Amanda Carter has been in integral part of the Physical Education team at F.E.

Osborne Junior High

School in grades 7, 8, and 9 during her student internship. She has been involved in teaching Physical
Education and Health to students as well as assisting with many other tasks such as organizing gym strip
and equipment, supervising intramurals and helping with tournaments and home games.

Fostering Effective Relationships:

Amanda effectively builds positive and productive relationships with students, staff, parents and her
fellow student teachers. She worked closely with her partner teacher and her coaching partners and
willing shared ideas as well as invited new ideas. She has demonstrated empathy and genuine caring for
others as evident whenever a student was hurt or some kind of negative interaction happened between
students. Anytime a student has been injured in Physical Education Amanda made sure that appropriate
first aid was administered and that students were checked out. When there were disagreements
between students or tempers flared, Amanda did her best to mediate the situation and help students
resolve it so they could get back to activity. Amanda consistently acts with fairness, respect and
integrity. Whenever there was an issue with a student, Amanda took the student aside to have a one on
one conversation with them in order to determine the cause of the issue and a resolution that honoured
the student’s voice. Amanda worked intentionally during this internship to create strong and positive
relationships with her students. It was evident that she was successful in this work as I witnessed
students seek her out for advice or for help when they needed it. As an athlete herself, Amanda was an
excellent role model for students which also helped her to build relationships with the students.

During her internship, Amanda also took on a coaching role with the girls’ soccer team. She took a lead
role with the team designing and running practices, creating the starting line up for games, ensuring all
players had legal paperwork signed and submitted. She worked with her co-coaches to provide a safe
and fun learning environment for the girls.

Engaging in Career-Long Learning:

Amanda attended staff meetings, team meetings, and all of our Professional Development sessions. She
was an active participant in all of these activities and willingly shared her ideas. Amanda is open to
feedback and consistently collaborates with others to build personal and collective professional
capacities. She worked collaboratively with the other Phys. Ed. student teacher to plan interesting and
engaging activities for students such as the Hunger Games fitness unit, the wrestling unit and a Harry
Potter low organizational games unit. Amanda actively sought out feedback from her partner teacher
and from others working on the Phys. Ed. team in order to learn and to make adjustments based on
their ideas. During this internship Amanda learned about some of the other pieces that go along with
teaching such as how to communicate with parents, what to do when a student is injured or can’t open
their lock, and how to support team members when an emergency situation occurs.

Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge:

As a student teacher, Amanda has taken part in many learning opportunities around effective planning,
instruction and assessment practices to meet the learning needs of every student. Amanda prepared
long range plans, unit plans and individual lessons using outcomes from the Program of Studies to be
prepared for her teaching experience. Amanda demonstrated an innate understanding of the skills and
rules that accompany each sport or activity she was responsible for teaching. In her time here at F.E.
Osborne I have observed her use various instructional strategies, address learning outcomes from the
program of studies in her planning, consider student variables such as prior knowledge and learning, and
apply student assessment and evaluation practices that include formative and summative experiences.
During the basketball unit Amanda begun by teaching the basic skills. For each skill there was a different
small game that would allow the students to practice the skill in a game like situation. For example, after
teaching passing students played Ultimate basketball, a game of basketball but students were not
allowed to dribble at all. This allowed them to focus on the skill they had learned and how it was used in
a basketball game. After teaching the skills, Amanda assessed students on a 1-4 scale on their ability to
not only execute the skill but to also find ways to incorporate the skill into a game situation in
appropriate and also in creative ways. When students had learned and practiced the skills she allowed
them to practice by playing basketball games. Amanda used various strategies to create teams to allow
each student an opportunity to play at a level that supported their personal development.

Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments:

In all the teaching and coaching opportunities that Amanda took part in she consistently established an
inclusive environment where diversity was embraced and every student was welcomed, cared for,
respected and safe. Amanda acknowledged that working in an environment where there are special
classes such as PLP and mental health was new for her. She enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to
modify programming to meet the needs of these often complex learners. Amanda was always proactive
in learning about the diverse needs of her students and ensuring she provided multiple entry points for
each learner to engage in the task. She created the conditions for students to be successful regardless of
their level. Amanda affectively responded to the emotional and mental health needs of all the students
she encountered and when she was unsure of the needs of a student she would ask.

Adhering to Legal Frameworks and Policies:

Amanda has demonstrated an understanding of the legal frameworks and policies that provide the
foundation for the Alberta Education system. She clearly maintained a professional relationship with
her colleagues and when a problem arose that she wasn’t sure how to deal with she asked. Through her
actions at F.E. Osborne School, Amanda has acted in accordance with the School Act. She has provided
instruction competently to her students, taught the approved program of studies, encouraged and
fostered learning in students, regularly evaluated students, and maintained order and discipline in her
classes and between students.

I have found Amanda to have all the necessary skills and attributes to be an excellent teacher. In her
time at F.E. Osborne School she has had a positive impact on her colleagues, students and parents. She
is a willing participant in all school activities and finds ways to make Physical Education engaging and
challenging for her students. Amanda is open to learning new things but is also confident in her ability to
teach the program of studies. I have no doubt that Amanda will be an excellent addition to the teaching
profession.

Lesley Scullion