Ms. Fullerton-Lee's desk! :) Yesterday was my Orientation Day at Riverside School in Medicine Hat, AB. Riverside is a lovely school. It's very cozy, and there is a great feeling of community there.
Riverside has really embraced technology integration, so it will give the three of us a good chance to experiment. It also is responsible for "Tribes" work, which is an initiative put in by the district last year to engage often in community building exercises. I will be well-exposed to community building as well; during my orientation, I participated in a Tribes exercise to get to know the students' names. This year, the district is pushing for the use of Kagan Cooperative Learning. The teachers haven't had much PD in this yet, but my TA has told me a bit. Either way, I think it'll be a great learning opportunity for Andrew, Johannah and I, since this is something we haven't talked about (that I can recall) in any of our classes to date. A final thing that I think is of importance: Riverside is a support school for the women's shelter. While the women's shelter works to relocate women to better homes, Riverside is the school where their children are sent. Some students are only with Riverside for a month before moving on. My TA says this doesn't really disturb other students' learning (of course, they're not told about the circumstances surrounding the new child). I can't speak for Johannah and Andrew (two other pre-service teachers in the school with me), but I've got a really supportive TA. She prepped her students for my teaching and she says they are really open to trying new things. There are a few specifics she wants me to teach, but the rest she has left entirely up to me. Right from the get-go, she's really trying to make this the most positive experience it could possibly be. Yesterday, I got up to:
Fantastic day! I'm in for an awesome experience. Any pre-service teachers entering practicum out there? I'd love to hear your stories and share resources!
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This weekend, I was lucky enough to watch a number of people very close to me convocate from the University of Lethbridge. On an off tangent most likely due to low amounts of caffeine, I was suddenly in awe of what a university in a city/large town or a school in small town really means for a community. It makes me really proud.
A school, more than a place full of the learning and potential it holds, acts as an anchor in that community. It truly is amazing. Specifically within the gymnasium, this is where the greater community comes together, whether it be for awards ceremonies, choir performances, school plays or any number of open houses, craft sales and dances, the gymnasium becomes a hub for a community. Chances for further learning, directed for adults and children, are often offered in these spaces (ie; dance classes, improv classes, gym/workout classes, etc.) and the school, for those who recognize its value to always and continually open doors, becomes a place for lifelong learning and growth for many years after a high school graduation. In my modest opinion, this is so empowering. To be able to work in one of these buildings and not only contribute to the future, but also to enrich the entire community is absolutely magical. I am humbled by the power I hold to make the world around me a better place, and to do so with the help and support of everyone around me. I am so thankful for my part to play in this fantastic adventure and to those that have got me this far. Today in our Ed-Tech class, we had an assignment to experiment with the bubbl.us software. For those who don't know me, Lord of the Rings is very dear to me. On my list of things to be when I grow up, "Hobbit" ranks in the top 3. Anyways, with a quick half hour of work, here is a little mind map that I've started for some basic elements in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. It's a work in progress. If you would like to see the full version, please click here.
Lesson OverviewThis lesson was focused on showcasing, in 15 minutes, the structure of the Alberta Education system and a brief reminder of the things that keep us as teachers accountable and responsible within our profession. I had students break into groups to examine the responsibilities of one of four roles in the Alberta Education system (student, teacher, parent, administrator) and then present their findings to the group while the rest of the class made notes on their own role responsibility worksheets (see attached). This involved researching on the Alberta Education website using the iPads available in the classroom. Afterwards, I had students work in pairs to remind themselves of the moral, ethical and legislated frameworks in place in the Alberta Education system to keep teachers accountable. I felt really positive and confident going into this lesson, because I had the practice not only from Ed 2500 and my own personal experience, but also from the recent Group Lesson and Curriculum Overview microteaches within the last week. I really think this confidence shone through, and I had a blast teaching my lesson, even though the material itself is quite ... dry. Lesson StrengthsI took the time at the beginning of class to set up the iPads with the Alberta Education website, which proved to be beneficial as some iPads still required some basic setup after having iOS 7 installed. I also found one iPad that was only at 5% battery, so I took it out of the group work before it became a problem. Lastly, one was not connected to the internet, so I adjusted that setting. The nutshell version of this is: I made sure my technology worked before I started the lesson. Throughout my lesson, I made a point of speaking to every student, thanking them for my comments and encouraging groups to think about other ideas either through questions or direct suggestions. I wasn't stationary during my lesson -- in both group work activities, I made sure to visit every group, even if it was just for a second. If it looked like conversation was wrapping up before other groups were finished, I had a question for each activity that I could pose to them to encourage further discussion. I always made sure I had a smile. To lighten the mood and make the material a little less dry, I did have one or two chuckles with the students along the way. When giving instructions, I asked both times for students to repeat the steps and expectations back to me. Additionally, if groups were still confused, I walked around to clarify. During the first activity, it was brought to my attention that I had forgotten to mention where students were to record these roles on their chart. I took a moment to stop the group work to clarify this with the class. This happened to a lesser degree again with the second activity, during which time I again apologized to the class for my mistake and invited them to record things on the bottom of the worksheet I provided. I had good time management! The night before doing the lesson, I recognized that the activity of having an individual from each pair in the second activity speak would be too time-consuming. I also felt that asking students to return to their tables and share their findings and learnings with their classmates would not be as valuable as sharing with the whole class the findings of the second activity. This ultimately saved on time as well, I think, which mean that my lesson ended when I wanted it to and not when the "bell" dismissed students. Additionally, I was far more flexible with group discussion times because of my omissions, which really optimized the potential for student-student learning, rather than student-teacher learning. Lesson RevisionsI did make notes in my lesson plan to use particular attention grabbers/classroom management techniques to get the attention of my students during group activities. I had these in only to practice other methods (as a personal goal to internalize more teaching techniques). The methods used in lieu worked just as well, I think, though they may have been too abrupt in cutting off group discussions. In the future, I would use things like the 10 second had count down, quiet coyote or some other similar hand gesture that would allow students to finish the thought they're on before turning their attention to me. I was unclear in my instructions, so in both cases I had to briefly halt group work to reiterate or state something I had forgotten. This most likely had to do with poorly worded instructions in my lesson plan, as that is what I practiced from the night before. By admitting my mistake and fixing it for the class, though, this never really became a major problem. In the future, I would take more time to think about delivering my directions. It's certainly one thing to have it straight in your head, and another thing entirely for it to be clear on paper. I didn't bring a really awesome closure to the lesson, when really, I might have had time to briefly ask students one key learning they brought from the lesson. Even something simple like that would have been some degree of closure instead of my abrupt ending. "Superficial" things: I think I used a lot of filler words, and I didn't have my teacher posture at all, that I can recall. I didn't integrate a great deal of technology, either, but I don't feel that technology is absolutely necessary for every lesson. I also feel like I didn't use particularly stellar voice moderation; I have a feeling I was using my loud class voice, instead of my arm's length voice with individual groups. These are all things I must be more mindful of in the future. Lesson DocumentsLesson Plan: KSA #2 -- The Alberta Structure Role Responsibility Chart (w/ answers)
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Meagan Fullerton-LeeMeagan is an aspiring teacher, voracious reader, tentative motorcyclist, and passionate gardener. In all things she sees education. Here she shares her passions. Archives
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