Professional Semester III Final Report

Faculty of Education
Field Experiences
Fall _X_ Spring

Semester, 2016 (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
X
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

Ashley Malcomson

Grade Level(s)

7,9, and 10

School

Stirling School

Administrator

Darren Mazutinec

Teacher Mentor

Morgan Schaufele

Faculty Mentor

Mel Fletcher

Intern Teachers Descriptive Report:

My PSIII internship began in June when I refreshed my email for the millionth time and finally saw
the placement information I had been waiting for that informed me I would be spending the Fall
semester in Stirling teaching at the Jr./Sr. level. I met with my Teacher Mentor, Morgan Schaufele
a couple of weeks later and quickly realized that my third and final practicum was going to be
quite different from the others.
When I arrived at the school, Morgan had a list of classes he taught on the board and we decided
that I would be teaching LA 9 and CTS 10 full time, as well as LA7 every Wednesday. He didnt
hand me a list of units, materials, or expectations for any of the courses I was responsible for.
Instead, he asked me what I was interested in teaching and gave me the freedom to select my own
units/materials. The freedom of choice was an unexpected and intimidating responsibility, but the
fact I was being treated as knowledgeable and capable was inspiring.

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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

I selected and began planning units for LA9 first because I have a strong background in English
and had the benefit of seeing the students five times a week. Ultimately, I planned, implemented,
and assessed four units including: an introductory unit to get to know students interests,
strengths, and weaknesses; Fairy Tales; Short Stories; and a novel study of The Crazy Man by
Pamela Porter. The novel study was especially interesting to plan because I was given the
opportunity to select a grade appropriate novel and order a class set. There were only 16 students
in my LA9 class but they taught me a lot about my own expectations for classroom behavior and
management as they pushed my boundaries and tested me to see where I stood.
LA7 was more challenging to plan for because I only had the class for one forty-five-minute
period each week. My first thought was to do a novel study, but after consulting with Morgan I
ended up doing an activity called Article of the Week instead. At first I wasnt sure how the kids
would respond to reading real world news every week and worried that it wouldnt be a beneficial
use of their time. However, my initial hesitation didnt last long and before I knew it the
discussions, comments, and responses I received from my young students grew to be something I
looked forward to every week. It also became obvious that the Article of the Week assignment
really was opening the students eyes to world issues they were otherwise oblivious. Furthermore,
the repetitive nature of our time together helped to create predictable routines and expectations
that the students happily met leaving me with very few classroom management issues to deal with.
The course I was most concerned about teaching was CTS 10 because Morgan usually teaches
the class as a Photography option, and up until this past summer I had absolutely no background
knowledge of anything to do with photography. Of course, I had the choice to teach one of the
many other options that fall under the CTS umbrella, but in the end I decided to face the challenge
and make the most of it. It wasnt an easy task and I ended up spending countless hours
researching, planning, and prepping but in the end I am happy with how the course turned out and
proved to myself that I can teach outside of my comfort zone. The students successfully made it
through the following four photography modules: Visual Composition, Introduction to
Photography, Exposure, and Communication.
Once I was comfortable with my teaching responsibilities, I began to focus on the goal I set to get
involved in the school community. I met this goal in several ways beginning with my role in
organizing the Terry Fox Run with one of the other PSIII interns. We ran into a few technical
difficulties while we were setting up for the Terry Fox assembly, but with the help of some more
experienced staff members everything got done just in time. We learned a lot from our first
assembly and were much better prepared for our second which was for Remembrance Day. I was
very pleased with how the Remembrance Day assembly turned out and think it was a direct result
of building positive relationships with the staff and students who took part in it. I was also
involved in setting up and running a Book Club with students ranging from grade 6-12 reading
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Lastly, I supervised school events including the Chuck Perrett Memorial
Basketball Tournament and the high school field trip to see Theatre Calgarys performance of A
Christmas Carol.
Sitting here today and looking back on my experiences as an intern at the Stirling School it seems
impossible to summarize everything I have accomplished and learned into a reasonably long final
report. What I can say is that I have grown exponentially as a teacher and as an individual as a
direct result of the encouragement, support, and responsibility I was given. The staff at the Stirling
School created the perfect balance between providing me with autonomy to figure things out for
myself and collegial support when it was needed and/or asked for. I was assigned one Teacher
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Mentor in that email I received back in June, but I had the pleasure of being surrounded by an
entire staff of willing, capable, and approachable mentors.

Intern Teacher Signature

Date

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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

School Administrator Comments:

STIRLING SCHOOL
Box 340, Stirling, Alberta, Canada
T0K 2E0

Respect, Responsibility, and Integrity

Home of the Lakers

Principal Mr. Darren Mazutinec

Vice-principal Ms. Inge Pot
Vice-principal Mrs. Charlene
Teramura
Phone (403) 756-3355
Fax (403) 756-2189
www.stirlingschool.ca

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To Whom It May Concern:

Ashley has been a PSIII student teacher with us for the Fall of 2016. Ashley was given the
responsibility to teach LA 9, CTS 10, and one class of LA 7.
Ashley was consistent in her planning and lesson preparation. Her semester plan submissions to
me included both formative and summative evaluation plans as well as a monthly breakdown for
all of her assigned units.
Her daily lesson plans throughout the semester always started with a General Learner Outcome
followed by a Specific Lesson Objective. Ashley would give a brief summary of the previous
days learning followed by an overview of the pending lesson. Every student knew what the days
lesson was going to bring. Her lessons were broken down into detailed segments that would
guide her thinking from start to finish. Ashleys use of formative assessments guided her hand as
she delivered her lessons. The formative assessment tools of random questions, walkabouts, and
student observations and dialogue informed Ashley of student understanding and progress. If
there were times in the lesson that she recognized the need to slow down or change directions,
she would do so in a smooth and professional manner. Any students not understanding, or
identified as needing more help, would be invited to our daily tutorials at the end of the school
day.
Ashley demonstrated a solid and sound understanding of content knowledge in all of her LA and
English assignments. Her quiet, confident, and mature personality made for a safe, caring, and
comfortable learning environment as she interacted and delivered her lessons to all of her
students.
Ashleys class management was consistent and known to all of her classes. She always handled her
classroom in a firm, confident, and professional manner while always respecting the dignity of the
student.

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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

In our school, we are committed to bettering our understanding on what research has determined
are the best teaching practices for student learning. We talk/discuss/PD about the role of Marzano
and Hattie and what they have concluded are the best instructional strategies for student
understanding. As post-lesson discussions were had with Ashley, I was impressed with her
understanding and purposeful use of homework and practice, cooperative learning,
reciprocal teaching, providing examples, and direct instruction. It was fun to see her
understand and use the jargon and then implement a purposeful use of these strategies as part of
her teaching plan.
Ashley recognized the complexity of a public school and the dynamics that are involved in
providing both an academic content and an extra/co-curricular component to our students. Ashley
volunteered to co-organize our annual Terry Fox run, Remembrance Day ceremony, and DEAR
book club. She also was involved in our daily tutorials, Flex Fridays, division and onsite PLC
work, and helped supervise our senior boys basketball tournament. She also took her turn with
lunch hour supervision and would volunteer in any areas of our school that she could. Her efforts
were very much noticed and appreciated.
Ashley demonstrated a solid grasp of what is required to be a daily classroom teacher. I was very
happy with her efforts and the results she produced in our school. Ive really appreciated her
confident personality coupled with her solid content knowledge and willingness to be involved in
all aspects of the school. I know she will be a great addition to any staff she joins.

Sincerely,

Darren Mazutinec
Principal

School Administrator Signature

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Date

PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

Teacher Mentor Comments:

To Whom It May Concern:
I worked closely with Ashley Malcomson while she completed her internship at Stirling School.
During her four-month internship, she taught ELA 9, CTS 10, as well as a once-per-week ELA 7
class. Ashley was creative in her planning and quite regularly incorporated innovative approaches
that stretched students thinking and skill development.
Ashley had the knowledge, skills, and background in English to teach ELA 9 and ELA 7 with
confidence. Nevertheless, when she needed advice or wanted a second opinion, she often sought
me out and discussed her plans. Additionally, despite an initial unfamiliarity with photography and
the CTS program of studies, Ashley quickly developed an impressive set of unit and lesson plans
for her CTS 10 class in which students became familiar with the technical and creative aspects of
DSLR photography and worked together to establish impressive online portfolios. Throughout
the course of the semester, Ashley and I met regularly (formally and informally) to debrief lessons
and set goals for growth moving forward. Ashley was always prepared with detailed lesson and
unit plans and yet was flexible in her timing when school events or student ability necessitated
adjustments.
I was impressed with Ashleys work at our school in a number of ways. Specifically, her eagerness
to learn and develop as a teacher are undeniable. She eagerly sought out feedback and was quick
to incorporate suggestions into the next days lessons. Her formative feedback to students (both
written and oral) was intelligent and thoughtful, and helped her establish a professional and
productive rapport with her students.
Early in the semester, Ashley volunteered to help facilitate our schools Terry Fox run, and
continued to contribute to the school community through additional co-curricular opportunities,
including coordinating a Remembrance Day assembly, establishing a popular book club with
students, as well as helping supervise our high school students on a trip to Theatre Calgary to
attend A Christmas Carol.
Ashleys intelligence, as well as her calm and professional demeanor in the classroom, helped her
work with students in a measured and constructive way. I appreciate the professional
conversations weve had about teaching English as well as about Ashleys role as a developing
educator within our school.
Sincerely,
Morgan Schaufele

Mentor Teacher Signature

Date
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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

Faculty Mentor Comments:

Ashley Malcomson has successfully completed her PS3 internship at Stirling School. Ashley has
excellent unit and lesson planning skills. She has translated the GLOs and SLOs from the
Programs of Studies and curriculum materials into appropriate and meaningful lessons. She clearly
states what and why students are learning. Her teacher presence exudes confidence and
professionalism. Her classroom management is a non-issue as she is so well organized, planned,
and scripted. The students easily recognize her as very knowledgeable in her subject areas and
respect and cooperate with her. Her integration of technology is a strength. She works well with
students, parents, staff, and colleagues. Her assessments reflect an understanding of the priorities
and the varied learning styles in her classroom. She differentiates and is flexible with her special
needs students. She has amassed an impressive amount of resources and support materials for her
courses. She has always handed in assignments promptly and they are of a high quality at all
times. I hereby recommend Ashley Malcomson as a highly competent classroom teacher.

I have read the complete Final Report and certify that the assigned grade is PASS.

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PS III Final Report for Ashley Malcomson

Faculty Mentor Signature

Date

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