CSL Reflection
For my first placement in my teacher’s education program I am in a grade 5 and 6 split class at Williamstown Public in a portable. This is actually the elementary school that I attended when I was younger and I'm so pleased and happy to be there too. Williamstown Public has a strong community focus and is located in a rural, farming area an hour and a half east of Ottawa. My placement has a unique student profile with having 22 boys in the class and only 4 girls. Needless to say, we plan on doing gym every single day. There are 14 IEP’s in the class and 5 students who display that they’re far beyond grade level. This has been eye opening to me to see the differences of abilities in one classroom and especially a split classroom. I feel like this situation creates quite a bit more planning on my AT’s part to meet everyone’s needs. A goal of mine in placement is to learn to differentiate my lesson plans and to learn to accommodate everyone so that they all can grow and learn no matter where they are on their path of learning. My AT is a skilled and experienced teacher who has been so welcoming and informative to me since day one. I am so happy and thankful for this situation. She makes sure to meet me before school and discuss the days plan, takes me with her during prep and lunch and after school to teach me to assess and evaluate student work. She has shared a rubric with me that she developed with the classes input for marking their writing.an We used them by highlighting the grade level that corresponded with specific criteria. I found this to be very useful because if you have a rubric with specific criteria that you are looking for you will mark everyone’s fairly. Another reason I like using a rubric is that the students will be aware of exactly what their expectations are and where they need to improve for next time. In addition to this, my AT gives them written feedback starting with something positive and then ending with next steps. I am going to continue to follow this method during placement and in my future classrooms. I think it’s really important to be as positive as possible with your students and classroom so the students don’t lose self confidence and disengage from their studies. There were a number of special meetings that I got to be a part of such as IEP meetings with the learning support teacher and my AT; parent teacher interviews for progress reports; and a math team meeting. These were all very valuable learning opportunities for me but I am particularly glad I got to attend the parent teacher interviews. I was able to see 3 different ones with parents who had very different opinions and approaches to their students' learning. I’m glad I got to see how my AT is able to address things that might be difficult for parents to hear but important and that there is a way to discuss things diplomatically. I have had some opportunity to teach some lessons to the students such as a Métis dot art lesson, creating a Prezi (interactive PowerPoint), an interactive read aloud and a science experiment on flight. I feel like this is an area I need to work on more and that it will get easier when I’m in class every day during placement. I’m looking forward to being there everyday and being aware of what they’ve done previously. I know I struggled when I was writing on a chart paper, leading a discussion with the class and it was a fast paced environment. I’ll need to work on improving my multitasking skills and learn to write faster. In this short time that I’ve been attending CSL I feel like I’ve learned so much. I’ve met and learned all the students names and feel like I have a good idea of the majority of their strengths and weaknesses. I’ve learned the class routine and a lot of my AT’s rules and expectations, which I will continue to follow and implement. I’ve begun to create lessons and implement them and have done some assessment. I’m sure December will be a time where I’m going to learn much more about what it takes to be a junior level teacher.
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As a conscience and equitable educator it is important that I create a classroom that is inclusive to every student that walks through the door. A way to make this more practical is to be prepared and have resources available to help teach my students about various social issues. The theme I’m going to focus on is Indigenous awareness. In the last few years I feel like this issue is being discussed more than ever and is something that needs to be brought to the attention of all individuals in Canada. When I was an elementary student we were not taught truthfully the horrific things that Canada did to Indigenous people and I want to be able to change that for my students. Below you can find some resources that are beneficial to bringing awareness to this issue:
1. GordDownieVideos. 2016, October 13. “The Stranger” Official Video-Gord Downie-Secret Path. Https://youtu.be/za2VzjkwtFc Gord Downie -Secret Path music video that tells the emotional story of 12 year old Chanie Wenjack a residential school victim in 1966 who had the courage to leave the residential school he attended in Kenora, Ontario and to make his way back to his home to Marten Falls First Nation (Ogoki Post), 600 KM away. The film is illustrated by Jeff Lemire who does an excellent job of setting the tone depicting how I imagine some of feelings Chanie on his journey (bravery, missing home family, scared, alone, defeat). I’d like to do an illustration study of different parts in the video with my students having them look critically at the images and infer why the illustrator depicted it the way he did and what the authors meaning is. I think that showing this video would be a good introduction to issues surrounding residential schools. I would use it for students in grade 3+ by playing it in class and the first time they watch it I would tell them to listen to the words in the story, watching the images on the video and we would have a class discussion on what is happening and what historically happened. We could discuss why Gord Downie felt it was such an important issue and project to bring awareness to especially in his final days too. All proceeds from Downie’s album and book are being donated to the University of Manitoba’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Project. 2. Kathy Kacer, J.K. (2016). I Am Not a Number. Second Story Press. The children’s book, I am not a number by Kathy Kacer is a story that is appropriate to read with elementary students and bring awareness to what horrific events occurred in the residential schools. The story is written about the co-authors grandmother Irene Couchie Dupuis’s experiences of being taken from her family home, being sent to a residential school. I believe this is an good way to introduce to children in grades 3-6 to try and have them imagine how Irene must of felt being taken from her family, and being forced to ‘forget’ her family, culture, way of life and to be assimilated into white culture. Irene had her hair cut, her name taken away and was referred to as a number, the nuns go as far as to tell Irene to scrub all the brown off making her feel less than worthy to white individuals. Irene has hot coals poured over her hands for speaking in her native language in hopes of that she only will speak English. There are key points in the book that make for good times to stop and have a class discussion on how Irene would be feeling, why the government and church were treating her and other indigenous children this way, why it is wrong and how it would affect her for the rest of her life. I could do a KLW chart with book, having the class filled out what they know, what they want to know and what they learned from studying this book. In addition to this, I would have vocabulary words listed to help students better understand some of the terms that occurred and to deepen their understanding. 3. Bannon, C. (2014). Faceless Doll Project: Commemorating Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls. Retrieved from ETFO VOICE: http://etfovoice.ca/feature/faceless-doll-project-commemorating-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-and-girls Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls-Faceless dolls project: This is an article on the ETFO website that shed’s light on Canada’s problematic issue of many missing and murdered aboriginal woman in girls, as high as 1000 unsolved cases reported since 2010. It’s important to note that these are just the cases that are reported, the number of unreported cases is probably much higher. The website article makes note that the primary purpose of this project is to bring awareness to this issue. I think this resource is a good tool for educators to use to inform themselves on this issue and to bring the information to their students in all grades levels. Bannon discusses curriculum connections for using this project with younger students and older students making it easy for educators to fit it into their curriculum expectations. For younger students, she says to discuss the importance of the family and how aboriginal people valued women for being creators of life and how they fed and kept children safe. She makes a connection to the beating drum and the heart beat they hear in the womb for nine months. In addition to how all women in the family are important, aunts, sisters, grandmothers. For older students you can go into more depth why the dolls are faceless and how society is viewing aboriginal women and why the numbers are so high for this particular group. Her students made the connection that the dolls were faceless because society has stopped looking for them, inferring that society doesn’t value them as worthwhile. Another strength of this web article is that it says where to find the template to do the activity of creating a faceless doll with your students (ONWA Website), why it’s important and how this teachers students responded to doing this activity. 4. Florence, M. (2017). Stolen Words. Second Story Press. This is a children’s book most appropriate for students in grade 1-3. The main idea is to focus on the inter-generational impact of the residential school system survivors and how that affects their parenting style, children and grandchildren. This book looks at the relationship between a girl and her grandfather, she asks him how to say something in his native Cree language when he confesses to her that his language was stolen from him. She makes it her mission to help him find his language again. I like that this book would bring awareness of what residential schools did to indigenous children trying to strip them of their language and how it has a positive message in the end with the granddaughter helping her grandfather relearning his Cree language and teaching her from a Cree to English book the little girl’s teacher gives her. I would try and get my students to answer what might happen to their language and culture if the granddaughter wasn’t interested in her grandfather’s native language or had never tried to help him? (Loss of culture, loss of language, affecting all future generations). A problem I have with this book is that it seems to get at the main idea but in a light way which makes it appropriate for younger students but I was hoping to find a resource that shows the impact of trauma in more detailed way across the generations. 5. Mr.Ballantyne. 2019, March 2. Residential School Survivor: Arthur Fourstar. https://youtu.be/YGNxfa0MQYs Arthur Fourstar- A documentary interview of him telling his life story starting from the time he was taken from his family. He recounts the horrible things he witnessed such as abuse in the schools, the anger he felt and how he badly he was treated. He killed a gosling and was shoved in and out of a bathtub with freezing water by one of staff Mr.Finley at the school. As Arthur retells his story you can see the emotional toll that it has upon him. He finds it hard to breathe, makes gasping noises and breaks down half way through. I realize that is dark and emotional but I believe it would be eye opening for older students perhaps in grade 6+ to get the sense on the impact it had upon the individuals. As a teacher, I would want my students to explore the impact his earlier trauma has on him later in life. I would ask the students to watch his documentary and write a journal article describing the trauma he went through, how it affected him in his later life and how and why they think it affected his children and him as he got older. As the video continues it show how he ends up going to jail for murder, says he has children with four different women and never knew how to parent them because he never had parents himself, he feels dead inside, and feels a disconnection from his brothers and sisters and doesn’t really care. Arthur is one of the lucky survivors as he seems to have a support group and has received therapy to some degree. The touching thing at the end of this documentary is that after all Arthur’s been through he still wants to help people and be a peacemaker. I find him to be extremely resilient and role model. 6. CBC Podcast. (2019, September, 24). The Secret Life of Canada:The Indian Act. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/teaching-guide-the-indian-act-1.5290134 This is a podcast from CBC bringing light the basics and demystifying the Indian Act and how it impacts the First Nations people. It describes what it is and how it has been Candian law since 1867, and the affects that have followed this. The history discusses the 7 year war and how indigenous individuals were involved, how Indian affairs was developed, the policy of assimilation of indigenous people (residential schools) were all precursors to the Indian act. In 1857, a precursor to the Indian Act called the Gradual Civilization Act would mean that indigenous individuals could become citizens, be able to vote, be given free land in which they could farm but they would need to give up traditional rights. The act said that if a man who was 21 years or older could speak English or French, didn’t have debt and had good moral character he would given land for farming. If after a year he could prove he was living as a white man and had good moral character then he would be granted the land officially and be able to vote. If you didn’t want this you would be considered a ward of the state (almost like a child) in capable of making your own choices, but this enfranchisement was only for men. Many people didn’t want this for the self, many tribes in 1858 came together to discuss this issue and the concern that white people were controlling their lives and land. Confederation was moving forward, and the government really wanted to be in control of the indigenous people, they began developing ideas of blood quantum determining who could have Indian status (1/4 blood was considered for status). The act was sexist against indigenous woman, in that white woman could get status for marrying a man with status but not the other way around, indigenous woman would loose status if they married a white man. 1876- The Indian Act: The act determines who has status, controls the band council, the reserve land and the reserve funds. In 1951, the act was revised saying all the provinces will handle their own issues with Indigenous child welfare laying the ground work for the residential schools to occur. This website where the podcast can be found is an excellent tool for educators, not only does it have the podcast that educators and students can listen to, to gain a deeper understanding but it also has a free slideshow, lesson plan, an ad-free download of the podcast, activity sheets and an episode transcript. I would use these resources with my students in older grade, particularly grade 6 +. The activity sheets that are given are 1) stereotypes, 2) Clauses of the Indian Act, 3) treaties, 4) Common myths about Indian status and 5) Treaty recognition-We are all Treaty people. This would be a follow up lesson I would use in my class after we had studied some other important indigenous issues such as residential schools, missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls and the inter generational affects/trauma. I would begin by showing the slideshow, focus on one of the activity sheets and assign parts of the podcast to listen to based on the information discussed in the podcast and activity sheets. I believe I would set it up as learning centres (1 Center per activity sheet and the students could rotate or work on a new station the following day). Another lesson I could do is a class timeline give different students an event surrounding the Indian act and indigenous individuals history in Canada. I would put masking tape across the classroom floor with different dates on it, and depending what event the students were given they would need to place themselves on the timeline and give a small summary on what the even was and why it’s important. 7. Shawnee Lazore HHD, PhD. (2016, September 18). They Lied to you in School by Ray Fadden. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pS5jT9c62A. Ray Fadden- They lied to you in school: Documentary discussing how all races contributed to civilization and how racism has devalued certain races such as indigenous peoples and white peoples have depicted themselves as being superior to other and indigenous in particular as inferior. He talks about how civilization is developing things that are hurting the environment and bringing awareness to how the earth is dying and how it scares him. He discusses the misconception of indigenous peoples contribution to civilization and what the truth is on everything they’ve contributed. I believe that this would be a resource I would share with students in junior grades such as grade 5+. I would do some preteaching on misconceptions on stereotypes of different groups of people as well as being a critical thinker. I’d let my students know that when I was a student in elementary school we were not aware of the actual truth around indigenous groups and we believed some of the stereotypes we were told or read about in text books. However, I want my students to not discriminate against any groups of people. I would let them know that they are going to track the contributions of indigenous individuals and how and why they’re important to todays world. We would discuss privilege groups and why white individuals would want to make indigenous people be inferior to them and why we need to correct these stereotypes. I’d have my students track the stereotypes discussed in this documentary and what Fadden says is the truth. I’d ask the students what Fadden’s main message in his video is? (The world is not made up of the contributions of just one group, we are all responsible for the world we live in ). During this documentary, Fadden says a few words such as stupid or fat ect, I think I would edit the video not to include him saying this just so that there is no issues from parents, or administration for showing this. 8. First Nations in Canada. (2017, May 2). Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1536862806124 The Canadian website has updated information since 2017 depicting the factual history of First Nations groups in Canada. The information is divided up into 6 parts: 1)Early First Nations: the Six main geographical groups, 2)History of First Nations-New Comer Relations, 3) A Changing Relationship: from allies to wards (1763-1862), 4) Legislated Assimilation-Development of the Indian Act (1820-1927) 5)New Perspective-First Nations in Canadian Society (1914-1982) and 6) Towards a New Relationship (1982-2008). I would use this as an additional resource on top of my other resources. I could create a unit out this and make 6 lessons based on the parts given on this webpage. Students could have a duotang and collect information they they are taught from all 6 lessons, various culminating tasks could be done once are unit is done such as a prezi, slideshow, an informational booklet, a kahoot quiz, poster or oral presentation. In addition to this, I believe this would be a good tool for myself and other educators to use to familiarize themselves with the history of the indigenous people in Canada. 9. McCann, S. (2016, December 2). Including Thomas Moore in the Curriculum. Retrieved at http://www.curriculumtheoryproject.ca/2016/12/moore-in-the-curriculum/ Before and after pictures of Thomas Moore- On this website you can find the famous pictures of Thomas Moore, he attended Regina Indian Industrial School in 1874. There are two photos of him the first one is how he looked before attending the school and the second one is after starting at residential school. It’s clear by looking at the two photos that Thomas went through major changes and that the intent of the residential schools was to assimilate the young students into their white culture. The paper written on this website talks about how this is a shameful part of Canada’s history and that most people were not taught this in school and only recently have we learned this. She believes it’s important to share this information with schools and make it a part of the curriculum. The way in which I would use this resource is to inform other staff who haven’t had much exposure to what actually went on in residential schools. I would also show the photo to my students so they can see the differences between the two and how much he changed in just a short amount of time. I would teach my students that this assimilation is not a good thing as they are taking away his culture. McCann made a comment that before she was taught about the residential schools if she saw Moore’s second photo she might think that he looks good and civilized but that’s not the right way to look at this. It’s not her fault for thinking this way though, as so many people are not educated or what they were told is not true. By teaching this to young students grades 2+ comparing what’s changed in the two photos and making the connection that this was against these peoples will we can make the younger generation better informed. 10. U.S. Department of Arts and Culture. (2017, October 3). #HonourNativeLand. Retrieved at https://youtu.be/ETOhNzBsiKA This is a YouTube video that would be beneficial to students and educators to learn and appreciate and start to begin to give back thanks to the indigenous people and the land that we are on. In the video, the individuals talk about how in countries such as Canada, U.S., New Zealand, and Australia its common to give thanks to the land and treat it as a living entity. There was a young indigenous woman in the video who spoke about the first time she heard someone giving thanks to the indigenous community in Minnesota, she wasn’t expecting it but she really appreciated it and it made her feel good and appreciated. I would let my students in elementary grade 1+ watch this video and we can discuss with the group what it means and why they’re doing it. After we did that introductory lesson my class would practice giving thanks to the Algonquin people and their unceded territory that we are on. We would practice in class and then do it at the opening of assemblies or meetings in the school. It’s a way of showing respect and acknowledging the truth of what has happened in Canada’s history. 11. Full Circle : First Nations, Métis, Inuit Ways of Knowing. Retrieved at https://www.osstf.on.ca/full-circle-first-nations-metis-inuit-ways-of-knowing On the OSSTF website, there are lesson plans for teaching about indigenous awareness, although primarily aimed at high school students there are some that would be beneficial with junior level grades too (grade 4+). On the main page there is a video called Full Circle: First Nations, Métis, Inuit Ways of Knowing Our Most Recent Project, the video is made up of 6 young First Nations, Métis and Inuit students talking about finding their self identity. At the start of the video it shows a young First Nations girl name Lilianna who wrote a winning essay about her way of life and the community that she lives in. She calls it third world Canada, and talks about the pain and suffering that she has had to endure in her life, most of the people in her town are addicted to drugs and there is no help for them, her mother committed suicide leaving behind 8 children, she began to do drugs at when she was 11, she says the only thing she knew her whole life is abuse, sexual, mental, physical, she thought it was normal for people to commit suicide and kill one another. She told a friend she knows she is going to kill herself by hanging herself. I think that this an eye opening video for educators and older students grade 4+ to bring awareness to the inequality on Indigenous individuals living on the reserves, they have inadequate education, housing, food, drug and alcohol problems, abuse/violence. Lilliana’s message is she wants her voice to be heard so she can keep the nation strong. Lilliana says her community keeps asking for help but they’re never listened too. She is having a child at 17 and says it’s going to be hard to get her education but that education is the only way out. The second young woman to be shown on the film Chelsea, talks about how their was a state of emergency in her community in 2011, that created a housing shortage for 24 families they had to live in temporary shelters without plumbing and proper insulation. I’d like my students to think about what makes a good quality life and how the individuals in these videos lives might be viewed. I’d like them to brainstorm ways in which they could make a change. Below the video link on this page is a 257 page PDF of ready to go lesson plans that are organized by subject. I previewed the PDF of the lesson plans and they’re very well written and I intend to use them in the future. Some of the subjects are civics, history, law, English, art, family studies, social studies, social sciences, physical education and health, careers and guidance, business, technical education. 12. McFarlane, Christine. (2011). Gladys Radek: A Woman on a Mission. Retrieved at https://ammsa.com/publications/ravens-eye/gladys-radek-woman-mission This webpage talks about Gladys Radek an advocate for missing and murdered women in Canada, especially those lost on the Highway of Tears (a B.C. Highway that is well known for Indigenous women being killed or going missing between Prince Rupert and Prince George). More than 30 woman have been killed or gone missing along that stretch, Radek and other women honoured them by walking the full distance. McFarlane mentions that Radek’s niece went missing in 2005 along this highway and that she and her family are still looking for her. In addition to her walking that long distance she did it with a prosthetic leg. There are a few different things I’d do with this resource, first off I think Gladys Radek should be taught about in the elementary classroom, and bring awareness to the missing and murdered indigenous women. The information here could be presented to my students and have them follow up by doing the lesson on the faceless dolls. In September, when schools are learning about Terry Fox, they can also learn about Gladys Radek. It’s important for students to learn about positive indigenous role models. I first learned about Gladys Radek in my course at the University of Ottawa, Becoming a Teacher in Practice with Tracey Crowe. We had a guest speaker name Lisa Howell and she informed us in this class that Gladys lives in the area and often will come to schools and talk if you reach out to her. At the bottom of the webpage is a link to email her ( [email protected]). I’d love to reach out to her and see if she would be willing to come talk to my students. 13. Ottawa Citizen. (2018, February 28). Gatineau Students Create an Insightful Music Video. Retrieved at https://youtu.be/Gg7iY_jmjGw I first learned about this music video from Lisa Howell a guest speaker in my Becoming a Teacher in Practice class in first year teacher’s college at Ottawa University. The video is made by students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary School in Gatineau. The school is made up of a large First Nations, Cree students. The purpose of the video is to promote inclusion and acceptance of all people’s cultures. I love the message in this video and would want to share it with my students. The message I want to have in my classroom is that everyone’s welcome and to be kind to everyone, and acceptance of everyone’s cultures. I’d like to create a music video similar to this one with my students promoting acceptance and inclusivity in their school and class. 14. Corneas, Michelle. (2016) Creation Story: Sky Woman. Retrieved from https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=6022&f=3899 This is a story book that you can order from the website listed above for $8. It is the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee’s legend of creation involving Sky Woman and Turtle Island. This is a story that typically was orally told and not written down. I first heard the story last summer when I worked with Haudenosaunee youth, we had a seed keeper from Awkwesasne Indian Reserve come and tell it to us. I think that it is an important story and one that all students should hear to better understand First Nations beliefs and cultures. I will be ordering this book to read with my students. On the website it says its appropriate for grades 2-4. After I have read the story to my students, I’d like to do some art work involving turtle island. 15. Christi Belcourt Beadwork Painting Lesson Plan: Retireved at https://fojaart.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/christi-belcourt-beadwork-paintings-lesson-plan/ This website has a ready to go lesson plan to introduce the artwork of the famous Métis artist Christi Belcourt. It has background information on the Métis peoples traditional beadwork and how Christi’s inspired art is based off that. This lesson is aimed for grade 3 students but I believe you could adapt it to be grade 3 +. The lesson is split up into two lessons. This website has it cleared out and is fairly simple to follow, it also has an assessment and evaluation. I have never used this particular lesson but I have done a very similar lesson inspired by Christi Belcourt, by creating Métis Dot art using nail tool pens and acrylic paint and stencils. I love this project and want to continue using it with my students. It’s good to have students appreciate and learn about indigenous artists in Canada. 16. We Stand Together. Holistic Health: Applying the Medicine Wheel. Retrieved at https://cdn.we.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WST-E58-Elementary_Health_PHYS_ED_V3.pdf Holistic Health: Applying the Medicine Wheel- This website has a ready to go lesson plan for students in grade 4-6. The lesson takes 50 minutes in length. The website says the purpose of the lesson is for students to understand the indigenous individuals beliefs of the medicine wheel and discuss health equity, social determinants of health. Students are to create a medicine wheel based on their own lives focusing on their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. This website is very user friendly and the lesson would be easy to implement. It comes with everything that you need to do the lesson as well as extensions to the lesson if you have students in your class who need more of a challenge. The lesson begins with playing a video on health equity then discussing some follow up questions. From there they will be introduced to some vocabulary, brainstorm in pairs things that affect one’s health and wellbeing. After that you will introduce the holistic medicine wheel, explaining the components of it. Once students have been taught about it and its four sacred medicines (tobacco, sweet grass, cedar and sage) students will get to create their own medicine wheel At this point in my teaching journey, I am still a starting out teacher. However, I’ve come a long way from where I started and I am starting to make my way to being an adaptive expert. Through my communities of inquiry, my university school, my placement school, and surrounding communities have further allowed me to grow by exposure to new theories that challenge my old philosophies, gain knowledge through collaboration and allowed me to test out my skills in a classroom while gaining support and feedback.
From Helen Timperley (2012), she refers to an adaptive expert as a person who knows what to do in a situation as they have had a lot of experience and can work through problems smoothly. Part of Timperley’s model is to increase meta-cognition to drive self learning and reflection. My experience reflecting and on my time at placement in the classroom have allowed me to increase my metacognition and drive my self learning on becoming a better educator. I have realized that no matter how much you plan a lesson, there will be things that happen that you didn’t expect. An example of this is when I was teaching a lesson in gym called Warball. I wrongfully assumed all the equipment I needed would be in the gym and that it would all be in working order. This was not the case and took up more time than necessary to get organized. After that lesson was over, I reflected on what worked and what didn’t. From this point, I can plan to improve my lesson next time by being prepared a head of time, making sure all the equipment needed is present and practicing before hand too. The Ottawa Universities Teacher’s Education frame work on communities of inquiry has the belief that student teachers will not only deliver the curriculum, follow policies and instructional techniques but to rather support us as we begin to understand the theories, literature, understanding of the curriculum while giving us experiences to develop a stance of inquiry. For me this has begun to develop by beginning to understand how the students learn and understand in my practicum classroom. During my time there I’ve discovered the class has observing the students in my practicum classroom that each student is at a different point in their learning with their own uniques strengths and weakness in different subjects. There are 14 IEP’s in the class of 26 students and approximately 5 students who are showing above grade level exceptionalities. Through developing an understanding and getting to know the needs of my students, it made me begin to think of equity and how that is practiced in the classroom. I have come to learn that equity for my students is giving them what they need to be successful in their learning. The students in my class will not always have equal work, or equal accommodations and modifications, but they will all be treated with equity. My associate teacher has been excellent at developing my growth in this area, she has taken the time to invite my to IEP meetings with the Learning Support Teacher, as well as explain and guide me through how she differentiates her lessons for the kids in our class. OCT standards of practice has taught me to practice care, integrity, respect in all areas of my professional and academic journey. I believe in and practice daily to promote student well being physically, intellectual, social, and their emotional well fare. To support them physically, my AT and I make sure they have gym whether inside or outside every day; for intellectual wellbeing we strive to plan lessons that are in all students optimal proximal learning zones. For their social wellbeing, our beliefs are that we are a community in our classroom, one of our only rules is to be respectful of everyone in the room. The AT and I believe in giving them opportunity to have choice in working with peers and developing their relationships with one another. The students social and emotional welfare is met each day too by having authentic and genuine trust with myself and the AT. We greet them at the door every morning, shake their hands, and ask them how they are doing before moving on with the curriculum. I now know we need to take care of their emotional and social well being before we can proceed with other types of learning with our students. I know no matter what stage of the journey I am on that I’ll always still be continuing to learn. However from OCT standards of practice, the learning theories provided at Ottawa University, the collaboration with my peers and direction of AT that this will guide me further towards becoming an adaptation expert. |
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