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Year Four
Winter 2024 (Practicum II)
Winter 2024 (Practicum II)
Initial Goal: "Uses Programs of Study to set learning goals".
In recent months, the Alberta government is moving towards a revised curriculum. In the past, I have familiarized myself with the old curriculum and have gotten "comfortable" with its themes and ideas. Now that teachers, specifically the Calgary Board of Education, have begun an early transition to the new curriculum, I would like to challenge myself by becoming more comfortable and familiar with the new goals stated in the Program of Studies. Since this will be the new curriculum that I will be expected to teach in the following years, I want to set myself up for success by diving head-first into the new content. I am able to measure and attain this goal through constant use of the new Literacy and Numeracy in the lesson plans that I am currently creating.
Year Three
Fall 2021 (Practicum II)
Fall 2021 (Practicum II)
Goal: "Develops varied activities and assignments that are relevant, clearly aligned with learning goals, require deep thinking and support student engagement, collaboration, and choice" (PL 7).
This semester, I am lucky to have two complex students in my classroom. Over this semester, I would like to put my knowledge of differentiation into practice and create activities that will set them up for their personal success, while still supporting the rest of the classroom. I will achieve this by asking my mentor teacher for their information portfolios and plan their activities according to what they like to do best. I would also like to test many different sensory activities to see, for myself, which ones work and which ones to do not.
Growth: At the beginning of this semester, my mentor teacher and I went over my complex students' Individualized Program Plans (IPP), as I wanted to get to know my special friends. Using the knowledge from the online platform, as well as my brief in-class experiences with them, I was able to understand a bit about those students. Overtime, this initial fascination grew into positive student-teacher relationships. Throughout this semester, I've had the pleasure of working with 2 wonderful Educational Assistants within the school. Although they are fantastic at their jobs, I wanted an opportunity to work closely with these students. During my time at my placement school, I've been observing these students' likes, dislikes, triggers, educational strengths, and weaknesses. Using this knowledge, I am was to differentiate lessons and set them up for success and maintain the classroom's behavioural management.
An example of this would be how I de-escalate emotional outbursts with my non-verbal autistic student. Regarding one of my non-verbal students, I've found that I have been able to soothe her when she's having an emotional episode. With my multilingualism, I was able to communicate with her and de-escalate the situation. Having that deeper connection with this student, because we share similar cultural bonds, has made it easier for the class, as she is able to recognize her emotions with teacher guidance. At the beginning of the semester, she could not speak at all. With the help of our "word-work" sessions and peers' partner-reading sessions, she is now able to say her classmates names.
Goal for Practicum II: My new goal for the upcoming year is to work more closely with students of varying learning and physical disabilities. My three complex students represent a mere fraction of the challenges that many students fact on a daily basis. I want to expose myself to a wider range of students, of all varying abilities, so that I may learn how to adapt my lessons to best support and suffice complex needs. In my next practicum placement, I would like to explore their learning support methods and resources so I may further educate myself about complex students.
Year Two
Winter 2021
Winter 2021
This semester, I've explored different formats of lesson planning. In our EDUC 2375 class, I was introduced to the Backward Design model, which allows teachers to identify and address the knowledge and understanding objectives before creating the actual activity. As learned in the course, many teachers create ineffective activities because they are blinded by the idea of having "fun and creative" lessons, and in turn, lose sight of the learning objectives. The Backward Design model is effective in classrooms, as it helps teachers "develop varied activities and assignments that are relevant, clearly aligned with the learning goals, require deep thinking, and support student engagement, collaboration, and choice" (TSQ 3a). Through this assignment, I was able to value ensure that the program of studies and the learning outcomes are being met through the activities that I create for my future students.
My goal for the upcoming fall field experience is to incorporate different types of assessments. In my EDUC 2375 course synthesis, I've come to realize that good grades aren't everything to a student, as learning, progress, and new knowledge are also worth celebrating within classes. Using various assessment tools, I would love to see my students engage in their assessment and learning by filling out exit slips, reflective journals, and other self-assessing methods to help them grow into independent and responsible learners.
Fall 2020
Fall 2020
This semester, our education class was given a task in which we were assigned to pick and read various children's books. Using the ELA Alberta Programs of Study webpage, I had to associate a book with one of the curricular outcomes. This assignment was a small fraction of what I am going to be experiencing as a teacher, so I was excited to dive into different types of children's books, such as STEM books, graphic novels, picture books, etc...
When we were asked to describe the in-class activities that would support the essential understandings in the books, I had a bit of a difficult time creating effective lessons. My lack of in-class experience made me question my credibility when creating in-class activities in relation to the books I had chosen. While I was working on this assignment, I couldn't help but think about how different students might understand the activities. I often asked questioned myself: "Would this activity be too easy? Would the students be frustrated because this activity is too challenging? Was I not resonating the essential understandings through my activities?" I'm glad that this was only an assignment because it was a great chance to self reflect.
The reading log assignment has reiterated the importance of thorough planning, as we had to “[use the] programs of study [website] to set learning goals [for our students] (PL2). As a teacher, it is easy to list your expectations and serve it to your students, but if the content and the activity does not connect or engage them, then they will not be taking anything away from the lesson. Thus, teachers need to be more attentive and learner-specific when giving their students any type of work or assessments. To critically think about and support a student's academic success, teachers may "[apply] student assessment and evaluation practices that [will] accurately reflect the learner outcomes within the programs of study" (TQS 3C). Lessons, assessments, and any in-class activities should revolve around the learner and should prioritize their understanding.
Really putting yourself into their shoes and planning for their success will be the key to creating effective and engaging lessons in the future. Using this knowledge, I'd like to construct my lesson plans in a way that prioritizes the learner more, as opposed to the educator. Throughout the next few years of my degree, I will remember to put learners needs before my own when creating and teaching new lesson plans in my future field experience schools.
Year One
Winter 2020
Winter 2020
Over the duration of my Winter 2020 field experience, I have created 3 lesson plans. Of those 3, I've taught 2 of them to my own classroom. For my very first lesson, I taught without a lesson plan. Comparing both of my experiences in the classroom, with and without a strong lesson plan, I can confidently say that lesson plans are an absolute necessity when teaching a classroom with more than 30 children.
The biggest takeaway from my Winter 2020 field experience is that things will never go a 100% your way. However, that being said, it is extremely important to have a rough outline to give you some sort of direction. Teachers must be able to adapt to any sudden circumstances that may affect their pre-existing lesson plans. Although I still have yet to improve in many areas, I am able to make strong lesson plans and am able adapt to slight change.
(Planning Program Outcomes #3, #5, #7, and #8)
Fall 2019
Fall 2019
Specific: I would like to be able to make more lesson plans and actually use them during my time at my field experience.
Measurable: I will know I have completed this once it becomes like second nature to me. I will come to class with a flexible lesson plan and be ready to guide and advise the kids about their worksheets and in class activities.
Achievable: I will meet with my mentor teacher to discuss how she forms her own lesson plans and research some on my own time.
Relevant: This is important because, as a teacher, I need to know how to make lesson plans to keep class time efficiency.
Timely: I would like to achieve this goal by the end of my Winter 2020 field experience.
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