Kelly Baucom

ELED 432

1/29/2016

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Plan

1. Select:
What I can do well as a teacher of science:
*Because this is a tentative list and this is the beginning of our semester, I expect this list to
grow significantly throughout the semester as we begin to learn and create together as a class
o Encourage my students to constantly ask questions and inquire about the world
around them
o Teach the scientific method and how to do/conduct an experiment
o Be creative when planning lessons and finding activities that both fit with the
curriculum or topic AND engage students interests
o Teach thematically within and across subject areas
2. Reflect:

Make a list of possible things youd like to learn next as a teacher of science in order to
grow. What do I want to learn next in order to grow? What do I want to learn next to
prepare for student teaching and job interviews?

Things Id like to learn as a teacher of science:

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Become more confident with scientific knowledge and processes in general

Be able to answer as many students questions as possible
How to approach students questions when I do NOT know the answer
Know and understand how to approach ethical questions within the realm of science
(evolution, creation, Big Bang Theory, religion, etc.)
How to encourage students to become interested in science and enjoy learning about
science and scientific processes
Create a repertoire of activities that are fun for children and that they can re-create at
home with their parents and siblings
Create a list of helpful tools that a successful elementary science teacher should have
in their supply cabinet
How to address and cover the standards of learning (SOL) while keeping students
engaged and interested in the curriculum
How to assess students knowledge: balancing tests and graded activities
How to grade students scientific work (know what activities, assignments and
assessments need to be graded in order to track a students performance)
What I need to be able to bring to the table as a future teacher of science
What will make me stand out to possible employers as a future teacher of science

Kelly Baucom

ELED 432

1/29/2016

Choose one goal that you would like to work toward this semester. Your goal should be
specific, measureable, appropriate, realistic, and time-limited (S.M.A.R.T.).
My goal for the semester will be to develop ten activities that meet the standards of
learning (SOL) tenets and that involve and utilize household objects and/or ingredients
that are easily accessible and attainable so that students will have the ability to re-create
these activities at home with their families and friends. Involving these types of activities
in the classroom will help students become more engaged in scientific learning and will
allow students families and friends to become more involved in their scientific
education.

4. Project:

Make a plan for how you will meet your goal. What will I do to accomplish this?
I will do a vast amount of research on the standards of learning as well as what types of
activities that could be done to help teach these standards. Then, I will choose the
activities, based off of these standards of learning that can be done using common
household objects and grocery store ingredients and come up with a repertoire of
experiments and procedures that students could easily re-create at home in order to share
what they have learned in class with their families.

What will you do in and out of class to meet your goal?

I will take note of the activities that we do in class that could be used for this project and
take note of the materials that we use that a student could easily get access of. I will do a
vast amount of research out of class in terms of what types of activities could be done to
satisfy this goal and that I could share with my students and fellow teachers in the future.
I will make a portfolio of these activities at the end of the semester. Each activity profile
will include a title, description, appropriate grade level(s), procedure methods and the
standards of learning that accompany the activity.

How will you use choices within class assignments to help you reach your goal? Look
over the syllabus for ELED 432 and course assignment descriptions to see which ones
could support your work toward your goal.
In terms of the lesson plan that we have to complete in our practicum setting, I could
absolutely create an activity that the students in my class can re-create at home and do
with their families. This goal will challenge me to focus on several of the tenets in the
success criteria:
-demonstrate knowledge of science concepts appropriate for Pre-K to 6th grade learners
-demonstrate knowledge of the Virginia Standards of Learning and the Next Generational
Science Standards for Pre-K to 6th grade

Kelly Baucom

ELED 432

1/29/2016

-match evidence-based practices to the teaching and learning of

specific Virginia Standards of Learning and the Next Generation
Science Standards for Pre-K to 6th
-select, develop, and organize activities which foster attitude, process,
and concept development in appropriate science areas
-identify and use available professional resources that are appropriate
for teaching and learning science in Pre-K to 6th grades
When reading the book and doing my weekly prep notes, I will be on
the look-out for activities and ideas that I could use to reach this goal.

Make a plan for how you will document your process. What might I use for
documentation?
o What documents could you have to include in your portfolio and for your goal
updates? Consider, photos, your notes, assignments, documents you create, etc.
I will include activity profiles for each activity that I find and include all of the
elements that I previously stated. I will also include images of all of the necessary
ingredients and a list of household objects that could be used to complete any of
the activities that I find or create. I will include all of my research and the
standards of learning that I discover and base my activities off of.
o Consider how this assignment could be integrated with your other courses. What
assignments in your other courses could help you reach your goal? Have you
already created a professional website or e-portfolio that you could combine with
this assignment?
I have an academic Weebly that I could either add to or re-master in order to
complete this activity. I could also work with my cooperating teacher to discover
activities that could help me reach this goal of creating an activity repertoire. I am
not sure yet which activities in other classes could help me with this goal but I do
know that some of the seminar discussions that we may have over the course of
the semester will help me be creative when planning these activities.