Who am I as a teacher is a big question to ask, and one I am still trying to answer myself. As practicum 490 has come to an end, I feel I have grown exponentially both as an educator and as a person. Looking back at where I was for 391 and where I am now are almost two completely different individuals. It is pretty incredible how experience impacts learning, and how much I have learned over the past four weeks. I was very blessed to have my practicum as Nusdeh Yoh Elementary school in a grade 1/2 split. I was quite nervous considering it was my first time teaching primary students; however, towards the end of the practicum I was very comfortable being goofy in front of the kids. One of the biggest challenges I needed to overcome this practicum was learning how to adapt my language to suite my learners. As a student of the past 7 years, I have developed an academic vocabulary that 6- and 7-year-olds do not understand. I had to rethink how I gave directions, instructions, and praise. In my first practicum, how I spoke in a grade 4/5 class was quite a bit different than my 1/2 class. Needless to say, I became comfortable with being more animated and I really enjoyed myself. If the kids were having fun, so was I.

            I believe some of my newly found strengths from this practicum include classroom management and my ability to adapt and improvise. Our classroom would often have guest speakers come by or events that would come up unscheduled. On more than one occasion I would have to re arrange our day to allow students to experience other opportunities. Another steep learning curve was recognizing when my students needed either a brain or movement break from instruction time. Towards the end of practicum, I was able to pick up on when my students needed time outside or more time to continue focusing on their work. Primary grades have different input and output levels for their learning than intermediate students. I am really proud of myself for learning how to become more adaptable and fluid in a classroom environment. I have always been an extremely organized individual who likes to plan and prepare. Being over planned and overprepared can come in handy so that you always have tricks up your sleeve when necessary. I have learned that sometimes it’s best to plan your day around your student’s energy and capabilities than your own. Although I may be ready to present a bunch of new information to my students, they may not be ready to receive it. Knowing your students and developing those relationships really is key to a positive classroom environment. 

            Something I want to continue working on is my openings and closures for lessons. I need to work on bringing my students back at the end of a lesson and have a quick review or check in for understanding. I also would like to work on a better system for taking formative notes during instruction and learning. I often find myself scribbling notes at the end of the day to reflect on how my students were doing instead of in the moment when the learning is happening. Practicing how to do this will support me in the long run when I need to do summative assessments or report card writing. Something else I am really looking forward to for our 491 practicum is having a longer time to develop relationships with my students. At the end of four weeks, I felt like I was just starting to really connect with my students, and they were beginning to trust me. Saying goodbye to my students was difficult and emotional. I was so grateful they allowed me to come into their classroom, even if it was just for a little while. 

            One of my fondest memories during practicum was creating our own classroom story called ‘They All Saw A Moose’, inspired by author Brendan Wenzel’s story They All Saw A Cat. We did quite a few lessons on the novel before creating our own. The students were so proud of the final product and their story page contributions. I was able to modify the expectations for my learners so each student could participate and show their individuality. Reading the finished product was by far one of my favourite moments from practicum. We finished the book on Thursday during the last week of practicum and were able to read it together on Friday. During buddy reading, each pair of students read our story to one another as well. Attached below are some pages from the story as well as some other fun photos from practicum. I will hold this experience in my heart.