Professional Responsibilities

Practicum Goal: 

Collaborates with teachers, students, parents/guardians, local community as partners in education to support student learning (TQS 1c, 1d, 1e)

My main goal for this practicum is developing a robust understanding and practice in relating professionally with all staff members, especially in the area of pluralism and Indigenous centered work. 

Demonstrated growth: Throughout the practicum, I have been asked to teach lessons on Indigenous-centered topics in classrooms extending my own, and have been entrusted with leadership responsibilities within the school community. These experiences have enabled me to forge meaningful professional relationships, culminating in my participation as a panelist in a school system leadership quality standard (LQS) development program to speak about my role leading Indigenization in my practicum school community.

Future goals: Moving forward, I aim to further develop my skills in boundary setting, ensuring clarity and professionalism in all interactions within the educational environment.

Pre-Practicum Goals: As I become aware of the diversity in my placement, my goal for the semester is to lean into a teaching practice which "honours cultural diversity and promotes intercultural understanding" (TQS 1f, 5c). Moving into the semester I ask myself, how can I strengthen my own intercultural competence and confidence? As I see it, intercultural competence is the capacity to respectfully and effectively interact and communicate with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. It serves as a link between inclusion and diversity and is essential for developing safe learning environments. Without acknowledging varied identities and taking deliberate measures to be inclusive of individuals from different backgrounds, there can be no true intercultural competency. To achieve this goal I will seek both professional and interpersonal education, and find the ways I can embed this newfound knowledge into my teaching practice. 

Demonstrated growth: I feel that as a result of being placed at Ernest Morrow I was exposed to many different cultures. I felt that in actively engaging with the students and taking the time to simply listen and understand, I grew from my initial goals. I also found that my school did a lot of work on this area through professional development of which I was grateful to participate in. 

An additional strength for me in this area was “identifies and implements specific changes to practice based on reflection and feedback from Mentor Teacher and Faculty Supervisor” (TQS 2a, 2b). 

MT: “Jaiden responded very well to any advice or feedback provided to her, and was quick to make adjustments as suggested. For instance, when the class started a group project it was suggested that Jaiden review group work expectations for student behaviour and social skills. Not only did Jaiden take the opportunity to review this with the class in the form of a video, she then used the concepts taught in the video as a way for students to self-assess following the project.” 

Future goals: My professional goal as I look ahead to the upcoming school year is to continue my investigation of teacher-parent interactions. I'm eager to have a greater understanding of how to collaborate, inform, and communicate with parents and children in order to accomplish success. I feel that in this year’s practicum it was not an area of focus and I am very interested to learn more and grow within it.

Growth: Having had the opportunity to be in a year-long field experience placement I was given the ability to “Identify and implement specific changes to practice based on reflection and feedback from Mentor Teacher and Faculty Supervisor” (PR6, TQS 2a, 2b). In addition, through building a relationship with my mentor teacher and having her guide me through my journey I was able to hone in on “establishing professional and ethical relationships” (PR9, TQS 1a, 1b). This was particularly powerful as I moved from first semester to the second, as I was able to apply her feedback in constructive ways, and build trust as we mutually aimed for my success.

Goals: As I look towards next year, my goal within professional responsibilities is to continue on my journey of understanding teacher-parent interactions. I look forward to gaining a deeper awareness of how to effectively communicate, inform, and work with parents and students to achieve success. 

Growth: Having the opportunity to be a part, and President of, the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS),  I have worked hard to “establish professional and ethical relationships” (PR9, TQS 1a, 1b). Furthermore, by virtue of our growth in leadership positions, and also by the nature of our positions in offering our peers professional development opportunities, myself and the greater EUS “engage with colleagues in professional learning” (PR8, TQS 2a). 

Goals: As I move into the winter semester with the EUS I would like to focus on establishing positive relationships with all of my team members. My goal in the broader Education Program is to develop my competencies in terms of connecting with parents; especially in regards to communicating areas of development for their child.

Strategies: Strategies for achieving the above goals include staying up-to-date on and enveloping myself in learning ways to promote positive interactions with peers; I can do this by way of library research, ATA workshops, and reaching out to faculty advisors. In an effort to achieve a better understanding of parent-teacher interactions, I can also attend workshops, reach for academic literature on the topic, and ask my mentor teacher in field experience for guidance. 

Semester TQS & Program Outcome Guiding Competency: Engaging in Career-long Learning; Adhering to Legal Frameworks and Policies.

Initial Goals: I believe it is one of the most important things to understand and work within the legal, ethical, and political aspects of teaching. Furthermore, it is integral to our practice that we accomplish all sectors of our professional responsibilities. My first goal for this semester is to gain a deeper understanding of the legal frameworks and policies of education, as well as learning different ways to remain accountable to these throughout my career. 

I also look forward to learning more about professional growth and career-long learning, and have a second goal of running as an executive member of the Education Undergraduate Society in second year.  

Growth: This semester we took an in depth look at the teaching quality standard and the ways it relates to each section of our learning and practice. I now understand some contested issues and highly controversial themes within education that I may remain conscious of as I move forward in this career. We also had the opportunity to learn about professionalism through a workshop with Bri Harvie wherein we explored different realms of professional responsibilities and how to achieve our best practice. 

I am honoured to have had the opportunity to achieve my goal set earlier in the semester, and have run and been elected as President of the Education Undergraduate Society for next year!

Strategies: As always, staying updated on current standards for teacher competencies, being aware of the teaching content norm as well as the ethics code for Canadian teachers, and using teaching as a reflective practice are all strategies for fulfilling our professional obligations. 

Growth: This semester I was exposed to the ethical and practical applications of teaching practice in Alberta. Through this exploration, I learned in depth about professionalism, the teaching quality standard, and professional ethics of education and law for Canadian teachers. I have had the opportunity to explore the importance of connection, and fostering positive relationships within my career, these can be seen in terms of pedagogical, parental, and professional. This semester I have also learned the impacts of diversity in the classroom, and the importance on cultivating diverse and inclusive learning environments. 

Goals: I look forward to bringing this knowledge into practical application through further studies and opportunities within my learning career. I also look forward to gaining a deeper understanding of these concepts and their functions.

Strategies: Strategies for upholding our professional responsibilities include staying up to date on current guidelines for teacher competencies, remaining conscious of the teaching quality standard as well as the ethics code for Canadian teachers, and applying teaching as a reflective practice.