1. Were there any incidents during the week? If so, how did it go?

There were no incidents throughout this week. Everything went smoothly; all the students stayed on task, were focused, and put in the effort needed to succeed in class.

2. Name three things you will take away from your 10-week practicum experience.

a) Always keep an open mind. Whether it be new projects, ideas, procedures, instructions, etc. you should keep an open mind and try to absorb as much information as possible. Having more information about anything and everything will ultimately help you.

b) Learn to adapt to different learning styles. Each student will learn differently, and ultimately, it is up to the teacher to have adaptive teaching styles so that students learn the most they can throughout the semester and year.

c) Have fun. If you aren’t having fun as a teacher and educator, you are doing something wrong or in the wrong profession. Teaching should be fun and interesting to both the teacher and student, and all in all be a wonderful experience. Yes, you will have your ups and downs, but in the end, teaching should be a overall fun experience.

1.What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech Ed 8 (Safety Videos) Junior Auto (L1-CO2 Car, L2-Large Motors, L3-Oil Change), Junior Wood (jewellery box/wooden chair) and co-taught Senior Wood (individual self-directed projects).

2.What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

This was the second time I did the safety/procedure video project with a class. Even though this was the second time, because it was grade 8s who were doing this project, I was unsure if it would go well. Thankfully, it went great! Most of the students loved the project and were really getting into it, and many of them showed creativeness for the finished video. I couldn’t be happier with the results from the class.

3.Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

One issue that I am having is with one student in grade 8. He has extreme PTSD, which in turn leads to disruptiveness and listening difficulties. Throughout the video project, many times he was not on task, or not listening to instructions. I’m trying to find ways in which to keep students (with PTSD) focused, and on task when doing a project.

4.Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

As we come to close for the long practicum, I hope that both my SA and FA give me good feedback for myself, as well as to people who may contact them as my reference.

5.Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

I’m feeling that I am ready for my own classroom, to have to freedom to pick and choose my own projects, and to implement everything that I have learned during this practicum.

6.What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be exploring is “How to I keep the student with PTSD in focus during this week?”

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech Ed 8 (Competition Day – Friday) Junior Auto (L1-CO2 Car, L2-Large Motors, L3-Drum Brakes), Junior Wood (jewellery box/wooden chair) and co-taught Senior Wood (individual self-directed projects).

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

This week we had the final week of finishing up the launchers and actually having a competition day for the Grade 8s. The process of implementing this project was a fun and interesting way for students to research, design, draw, build, and test their unique launchers. Each part of the process was done over the last 8 weeks, where students researched designs, sketched out their designs, drew and dimensioned their launcher, built the launcher, and tested it out. The competition day was a huge success where students had fun showing off their launchers and learning the ins and outs of how to make the “perfect” launcher.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

There weren’t any critical incidents this week. Every class is running smoothly, each student is on task and working hard during class, and they all seem to be having fun during class time.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

Continued support and feedback from both my SA and FA have helped me immensely, and the improvement has shown in my planning, class management, and growth as a teacher. I hope that this support can not only continue for the rest of practicum, but also throughout my career.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

I am feeling more and more confident each day and hoping to get better as time passes. I am open to all suggestions from my peers, mentors, and teachers, and this openness to opinions and feedback have helped me grow immensely as an educator. I hope to feel more confident as my career unfolds in the future.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be pursuing is “How can I keep up my work ethic without burning out in the long run?”

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech Ed 8 (Work periods finishing the launcher), Junior Auto (Safety and Procedure Video project), Junior Wood (jewellery box) and co-taught Senior Wood (individual self-directed projects).

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

This week I implemented my very own unique project in junior auto. I planned, implemented and finished my own unit, and it was a good success! The students loved the project on safety and procedures, and they liked that it was a unique approach to learning more about safety.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

There were no critical incidents this week, other than having parent teacher interviews on Thursday. It was a fun and interesting experience, and I had a blast talking to the parents. Each parent was very understanding, supportive, and had an interest in the students’ learning and education. They were all receptive to my comments about the students, and I even convinced some of the students to take tech studies further by enrolling in more tech classes for next year!

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

My SA is continuing to help me by doing demos and going over things that I do not fully understand. My FA is also continuing to support me by giving me good suggestions on classroom management and planning.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

All in all, I felt that this was a great way to end my 7 th week and go into spring break. I’m much more comfortable with the students, have great rapport, and having a lot of fun being in the classroom and being able to do what I love.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be pursuing is “How do I keep up my exponential growth?”.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech 8 (starting the actual build of the project), Junior Auto (bearings and lubrication + demos + CO2 cars + Large motors) and Junior Wood (Building the box, demos on the next project).

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

A lot of things went well this week; I’m feeling much more comfortable teaching Junior Wood, and even Junior Auto I feel much more confident in teaching. The midpoint meeting also went very well. I’ve received many compliments and encouragement from my SA and FA, and it has helped me grow exponentially and become a more confident teacher and educator.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

My biggest critical incident this week was the midpoint meeting, and the lessons leading up to the midpoint meeting. Even though I felt much more confident and comfortable this week, I was unsure how my midpoint meeting would go. How would my FA react? What if the lessons don’t go as well
during the midpoint observation? What if I am not up to the standards of the people watching me teach? All these worries were in my head, but during my observation, I taught exactly how I was teaching throughout the week… and it went great! The students were on enthusiastic and on task, my demos went smoothly, the assessment of students was good, and all in all, it was very good class. I also received very positive feedback from both my FA and SA, and I have to say, it’s really boosting my self-confidence.

I hope to continue to grow and develop my teaching, and hopefully show that I can improve more and more throughout the practicum.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

My FA has been great in giving me ample advice on fixing up lesson plans and implementing better hooks and conclusions. I feel that continuing to give me feedback on my lesson plans will help me in the long run.

My SA has also been awesome by continuing to show me demos and helping me go through subject matter that I am unsure in, and I hope that he can continue to support me that way.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

My overall feeling throughout this week was excitement. It excited me that I am improving throughout my practicum. It excited me that I’m learning new subject matter, getting better at it, and actually being able to teach the subject in confidence.

I also felt that the students saw my excitement and enthusiasm in class. Students were very engaged in the lessons and demos that I did in class, and asked me a lot of questions throughout class time if they were unsure.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be pursuing the following week is “What kind of hooks should I use in class?”

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech 8 (finishing up the sketching and orthographic projections for prepping to go into the shop next week), Junior Auto (focus was on the 4 stroke engine) and co-taught Junior Wood (jewellery box) and Senior Wood (individual self-directed projects).

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

I think that having everything planned (even if lessons change) and practicing demos beforehand really helped me hone my skills in showing demos in subjects that I am weak in, especially Junior Auto. Automotive, being the weakest subject out of the eleven subjects that I learned at BCIT, is a big challenge for me, but I’m trudging through. I am learning a lot by doing the demos in front of students as well as doing it on my own time.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

The biggest critical incident was on Wednesday. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed by practicum, especially the auto class. Like I stated, automotive is my weakest subject, and I had very low confidence in teaching this subject and being assessed on this subject. My stress and anxiety levels were at an all time high, both my physical and mental health were low, and doubts were starting to creep into my head. Even with all the prep that I was doing such as doing the demos beforehand, going over things with my SA, it was hard. Thankfully, my SA was there to kind of push me again to be a better teacher; he said, “I think this practicum is the time where you can really hone your weaknesses and improve your knowledge on subjects that you are weak in.” And this line is very true. This practicum is for me to improve all aspects of my teaching, including the practical portion of auto. My willingness to learn has grown, and I am trying my best to try and stay on top of things. My SA is supportive of this by showing me kind of the step-by-step process of maintenance of things on vehicles, and has given me advice on using tools, machinery, etc. Even though it is still very challenging for me to be teaching a weak subject area, I think that ultimately, this hard journey will help me become a much better technology educator.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

The best way my SA can help me by continuing to give me advice in the classroom, especially regarding “hazard awareness”, such as what places in the shop I should focus on. He can also support me by doing what he’s doing right now, showing me step-by- step the process of taking things apart and putting it back together before I actually demo it in front of the classroom.

My FA can help me by continuing to support me to become a better educator, giving me assurance that I am improving, and also providing advice for better lessons and planning.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

Feelings were up and down throughout the week. I had a very low moment in the middle of the week because of my lifestyle and personality; I have high standards for myself, and I do not like to take risks. Taking on woodworking and auto, where I could’ve taken subjects that I am stronger in such as drafting and electronics, was a big risk for me. This challenge is a big one, but I am willing to go through it, learn the most I can, and take away the knowledge that I learned in the practicum into the classroom.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be pursuing is “What is the best way to be ‘hazard aware’ in the classroom?”.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught both Tech Ed 8 and Junior Auto. For Tech Ed, I started the three main safety lessons (Band Saw, Drill Press, and Sander), and for Junior Auto, I taught the Electric Motor Unit, the Balancing Man Unit, and basic auto maintanence.

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

What caused me to feel good was how most of the students felt really interested in the projects that they are doing. The level 1s in auto are really enjoying their electric motor unit, and some even came early to class so that they can troubleshoot and finish it (They still have some work to do though!). The level 2s are also enjoying their balancing man project as well. Most of them are onto their practice brazing, and even though it’s a relatively new skill, they are understanding the steps and safety behind brazing and doing it very well. The level 3s are mastering all aspects of the tire; they are using the tire machine, changing out spare tires, and going over parts of the tire. I feel pretty good that while I am teaching this subject, I am also learning a lot from my SA.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

I received an interim report this week. To be honest, at first I was frustrated and very disappointed in myself that I received this report; I was always a excel student during my high school and college years, and I actually never failed any courses in my life. This interim felt like one of the biggest failures, and I even had doubts creeping into my mind, thinking “is this the right career for me?”. But, after thinking it through, receiving good advice from my SA and FA, and having some heart-to- heart tough love moment, I’m vastly improving and coming back stronger than ever. I think of this stage in my life as lifelong training, where I am learning the skills, organization, and perseverance that I need to really excel and succeed in anything I do.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

As an FA, it would be great if there wasn’t so much pressure towards me. I understand the paperwork and everything that is needed, but the long emails really stress me out! I really felt like I was doing something very wrong, and that I was legitimately going to fail during this practicum. It would be great if the emails were like my face-to-face talks with my FA, where she gives me good pointers, things to work on, etc. The tone of emails is very hard to read (at least for me!).

My SA can help me by what he is doing right now; going over in detail about the practical work in the auto shop, and giving me advice on keeping my eyes on the “overall” class rather than just one procedure or student.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

This week was a stressful one; I felt like I was doing pretty good during my practicum, but after receiving the interim, I was very stressed, disappointed, and frustrated. What I see in the school, classroom, and overall atmosphere is very different than what UBC has taught us, so that is also frustrating. Lesson and Unit plans do not go as planned, there is way more “work periods” rather than lessons in a Tech Ed Class, so I feel that making lesson plans for work periods is kind of a time waster; I’m also learning that there doesn’t need to be a demo every class, and new things do not have to be taught every class.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I will be pursuing is “How do I keep students with IEPs safe in the woodshop?”.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I took over Junior Mechanics (Junior Auto) course this week. It was a short week; the level ones and level twos were already into their first projects, so I did lessons on some of the steps for the electric motor, as well as a mini lesson on how to use the metal lathe. In Tech Ed 8, I taught them measurement and dimensioning, as well as introducing the big “project” of a ping pong launcher.

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

Taking over the junior auto course was a smooth transition; the students were already familiar with what they were doing, as well as myself acting as a teacher in the classroom. They were respectful and listened very well to my directions. I’m also getting a lot of help from the Learning Resource Centre, having some of the teachers come down and assess the situation on one of my students in my Tech Ed class, who has an IEP. He is starting to get the help he needs, and we are thinking of good strategies for him so he can be successful in our class.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

There wasn’t any bad critical incidents, but we did have a Pro D Day on Friday. My SA and I were about to go to the Pro D Meetings, but all the classes that were available were really not related to Technology Education. So what we did was compromise and made use of the day by going to Central and teaching each other professional skills needed for the classroom. Alex showed me the steps in needed to make a traveler’s guitar, which I will be making a detailed step-by-step plan for him to use in future classrooms. He taught me valuable skills in woodworking that can be used for other projects as well. I in turn taught him how to film and edit safety videos that can be useful for reviewing for students, as well as a good hook for them to get interested in safety. I taught him things that he needed to film, and how to edit using editing software on the computer.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

I think what could help me the following weeks is just focusing on classroom schedule; because the students will be in the shops now, they should kind of know how the class is run (quick rundown on what we will do today  shop work  clean up  wash hands). If this classroom schedule isn’t placed, I think it will be very hard to control the classroom.

Also, because students will be on different steps (using different machinery), I think it can be helpful if SA and FA help me by giving me strategies to keep my eyes on every student, rather than focus on one machine.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

Overall, I am still having a lot of fun; I’m learning every week on better strategies and ways to manage the classroom, and really acting as a sponge and trying to retain as much as can during my practicum. Everyone, both students and staff have all been very nice. Burnaby Central is great!

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

The main question I’m exploring this week is “How do I keep eyes on each student when in the shop?” I think this will be the most important aspect to keep in mind when in the shop pertaining to safety of the students.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech Ed 8 this week; I also kind of took over the safety portion of the lessons for the Senior Wood class. My SA did the junior wood, and I mirrored his lesson in the Senior Wood class.

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

The grade 8s seem to stay on task, and I’m glad that all the students are doing well in the safety quizzes. The students need to get 80% on the safety quiz to be able to use the machine; the students who got below 80% came in during lunch time to redo the test. This puts accountability on the students to do well, or else they will have to use their own time to redo the quiz.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

A critical incident I had was with a student in my Tech Ed 8 class. He is a identified student. He had two outbursts one for each consecutive day. The second day I had a 1on1 talk with him (with an EA there) to tell him the classroom expectations that I have, and also how he should be respectful towards others by not blurting out and distracting the whole class. He seemed to understand, and has calmed down significantly.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

I think what could help me improve is having some strategies to improve classroom management, especially regarding identified students or students with IEPs.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

I thought that this week went pretty well, and that it can only improve from here. The students seem to know what my expectations are, and they seem to be interested in learning new things about technology. I also felt pretty happy that students were looking for me for help when they needed help,
and that I could provide clear instructions so they all understand.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

Some questions that I am pursuing this week is to see if I can think of new strategies to keep identified students on task and more interested in the topics that we will be learning.

From now on, I’ll be answering the same questions for the next ten weeks; this is what I call Friday Field Notes! It’s a great way for myself to organize my week, my thoughts, my feelings, and my questions. All of it is very truthful, and I hope to show transparency during my practicum. There will be up and downs, easy and hard times, but I hope to grow exponentially during my practicum.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech. Ed. 8 for my first week. The topic was introduction, ice breakers, paper tower challenge, and starting lessons on the drafting portion of Tech. Ed. 8. I also taught mini lessons in Senior Wood on safety.

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

Everything is going pretty well; the students are very attentive and listen relatively well to all instructions, and they seem to be interested and having fun with all the activities that I am giving them. I’m having a very good time teaching here, and it feels good that I am teaching something new to the students.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

One incident that happened was that an identified student was becoming a distraction to the rest of the class. The student constantly blurted out, not raising their hand, and not following instructions. However, talking with my SA and an EA, we used some strategies (such as always having the EA beside the student) to minimize this distraction. It seems to be working well.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

I think that constant critique on classroom management will be a benefit. I feel that this is the area where I could most improve with hands on teaching and during this practicum.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

I felt good to be in school, and actually felt really relaxed. It seems that teaching is really the field that I want to go into.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

Some questions I’m pursuing is to think of more strategies to have classroom management. Especially concerning the two identified students in my Tech Ed 8 Class, I want to think of strategies with both my SA and EAs.