Educators contribute to the profession.
Throughout practicum 491, I was not able to contribute to the teaching profession on a large scale; however, I was given to opportunity to attend staff meetings, union meetings, and share new resources with my coaching teacher. I knew I wanted to try out using Class Dojo as a behaviour incentive in the classroom and the buy in from our students was incredible. It was a resource my coaching teacher had not seen before, and she had asked me to walk her through the steps so she could continue with the program in the classroom after my practicum ends. It made me happy being able to share something new with an educator who has been in the teaching business for over ten years. I was also able to introduce her to Disney short films when I taught our story elements unit. Instead of having all exemplars modelled in books, I liked to switch it up with a few Disney shorts the kids could enjoy. I was able to share this idea with my coaching teacher and she plans on using them in her classroom to differentiate the learning. I recognize these are little contributions; however, I appreciate that I was able to help someone who has provided me with so many things as an upcoming teacher.
I also appreciated the opportunity to make suggestions to support student learning during staff meetings, school-based team meetings, as well as Individualized Education Plans in our classroom. I had spent enough time in the teaching role to understand my students’ strengths and stretches, as well as their needs. I was able to provide my reflections and collaborate with my colleagues on how to better support the learners in our classroom. I look forward to being an official school staff member and building community with my colleagues. I enjoyed spending time with the staff at my practicum placement and seeing how they supported one another. I look forward to a point in my career where I can take on practicum students and support their learning journey.