Teaching Quality Standard (Interim

Certification)

The Teaching Quality Standard is the job description for teachers in

Alberta. It will serve as a central part of our professional dialogue through
the year. Its very important to understand and work within this job
description. It may also be helpful in the preparation of your Teacher
Professional Growth Plan and invaluable in developing your portfolio.
The following descriptors are part of Ministerial Order #016/97, Section (2)
Descriptors of Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes Related to Interim
Certification. For each of the following, read the appropriate descriptor in the
Teaching Quality Standard, think about the way you work and the things that
you do, and make a few notes on what you do well. Reflect on what that
means with respect to your professional growth. Its best to give examples
from your present work, and as recently as possible.
KSA #1: You understand that contextual variables affect teaching and learning. You know how to
analyse many variables at one time and how to respond by making reasoned decisions about your
teaching practice and students learning;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #2: You understand the structure of the Alberta education system. You know the different roles in
the system and how responsibilities and accountabilities are determined, communicated and enforced,
including what is expected of you under the Certification of Teachers Regulation (A.R. 261/90 as
amended) and the teacher evaluation policy of your school authority;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
Between the seminar meeting and applying for graduation I feel like I have become much more
acquainted with this KSA. When I got the email reminding us to apply for graduation and the TQS I felt
completely clueless. I didnt know what to do or where to look. However, after talking to some of my
peerswho felt the same wayI started to feel better in a Im not alone sort of way.
On Monday, at the PD session I overheard the principal and VP talking about the lack of substitutes in the
division. I immediately shot up my hand and told them I would love to substitute come January. The VP
replied deal! However, Mrs. Arend looked at me and reminded me I needed to get all my paperwork
done first. I felt a bit put off at first but then it reminded me that she is simply doing her job. She is
following her roles and responsibilities as an administrator.
These two moments came to into perspective when we talked about the Professional Code of Conduct and
the Alberta School Act. Every member of a school has a job to doeven the studentsand when we
dont comply to our roles and responsibilities we are threatening the validity of the institution and our

practice. I do think teachers need and deserve a life out of the school, however, there is a professional
conduct that we need to uphold 24/7. I did not know that a principal could assign you to do certain jobs
on and off campus, but it does make sense. Everyone needs to put in a little effort and contribute to a
school to make it successfulalthough taking advantage of one teacher or staff member is unwarranted.
As teachers we must be accountable and respect authority or else how can we expect our students to do
the same?
What artifact illustrates this?
To show my understanding of this KSA in my portfolio I would provide a link to the ATA Professional
Code of Conduct or the Alberta School Act, perhaps even taking a few relevant quotes from the
documents and placing them alongside a staff picture (to show the respect of colleagues and the trust I
have in their judgement). Or something along those lines.

KSA #3: You understand the purposes of the Guide to Education and programs of study germane to the
specialization or subject disciplines that you are prepared to teach. You know how to use these
documents to inform and direct your planning, instruction and assessment of student progress;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #4: You understand the subject disciplines you teach. You have completed a structured program of
studies through which you acquired the knowledge, concepts, methodologies and assumptions in one or
more areas of specialization or subject disciplines taught in Alberta schools;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #5: You understand that all students can learn, albeit at different rates and in different ways. You
know how to identify students different learning styles and when and how to engage other styles. You
understand the need to respond to differences by creating multiple paths to learning for individuals and
groups of students, including students with special learning needs;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
This week I had to consider differentiating a lot. Not only did my principal think the novel studies I chose
too difficult for my class, I also had a student in Social 30-2 who takes about 3 times as long as anyone
else to process his thoughts.
First, lets start with the novel study. I chose Deathwatch and What they dont Know as a viable option for
my weaker readers. However, my principal felt they were too difficult. I panickedI thought I would
have to start from scratch, perhaps not even doing this unit at all. Then I talked to Ms. Lodermierthe
Librarian and my EAand found that she was shocked with the feedback I had gotten. We discussed how
she may be able to help read the first chapters out loud to the students until they get a basic understanding
of the novel and can read individually, or with the help of an audiobook. Both are shorter books than the

novels the stronger kids are reading so I hope that they will have time in class to finish the assignments
if not I will accommodate for them by extending deadlines, and modifying the assignments. They will
also have the opportunity to move into a quieter room, with less distraction, when working one-on-one
with Ms. Lodermier.
Now my Social 30-2 student. From what I have heard from other teachers is that he has extreme selfconfidence issues as well as a long processing time. This first assignment was mostly for me to see where
they were in regards to grade level. Although, after Mondays work period, I could tell this student would
need more helpthere was nothing on his page. The next day I sat with him and talked to him about what
he wanted to write. After some questioning he finally began to make sense. I encouraged him and left him
to type what we had talked about. Last night I marked the papers. Something was definitely lost in
translation in regards to this student. For the next assignment I want to try getting him to talk about his
ideas in a recorder so he can listen to it while he types or hand in a polished video recording of his work.
Hopefully this will help his ideas come forth without the stress of putting them down on paper.
I almost forgot! In Social 30-2, I also have a student who has vision problems. To accommodate for him
we must enlarge any handouts, read aloud, and give him PowerPoints ahead of time. I am sure I will find
that I must differentiate for many of my students, but as of this week, these were the biggest issues I had
to overcome.
What artifact illustrates this?
I could include a modified assignment for my grade 8/9 novel study. I could also include an assignment
from my slow processor before and after we have tried the tape recording method.

KSA #6: You understand the purposes of short, medium and long-range planning. You know how to
translate curriculum and desired outcomes into reasoned, meaningful and incrementally progressive
learning opportunities for students. You also understand the need to vary your plans to accommodate
individuals and groups of students;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
I had to modify the novel study for one of my students, instead of doing the project on the novel they will
be doing their assignments based on a short story. He seems much more engaged and willing to
participate in the assignment now.
At the PD session this week, Shane and I went to a CTF PD session. After hearing about all of the
different PD projects going on in Horizon we began to chat and decided to do a combined unit with an
outdoor ED/hunting focus. While I did have an idea for my next unit, this seems so much more applicable
and I think the students will be very engaged and learn more in our combined unit than on a
newspaper/reporter/photography unit that I plan on my own. This experience has only reinforced my
thoughts on planning: I think that you can be 100% planned but once you meet the students they will
inevitably change, and that is okay! Teachers should be flexible and willing to change for the benefit of
their students. We have to cultivate their interests and passions, not force them to do projects just because
I planned them in the summerand isnt that what CTF is all about anyway.
What artifact illustrates this?
I could use a unit plan for either the CTF challenge that Shane and I build, or the Film Study Unit with
highlighting on any aspects that particularly focus on scaffolding and DI. I could also show exemplars
from the final project in the Novel Study both from a high achieving student and the student I modified
for and describe how they both met the same outcomes, despite different texts and varying answer
lengths.

KSA #7: You understand students needs for physical, social, cultural and psychological security. You
know how to engage students in creating effective classroom routines. You know how and when to apply
a variety of management strategies that are in keeping with the situation and that result in minimal
disruptions to students learning;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?

This week marked the beginning of my teaching at Erle Rivers High School. Yes, class started on
September 1st, but this is the week that I began to implement my expectations and routines. Now
that my students have been to the library they understand that they must read for the first 10
minutes of classone day I disrupted this routine and despite it only being in the first week the
students were confused about the switch. This reaction showed me how well the 8/9 group
responds to structure and routine, they thrive and like a routine. When they come to class they
know exactly what they should be doing and they get to work which gives them a psychological
and social security. This will help me in planning my next unit the novel study.
I also established the school policy on lates in my classroom to solidify the importance of
getting on time and not being disruptive. The class is very rambunctious, but that doesnt mean
they have the right to be inappropriate, I feel I have established a line in my classroom that the
students respect and adhere to in their behaviouralthough low level responses to students is a
large part of my classroom management (calling students name, proximity, one-on-one
conversation).
On Friday, we had the first annual Erle Fest. This was 100 minutes of team activities that
encouraged students to interact with students of various grades. For some students the
competition level was highfor others, not so much. However, despite the level of engagement
from various students a school community was established. I love these kinds of events because I
feel they really bring a school together, so I jumped right in and forced myself on to a team. I
tried my best to get the moral and enthusiasm up for the benefit of the students.
What artifact illustrates this?

During Erle Fest, one of the staff members took pictures of the teachers interacting positively
with the students. This artifact would illustrate my belief in establishing positive relationships
with the students. I could also include a classroom management plan to show how I deal with my
students to ensure my classroom is a safe and caring learning environment.

KSA #8: You understand the importance of respecting students human dignity. You know how to
establish, with different students, professional relationships that are characterized by mutual respect,
trust and harmony;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
This week was very interesting. I have been having issues with one student distracting the classroom over
the last few weeks and this week he escalated to the point where I could no longer instruct and my
authority was being undermined. So, we took a walk to the principals office. It was definitely a learning
curve for menot only have I never been sent to the principals office I had also never sat on this side of
the table. His reactions were predictable in some respects and yet surprising in others. Hearing his
perspective on what had been happening in class was enlightening. He was feeling very singled out in the

classroom and pretty much told me that I was an awful teacher. I learned that while I may not be singling
him out in my mindin his it is completely unfair. I may not agree with him but I respect him enough to
come to a mutual agreement where I will write a students name on the board as soon as I say their name.
Every consecutive time I call their name they will get a tick. This strategy gives me and him a visual of
where and who I am disciplining. I also hope that this will instill a sense of trust in my classroom.
Students will not have to feel singled out, because they will see their peers names on the board as well.
While I had been assuming a good natured bugging relationshiphe was continuing to feel isolated
and made fun of. I feel terrible that I had to learn from my mistakes instead of anticipating them, and I
hope I never make this mistake again. I felt like this was definitely a learning process for me. (It also
helped that I had an amazing staff supporting me and talking me through this process)
On the other side of the spectrum, one of my students with ODD worked exceptional well this week and
handed in an assignment on Thursday that was not due until Friday saying; I never thought I would get it
all done, but I did it! It was a very rewarding moment for me to see how proud and happy he was with
himself. I knew that the time I had taken to get to know him was well worth it and he felt comfortable to
come and get extra help during AEP when he needed it.
This is a pretty profound growth opportunity for a teacher Katelyn. I appreciate that you took the time to
consider his conduct comes from a place thats true for him. I expect he will appreciate that youve heard
him out and reconsidered your approach. Some teachers, myself included, dont discover this until a bit
later in their career, and its very shocking then. Ill tell you about it sometime.
What artifact illustrates this?
I am hoping to get a class picture at the end of the year, or if I get any cards from the students, I would
include these in my portfolio to show that we have a positive classroom community. Or I could take a
picture of the board after there are names on it to show the strategy I have learned to employ when
students are feeling isolated by the teacher.
KSA #9: You understand that there are many approaches to teaching and learning. You know a broad
range of instructional strategies appropriate to your area of specialization and the subject discipline that
you teach. You also know which strategies are appropriate to help different students achieve different
outcomes;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #10: You understand the functions of traditional and electronic teaching/learning technologies.
You know how to use these technologies and how to engage students in using these technologies to
present and deliver content, communicate effectively with others, find and secure information, research,
word process, manage information and keep records
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
In my novel study I have the students making Facebook Posts/ Tweets based on their knowledge of
the book. I was initially going to do it on a bulletin board in the classroom but I wanted it to be as
authentic as possible. Hence, www.missperlichnovelstudy.weebly.com this website will be accessed by
the students via IPads or phones. Once on the website they choose their novel study and comment on the
blog as a character in the novel, or with some insight into the novel. I was so excited when I finished it,
however, I did hit some roadblocks. First, I had to figure out a way to get the weebly site unblocked from

the horizon divisionnot to hard just had to email the tech at the board office. Second, having students
names on the internet is a direct violation of the FOIP. So, instead of each student responding with their
name they now have a number, or when there is a group response they have group names depending on
which novel study they belong too.
While there were questions of inappropriate comments being put up and stealing another persons
number, I feel as though I have made the expectations clear and I am very excited to see how the students
engage with this activity. Their initial response is positive so that gives me motivation to use this website
frequently so they become comfortable with it and want to interact with their peers on the website about
their books.
Instead of using the bulletin board for the facebook/twitter account it is now being used to place all of the
characters in And Then There Were None with photos and MISSING PERSONS sheets so that the
students have an easy reference when trying to sort out the characters. I think this is a much more
effective use of the traditional bulletin board. Having the social media aspects of this unit on the internet
and the bulletin board formatted like a detectives notebook, brings more authenticity into my unti.
What artifact illustrates this?
I would provide I link from my portfolio website to this website.
KSA #11: You understand the purposes of student assessment. You know how to assess the range of
learning objectives by selecting and developing a variety of classroom and large-scale assessment
techniques and instruments. You know how to analyse the results of classroom and large-scale assessment
instruments, including provincial assessment instruments, and how to use the results to benefit students;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #12: You understand the importance of engaging parents, purposefully and meaningfully, in all
aspects of teaching and learning. You know how to develop and implement strategies that create and
enhance partnerships among teachers, parents and students;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
This week was my first time leading parent-teacher interviews and the experience was very enlightening.
Some of the parents I was nervous about were great and the ones I thought would be a breeze were at
times intimidating. Overall, it was a positive experience. It was nice to know that the majority of parents
are on your sidemy student, after all, is their pride and joyand they want to know that you are doing
the best you can for their son or daughter.
I did not have a working laptop at the beginning but I made sure to grab parents emails so I could send
them updates on their childs work if they desired. With many of them we talked about how to best work
with the student and what they wanted out of themwhich helps me in planning for them. Do they need
to be at a certain grade level? What out-of-school arrangements do they have in regards to their childs
academic achievement and how I can help the student meet these expectations?
I also offered to walk through the report card with any of the parents if they were unsure how I came to
the marks I did. They seemed to appreciate my open door policy as well.
What artifact illustrates this?
I would include Kacies observations of me during Parent-Teacher Interviews in my portfolio to reflect

this KSA
KSA #13: You understand that student learning is enhanced by using home and community resources.
You know how to identify resources relevant to teaching and learning objectives and how to incorporate
these resources into your teaching and into students learning;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
Looking back on this week I feel as though home and community has been utilized in a variety of ways.
On Thursday we had the Terry Fox run. This is an annual event for both the high school and elementary.
Not only is it an event to remember the iconic Terry Fox and his contributions to cancer research, it also
got students in the community in a positive setting. All members of the community were encouraged to
participate in the walk and we received numerous waves and cars honking while taking the trip around
town. I think it is very important for students to get out in the community so they are seen as participating
citizens and not delinquent kids. It also makes the community more inclined to give something back to
their youth.
In CTF this week, we were working on making a menu for the concession at their business. I encouraged
students to make an item on their menu so that we can all taste a bit of what they have to offer. I wanted
the students to get the opportunity to try new things. This was the only time I have asked them to bring
something from home and the response was very enthusiastic. They all wanted to contribute and show
something from their home life. It also helped that one of the grade twelve students brought his grandma
in to the school to make bannock this week. After the students were able to taste something unique they
got more involved in this portion of the class. Having a member of the community come into the school
to promote their culture is a great way to use the community to give students an authentic learning
experience.
And, finally, on our PD day on Friday, we looked over each of the students files and discussed their codes
if they had anyand some students are in need of special attention. While this may seem trivial in
regards to home and community resources, our discussion was not. I learned a lot about my students and
about their home lives. While it is sometimes tempting to take advantage of home resources, many kids
do not have the home life that contributes to their learning. From a lack of technology, to a lack of parent
involvement, to a lack of breakfast in the morningsome of these kids need access to resources that so
many of their peers have at home. So, in a sense I disagree that student learning is enhanced by using
home resources, for some students their home life may be a disadvantage. When this is the case we must
utilize the community resources we do have access to. For example, many of the teachers keep a box of
granola bars available for students, but we discussed going one step further and inquire into the local
grocery store. We are hoping that they will either donate fresh foods, or give the school any product that
does not sellas long as it is still edible.
What artifact illustrates this?
In my portfolio I could include images of the Terry Fox run, or from our menu tasting day. I have also
taking my students on a community walk and could include that lesson plan. If, or when, our breakfast
program gets running, I could include any contributions I had in establishing it in the school.
Good artifacts. Take lots of pictures.
KSA #14: You understand the importance of contributing, independently and collegially, to the quality
of your school. You know the strategies whereby you can, independently and collegially, enhance and
maintain the quality of your school to the benefit of students, parents, the community and colleagues;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?

This week we had our first day of intramurals, and it was even more successful than I had anticipated.
The teams ranged from grade 6-12which I though may be an issue, but everyone was being considerate
of the different age levelsand there were many spectators. At this early stage I am glad we are
contributing to the school in this way. I think it will promote a positive school climate and will build
relationships between students, teachers and peers. This was a great project for Shane and I to contribute
to the school, especially when looking at its initial success. This week is also spirit week at the school as
we are hosting a high school girls volleyball tournament this weekend. Not only have I been participating
in spirit week and promoting it with my students, but I have also signed up to help supervise over the
weekend. Encouraging students to participate in the school and being an adult that actually follows
through on my words (by volunteering on the weekend) the teachers at ERHS offer students a great role
model in promoting a positive, caring and helpful community.
Last night at the staff meeting I have also volunteered to help with basketball when it starts. I think this is
important because it not only allows me to build relationships with the students outside of a rigid
classroom structure, but it also gets me into the parent community where I can build relationships
outside of the report cardas well. Teachers need to help the school with extracurricular activities in
order to build a school that offers a wide variety of activities for their students, parents also appreciate
when teachers put in the extra time with their children.
What artifact illustrates this?
Pictures from Spirit Week, pep rally, and volunteering. I could also put in any cards or gifts I get from
students after the basketball season is completethat may be jumping to conclusions so if I dont get any
pictures will do just fine.
KSA #15: You understand the importance of career-long learning. You know how to assess your own
teaching and how to work with others responsible for supervising and evaluating teachers. You know
how to use the findings of assessments, supervision and evaluations to select, develop and implement
your own professional development activities;
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #16: You understand the importance of developing a personal, overall vision of the purpose of
teaching and using it to guide your actions. You are able to communicate your vision, including how it
has changed as a result of new knowledge, understanding and experience; and
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?

KSA #17: You understand that you are expected to achieve the Teaching Quality Standard.
What have I done to demonstrate I meet this descriptor?
What artifact illustrates this?