I have written so much in my other reflections I don’t know what to write here!<\/p>\n
What I will do is write overall concepts that stood out to me, what I gained from them, and how I can carry this into my vocation.<\/p>\n
One practical element I did not expect to learn was about TOCs. I have been interested in working as one and I know I will have to prepare for their visits when I am a teacher, but I have not put in enough thought about how to approach this. My main takeaway is that a teacher should always be prepared to miss a day and have material ready for the substitute. Every week, a plan should be written with the goals and tasks the class is to do and what they have been learning already. I also learned about the other side of this coin. My mentor teacher warned me that teachers often do not prepare for substitutes so it is good for me (if I ever have this role) to have an inventory of activities ready for when I need them. If I keep stock of the lessons I use in my practicums now, I will have material to use when the time comes. It is good to set my future self up for success.<\/p>\n
I also learned the significance of identity for students from my mentor teacher. Watching her interactions and hearing her explain her motivations taught me that students can have their view of self reshaped in a healthy way through encouragement, reminders of truths and possibilities, teaching them to believe in themselves, and inspiring them to be the people who make changes in the world. I want to apply this in my classroom by treating kids with dignity and like they are valuable and capable of helping others. If I label a student as a bully or give up on them, this reaffirms negative identities and thus negative behaviours. I want students to believe they are good, loved, valuable, and smart and that they belong. A teacher should believe that every student is capable of learning. If I don’t believe this, I am wasting a student’s time by having them in my classroom. If I don’t believe they can learn, how will they ever believe it? Giving up on a student holds them back from the possibility of remarkable change.<\/p>\n
Another emphasis in my learning this semester was about learning preferences, strengths, and difficulties. I have grown in my value of asking questions and listening intently to understand the minds of young people as best as I can. It is important to know how students think and what they care about in order to teach them effectively in a way that enriches their lives. I can cater to several learning preferences by catering to several ways of learning in one lesson, asking students how they best learn, having constant formative assessments to see how students are doing before the summative assessment is there, having choices in assignments so students can use follow their interests and talents, and by applying Indigenous teaching mindsets and principles of learning to support Indigenous students as well as deepen the class as a whole. Also, I can be flexible to change my teaching style to meet students’ needs if my lessons and assignments are not reaching the children.<\/p>\n
And finally, I learned about the value of story, games, and interaction. The students in this practicum seemed way more excited to participate when there was an interactive element or a story. Also, they engaged when their own stories intersected with the stories in class content. Activities like this are more holistic and can implement several ways of knowing at once. They focus on community, collaboration, responsibility for one’s own learning, creativity, and using one’s mind, body, and spirit holistically. I personally love activities like this and they work fantastically in my teachables, English and Art. I want to include flexible creative facets in most of my class material. In English classes, I will enjoy having options for students to perform plays, write stories, create dioramas, host interviews and paint pictures related to stories we read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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