Mme Emily Shepherd
Junior/Intermediate • French as a Second Language & Music
Fieldtrip to Hillcrest HS
On September 12th, 2018 I had the opportunity to go to Hillcrest High School to participate in a very useful workshop on what needs to change in current curriculums and in classrooms to better students success in school and society.
Key takeaways:
1. Teachers should never get comfortable in education. As teachers we should be trying to learn and better our teaching methods in order to help our students grow and achieve their goals.
2. Positioning the students desks in a circle can create equality, participation and connectivity that might not otherwise be there if the desks are placed in rows. This is a great way to make sure no one is excluded from the group.
3. As a teacher, one of the most important things you can do for your students is to listen to them. It is important to get to know them as well as you can to make sure you fully understand them. A good way to know how your students are doing and feeling is to ask them every morning and afternoon how they are feeling from 1-5. This allows them to communicate to you without having to explain or come up to you.
Chambers - Where Do I Belong?
The diversity of people in Canada has grown immensely since the new Immigration Act was put into place in 1976. The Act provides immigrants with a process to become full Canadian citizens equal to any other Canadian; however, First Nations, Inuit and Metis living across the country must still fight to affirm their place in Canada. Many Canadians still do not treat First Nations, Inuit and Metis people as equals.
As teachers we have the opportunity to create inclusive classrooms where students learn not only about people who have immigrated to Canada, but also about the people who occupied this land long before European explorers and settlers arrived. I want to belong in a country that is united by respect for everyone who lives here. I think we have a duty as teachers to help our students understand and celebrate the diversity of people who have immigrated to Canada past and present. I believe it is also very important for me as a teacher to ensure that my students learn about and respect the history and diversity of their fellow Canadians who are First Nations, Inuit and Metis.
Seeing the Student
In my opinion, seeing the student in the urban context means to truly understand who they are as individuals. This means to understand what their hopes and dreams are, what they have experienced and what they would like to experience in life, what concerns them, what has hurt them, what brings them joy, what scares them and who/what they care about in life. As a teacher, it is important to know that getting to know a student this deeply will take time and that sometimes, for a variety of reasons, we will only know as much as the students feels comfortable revealing in time. The students needs to feel safe and know that we are trustworthy and non judgmental.
In the article, Seeing the Student, William Ayers writes that many teachers label students, sometimes without even knowing they are. It is important as teachers to think about how we see each student in their class and to make sure we are not labelling them. Labelling our students can have a negative effect on their success, and it is important to see our students as all unique and capable of success if we give them to the right support and tools they need to succeed.
Action Research Project - Music Integration in Schools
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How can I help the intermediate learner thrive socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively?
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The Power of Music - Multimodal Curriculum Design Project
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Blog #1 - Year 2 Practicum
I have observed and learned a lot in my practicum in the past few months. The first thing I learned a lot about was about mental health. Mental health issues are a widespread problem that impact an estimated one out of five children and youth in Ontario (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013). These issues can have a significant impact on student’s success in school (and other aspects of their lives). During my practicum, I have had the opportunity to observe a variety of mental health and well-being strategies. One of the most common mental health problems that many of my students are identified as having is anxiety. A strategy that I find helps lower the anxiety of my students is using visual schedules, timers, and flexible seating. Something I have done in my practicum that I believe has positively influenced my student’s well-being is doing some meditation. In my practicum class, we use calming, classical music to help the kids relax, with their heads down on their desk. I have observed that taking 2-3 minutes to do this with my students when they are feeling stressed and anxious (or just very hyper), can make all the difference in their learning afterwards.
In the past few months, I have observed that dynamic learning/student centered learning is essential when it comes to engaging the students and helping with their success. I have noticed that when my students are able to be part of their learning by helping to create success criteria, goals, self-assessment and more, they do much better on the task/activity.
Something I have learned in my practicum and that I try to show my students by example, is that is it normal to make mistakes and to not know something sometimes. Teaching students about problem solving and learning from their mistakes, as opposed to always seeing a mistake as a failure. I noticed that a lot of my students would get frustrated and mad if they made a mistake or didn’t know the answer to something, so it was important to teach them that it is all part of learning and that they will always be learning throughout their lives!
In my practicum, I have observed many ways to differentiate for students. A few of the things my associate teacher and I have done is to use oral and written instructions, use a lot of visuals, give computer options to students who have trouble writing, reinforcement incentives, use non-verbal signals, use colour cues, use time management aids, give students extra time for processing, translating, scribing, give students headphones who have trouble concentrating, giving students body breaks, flexible seating, and more. I notice a big difference in my students when we incorporate some of these strategies, depending on the activity. I have learned many new strategies in my practicum so far, and I look forward to learning more in the next 6 weeks!