WEEK 9
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How do you want your students to remember you?
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I want my students to remember me for being a good person. Someone who was there for them, would joke with them and was kind to them. At the end of the day, students may not remember all of the fantastic lesson plans that you created, but they will remember that you treated them like someone who mattered and that you cared about them. I don’t expect every student to like me, but I don’t want them to leave my classroom thinking that I gave up on them.
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What kinds of things would you like them to say about you as a teacher? As a person?
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If my students were to talk about me, I would like them to say that I was passionate and that I loved what I was doing. I would also like them to say that they feel as though they could talk to me and that I would not judge them for whatever they had to say. I think that the things I want them to say about me as a teacher are the same things that I want them to say about me as a person. Just because I am a teacher does not mean that I have to change myself as a person or shut myself off emotionally because I am in a profession. We are all in a community and these relationships I have with my students are real so I am going to be a real person.
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WEEK 8
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Based on your new understandings of cooperative learning and your vision of your future classroom, what will cooperative learning look and sound like in your classroom?
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Cooperative learning in my classroom is going to look and sound very busy. I think that a lot of teachers shy away from a classroom with a lot of noise and movement because they think that students are not engaged and that they are off task. I believe that noise and movement is a positive thing and it shows me that the students are engaged and eager to learn. Noise could simply be conversations about the content that is being learned. The best kind of learning happens when discussing something or working through a problem solving task with a team. We are all social beings and thrive off social experiences. Learning should be no different.
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WEEK 7
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What is your personal philosophy towards classroom management?
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I believe that the most important thing in classroom management consists of 2 things. Engagement and relationships. Engagement is so important and if students are not involved and busy, they will find other things to occupy their time. Engagement also lets students anticipate for future events since an engaged classroom will usually have an agenda for the day with tasks planned beforehand. Students will not be bored and act out when there is structure and fun in their day. Relationships are the other important half to classroom management. Students do not want to learn from you if they do not like you and they do not respect you. They will also have no motivation to listen to your rules in the classroom. It is so necessary to build rapport with the students as early as possible so that you can create a classroom environment that is caring, safe and collaborative.
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What will your classroom look and sound like?
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It is hard to fully say what my classroom will look and sound like, but I definitely know that it will not be a quiet classroom with students sitting in rows. I want there to be a buzz of conversation built around learning. I want there to be groups of students talking and working together. As a teacher, I want to be able to rotate around the classroom and provide guidance as students talk the lead in their own inquiries. I want to also keep my lecturing at a minimum and provides lots of opportunities for hands-on learning. Lastly, I want a classroom where people feel at home and safe. I want to be able to joke with my students and build an environment where it is ok to take risks and make mistakes.
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What steps will you take to be an effective classroom manager and to create your own personal classroom culture?
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The first few weeks of school are crucial for setting the tone of the classroom and having the students learn about you and your classroom culture. Rapport will be my number one priority before I even jump into learning and curriculum. I will most likely spend the first week doing Tribes and fun social activities/games. In-between getting to know the students I want to create co-created rules for the classroom and let then know what I expect from them. I will show them routines, where to find supplies and what to do in certain situations. I will also go over what the students should expect to learn over the year from the beginning and what my expectations are for their work and effort in the class. I think the most important thing I can do from the very beginning is let the students know that I am on their side and that we can hopefully have a really fun year together.
WEEK 6
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Consider both stances--teacher and learner-- as you respond to the following:
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How can an effective assessment rubric support learners of all abilities and improve both student achievement and well-being?
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Rubrics are a great tool for both the teacher and the learner. It gives the teacher unbiased standards to follow when assessing a student. Rubrics also help teachers to focus on main areas of learning and acts as a guideline of what to look for when reviewing student work. Rubrics are fair and help teacher’s asses in a fair and correct way. Rubrics are even better for the learner since rubrics act as a form of success criteria for the student. When seeing a rubric for an assignment, a learner knows right away what they need to do to achieve a certain level of success. They can use a rubric as a self – assessment tool so that they can set goals and look for areas of improvement. Rubrics can achieve well-being because students know what to expect. There are no surprises in how things are graded and students are given criteria before an assignment is turned in.
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How will your own experiences as a learner shape your rubric design for your future students?
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I think that when I design rubrics in the future, I want to make sure that all categories of assessment I am looking at are addressed. I have had rubrics for assignments in the past where things like design and aesthetic were never mentioned but when the assignment was actually marked; my grade was decreased because of these reasons. I want to make sure my students know exactly what to expect so that they can anticipate how to improve their assignment and what I am looking for. I also want to make sue to make the rubric as specific as I can. Instead of saying, “makes a poster with a high degree of effectiveness” I want to tell students exactly what I want to see in a level 4 poster. This could be things like 2-3 sourced facts, 3 visuals and a proof read paragraph in your own voice talking about the subject. Students need to know what a good poster consists of before they can understand a something like “high degree of effectiveness”.
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WEEK 5
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Based on what you have heard, read and discussed, how will you approach questioning and formative assessment in your classroom?
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Questioning plays a vital role in the classroom for both students and teacher. It is through questioning where students can share their ideas, think critically, and gain new learning through conversation. Questioning also allows me as a teacher to make formative assessments of the students learning and helps me to structure the direction of my lessons to best meet the needs of my students. The whole idea surrounding the types of questions is also important. Questions are not just about regurgitating facts, but about applying your own knowledge, thinking and opinions to a conversation. Questions, for the most part, need to be open-ended and allow students to reach higher level thinking. As a teacher I want to continue on my path of professional development and hone the skills of good questioning so that I can create a classroom of thinkers and learners.
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How will you consider differentiated instruction and universal design for learning in your lesson planning?
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Differentiated instruction and universal design is something which I think should be implemented in every classroom. Every student is unique and has different needs. Classrooms should be designed to cater to the needs of all people before a child even steps through the threshold of a classroom. Classrooms need to be inviting to everyone and not try to force students into a strict box of success. Students need to be allowed to express their learning and growth in a way which best meets their needs. Overall, I am fully supportive of an inquiry-based learning environment where learning is student directed and there is no right answer. When I lesson plan, I want to make sure that I give students as many opportunities as they can to learn through the inquiry process since it is a universal design for learning in itself. Inquiry is something that is going to be part of my curriculum and I want to give students choice.
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Describe how are you thinking differently about teaching and learning now than you were in September of 2016.
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This year has been extremely transformational for my professional development, my beliefs and my values within the classroom environment. I have learned through Growing Success that every student can achieve and that I can make a difference in student’s lives. I have learned that feedback while in the process of learning is extremely valuable to students. I have learned about the importance of good lesson planning, classroom management and care that all students needs. I think most importantly I have learned of the importance of allowing students to have a voice in the way in which they learn. Students learn best when they are engaged and doing things that they love. My job in the classroom is to be a guide through the learning process and let students tinker, question and experiment.
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WEEK 4
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Why is it important that as educators we understand the critical importance of the tragic history of Aboriginal children in Canada?
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It is true when we say things like we need to learn from history so that we do not make the same mistakes in the future. What happened to the Aboriginal community was a cultural genocide and their story needs to be told. As humans, we need to remember the potential we have for good and bad. Today’s Aboriginal community are still suffering from the atrocities that happened to them not too long ago and we need to take action to help lift them up and recover. We also need to remember who they are as people. History books were made by the ruling culture in Canada and have either ignored or slandered the First Nations community. All many people know today about First Nations people is that they deal with alcoholism and live on reserves. We need to learn the truth about the people and understand their culture and ways. We need to see how they see and understand who they are. I want my future students to know what happened and who Aboriginal people are because they are the people of this land and country and should be respected.
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Why must you know about Ontario’s Aboriginal Education Strategy even if you and your students are non-Aboriginal?
Part of creating a universally designed classroom is accommodating for all the potential needs of students ahead of time. Not only does it help an educator be prepared, but it also acts as an invitation to families in the community that you acknowledge them and want to teach their children. By understanding the Aboriginal Education Strategy, you are letting the community know that you are capable of teaching to Aboriginal students and that you care about them and that sends a strong message of equity. Another aspect to this is that even if you do not have Aboriginal students in the classroom, maybe some students in the classroom would benefit from an Aboriginal Education Strategy. New types of learning and doing things in the classroom can only work towards improving and enhancing things for everyone.
What are YOU going to do about it? What is YOUR plan of action for teaching and learning?
My plan of action is first to create a classroom that is universally designed so that all students from all cultures feel comfortable walking through the door of my classroom. I want families to feel at home and know that I am working hard to do what is best for their child. What I want to do specifically for the Aboriginal community is to spread knowledge and the true history of the Aboriginal people. I want students to know about their suffering and I also want them to know who they really are as a culture and people. Their traditions and beliefs are so rich and could give students a new perspective. I want to make sure that the learning is authentic and invite elders to come speak and bring in artifacts of their culture so that students be engaged in true knowledge. These are only some first steps, and I am sure that I will add more over the years. I care deeply about the aboriginal issues in Canada and I want their voice to be heard.
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WEEK 3
What are your current understandings about Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction?
Universal design for learning and differentiated instruction are about creating learning environments where students have equal opportunities to learn. It is about removing restrictions of learning, giving student’s choice and addressing the diverse needs of all learners. Having a universal classroom is not about accommodating as individual students come into the classroom community, but about creating a curriculum and using teaching strategies that work with all learners before students walk through the door. Universal design for learning and differentiated instruction are based on the need for knowing your students and being aware of the needs of all learners.
How can UDL and DI be beneficial to ALL of your students?
Universal design for learning and differentiated instruction are beneficial to all because they provide students with choice. There is no right way to learn or to succeed. Both UDL and DI recognize that everyone is unique and make the curriculum a flexible rather than a restricting thing. Students can learn in different ways and display that learning in a way that is best suited to their strengths.
What challenges might you face when considering UDL and DI in your lesson and unit planning?
A challenge I might face when considering universal design for learning and differentiated instruction is my own preconceived notions of learning and how my experience of learning has impacted me. I was taught that learning was about sitting in rows in a classroom and working independently. Now the definition of learning has completely changed and I need to change my ideas of what effective learning looks like. Another challenge is knowing when I am fully successful at differentiating instruction. It is only through experience when I will know what works well in a classroom and what is not effective.
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​WEEK 2
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Why is it important to access information about teaching and learning from peer-reviewed sources?
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Peer-reviewed sources are necessary when accessing information about teaching and learning. It is a way in which the quality of a study is maintained. A peer -reviewed paper is typically passed around to various experts in the field to ensure that the study is factual. It is only when the study has been reviewed by multiple peers can it be published and recognized in the field. Without having this type of quality control, anyone could create a study and post whatever information that they deemed to be true.
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As you searched your peer-reviewed paper what key terms did you use?
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Some key-terms I looked for as I scanned through the peer-reviewed journal were inquiry, achievement, science, assessment, misconceptions, play, hands-on, exploration, observation, children and investigate. All of these terms had significant meaning to inquiry-based learning in the classroom.
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What search options did you use?
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To search for the peer-reviewed journal article, I used the UOIT library archive of online journals. I then used the quick search option but quickly refined my search to only display peer-reviewed sources.
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How did you choose the article you wanted to summarize?
I chose the article Inquiry-based learning: a framework for assessing science in the early years because of its association to the early years. Many of the peer-reviewed studies had an adult learning focus or were done using university/college students. The study that I chose looked at children of various age ranges and noted differences in how they thought of science in the classroom. This article also appealed to me since it looked at how inquiry was innate in young children and how play played a large role in discovery and experimentation in the classroom. As an RECE, inquiry-based learning and how it affects young children are a very important topic.
What was the most challenging aspect of searching and summarizing?
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The most challenging part of searching and summarizing the study was trying to figure out what the most important aspects of the article were and what could be left out. I felt that almost everything in the study was important and it was hard to condense the information down to a few short paragraphs. Another challenge for me was trying to dissect what the main takeaway from the study was since there were multiple points made throughout. Not only did the article talk about assessment, but it also discussed the correlation between age and science achievement as well as educators needing self-efficacy when teaching in an inquiry-based environment.
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WEEK 1
What is your understanding of the role of education in society?
Education is the foundation of society and it is only through learning and growing that we can develop as a community. Without understanding how a society functions and the many different aspects of the world, how can we hope to contribute to it? We need education so that we can continue to learn new things and to improve what we already have and know about. Education equals growth and is necessary.
Why do you want to be a teacher (framed within the context of your understanding of the role of education in society)?
I want to be a teacher because of my belief that education is the foundation of our society. I want to encourage the next generation as well as this generation to continue to improve and contribute in a positive way to our world. I want other people to be excited about learning because I am excited about learning. Overall, I feel as though I can be a leader and a positive example and I want other people to feel the same way that I do about learning and being a better version of yourself.
How will you contribute to an educational community that embodies your vision of education's role in society?
My first step to contributing to an educational community will be to fulfill my goal of being a classroom teacher. It is only by first working with others that I can hope to make an impact in their lives. I also intend to involve myself in the school as well as surrounding community. The school is the heart of the community and I want to involve myself in various programs that can help make the community a better place. This could be things like church involvement, fundraisers or after school programs for students and parents. I cannot fully know what the future will entail for me but if there is a need, then I fully intend to help and contribute.
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