperimentedwithdifferentmethodsofplanninginordertohaveitflowfromweektoweek
anddaytoday.Inweek10and11ofthetermIhadaweekplanfolderwhichincludedallofthe
learningareasIwasplanningandteachingforthatweek.IfoundthismuchlesscomplicatedasI
onlyhadtoopenonedocumentinthemorningasopposedtohavingtoopenanewoneeachtime
Ihadanewlessontoteach.

Ifoundithelpful(andsafe)tohaveaprintedcopyofmyplanning.Ifounditalittlerestrictingdoing
anonlinepracticumfolderasIhadtostoreplanningintwoplacesandIsometimesgotcaught
betweentwodifferentplacestorecordmyreflectionsetc.Inmyownclass,IthinkIwouldtend
towardsprintingitallandthenwritinganecdotalnotesinhandthiswasIwouldkeepitmore
straighttothepointalso.Iwouldkeepallofmyplanswithmastercopiesofmyresourcesneeded
foreachlessoninaringbinderfile,sectionedintoweeksforeachterm.Iwouldthenfileitawayat
theendoftheterm.

Iheldbackfromprintingmylessonplanstoooftenjusttomakeiteasyforfilingandsortingmy
onlinepracticumfolder,butasIpulleverythingtogetherIhavefoundittobequitemessyandbitsy
becausesomethingsareonthecomputerandsomeareinhardcopywhichtendstofrustrateme
alittle(Ilikethingsstreamlinedandorganised)

Inregardstomysustainableapproachestoplanning,Ihavebecomemoreconfidentinplanning
withmoreofaskeletonoutlineratherthantoomuchdetail.InitiallyIwasspendinglongerplanning
thantheactuallessonwouldtaketoteach(whichisalwaysconcerning,butnormalforarookieI
amsure).NowIcanproudlysaythatinmynextpracticum,thiswillnotneedtobeagoalneeding
work.Itwillsimplybeamatterofrefiningandpolishingthisskill,andcontinuingtoputintopractice
whatIhavelearntthistimearound.

Insummary,Ihavefoundagreatlayoutforaweeklyanddailyplannerthatreallyworksformeand
IhavesuccessfullyachievedmygoaltocutdownthetimeIspendplanningtoconservemyenergy
fortheotherdutiesrequiredofateacher.
PPEGoal2:Tofurtherdevelopmymultitaskingskillsinregardstoclassroommanagement
scanningtheclassroom.

Ihavecomealongwaywiththis,howeverIwouldstillsuggestitisaworkinprogress.

AsIamverytaskfocusedIfindithardtoscanaroundtheroomwhenworkingwithagroupof
studentsoroneonone.Itendtogetconsumedbythetaskathand.DuringthispracticumIbecame
moreawareoftheworkingvolumeoftheclass,andwouldseektonoticethiswhenscanning.Iam
learningthedifferencebetweenontasknoiseandofftasknoise.IfindthatifIamabletoidentify
therootoftheofftasknoisethenthiscanhelptoeliminatethenoise.

Thenextlearningstepformeinthisareaistonoticethebodylanguageofstudentswhoarestuck
bydoingascanoftheroom.Itiseasytoconcentrateontheonesdistractingotherswhen
scanning,butthisalsoneedstoservicethosewhoarestrugglingwiththetasksoIcanbestmeet
theirneeds.


Allinall,IfeelthisisstillanareaIcandevelopbuthavemadegreatprogressinthispracticum.
PPEGoal3:Exploreawiderrangeofdiagnosticandsummativeassessmenttoolsacrossthe
curriculum.

Lisahadareallywellorganisedsystemforfilingherassessmentswhichsheallowedmetohavea
goodlookthrough.Thispracticumlentitselfwelltothisgoalbeingthebeginningoftheyear.I
arrivedintheweektheywerecompletingtheirPATtests.Ialsohadtheopportunitytomarkand
analyseamathspretest,planandteachinresponsetotheresults,andthenIconductedand
markedtheposttest.ThiswasagreatexperienceasIgotatasteforanentireunitofworkfrom
starttofinish.

AlthoughIdidntgetachancetoactuallyadministeralloftheseassessmentsmyself,orevensee
manyoftheminaction,ithasbeenbeneficialtoseeLisasrecordingofthemandhearher
justificationforeachassessmentspurpose.IhaverecordedpicturesItookfromLisas
assessmentsfolderunderTask6.

Tostrengthentheresultsofthisgoal,Iwouldliketocommittocontinuingwiththisgoalinpracticum
5whereImightbeabletoadministerafewmorediagnosticorsummativeassessmentsmyself
sinceIhavegainedabetterunderstandingofthemthistimearound.

Theoutworkingofmypassionatecreed

Mypassionatecreediscentraltodefiningwhatdrivesmeasaneducator.ThefollowingquotefromPalmer
summarisesthereasonIbelievethedevelopofmypassionatecreedisofhighimportance,andwhyitmust
reflectmeasaneducatorinsteadofbeingfilledwithwordsthatwillimpressanemployer:Knowing
myself
is
ascrucialasknowingmystudentsandmysubject...whenIdonotknow
myself
,Icannotknowwhomy
studentsare(Palmer,1998.P.1).

Mypassionatecreedisasfollows(asof14/04/16butissubjecttofurtherdevelopment):

Practicingtransformationalleadershipwheregenuinerelationshipsarethefoundation.Thisisachieved
throughloveandacceptanceforeachindividualasIserveandcareforthecommunityIlead.

**Iamcurrentlyplayingaroundwithwordstohelpmerefineitbetter.Iamlookingatthewordsrecordedbelow
astheymightbetterdefinewhoIreallyamasapractitioner:

Aresponsiveandreflectiveeducatorwhosepracticeisunderpinnedbytheimportanceofestablishinggenuine
relationshipswiththoseIlead.

Asyouwillnoticeinalotofmyreflections,relationshipisthekeycomponentofmypassionatecreedand
underpinsallthatIdo.Ibelievethatthestudents
dontcarewhatIknowuntiltheyknowthatIcare.
Thishas
showntobetrueinmytimeatChapmanCollege.TherehavebeenafewstudentsthatIidentifiedearlyonas
needingstabilityandsecurityinthelearningspace.Isoughttomakeextraefforttobuildgenuinerelationships
withtheseyoungpeopleinordertoservicetheirlearningbetter.

Itismyintentionfortheretobenoinvisiblechildreninmyclass,wherethereissomeonethatgetsforgottenor
lesstimewithme.Isharedinacriticalincidentthattherewasastudentintheclasswhocouldeasilyhave
beenoneofthese,butearlyoninmypracticumIhadanopportunitytoconnectwithhim.Althoughthiswas
hardforbothhimandI,thiswassomethingIcouldnotpassbybecauseofwhatIbelieverelationshipswith
studentandteachershouldbe.

AsIapproachedthefinaldaysofmypracticum,IrealisedthatIhadntgivenmucheffortintotheareaofwritten
feedbacktothestudents.Thisreallyconcernedmeasthis,tome,ispartofbuildingtrustandrelationshipwith
thestudents.Onmysecondtolastday,Ibroughthomeamathssummativeassessmenttomarkanddecided
towritesomefeedbacktogowiththetestresultsforeachofthestudentsIwasteachinginmaths.Ihave
includedasampleofthisfeedbackinmyhardcopyfolder.IamsogladIhadtheopportunitytodothis.Onmy
nextpracticum,Iwouldliketoputmorefocusintothisarea.