If I were to use one word to describe my experience during my four week practicum at Southridge Elementary, it would have to be INVALUABLE. I chose this word because my experiences during my three week practicum at Nukko Lake began the installation in me of the feelings of being exactly where I need to be and knowing that teaching is what I am meant to do. After my experiences at Southridge Elementary, these feelings are stronger than ever- I feel so certain, safe, and confident in my decision to be a teacher that I can’t understand how I didn’t start on this path at the beginning of my post-secondary education; I know I did not sub before the program and have minimal classroom experience, and I still have so much to learn. However, because of this practicum, I now feel extremely comfortable, secure, and at home in the classroom and this has allowed me to grow and develop at an accelerated pace. I left this practicum extremely excited about the idea of life-long learning because this is what will help ensure that I am always growing and adapting my practice to be the best teacher that I can be.
During my observations prior to practicum and my practicum days at Nukko Lake, I learned the importance of relationship building and getting to know students’ likes and interests to implement them in the lesson planning process. Because this was so successful during the first practicum, I spent a majority of the two weeks before this practicum visiting Southridge and being a presence in my classroom, both observing and building relationships, as much as possible. I also participated in a relay field trip and student-led conferences to get an idea of how my particular students behaved in a more unstructured environment. During this observation time, I learned that these particular students were a very complex and diverse group that came with diverse needs, abilities, and learning styles. I also learned that this group of students were very chatty, had a lot of energy, and were easily distracted and taken off topic by something in the classroom (e.g. fidgeting with papers or objects on the top of their desks, getting up and moving around the classroom during lessons, reading during lessons, etc.).
Gaining this information before I started teaching myself was invaluable because I was able to take time to think about and come up with strategies I wanted to implement in the classroom while I was teaching to combat this and to minimize the students’ distractions to learning as much as possible. Before starting each lesson, I asked the students to put everything on their desks away so I knew they were ready and I would not start the lesson until everyone had a clear desk and their eyes and attention were on me. This tactic increased the effectiveness of my classroom management during a lesson because since their desks and hands were completely clear, it was easier for me to see when students took something out of their desk, like a fidget or a book, that would take their attention away from the task at hand and to quickly correct that behaviour. Also, during the planning process, I incorporated movement and group discussion and interaction to some extent in every lesson that I taught to harness the extra energy and the interest in group conversation these students possessed and channel it into the learning process. Although some of the lessons I taught stand out more than the rest, the students absorbed what I was teaching them to such an extent that the connections they were able to make to the material I was teaching far surpassed anything I could have expected; I think minimizing distractions and incorporating movement and group activities has a lot to do with the tremendous success I had in terms of individual student achievement and learning.
The importance of planning and preparation I experienced during my first practicum was built upon during my time at Southridge. With the transition away from creating lesson plans for every lesson taught and towards a detailed daybook format, and with the addition of planning for and executing the teaching of 3 full days, I got a truer sense of what being a teacher really means in terms of scheduling, planning, and preparation. What I learned is that, for me to be an effective teacher, there needs to be a balance between following my plan for the lesson and adapting the plan as necessary to follow the wants and needs of the students at a particular point in time. During this practicum, I was able to recognize that veering away from a lesson plan does not mean that a lesson has failed, and in fact it usually means quite the opposite. After this practicum, I still believe that as a teacher, you are the lead learner in a collaborative practice that relies on being adaptive and responsive to students’ questions and suggestions to advance and enhance the learning experience and classroom environment. By following this value and belief I have and staying true to it through my actions as the teacher or lead learner, I was able to have an experience with these students that I will remember forever because it was the first time I felt like I had become the teacher that I want to be.
In my 391 practicum at Nukko Lake, I felt like I was starting to understand how to develop my professional identity as a teacher while also staying true to myself as I am teaching by making sure my personality, values, and beliefs are still being portrayed as authentically as possible. After this first practicum, I decided I never wanted to feel like I was going to work and putting my “teacher hat” on and taking it off when I leave for the day- I want the person I am both on and off the job to be so similar that the two become one identity that cannot be separated. After my 490 practicum at Southridge, I am confident and certain that I am accomplishing this goal. With both my Nukko Lake students, and now with my Southridge students, I laughed and joked with them, I displayed vulnerability by telling the students about my life and not taking myself too seriously, I laughed off my mistakes while I was teaching instead of making them a big deal and encouraged students to do the same when this happened to them, and I was kind, caring, positive, authentic, genuine, and candid and these are all qualities I display in my everyday life. After this practicum, I am proud to say Ms. Slaney and Julianne are one and the same and I am proud of who I have become and who I continue to grow into both as a person and a teacher.
During my 490 practicum, I was actively working on my struggles from my first practicum at Nukko Lake. I found myself giving both written and verbal instruction, writing a list of tasks on the board for students to refer back to as needed, giving visual demonstrations of activities before letting students go to do the activity on their own, and more. I found a new struggle in this practicum and that is time management. I still find myself overpreparing which makes it so that I do not get through everything I want or expect to. Also, if I am close to the end of the prepared material but not quite there, I find myself going over the allotted lesson time to finish instead of wrapping up where we currently are and adjusting the plan for the next lesson as necessary. Time management will be something I work on in my 10 week practicum in September. I will also be working on finding the right amount of materials and work for my particular students for one lesson in the hopes of finding the balance between being under and overprepared more often rather than just overpreparing and adjusting as necessary. I can’t believe we are almost finished in this program and I can’t wait to see who I will become in my 10 week practicum in September.