Welcome to a the 2011-2012 cohort of Midldle Years TCs. This blog will serve as a record of what goes on in EDUC 310, EDUC 316, and LLED 320 (Term 2). Those are the courses that Dave and I teaach. Also, you’ll find information related to your practica in addition to bits and pieces on TC-related events. Please note that this blog continues where last year’s and the year before that left off. If you’re curious, you can peruse the old posts and see what cohorts in the past were up to.
Here’s what shook down on Day 1 of your “year long job interview”:
Kingpin as a Microcosm for the Year
Everything I needed to know thus far in life I’ve learned from movies. Honest. This clip from the Farrelly brothers comedy classic Kingpin condenses the Teacher Ed program into a tight 67 seconds. It takes you from those nerve wracking early days on campus, to dealing with call outs in your classroom on prac, to the joyous victory that is graduation. Enjoy!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUSLiR0ZmbQ[/youtube]
Class Keeping
We took attendance and gathered contact information.
Instructor Introduction
Dave and I noted that we work from Monday to Thursday at UBC and spend Fridays working in schools in Coquitlam.
Perspectives on the Year
The MY program is small – 1 cohort of 27 in a sea of 38 other UBC Teacher Ed cohorts. Be sure to self advocate so your voice doesn’t get lost. Also, we stressed the importance of professionalism as you transition from student to professional and we set out the year-at-a-glance, indicating how coursework, practica, and breaks are spaced out over the course of 2011-2012.
In order to fully understand the requirements and regulations related to your B.Ed program, Dave and I urge you to read these publications from the UBC Teacher Education Office:
- Bachelor of Education Program Policy Handbook 2011/12
- Bachelor of Education Practicum Guidelines 2011/12
- 2011/12 Course Schedule [Calendar]: Middle Years
“Getting to Know You” Goal
We’d been talking for awhile at this point, so Dave and I wanted to give you a chance to get active and get to know one another a bit better. To that end, we asked you to engage in the Newspaper Tower Challenge. The task involved you answering the question “What’s the tallest tower you can build using only two sheets of newspaper?” Here’s the handout I based the activity on:
You can find all the details on this Challenge and others on the PBS Building Big Educator’s Guide website. By the way, here’s a YouTube clip showing how two groups of middle schoolers tackled the tower task:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD58pkqBXwE&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLEB8ECD7CE3ABAEC3[/youtube]
After a brief debrief, we adjourned class for the day and sent you off for a quick bite of lunch before the Faculty Orientation at the Chan Centre.
‘Til next time.
Cheers,
Lawrence