Quinten Dreger's ePortfolio

I was fortunate enough to experience a positive academic career for the majority of my childhood schooling. I learned that caring for students helped to foster trust and motivation. This positive environment helped me develop academically and as a individual. It also provided me with a solid basis from which I can expand my own strategies as a teacher. After all, it is your past experiences that determine who you are as an individual now.

I was privileged enough to have teachers who valued and cared for their students and who made an effort to act for the benefit of the students. Students were not only in class to learn the educational material and prescribed learning outcomes, they were also there to learn how to effectively function in society. My teachers wanted to facilitate this learning to produce well rounded individuals. I believe that this is an important part of learning while growing up and it is one of the things that directed me towards a career in teaching. If teachers do not help students to become well rounded individuals, we are doing them a disservice and not acting in their best interests. I have learned, from the example set by my past teachers, that teachers must value and care for their students in order to best aid their learning.

I grew up with a healthy respect for teachers. Again, I was quite fortunate in that most of my teachers embodied the ethical and honest behaviour that one would expect from a potential role model. I learned that teachers must live up to a certain standard in their teaching. I believe that this is quite a perceptible quality for students to see. While in school, I most appreciated and respected  the teachers who were honest and sincere with not only myself, but with all of their students. This would hold true also for when I would occasionally encounter one of my teachers outside of the school setting. I believe that teachers must understand the fact that they are being judged on their conduct both in and out of the school. The teachers I saw outside of school knew this and encouraged me to conduct myself likewise. Additionally, this point was really emphasized to me during my practicum by my Student Advisor. If you are not honest with your students and your peers, they will have no reason to respect you as a teacher or build any sort of academic relationship with you. I could immediately see the positive relationship that he had with his students even at the beginning of the year and so during my ten week practicum I made every effort to embody these qualities. I learned that, while it is not always easy, conducting yourself with honest and ethical behaviour go a long way in ensuring a basis for quality educational relationship with your students that help to facilitate their learning. Without honest and positive behaviour, teachers would not be able to most effectively impact their students for the better.

While in my practicum, I witnessed the value of having community support for the school. Supportive parents and guardians are a beneficial resource to help support not only learning, but also organization and school functions. While in elementary school, I remember seeing parents of my fellow classmates accompany us on field trips but I did not truly comprehend their role. Presently, now that I have completed my practicum experience, I can see how parent or guardian involvement in functions, like field trips, helps to facilitate the learning and support on students. Much like how it is important for teachers to take a vested interest in their students lives, parent involvement helps to keep them up to date with their child’s learning experience. I shows the student that their parents or guardians also take an interest in this learning material. Community involvement also helps teachers with organization and facilitation of many activities in the school. Activities, like the graduation ceremony, benefitted greatly from the involvement of the community and would have suffered without their support. Lastly, good communication with parents and guardians helps to maintain a positive academic relationship with them which ultimately benefits the student.

I believe that life experiences are resources to be drawn upon for teachers both new and experienced. Nieto states that, “…teachers bring their entire autobiographies with them: their experiences, identities, values, beliefs, attitudes, hangups, biases, wishes, dreams, and hopes.” (Nieto, 2003, p.24). We can reflect on teaching strategies that may have or have not worked to help us learn and adapt them to our needs. I was fortunate enough to experience a positive elementary schooling which helped me to decide to give back in a similar manner. Reflecting on these experiences now allows me to realize that many of my teachers genuinely cared for, not only myself, but for all of their students. They set an exquisite example for me to learn from and gave me experiences that will help me all the way through to own teaching career.

References

Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going? New York: Teachers College Press.

We learn from our experiences and one of my most memorable one was from volunteering in a orphanage in Mexico.

Growing up, I had some very good teachers who made me want to go to school. They created environments that encouraged students to not only grow academically, but also personally. They also made me realize that school is more than just sitting in a sterile environment listening to a teacher drone on. I want to give back these experiences and encourage students likewise.

It is our job as teachers to give the students in our care the absolute best possible opportunity to get an education that we can. Unfortunately, the educational playing field is not level and there are some students who may have a harder time trying to get an education than others. It is in these instances that we must step back and take a look at the bigger picture of where these students come from outside of school and how their home life affects them. Kelly says in her article Teaching for social justice: Translating an anti-oppression approach into practice that “…if educators assume that difference resides in the individual, it can be easy to see difference as deficit and lose sight of institutional inequities and historical power imbalances” (Kelly, 2012, p.136). In reflecting on these inequities and imbalances, we need to understand the students’ perspectives and find out if they come from backgrounds that may put them at a possible disadvantage. Being part of a racial minority, having English as a second language or a whole host of other things can place a student in a disadvantage. Taking a good look at so-called troublesome student, we need to take the initiative and social justice considerations into account. In doing this, we then may discover how we might better connect with the individual. We may better discern why he or she may be having trouble so that we can optimize their opportunities for a quality education.

In order to most effectively try to enact change in a student’s academic career, a teacher must try to develop a professional relationship with the students. Hamre and Pianta believe that you must “learn more about students’ lives outside of the classroom so that [teachers] can connect with students on a more personal level” (Hamre & Pianta, 2006, p.65). A cantankerous, stifling teacher makes little effort to develop a meaningful relationship with their students. As a result, even the best students do not have any connection with their teacher and have little motivation to do well academically, outside of doing school for the sake or school. If presented with a student who does not have any desire to learn, a teacher with no relationship with the students has no foundation on which to scaffold strategies that encourage learning.

If you get to know students and build relationships with them they will begin to trust and respect you as a teacher and a caring role model. They will be more willing to learn. This process might take quite awhile to happen, especially with apprehensive students or those who exhibit inappropriate behaviour. Over time, however, this can be an effective strategy to encourage learning. By getting to know students you can also more accurately assess their situation at any given time and know what can calm them down or work them up. From what I have observed in the classroom, this important strategy is perhaps one of the more effective strategies for teaching, learning and behaviour management. Similarly, I can say that as a student I am more inclined to listen attentively to a teacher that I respect than one that I do not particularly like. A caring, interested teacher forms the foundation of a positive classroom climate.

Another effective strategy that interweaves with that of classroom climate is the use of effective classroom management. How do you coordinate a classroom full of students who all want to be heard and who all may want to express their opinion all at once? What happens if your meticulously planned lesson begins to derail? In Martin’s Finding Balance: Impact of Classroom Management Conceptions on Developing Teacher Practice, she suggests that “management is not a variety of techniques or external structures that you do to students. But rather, management is something accomplished with students in particular learning contexts” (Martin, 2004, p.420). This is where having a strong foundational relationship with your students comes into play. Your level of classroom management skill may be honed over years of experience but there will always be students who will want to push your buttons or see what they can get away with. If you have a respectable rapport with the students, however, they will usually be less likely to act out. From what I have discerned, the process of earning the respect of students is a combination of being well planned and prepared to teach, exercising fairness and consistency, the collaborative building of ground rules, and a caring, supportive, inclusive classroom environment. You can also help direct the focus of the class by having an productive working environment. Setting clear and specific expectations for both the students and yourself helps to keep everyone on track or it at least sets a precedent that can be referred back to if people are getting out of line. It also helps to know which students work well together and which ones have a tendency to clash. A student with behavioural issues may choose to act out because they cannot direct their focus well enough. Good classroom management skills are reflected in a teacher who does not get angry when an individual or class get out of hand but instead can keep calm and adapt thoroughly to student needs.

Teaching is so much more than just Math, English, Socials and Physical Education. While these skills are important, we must support students in a myriad of ways in order to best facilitate their learning. Taking a genuine and respectful interest in our students will help them become interested themselves, both in academics and in the cultivation of social and emotional skills. We must create a safe environment for them to learn and grow as individuals. If teachers can accomplish this, not only will our students be better equipped to learn, we will have already laid the foundation to work and learn together as a team.

This picture is an original that I took at Science World. My Student Advisor, along with a number of students and I built this tower over the course of about a half hour or so. This represents the points discussed in my teaching philosophy. Without the foundational academic relationships I had developed with my students, they would not have wanted to remain in the building room for that long. However, because I valued them and the task, they also became increasingly interested in it. After we had finished the structure, I could see that they took pride in it as they took pictures of it as well.

References

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2006). Student-teacher relationships. In G. G. Bear & K. Minke

(Eds.), Children’s Needs III: Development, prevention, and intervention (pp. 59-71). Bethesda, MD: NASP.

Kelly, D. (2012). Teaching for social justice: Translating an anti-oppression approach into

practice. Our Schools/Our Selves, 21(2), 135-154. Available: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2012/02/osos106_Teaching_Social_Justice.pdf.

Martin, S. D. (2004). Finding balance: impact of classroom management conceptions on

developing teacher practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 405-422. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2004.04.002.

Walking into my practicum classroom for the first time was, I admit, a little bit daunting. Many questions ran through my head. Will the students like me? Will I be able to teach the material effectively? Will I be able to keep everyone under control and in a productive state? My Student Advisor was very supportive, however, and with his guidance, and the guidance of many others, I was able to complete my practicum and in the process learn about how to effectively teach a class.

“Introduce yourself to all of the students,” my Student Advisor instructed me, “and then clearly set out your expectations for the class. You do have expectations for them, right?” Up to that point, I can honestly say that I did not really think about the expectations for the class. I obviously wanted them to listen to me and not talk during lessons but these words made me realize that I would not have opened with any expectations at all. I quickly learned that expectations for both the class, and myself, were one of the most important components of teaching a lesson. This concept was really brought home for me with one specific lesson. The students were tasked to create a remembrance day wreath for an assembly and part of the process was using green paint to paint their hands to create a print that constituted leaves of the poppies. I did not think that I would need to state that the paint only belonged on their hands, paper and brushes. It was not long, however, before a few students realized that they could paint more than just their palms and before I knew it, many of the students had painted themselves up to their elbows. The next day, they were tasked with painting the poppy petals red and I made a special note to lay out my expectations for the paint. With clear guidelines, the paint did not appear in places that it was not supposed to be. After that lesson, I was careful to explicitly layout my expectations for each lesson. Having clear expectations also helped my classroom management and gave both myself and my students a concrete foundation that could be built upon.

In my teaching philosophy, I stressed the need to be honest and genuine with your students in order to gain their trust and to build an academic relationship with them. I believe that you must take interest in them and when you do, they will be more inclined to learn from you as a teacher. “Learn more about students’ lives outside of the classroom so that [teachers] can connect with students on a more personal level” (Hamre & Pianta, 2006, p.65). I believe that this concept is so important to teaching in order to maximize your effectiveness in this profession. I learned of the necessity for this during my practicum by not only interacting with the students, but also by observing how my Student Advisor interacted with the students. He had obviously developed a relationship with his students even before they entered his class and as such, made his job easier when they arrived in his grade. He was friendly, supportive and he made himself available to them even outside of class time. I made a point to arrive at school early to interact with students who also arrived early and to help out those who needed help with their homework. Likewise, after school I made myself available to anyone who wanted to talk. This helped to develop a positive relationship with my students which translated into my teaching. It helped to intrinsically motivate them as they valued what I had to say.

One of the most practical lesson that I learned about teaching is being able to be flexible and adaptable while maintaining an educational environment. I quickly learned that grade sixes and sevens are relied upon a great deal for a myriad of activities and jobs within the school. Oftentimes, I found that I did not have a complete class either because some students had recycling, others had to go to the gym to lead the weekly aerobics session, there were various collection jobs to be done or for any number of reasons. I learned that a teacher is required to be flexible in order to maintain a productive class environment. This also connects back to having clear expectations. Does practicing a dance routine for the upcoming assembly excuse some students from having to finish their missed lesson? I believe that it does not and I made sure that my students understood that and that they knew what I still required from them.

Perhaps one of the hardest lessons for me to learn was keeping consistent assessment notes for each class. In order to be a consistent and fair teacher, I realized that I must make thorough assessments of my students. They allow me to see how everyone is doing whether they are excelling or struggling and shows me if I need to redo a lesson. They are also integral when communicating with parents about their children. If a student is struggling, the parent will want to see evidence of this. Likewise, if a parent approaches you in regards to their child’s academic performance, detailed and frequent assessment notes can help them understand where their child is at.

These above points were what really impacted me over the course of my practicum. I learned greatly over those weeks about these topics and the result was a well maintained and productive class environment. I by no means have finished my learning process but I feel that I have developed a solid foundation with which to build the rest of my practices upon.

This is the Remembrance Day wreath I spoke of in the above example.

References

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2006). Student-teacher relationships. In G. G. Bear & K. Minke

(Eds.), Children’s Needs III: Development, prevention, and intervention (pp. 59-71).        Bethesda, MD: NASP.

Just because I have finished my practicum, finished all of my courses and have a certificate and card stating that I can teach, does not mean that my learning is finished. Learning occurs even once you have signed your contract and are well into your teaching career. My goals for myself once I am finished with this program is to do just that. I believe that it is important to realize that this career is fluid and that teaching and learning go hand in hand and is experienced by both teachers and students.

How would you, as a teacher, handle a troublesome student? There are an abundance of them in any school and you are almost guaranteed to have to deal with them at some point in your teaching career. As a result we are left with a tough decision as to how to handle them. It is easy enough to get angry at troublesome antics and to try to smother the student with your authority. Indeed, there are numerous teachers in the system that employ this tactic. However, is this what is best for the student? I would argue that it is not. We need to try to embody leaders in our school to enact constructive change that will empower students instead of brow beating them into submission. Barth states that, “teachers who lead help to shape their own schools and, thereby, their own destinies as educators” (Barth, 2001, p.445). It is important to remember this as it allows us the agency to take our objectives into our own hands. Problems in teaching, like in life, do not simply disappear. They must be dealt with and if there is a problematic student in a class it is the instructor’s job to solve the issue and help the student succeed.

I argue that we can learn from these students as well. Letting these students slip through the cracks would be terrible. Let us look at these times as a moment to learn and grow as educators. We can test out new strategies and methods for teaching a problem student. These new methods can then be refined and integrated into our regular teaching routine. Likewise, we can use this time to build relationships with the students to help them get a positive experience from being in school. We want to give all students the tools that they will require to learn and continue learning.

In order to help, not only the students who are in my class, but also in my school, I want to work hard to create an environment that supports motivation and positive experiences. Over the course of my practicum I discovered that students were greatly affected by their environment; the environment that I was a part of. Indeed, “…a person’s internal motivation is highly malleable and is closely tied to social reality. Our cultural landscape directly affects whether and how people challenge themselves and others to achieve” (Shenk, 2010, p.121). It is my goal to do everything in my power to help students succeed by creating a productive environment for my students. These environment will change a little from year to year as well. It is important to be able to adapt to these needs. What one student needs may not be productive for another. As we become more experienced, we will learn and gain an increasing number of strategies to use for our students. If we can remain flexible and adapt to the needs of our students, we can create and maintain a productive learning environment for them which will help facilitate their learning needs.

This was my class workstation. I continually tried to maintain a positive atmosphere here to contribute to the overall atmosphere of the class.

References

Barth, R. S. (2001). Teacher leader. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(6), 443-449. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439932.

Shenk, D. (2010). The genius in all of us: Why everything you have been told about genetics,

talent, and IQ is wrong. Toronto: Random House of Canada Limited.