These last two weeks have been a blur.  It was an emotional roller coaster where I knew I was going to pass my practicum, but I still had to work hard to make sure that I maintain the best reputation that I could.  These two weeks made me feel the most connected to my students and it was a bittersweet moment when we had to part ways.  I so moved that students who I thought were unreceptive to my teaching actually came up to me and started telling me how much they think I’m a good teacher, also other students who I knew enjoyed my lessons would come up to me and ask if there was any way I could stay and teach longer.  These comments made me feel like I had actually accomplished something in the time that I was with them.  I was even more moved when one girl who usually didn’t care in class came up to me and handed in all the homework that she had missed.

Another thing that made me burst with pride was when two students with IEPs got class average marks on the last unit test that I gave them.  This was probably the biggest accomplishment that I had this whole practicum.  One of the two students finished his test and said to me, “I’m surprised at how many questions I felt like I knew the answers to.”  This particular student got below 50% on all his previous unit tests with me, and then he suddenly had some sort of epiphany and the content stuck.  These two students with IEPs had also started gaining confidence to join in discussions and to answer questions out loud in class by the 5th or 6th week that I was with them.  I became so proud of them that every time I marked their work, I cheered every mark they got correct and  begged them in my head to get a decent mark.

This practicum has helped me grow in many dimensions.  I was able to connect with students on a personal level while still maintaining the structure, command and order that a classroom should have.  I found a balance between what I wanted to try, with what my SAs and FA wanted me to do, and what students wanted to do in class.  I cannot express my gratitude for all the mentorship that I got from different staff, not just my SAs, and also my appreciation for the students who accepted me as their teacher and learned from me.

For week 8 I was challenged to reflect on my practicum by my Faculty Advisor,  here were the questions to consider and my answers to them.  It definitely made me think about what I had actually achieved in the short amount of time that I was at McNair Secondary School

1.How have you contributed to the school community (what were you involved in outside of the classroom)?

I have contributed to the school community by guest judging in McNair’s singing competition, playing on the teacher’s lunch hour intramural sports team, and coaching and sponsoring the grade 8 boys’ volleyball team

2.Describe the different ways that you addressed diversity in the classroom (provided individualized instruction – adapted or modified- or helped students that needed additional support)?

In PE class, I did not need to address individualized instruction as all students were able to understand through my demonstrations, and all students with disabilities had their own personal Educational Assistants who would help them.

 In Socials class, I addressed diversity by teaching with different multimedia tools and using a variety of activities that accommodate different types of learning styles.  I additionally supported students by offering myself outside of class time (e.g. lunch time, after school), in these situations, I would sit down with students and guide them to appropriate answers for projects and assignments by asking guiding questions.  For in class work or test time, I allow students who need/ask for extra help to go to the learning resources room.

3.List some of the different assessment practices you used beyond tests, quizzes, and questioning.

Think-pair-share

K/W/L

Carousel activity

Jigsaw activity

4.Give some examples of how you used group work in your lessons.

Paired projects

Group presentations

Creating a “talk show”

Jigsaw activity

Carousel activity

5.Give some examples of interesting hooks that you used in class to capture the students’ interest (how did you motivate the class)?

Video clips relating to course content (e.g. instructional, skits, songs, movie clips)

Picture analysis

Quote analysis

Current events/interesting thought or video (unrelated to course content) of the day

6.Give some examples of innovative teaching practices and/or creative activities that you used to engage students in learning (aside from lecture, power point, question & answer, lab experiments)

Jeopardy review

Kahoot

Creating a talk show

Drawing comics

Writing short stories

Simulations

7.Describe a lesson that you are particularly proud of.  Why are you proud of this lesson and why do you feel it was so effective?

I was particularly proud of my simulation lesson of French culture and social classes before the rise of the French Revolution.  My simulation generated feelings similar to that of the actual people of the French society of that time.  I had students try to start an uprising on the people who were “wealthy” in the simulation.  The actual words said during the simulation were, “Can we start a Revolution and take their money from them…” I was pleased because I did not expect the feelings to actual rise up in this way, I just wanted them to get an appreciation and general idea of how different social classes felt.  This lesson was effective because in lessons after that, I could refer back to their feelings during the simulation to give them a more personal perspective on why different events happened the way they did during the French Revolution (e.g. why did certain people rise to power, why did the general public allow these people rise to power, what sort of things were promised to the general public that would sound appealing to agree to let these people rise to power, etc.)

8.What professional development activities have you participated in?

Professional development day at Cambie Secondary School

Collaboration day meetings

McNair staff meetings

Networking with veteran teachers from various schools and TOCs by sharing ideas and receiving practical advice

9.Is there any other information that you would like to share that would help me with your report?

All teachers and TOCs who observed my lessons have told me that I do a good job building strong relationships with my students.  Most students respect my authority and work hard to do well in my class.  Two out of the three classes that I taught were disappointed when they found out when I announced when I was leaving and specifically asked if I could stay longer.

This week was very interesting to experience.  There were constant highs and lows that were not things that I felt prepared for.  I felt like all my highlights for the week were all little things related to establishing myself as a teacher in the classroom.  Little things like being asked by students if I had time to stay after class to ask questions, or having students email me questions just to make sure that they are on the right track for their assignment made me feel like I was officially viewed as their teacher.  This made me feel good because the students feel comfortable and trust me enough to ask me questions now.  The low points of this week were all related to executing lessons and getting lesson activities done in the time I allotted for them.  Three days in a row I didn’t manage to dismiss my PE class on time, causing students to be late for their second block.

I find that none of the UBC courses actually prepared me enough for either of these situations.  For my PE methodology class, it prepared me to create a lesson, have back up and extension activities, but it didn’t really teach me how to think on the spot to modify my lesson so that I would be able to teach everything that I needed to cover while still being flexible with my time.  I found that this was the main source of my trouble with dismissing students on time this week.  On the flip side they also never prepared me enough for the joy that we would feel about all the little milestones and successes along the way, such as with students asking me for help and questions outside of class.