Personal Statements

Taking into account the OCT Ethical Standards & Standards of Practice, discuss how they relate to your responsibility as a future educator to address Canada's history of residential schools. Consider what you can do to "Build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect" (section 63, iii). Reflect on what you may need to learn or unlearn.

The OCT asserts that as educators we have a responsibility to be leaders who are committed to students and their learning. There is also an ethical responsibility to be caring, respectful, trustworthy and to have integrity, both inside and outside of the classroom. Through care, which includes compassion, acceptance, interest, and empathy, teachers have the unique opportunity to foster student learning under this umbrella. Respect then calls for teachers to support and encourage students to be fair-minded and have an appreciation for cultural values different from their own.

To begin, residential ‘schools’ in Canada, were, in fact not schools at all. Although students learned subjects such as English and Math the main goal of these institutions was to erase any beliefs or culture that children had – it was to “take the Indian out of the children”. This act of cultural genocide not only violated humanity, along with all standards of practice and ethical considerations we have outlined today, but it also tainted the reputation of learning institutions. Understanding our past as a society not only informs present circumstances but can be a path of reconciliation toward the future. The first step to attaining this involves the call to action of sharing information and giving students culturally relevant resources to support their desire to know more. It then can be followed by incorporating Indigenous stories, ways of knowing, and practices into classroom activities and lessons. Finally, as the goal is not only to understand our mistakes from the past but to also make positive strides for future generations, teachers have the responsibility of getting their students involved. Tasks such as clean water initiatives, intercultural sharing circles that encourage respectful conversations, writing letters to local government officials, and encouraging Indigenous students to take part in positions of leadership can help me foster and build on students' capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. As we are all colonizers, I also have the responsibility to self-reflect on my place in Canada, how I can uphold good moral standards and ethical practices, and how my position as a teacher can be influential in the growth and development of all students, particularly those impacted by intergenerational trauma.

What is the overarching purpose of assessment within the K-12 context?

The purpose of assessment is to get information about where a student's learning is currently at, understand what changes are needed to enhance this learning, and finally, how an attitude of accountability can be fostered. Identifying where students are at is an important element of assessment and learning as a whole because it not only informs the student on their own progress, but it also gives teachers critical information such as the need for future accommodations or a review of assessed concepts. It is also important from an accountability angle as it pushes students to have a metacognitive mindset by taking control of their personal education. Assessments require students to set out goals and create schedules while giving learners a tangible piece of evidence to analyze their own progression. 

See the lecture video minds-on for your first DLP response about measuring student achievement. Now that we are nearing the end of Foundations 1 and you've had some exposure to assessment practices, what is one assumption you had about assessment prior to starting the B.Ed. Program that you no longer carry? How has your understanding developed? 

When thinking about assessments at the beginning of the program I thought that assessment meant grades and that is about it. To be completely honest, I rarely thought about assessment given that it was easily my least favorite part of school. Over the course of the program, my idea of assessment has changed greatly as I can now see that there are many different types and ways these assessments can be applied. I think that the coolest one for me is assessment as learning. I definitely knew about the idea of self-assessments in my K-12 years of school, however, I never really got the meaning of them until my last year in my undergrad. Even then, this knowledge was very limited. I believed that assessment of one's self was only useful for the humanities like English or Geography. Coming from a STEM background I never would have thought that these types of assessments could be such great tools for learning, in all classes and ages.  

Based on your observation days, what instances of AI application/integration have you observed, if any (this can be student or teacher use of AI)? What are your initial thoughts about students using AI in the classroom or teachers using AI for planning purposes? Remember, these are initial thoughts and will likely evolve over time so this does not need to be a researched response!

I have not seen any applications of AI at my placement as of yet, however, I know that my AT and some other teachers are quite open to the idea. Initially, if this was asked at the beginning of the program I think I would have said that AI should keep its distance from the classroom, or at least mine anyway. Though discussions on theories of moral development and the large benefits of tech tools in learning over the course of the semester, however, my views have shifted. I now think that AI can and should be used in the classroom and is also quite beneficial to planning. In our science curriculum class, we actually used some information from an AI-generated lesson plan to craft our own plans. If used in this context I believe AI can be very useful and save teachers a lot of precious time that can be better used elsewhere. The key is to understand that AI is a tool that can supplement teaching and learning, rather than a replacement. 

As I prepare for practicum, I am looking forward to learning …

I am looking forward to learning about how to accommodate and motivate students who do not want to learn or those who are struggling greatly. I have a class where almost half are on IEP's, many are ELL and there are also behavioural issues. In my own experience I've found that many teachers focus on students who do well or get material right away as they use them as a crutch to move their lesson forward. This is a useful idea that has it's place, but I think it is easy to fall in this mindset and forget the students that need an extra push or some more time spent on specific topics. 

By the end of practicum, I will work towards… (create one personal goal for yourself)

Once practicum is over I hope to have developed a good set of strategies for lesson planning and be able to have a system for coming up with my big 3 questions and considerations. I want theories of cognitive and social development to be embedded in my plans, along with ideas from the zone of proximal development. I realize this is something teachers work on throughout their careers however my specific goal is just to be in a place where lesson planning is more natural and flows better than it does at this current moment. I also want to be able to incorporate self-assessments seamlessly in my classrooms.