Anchor Charts

I have found anchor charts to be best used when teaching the foundational concepts of the curriculum. Teaching definitions (mathematical or literary) work especially well for anchor charts, as well as describing any process (a mathematical algorithm, or the writing process). I have also used anchor charts to convey success criteria and learning goals, to make clear the e pectations I place upon my students. It also helps with unnecessary !uestioning, as I tell students, "#efore you ask a me !uestion, be sure to look for the answer in one of the anchor charts first,$ which supports students% independent learning. The charts are made with the help of the students& I set up a general outline, and ask the students from the previous lesson%s material to help me fill in the anchor chart. 'hen a new concept is added, all previously written concepts must be reviewed first. This promoted anchoring knowledge of the most foundational concepts, while building elaborate concepts upon the stable foundation. This artifact addresses the (tandard of )rofessional )ractice. #y using this artifact I learned that it is most effectively used to review at the beginning of every lesson& first the learning goals*success criteria, and then the concepts which have been developed, and that students learn e ceptionally well when the material is continually reviewed throughout a unit. This will support by continued professional growth by recogni+ing how students learn,which strategies best support learning-

.ne/on/.ne Improvement (ession

After reviewing completed student work, I identify which students are struggling to demonstrate a competent performance or ability in a certain area. 0uring class seat work, I call upon these students individually, and I review the concepts and reteach the material to them, tailoring my e planation of the material to their specific needs. 'hen the student can demonstrate an accurate knowledge of what we have reviewed in our session, and is able to answer any !uestions I may have about their understanding, they return to their seat to continue working. This strategy was implemented to improve student understanding, while most effectively utili+ing time. If the student cannot grasp the concept within ten minutes, they should stay after school or meet at lunch for another session, as to not detract from the seat work they would be otherwise working on. This artifact addresses the Commitment to (tudents and (tudent 1earning (tandard of )ractice. I have learned that this method works, and works well with students who simply become easily distracted in a broader setting. This strategy helps identify which students can be very !uick learners (by simply removing distractions), and which students may have a learning disability, or need an alternative method of instruction. In supporting my continued professional growth, this strategy will help enlighten me to which concepts students struggle most with, and in learning these, I will be able to better accommodate student needs into my every day instruction and lesson planning.

2athletics
In the second year of my university program, I had the incredible e perience of organi+ing and implementing a "mathletics$ program at (t. Thomas of 3illanova Catholic (econdary (chool. This program was aimed to prepare high achieving math students for the 4niversity of 'aterloo%s )utnam math competition. In addition, students interested in math, yet not writing the competition, could take part in the activities and sessions as well. The students, on their lunch time, would meet in a classroom, and we would take part in small competitions, completing past )utnam tests both with my guidance and without. As well, the students who attended these sessions regularly achieved higher scores on the )utnam competition than those who did not. (tudents who attended these sessions were awarded a certificate of participation and a pi++a party. This artifact addresses the 1eadership in 1earning Communities (tandard of )ractice. 5rom the 2athletics Club, I have learned that a competitive, encouraging environment can motivate students to become e cited and interested in mathematics. Also, the students each obtained a mathletics shirt, and were able to identify themselves as their own group within the school community, giving some students a place to belong. #efore this group, some may have not fit in with any groups or teams within the school. This learning will support my ongoing professional growth in that I have developed skills to organi+e and implement an e tracurricular program, which is encouraging, supportive, and results in improved academic performance. This e perience has shown me that creating a competitive atmosphere in the math classroom can motivate students to achieve their best, turning math students into "mathletes$.

(martboard Technology
5or my teaching practicum in 2ay 6789, each and every one of my math lessons had to be implemented using the (martboard. At first, I was overwhelmed and an ious about learning this technology, but now, I truly believe it belongs in every classroom. 'ith this technology, I was able to easily design and implement interactive lessons, which primed student interest. The mathematical tools available, such as protractors and rulers, as well as graphing tools, make the (martboard a valuable asset to any math class. I would design my lessons at home or in the staff room using the (mart :otebook software, and upload my lessons onto the (martboard. The (martboard was used because it facilitated active learning and student involvement in my lessons. This artifact addresses the )rofessional ;nowledge (tandard of Teaching. I have learned not only how to use the (martboard, but I have learned how to use the (martboard to teach effectively. I have learned to use the (martboard to promote an atmosphere where the students not only participate in the lesson, but want to participate. I think that learning how to teach with the (martboard has opened up a world of possibilities with respect to teaching and active learning, and that this learning will support my continued professional growth in that I will always be thinking, "<ow can I make this lesson more interactive<ow can I engage my students- <ow can students teach themselves using this technology-$.

2etacognition
as #ehavioural 2anagement (trategy
In all of my placements, I have found that students who are having a bad day, acting particularly emotional and reactive, or acting in a manner which is disruptive to the class, may need some time to think about why they are feeling or acting the way they are. Instead of correcting and reacting to an unwanted behaviour, which may perpetuate and lead to more occurrences of these behaviours, it can be beneficial to the student and to the functioning of the classroom, to provide the student with methods of self/evaluating their own thoughts and feelings. This metacognition, thinking about what they are thinking, can take the form of a verbal cue ("=im, why do you feel the need to constantly click your pen-$), or a short !uestionnaire. 5inding the motivation towards certain behaviours can lead to progress on how to modify these behaviours into something more productive and less distracting (If =im clicks his pen because he feels an ious while learning, we should try to create a more comfortable atmosphere for him, and give him a stress ball he can !uietly s!uee+e during the lesson). Conversely, if the teacher were to simply ask "(top clicking your pen, =im,$ his an iety would never be improved or made less distracting. This artifact addresses the Commitment to (tudents and (tudent 1earning standard of practice. 'ith respect to my continued professional growth, this artifact will help me and the student understand the motivation behind his or her own behaviour, and help them to find a solution in a more productive way. This practice will constantly help make me aware of students% needs and promote a caring environment which reduces distractions and undesired behaviours, an environment more conducive to active learning.

Chain >ame
I used the chain game during my second practicum in 2ay 6788. The chain game is a series of cards, each card having a !uestion and an answer on it. <owever, the answer on your card is the answer to the !uestion on somebody else%s card. (o the teacher tells a student to read his*her !uestion, any person in the class who thinks they have the answer reads it outloud. Then, that same student, once the answer is confirmed to be true, by the teacher or class consensus, reads his*her !uestion and the chain continues. In this specific practicum, I made the !uestions simple algebraic e pressions, and the answers the solutions to the e pressions. This artifact supports the )rofessional )ractice standard of teaching and my continued professional growth because it serves as a fun, interactive formative assessment,it easily reveals which students struggle with certain !uestions and can be a tool to help structure remaining lessons, focusing on areas of improvement. This tool can be utili+ed with any sub?ect area@ math problems, science trivia, literary trivia, etc, giving the teacher a view into the window of a student%s understanding.

0esk <elper
In my 2ay 6788 practicum, I developed a desk helper for the students in my grade A math class. This desk helper is a chart that can either be taped to the top of a student%s desk or on the cover of a notebook. 5or e ample, the chart I made for my class gave a list of common words found in math word problems, and then listed their meaning as mathematical symbols. This desk helper provides a !uick and convenient way for a student to get help,resulting in less dependence on the teacher and producing more independent learning behaviours in the student. As well, since every student will have one, there will be no singling out of an individual student who needs the e tra help. This artifact connects to the Commitment to (tudent 1earning standard of practice. It can be a method of scaffolding, giving students a resource to independently complete work and solve problems, without telling them e plicitly how to complete each !uestion. This artifact helps the teacher distribute an e!ual amount of help across the entire class, resulting in more time to spend with the students who need more in depth help understanding foundational concepts, rather than those who simply do not know how to translate a word to a symbol.

Think*)air*(hare
I utili+ed a think*pair*share activity during my 2ay 6788 and 2ay 6789 placements. (tudents think about how to solve a presented problem, get into groups of 6/9, and share their findings or results with the class. 2y most recent think*pair*share activity was in grade B applied math. (tudents had to analy+e a distance/time graph to create a story that fits the actions of the sub?ect represented in the graph. The pairs of students then shared this story while ?ustifying their reasons for certain details, e plaining to the class which details connect to which part of the graph. This activity can be used across all sub?ect areas, with any curricula. This artifact supports the )rofessional )ractice standard of practice. 'ith respect to my continued professional growth, this artifact provides a great formative assessment@ it looks into a student%s ability to convey information they recently learned themselves, a great look into how well they initially understand a concept and whether more foundational lessons need to follow, or lessons which build on the learned concepts. The think*pair*share also allows students to collaborate their ideas, synthesi+ing individual%s ideas and findings, negotiating which ones to share with the class.

C it Cards
C its cards are small cue cards that a student must complete before the end of class and hand in to the teacher as the leave. The e it card provides a method of helping students pay attention in class (knowing they will have to answer a !uestion at the end), and is a great method of formative assessment. (tudents will also be motivated to complete the e it card (they get to leave classD). An e it card, from my e perience, works as a very useful tool for these reasons. Their versatility across sub?ect areas make them a feasible formative assessment tool for any curriculum. This artifact supports the Commitment to (tudent%s 1earning standard of practice, as it is an appropriate tool for determining which students are at risk, and also for giving students feedback (written on the back of the e it card) to be returned to the student. The student can then read the feedback, instantly seeing what they completed well, and which areas need more attention.

Eeview #oards
Eeview boards are groups of 9/F students that review other student%s initial plans or outlines for a certain pro?ect or assignment. Cach review board has a goal or purpose in mind. The students on the board comment on ways that the work they are reviewing can be improved with their goal in mind. 5or e ample, for a creative writing piece, there can be a >rammar and (entence (tructure board, a )lot 0evelopment board, a Character 0evelopment board, and a Creative 0evelopment board. The students on these boards review the work before them, making suggestions to the individual to how better their work in the board%s particular area. This artifact supports the 1eadership in 1earning Communities standard of practice. Creating a safe environment where students can collaborate and learn to improve their work. .rgani+ing students into review boards creates these individual learning communities in which students can work together to give feedback to be used constructively, and in turn, begin to think about their own work in the same way they support the growth of others%.

Assessment G Cvaluation 'orkshop

In 5ebruary 678H, I attended a workshop on Assessment and Cvaluation at the 4niversity of 'indsor. It helped elucidate the difference between assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning, and evaluation. As well, the workshop e plained the 2inistry of Cducation%s standards regarding evaluation and the 5.(.C. Its focus was to impact student learning through differentiated forms of assessment, planning our teaching programs with diagnostic, formative and summative assessments. It also e plained the H T.A.C.;. Achievement chart categories, which breaks down learning into H categories of Thinking, Application, Communication, and ;nowledge and 4nderstanding. This artifact supports the .ngoing )rofessional 1earning standard of practice. This workshop supports my ongoing professional growth since assessment and evaluation will always be part of education. It is imperative that I utili+e the most current methods of them, such as giving feedback,it is one of the most important parts of assessment, to let the student know what they are doing correct and what they need to improve. It is important to remember that assessment and evaluations are meant to support learning, not measure it.