Self-Assessments
My Teaching Philosophy
I am still working on developing my own teaching philosophy. I am happy to say that through careful reflection and thoughtful analysis, I am making progress. I have found great inspiration in the works of Brené Brown. The following quote matches my sentiments exactly:
“As I often tell teachers - some of our most important leaders - we can’t always ask our students to take off their armor at home, or even on their way to school, because their emotional and physical safety may require self-protection. But what we can do, and what we are ethically called to do, is create a space in our schools and classrooms where all students can walk in and, for that day or hour, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly being seen… we must be guardians of a space that allows students to breathe and be curious and explore the world and be who they are without suffocation… a place to belong – even one – where they can take off their armor. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life.”
- Brown, Brené. (2018). Dare to Lead: Daring Greatly and Rising Strong at Work. (New York: Random House), 13.
Mid-Year Self-Assessment (December 2018)
Specific Examples of Student's Strengths
Love of Teaching and Good Rapport with Children
Children can tell the difference between a teacher that loves the job and cares about them, as opposed to a teacher that is simply going through the motions. The advantage I have is my previous teaching experience. I have already had the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with hundreds of children. I genuinely like children and it's an honour to play a part in developing the minds of the future.
Thanks for the tweet Mme. Regular!
It was my pleasure to read this timeless classic to the children.
Storytime
During Language Arts, we were studying bats for Halloween. I decided to bring in the classic book Stellaluna to read to the children. This story also has a powerful message about friendship and accepting each other’s differences. The story is about a baby bat that is separated from her mother and raised alongside baby birds. The bats and birds try to copy one another but they realize they can’t because they are different by nature. But this does not prevent them from still being friends. I made sure this message was clear to the children and there was a lot of support behind it from the children and the teacher. I feel like I’m really making a difference just in the limited time I’ve had so far to teach. But are they hearing that message? How can we ensure rejected and neglected children are truly included in the peer group and free from physical and emotional harm? How can I contribute to creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for the children?
Click on the button below to learn more about my background in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) . and my beliefs on its importance in the classroom..
SEL
Creativity
Creativity is one of my greatest strengths. It is one of my favourite parts about teaching. There is so much opportunity to shape your own pedagogy, lesson plans and materials within the curriculum. I love creating my own teaching materials and I have tested many successfully in the classroom. I am excited to progress in the program and use these skills in curriculum development. There are many examples of my creativity in the program thus far. In the first week, I created a unique lens that shows the dichotomy of my world views and the conflicts I have in my perspectives and what I hope to explore in my learning. Both of the circles I have led have used very non-traditional out-of-the-box thinking. For one, I had the others justify choosing one celebrity partner over another for a team project, and tied it to our studies of peer acceptance. In another, I led a simulation designed to create a chaotic environment in an attempt to simulate the experience of students with exceptionalities. I try to tie my creative projects to what I know and what I want to know.
What is a researcher?
Dr. Karen Goodnough attended our lecture this week and gave us a sketchbook. She asked us to draw our idea of a researcher. This is my sketch. I like the idea of keeping an art journal because sometimes my creativity is not linear or able to be expressed properly in written form.
What is sensory learning?
Flexible learning networks should be considered that can accommodate individual learning differences. Someone, I forget who, said in class, “It is easier to use wonder at the forefront of study, rather than trying to develop it later.” I think this is true. In last week’s STEMinar, we took a nature walk to collect pond samples so that we could analyze them later under microscopes. Being able to activate my visual, olfactory, tactile, and auditory senses while connecting them to what I was learning, I was immediately more engaged in the learning environment. When we were finished the day, the instructor asked us to draw a visual representation of what we learned. This is what I drew.
My Creations
Click this button to see some more examples of my creativity in the educational resources I have designed and developed over the years.
Making Connections Between Theory and Practice
One of my greatest strengths is making connections between my knowledge and experience. I am finding this program to be invaluable in making connections between theory and practice. Below are some examples of the recognition I have received in my casework and journal for making these connections.
Deep thinker
I challenge myself to develop my own theories. I incorporate all of the knowledge that I obtain and try to make sense of it. I enjoy doing research and testing my own hypotheses. In the example below, I used the knowledge that Professor Campbell shared about the stages of development to create my own hypothesis, in an attempt to make connections to Dr. Vaadndering's work on restorative justice in education.
Critical Thinker
I am constantly asking questions in order to deepen my understanding of what it means to be a teacher and what type of teacher I want to be. I do not take things at face value. I question what I read and what I am taught. I am trained to think critically and it is helping me to grow as a learner. Below are some examples from my casework and journal.
Personal Growth
One of my greatest strengths is that I am humble in the face of what it means to be a teacher. I recognize that this will also be a personal journey of growth both in character and in social relationships. I am setting personal goals for myself and I am meeting them. Below are some examples of this from my casework and journal.
Case Studies
Click this button to view all of my submitted case studies.
Click this button to view my updated field journal.
Specific Examples of Areas for Improvement
Building Relationships
I have struggled with social anxiety for my entire life. This program is really challenging me to be more receptive to relationship building and sharing more about myself. On my last assessment, one of the recommendations was to work on building relationships with my classmates and coworkers in the school. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and collaborated extensively with others. I worked together with Nick to produce an excellent final product on our STEM project. I am working with Mr. Woolgar at St. Matthews to teach Drama Club. I am constantly looking for ways to build relationships further and attach meaning and value to them in my learning journey.
Halloween
Our STEM teacher group went to the stage to take a picture together. In the process, we learned a very valuable lesson. The gym teacher was taking our photo, as he had been running the photo section with all the costumed students all afternoon. After one shot he stopped. He then told us a story of earlier in the day when two students with behavioral issues were getting a photo together. The first photo he took, they were frowning and stood apart. He asked if they were friends? They said, “Yeah... best friends.” “Well, friends get close.” He showed us the second photo of the boys and they had their arms around each other’s shoulders and had big smiles! So sweet! It was also a teaching moment to us as STEM teachers. How can we expect children to develop healthy caring relationships if we don’t model that behavior ourselves on a daily basis?
Christmas
I very proud of how much I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone for Laura's Secret Santa gift. In addition to it being a thoughtful gift for a friend, the networking involved was beneficial for building relationships with faculty in the school as well. I visited every teacher that Laura had taught with and obtained greetings and signatures from them as well as all the students. They could sense our closeness as a group, and that's the way a school staff needs to be to function as a collaborative unit focused on the care and guidance of the students. It was a huge undertaking, but it was worth it to build relationships, both personally and professionally.
STEM Comfort Level
With a background in the social sciences, and given my older age, I have been a little apprehensive about my comfort level in teaching STEM in the modern classroom. I am working to reduce that anxiety by immersing myself in the technology and thinking critically about new ways of teaching math and science and how it is interdisciplinary and connected to all other forms of learning.
STEMFest
Here I am with our team's design challenge for a makeshift bee hive. It taught us so many valuable collaborative skills that could be applied to multiple areas across the curriculum spectrum.
STEM Project - Beaver Control
At first I was very worried about completing this project. The technologies and the science were completely new to me. I was also facing the challenge of working with a partner. By becoming more comfortable with using new technologies such as Microbit coding and 3D printing, I started to really enjoy the learning process. I started to envision ways to incorporate my creative skills. This is a model of our diorama which I thought up. Our evaluation indicated that the science was intact. It has become fun working in STEM. And that it important. If I'm to teach STEM, I should have a curious mind, a passion for the subjects, and an openness to learn more about how to use these technologies to support learning and the way I teach the curriculum.
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