Practicum Reflections

Retroactive Post: Another Fine Day

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What?
I learned something today. Well all be told, I learned many things but I was directly taught something this morning by one of my students. Last week, when the students were doing review for their upcoming social studies portfolios, I had the question posed to me, “Mr. Hiebert, when did the Spanish Flue Epidemic end?”. Truth be told, I had no idea. I knew it was sometime around the end of the 1920s but I wasn’t sure. I inquired of why the were wondering about the end of Spanish Flu and was informed they must prepare for epidemic like that one in their upcoming social studies project where they create their own country. I asked if they needed that information right now and they replied that it wasn’t crucial and were just simply curious.! I took a step away planning on simply looking up the information when I had one of those “ah-ha” moments. Curiosity! The first sign of a good teachable moment! I returned to the group and confessed that I unfortunately did not know when Spanish Flu ended but never fear, I had a plan. They were going to tell me. I would be back in a week and on that day they would have researched the information they would need and teach me! They jumped at the opportunity and seemed very enthusiastic to teach their teacher.
Today, as the students filtered into their seats, this particular group rushed up to me and rambled off not only the date of the end of Spanish Flu, but several other facts that I was unaware of. They were excited, engaged, and now had the information. I asked if this would help them on their project and they said they had some more information about how to protect their country against epidemics like Spanish Flu, information they wouldn’t have if I had simply told them the answer. Taking advantage of this teachable moment certainly paid off.

So What?
Upon reflection, finding enthusiasm can sometimes be difficult in the classroom. The fact that these students were excited to be my little research project was probably more due to the good nature of these particular students, however I do believe that providing the students with opportunity to take their learning (or in this case learning of others) into their own hands gives them a new sense of autonomy. Autonomy = Passion. And Passion = Knowledge Acquisition.

Now What?
These are concepts I am putting labels on now that I am in a post secondary class learning about them, but are pretty obvious when thought about. However, obvious as they may be, they are often passed over for the sake of ease. It is easier to just tell them the information but it will not have the impact of having them research it and then, most importantly, teach it to me. I am reminded of that quote ““We Learn . . .10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we experience, and 95% of what we teach others.” I want to take that philosophy forward with me and keep my eyes open for situations such as this to continue putting the student in the driver’s seat of their own education.

Retroactive Post: Day 1 – Morale Is High

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What?
My main thought when walking to my car today after a day of interacting with students, teachers, and finding my way around a brand new school was how great it felt to be back in the classroom. It’s been a long absence but being able to begin to put my skills and the critical new knowledge I have learned over the past month, into practice made for a wonderful day! There are many key events through this first day that stood out (meeting all the teachers, sitting in on one of the principal’s lessons, getting to know all the new students in my class), but a moment that stands out in my mind is when I go the opportunity to work with a struggling student one-on-one regarding his essay introduction. My SA asked me if I would mind giving this struggling student a little extra support on structuring his essay introduction. Even though he was given a model example outline in point form, he really was struggling to make the connect of what went where and coming up with his own transitions and connectors. I was able to sit down and scaffold for him individually where each piece went and worked. Additionally, it allowed me to show him example of how transitions work and different way he could introduce a topic while making it exciting. The student was able to finish the assignment as a result of scaffolding and with the framework in place, move on the the next stage of making it more complex.

So What?
This was my first connection with a student one-on-one for the year and even though I was able to help the student complete the assignment with a more personalized approach, the importance of the interaction was making this connection and getting to know that student better. As my SA has informed me, this particular student struggles with challenging himself and seeing the “bigger picture”, therefore this opportunity gave him the opportunity to bounce ideas off of me and have me help him in scaffolding the answer. The assignment aside, I do believe that this kind of early relationship building, with a student who will in the future require more of a personalized approach, allowed me to better understand his learning style. Furthermore, in a later lesson during the day, that student who was initially shy and reserved, was more outgoing and ready to engage in a discussion about what he was studying and whether he comprehended the material.

Now What?
Over the next few weeks, I have a plan to check in with this student everyday for two reasons: to follow-up on the assignment I helped scaffold for him, and to maintain this positive relationship I built on this first day. As a TC, in these first few weeks of observation, I am given a very unique opportunity to work with the students in this class in a more individualized manner and through this, get to understand their learning styles, background, and their strengths. This will be knowledge that will be immensely beneficial for when I am conducting the class on my own and to help tailor my lesson plan to fit the style and strengths of my future class.