Final 2 weeks
Well, its all coming to a close tomorrow. We had our CO2 car race last week (see video), constructed our second outdoor cooking appliance, the rocket stove, seen some great mallets turned on the lathe, 3d printed some pretty creepy monsters, and made a chocolate cake that gave the room the appearance of a chocolate bomb going off!
I’ve been saying a lot of goodbyes this week, and proudly nominating my students for awards, and I wish it wasn’t over.
The kids have been fantastic, and I think their competencies in thinking, social and comm have improved greatly; I’d like to think my personality played a role in this.
Final meeting went very well, and it was nice to chat with everybody after the pressure was off and have a few laughs about some of the situations we encountered in the last few months. I see the need for a more n depth assessment technique as a result of the final grading processes I have went through, and have a pretty good idea how I’m going to do thigs in the future (see updated Inquiry on assessment tab). I’m looking forward to CFE in Keremeos next, and hope to garner some more skills in the 5-12 elementary/secondary school I’ve been placed in.
The learning process here has been a whirlwind, and I hope I can replicate all the subtle nuances that made this practicum a success in my teaching career. It’s going to be a lifelong process I’m sure, but I feel the students and staff at Lake Trail have got me off to a great start. Thank you.
Rocket stoves in test mode 
Weeks 7-8
Things are chugging along nicely, not much to report here save a couple students who have jumped out at me as needing some extra support.
I have to do some I reports, and I feel I missed some of the warning signs with them early on in the course. One of the students has a history of poor performance, especially in elective courses, and has been avoiding talking to me like the plague. I was able to finally sit down and talk with him yesterday, and he is going to need a lot of support if I’m to help him. My teaching partner Mr. lantaigne has a good rapport with him, and we feel that he will improve if we keep the lines of communication open and write out more specific learning objectives for him.
I am looking forward to spring break and sleeping in my own bed for a change. Being away from my creature comforts has added a new dimension of life reflection for me, and made me appreciate the supportive people in my life all the more.
Weeks 4-6
Wow, things got busy here in a big hurry. Haven’t had much time to journal anything out, but spent lots of time reflecting and focussing on things that went specifically well (read effective classroom management skills). Everything is running full bore now, try to provide a little recap:
Cooking with fire: The first prototype of the box ovens worked, but the tape we used failed at 300 degrees F. Amid much moaning and groaning we rebuilt the ovens in 2 classes and have had a successful hot dog lab and cookie bar bake lab as well. The real test will be with the pork shishkabob next class where we’ll have to keep a close eye on internal temperatures to ensure no one gets Trichinosis. The time temperature labs went well also, except for a minor rain out incident. The group leaders in the class have emerged and are proving to be a valuable resource during discussion and debrief.
Woods 8/9: I am really enjoying this class a lot since we got things moving a bit faster. I have to figure out a way to integrate some practical during the safety as the students get very antsy after a couple weeks of no hands on. I think some more work with hand tools as we progress through machines would help, but I need them fully on task with safety and no corners cut. Some students started on the lathe and are doing quite well, a couple others need some serious guidance, so I’ve started more small group discussions and demo’s specifically on layout and pretty much anything math or trig related. It’s coming together.
Foods 6/7: A high energy group indeed! We re doing a mindfulness technique before every cooking lab called “square breathing” which seems to be working quite well. A couple of my dark horse back row think its quite funny, but the majority of the class seems to garner a lot of benefit from it. I will definitely continue this in my future classes. One thing I have found with this class is that they have a very inflated opinion of their knowledge and abilities. I appreciate the confidence, but I have to reign them in a and slow them down a lot as they skip over important details they do not deem important, and get frustrated because the results aren’t always what they expect. My biggest take away here is trust your own judgement, and don’t take anything for granted with a young age group like this.
Woods 6/7: A couple of kids are nearly finished their C)2 race cars already, and I’ve got them working as TA’s with some of the other kids who need more guidance. The car designs range from very simple to pretty way out, but I think everybody has a better handle on design and 3D perception. We have announced race day just before spring break, and will introduce the final project next class – The secret opening box!
Midpoint meeting went well. It was a big one, with 5 of us at the table and the most support I’ve ever felt in my life. This is a great crew, and I would love to work with them full time in my new career this September. They all agree I’ve hit a good stride, have used reflection effectively, and have connected well with the kids. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t an effort: You just have to be yourself – human, fallible, and honest.
Week 2/3
Cooking classes are chugging along nicely. I set the box oven project in motion this week, and the 6/7 foods class is getting antsy to start cooking. I’ve been switching off with Mr. Darnel on the demo’s in Woodwork 8/9, and he is working his gradual release magic. The kids in there are warming up to me quite quickly, but I have been “warned” not to start too soft or I’ll have a hard time reeling them back in. Cellphones are proving to be a real problem as my FA Mr. Bassett has pointed out. He is a very firm but fair FA, and he doesn’t miss a thing! I appreciate all the feedback of course, and am never at a loss for reflection in practice. As I said in my platform statement, reflective practitioner is my goal, so it’s time to put that plan into action.
I hit the 80% load mark at the end of the week, and certainly feel grateful for the 3 week buildup. Vaulting into this headlong would be doable in hindsight, but I am here to learn and would not trade in those experiences for anything as they set the framework for how I need to do things in the following weeks. I will be taking over in the makerspace soon as well, with my co-teacher Mr. Taylor taking a back seat for a few weeks while I teach 3d printing and design techniques.
Woodwork 6/7 – this is by far my favorite class. We are just finishing up the first few kids on safety, and they’ll be making their first cuts next week. Mr. Williams has let me do the first two projects of my own design, with the third (electronics) pending time frame and materials available. These kids are fantastic and eager, and I know already that they will be a safe and thoughtful class behind the machines. Mr. Williams has been an excellent source of inspiration, and I’m quite glad to have him as another SA.
Reflections – I have learned an awful lot about simple and effective classroom management techniques, specifically wait time. I was shouting over the room quite a bit, specifically with the 6/7’s, and that scenario just continues to amp up and up. Mr. Basset has been a great resource in this department, and every strategy he has told me seems to work quite well.
Week 1
We’re jumping in here head first this week, with full reins on the Cooking with Fire and Foods 6/7. I have the added benefit of having Mr. Darnel as well as Mr. Fussell overseeing my teaching, both excellent but vastly different methodologists.
Cooking with Fire was an interesting start, I have the entire unit made up, but can see already that I will be diverging from the plan quite a lot. The Foods 6/7 class is following Ms. Lawrence’s old format, with a few tweeks by me, in order to keep continuity with the last 4 blocks the 6/7 grades already had.
Reflections – the CWF course outline was okay, but I seemed to be getting a lot of blank stares so will have to ascertain what that was all about. There are a couple of kids in the back I’ll have to watch closely as I see they have certain expectations about what this course is all about. Foods 6/7 went well, looks like an eager and fun crew. Have a couple IEP’s I ave to read up on more closely, watch my methods and differentiate accordingly.