Professional Semester III Final Report

Faculty of Education
Field Experiences
Fall

Spring

Semester, 20

(Please check appropriate semester)

Professional Semester III is a five-course equivalent integrated semester including half-time teaching and
professional study in curriculum design, leadership, advanced methods, and reflective practice. Intern Teachers are
assigned full time to schools for the semester during which they assume responsibility for approximately one-half of
the teaching day. PS III professional study is designed to complement and enhance the internship. The
professional study components may occur on or off-campus and are coordinated by the Faculty Mentors in
collaboration with Intern Teachers and school personnel.

Place a checkmark () in front of the course in which you are registered

Education 4571 Elementary Education
Education 4572
Secondary Internship
Education 4573
Special Focus Internship
Education 4574
Fine Arts Internship - Art or Drama
Education 4575
Fine Arts Internship - Music
Intern Teacher

Grade Level(s)

School

Administrator

Teacher Mentor

Faculty Mentor

Intern Teachers Descriptive Report:

My time at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute has been insightful and

incredible. I have learned so much from everyone that Ive had the
opportunity to work with. This experience has helped me grow in my
teaching abilities as well as challenge my passion and re-establish my
perspective on high school. The relationships with staff and students Ive
built has been fundamental with my experience in my practicum. The
support from staff has been intuitive and greatly appreciated. Kristin,
especially, has been a great foundation and support, which got me through
some very rough days. I have been fortunate enough to be able to
collaborate and work with the entire Fine Arts department.
Teaching at the high school has been exceedingly challenging and has
pushed my abilities as a beginning teacher. I have found one of my
strengths is to build relationships with students and take an interest in their
lives, although those relationships with the students has been enriching as
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well as frustrating. Such a huge part of themselves comes across in their

works, so I find it interesting to be able to find that correlation. Yet working
with teenagers, Ive found they are always as cooperative as expected.
Another strength would be the fact that I am very self-aware. I recognize
what my areas of struggle are and areas I need to work on. All the areas of
improvement pointed out by Kristin are things I was already aware of, this
has been significant in my ability to work on my professional development.
Some of the biggest ways Ive grown during my experience is ability to
deal with classroom management and more specifically dealing with conflict.
It is never easy having to confront a student, let alone kick them out of
class. It was a hard realization that I am not their friend, I am their teacher
and its alright if they dont like me. Sometimes that means student have to
be disciplined. Another area would be getting to know the students and
what their needs are, especially in the need for modified curriculums and
IPPs. The initial relationship was not the problem, it was acting on being able
to identify and target students who were unmotivated and doing something
about it, (this is actually where my Professional Development Project comes
in) even if it meant calling home and talking to parents. At first I found this
difficult and overwhelming with already the amount of work and
expectations, I was just adjusting as I went rather than creating a
modification specifically for the student. However, my first meeting with a
parent was terrifying, but incredibly insightful. It really helped me
understand where the students is coming from and what sort of supports
there is at home for him.
Over the 4 months Ive been a part of several different clubs
throughout the school. I have been involved with Yearbook, in which I have
attended weekly meetings and help with organization of students. I have
also taken photographs for certain events and focused mainly on the Fine
Arts Department. I took on the role as the representative for the
department. Also I was involved with the GSA group, in which I attended
meetings and helped facilitate discussions and community building
activities. I additionally had the opportunity to help co-teach AP Art which is
also held once a week. In this group I would help run some of the sessions or
workshops which taught various techniques and materials. Finally, I was a
part of the annual art show Manipultosis, where I helped set-up and take
down, curating and organization of work, technical support and overall
framework.
Throughout the 4 months I have taught 3 full classes; grade 10 and
two groups of grade 9s (based on a quarter semester). With my grade 10s I
taught 3 units. The first one we worked through was a Pen and Ink unit in
which we explored with various types of pen and ink. The breakdown of the
assignments included a themed drawing, an inked in drawing (taking a
magazine image and changing the context) and finally a drawing where
student worked with letters rather than typical contour lines. We then
moved into a book making unit inspired by the movie Spiderwick Chronicles.
Students created a field guide based on a mythological creature. The book
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was composed of anatomical drawings of their creature, a descriptive

section, a stain map, and an evidence portion. The books were then bound
using a Japanese Stab Binding method, giving a very rustic, handmade look.
The final units we worked at a Conceptual Mask unit. Students were required
to design a mask based on a part of themselves, something they found was
essential to who they are and personify that characteristic onto a mask. This
unit also includes a small acrylic tutorial which taught different techniques
and materials to work with acrylic paint. With my grade 9s, we worked on 2
units each; a Surreal Self-Portrait Unit, where is looked at surrealism and
integrating that concept with portraits. We also did an Illusions Unit, where
we looked at how to crate 3D drawings, the work of MC Escher and
camouflage. Both classes also did the Conceptual Mask unit as well.
Overall my PSIII has been an incredible experience, despite some
rough patches, it has solidified my passion for high school and for art. I know
the road ahead is not an easy one, but there are certain things I have
learned that will make the tough parts worth it. I am thankful for the
relationships and support behind me and the patience of my mentor. I have
gained a lot of experience and feel confident to go out into the world and
tackle whatever is out there.

Intern Teacher Signature

Date

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

School Administrator Comments:

From the lessons observed and through many conversations, Jayme clearly
demonstrates her understanding of the contextual variables affecting
teaching and learning. The structure of her lessons creates opportunities for
every student to successfully demonstrate achievement of the curricular
objectives. For example, she began her instructional units by having
students complete assignments based on learning interest inventories which
provided data that allowed her to differentiate instruction to her students
strengths while challenging them to push beyond their comfort zone.
Further, Jayme is particularly attune to the mental and emotional states and
condition of her students and works hard to help them understand how art
can be used as a form of self-expression that is not only creative but
therapeutic. Although a little reluctant at first to call home when students
failed to meet clearly established classroom expectations, Jayme soon
learned the value of developing relationships with parents and guardians
and the insight those conversations provide about her students. Jayme
actively sought feedback and support from her mentor and administration
and, after critical thought, implemented suggestions while remaining true to

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her teaching style and philosophy. She recognizes that as a beginning

teacher she has much to learn but her quiet confidence draws the respect of
her students and colleagues.
Currently, Jayme consistently demonstrates her understanding of the
practical aspects of the Alberta Education system as they apply to her
responsibilities to her students and teaching. As she gains experience, her
understanding of the political structure, and its impact, will broaden.
Understanding the purposes of the Guide to Education and programs of
study is an area of strength for Jayme. This understanding allowed her to
create units that tapped into the similarities of the grade 9 and 10
curriculum objectives in a way highlighted her understanding of the
programs scope and sequence, maximized the use of her resources while
maintaining distinct learning objectives. The learning activities she planned
for her students were engaging. While observing her lesson on masks, many
students shared their excitement about their projects and were able to
clearly articulate the purpose behind the assignment and how their personal
interpretations achieved the lessons objectives. In another unit, Jayme had
her students create a hand-bound book where each page incorporated a
different skill or technique as the students represented the world of a
mythical creature created from the his or her imagination. The high degree
of creativity and pride the students put into these projects speaks clearly to
how well Jayme knows her students and her ability to turn learning
objectives into meaningful activities.
Jayme not only demonstrates her understanding of the subject discipline she
teaches, but also her passion for it. Her lessons are anchored on
presentations that bring her students to a higher level of understanding for
the medium and technique being taught. These presentations are welldeveloped and expose students to various examples and historic
perspective. Occasionally her efforts to give her students a broad
understanding of the topic under discussion impacts the pacing of her lesson
but this balance will improve with experience and as she incorporates
different methods that engage students with the content behind the
projects.
Finding ways that allow all students to demonstrate successful achievement
of the learning objectives is something to which Jayme is committed. She
recognizes that the positive dynamic of her classroom depends on students
being challenged while believing they can be successful. Jayme is
comfortable providing her students with options and creating various
pathways to learning. She is always working towards finding ways to
challenge those students who excel in her class while encouraging those
who struggle so that both feel safe and willing to take risks. One example
would be the safe space she created for a student once she figured out that
his refusal to participate stemmed from the over-stimulation created by the
medium and other students. By creating a space that minimized distractions
and allowing him to demonstrate his learning in a way he enjoyed, he was
able to more successfully complete his assignments.
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Jaymes lesson plans are well-developed. They clearly communicate the

desired learning objectives and the links to the program of study. The clearly
outlined learning activities are designed to develop the necessary student
knowledge and skills. Her planning shows conscious thought to such
variables as pacing, resource management, and student dynamics as well as
formative and summative assessment. Her units of instruction show her
understanding of the scope and sequence of the curriculum, performance
assessments as well as time management. Jayme was clearly able to
articulate how yearly planning would differ from her 4 month PSIII practicum
speaking to her understanding of long range planning.
Creating a safe space where her students feel comfortable exploring their
ideas and their artistic talents is a priority for Jayme; one she speaks to with
passion. Her professional inquiry project focused on how teachers can
incorporate art projects to promote mental health and the positive impact
those opportunities for self-expression can have on students. Her love for
her students shines through whenever you hear her talk of the work they
are creating. She is always searching for ways to support those who struggle
and seeks the root cause of why some students choose not to engage so
that she can find other methods that might motivate them to participate.
Finding balance between her commitment to her students and taking care of
herself is something that will require frequent reflection so the distinction
between her circle of influence and circle of concern remains clear. Her
already established commitment to self-reflection will help ensure her ongoing ability to meet the high demands of this profession is fueled by a
grounded sense of efficacy as well as her passion for working with kids.
Jayme treats everyone with a high degree of respect. She engages
appropriately with students. Over the course of her practicum, Jaymes
interactions with students consistently reaffirm her role of a caring teacher,
not their friend. Jayme is challenged by the possibility of confrontation and is
working on taking a more proactive approach in responding to students
whose choices distract from learning. When dealing with students
inappropriate behaviour, she is cognisant of the factors influencing choices
and works to find solutions that maintain her relationship with the student
while resulting in the preferred outcome. When necessary, she has
demonstrated her willingness to seek support and assistance of colleagues
and administration so that the consequences are appropriate and contribute
to improvement.
Jaymes teaching demonstrates effective use of a variety of instructional
strategies that engage students in art. She is willing, and consistently more
able, to adapt those strategies in ways that meet the diverse learning needs
of her students. She understands that although her lessons are based on the
objectives provided by the program of students, because of the wide
variance of abilities between her students, the outcomes need to be
different for different students. She is willing to work cooperatively with
students to differentiate the assignments in ways that encourages them to
participate
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Jaymes presentations show her confidence with various technologies that

allow her to share content with her students. She is adept at creating
engaging PowerPoint presentation although she sometimes needs to
remember to consider the space in which the presentation will be seen so
that the information is clear to all audience members. In one presentation
observed, the fonts lack of contrast with the background made it very
difficult to read. She effectively met her responsibilities to create and
maintain student assessment records using the district software and used
them to keep in touch with parents and guardians.
Student assessment is an area of constant evolution. Jayme has used the
opportunity of a longer practicum to solidify her understanding of the
purpose of assessment and her personal philosophy that will guide her
assessment practice. In her lessons, Jayme clearly communicates the
desired objectives with her students and how they will be assessed. She
uses rubrics and criteria in her evaluation process. She speaks to using both
summative and formative strategies. Jaymes consistent interpretation and
application of assessment tools will continue to develop with experience.
That being said, her assessments were always in-line with those of her
mentoring teacher, which speaks to a foundational understanding on which
to continue building.
Engaging parents is an area of growth for Jayme. Although reluctant at first
to call home, Jayme is now more comfortable talking with parents when
addressing concerns with students. As mentioned earlier, she has learned to
value the background and contextual information parents and guardians can
provide. Jayme has participated in meetings with parents and uses those
opportunities to reflect on her future interactions with students. Establishing
those relationships early on so that they can be used to proactively support
student achievement is a valuable lesson all beginning teachers need to
learn.
Jayme is creative in her use of resources. She often incorporates unusual
resources into her. From having the students use rocket candies to
demonstrate pointillism to spilling coffee to create mythical topographical
maps to using plaster casting to create personally representative masks, her
resource management skills are strong. She seeks permission to create and
display art within our school community in original ways including chalk art
bombing our staff parking lot and hanging larger than life sized works in the
hall. She has contributed to the mounting of the schools art show which
draws a considerable crowd not only from our school community but from
the community at large. She clearly understands that creating opportunities
to engage with various levels of community enhances student learning.
Jayme has demonstrated her commitment to our community in several
ways. In the short time she has been at LCI, and while maintaining her parttime job, she has worked with the yearbook committee providing a focus on
the Fine Arts, supported the events held by our Gay Straight Alliance
student group, and always works collaboratively as a contributing member
of the Fine Arts Department.
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The importance of being a reflective practitioner committed to continual

growth is something that Jayme speaks to frequently. Her high level of selfawareness and genuine desire for constructive feedback highlights her
understanding that we can always do better. Not content to sit on her laurels
or ignore areas of need, Jayme is consistently looking for ways to improve
her practice, including strategies to be more comfortable with dealing with
difficult situations. It is clear this practice is fundamental to who she is as a
teacher.
A few situations over the course of her practicum have caused Jayme to
spend time reflecting on, and ultimately re-affirming, her commitment to
and passion for teaching. Through this ongoing reflection she will continue
to refine her personal teaching philosophy and vision so that it provides
clear direction. She is able to communicate that vision, including how it has
changed through her experience with others which shows her clear
understanding of the paradigm through which she views her role as a
teacher.
Jayme is clear on the standard she is expected to achieve as an interim
teacher as well as the commitment required maintain that achievement.
Although there are always areas on which to focus improvement, she
demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and attributes related to a beginning
teacher and applies them appropriately to student learning. Her ongoing
analysis of the contextual variables and her decisions of which pedagogical
knowledge and abilities to apply are well on their way to resulting in
optimum learning by students.

School Administrator Signature

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Date

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This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

Teacher Mentor Comments:

I had an opportunity to work with Jayme Charron from August 2014 to

December 2014. During this time Jayme taught three high school visual art
classes at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI). These classes were Art 10
and two Art 9 classes.
Jayme and I first met in late July 2014 to discuss the upcoming school year
and her Professional Semester Three (PSIII) practicum placement at LCI.
Jayme came to the meeting full of questions about LCI and with some very
intriguing project ideas to try with students. I was impressed with her preplanning and excited to hear more about her Art 10 Creature Field Guide
unit.
Once the school year began, Jayme immediately started into her plans with
students by doing a pre-assessment interest inventory. I was impressed that
her first lessons with students were focused on getting to know the students
as individuals. This line of thinking, and this type of activity, was a positive
way to start out the semester. So much of teaching visual art is first about
the relationships you develop and support with each individual studentartist. Teaching a lesson or concept is often secondary to these built
relationships with individual students. I was impressed that Jayme seemed
aware of this concept before even stepping into the room. Her students
responded well to this activity. Jayme then worked further with this concept
incorporating it in to her professional development project.
Jayme has good lesson planning with clear goals, objectives and outcomes.
Each unit, project and assignment is broken down into small sequential
stages. Jayme incorporates multiple differentiated instructional techniques
in her lesson delivery. She asks essential, high level questions and gives
appropriate wait time for student responses. It was evident that students
were eagerly engaged in her lessons as they often sat quietly during
instruction, offered appropriate responses to her questions, and actively
participated in activities and demonstrations. Students produced works that
fit within Jaymes expectations, rubrics, and intended outcomes. The Field
Guide project was especially successful.
During most lessons, Jayme had good presence in front of her classes.
Although small in stature, and quiet at first, Jayme was a quick study and
promptly able to command the room and garner respect. This is a very
respectable quality given the large square footage of the art room, the large
student numbers, and her novice experience in a high school classroom. Her
classes were mostly made up of very mild, eager to impress, and well
behaved students. This may have created a bit of an assessment bias for
me as to how Jayme might deal with a very different, more aggressively
behaved class scenario.
Jaymes second Art 9 class was a bit more boisterous and rambunctious in
comparison to her other two classes. I would encourage Jayme to set out
very clear behaviour expectations for her students right at the beginning of
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the semester. Jayme is still a bit hesitant to confront poor student

behaviours and tends to act on individual student incidents, disruptive class
climates, and awareness of the entirety of her students activities a bit
slowly. Through some problem-solving and encouragement, I have seen
great improvements in Jaymes classroom management skills. This is an
area of growth for Jayme, as it is for most beginning teachers, which will
undoubtedly improve with further exposure to students and teaching.
Jayme participated in two parent meetings concerning two of her students. I
appreciated our conversations and the personal reflection Jayme did after
each meeting. I would encourage Jayme to not be hesitant about contacting
parents. The mutual relationship between student, parent, and school can
often be a teachers strongest and most informing allies. This relationship, in
my opinion, can never happen early enough, and should happen at the first
sign of a student struggling. This parent contact becomes easier with
practice. I know Jayme will embrace this skill wholeheartedly.
While at LCI, Jayme attended staff meetings, professional development days,
yearbook meetings, GSA meetings and will assist with the annual student
art show, Manipultsis in December 2014. Jayme conducted herself in a
professional manner as she related to students, staff and parents. She
contributed both independently as well as collegially to the quality of the
school.
It was great to have Jayme at LCI teaching Art 9 and Art 10. I enjoyed our
time together and am looking forward to trying my hand at teaching her
Field Guide unit in the future. I wish Jayme the best of luck as she continues
on in her teaching career.
Kristin Hegland-McKay
LCI Visual Arts Teacher

Mentor Teacher Signature

Date

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This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

Faculty Consultant Comments:

I watched Jayme Charron teach two classes and we met individually and with her cohort of art
majors, to talk about planning, professional development - especially the inquiry project,
classroom management, working with parents, portfolio development and how to prepare for an
interview. Jayme attended and participated in every meeting. Her inquiry project began with an
interest in art therapy, which developed into using art as a way to motivate and to differentiate
instruction for individual students. This focus will serve her well in connecting and working with
students in difficulty.
The classes I observed were well planned with many visual examples and information to introduce
each project. She made examples herself and showed a genuine enthusiasm when demonstrating
the ideas and skills. Her main interest for PSII and now in PSIII was to teach high school
students through art. Her inquiry project, showed a interest in inclusive education, by integrating
the visual arts through project-based learning in other subject areas.
Jayme had two completely different teaching situations since she changed classes in her last
quarter. She showed an ability to plan and to be very organized, while being flexible to change
her planning and classroom management style, to meet the needs of different students.
Jayme showed strong interpersonal skills that helped her to form relationships with her students,
and in working with her mentor. She was always professional in receiving feedback and in her
ability to reflect critically on her teaching. She accepted every challenge with a sense of humor
and enthusiasm.
I have read the complete Final Report and certify that the assigned grade is PASS.

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Faculty Mentor Signature

Date: Dec. 1, 2014

FE_Forms_PSIII

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