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

Stephanie Groten

Grade Level(s)

6-9

School

St. Marys Taber

Administrator

Mr. Randy Spenrath

Teacher Mentor

Mrs. Kira Lawrence

Faculty Mentor

Mr. Mel Fletcher

Intern Teachers Descriptive Report:

During my PSIII internship, I felt extremely blessed to be at St. Marys in Taber. Before the school
year had started, I was welcomed by all of the staff and St. Marys. Soon it felt like home. I
believe that I have learned many new ideas to implement into my daily teaching through this
practicum and have transitioned from an intern student into a teacher.
I taught Physical education for grades 6, 8 and 9. In my Physical Education class, I taught a wide
variety of sports and activities which increased motivation for my students. I implemented many
lead up games and activities into my lessons and I became comfortable with transitions and
classroom management skills throughout my experience. I had a few issues with participation and
changing out for class. A few management techniques that worked well for me were using wait
time, calling out 5 seconds, stopping music to get their attention, bringing pinnies and other
equipment out before class, pre-making teams on the board, asking teams or colors to bring out
and set up equipment, and keeping a routine for students. This routine included changing out,
meeting at the board for attendance and then going over the outcomes for the day.

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During my time at St. Marys, I also taught a grade 7/8 option class about bones and muscles.
This experience allowed me to take previous knowledge that I had learned from Kinesiology
classes and apply it in fun ways for the students. To motivate students to learn more about their
bodies, I implemented many movement activities and hands on work. I also implemented
technology in this class through an interactive jeopardy game on Smartnotebook, daily interactive
slideshows to show what outcomes we will be learning for the day, and educational games for
study purposes of memorizing the bones and muscles.
Throughout my practicum, I believe that I kept my pre-planning up to date. Before the year
started, I had completed a yearly Physical Education plan and finalized my first few units and
lesson plans. This allowed me to be prepared for my units and lessons on a daily basis and I felt
more comfortable as this sense of preparation encouraged transitions to happen more naturally.
During my internship, I felt as though I kept a good rapport with the students. I was on
supervision in the gymnasium on Wednesdays and enjoyed finding new groups of students to
create and build upon relationships. I believe that I maintained positive relationships with all of my
students during my time at St. Marys by encouraging hard work and being a role model for these
students.
Before the school year started, I kept in touch with Kira, my Teacher Mentor, about planning and
co-curricular opportunities. I began the year becoming part of the school community by coaching
the Junior Varsity girls volleyball team. We practiced 2-3 days a week and had games 1-2 days.
Throughout our season we had a home tournament and two away tournaments. During this
season, I had the experience of communicating with parents through emails, phone calls, and face
to face before and after games. After the volleyball season, I took on the head coaching position
for the Junior Varsity girls basketball team as well. This season began at the end of November and
goes until February. I hope that I can pass on the skills that I have learned when I was an athlete
to these girls as well as leave them truly loving basketball.
Overall, St. Marys was a fantastic experience for me because I felt welcomed by all staff and
students and quickly felt as though I was part of this school community. During my time here, I
think that I have grown more in my planning and delivery of lessons as well as in my confidence
of being a teacher. After this experience, I understand that teaching will be a life of learning and
that this career is truly a lifestyle that I am ready to live out. I am extremely excited for my future
and the opportunity to build on my life as a teacher through this rewarding lifestyle.

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Intern Teacher Signature

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.
School Administrator Comments:

Date

Steph Groten has been a wonderful addition to our students, our staff and our school community.
She has positively impacted our school culture with her commitment to learning as well as her
commitment to school activities. Steph provided instruction in Phys. Ed, and a grade 7-8 option
entitled, Body Talk. She coached in our junior high volleyball program and is currently
coaching basketball and is active in school community projects throughout our school. This was
and is a huge commitment on her part. In addition to her teaching assignment, she spent
countless hours volunteering her services and providing her talents to support a well-rounded
educational experience for our students.
In the classroom Steph provided strong lessons filled with engaging, active learning opportunities.
Her planning was impeccable. From informal and formal observations, Steph was very successful
in her curricular teaching assignments. I witnessed numerous teaching strategies that actively
engaged students in their learning. This was evident in every observation in her Phys. Ed and
option class.
While observing it was evident that Stephs enthusiasm, energy, expertise and rapport with
students was responsible for further engaging the students in higher level thinking, questioning
and understanding. I always looked forward to visiting Stephs classroom because there was
always something interesting, new and engaging going on. I recall visiting the option class lesson
on the skeletal and muscular systems. The students were actively engaged in a number of
activities that assisted their knowledge of these systems. The students were eager to find the
information and thoroughly enjoyed the methods used. Clearly, this lesson would have taken a
great deal of time to put together, yet Steph consistently provided these highly engaging and
active lessons for her students.
Steph related well to students both inside and outside the classroom during her internship. All
interactions observed were positive and she always encouraged and received high levels of student
participation. She has very good verbal skills and uses a variety of classroom management
strategies to support the warm and positive learning atmosphere in her classroom. We often see
some participation issues in gym classes especially as we approach the Grade 9 age group.
There were never any participation issues with Stephs classes. She created a very safe, caring,
engaging environment for ALL which manifested in full participation amongst her students. With
many teachers, classroom management is always something we can work to improve. Stephs

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social capacity with students and her planning took care of most management issues and I have
every confidence in her that she will continue to fill her teaching toolbox with more and more
strategies to deal with any issues that may come up in her classroom.
Steph has all the attributes to be a successful and professional teacher. I would not hesitate in
strongly recommending Steph for a teaching position in any school setting that she may make
application to.

School Administrator Signature

Date

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

Teacher Mentor Comments:

Stephanie Groten has successfully fulfilled all requirements of her PSIII internship at St. Marys
School. During her internship Stephanie has demonstrated incredible growth as a presence,
wonderful strengths in curriculum delivery, and a sincere openness to feedback, reflection and
professional learning all are very important quality of strong educators.
During her practicum Steph assumed responsibility for one-half of a 1.0FTE teaching
responsibility. Steph had three Physical Education classes and one option class in which she had
the invaluable opportunity to experience team teaching. In Physical Education Steph taught
grades 6, 8 and 9 and completed approximately four units over the course of four months. Stephs
option class was for students in grade 7 and 8 and she delivered a very well planned and
conducted course in basic anatomy. Stephs planning and execution of curriculum was strong, and
she incorporated her passions and previous experiences into each and every lesson allowing a very
authentic delivery of subject matter according to the context in which it was being delivered. She
also demonstrated the important ability to adjust and manipulate her lessons to suit the age, skill
and personality of each class. She approached all students with equity and empathy and her
shining optimism which created a safe and caring learning environment something that is
extremely important in Physical Education and the Junior High environment. I would encourage
Steph to continue following her instincts in the area of discipline and classroom management.
Strong transitions, sometimes difficult discipline discussions, presence in all spaces, and timing of
clean-up and change-out are essential to keeping an incident free Physical Education environment.
Smooth and strong transitions require an abundance of practice and experience. Steph has
demonstrated incredible growth in her confidence and assertiveness in this area, and will
undoubtedly continue to develop a range of transition techniques that will then contribute to her
strong lesson planning and delivery.
Typically in Physical Education and option classes one of the toughest pieces to perfect is
assessment practices. Stephanie definitely has a firm grasp on assessment and incorporated a
number of skill based and knowledge based assessment techniques to meet desired outcomes. In
her Body Talk basic anatomy class Steph certainly demonstrated outstanding planning and
assessment not an easy task when there are no specific outcomes. This is an excellent
experience for Steph and will contribute to her being a very strong CTF teacher in the future. I
would encourage Steph to continue her growth in the assessment area so that she can easily
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accommodate and adjust for a wider range of assessment practices for students in special
circumstances such as; prolonged absences, lacking appropriate Physical Education clothing, or
Individualized Learning Plan students who may need modified assessments.
One of the strongest ways to build relationships with students and the community is to create and
participate in co-curricular opportunities. Steph absolutely became a part of the fabric of our
building and the lives of the students through her value in this area. Steph provided multiple offcampus Physical Education experiences for her classes, and contributed massively to developing
young athletes through coaching volleyball and basketball at St. Marys School. Steph willingly
and openly took on any and all staff roles in our school which include weekly supervision, staff
meetings, Professional Development Days, leading school liturgies, communication with parents,
and participating in Leadership spirit days. Steph has become a valuable person in our building
because of her involvement in all aspects of our community. This is perhaps the greatest offering a
teacher can contribute.
I absolutely recommend Stephanie as a competent and professional educator.

Mentor Teacher Signature

Date

_________________________________

_____________________________

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

Faculty Mentor Comments:

Steph Groten has successfully completed her PS3 internship at St. Marys School in Taber. Steph
submitted her unit and lesson plans well before the internship began. Her plans were thorough
and comprehensive and demonstrated a good knowledge of the Program of Studies. She was
very professional in dealing with students, staff and peers. Her lesson delivery is exceptional as
she has energy, charisma, and a zest for life. She is a great example of enthusiasm and kindness.
She uses positive reinforcement and truly loves students and her subject major, PE. She
demonstrated that she is a team player, has contributed greatly to co-curricular activities and
whole school events. Her assessments covered a wide variety of learning styles, and she used her
assessments to reteach and reflect on her teaching. She is well organized and is always prompt
and reliable. She has a wonderful teacher presence and command the respect and cooperation of
her students. She is very skilled in athletics, and compassionate and helpful for those who are not.
I hereby recommend Steph Groten as a highly skilled and competent classroom teacher.

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

Faculty Mentor Signature

Date

September 2000
FE_Forms_PSIII

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