Classroom Environment

Reflecting on my Goal from Practicum 2

For my final practicum placement, my goal in regard to the classroom environment is to support learners in becoming accountable and independent learners through facilitating a supportive learning environment. On a day-to-day basis, this goal will be achieved by incorporating accountability strategies into my daily lessons and medium-range planning. As well, I will be implementing a check-in routine with the whole class to build relationships and an inclusive learning environment.

Initially, my goal for this practicum in terms of a classroom environment was to support learners in becoming accountable and independent learners through facilitating a supportive learning environment. I planned that on a day-to-day basis, this goal will be achieved through incorporating accountability strategies into my daily lessons and medium-range planning. This was also my capstone project for my degree which is the artifact I have chosen to include below. I believe that the video below speaks highly of my ability to facilitate that classroom environment through accountability and supporting students to become independent.

As well, I have included a photo of a World Kindness Day Activity that was impactful on my students. After completing this meaningful activity, students approached me asking if we could do this again each week as it made them feel connected to the classroom community. It was a passed around the class activity where each student shared things that they appreciate about each other. Then, I kept the hearts up for roughly 1 month and when they were passed back students reflected that they had positive feelings all over again. This activity warmed my heart!

Jessica’s Capstone Inquiry Video.mov

Reflecting on my Goal from Practicum 1

My goal for the practicum in terms of creating an inclusive environment was to "create a respectful and ethical learning community that encourages learners to take risks, build trust, embrace diversity, [and] increase self-confidence". To fulfill this goal, I had planned to make inclusivity a focus of mine by further educating myself on students needs through reading the following books: Lost at School by Ross Green, I am Enough by Grace Byers, and I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids by Kyle Schwarts. I believe that I did achieve this goal as each of these books was read cover-to-cover and then the teachings and strategies from such books were implemented into my practicum classroom. For example, the book, Lost at School focused on how teachers need to provide a safe, warm environment for students in order for them to feel loved and extend their education. I implemented this into my practicum placement classroom through practicing being mindful of students' needs such as social-emotional needs or academic needs. (TQS 1a, 1b, 1c, 4a-f).

Based on this practicum experience, I want to challenge myself to learn more about classroom routines and such that will further develop an inclusive environment. For example, I want to make a point of collecting more children's literature with various cultures and perspectives present!

Another important feature of classroom environment that I implemented into my practicum classroom was sharing my own history, experiences, and life with the students. For example, I shared my personal experiences of growing up Indigenous and attending an Indigenous school for the first few years of my education. I shared many stories and pictures such as the example below. The picture on the left is a picture of me at the age of 7 in my Jingle Dress that was made for me by an aunt. The video on the right is a story that I shared with my students during my practicum placement that educates them on a traditional Métis story (TQS 1f, 2e, 2f, 4g, 5a, 5d).

Classroom Environment & My Personal Teaching Philosophy...

As a part of my Canadian Studies course, I reflected upon the importance of Indigenous Peoples identities and places within learning environments and in relation to my teaching philosophy. The following is an essay written to guide conversations and decisions in my future classrooms: "Teaching Philosophy: A Development in the Works". The professor of this course who marked the essay stated that he believes, with my teaching philosophy related to Indigenous Peoples and inclusivity, I will achieve my goals in becoming a great teacher. This assignment demonstrates my ability to achieve the following MRU B.Ed. Program Outcome and Teaching Quality Standards: "Creates a respectful and ethical learning community that encourages learners to take risks, build trust, embrace diversity, increase self-confidence, and show leadership" (TQS 4a, 4g, 5b, 5c)

Gosselin CNST1131R2 (1).pdf

Indigenous Children's Literature Reading Log 2371-003.pdf

Indigenous Children's Literature Reading Log

During my Literacy and Language Development class, my peers and I had worked together to create an Indigenous Children's Literature Reading Log. Not only was this a good opportunity to find new quality literature written by and about Indigenous people, but this was also a good opportunity to expand my understanding of what it means to be inclusive. To me, inclusivity is about embracing all the different voices and perspectives of the world because they each come with their own values! I always appreciate the many voices of a classroom and as a teacher, that is something I want to embrace. I want my future students to find their own value in the different voices and perspectives. Adding Indigenous Children's Literature to my classroom is a great way to make this happen. Creating the Indigenous Children's Literature log has helped me find and "[use] resources that accurately reflect and demonstrate the strength and diversity of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit" perspectives(TQS 4b,5d)

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