On this page you'll find some highlights of the lessons, activities, and classroom strategies that I have employed in my teaching that strongly reflect aspects of my teaching philosophy and how I will teach in the future.
make learning relevant
I try to get to know my students so that I can tailor my teaching to their specific needs and interests. Below is a learning questionnaire I gave to my ESL students on the first day on my ten week practicum.
Below is the results of a survey I took of which social issues my grade nine students were interested and concerned about. I used the results to choose the top three categories to explore in our Social Justice Unit.
Encourage critical thinking and compassion
One of the goals of reading and analyzing texts in the language arts is for students to be able to put themselves in another person's shoes and interpret their actions. I also tried to teach empathy by giving students opportunities to become involved in their community and contribute to meaningful change.
teach through inquiry
In my practicum, I tied each unit I taught to an over-arching theme and from this theme, drew out some essential questions that guided the students' inquiry into the theme and which they were asked to develop personal responses to throughout the unit as well as at the end of the unit.
An example of this can be seen in the questions crafted for my English 9/10 Social Justice Unit:
Unit Question: How do we create meaningful change in the world no matter who we are?
An example of this can be seen in the questions crafted for my English 9/10 Social Justice Unit:
Unit Question: How do we create meaningful change in the world no matter who we are?
- Why are we responsible to create change in the world?
- How might we become more responsible world citizens?
- How can we become more aware of those less fortunate than us?
- How can we be responsible for (or maintain) human rights?
Be reflective
Through this year of teacher training I have tried to be a reflective practitioner and I wish to carry this through to my years of teaching. It is important to be constantly improving and becoming a better teacher for your students. At the end of my practicum I asked my students for some anonymous feedback on my teaching. Here is what a few had to say...
Collaboration
Through this blog and with the many teachers that I will meet in the years ahead, I plan to share and learn from my colleagues. I have already learned so much from my peers in the UBC Education Program and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future. I hope that my research and collaboration will help other beginner teachers too.