PS3 Planning for Growth

Megan Davis Grade 2 - 2016

Goal 1: Team

Related KSA

Strategies

Resources

Evidence of
Success

Timeline

Goal: To
incorporate
mindfulness within
the classroom to
endorse a safe,
calm, productive
classroom
environment.

KSA 1: Teachers
apply pedagogical
knowledge, skills,
and attributes based
on their continuing
analysis of
contextual
variables.

-Analyze contextual
variables of the
classroom on an
ongoing basis.
-Get to know
students and their
stories.

-Educational
Psychology
Woolfolk, Winne, &
Perry
-The First Days of
School Wong &
Wong

-Class Behavior
Improvement.
-Individual Student
Behavior
Improvement
(Manners,
Politeness,
Helping).

KSA 6: Teachers
create and maintain
environments that
are conducive to
student learning.

-Incorporate
mindfulness
practices into the
classroom through
mindful-minutes.
statue game, body
scans, breathing,
single-sense
experiences (sight,
smell, taste, sound,
touch).

-The Quiet
Revolution:
Mindfulness
Training Brings
Calm to Schools
by Judy Aldous
-3 Quick
Mindfulness
Practices to
Overcome Worry,
Anxiety and Panic
by Jodie Gien
- Yoga Pretzels by

-Students peer-Once a week.

assess the classroom
environment using a
class thermometer
on Thursdays.

-Ongoing
Observation.

Leah Kalish and

Tara Guber
Guiding Question:
How do
mindfulness
practices within the
classroom impact
students on a
personal and group
level?

KSA 9: Teachers
gather and use
information about
students learning
needs and progress.

- Students formally
self-assess before
and after the
mindful-minute
every Thursday.
- Students
informally selfassess when
necessary
throughout the
week.

KSA 10: Teachers

establish and
maintain
partnerships among
school, home and
community, and
within their own
schools.

-Maintain a close
conversation with
my Teacher
Associate about this
project.
-Share project
results with parents
as parent-studentteacher interviews.
-Potentially share
project with other

-The Quiet
Revolution:
Mindfulness
Training Brings
Calm to Schools
by Judy Aldous
-3 Quick
Mindfulness
Practices to
Overcome Worry,
Anxiety and Panic
by Jodie Gien
-Yoga Pretzels
Tara Guber and
Leah Kalish
-Making Classroom
Assessment Work
by Anne Davies
-The Leader in Me
by Stephen Covey

-Student
Mindfulness SelfAssessment.

-Once a week.

-Share Student SelfAssessments and

Peer Assessments
with Parents.
-Potentially, share
successes with other
classes or present
the project at a
school assembly.

-Parent-StudentTeacher Interviews.
-Potential class
share or assembly
could happen near
the end of the
semester.

classrooms or at a
school assembly.

Guiding Question: How do mindfulness practices within the classroom impact students on a personal and group level?
After four months of regular mindfulness practice, the students have demonstrated a vast improvement in managing personal emotions
and behaviors. Students are able to recognise where they are on the classroom thermometer and use the appropriate language to
identify emotions and express personal feelings. Several students who struggled with anger are now able to self-monitor and engage in
calming strategies without prompting. The weekly self-assessment and class-assessment worksheets demonstrate the movement from
high emotions towards more calm emotions on a personal level and on a class level. My anecdotal observations support this
movement. The conversations I overhear about conflict-resolution and emotional/behavioral regulation are astounding. The 5-point
scale was a huge part of my success for this learning goal. I also found Yoga Pretzels by Leah Kalish and Tara Guber a useful tool in
encouraging students to calm their breathing. Overall, I recognise mindfulness practices in the classroom as an excellent, worthwhile
tool to manage classroom behaviors and to help establish a safe, calm, productive classroom.

Goal 2:
Individual

Related KSA

Strategies

Resources

Goal: To
familiarize myself
with game theory
and implement
games as a
pedagogical tool in
my teaching.

KSA 4: Teachers
know there are
many approaches to
teaching and
learning.

-Research game
theory.
-Incorporate
meaningful learning
games into lesson
plans.
-Incorporate
interdisciplinary
themes into games.
-Create gamified
lessons and units.

-Moving Ideas:
Multimodality and
Embodied Learning
in Communities and
Schools Katz
-Institute of Play
PDF from Quest to
Learn Website
-Alberta Learning
Curriculum
-Scholarly Articles
-Internet Resources:
Webpages
Online-Games
-Teacher-made
Resources

Evidence of
Success
-Year Plans, Unit
Plans, and Lesson
Plans with the
incorporation of
games.
-Reflections.

Timeline
Ongoing.

Guiding Question:
How do games as
pedagogical tools
impact student
engagement and
learning in the
classroom?

KSA 5: Teachers
engage in a range of
planning activities.

-Create
interdisciplinary
year plans, unit
plans, and lesson
plans that
incorporate games.
-Create lesson plans
using game theory.
-Create a unit plan
using game theory.

KSA 7: Teachers
translate curriculum
content and
objectives into
meaningful learning
activities.

-Create
interdisciplinary
year plans and
lesson plans that
incorporate games.
-Create lesson plans
using game theory.
-Create a unit plan
using game theory.

KSA 8: Teachers
apply a variety of
technologies to
meet students

-Create
interdisciplinary
year plans, unit
plans, and lesson

-Institute of Play
PDF from Quest to
Learn Website
-Institute of Play
PDF from Quest to
Learn Website
-Alberta Learning
Curriculum
-Scholarly Articles
-Internet Resources:
Webpages
Online-Games
-Teacher-made
Resources
-Institute of Play
PDF from Quest to
Learn Website
-Alberta Learning
Curriculum
-Scholarly Articles
-Internet Resources:
Webpages
Online-Games
-Teacher-made
Resources
-Institute of Play
PDF from Quest to
Learn Website
-Alberta Learning

-Year Plans, Unit

Plans, and Lesson
Plans with the
incorporation of
games.
-Reflections.

Ongoing.

-Completed plans
with adequate
reflection.
-Student feedback
on the incorporation
of games including
what students
learned.
-Teacher feedback
on student
engagement.
-Year Plans, Unit
Plans, and Lesson
Plans with the
innovative

Ongoing

Ongoing

learning needs.

plans that
incorporate game
use using
technology in
innovative ways.

Curriculum
-Scholarly Articles
-Internet Resources:
Webpages
Online-Games
-Teacher-made
Resources

incorporation of
technology.
-Reflections.

Guiding Question: How do games as pedagogical tools impact student engagement and learning in the classroom?
The implementation of games as pedagogical tools in the classroom has an astounding impact on student engagement and learning.
Games make learning fun; if students are having fun, they are more willing to engage and more open to learn. Through the use of
games, I have witnessed increased engagement levels, large progress in learning, and less behavioral and/or classroom management
difficulties.
The online game I found most effective was Teach Your Monster to Read. This individualised literacy game incorporates literacy in a
fun game with great graphics. This game was a huge hit with students; there were even some students who played the game from
home. When students logged on, they were absorbed into their world. The conversations between students were excited conversations
about the game. Students were also willing to help others with sounding out letters or reading words. I would also often hear students
sound out letters or read aloud as they played. This game has an internal assessment system to track student understanding. I was able

to keep a close eye on student progress and make adjustments or intervene with students as necessary. I was always notified by e-mail
when a student graduated to the next level. When student did move to the next level, they received an e-book, which we would then
read together in the next class. It was a great way to get some one-on-one time with students.
The game-based unit I created - Buoyancy and Boats used an overarching narrative throughout the unit. I spent the first day selling
the story to the students. We had a lot of fun together on the first day, which was a very worthwhile investment. The students were
hooked, and were always asking what we were going to be doing in science class in the days following. Engagement levels increased
because of excitement over the narrative. The token chart also contributed to high levels of engagement. Students who finished their
work received a token for their team. Also, teams that worked well together and kept a positive attitude those who thought win-win
and synergized received an extra bonus token. The token chart was an easy game tool to encourage hard work throughout the unit.
Even the more reluctant learners in the classroom demonstrated increased levels of motivation to complete work; their quality of work
greatly improved.
Overall, approaching learning using game-based methods created a fun atmosphere of learning for both my students and me! I had fun
planning and creating the unit, and I had a lot of fun teaching the lessons and watching the reactions of the students. The students were
laughing and learning; a huge success in my books!