Professional Development Day
On Friday, November 24th our Reynolds cohort of Truvic students were invited to our first Pro-D day. This was an exciting opportunity that included a guest speaker, Jan Unwin, at the Royal BC Museum. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but this day turned out to be very beneficial for my own professional development. The day started with a talk by Sellemah, a local elder who expressed the importance of reconciliation, among other issues within education. This was an emotional way to start the day, although important, as we have been discussing these issues is depth this week. After that, Jan gave a quick presentation on the new curriculum and the way education is moving in BC. While this presentation was quick and lacking details (as expressed by other members at the presentation), I felt comfortable with a lot of the information presented.
The most interesting thing for me this day was how this new information is being received. Up until now, I have had limited insight on how teachers actually feel about this change. Personally, I think it is overdue and it is addressing a lot of the main problems I have with the "old" curriculum. For that, I am very excited to see where we can go within education and essentially catch up with places in the world that are already implementing this progressive thinking. However, I also can see from the standpoint of a teacher who has been doing what works for them for perhaps many years, and how this essentially calls for them to change their ways. Many of these teachers may feel ill equipped to change in the way that is required, or may not even believe that these changes are beneficial at all. I empathize with these teachers who have to essentially buy into a system they don't believe in, or believe is inappropriate in a variety of ways.
However, this is an example of where to cultivate a growth mindset, which is a BC Teacher Competency. While this shift is challenging definitely and will have hiccups and shortcomings (nothing is perfect, as Jan stated) I think it is a great opportunity to try new things which will ultimately benefit our students. This day was really interesting to hear so many concerns from different stakeholders, and though we had to leave early to make it to class (we never skip class in Cohort 1), I wonder how these people left feeling that day. I can imagine that resolutions to such large and complex concerns were likely not reached that day, and I wonder how these concerns will play out in coming years.
BC Teacher Standards addressed this day:
- educators engage in career-long learning
- educators contribute to the profession
Student Case Study Podcast
Teaching Reflection 1
On September 20th, a student approached my Reynolds observation partner, Victoria, and I about if we would be able to help her with a presentation at lunch time for her Psychology class. She explained that she was very nervous about her presentation, since everyone else in the class presented in groups but she was doing hers alone. This was a co-teaching experience that involved both Victoria and myself, as well as another Reynolds teacher. The student was explicitly seeking guidance about her presentation, asking what information would be relevant and techniques she could use for her presentation. We helped her refine her presentation, discussing with her what we felt were the most relevant and interesting points, as well as provided constructive advice on what would enhance the presentation itself. In doing so, it appeared that the student seemed comfortable with her presentation and was very grateful for our help and feedback.
This experience helped me gain insight into the teacher role in providing guidance, as well as the significance of the quality of guidance you provide. By providing constructive and relevant advice about her presentation, we helped alleviate the student’s anxiety about the assignment. More importantly, we were given an opportunity to build rapport and a trusting relationship with the student. The teacher role, in this sense, extends beyond the classroom and into the realm of relationship and trust building. This positive experience illuminated the importance of our guidance. If we were to provide advice that discouraged the student, that relationship could go in the opposite direction where the student felt increased anxiety and an element of mistrust. However, by carefully choosing what we said and how we said it, and by being receptive of the student’s needs, we built this relationship in a positive way. Additionally, this student’s request that we worked with her at lunchtime was illustrative of the fact that the teacher role extends beyond the timetable and your responsibility for your students is ongoing. It is your responsibility as a teacher to build relationships with students beyond the classroom blocks and be flexible and available for them as a resource.
Overall, this experience highlighted the important role of relationship and trust building with students. Some students will come and explicitly ask for guidance, however, some may not be as self-aware or explicit in asking for help. In that sense, you need to be in tune with your students and their personalities to provide extra guidance with whatever project you ask of them.
Teaching Reflection 2
On October 25th, I had the opportunity to spend my afternoon in the BRC room. This afternoon was split into two distinct parts, whereby the first block was spent working one on one with a student to create a Halloween story. The second block, I stayed with one student and his EA throughout their afternoon routine. These experiences were very valuable to me, and they both taught me different things that I think are very important for educators to understand.
My first student was a little bit shy, however bright and full of great ideas. We worked together to create a story; he was not forthcoming with his ideas however when asked, he was full of them. He was very outright about asking for help when he needed assistance spelling a specific word, or did not know what a certain word meant. This experience was interesting because it demonstrated, once again, the power in building relationships with your students. Working one on one is a really valuable opportunity to do just that. I think when you work collaboratively with students, not simply directing them, they begin to view you as someone they can trust and be themselves around, versus being the shell of the person they may think you see them as.
My second experience was shadowing a student and his EA for their afternoon routine through the art room, gym, and finally, resource room for a good old game of UNO. This student was the light of my day, full of energy and eager for the activities at hand. I had interesting conversations with his EA during this time. She stressed to me the importance of special Ed and how she feels it is something still lacking from our current education institutions. She expressed to me that when EA’s are not able to come to work, they are often not replaced and thus leaving the teacher largely in charge of students with exceptionalities or specific needs. This is where the topic of inclusivity and integration comes up. She stressed the importance for teachers to deeply consider these topics, and how they can truly make their classrooms flexible and inclusive for students of all abilities. I think she makes a good point about these topics, as it is not something we have addressed in the program thus far (although I do believe we have a course next semester). It got me thinking about inclusivity on a deeper level than I have previously and just how we can build a truly inclusive and positive classroom environment for everyone. As for the teaching experience, this student emphasized for me that learning truly is different for everyone. For this student, the learning he is achieving at school looks very differently than it would for another student. Redundantly, this all comes back to knowing your students and building relationships with them. His EA expressed to me that this student is currently working on building up the capacity to stay longer in the art room, which requires building patience on his end. He is learning social skills, by interacting with other students and teachers constantly.
Overall, this afternoon highlighted the different students that we will encounter in our careers, and the flexibility we must have in our programs and classes to be inclusive and integrative, not merely catering to the masses. To do this, we need to have a strong sense of who our students are and build relationships with these students to foster a community of trust.
Core competencies for teacher education addressed through this experience were:
- develop an awareness of the worldview you hold that shapes your experience and how this relates to others' worldview.
- demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of teaching and learning.
- developing the understanding of how learners learn in order to cultivate effective learning environments.
BC Teacher Standards:
- educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and develop
Teaching Reflection 3
On November 8th, I was part of a team-teaching experience in an ELL class at Reynolds Secondary. My three colleagues and I designed an 80-minute lesson whereby we worked with students to create voicethread videos. Voicethread is an application where you can upload pictures and other media and loop over it with recorded voice. We worked with a teacher at Reynolds to coordinate with her class, and she had them prepare a paragraph about their personal heroes. When we came in, we worked with groups of students to further edit their paragraphs, and then teach them how to use the app and walk them through making their own voicethreads.
Overall, we were very satisfied with how the lesson went. It was a great example of experiential learning and the students were engaged and helping each other succeed. A couple of things I learned from this experience were:
- How helpful it is to utilize other teachers as resources. When we were designing the lesson, we got stuck with a few different apps. We knew what we wanted the app to do, but had a hard time finding one that was the right fit. It wasn’t until we consulted the Reynolds librarian that we found voicethread and could utilize it for exactly what we wanted to do.
- How some lessons take more man-power, so to speak. The teacher of the class, one EA, as well as the four of us took on a class of about 25 students. Obviously, this ratio of teachers to students is not a common one, however, for this lesson (in the time frame we were allotted) it was necessary. This is a good thing to keep in mind while lesson planning in the future. While this lesson was super engaging and a fun learning opportunity, it did require more one-on-one attention to support students and so that is something to be mindful of when planning in the future.
- Go with the flow! Entering the lesson, the four of us were nervous that we were not fully confident with the app and had experienced hiccups while trying to teach ourselves how to use it. However, while engaging in the lesson, we all became much more confident and could utilize each other as resources. This taught me to just go with the flow, and try your best when bringing technology into the classroom. You might not be an expert, but learning along with students is a valuable experience.
Overall, this teaching experience provided me with more confidence in the classroom, especially working one on one with students and groups of students. I also learned a great deal about bringing technology into the classroom, and the power in using different methods of teaching. It was a very energizing experience being an active participant in the classroom and highlighted the things I am very excited about on this journey in education. While there were frustrating and nerve wracking moments, there was an energy in the classroom that encapsulated how I want the energy in my classrooms to be. It was energetic, active, and most of all, fun. This teaching experience was the highlight of my time at Reynolds, and it has provided me with so much motivation and inspiration for future teaching experiences.