Professional Learning Goal:

As an educator, teaching lessons does not begin to scratch the surface of daily duties. Mundane
units with lessons students sit through respectfully before completing all assignments and
assessments without a flaw is often what comes to mind when experienced teachers and perfect
classrooms are depicted. It would be dishonest of me to say that many of my own professional
practice goals do not move me closer to the perfect classroom with perfect students.
Understanding that perfection is unattainable at best has forced me to shift my professional
practice goals to something more realistic. Social and emotional learning is often a missing link
in education. Students are not taught to work through issues as they arise and, more importantly,
effectively work with both classmates and instructors. For the duration of the student teaching
experience my professional practice goal as a teacher candidate at Shepherd High School will be
the following:

Support the incorporation of the principals of social and emotional

learning into the agriculture education curriculum for grades 6-12
by the promotion of its ideals in the classroom and utilization of
the full scope of the agriculture education curriculum.

Professional Practice Goal:

Diversity amongst students is vast, but what should not vary is each students access to
appropriate education that both meets their needs and caters to some of their wants. It has been
made clear to me that several of the students I will see in each class will have an IEP,
emotional/behavioral needs, or health accommodations. In order to best serve these students,
during my time as a teacher candidate in agriculture education at Shepherd High School I will:

Attend all IEP meetings as well as those meetings where

accommodations are discussed and emotional/behavioral issues
are addressed with the appropriate Principal/Counselor while also
meeting individually with students and parents/guardians so that I
may begin to understand the needs of my students more fully.
Additionally, I will research diversified learning strategies to
implement in the classroom to make learning more accessible for
all students.

Anticipated New Knowledge:

Inexperience here serves me well as the anticipated new knowledge I will gain is limitless. Social
and emotional learning is a fascinating subject that agriculture education and FFA begins to
explore; delving further into this area of education not only enhances my drive to help develop
students into well-rounded individuals, but also provides a more intimate connection with the
curriculum at hand. My very basic understanding of social and emotional learning can only be
deepened. In practice, attending all meetings for my students will provide valuable insight into
life beyond the classroom for my students. Often, it is not what is going on in the classroom that
has the greatest effect on learning, but what occurs outside your door. These meetings will help
me to provide the right tools for each students tool box and show a commitment to making sure
the tools are used.

Time Frame:

A goal without a deadline is simply a dream. Fourteen weeks will be the time frame for both the
professional practice and professional learning goal as that is the extent of my student teaching
experience.

Specific Professional Development Activities:

Shepherd Public School is committed to providing professional development opportunities for its
educators. Each week from 2:30 4:00 pm, educators meet within their cohort to furthering their
development as professionals. During these professional learning community meetings,
educators are able to self-direct their professional development by selecting topics for
exploration that meet their needs and wants. My participation in these professional learning
community meetings will be crucial to attaining my goals. Other professional development
activities are limited for the topics I have selected to focus my goals so it will be imperative to
rely on other educators within my cohort to help me in my journey.

Evidence of Attainment:

Marking achievement for my professional practice goal will be quite easy. I can either attend all
meetings or not; plain and simple. If I attend all meetings and take special care to do more
listening than talking I will be able to foster student learning for all students in my classroom.
Adjustments may need to be implemented along the way, but a foundational understanding is
where building a stable teacher-student relationship beings. Once this relationship is established
and student achievement becomes my primary focus, assessments and class participation will
improve drastically further serving as evidence of attainment for my professional practice goal.
Evidence of achievement for my professional learning goal will not be so cut and dried. There is
no basic assessment that can be done or test to be conducted that displays my understanding or
attainment of social and emotional learning in the classroom. My hope is that if one where to
walk by my classroom door and any given time they would see and hear a class full of excited
learners that respect each other, laughter and smiles, and students who refuse to give up even
when things get tough.

Resources Needed:

1. Access to current information the internet, conferences, PIR days, PLCs, etc.
2. A functional relationship with my CT, school administration, and other educators
3. Students willing to help me learn and try new things
4. Intrinsic motivation to further my own knowledge base
 E D U C A T I O N

coopEration
coorDination
commUnication
expeCtation
inspirAtion
parTicipation
apprecIation
infOrmation
imagiNation

Shepherd Public Schools aims to focus on EDUCATION. While I will only be part of
this community for a short time, expressing my commitment to students and the school makes it
clear that I understand my part in supporting EDUCATION. If I were to not align my goals with
the school wide agenda and focus on No Excuses I would be doing my students a grave
disservice. Growing up in a small school in rural Montana, I remember teachers having a
genuine interest and concern for me both in and out of the classroom. As an educator, I want my
students to feel that I care deeply for them, understand their wants and needs, and do everything
in my power to support them. These goals force me to take an active role in developing each
students full potential for personal success. Student learning cannot, and should not occur,
without support and championing by dedicated educators for each student as an individual in the
scope of public education. Having goals that do not work toward furthering student success and
fostering student achievement are selfish and have no place in schools. Teaching students to
achieve both socially, personally, and academically is something that will not occur over night
and can only be attained through modeling and guidance. My professional learning and practice
goals will help students to see that I am dedicated to them as students and life-long learners.
Students should not be judged as a means for me to declare attainment of my professional
goals. Commitment to my students should, instead, speak volumes of my pursuit of my goals.
While assessment scores my begin to reflect positively the achievement of my goals, they should
not be the sole determining factor for evidence of attainment.

Part B:

During my time at Shepherd High School, I received immense support in achieving my

professional practice and learning goals. My cohort was extremely receptive to the idea of
fostering social and emotional learning in the classroom and felt that our place in Career and
Technical Education was an excellent platform for its implementation. While fourteen weeks
was the original timeline for both goals, it simply was not enough time to determine my success
in achieving these goals. In my classroom, there was a notable change in student attitudes and
receptiveness to learning throughout the course of my student teaching. I believe this was due,
largely, to my commitment to the goals I had stated for myself at the beginning of the semester.
The relationships I developed with my CT, students, school administrators, parents, and school
staff was vital to the perceived success of my goals. I simply wish I had more time in the
classroom to continue learning from my students. They showed me how important it is to be
present in every aspect of their school experience. Professional Learning Communities each
Wednesday were the single-most beneficial activity I participated in during student teaching. Not
only did this give me access to a dedicated community of learners it also provided a sounding
board and system of support. Their commitment to furthering education and supporting students
was truly motivational and something that will stick with me for the rest of my life regardless of
where my future career may lead.