Reflection #5 The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre

My 3 Week Community Feild Experience was spent at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre!

Here we would meet diverse classes from Community Schools to Christian and Private schools

from grade 1 – 9.  On feild trip taught them mini lessons relating to space and the universe

Here is one lesson I taught on rockets. I would go over Newton’s laws and the many actual space

missions people have gone on like landing people on the moon, a rover on Mars, and satellites to

Saturn and Pluto. The I would dazzel them with the fact that it only takes about 300 days to get

to Mars

Reflection #4

Inquiry Today
1.
Post practicum I am still very interested in continuing my inquiry throughout my career. Intrinsic motivation is still most important to me and I assume it will continue to be. The ways in which I attempt to motivate S. to want to do the assignments and task I assign will change no doubt as they vastly changed over my practicum.
2.
Ideas form my practicum/cfe I would like to build on are bringing novelty and artifacts into the classroom as well as getting S. out of the classroom, field trips help S. to be excited and enthused to learn.
http://www.bcfieldtrips.ca/contact-us
Lots of good info there.
3.
Practicum/cfe difficulties I took as learning opportunities are… the value of discipline.
4.
The best feedback I got as I see it was to make sure S. knew why they were doing what they were, and where it fits in in context.
5.
TPI: I scored evenly which was not supposed to be ideal, but there were some important aspects of each.
6.
3-5 year plan: inquiry, improve on intrinsically motivating S. and myself.
My inquiry is most important to me because I want to want to be in class and I want the same for my students.
Professional growth plan:
Goal #1 (Overarching)
Intrinsically motivate S.
1. Walking Field trips
2. Artifacts
3. Survey S. to find out what artists they are into.
4. Use artists as examples
5. Always explain why we are doing the activity
Goal #2
Create a skateboard club
1. Find out policy around skateboarding
2. Advertise after school skateboard club
3. Skateboard with S. in a safe environment away from bad influences.
Goal #3
Bring Aurasma into my classroom
1. Find out what texts a school has
2. Find links appropriate to that text
3. Link photos of text to links.

Reflection #3

Inquiry Undate:

 

Professional Identity: Teacher Candidate as a developing professional

When I was in Elementary school my grades were very good, mostly A’s, which is interesting because I was never motivated by grades. I was lucky enough to have parents who weren’t extremely “grade focused.” I was motivated by my own interest in learning and discovery. In middle school I first encountered burnt out teachers, uninspired, my motivation was now extrinsic; to get a passing grade. My attitude only got worse when I went to a large anonymous dilapidated high school with duct tape holding the floor together and signs warning of asbestos in the walls (the school was tore down a few years after I left luckily). My motivation was now to see how few classes I could attend and still maintain a passing grade.

My inquiry question is partially inspired by the text for ESPE 308: Human Development, Learning, and Diversity (Human development, learning, and diversity). Especially from one particular case study where two girls are making kites, one girl wants her kite to fly the other wants to get a passing grade, they both achieve their goals, the girl who only wanted to get a passing grade did not create a kite capable of flight, but being capable of flight wasn’t in the rubric.

Philosophy: Beliefs, values, and commitments in relationship to education

Through few ground rules, knowing all students names and mutual respect I thought I would win students over. This wasn’t working perfectly, so on my Faculty Advisor and School Associate’s advice I tightened up and started moving students for talking much quicker, and taking students phones away more frequently. This helped me gain my students respect; I then saw the value of discipline and firm ground rules. I remember the event that shifted the inertia: I was reading To Kill a Mockingbird aloud to the class, we were near the start of the novel, so the author was still winding up, it wasn’t the most exciting part of the novel and the students were starting to chatter. Even students with ‘A’s who almost never interrupt were chatting. I moved one ‘A’ student from the back to the front. She was slightly embarrassed and the rest of the students thought, “oh if he will move her he will move me without hesitation!” or so I assume because the room became very quiet and we were able to proceed productively.

Personal declaration of purposes of schooling and teachers’ responsibilities to the development of students:

As I see it the purpose of teaching is to impart useful knowledge, and facilitate the evolution of each students mind for the betterment of themselves and society around them.

Teachers have a responsibility to give each student as many chances and opportunities to learn in their individual zone of proximal development as possible no matter what level the student is currently at. The teacher also has the responsibility to find each students’ ZPD. Teachers must too make students feel welcome without feeling bullied or discriminated against.

Learning to teach & Professional Growth plan

My greatest strength is the students like me. My greatest weakness is they think I am their friend. I have learned to combat my weakness by not smiling while disciplining students, taking students phones often and moving students who talk too much.

Educational questions I will continue to inquire into:

  1. What best motivates students? Why?
  2. How strict is too strict? How easy going is too easy going?
  3. How best does one foster a growth mindset?

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