Below are some of the competencies I have been developing over the course of my 490 and 491 practicums. I believe that within each course a student takes, there should be opportunity to develop multiple competencies, supporting the student on their quest to become a successful and educated citizen.
- Critical Thinking – I believe critical thinking is one of the most important competencies a high school student can develop. Not only does critical thinking help high school students excel in their academics, critical thinking is part of becoming an educated citizen and an active community member. When students are able to analyze, infer, synthesize, and predict, they are able to filter the information they consume in order to make critical and informed decisions. I focused on critical thinking as a competency within my “perspective, bias, and opinion in media” unit I created for my grade 9’s in my 490 practicum and in my poetry unit I created for my grade 12’s in practicum 491. These units allowed students to safely explore the different kinds of information they constantly have access to and decide what is credible and what is not.
- Communication- Because high school students are extremely social beings, communication is something that comes naturally to many, but is also a skill that can be refined in order to benefit them on their journey to become successful and educated citizens. Most of my units I create are centered on communication and discussion as I believe it is essential to share ideas in order to learn. I make sure to create a physically and emotionally safe space for students to share their thoughts and opinions. Communication can come in several different forms – verbal, written, or visual. For example, one of my most recent units, a novel study on The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men was centered around many deep and rewarding discussions about the theme, purpose, and meaning of the books. Allowing students to have respectful discussions and debates about the content of the books not only allowed them to understand the content of the book through several different methods of consumption, but improved their communication skills.
- Intercultural Awareness – This is such an important competency as every single class is made up of a unique combination of backgrounds, lifestyles, experiences, and cultures. I believe it is extremely important to be aptly aware of the cultural diversity in classroom as it is easy to accidentally marginalize students who do not fit the societal “norm” of whichever demographic is most present. I made sure to include intercultural awareness in several ways throughout all my units. Creating a unit on the local history of the Syilx peoples of the Okanagan allowed many of the Indigenous students in my classroom to explore their heritage and culture. I also have many international students in my classrooms, and by simply expanding to one other culture and heritage, it prompted many connections to these students’ lives as well. In my poetry unit, I made sure to include poems from many African American poets such as Maya Angelou and Claude McKay. As this was a senior class, we dove into the idea of racial inequality and oppression through poetry as a style of art and touched on tough topics. This allowed us to expand our horizons and explore English Language arts from a place of cultural diversity and awareness.
- Creativity/Innovation- This is a competencies I constantly reinforce within all my units. I believe students need to be given the opportunity to be creative and innovative in a way that works for them. Students cannot or should not be forced to express their work in a certain way to fit the traditional “norms” of creativity such as drawing, painting, singing, etc. (although if those way work for the student then the student should embrace it), but should be allowed to be creative in their own way. My criteria for final products often consists of an end goal that must consist of A, B, and C, but the way that students develop and present A, B, and C, is completely up to them. This allows for students to dive into inquiry, becoming innovative and independent. This can easily be possible in classes like English and Socials, contrary to popular belief, fostering inclusivity and diversity.