I loved being with a class for a longer period of time in this practicum. It allowed me to get to know the students better and it allowed me to try new ways of assessing. There was enough time that I was able to assess student understanding and change my plans based on the outcome of the assessment. For example, I gave a quiz after we had been working through the concept of balancing equations. On average, the students did not perform well on the quiz so instead of moving forward with new material, I worked with my coaching teacher to create a manipulative activity to reinforce the concept. Teaching a concept in multiple ways like this caters to a much wider demographic of learning styles. When I assess the students’ understanding of balancing equations again, the class average had improved dramatically. Being flexible in my planning was crucial for my students to learn. I understood they needed more time if they were going to be successful. Having a longer practicum allowed me to see more growth in the students as well. I got to recognize how each student learned differently and design my lessons based around those individual students.

If I think of a single word to describe how I’m feeling going into 2021, that word would be hope. I am hopeful for a lot of things this year. Hope for new learning experiences, hope for a practicum filled with challenges and growth for me and my fellow classmates, hope for the world to have a better year than the last.

We all can agree that 2020 was full of obstacles and speed bumps that we all had to learn to overcome together. The challenges we faced had never been encountered before, and we had to work together to figure out a solution. My hope for this year is that we take from those experiences the value of community. I am hopeful that we continue to appreciate the importance of working together towards a common goal.

I am hopeful for all I will learn in this upcoming practicum. I am excited for the opportunity to experience another school where new connections can be made with students and staff. I am hopeful that I will receive incredible support from my peers like I did last practicum, even if that support must be virtual. My fellow classmates and I have build a wonderful foundation of friendship through our shared experiences in this teacher education program. We all experienced setbacks and hiccups that brought us closer together and I am hopeful that the bonds we have formed will carry all of us through to graduation together.

The first two weeks I spent teaching the first half of both blocks in the day. I was able to reflect on the first lesson and implement changes the same day in the next block. This was a great experience for me to see what things I had done that went well and what areas needed improvement to be more successful. Being able to be reflexive same-day allowed me to look more closely at my teaching strategies and style and dig in to why some things worked and some didn’t.

I learned a great deal about classroom management as well. This is not something I am proficient in by any means, but I do believe I had great improvement throughout this practicum. I was able to see the importance of setting expectations at the beginning of a new class and having a strong follow through. I saw the difference in an established class in quarter 1 versus a new class in quarter 2. Being the person to establish the expectations and enforce classroom rules in the second quarter, I saw how important this structure is to the students, even if they don’t like the rules. I was more laid-back in the first week than I should have been and it showed in the amount of learning that happened. The second week, I was less laid-back and had better follow through with expectations and it was evident in the students’ learning.

Overall, I see how my personal experiences, both as a learner and a teacher, are shaping the way I view various forms of assessment. All my personal assessment experiences throughout my education have been summative. Every assignment, test, and project I completed counted for marks and there was rarely, if ever, a chance to redo something. I am learning the value in formative assessment as a way to have an open dialogue with the students about their progression of learning. I have experienced how the students react to being assigned work that will not count towards their final grade. This was something I could not picture students getting on board with, but I saw my students fully buy in to the idea and their learning was enhanced because of it.

Providing formative feedback is one way we teachers can make the learning intentions clear to the students. I provided feedback after the quizzes I had the students do, and I could see students applying that feedback on the test at the end of the chapter. Clear learning intentions also helped me succeed in a class based solely on summative assessment. Students will be able to reach the summative goals more consistently when the intentions and expectations are clearly outlined and continually revisited throughout the course. Self-assessment is another tool that can be used to revisit learning goals and demonstrate student progress. Having students assess where they think they are succeeding and areas they might need more practice allows them to remember what they have learned and gives them a chance to take ownership of their own learning.

In my next practicum I hope to work more on my questioning and assessment strategies. I believe I learned a great deal during this practicum, but I know there is still a long ways to go. I want to learn more ways to reach all levels of learners and be able to design learning activities that enhance student learning and participation. I still need to learn how to establish myself as a bigger presence in the classroom in order to be more successful in creating a positive, constructive learning environment for all my students.

I absolutely loved everything this conference focused on. The connections that were drawn to communities from all across the province were so neat to see, and the programs already in place that foster an even deeper connection in our students were great resources to draw on. My background being primarily focused on marine biology, I was excited to participate in the Ocean Literacy session. This session focused on how to get students to understand their connection to the ocean, whether they live on the coast or inland. I made a big connection to this idea because it was pretty much the exact idea of my inquiry project from last year. I loved seeing what programs are already in place that encourage students to recognize their place in the ocean cycles. It is something we, as people living on the planet, relying on the ocean to sustain life, need to be more aware of. The presenter for this session, Dr. David Zandvliet, is collaborating with the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition whose aim is to raise awareness of the importance of sustaining Canadian coastline (https://colcoalition.ca/).

Another session I listened to was Developing Salmon-Based Educational Programs in the Shuswap. This was another great session focused on sustaining ocean life. Actions have already been taken to try to bring back diminishing salmon populations. The people at the Adams River Salmon Society have assessed what is being done and have come up with new ideas for what to do better or more. Things like encouraging and facilitating education and conservation (https://www.salmonsociety.com/).

The conference as a whole got me to self-assess my impact on the community around me. I began to think more deeply about how I can bring more of my community into my future classroom.

So What? Learning more about Indigenous cultures is incredibly important. Knowing that our Indigenous learners come into our classes with different life experiences and perspectives from us is incredibly important. It is also vital, however, that we have an understanding of what those perspectives are. If we can have a deeper understanding of Indigenous histories ourselves, we can incorporate them into our teaching and assessment strategies to create a more holistic learning experience for out Indigenous students. Being able to teach Indigenous perspectives and principles in our class will also benefit the non-Indigenous students as they will learn more about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Now What? I need to know more about Indigenous cultures if I am going to incorporate it into my teaching practice effectively. Continuing to engage in professional development with a focus on Indigenous perspectives is a way to continually grow as an educator and be able to engage more of the diverse learners in my class. Creating connections with Indigenous people in my community can be a great way to incorporate traditional knowledge and perspectives into my classroom. Being able to bring in guest speakers who can share personal or traditional stories will provide a much more meaningful learning experience for all students regardless of their backgrounds.

This teacher was one of the most approachable teachers I have had. She welcomed everyone into her class, no matter where they came from or what their history was. I look to her kindness and mothering nature to model my presence as a teacher. Students came to her for help even if they weren’t taking her class. I saw her take time to listen to all students who came to her, never brushing anyone aside. She created packages and study tools for us to use before a big exam. She made sure everyone had an opportunity to learn in a way that was most beneficial to them and that is what made her such a memorable teacher. I learned so much in her class and was able to succeed on the test because she took the time to provide us with all the tools we could possibly need.

My teaching metaphor is a boat. I think as a teacher, students come into your class to go on some kind of adventure. Each day you take them someplace new; teaching them new things, exploring and learning together. At the end of the day, the students leave and get ready for their next adventure. A group of teachers is like a fleet of boats, you are stronger together, share resources, and communicate about the students you share.

Most of the resources in this e-portfolio are arranged in [Pages].  This entry is a [Post]. So DO NOT “edit” the page. Add a “new” post instead.

Some of the key differences between posts and pages are:

• Posts are timely content part of a series of posts in a blog. Pages are static documents which are not tied to the blog’s reverse chronological order of content
• Pages can be hierarchical, which means a page can have sub pages, for example a parent page titled “About us” can have a sub-page called “Our history”. On the other hand posts are not hierarchical.
• By default posts in WordPress can be sorted into taxonomies Categories and Tags. Pages do not have categories or tags
• WordPress posts are displayed in RSS feeds while Pages are excluded from feeds.

Posts are a great way to record short reflections on a particular topic.  When you are ready to start adding posts to your ePortfolio delete this post and add your own.