Overview

School: Dr. H. N. MacCorkindale Elementary

Grade: 4

Throughout my practicum, I took the time to self-reflect on the victories and challenges of each week. Self-reflection was one of my most valuable tools during the practicum because I was able to identify my strengths and areas of improvement, and then take the necessary steps of action. As a strong believer in lifelong learning, I found myself – although celebrating my accomplishments – always striving to improve. 

Relationships with Students and Families – I believe that each and every student has a contribution to make to the classroom. Throughout my practicum, I worked to learn about my students and their needs. This helped me to deliver lessons that would engage every student, whether by differentiation, additional support, or simply varying the subjects we covered.

Units and Lessons –  Getting to know my students early on before the practicum also helped me to create engaging lessons that my students enjoyed and looked forward to. Each unit took an inquiry-based approach, where students were encouraged to think critically and more deeply, and raise their own questions about the topic. I also focused on Synthesizing across my Units, and helped my students to think of themselves as global citizens of the world. 

Collaboration – I believe that collaboration with other TCs, staff and parents help to build a strong community and ultimately help in students’ engagement and success. Throughout my practicum, I worked with my SAs, different Teacher Candidates, and various staff in the school. I love hearing new perspectives and receiving feedback on my teaching because it allows me to further grow as an educator. 

Weekly Reflections

Week 1:  

This week was definitely everything I expected it to be and more. After weeks of rigorous planning and revising units and lessons, it was a relief when I was able to apply my work to the classroom. I noticed that coming in one day a week is much different than actually being here everyday. In the past five days, I feel like I’ve been able to build relationships with students I didn’t have before, learn about the characters of my students, and implement myself as a teacher figure in the classroom. I’m really enjoying working with the students and I feel as if I’m learning alongside them. For example, as I teach them about fractions, I’m also learning about class management strategies, inclusion strategies, and further supporting ELL learners. I’m also noticing that the students are now seeing me as more of a teacher figure in the classroom. I’m able to manage them both when the SA is in and out of the room. I actually had the opportunity to take them outside to play as well as lead them through a fire drill – both of which helped me to better my teacher position.

As I proceed with the practicum, I’d like to continue to work closely with my SAs in terms of planning, teaching, and experimenting with different strategies. I would also like to experiment with observing different teachers in their classrooms and maybe even teaching a subject or two to another grade level. I would also like to get to know my students better in terms of heir educational needs and ways I can better support them. For example, I can take a look at their files, look at their IEPs, and informally meet some of the parents.

Overall, I am really enjoying my practicum so far. I know the work load is not too bad yet, so I’m taking advantage of my available time to research professional development and come up with fun classroom community building activities for my students. I look forward to the weeks to come and seeing how I grow as a teacher candidate!

Week 2:

My SAs use a variety of assessment strategies for the class, both formal and informal. For math, the classroom discussion, group activities, and class work are ways to informally assess students learning. For example, students may volunteer their answers and marking the homework to check for understand works as a formative assessment. There are also chapter tests at the end of each unit to summatively assess learning and meeting of the curricular competencies. Other subjects such as Social Studies, Science, and Spelling also have summarize testing. I noticed frequent informal and formative testing for these subjects as well – such as using the Kahoot app to quiz students on the knowledge of Social Studies (which also worked as a reviewing tool before the chapter test). Our class is very diverse in terms of language proficiency and skills level, so there is differentiation for many of the assessment strategies. For example, some of the students complete a different spelling test. Also, some students have the option of completing their final projects in multimodal ways, such as making a video describing their learning rather than writing paragraphs or making posters. 

During my practicum, I plan to use various assessment strategies. As I learn more about the students’ needs and different ways I can support their learning, I have been experimenting with different ways of assessment. So far, the KWL charts have been a great tool for assessment, as I am able to efficiently gain an idea of what the students already know and how I can adjust my lessons to accommodate their needs. I plan to continue using informal strategies such as the KWL chart, technological apps such as Kahoot, and daily discussions both with one on one and as a group. As for formal assessment, I would like to give chapter tests for some units such Science and Math, and also collaborative projects such as an inquiry project for Science and a collaborative and ongoing timeline project for Social Studies. I have done research on different ways to assess in Language Arts, and have adapted various marking rubrics for informal and formal testing. For example, the novel study unit includes assessment in the form of reading comprehension, development of reading strategies, and the ability to integrate cross-curricular knowledge. Overall, I feel that I am going to be using a wide variety of assessment strategies for my students. Each individual is unique in their way of showing their learning, so I would like to be able to accommodate for all the various learning styles present in our classroom. 

I believe it is very important to integrate a wide variety of assessment strategies in the classroom. Each student is unique in the way they learn and the way they show their learning. By providing different opportunities for students, I would like to make learning a positive, inspiring, and inclusive experience for my students, regardless of ability or skill level. I look forward to experimenting with other strategies and getting to know my students better in terms! 

Week 3:

As I’m preparing to enter the 4^th week of my practicum and starting to think about the mid-point conference, I found it very helpful to look back at the Weekly Planning Guide. I think over the next week (Week 4), I will be able to look back and perform a self evaluation where I can meet all the criteria. 

• I am maintaining my practicum binder, and updating it frequently with lesson plans, professional development ideas, assessment, and observations.
• I have tried a few different assessment strategies so far (which were mentioned in my previous reflection), and am hoping to continue trying other ones. This week, for my Science lesson, I tried out a form of initial formative assessment that I haven’t tried before. I wanted to try something other than a KWL chart, so I made up a fictional character and after introducing the topic to the students, go them to write to the character, letting him know what they know about the topic area. I think it was a fun idea and the students enjoyed it as well.
• I have also included in my binder a section for assessment in terms of anecdotal comments and checklists – which will prove to be very useful in writing report cards as well. I try to be diligent when submitting my lesson plans for observations, so that the SAs have enough time to look over them and provide any feedback or suggestions they ay think are necessary.
• For weekly previews, I keep a weekly timetable on my desk that includes all the lessons I will be teaching for the week.
• I sent a letter home with the students earlier this week, introducing myself to the parents. I have also had the opportunity to meet with some parents during the student-led conferences, and in passing when they drop off their children in the morning.
• I have been helping out with Track and Field during morning practices with Alison and some of the other staff. I think it’s a great way to not only get involved in the extra curricular activities, but also getting to know the other students in the school.

Looking ahead into Week 4, I’m hoping to further explore teaching strategies and self reflect on my teaching practices.

• I talked to Liz about her coming in to observe one of my lessons in the upcoming weeks, which I think will be very helpful in terms of gaining another perspective.
• I am looking into video taping one of my lessons this week, as I have heard from friends (TCs from previous years) that it is very beneficial to observe yourself.
• I’m continuing to explore different assessment strategies as well, especially looking at differentiated assessment in the classroom.

Overall, I’m really enjoying my practicum so far. As I’m building my knowledge and continuing to self reflect and explore different perspectives and suggestions, I’m gaining more sight into my self evaluations for the mid point conference and the Week 5 evaluations.

Week 4: 

Over the past 4 weeks, it’s become more clear that simple “paper and pencil” teaching strategies are not enough in the classroom. It’s very important to give students opportunities to learn and express their learning through varied practices and methods. I think that the “paper and pencil” method does work for certain students, but is definitely not practical when teaching a diverse class with students of all different learning abilities, styles, and interests. Upon speaking with other teachers, thinking back to the classes we took in the first 2 terms, and doing some of my own research, I have gained some insight into ways I can bring variety into my teaching practice. 

Play and interaction are crucial in all students’ learning. Rather than simply talking at the class and then testing for comprehension, I think it’s important to incorporate some sort of activity in which students are able to put it into practice. For example, role playing, using manipulatives, and using technology to enhance the learning experience. I think inquiry and discussion are also important in encouraging students to think critically about what they are learning. This may include student-led projects, such as  thinking of their own questions and finding ways to solve them, or debates and discussions about the topic where students can voice their own opinions.

So far in my practicum, I have tried to incorporate play, interaction, and discussion in my lessons. I include whole class, group, and paired discussion in my lessons, which helps the students understand the concept and also connect it to their lives.  I have been trying to keep my lessons engaging by having a more “hands on” approach, such as using manipulatives in math, demonstrating experiments in science, and connecting students to real world events for language arts. Next week, we are going to be doing a role play of a shopping trip, where students will be using their knowledge of money, mental math, and estimating to complete transactions with each other. 

Moving forward, I would like to encourage the students to think critically about what they are learning, and start learning through inquiry and questioning. The science unit I have planned ends with an inquiry project, where students come up with their own questions, strategies, and own methods of presenting their learning. I would also like to give students more opportunity for interaction. For example, in Science or Math, I can have the students role play to show their learning (much like the Sun and Earth example we talked about). This can also work as a form of assessment because students can work together to display their understanding of the concept, without being obligated to write it all down.

Week 6: 

The midpoint meeting was very informative and I was able to really reflect on my learning, both in terms of my strengths and areas of improvement. 

Some of my strengths and successes include: 

– Being able to plan, design, and implement creative, engaging  and meaningful lessons for my students

– Meeting the curriculum competencies and objectives, and I think I do well in terms of helping the students meet the curriculum learning objectives

– Promote self regulation and motivation in the classroom, and set clear expectations of behaviour

– Manage the class through verbal and non-verbal cues, where the students know what is acceptable and what is not

– Good teacher-student rapport as I try to use a variety of strategies to engage my students, both in the context of formal lessons and in our “downtime” where there is no direct instruction

– On a broader sense, I contribute my professionalism, commitment, and willingness to continuously learn. 

Some areas of improvement that I would like to focus on for the next 4 weeks, and how I am working towards my goals (ie. what I’ve done this week to improve them):

a) Awareness of students’ individual engagement in lessons (for example, the students sitting in the back may not be disruptive, but are they engaged in the lesson?)

– I talked to the class about participation and the importance of sharing ideas 

– Planned lessons to integrate more student interaction and increase engagement 

b) Parent/family engagement and communications, building more rapport with parents

– I will be communicating more frequently through students’ agendas, and inviting parents in to have a chat 

c) Differentiation of content/process/product

– work more closely with the SSW to build knowledge and implement a variety of student activity (eg show learning beyond just paper and pencil) 

d) Integration of technology and multimodal practices 

– I have been researching different resources (such as apps) to teach my students. I’m hoping to use the Kahoot app this week to review Science

e) Exposure to other teaching strategies and feedback 

– I had Liz observe my lesson this week and it was great to have new perspective and feedback from her. In the next few weeks, I’m also hoping to observe other lessons from staff. 

Week 8: 

Below is my reflection for this week (in house TOC day). It was truly a great experience, especially going into the Kindergarten class for the day. I left feeling so rewarded and also curious about what it would be like to teach K on a daily basis.

• When I was writing my day plan for the TOC, I found it challenging to remember to include all the details of working with my class as a whole and as specific individuals. I feel that aside from the lessons that are taught in the class, there are so many specific details about the students’ individual needs that I’ve grown to accustomed to or have become like second nature to me. I tried to address this by carefully mentally going through each step of the day and writing it down. I included some key components in my day plan such as the lessons that needed to be taught, what the students were expected to be doing, the students with designations or IEPs that may need individual attention, and other tasks the TOC may need to know about.
• I found it most surprising that working with Kindergarten students was not as challenging as I thought it would be. I was a little worried about class management issues, but ended up having a great time with the students and was able to establish myself as the teacher figure immediately. It was a bit challenging to follow the provided day plan in terms of being able to understand all of the notes for the activities. However, I think that the detailed notes also helped to make sure I managed the class well and avoid any issues for the happened.
• My current teaching strategies of class management and engaging students transferred well from my grade 4 class to the kindergarten class. Throughout the day, I used positive reinforcement with the students each time I saw students following instructed behaviour, which in turn reminded the potentially off-task students to adjust their behaviour. I think that I was also able to keep the students engaged with the lessons throughout the day, something I had previously thought I may struggle with. My strategy of wait time for lesson instruction did not entirely work the K students. I found that when I waited, they didn’t seem to notice, and would continue with what they are doing, or would still not be encouraged to raise their hands. When I realized this, I instead used a different strategy in which I used a short countdown and then multiple reminders for students. I think certain strategies worked better than others because of the age difference between the 2 classes. Obviously, the K class requires you to be much more attentive and on your feet as compared to the grade 4 class, which is much more independent.
• In terms of my readiness to go out into the world and be a TOC, I feel that this TOC day showed me that I would be definitely feel comfortable going into a new classroom and follow a teacher’s day plan. There were some sections of the day plan that were left blank for an activity of my discretion, so I was well prepared beforehand to introduce new activities. I also learned that I do well with learning names quickly, as well as assessing and acting on the immediate needs of the students.
• I think that in order to prepare myself to be a better TOC, I should do more research and get more familiar with ways to support students with behaviour designations. I am familiar with the basic strategies, but working with students who may have an outburst in class may be difficult to deal with if I’m not already prepared. I think that I can also work to come up with a “toolkit” for each grade, so that I have some activities to do with the students should a day plan have room for it.

With all that being said, I’m excited for the next TOC day next week!