About me
Hi there!
I'm currently a student at UVic working towards becoming a certified teacher here in Victoria, BC. I have a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Alberta, which I earned in 2011. After receiving my BPE, I worked with Canadian Sport for Life in Victoria as a project coordinator and resource creator/editor. The majority of my work with the Sport for Life movement revolved around Physical Literacy. More specifically, how to assess Physical Literacy (Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth - PLAY tools) and how it can be used to prevent injuries (PLAY Safe Guide) .
After my work with Canadian Sport for Life, I moved to Montreal to work as a game designer for a small indie company, where I worked on various apps for Android and iOS. This lasted for a few years until I decided I wanted to try my hand at teaching, at which point I flew out to South Korea to teach English at an after-school academy.
I spent a year and a half in South Korea teaching English and developing my passion for teaching. Overall, meeting new friends and connecting with the students was an amazing experience.
My favorite sports include volleyball, squash, table tennis, disc golf, and spikeball (if you haven't tried it, you should!).
I'm also currently a volunteer volleyball coach at Esquimalt High School, where I coach their junior girls team.
Past Work
Below are some of the resources that I've worked on with Canadian Sport for Life.
Benjamin Robillard's portfolios
Ben's Digital Portfolio
(5 pages)Benjamin Robillard's groups
EPHE 452 - 2019
(Member)Cam and Brett
(Member)Teaching Philosphy
My teaching philosophy is built around four key concepts: Individuality, Improvement, Integrity, and Respect. Each concept is built on a foundation of research, personal experiences, and ethics, which I have used to shape my values as a teacher.
Individuality
I believe that everyone is unique, and that we all have our own pathways to achieving our goals. As a teacher, it is my job to help each student create, understand and develop their own goals, and to help make their pathways clear. I accept that everyone has different experiences, values, and goals, and I will strive to give every individual the opportunities they need to succeed.
Improvement
I teach to improve the quality of life for each individual in my classroom, and also to improve our society as a whole. My role as a teacher is to prepare students for the successes and failures of life, while showing them that each and every experience is an opportunity for learning and improvement. At the end of the day, learning is about constantly improving, and becoming the best version of yourself. With more capable individuals, we make a stronger society.
Integrity
I want to be honest, trustworthy and reliable. I also want my decisions to be based on strong moral principles. Students should feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and emotions with me, knowing that I will always give them thoughtful and truthful responses.
Respect
Finally, students must learn to respect and understand themselves in order to be effective learners. High self-efficacy has a direct impact on students’ motivation to learn (activity choices, effort, persistence, and emotional reactions), which makes it an important factor to develop throughout one’s lifetime.
Students must also respect their teacher for our words and ideas to hold any value. For this reasons, respect is something that must be earned and maintained by both parties.
These four concepts highlight my values as a teacher, and by upholding them I can help students become self-directed learners; people who take charge and responsibility for their own learning. By developing self-directed learners, we develop people who can communicate, think, and interact on a personal or social level, which is in line with the core competencies of BC’s new curriculum.
