One of my goals as an educator is to foster the development of life-long learners. As teachers we are role models and if I expect students to continue to grow and learn through life I must do so myself.
The main area that I would like to put my focus on growing in the coming year is assessment.
I will use the various opportunities of professional development workshops and those with more experience in the area and learn from them.
The Feelings Book which is written by Todd Parr is a colourful book which shows a wide variety of emotions. While reading this book with my students we acted out the different emotions in our own way to show that they can be expressed in a variety of ways.
Hi!
I’m Ms. Travis, a new teacher working as a classroom support teacher and a TTOC. I completed my Bachelor of Education in the Social and Emotional Learning cohort. The focus of my teaching is not only on the academic growth of students but also on their social and emotional well-being.
Before entering into the teacher education program I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. This undoubtably helped shape my interest in the mental health, social skills and emotional regulation of my students.
I completed my practicum in a kindergarten and grade one combination class where I was able to put my skills to use! Since then, I have spent my days in various classes from kindergarten to grade 12!
When students came into class in the morning they would set their literacy centre
goals for the day. They would decide what they would read and which word work activities they would complete. At the end of the allotted time, students reflected upon whether or not they reached their goal and how they could ensure that they would reach it the next day.
We began with only a few choices and as students learned different activities they would be added to the list of choices. I used a variety of strategies to teach the students the word work activities including teaching them in small groups, having a parent volunteer teach small groups, using big buddies and teaching the class as a whole then splitting off to practice it.
The Invisible Boy is an amazing book written by Trudy Ludwig which shows a young boy who feels invisible, it discusses the different things the other students do which perpetuate his feelings and how one student helps him feel visible.
I used this book to identify some of the problems that happen in class. I discussed how the other students did not know how Brian felt and that it was possible that someone in our class might feel that way too. The students exclaimed that it was our job to make sure that everyone felt included and appreciated. This then led into a conversation about why it is important to put up our hand when we have something to share. This allows everyone the opportunity to express their ideas.
During the rest of our time together we would often discuss this book and remember that the reason we have certain rules is so that nobody feels invisible.
I borrowed this book from the school library and after I had read it to my kindergarten and grade one students, I knew it would have to be included in my personal library.
As I read the story about a little boy who felt invisible the students were entranced. Silence fell over the class who loved to get involved in a good read aloud. Throughout this book there are many different lessons to be learned and most of the students could identify in one way or another with Brian. Through one of the more emotional points in the book one student spoke out and asked in a voice that let me know he could truly feel how the invisible boy felt “Ms. Travis, are you trying to make me cry?“. Of corse I hadn’t purposely put this student in an emotional place and I took the opportunity to acknowledge that the story made me feel that way as well. As with most great picture, the story ends with an uplifting conclusion so while students can identify with Brian they walk away feeling as though there is something to be done and that they can help a peer who may be feeling this way.
Educating the heart and the mind
My goal as an educator is to foster the development of responsible, independent life-long learners who are resilient and empathetic global citizens. Education needs to focus on social and emotional wellness as well as academic success, which I will achieve through supporting students’ self-regulation, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
I will use social and emotional learning techniques to improve the classroom environment by building supportive and encouraging relationships between students and teachers. This can be done by creating lessons that build on students’ strengths and abilities, giving behavioural guidelines that promote intrinsic motivation, coaching students through conflict situations, encouraging cooperation between students and acting as a role model of respectful and appropriate communication.
In order to benefit all students I plan to create an inclusive, equitable classroom where all students have access to the help that they require by incorporating various student-centered techniques for diverse learners. The focus of assessment should be formative, allowing the students to learn from the process where a mistake is seen as the beginning of learning rather than the end.
Classroom management begins with prevention by introducing an environment where students feel respected and encouraged. In my teaching I will have well defined, reasonable expectations of the students. When students understand what is expected from them, they are better able to reach and exceed these goals.
“The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and learning”
written by Thomas Guskey
This article really resonated with me because it stresses the importance of formative assessment and explains it in a reader friendly way. Assessment should be used to improve a students learning by identifying areas which need growth and extend students learning whenever possible.
