Hub Part A Part B Part C

Field IV / First Year Teaching (Feb - April 2026)

Context & Goal

Name: Lucas Johnson

Timeframe: Feb - April 2026

Goal: To improve my ability to use formative assessment strategies to provide timely, actionable feedback that guides student learning.

Rationale: My synthesis in Part B revealed a need to move beyond evaluating final student products and toward monitoring growth in real-time. I am transitioning my practice to focus on "live" instructional regulation, ensuring that interventions are proactive rather than retrospective. By prioritizing Assessment for Learning (AfL), I aim to elicit "instructionally tractable" evidence (Wiliam, 2011) that empowers students to close learning gaps mid-stream. This strategy serves as the active "Operations Floor" of my Assessment Warehouse model (developed in EDUC 569), transforming data into immediate, actionable coaching.

Alignment (TQS)

Primary Competency

Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge

Specific Indicators

  • "Generate evidence of student learning to inform teaching practice through a balance of formative and summative assessment experiences."
    I selected this indicator because generating evidence is only valuable if it actively "informs teaching practice." My growth focuses on the "formative" side of this balance, ensuring data changes my instruction day-to-day.
  • "Provide accurate, constructive and timely feedback on student learning."
    Feedback loses its potency if it arrives too late. My focus here is on the "timely" aspect—shortening the loop between student action and teacher guidance.

Action Plan Dashboard

Timeline Strategy / Action Item Status
Before Field IV Research & Selection
Review Timperley (2011) Chapter 1 to identify "Check for Understanding" techniques that require all-student response (avoiding "raised hand" bias).		 Completed
Weeks 1-2 Initial Implementation
Implement daily "Check-in" routines (e.g., whiteboard flashes, exit slips) to gauge immediate understanding.
Focus: Getting comfortable collecting data without grading it.		 In Progress
Weeks 3-4 Feedback Cycle
Introduce "Feedback Friday" routine where students receive written feedback on draft work.
Focus: Dedicating class time for students to act on the feedback immediately.		 Upcoming
Ongoing Monitoring & Equity
Maintain a "Feedback Log" to track who I speak to.
Focus: Ensuring "quiet" students receive as much coaching as vocal ones.		 Ongoing

Success Indicators

  • [x] Strategy Bank: I have created a bank of 5 formative assessment strategies (e.g., 3-2-1 Exit Slips, ABCD Cards) that I can rotate weekly to keep engagement high.
  • [ ] Adaptive Instruction: I will be able to name specific adjustments I made to my lesson plans (e.g., "I re-taught fractions because 60% of exit slips showed confusion") based on the data collected.
  • [ ] Student Agency: Student questions will shift from "What grade did I get?" to "How can I improve this part?", demonstrating they value the feedback process over the final score.

Growth Reflection

Reflecting on my current practice to achieve this goal:

More of

Feedback during the process. Hattie & Timperley (2007) note that feedback is most effective when it addresses the task and process, not the self. I need to increase the frequency of "task-level" feedback while students are still wrestling with concepts, reducing anxiety and preventing cemented misconceptions.

Stop

Relying on "Gotcha" Grading. I must stop viewing assessment as a way to catch students not listening ("Does everyone understand?" followed by silence). Instead, I will view assessment as a mirror for my own teaching—if they didn't learn it, I need to adjust how I taught it.

Adaptability

Pivoting based on data. I need to become comfortable deviating from my "perfect" lesson plan if the real-time data tells me the class isn't with me. This flexibility is the hallmark of responsive pedagogy.

New

Peer-Assessment Protocols. Utilizing Assessment AS Learning strategies. By teaching students to assess each other using "Stars & Wishes," I am effectively multiplying the number of teachers in the room, making the feedback loop significantly tighter and more sustainable.

Resources Needed

People

  • Partner Teacher: To model effective feedback language and help me calibrate my "Feedback Friday" comments (ensuring they are age-appropriate).
  • University Consultant: To provide observation feedback specifically on my use of "all-response" strategies during lessons.

Tools

  • Templates: Exit Slip library (digital and paper).
  • Feedback Journal: A private log to track which students I have coached one-on-one to ensure equitable distribution of my time.

📚 References

  • Alberta Education. (2023). Teaching quality standard. Government of Alberta.
  • Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
  • Timperley, H. S. (2011). Realizing the power of professional learning. Open University Press.
  • Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning? Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001