PSIII Professional Growth Plan – Katelyn Watson

Goal One: How can implementing strategies and activities that encourage
students to learn from each other impact classroom engagement and culture?
 Rationale: I hope to work toward this goal to help improve my overall practice
but to also help encourage deeper learning in my classroom. Studies have shown
that the greatest amount of learning comes when students work together in a
collaborative setting. Therefore, I hope to develop my repertoire of instructional
strategies that facilitate student-to-student learning and evaluate their
effectiveness for myself. A large part of this goal will to not only encourage
students simply speak to each other, but we will truly need to work towards
actively listening to our peers and provide constructive feedback. This goal
pertains to TQS competency 2 in that I am going to be doing professional
research in order to better my practice and I plan to reflect after I utilize a new
strategy and contemplate its effectiveness in my classroom. Additionally, this has
connections to TQS competency 1 as part of the aim of this goal is to help build
student-to-student relationships which has substantial implications for
constructing a welcoming and inclusive learning environment. Lastly, this
contributes to TQS competency 3 as this goal shows that I am looking to
introduce a larger range of instructional strategies in order to better serve my
students.
 Strategies: As for my own learning, I plan on reading one article per month
about this and use what I learn to help inform my practice. As for instructional
strategies, I intend to use activities such as jigsaws, ‘speed dating’ question
seminars, individual whiteboards, and four corners. In the moment, I will need to
ensure I am utilizing wait time well, as well as reframing and rephrasing questions.
Additionally, as a summative assessment I hope to facilitate a Socratic Seminar.
This particular form of assessment is centered on student-to-student learning and
will be a large indicator of my success in developing this in my classroom.
 Resources: Articles about this teaching style, colleagues and administration – in
particular observing other teachers and watching for how they use group work
and questioning to encourage students to listen to each others’ thoughts,
textbooks from my course work, my classmates from my PSII & PSIII cohorts,
and any other material I can use to help inform my practice.
 Indicators of Achievement: When students are engaged in collaborative
learning, I should be able to take a step back and observe rather than facilitate. In
an ideal context, students should be given the instructions and be able to self-run
the activity and are expected to be engaged in the activity. This will likely be
reflected in student performance on assessments that call for student-student
learning, and engagement in activities aimed at fostering collaborative learning.
 Timeline: I plan on reading one article per month about this topic and will write
a brief reflection about what I learned from the article and how I intend to
implement the ideas into my teaching practice. Additionally, I plan to try to
implement a new strategy at least once every two weeks in order to keep my
lessons fresh and engaging.
Goal Two: How can I foster lasting and impactful relationships in contexts
outside my classroom?
 Rationale: As a generally introverted individual, I have a tendency to shy away
from situations where I would be outside my typical comfort zone. In a school-
based context, I find myself feeling most comfortable in my own classroom, and
I therefore want to work towards increasing my comfort outside my classroom.
Being involved in the greater school community is the cornerstone of every great
educator. In my own experience, some of the closest relationships I formed with
teachers while in school were during extra-curricular activities. With this in mind,
I want to work towards building relationships with my students and peers outside
my classroom. Students are quite often very different people when outside the
classroom and they have more freedom to be who they are. I hope to learn more
about my students in these settings to help build deeper, more meaningful
relationships with my students. Every school has a diverse range of opportunities
for engagement outside the classroom, and it is the teachers who adapt and are
willing to help the students thrive that create a lasting impact. Moreover,
involving myself outside the classroom will give me a much clearer understanding
of what the complete and full workload of a teacher and help me to better
understand the level of commitment required to be successful in all aspects of
relationship building. This goal pertains to TQS competency 1 as this goal is
focused on relationship building. I hope to gain experience building experience
with students outside the classroom, as it will not only help me feel more
confident as an overall educator, but also help me inside the classroom as well.
This also contributes to competency 4, as I am actively working to involve myself
in programs and activities where students can explore their passions and help
students to feel at safe and cared for in the school.
 Strategies: Speak to Teacher Mentor, Principal, the Phys. Ed team, Fine Arts
Staff, and other teachers about potential opportunities in the school. I really want
to push myself out of my comfort zone and try to involve myself in several
different situations that I normally would not normally feel comfortable with.
 Resources: Will vary from situation to situation; however, there are some more
generalized materials I will require. These include: coaching manuals, a plan to
help me manage my time, and professional resources about how to effectively run
extra-curricular activities and how to be confident in situations where the teacher
does not necessarily know the names of the students they are working with.
 Indicators of Achievement: Involvement in at one extra-curriculuar activity, at
the conclusion of the activity (i.e. end of the season), I will ask my students to
rate my ability to create and maintain a welcoming environment in a short survey.
Additionally, upon refection at the end of the semester if I can feel comfortable
 saying that I feel more confident in my own ability to foster effective
relationships with students outside the classroom.
 Timeline: I will have talked to all the above listed individuals by the end of
September in order to get an idea of what I can hope to be involved in. I have
not played volleyball since I was in Jr. High school, but I am extremely passionate
about coaching and I hope to push myself outside my comfort zone and try to
coach one of the volleyball teams. The volleyball season runs from September to
October. Another opportunity I am eager to look in to is the Book Club;
however, I am unsure of when this will be run.