Professional Development and Learning
Room for Growth: Looking Ahead
My artefacts include samples of my academic work, practicum lesson planning, and job experience. While my descriptions already meet multiple points in each section of the Teaching Quality Standard, when I enter Field IV and future work experience, I will continue to expand on these examples. One area I would like to add more artefacts include applying foundational knowledge of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. There is so much complexity across Indigenous communities, and as reconciliation is an ongoing process, it’s important to remain active and aware in including and learning from Indigenous voices and ways to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing through two-eye-seeing (Institute for Integrative Science and Health, n.d.). As well, while I have evidence that speaks to my professional ability to receive and incorporate feedback into my teaching practice, I am also aware that, even ten years down the road in my career, this section of the Teaching Quality Standard will still be just as important as the rest. Mat Noor and Shafee outline the importance of a collaborative “critical friends” community (2021). This mindset is one that I will take with me into my practicum and beyond by striving to create professional relationships that are supportive while also critical to individual teaching practices to foster growth. These relationships are not only important for adults, but for young students as well to learn to be receptive to peer and teacher feedback.
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Going into my final practicum, the first area I will focus on is assessment. I have samples that speak to my practice of incorporating different assessment techniques, however these examples were created as academic work. I would like to continue to grow in this area in a more active setting where I can use different assessment techniques with the students. This way I can also receive feedback from my partner teacher and the students and apply that feedback to my planning.
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Works Cited
Institute for Integrative Science and Health. (n.d.). Two-Eyed Seeing. Cape Breton University. http://www.integrativescience.ca/Principles/TwoEyedSeeing/
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Mat Noor, S., & Shafee, A. (2021). The role of critical friends in action research: A framework for design and implementation. Practitioner Research, 3, 1-33. https://doi.org/10.32890/pr2021.3.1
Meeting the TQS
Fostering Effective Relationships
This is a card I received from a camper during my time as a counselor at Glenbow Ranch. At the beginning of the week, she expressed how little she liked biking, but time I spent coaching and building a relationship through this support helped give her a new outlook. During bike week, I found that the children had a range of experience riding a bicycle. While some students were more proficient than I was, other campers had very little experience and needed to travel at their own pace. These differences in experience allowed for opportunities to give more experienced campers leadership roles to guide the group on the trails while I could spend time supporting the bikers who needed additional coaching.
The camp programs were heavily designed by the counselors and in collaboration with the community, including Search and Rescue services and Indigenous elders. Although the overall themes of the camps varied, each had similar goals of physical health and wellbeing, Indigenous education, local histories, exploration, outdoor education, and activism as a steward of the land. The programs were also designed to incorporate the variety of educational, active, and creative interests that students may have, such as through crafts and games.
Engaging in Career-Long Learning
This narrative assessment speaks to my ability to grow from and incorporate feedback in my teaching, as seen from the improvement between my midterm and final assessments. This also outlines my ability to positively build professional relationships and support student learning through foundations of inclusivity, respect, and safety.
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Final Narrative Assessment (left) and Midterm Assessment (right) for Field III.
Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge
This lesson plan is one in a series I designed for the Ukrainian unit for my grade 2/3 split classroom in my third field experience. This classroom was very diverse with students from different cultures and backgrounds (Ukrainian included,) so I designed this lesson to build connections and understanding between previous cultural topics, as well as the students own unique cultural backgrounds. This lesson allowed students to create empathetic and cognitive connections between their own cultures and the topic of Ukrainian culture with an activity that involved kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learning – which especially supported EAL students.
Near the end of the Ukrainian unit, I created a practice quiz using Kahoot. Instead of having the students answer the questions on the computer, I instead split them into teams and each team would take turns answering questions by moving to one of the four corners of the room that represented possible answers. This strategy allowed students to engage in the quiz in a meaningful way that encouraged movement and teamwork. I chose teams based on my understanding of each student’s learning needs, and with consideration to their learning experiences, setting clear expectations and grouping students who would support one another.
These are formative and summative samples of assessment for a grade 6 animation unit plan. The formative assessment is for student self-assessment and meant to be used halfway through the unit. This way students can consider their next steps as well as receive constructive feedback from the teacher. The summative assessment is meant to be completed at the end of each section of the unit but is flexible to allow students to receive and apply their feedback as the unit progresses. Both align with the Alberta Program of Studies (Art, Level Three.)
Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments
This project was completed as a group project in the Design for Learning Class. The objective was to address a specific underrepresented student demographic and address their learning needs and areas of growth by planning for universal and targeted approaches in teaching and learning regarding student wellbeing. We designed the Wellbeing Room to support gifted students grappling with mental health while also supporting all student wellbeing. With attention to the medicine wheel outlining the importance of balancing emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental health, we separated the classroom to represent each of the four sections. The activities within the Wellbeing Room would be co-designed - only in part being introduced by the teacher, while new activity contributions would remain open to students and the community. The activities would be designated to one of the four corners depending on which area of wellbeing would be most benefitted. For a certain amount of time each day, students will be given the choice of which corner and activity they would like to participate in and work towards. If students are uncertain, they can engage in an individual self-reflective piece to help them decide their area of focus. Students who introduce new activities are also given leadership opportunities to introduce and/or teach the activities they contribute.
Applying Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Metis, and Inuit
This sample from my visual essay explores my role in delivering foundational knowledge of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples and Indigenous ways of knowing. As an activist for my students, my goal is not only adhering to the expectations of the program of study, but also to continue to seek out the voices of Indigenous communities and their visions of inclusion and change in education. I recognize our history, and in the classroom, I strive to inspire empathy and respect for the rich histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples which they have had to fight for.
Adhering to Legal Frameworks and Policies
My teaching philosophy speaks to my professional outlook and duty of care in education. I will continue to conduct my planning and teaching with awareness of school policies and procedures through proactive communication and self-reflection.