The area I feel like I have improved on most throughout all three practicums, but specifically within practicum 491, is classroom management. I would now consider classroom management to be one my strengths, an area that I used to struggle with. I feel confident in my classroom management, interactions, and relationships which is something that has continuously grown by spending more and more time in a classroom. Starting practicum 491, I was somewhat intimidated to have a grade 11 and 12 class, as I have mostly worked with junior grades, and was unsure what my classroom management would have to look like with an older group of students. I found immediately, I was more confident with who I was an educator, which was mostly likely a result of spending a few months around Christmas time subbing, and learning classroom management tips and tricks from my last two coaching teachers.
Another strength that I felt I maintained throughout this practicum was my planning. I love to plan and be organized, so this ability comes naturally to me. Throughout practicum 491 I had to really extend my ability to multi-task as I had three different grades to plan and adapt for. I believe I rose to the occasion, planning multiple short story, poetry, and novel study units for the 11’s and 12’s, while planning a unit on Syilx/Okanagan culture for the grade 9’s that I had to adapt three times for three different groups. I had to manage my time wisely while making sure I was including core competencies, curricular competencies, and engaging content in my planning. I am so excited to continue to great my own, original units in the future.
I was also extremely proud about the way I created and implemented class rules at the very beginning of my practicum so that students had clear expectations of the behavioral standards they were supposed to uphold. This was a goal I had for myself during my last practicum as I found halfway through that I was constantly reminding students of basic classroom rules such as no cellphones or no caffeine. Before practicum 491 started, I made a list of classroom rules that aligned with my personal educational pedagogy. I then implemented them clearly the first day with each group of students. I immediately saw the difference this had on the overall experience I had with the students. It was much more positive, and I was able to spend less energy on classroom management and more energy on actually teaching.
I think something I have improved on the most specifically during this practicum (491) was my ability to elevate the content I was teaching. This came with the demographic and age I was teaching. I discovered quickly that the majority of the students I was working with needed an extra challenge and were quite strong academically. This was quite a contrast to my past practicum where I had to often modify or adapt the material to be easier. I worked towards making sure I always had deep, critical thinking questions for discussions and extra, extending work for the students who needed it. I also made sure to hold all “handed-in” work to the high standard I knew the students could achieve. From the start of my to the end of my practicum, I felt that I was able to deepen the learning outcomes of my lessons. I intentionally incorporated information that was more complex so that students had to think critically about the content, inherently elevating their learning.
After completing this practicum, something I would like to continue working on and improving for my career is to continue to learn strategies to work with students who have various designations. I feel that I have improved from my last practicum, more easily adapting and modifying work, but also feel that there is an abundance of information to learn about how enhance these students’ experiences even more so. In practicum 491 I worked with CEA’s but also without CEA’s in response to certain students’ IEPs. I felt that I was able to more efficiently and effectively adjust my teaching in order to respond to certain needs such as ADHD, dyslexia, vision impairment, and severe anxiety. I spent many mornings collaborating with case workers and CEAs learning how to better understand the needs of various students. It was also important to understand these students’ past experience in different subjects or even different schools so that I could make sure I was setting all students up for a comfortable and successful learning experience.
Overall, I felt I have grown enormously as an educator – improving, transforming, reflecting, developing, flourishing, thriving. I cannot wait to move forward into my professional career, continuing to uphold all nine standards of education in British Columbia. My professional goals include continuing to be involved in outdoor education, promoting place-based education, and supporting inclusive, diverse education.
Spending the past two years at UNBC completing my Bachelor of Education program has been an extremely rewarding experience. I have had the opportunity to meet lifelong friends – people who will be part of my educational career for a very long time. I cannot imagine starting my career without the amazing people I’ve met at UNBC surrounding me for support and ideas. I believe surrounding yourself with positive, professional, and kind people is a very important part of being successful in your career.
Collaborating with the professors and other community members from around the city of Prince George was invaluable. I had the unique opportunity to work with and collaborate with people such as art gallery employees, District Learning Commons employees, Lheildli T’enneh and Syilx Elders, superintendents, principals, and SD57 and SD23 teachers and CEAs. To be able to become so deeply immersed within the community and make important connections with community members is also extremely important to one’s teaching career. With the help of UNBC, I have gained invaluable contacts who I can lean on for support, resources, and ideas.
Lastly, being part of the UNBC learning community has allowed me to understand and embrace the importance of place. I have always been extremely passionate about nature and the outdoors, and the Education program allowed me to use my passions to strengthen my pedagogy. I greatly expanded my knowledge about the importance of traditional Indigenous territory and the connection we have to it as learners.
