SmartBoards with Smith

TRB Standard 7 - Educators engage in career-long learning. Educators engage in professional development and reflective practice, understanding that a hallmark of professionalism is the concept of professional growth over time. Educators develop and refine personal philosophies of education, teaching and learning that are informed by theory and practice. Educators identify their professional needs and work to meet those needs individually and collaboratively.

During phase out at the end of practicum I took the opportunity to visit Kasey, one of my colleagues, at her school. During her practicum she had become quite familiarized with SmartBoards. She offered to host an afternoon for myself and other colleagues where she would show us how to use the technology as well as interact with it. During this time she showed us how to set up SmartBoards if we ever TOC in a smart classroom. She also showed us where to go to get lessons and the program that you need to have, to be able to create a SmartBoard lesson. This was a great opportunity to better myself as a future educator and become acquainted with the different types of technology that might be available to me throughout the rest of my education career.

A picture from our Smart Learning afternoon

April showers bring May flowers

TRB Standard 5 - Educators implement effective practices in areas of planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation and reporting. Educators have the knowledge and skills to facilitate learning for all students and know when to seek additional support for their practice. Educators thoughtfully consider all aspects of teaching, from planning through reporting, and understand the relationships among them. Educators employ a variety of instructional and assessment strategies.

This lesson was one that I am quite proud of as I was able to incorporate all aspects of a successful lesson. I was able to hook my students with an effective link. We went thought the process of experience and discussed the poem, what type it is and what words you could use. We analyzed the different parts of each poem and asked questions and made not of the patterns in the poem. Then we went ahead and started to write our poems. Before writing I had addressed the different learners in the classroom providing my students with visual and auditory examples for their learning. We worked over a period of three classes where students were able to be creative and produce their own original work. The good copy of their poem was written on an umbrella and then with it they drew a corresponding raindrop which was a visual representation of their poem. Once there work was all finished I set up the teacher stool in the front middle of the classroom and asked them to share. The students by this time were familiar with classroom workings and they would often use my signals to gain their attention and if they wanted to share they had their moment to be in charge of the room and share their work. I was able to sit back and enjoy my students and their work while they were able to express how proud they were of all of their hard work. 

An example of the finished product

Finding a forever home

TRB Standard 1 - Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests.
 Educators are responsible for fostering the emotional, aesthetic, intellectual, physical, social and vocational development of students. They are responsible for the emotional and physical safety of students. Educators treat students with respect and dignity. Educators respect the diversity in their classrooms, schools and communities. Educators have a privileged position of power and trust. They respect confidentiality unless disclosure is required by law. Educators do not abuse or exploit students or minors for personal, sexual, ideological, material or other advantage.

In class it was often evident that many of my students had things other than school on their mind. This was quite evident with one of my students in particular. She was having a hard time with all the adjustments in her life and schooling was our last focus for her. She needed a place where she belonged and to feel cared for before she could even think about working on in class activities. We found out that she was moving to her forever home after spring break and that the Friday before hand would be her last day. I decided that Friday would be the perfect day for all of my students to work on their relationships and have some fun. I had noticed that many of my students, one in particular, was having a really hard time with the fact that their close friend would be moving We discussed the importance of belonging and how we should be happy for the student as she was gaining a family and finding a place where she belongs. I had spoken with this student the week prior to her leaving and had asked her what her favorite type of cupcake is. So on the Friday we played some bingo, ate red velvet cupcakes per her request and we watched one of the classes favorite movies, Despicable Me. I felt that this was a movie that the whole class could appreciate as the girls in the movie found also moved to their forever home. I made the girl a card and took the time to pull out the students so they could each write her a message. It was a positive ending to her time with us and gave all the students that closure that they needed.

Names have been blurred for confidentiality 

Together we can stop bullying

UFV Program Values - Social Justice. TEP believes that educators must be open to and respectful of diversity and difference. Educators require the ability to see beyond their own ways of defining the world and to be advocates of social justice and the inclusive classroom. A high value is placed on the ethical responsibilities of educators.

During my practicum I taught a unit on bullying and due to the diversity within my classroom this was something I was quite passionate about. My students all came from different walks of life and they all had experiences to share. That said there was a lot of bullying within my classroom and I often spent the time after recess and lunch dealing with playground situations. So when February 26 rolled around I wanted my students to understand the impact that their words have once they leave our mouths. I had spent many classes making our room a safe place for sharing and encouraging respect from students for other students. We had done an activity where the students wrote down some of the most hurtful words that had been said to them on a huge cut out of a person. Once this was done I tore down the man and crumpled him up and asked the students if we could get rid of the wrinkles. The answer was no we cannot, just like we cannot take back the effect that negative words have once they have been said. After this my students were given a pink shirt and on it they wrote a phrase about bullying that was posted in the hall for pink shirt day. This phrase was one they could use to protect themselves and others from hurtful words. While these shirts look like simple slogans there was a lot of personal meaning behind each and every one.

If at first you don't succeed try, try, try again

UFV Program Values - Reflective Practice. TEP believes that educators must engage in reflective practice, the ability to reflect in a thoughtful way on the significance of different teaching situations and on their role in defining a learning environment. Educators must demonstrate self-knowledge by openly identifying personal biases and projections. Reflective practice, guided by the principles of self-evaluation and self-directed learning, is considered the foundation of continuous professional growth.

In my classroom my teacher often took the reins when it came to fine arts so near the end of my practicum this was one of my focuses. I was a touch worried because my students were not as proud of their work as I usually hoped and art was an area where this pride was even less evident. My students often responded well to working with manipulatives and listened exceptionally well to instructions so I thought this will be interesting! Oh boy I had no idea what I was in for. I picked an art lesson focused on perspective and point of view. My students would pick a spring item and do a close up drawing of it to show me the detail. Simple... or so I thought. This was not the case. Even though I had prepared a slide show with examples, brainstormed examples and front loaded them with information and models it did not go well. By the end of the lesson at least 5 students were in tears and I was overwhelmed. I discussed the lesson with my TM and she gave me a few pointers on how I could have improved on instructions. It was then my choice if I wanted to continue with the lesson or if I wanted to redo it. I had to reflect on the situation and how this activity played a huge role on defining the students and my own learning environment. I did not want my students to feel overwhelmed like I did and so I decided to redo the lesson and change my instruction so as to change the learning climate in the room. Once going through the lesson again and explaining and showing them what to do a second time, the learning environment had drastically changed. Not only were there no tears, but students were proud of their work. I was overjoyed and so were they, if that isn't a successful lesson I don't know what is.

Seen above is the finished product!

Finding a voice

UFV Program Values - Critical Mindedness. TEP believes that educators must understand the complexity, subtlety, and difficulty of contemporary educational questions and issues. In an attempt to solve problems, educators must show a high degree of flexibility in comparing various perspectives and alternative solutions.

During my practicum I continued teaching a unit on Inuit peoples. While I was teaching I noticed that my students were quite fixated on the right or wrong answer. This troubled me as I know that in life there are rarely right and wrong, or black and white answers. This focus on right and wrong also worried me as my students were rarely sharing their opinion due to it. My focus then was on how I could change my class and make my activities flexible when comparing various perspectives and alternative solutions. I had found some activities from the Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum and used them in class. These worksheets provided my students with a challenge where they had to choose which animal was most important to the Inuit people. I had explained to them the concept of a critical challenge but they were still struggling to write down what they thought and support their beliefs. I had found that when we discussed the critical challenge my students were all engaged but when it came time to write it down there was a disconnect. So I thought to myself let's try a debate. I wasn't sure if they would respond well to the freedom of expression or if my students would be active participants but there was only one way to find out. So I set up the classroom and wrote up all the rules for a respectful debate and the question they needed to answer. The result was outstanding, my students were all engaged and they were all relying on the knowledge that they had learnt in class to support their beliefs. They were finally speaking and expressing their opinions. They were given the chance to find their own voice and they took it. They were respectful to their class mates and their opinions and I was glowing with pride. This activity then became a favorite for my class and something they requested to do often and how could I say no?

Seen above it the set up for a debate on explorers and technology

A pivotal moment in my educational career

Reflection: Week 5

This week was one of the most challenging weeks for myself as I found myself becoming overwhelmed. I came into the school thinking that it was my responsibility to get my students to their outcomes and to only collect marks for these outcomes once they had had sufficient practice. With the increased stress of the term coming to an end, I found that I did not have enough evidence to show that all of my students were ready for a formal assessment. This was something that I struggled with as my TM asked me to collect worksheets and gather marks. It took me a long while to understand that some of my students may not show me they are ready for the assessment and that instead I could just ask them to do their best and then mark what they gave me. Sometimes the things going on in their lives will take precedence over reaching an outcome, and that's ok.


I am still learning to let it go and that academically I can only do so much for those students. I cannot continue to help them step by step as I end up drained at the end of the day and realistically this is not preparing them for the educational road ahead. I can give them their marks for their own work but I cannot help them complete it. I can give them the skills but then they have to put them into action. While academically I cannot give them the answers instead I need to take a look at why they are not meeting their outcomes and address their situations. This way I may not provide them with an academic education, but if I push academics aside and address their emotional needs may provide them with an emotional education so that they may persevere in the future. The process of letting go of my high academic standards for my students is one that I think I will continue to struggle with as I try to find the line between letting go and assisting them reach their full potential.