What are my strengths?
To become a successful person, I believe you need to be able to determine your own strengths and weaknesses in order to continue improving in life and work. I was brought up in a traditional Chinese family and staying humble is something that is part of our culture. So, talking about my own strengths has always been slightly difficult. However, in the past year I have recognized some key attributes that I possess which have really helped me progress throughout my practicum.
1. I am organized and well-prepared – during practicum, I was always prepared a few weeks ahead of schedule. Not because I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough material, but being extra prepared calmed me, because I knew that no matter what obstacles were thrown my way, I would always have a backup plan.
2. I am curious – I love to explore the world through travelling. This personality trait can be applied to all aspects of life because I am consistently searching for growth opportunities no matter where I am. I took on coaching track and field during my practicum as I had never done it before. I always tried to make my lessons creative and out of the box because I loved to challenge myself as well as the students.
3. I am a fast learner – I am a typical type A person. To me, satisfaction is when I can get from point A to point B fast and efficiently. When I am faced with an obstacle, I want to overcome it, fast. Sometimes, these things take time. But I listen, absorb the information, and act on it. In the past, no matter in what type of employment, reviews from employers have always included the fact that I am a fast learner. I am not smarter than the average person, but I listen and take things to heart because I am cautious of making mistakes and letting people down. I see this trait as both a strength and a weakness.
What am I working on?
Applying the strengths noted above helped me in completing a successful practicum. That does not go without saying that I am also working on many things as a new teacher. The biggest thing I am working on right now is lesson hooks, transitions, and conclusions. I am trying to find the perfect balance of incorporating those components without spending too much time on them – because we all know that time is so precious during a school day. I am also working towards furthering my professional development. I have heard of so many workshops that sound amazing which I wish I had the opportunity to attend this year such as Reading Power, Outdoor Ed., etc.
As an FSL specialist, I am also working on improving and building my French fluency.
As part of my current professional development and inquiry, I have done some research on educational apps for iPads and other tablets for teachers to use in classrooms. So far, all of these apps are based on classroom organization and management. I believe that using technology in the classroom can make teacher’s lives easier but they must be used in an efficient way. I wanted to review apps that claim to benefit classroom organization and see if they really do what they claim, or if they just are actually more complicated to incorporate into the classroom.
If you are interested, I have currently reviewed TeacherKit, Remind, and Socrative. Read them here.
As well, as part of the UBC Inquiry course, I wrote a paper based on effective ways to design your classroom to benefit student behaviour. Check out the presentation below.
Into the future…
In terms of future growth, my dream is to obtain an MA in Counselling while being a classroom teacher. Although my passions still lie with teaching, part of me still wants to complete another passion which is what I studied in undergrad. Anxiety and depression rates are increasing yet the number of people who are qualified to provide support are lacking. I am hoping after teaching for many years, I can find opportunities to also become a school counsellor to help children in need in an environment outside of the classroom.
But for now… :)
