INDIVIDUAL GROWTH PLAN

Student: Sarah Leonard

Date: 10/21/15

SchoolSite&GradeLevel:St.FrancisXavier,Kindergarten
CooperatingTeacher:KarlaKruse
CollegeSupervisor:SuzanneHeinle
Part I. Identifying Areas of Strength and Improvement
BasedonthecategoriesoftheInTASCStandards:
A. Identifyyourgreatestteachingstrengths.
B. Identifyareasofyourprofessionalpracticeyouwouldliketoimprove.
C. Explainhowyouplantoworkonthesearea(s).
TheIndividualGrowthPlanisdevelopedandpostedbythestudentafterreviewingthecumulativeratingsonthe
StudentTeachingEvaluationInstrumentatthemidpointofthestudentteachingsemester(Midtermconferencefor
18wkplacements).AdraftGrowthPlanwillbepresentedbythestudentattheFinalconferenceoffirst9wk
placement,thenacompletedplanwillbepostedandsharedattheinitialtriadmeetingofsecond9wkplacement.
GrowthPlanswillbesharedwiththecooperatingteacherandcollegesupervisor,thenpostedtoeLearnafter
consultationandpossiblerevision.Timelyreflectiononandprogresstowardplannedgoalsalsocanbedocumented
intheWeeklyReflection.
Category1TheLearnerandLearning
A. Istrivetohavepositiveinteractionswith
studentsthroughpositivereinforcementand
pointouthardworkthatthestudentsdoand
anytimetheirbehaviorsaremeetingand/or
aboveexpectations
IfeelthatIcanbeveryawareofeach
studentsdifferingneeds.Ifindmyselftobe
flexiblewhenIamteachingandabletoadapt
whatIamdoinginthemomenttomeetthe
needsofstudentswhomaybestrugglingand
alsothosewhoneedmoreofachallenge
Itrytokeepthelearningenvironment
engagingbutvaryingwheretheteachingis
occurringeitheratthecarpet,table,orsmall
group.
Iuseproximityalotwhenteachingandthis
hasbeenaneffectivestrategyformetonot
onlymakeformativeobservationsbutalsoto
managebehaviorsintheclassroom

B. IneedtobemoreexplicitinwhatIexpectto
seewithmystudents.Forexample,settinga
clearvoicelevelbeforestudentscanevenbegin
work.Thiswillalsohelpwithsmoother

Category2ContentKnowledge
A. Iliketouseengagingmaterialsthatmakes
learningfunforstudentsyetstillmeaningful,
evenifperdayitisasmallvarianceinhowI
teach.Iliketoappealtoalltypesoflearnings
butmixinginelementstomeettheneedsof
visual,auditory,andkinestheticlearners
Iusuallyfocusapartofthelessononmaking
connectionsacrosssubjectsortextsthatwe
read.Ialsoliketopraiseobservationsand
connectionsthatstudentsandmakingontheir
own.
ImakesurehowIphraseinformationisat
gradelevelbutdotrytochallengethemby
introducingandreusetier2vocabularysuchas
observation.

B. Ireliedontheteachingunitbooksalot.Iwas
abletogetcreativeinanticipatorysetsand
closurebutIfellmycoreinstructioncould
benefitfromsomemorecreativityandhandson
activities.
Ididalotoflargegroupworkandthensmall
readinggroups.Weworkwithpartnersand
individuallybutIfeelIcouldhavedoneabetter

transitions
IalsofeelthatIneedtobemoreconsistent
withthebehaviorsIaddresswithcertain
students.Iwouldratherovercorrectinthe
beginningoftheschoolyearthanhavetodeal
withissueslaterfromnotfollowingdirections
Ialsoneedtoworkonfollowupoflearning
differencesofthatInotice.Icantellifa
studentneedstoworkonfinemotorskillsbut
nextIneedtobeabletoplanforthat
instructioninmylessons

C.Iwilltrytobemoreconsistentfromthegetgo.This
placementwillbedifferentandachallengetoseeifI
cangiveexpectationstomystudentsthattheywill
followbecauseIaminawayinterruptingtheclassroom
dynamicbycomingintowardthemiddleoftheschool
year.Imayalsobegintoplantransitionsintolessons,or
haveconsistentstrategiesthatthestudentswillbecome
familiarwithandwillalwaysknowtheexpectationsof.I
shallalsodomybesttohavefollowuplessonforthe
varyingstudentneedsandkeepmyobservationsand
plansbetterorganized.
Category3InstructionalPractice
A. Iliketousesomestrategieswithallstudents
suchasfingertrackingbecauseIknowthatthat
isastrategythatcanbenefitstudentsatall
abilitylevelsinreading.Withotherstrategies
suchasquestioningwhilereadingorworkingI
willvarywhatIaskdependingontheneedsof
thestudents

B.Ineedtobebetteratrespondingtotheformative
assessmentsImakeduringlessons.Ialsoneedto
incorporateothertypesofassessmentduringmylessons.
Mytimingandmeetingdeadlinewithplanningneedsa
lotofimprovement.Iusuallyfeelthatoncetheschool
daybegins,IampreparedbutIshoulddobetterat
gettingmyplansinontimebecausethatiswhatisasked
ofme.
Ineedtoexperimentandtryoutotherstrategies
whetheritisduringsmallgrouporlargegroupteaching

jobofincorporatingsmallgroupworkinother
areasofmylesson.

C.Iwilltrytoincorporatemorehandsoninstructions
especiallyreadingbasedactivatesinmylessonplans.I
alsowanttobegintotryandnotrelyevenonmytypes
uplessonplansasmuchandbecomfortablewiththe
plansIprepareandjustuseabasicoutlineorsomething
likethat

Category4ProfessionalResponsibility
A. Ienjoyreceivingconstructivecriticism,and
domybesttoreactandadapttowhatIhave
beensuggestedasquicklyasIcan.Ifeelthata
secondpairofeyescangivemeawider
perspectiveofwhatIamandamnotdoing
duringmyteachingbecauseIknowIcan
overlookcertainelementsofmyteaching
styles.
Iamnotafraidtoaskquestionsorputmyown
twocentsinaconversationaboutastudentor
possiblestrategiestousewithstudents.
_IlovetocollaborateandIwelcomeit
strongly

B. IbelieveIcouldhavehadbetter
communicationwiththeparentsofmystudents.

C.Formynextplacement,Iwillmakeitapointtostay
betterconnectedwithmystudentsparentsbutsending
outemailsorpossiblyweeklyupdatesifthatwouldbe

C.ThisistheareainwhichIwouldliketoseethemost
growthinmyself.Iamwellawarethattimingand
meetingdeadlinesarenotmystrength.Itisarecentbad
habitthatIhavedevelopedandneedtodoabetterjobat
tryingtobreakit.Iwouldalsoliketoworkonorganized
andimplementingdifferentinstructionalstrategies
duringmylessonsatmysecondplacementandbeable
tofollowuponassessments

somethingIcanworkoutwithmynextCooperating
Teacher