Personal Growth
Inquiry Project
This year has been a year of immense growth. I have had opportunities to learn about and explore child development, pedagogy, my social position, my philosophy, my goals and what I myself have to offer as an educator. We have been challenged with different perspectives and approaches, challenged to collaborate with different people, challenge to reflect and act in order to improve our practice and we have been pushed to the limits with readings, assignments and practicum requirements. This program has reignited the lifelong learner in me, inspiring me to act on my inquiries in order to be the best I can possibly be. It has connected me to a wealth of people who helped to make ideas even richer than they would have been otherwise. It has given me the experience to know that teaching is indeed my calling, just as I had thought many years ago. It has also taught me that the learning does not end here.
Current Inquiries
Having taught grade two and realizing how diverse the learning needs were, I was curious as to how this would work in Kindergarten, where students are not expected to have the basic literacy skills. I am currently taking a Kindergarten Curriculum course where we are exploring play based learning. This hands on experiential learning approach has opened me up to a new perspective which I hope to integrate into my grade three classroom this upcoming year. It has reminded me that children are always learning and that purposeful play can be set up in order to make learning fun, memorable and help to solidify understanding by allowing students to experience it in a different way.
I am also currently researching coaching practices for soccer. Having been on a sports teams in elementary and high school I know what it is like from a players point of view but not from a coaches’ standpoint. I am interested in ways to build team spirit and cohesiveness, making training and competing fun and being able to set up appropriate activities to scaffold soccer skills so the students can work on their craft. I am currently reading Coaching Youth Soccer By: American Sport Education Program.
Upcoming Inquiries
As I reflect on my journey, the areas that I want to find out more about are ways to bring in more student voice into lesson planning and how to bring more inquiry into the classroom, especially in math. These areas both deal with letting go of control and becoming a true community of learners by being more of a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage (Halber & Kaser, 2013). The pressure of covering the prescribed curriculum and the unpredictable nature of emergent curriculum is slightly unnerving, but a challenge I would like to take on as I believe that inquiry is the key to lifelong learning and student voice is the most important voice in the classroom.