{"id":11,"date":"2009-11-05T20:48:50","date_gmt":"2009-11-06T04:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2009-11-05T20:48:50","modified_gmt":"2009-11-06T04:48:50","slug":"artifacts-reflections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/artifacts-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Artifacts &amp; Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>BCCT 8 Standards of Teaching<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 1 \u2013 Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01807.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01807-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"497\" height=\"662\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Standard 1, to me, is a commitment to a classroom environment which  facilitates the development of students on an intellectual, physical,  emotional, social, creative, spiritual, and moral level.\u00a0 This is the  means through which educators can act in students\u2019 best interests.<\/p>\n<p>The artefact involves a bookmark given to me by a student at the end  of the practicum.\u00a0 By itself, it seems to be a typical definition of a  teacher.\u00a0 However, after learning through UBC coursework the various  roles that a teacher embodies, the contents of this bookmark truly  strike home.\u00a0 Prior to the course in education at UBC I would\u2019ve seen  this bookmark as nothing more than a clever summation of a teacher.\u00a0 Now  that I\u2019ve read and listened to theories behind all these roles of being  a teacher, this bookmark serves as a beacon highlighting the fact that a  teacher\u2019s role is merely the tip of the iceberg that masks all the  pedagogical research behind the embodiment of these roles.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of the year, I walked into the first class of my  bachelors in education journey with the notion that teaching was to  stand in front of class directing a group of children through the  activities of the day.\u00a0 And that would be that.\u00a0 That would also be  exactly what I tried to do during my first practicum experience in  January to various degrees of success.\u00a0 I quickly met many situations  which required more of me than simple instruction-giving.\u00a0 For instance,  I would have a group of quarrelling students angry at each other  regarding their different opinions on the most popular pop star.\u00a0 Then  on another day, half the class would be quivering in their seats unable  to even go to the washroom independently.\u00a0 Events at my school also  demanded the use and demonstration of my extracurricular abilities such  as being musically and technologically proficient in the school talent  show.\u00a0 Active students would look up to me after the staff dodgeball  match and request acknowledgment in the form of \u201chi\u201d or \u201chi-fives\u201d.\u00a0  Sporting events such as the zone track meet and sports day required  instant feedback based on students\u2019 performance.\u00a0 Furthermore, there  would be slower learners needing extra support whether it was in the  form of tutoring or simply more attention.\u00a0 The list continues seemingly  without end even in the short 3 months that I spent evolving from  instructing my class to teaching all students in the school.\u00a0 I had  walked into practicum as an instructor of mathematics, language arts,  science, social studies, physical education, fine arts, French, and  health &amp; career education to 25 students and left the school as a  guide, role model, coach, tutor, mentor, instructor, and trusted friend  of far more than 25 students.<\/p>\n<p>I now realize more than ever that to act in students\u2019 best interests,  a teacher has to be more than an instructor.\u00a0 The sum of all the roles  listed in the artefact reaches closer to what a teacher should be to  students in order to more fully meet the diverse needs of all students.\u00a0  Most importantly, I recognize that the list of roles will inevitably  shift with more added when the situation calls and that it will be my  responsibility as an educator to fulfill those roles when called upon in  the school setting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 2 \u2013 Educators are role models who act ethically and honestly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01825.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01825-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Standard 2 emphasizes the professional nature of education in  highlighting two attributes that is often associated with  professionalism: ethical and honest.\u00a0 I understand this standard as  acting in such a way as to gain the trust of people that we communicate  with as well as bystanders who witness these interactions.\u00a0 When  educators are in conversation with parents, trust is given in the form  of private and sensitive information.\u00a0 While in the school, educators  are in a position of authority, leading to educators often seen as role  models to students and adults alike.\u00a0 Thus in essence, because educators  are placed in a position of trust and authority, we must act in a  professional manner in all public situations.<\/p>\n<p>The artifact I chose for this standard is case number 2 from a  university course in the education program.\u00a0 In it is a paragraph  depicting a mother complaining about a previous teacher to the current  teacher.\u00a0 Immediately this situation touches on the issue of ethical  behaviour on the part of the current teacher.\u00a0 The dilemma in this case  was whether it is ethical to engage in conversation regarding another  professional with a client in a general sense.<\/p>\n<p>What my experience the past year has taught me is that there can be  situations where honesty doesn\u2019t always result in ethical behaviour.\u00a0 An  example is if a parent asks for my opinion on a matter which it would  be unethical for me to answer.\u00a0 Prior to being exposed to case 2\u2019s  scenario and being ignorant of the full legalities behind teacher  professionalism, I would have been undecided between unethically  granting the parent\u2019s wish to discuss another teacher and\u00a0 honestly  informing the teacher of this parent\u2019s criticisms.\u00a0 Fortunately, the  case was presented early in the year and as a result, prepared me for  the possibility of such a decision during the practicums following.\u00a0  After learning some of the correct protocol in situations like the one  described, my conclusion to that case was to \u201credirect Tella\u2019s mother to  voice her complaints to last year\u2019s teacher or ask consent to have her  complaints relayed directly to last year\u2019s teacher\u201d.\u00a0 So it was with the  guidelines presented in the BCTF Code of Ethics that I addressed this  issue of deciding between ethical behaviour and honesty.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/Code-of-Ethics.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/Code-of-Ethics-300x208.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"208\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Case 2 taught me more than protocols, legalities, and choices because  it also made me realize that the profession of education is on the one  hand connected to laws, but on the other hand is linked in relationships  with the school community.\u00a0 It is the balance between the two that all  teachers must find.\u00a0 It is a balance that I\u2019ve begun to see and  experience for myself this past year.\u00a0 In my future teaching years, I  believe that in order to adhere to the laws that govern us as well as  build strong relationships with whichever school community I\u2019m at, I  must act professionally at all times, and to do so, I will keep an  ethical and honest behaviour as a strong opening step in achieving that  goal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 3 \u2013 Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01810.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01810-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"461\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Standard 3 is making decisions on curriculum, assessment, and method  of instruction with the intention to develop students intellectually,  physically, emotionally, socially, creatively, and morally.\u00a0 It is  making appropriate decisions based on knowledge of student growth and  development.<\/p>\n<p>This artefact is an excerpt from a UBC workshop that I attended  during the winter term as part of the required course subject.\u00a0 It was a  general overview workshop on teaching phonics and reading in the  elementary grades.\u00a0 Of note in the workshop were two pieces of  information: text has 3 sources of information in meaning, structure,  and visual, and the optimal difficulty of lessons fall within the 80% to  90% range.\u00a0 Although there was much more content that I learned in the  workshop, these two pieces of information stayed with me throughout my  practicum and affected many facets of my implementation.\u00a0 Of the two  pieces of information, the second statistic was unique in the sense that  it was applicable to almost every subject that I taught.\u00a0 Whichever  lesson that involved a numerical assessment brought up the idea of  optimal difficulty. \u00a0As well, because the language arts are so pervasive  throughout the elementary curriculum, the first statement also had a  large impact on my lesson planning, implementation, and assessment.\u00a0 In  this way, these two statements is an example of an experience which has  allowed me to understand student learning better.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of learning how students obtain information from texts, I  proceeded to vary the classroom reading between the 3 types of cues:  meaning, structure, and visual.\u00a0 For instance, in social studies I  entrenched a sense of structure into my class\u2019 reading by naming the  topic being read for the lesson rather than name the page number.\u00a0 From  my understanding of the UBC workshop, I believe that doing this prompts  students to logically deduce that the reading is related to the topic  that I had named.\u00a0 In turn, this primes their thought processes to  anticipate and expect what is to come next.\u00a0 Next, I drew attention to  pictures whenever available during reading and asked the class to infer  some sort of meaning from the pictures.\u00a0 Other than to maintain focus on  the content of the reading, this has the added benefit of allowing more  beginning readers or special needs students to \u201ccatch up\u201d in a sense.\u00a0  Finally for the activity, I would typically require some sort of  representation demonstrating understanding of meaning behind the  reading.\u00a0 Through this method, I ensured that each lesson incorporated  the three types of cues that learners use while reading.<\/p>\n<p>The second statement was the one that was even more prevalently  implemented in my practicum as I aimed for the 80-90% success rate in  many of my academic subjects for my class on the whole.\u00a0 In mathematics,  this was relatively easy to accomplish due to the numerical nature of  assessment for learning in math.\u00a0 Language arts required a more  subjective view of the necessary difficulty level, while social studies  and science were similarly subjective.\u00a0 With the observations in mind, I  would then adjust further lessons on the topic to target that success  rate.\u00a0 An effective method for decreasing difficulty may be simply  dividing a lesson into several smaller portions and providing more time  for students to work on a particular topic.\u00a0 In a way I was keeping a  running record of the class\u2019 performance in each subject and responding  to each entry as an indicator of students\u2019 growth and development.\u00a0  Prior to learning of the optimal success rate from the UBC workshop, I  would have intuited to decrease difficulty when the class is having  trouble understanding a subject and vice versa.\u00a0 However, this workshop  provided me with a specific range to target and because this range is  founded on research and experience, I assume it to provide the greatest  benefit to student learning.<\/p>\n<p>I believe that in the future when I gain some knowledge that  illuminates how students grow and develop, that knowledge should be  applied to the all applicable instances so as to maximize benefits to  student.\u00a0 This is because more in-depth understanding of student growth  and development will result in more accurately addressing different  students\u2019 needs and modes of learning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 4 \u2013 Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Standard 4 is for educators to recognize parents, guardians,  families, and communities as valuable educators in every student\u2019s  life.\u00a0 This standard directs teachers as educators to work together in  partnership with these factors extraneous to the school confines in  order to better understand student backgrounds and characters.\u00a0 In turn,  students are benefited with a stronger continuity between their school  environment and the community within which they reside.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01808-edited.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01808-edited-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The letter shown above was given to me by a parent regarding the  testing and assessment of her son.\u00a0 Specifically, the content of the  letter referred to the special method of testing that she felt her son  required in my mathematics 5 class.\u00a0 The response that I showed  demonstrated standard 4, which is that \u201ceducators value the involvement  and support of parents, guardians, families, and communities in  schools\u201d.\u00a0 Rather than interpret her request as a challenge on my  teaching and assessment habits, I instead saw it as support she was  providing me.\u00a0 In turn, I devised a new way to assess her son which took  into account his visual needs.\u00a0 The adaptation contrasted from the  typical testing that I gave the rest of the class by asking the student  to physically show me on the blackboard how to perform the different  transformations such as flip, turn, and slide by the use of construction  paper manipulatives.\u00a0 This differed from the test I gave to the rest of  the class due to the normal test being of a more traditional written  nature.\u00a0 However, the questions given to both groups of students were  identical; merely the delivery was different.\u00a0 I observed that the  student was much more at ease with answering the questions posed to him  with this alternate form of assessment.\u00a0 Reflecting upon this, his  performance on the adapted test is very likely a better representation  of his understanding of the subject matter than if he was given a  traditional written test.\u00a0 I feel grateful that his parent offered such  valuable insight into the student\u2019s cognitive ability which ultimately  led to a more positive and accurate experience for both student and  teacher.<\/p>\n<p>Upon first receiving the letter from the student\u2019s parent, I  immediately felt defensive in that his parent was criticizing my  instructional methods.\u00a0 No matter how fleetingly this moment lasted, it  was my instinctive reaction.\u00a0 It was a letter reminding me of the  impending error that I was about to make in assessing a special learner  such as this case.\u00a0 However, as I processed and reflected on the letter,  I reached a more logical reaction.\u00a0 Recalling the theorist  Bronfenbrenner\u2019s idea of multiple layers of interconnected social worlds  affecting every individual, I realized this fragment of information in  the letter was highly valuable because it is one of the few pieces of  information that I have from the social world of the student\u2019s family.\u00a0  As I began to accept and appreciate the help that was being offered to  me from a parent, I also began unconsciously adapting my test to suit  the student\u2019s needs as described in the letter.\u00a0 It is only after going  through with the adapted test and meeting with his mother that I came to  the realization that I had inadvertently worked as a team with this  parent simply by receiving the communication from her and responding  appropriately to it.<\/p>\n<p>In the future I aim to welcome these collaborative opportunities with  parents as valuable learning experiences for me in understanding their  children.\u00a0 Furthermore, my response will be to initiate some form of  follow-up with the parent whenever possible so as to setup a stronger  understanding between the parent and myself.\u00a0 I believe that this will  only benefit the student, as this case has verified to me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 5 \u2013 Educators implement effective practices in areas of classroom management, planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation and reporting<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/Long-Practicum-Science-Unit-Outline.pdf\">Science Unit Plan<\/a><br \/>\nStandard 5 is the performance of a classroom teacher in carrying out  education as prescribed by ministry prescribed learning outcomes from  beginning to end.\u00a0 It is the responsibility that a teacher has to  educate students based on these PLOs, and in carrying out this  undertaking, many aspects such as effective classroom management,  advance planning, detailed instruction, assessment, evaluation, and  reporting are all required.\u00a0 I believe that this standard is all about  demonstrating competency in the aspects mentioned above so that the  ultimate goal of education is achieved.<\/p>\n<p>The artifact that I feel demonstrates all these aspects of teaching  is the unit plan for science that I designed and implemented during my  school practicum experience.\u00a0 The focus of this science unit was  habitats &amp; communities.\u00a0 As shown in the unit plan, the components  of teaching are all in evidence in advance of my actually implementing  these practices in class.\u00a0 I first identified the PLOs from the ministry  of BC Science IRP with relation to the unit habitats &amp;  communities.\u00a0 Then, I summarized and divided the PLOs into two main  ideas which resulted in two main themes for the unit: Bees and Habitat  Diorama.\u00a0 With these PLOs I designed lessons which I felt would be  interesting as well as educational for the class.\u00a0 Following this step  was actually estimating and calculating the time required for each  lesson to take place, which I have noted onto my unit plan.\u00a0 When the  lessons and possible extension activities were all slotted nicely into  the time available, this represented the completion of my planning  process.<\/p>\n<p>Also included in the unit plan are simplified notations for possible  assessment methods ranging from individual observations, written tests,  project producing, and oral presentations.\u00a0 My individual lesson plans  exemplified more detail in regards to instruction, assessment, and  evaluation methods with information specific to each lesson.\u00a0 The reason  that I employ a wide range of assessment methods is due to addressing a  wide range of learners as suggested by Gardner\u2019s theory of multiple  intelligences.\u00a0 In that theory, different learners are shown to learn  through very different modes such as visual, oral, and written forms.\u00a0  It then follows that because learners learn from different modes of  teaching, they will also have to be assessed in different modes such as  through projects (visual\/physical), presentations (oral), and tests  (written).\u00a0 I believe that a larger majority of different learners are  addressed by this varied approach to assessment than a systematic  assessment method with a repetitive and singular-mode format.<\/p>\n<p>With this variety in my lesson plans and assessment methods, the ways  with which students are expected to complete assignments are varied as  well.\u00a0 Although my instructional method was often simple and direct, I  found that the variety incorporated in my lesson activities addressed  different learners quite sufficiently.\u00a0 Therefore, a simple and direct  approach to giving guidelines and the framework to completing  assignments was suitable.\u00a0 As a result, my class often had large amounts  of in-class time for hands-on learning as displayed in the picture of  the class working on their habitat dioramas.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout these lessons, there were many cases where prompt  intervention was required.\u00a0 It is in these cases of classroom management  where a good classroom community is highly valuable.\u00a0 Often, I noticed  positive reinforcement and peer pressure in listening to a teacher\u2019s  wishes were very effective tools of classroom management.\u00a0 In hindsight,  after learning about the stages of development from Erik Erikson\u2019s  theory on psychosocial development, I now realize why this was such an  effective tool.\u00a0 According to Erikson, children in the age range of my  practicum class begin to be more affected by their social relationships  while moving away from family and teacher relationships.\u00a0 Therefore, I  believe it was easier to draw upon their wish for social inclusion than  if I had given students a direct demand and solely relying on their  relationship with the teacher.\u00a0 I accomplished this through building a  good rapport with the class so that individual students who required  some form of intervention were pressured by the majority of students who  had a good relationship with me as their teacher.<\/p>\n<p>This program in education has taught me many schools of thought and  theories in relation to teaching as a profession.\u00a0 It then provided me  with a practicum experience that was an excellent proof of those very  same theories in practice.\u00a0 After having gone through an entire term of  teaching students from planning to implementation to reporting, I now  realize that teaching is more than the sum of its parts in that the  individual stages of teaching connect and link together in order to  create what we call education.\u00a0 Education cannot only be classroom  management, planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation, and  reporting.\u00a0 It cannot even be a combination of those factors all  combined in a classroom setting.\u00a0 To me, education involves the aspects  of teaching and the links between each one that ultimately creates a  cohesive learning experience for students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 6 \u2013 Educators have a broad knowledge base and understand the subject areas they teach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wpgallery\/img\/t.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2009\/11\/AnthonyNicole-Numeracy-Research-Package_Page_01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-88\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2009\/11\/AnthonyNicole-Numeracy-Research-Package_Page_01-1024x788.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2009\/11\/AnthonyNicole-Numeracy-Research-Package_Page_01-1024x788.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2009\/11\/AnthonyNicole-Numeracy-Research-Package_Page_01-300x230.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2009\/11\/AnthonyNicole-Numeracy-Research-Package_Page_01-389x300.jpg 389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I understand standard 6 as one which guides educators to have a  varied yet strong pedagogical foundation behind the material taught and  the method of implementation.\u00a0 In combination with a thorough knowledge  on the specific subject matters being taught, educators can make  knowledgeable and informed decisions with a strong theoretical or  experiential basis.\u00a0 It is through this way that educators are able to  ensure the best possible learning experience for students.<\/p>\n<p>The artifact that best represents this standard is a research package  that I produced with a partner on the topic of teaching mathematics.\u00a0  First of all the package lays out the ministry prescribed learning  outcomes.\u00a0 Then it draws on various forms of research and theory that  suggests reasoning behind different approaches to teach math.\u00a0 Finally,  it provides concrete examples of how math lessons could possibly look  like when the theory is put together with ministry objectives.\u00a0 The  research package exemplifies the aspects of having a broad knowledge  base in utilizing theoretical grounding as well as showing an  understanding of the subject area in the form of displaying ministry  PLOs and possible methods of implementation.<\/p>\n<p>I believe that this artifact is one of the many instances which have  shown me the importance of basing teaching upon established and  well-researched theory.\u00a0 Looking back to the beginning of the year, I  now realize that I unknowingly learned this through multiple assignments  and readings.\u00a0 This research package was yet another one of these  assignments which gradually consolidated my knowledge of teaching on  research and theory.\u00a0 As a result, my approach to teaching has evolved  considerably into viewing teaching as planning towards completing or  going beyond the PLOs and using pedagogy as a means towards  accomplishing that.<\/p>\n<p>My goal towards being an educator is not only to know the content  being taught and using a teaching method to transfer this knowledge of  the subject matter to students, but to use theoretical knowledge to make  decisions on teaching.\u00a0 It is just as important to firmly know why I\u2019m  teaching this material, why I\u2019m employing a particular implementation  method, why I\u2019m assessing using a particular method, and why students  respond to my decisions the way they do, as knowing the PLO aims for  each student in my class and the knowledge that they need to attain in  order to reach those goals.\u00a0\u00a0 This is where an in-depth understanding of  a broad variety of educational theory will allow me to answer all the  \u201cwhy\u201d queries and thus result in effective choices being made.\u00a0 To  accomplish this I will strive to consistently and continue to read  research and theories related to the profession of education.\u00a0 Even more  practically, I will undoubtedly attend workshops and professional  development seminars to keep updated to new developments in the field of  education.\u00a0 This, I feel will broaden my knowledge on the what, how,  and why we teach any particular lesson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 7 \u2013 Educators engage in career-long learning<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In my view, standard 7 means for educators to continue actively  seeking improvements to their qualities of teaching throughout their  careers.\u00a0 Although there are many ways to do this, professional  development workshops are some of the most direct forms to engage in  career-long learning.\u00a0 Another key aspect of standard 7 is the idea of  continuous learning throughout a career.\u00a0 This is the idea that learning  to become an educator doesn\u2019t stop when a teacher candidate graduates  and is accepted into a college of teachers; in fact, it should never  end.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC018111.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC018111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01812-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Because there are so many different ways to learn as educators, I\u2019m  using professional development on the whole as an artifact.\u00a0 Having been  to several, including Janice Novakowski\u2019s Measuring Mania and Adrienne  Gear\u2019s Reading Power, they have taught me many teaching techniques and  ideas for lessons.\u00a0 Other workshops focused on other aspects of teaching  such as assessment and reporting.\u00a0 They were all of value and have  contributed to my accumulated knowledge.\u00a0 First came Adrienne Gear at  Trudeau Elementary, where she provided the audience with a detailed and  concise overview of the program she developed called Reading Power.\u00a0 She  not only talked about the program\u2019s goals and advantages, but she also  demonstrated specific techniques, lesson plans, and teaching resources.\u00a0  It was these detailed concrete examples which grasped my attention, as  reflected in the notes that I was consistently jotting down while  Adrienne presented.\u00a0 Of particular interest to me was the idea of the  OWI (Observe, Wonder, Infer) and the flexibility of such a system to be  adapted for all elementary grades.\u00a0 More importantly, learning  experiences such as these expanded my view of education and motivated me  to think about other lesson plans which could be adapted to a wide age  range similar to Adrienne\u2019s OWI.\u00a0 Next came Janice Novakowski at  Mitchell Elementary during the RPTA Extravaganza, which was a large  assortment of different professional development workshops.\u00a0 This  particular workshop, Measuring Mania again provided me with more lesson  ideas and resource materials than I could record or remember.\u00a0 Unlike  Reading Power, Measuring Mania was focused more on separate lesson plans  and individual teaching techniques which could be applied to any class  without chronological constraints.\u00a0 In this way, Measuring Mania taught  me even more ideas that I could immediately implement than Reading  Power.\u00a0 However, the key point is that both of these workshops  contributed to make me a more knowledgeable educator than before.<\/p>\n<p>From experiencing many workshops throughout the year, I\u2019ve come to  value the diversity in knowledge that the different workshops have  taught me.\u00a0 One of the main reasons that we as educators must continue  learning is because the world is constantly evolving and educators must  reflect that change, whether it is new scientific innovations, different  social values, or a better understanding of the world around us.\u00a0 As  Julie Kennelly writes in her article, \u201cteachers entering the profession  now, with a potential career extending over 30 to 40 years, will  inevitably have to cope with ever changing information\u201d (Kennelly,  2007).\u00a0 The need for educators to participate in professional  development such as workshops is further corroborated by researchers  such as Huberman, Thompson, and many others where professional  development opportunities are concluded to have a positive effect on the  quality of teaching in the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>As I develop my teaching career, it is essential for me to gain as  much knowledge as possible in the range of teaching styles so as to  identify the teaching techniques which are most effective and beneficial  for my students.\u00a0 More importantly, I will continue gaining further  insight into improving any and all aspects of my teaching so that the  advancements in the world is reflected in my teaching.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Standard 8 \u2013 Educators contribute to the profession<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01809.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/efolio.educ.ubc.ca\/ang1\/files\/2010\/07\/DSC01809-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"461\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To me, standard 8 means to bring one\u2019s own creativity, ideas, or  skills to improve the understanding or function of education.\u00a0 It is to  go over and beyond the teaching to a class within the confines of a  classroom or school grounds.\u00a0 It is to give something, whether abstract  in thought or tangible in evidence, to the profession of teaching.\u00a0 This  can be accomplished in an infinite number of ways since standard 8 is  in essence to help fellow educators.<\/p>\n<p>This artefact is a thank you letter from the teacher responsible for  organizing the talent show at my practicum school.\u00a0 The talent show  itself involved a combination of leadership, organization, and teamwork  that the staff involved had to display.\u00a0 My own role in this school-wide  event was as a member of the judging panel, supervisor, and sound  system manager.\u00a0 Whilst there were multiple staff responsible for  judging of the auditions and supervising the auditions and performance, I  was the sole staff responsible for setting up and adjustment of the  audio equipment for all the auditions as well as the performance.\u00a0 The  performance went without any problems and the thank you letter serves as  an important reminder of how I was able to share my knowledge of audio  systems with the organizing teacher.<\/p>\n<p>Although there was more than one instance in which I was involved  with providing assistance with school activities, the talent show stood  out for being one where I felt I was an essential part of the event.\u00a0 It  gave me an opportunity to experience the difference between simply  helping facilitate an event to success and being an essential part of  what allowed the event to occur.\u00a0 This I feel is what contributing to  the profession stands for; to provide assistance where needed rather  than wherever convenient.\u00a0 Through this experience and in contrast with  some other events where I had less vital roles, I learned that true  contribution takes effort, a lot of effort.\u00a0 Even though I was  proficient with technology and machines, the mere fact that any mistake  on my part would be noticed by the entire audience provided enough  pressure to make this experience an effort.\u00a0 More importantly however,  this has made me realize that effort is at least the one common factor  in order to contribute to the profession.\u00a0 Whether it is a contribution  as small as ensuring the audio system worked smoothly for a talent show  or as ground-breaking as synthesizing a new theory based in education,  effort is required.<\/p>\n<p>In my future experiences in education, I know that I will contribute  in ways both large and small but in order to do so I\u2019m certain it will  require continued and consistent effort throughout my moments as an  educator.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">~ <em>Fin <\/em>~<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BCCT 8 Standards of Teaching Standard 1 \u2013 Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests Standard 1, to me, is a commitment to a classroom environment which facilitates the development of students on an &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/artifacts-reflections\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19896,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ang1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}