The Pickel Jar
Miss Pickel's Educational Adventures
In university I had the pleasure of taking EDCI 330: Elementary Field Experience Seminar ll. Here, I partook in professional growth goals for the January- April semester of 2019. My goals were: develop this e-Portfolio, develop my public speaking skills, support students with behavioural issues, and practice effective transition skills. Below is a summary of my accomplishments and how they relate to British Columbia's Teacher Regulation Branch (BC TRB) and UVic's Teacher Education Competencies. Enjoy!
E-PORTFOLIO
Connects to: Teacher Ed. Competency 3
“Cultivate a culture of professionalism by maintaining professional standards and expectations”
I have certainly developed professionally through this website! It is extremely commonplace in our digital world to utilize an electronic career platform, and I have created one that includes both my past and present achievements and ideas. Our current world is so globalized, that communicating on an online platform has become a professional norm. Through creating a personalized website, a modern teacher can communicate interesting ways in which professional standards are being met. I am particularly proud of my "Single-Use Plastic-Free" month and blog, where I discuss my research and feelings this February of 2019 in which I consumed no new plastic goods. Please enjoy all the personalized facts about me and the teaching tips and tricks!
DEVELOP MY PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS
Connects to: Teacher Ed. Competency 5
5: “Practice effective communication appropriate to the context and audience, enabling responsiveness to diversities of learners”
While I only attended 1 Toastmasters meeting, I got a sense of how boardrooms are run and did an impromptu speech. To fulfill this goal, I later practiced, and videotaped myself performing an educational speech given in the Surrey school district. This helped develop my public speaking skills through seeing my body language and inflection; it showed me that I am indeed an animated individual, but still have techniques (such as pace and pausing) to improve upon. Furthermore, I had presentations / teaching demonstrations in every class this semester. Through these, I gained more confidence standing in front of a group.
Why is this important to teaching? Because we are constantly engaging in dialogue and publicly speaking as professionals. This dialogue happens between ourselves and students, parents, other teachers, and administration daily. If we understand what our body language and words are truly communicating, then we can better support the diversity of students in every classroom, every school.
SUPPORT
STUDENTS WITH BEHAVIOURAL ISSUES
Connects to:Teacher Ed. Competencies 5 and 8
5: “Practice effective communication appropriate to the context and audience, enabling responsiveness to diversities of learners”
This goal continued to be the most important and developed over the semester. Through my efforts in after-school care, I indeed improved my behavioral management skills. I better learned how to “kid talk” and support their psychological needs by utilizing tools from my Pro-social Behavior class. Putting oneself into the “perspective shoes” of students, and finding create ways to meet their psychological needs is integral to any teacher, as we engage in such dialogue our students every day. It is also important to understand the basic behavioral patterns of most students and understand language with which to communicate them. For all you teachers out there, you can check out the “For the Teacher’ section of this website!
8: “Develop positive and supportive connections with students and colleagues, building professional learning networks”
I made a conscious effort to check-in with each coworker before picking up the kids so that we could better support each other, and in turn support the kids that day.
Additionally, I continued to check in with the Out of School Care Coordinator, deepening our trust and therefore our openness in communication. These connections are necessary to support and manage student behavior, as you are not the only individual to see these students throughout the day- they are seen in the hallway, recess, library, and in so many other places! Having a trusting and supporting relationship with your colleagues invites avenues of communication that will provide more all-encompassing support for your students.
PRACTICE EFFECTIVE TRANSITION SKILLS
Connects to: TRB Standard 5
5: “Educators implement effective practices in areas of classroom management, planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation and reporting”
Facilitating the classroom discussion on transitions and related techniques expanded and consolidated my understanding of the topic. Seeing as transitions are the time where many behavioral issues conspire, where precious instructional time can be lost, and where students can develop their independence (Banerjee & Horn, 2013), it is imperative that they are done effectively. A list of transition techniques is in the “For the Teacher” section!
Connects to: TRB Standards 1, 4, 5
1: Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests.
To achieve this, I consciously spent more time circulating at pick-up time to check-in with as many students as I could. Through this I learned how their day at school was and their current emotional status, facilitating a safer and more trustworthy atmosphere for their time in after-school care. Taking this time to build relationships shows care for students and their families, allows us to differentiate learning/ activities, and support their unique selves in the best way we can. Without this value for care, a safe and respectful classroom where students are responsible for their own behaviours cannot exist!
4: Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.
To navigate and find solutions to behavioral conflicts it was imperative that I connect not only with the children, but with their parents as well. This conscious and continuous effort to learn parent’s names, what they do for work and what home life is like through connecting with them regularly builds an all-encompassing support system that will foster a positive environment. Without this network it becomes incredibly hard to effectively support students.
5: “Educators implement effective practices in areas of classroom management, planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation and reporting”
Regular check-ins, role modeling positive friendships and making transition periods more fun brought forth more effective management this term. As every teacher knows, effective classroom management is imperative to the progression of the school day and to student learning. When management is effective, everything form planning and assessment is made easier!
