Education 2500- Journal
I completed my Education 2500 class this Summer Semester!
I had such a wonderful time, in this post I've included some of my favorite images and my journal entries from my time in class and short placement in a grade 2/3 classroom!
Mattie Caldwell
Education 2500 Log-Book
Observations and Reflections
Summer 2022
May 9, 2022
Seminar 1 today! In class we covered a handful of questions that might guide us through our education journey, they include: what realities impact teaching and learning? How can the teaching profession contribute to me? And what can I contribute to the field of education? I could probably drum up a handful of answers to these questions right now, but I think it will be interesting to ponder them over the course of this semester. Today I remembered my ability to notice when an individual in my group is seeming quiet or participating less and invite them to join the conversation. I think that skill will be helpful in a teaching role. My big idea today is remembering to check myself and my biases. By doing this I can do my best to ensure I'm not passing my bias onto my students. I would like to remember a teaching strategy I saw exemplified in our class today: a guided brainstorming session before completing a fill-in-the-blank style poetry exercise. By doing the directed brainstorming beforehand much of the pressure of the poetry activity was removed. I find I am very excited to participate in this semester.
May 11, 2022
Today we did both a Workshop and Seminar 2. I was very motivated by the workshop. I feel I've gained a better understanding of student behavior and am inspired to begin making myself a safe-space that is inclusive, and fair. My big takeaway from the Workshop is that I will try to connect with and love all my future students; even in the most challenging students there will be something about them that I can love, and I should try to look for that. A few teaching techniques from the Workshop that I would like to remember are including transition support between each activity (this includes timers during activities, announcing future activities, and visual schedules), and a group activity game called “scouts-out” where an individual in each group gets to go spy on the work of the other class groups! In Seminar today we have been asked to consider our teacher persona that we will develop, this will be a running theme I think. We met in the Curriculum lab to learn about the support there, I think this will be a great resource. The meat of Seminar was discussing read-aloud! My number one read-aloud tip I’d like to use is practicing reading the book beforehand so the performance reading can go smoothly. We have also learned a few ways to introduce a book prior to reading it, these include: discussing the cover, and asking for thoughts based on the ‘big-idea’ of the story. We are doing read-alouds with the class next week, I'm actually excited to do this assignment!
Reflection 1- What do I Bring to Teaching?
Self-reflection is essentially looking back on your life's-work. It involves analyzing all the parts of your life, internal and external. Often I have found myself living my life and wondering why sometimes it feels like I’m not really going anywhere. I have never been a person that goes through the motions, day by day. My family values growing up were strongly rooted in forward moving action. Each year (and in high-school per semester) myself and my parents would sit down and discuss my goals and ambitions. In my adolescence these goals and dreams often involved school grades, and sport accomplishments. We believed in SMART goals and would discuss how I could be successful in my goals. Having goals, and taking actions towards those goals has always been the way I operate.
More than once however, I have changed direction, sometimes even before accomplishing a goal. During these ‘halt and changes’ is when I would stop and wonder, am I even going anywhere!? But as they say, time brings wisdom, and years later I can see the benefit. This forward movement, with the flexibility to pivot has brought me an extremely wide variety of experiences and talents. I think these experiences and talents are going to be the value I can bring to the profession of teaching. I believe my talents began developing in high-school, this should be a good place to start…
As a high school student I did two things: school, and sport. As for sport, I practiced Judo. The values gained in this sport are many, the ones I think I will bring to teaching include, good citizenship, discipline, and mental/physical resilience.
School wise, I was a good student, I found I didn't have to try very hard to do well in school. I think the value I gained from my experience in high school was from my teachers. I had lots of great teachers, I also had a handful of teachers I didn't think were so great. In this experience I can glean what kind of teacher I want to be, the teachers that were passionate about their subject matter, and truly seemed like they were interested in me, were the teachers that made an impact on me. I would like to emulate that. Other skills I gained in high-school include tactile skills. I undertook the class ‘fashions’ from grade 9-12. This class involved designing clothes, sewing, crocheting, and self-guided units, all skills I could one day teach, and pass along to young creatives.
I did not spring into my journey to Education right from high-school. After graduation, I moved out of my parents home and spent two semesters at Lethbridge College taking General Studies. In my first semester I studied English and in the second I studied Psychology. While what I learned in my classes provides value, there were also things I learned outside the classroom during this time that I can bring to teaching. These things include adaptability to new environments, professionalism, and self sufficiency. My time with the College came to an end as I made pursuits towards a Trade.
I began working reception at a Salon in my last year of high school, after feeling like my path was no longer meant to continue at the Lethbridge College I was offered the opportunity to apprentice as a hairstylist, and I took it. My hairstyling journey is long and I gained so many valuable skills. I will save the long story and touch on the highlights of what I think will serve me best as an educator. Spending time in a variety of salons helped me gain an understanding of what creates successful culture. My time at a barber-shop in Calgary introduced me to different people, and cultures, opening my mind and perspective. In general trade skills: listening, communication, timing, and collaboration are vital skills in the service industry that I will also bring to my role as a teacher. At the climax of this journey I became a red seal licensed trades-person, with this certification I hope to bring cosmetology class to schools and provide the high-school apprenticeship opportunity to students.
For a short time, because of Covid Hairstylists could not work. During this time I went to Fashion School at VCAD. Again, what I learned in the (online) classroom is valuable in and of itself. There are other things I learned as part of this experience that can be valuable to my education career. I learned about honesty, transparency, and work ethic. I also learned about making connections with people, and taking responsibility for personal learning. It was during my time at VCAD that I crossed paths with the educator who would inspire me to become one.
Currently I am a visual arts major in pre-ed at the University of Lethbridge. I've learned so much and I cannot wait to see what more I will learn. Self-reflection is essentially looking back on your life's-work. While my life has not been long my experiences have been broad. These experiences have shaped me into the person I am. I can see now, this long winding path I've taken to be here in Education 2500, to be an educator was just as it was meant to be. It will make me the Teacher I am to become.
May 16th 2022
I did my very first read-aloud today! I read the story the day the crayons quit. Part of the story time assignment was to also plan an activity. I had the ‘students’ think about objects they used earlier in the day before reading, and after reading the story I asked them to write a letter to themselves from an object that wants to quit on them. It was fun and received well by my peers. Some peer feedback for improvement included skipping past mistakes rather than pausing, and introducing the activity before reading so they can think about it while the story is being read. We also had a workshop today on the road ahead for teaching, presented by an ATA representative. My big takeaways from the presentation are being sure to bring my ‘geek’ to the classroom (sharing passions), and re-evaluating what it means to ‘assess’ a student as understanding them.
May 18th 2022
We finalized our TA letters in class today, and received our placements! I am very excited to head into the classroom! Our seminar was short today, considering what Essential Questions are. The point of them is to encourage further inquiry, not just shove information for memorization on the students. Our reflections are considered some of our essential course questions.
Reflection 2- What are my Goals for this Practicum?
My goals for this practicum could be quite endless, but I plan to focus on a small few. I hope that by narrowing down my list to a handful of achievable goals, that I might be more successful in accomplishing them. First, I would like to learn about the school and classroom environment, including teaching competencies like instruction, culture, and assessment. This encompasses a handful of questions including: What is the best way to approach a learning topic? Where is the boundary between authority and support? What are effective techniques for learning? Do effective techniques change with students' age? Etcetera. I think observing my teacher associate will be a great tool to accomplish this learning. I expect many of these questions can be answered by learning from examples. After careful observation of my Teacher Associate I can implement the skills I glean and practice them with the placement students further cementing that learning for myself. Second, I would like to share my ‘geek’ with the placement students, as discussed in one of our workshops. I have always been a passionate creative and this began in my elementary classrooms. It would be so fun to share an art activity with the students, and by doing so share my love of the subject. Lastly I would like to develop awareness for students and foster relationships with the students in my practicum placement. In order to accomplish this I will have to put myself in an active participant position of the class and seize all the opportunities I can to be a member of the classroom for the short while I am there.
May 25th- 26th, 2022
First couple days in the classroom! The children are very excited that I am there. I am a bit worried that I am a distraction, sometimes I catch them watching me rather than focusing on their work! I’m sure as I go from novelty to normalcy in the next couple days they will be able to focus again. I notice my TA has great classroom management. The kids behave like kids, however distractions and interruptions don't go unnoticed. There are a few attention-grabbing phrases that I have heard repeated the last couple days, “I’m waiting for students' eyes!”, “I like to see hands.”, and “bidi-bidi!” the kids respond “bom-bom!”. I have also noticed that there is lots of use on small whiteboards in the classroom. My TA has explained that this allows each student to produce an answer, and allows her to make corrections quickly and easily. We have also discussed the idea of learn-it then leave-it, and return with it in a day or two for recall. The act of recalling information is a great learning tool. The final fun tidbit I want to remember for the week is something my TA called ‘latch on learning’, this is where the teacher provides background information to a learning objective, something that is memorable. Overall, such a fun week, I feel I've already learned so much!
May 30th- June 2nd, 2022
Finished my second week in the classroom! The students are much more used to my presence. I have learned so much! I will list in bullet points:
When helping with reading, pause at a mistake and ask the student to try the word again, suggest chunking or separating the sounds, once they are successful have them try the entire sentence again.
I notice that my TA takes corrections from the students very gracefully, I would like to observe this more.
It is important to be aware of students who are struggling but wont ask for help.
I taught a lesson this week! I did a short presentation to the students about michelangelo, then let them create a drawing laying on their backs like how michelangelo painted the sistine chapel ceiling. The kids were very excited and I think they had a lot of fun! The feedback I got from my TA was that I should be more insistent on not allowing interruptions. I could say “I’m talking right now”, or “I want to see hands!”. My TA also said I could have done a longer lesson if I had wanted.
The other fun thing we did this week is ‘Latin American School day’. The students and teachers in the Spanish ⅔ group pretend the day is set in a school in Latin america. The children wear a ‘uniform’ of dark pants and a white top. The teachers are very strict, the work is very boring, and everyone only speaks spanish! For background the lessons are all about schools in Latin America. This day was great fun.
In Seminar we have been discussing learner engagement.
Reflection 3- What is a Teachers Role in Developing Classroom Climate?
I think that classroom climate refers to the mood, attitudes, tone, and feeling of the classroom. A positive classroom environment would be described as things like, welcoming, safe, respectful, and supportive. I think there are a couple of things that contribute to the climate of my placement classroom. These things include rules, routines, and positive relationships. Some rules in the classroom help create a respectful environment, the boundaries help students feel safe, and promote an environment conducive to learning. Each teacher sets rules and boundaries for their own classroom environment. Some of the rules I’ve observed in my classroom include; not allowing interrupting during lessons, and lining up in alphabetical order when traveling as a class. There are also obvious rules that should exist in all classrooms like not touching your classmates without their consent, or any kind of bullying. Routines are something that is repeated and expected by the students. These routines allow students to self-regulate during the day. We have a lot of routines in our classroom. Each morning the students do a math worksheet for the first twenty minutes of the day, and then silent reading as they settle in. Each day of the week follows a similar subject routine, for example every Thursday we do the morning worksheet and silent reading before announcements, then begin with phonics, move onto reading, then math after recess. This routine is predictable for the students and helps them focus on the tasks at hand. As for positive relationships, I notice my TA has a relationship with each student, and encourages students to have positive relationships with each other- the students do lots of pair and group work. My placement school has the teachers greet their students and invite them into the building before the beginning of the day. I am a firm believer that the climate of any space is deliberately created. In the classroom, the creator of this climate is the Teacher!
June 6th-9th, 2022
Week three of placement! I really feel like I’m getting comfortable in the classroom, and connecting with the students in my class. Here are some of my highlight learning points for the week:
Counting down from 5 to gain classroom attention, and allow students to make their way back to their seats.
Reading a story to the class and then allowing them to copy that story format rather than coming up with an original story can be more productive. Having a class brainstorming session after is also helpful.
If a lesson fails…Try again!
I taught an art lesson this week as well, showing the students a fun project where they cover their page in wax crayon then paint over it with black paint, when the paint dries it can be scratched off and reveal the colorful wax underneath. This lesson was a bit bumpy. The children had a hard time making the wax layer thick enough and the paint took much too long to dry. I didn't end up getting to see the final result!
We took a lecture field trip this week and visited Wilson Middle School, as well as Helen Schuler Nature Center. I feel like I learned so much from the Middle School Teacher, I filled an entire notebook page! She had lots of insight into kids with behaviors and kids that come from challenging backgrounds. My top three takeaways from our conversation with her are:
Saying “I’m so glad you’re here” to students when they answer a question.
Having a warm classroom environment and culture
And the Dory/Marlin analogy she used to explain that the best things about me are what is going to make me a great teacher, no sense in doing something that does not feel genuine.
At Helen Schuler we did a lot of discussion about location-based learning as well as some more reflective practices. In the seminar we have been discussing curriculum.
June 13th-20th, 2022
Final week in my ⅔ classroom! I will definitely miss this bunch of students. They've been so awesome. My learnings for the week:
It can be best to call home rather than email. Sometimes having the student call can be even better.
Navigating interpersonal conflicts with students can be challenging, sometimes you just have to do what you think is best!
Just-Dance videos are fun for indoor recess.
It can be helpful to send overwhelmed students on walks/menial tasks to remove them from a classroom environment.
Occasionally, when there are parts of a lesson that may be confusing and potentially misconstrued to parents it is best to say “this is just how it is”. For example, when learning about latin america and watching a spanish music video it can be prefaced with “she moves her body and her but a lot. And that's just how it is.”
I taught my final art lesson this week! We talked about graffiti and then the students made name-plates in graffiti style! This lesson went really well, so well that the neighboring classroom teacher had me do the same lesson for her class the next day! What's awesome is that the second go at the lesson went even better than the first, when I had time to reflect on how the lesson went. Both my TA and the Neighbor teacher had positive feedback on my instruction.
In the seminar we are discussing curriculum, we did micro-teaches this week. For my micro-teach I used my michelangelo lesson that I had already made! My peers gave very positive feedback.
Overall this has been such a great experience, I cannot wait to continue on my journey down the path of Education.
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