Choosing to get involved with the school community through joining the professional development committee, helping out with sporting events, and helping organize the Remembrance Day Ceremony was as rewarding for me as it was helpful to the school. I thoroughly enjoy the feeling of being part of a team and working to make the school run smoothly and effectively. I also gained valuable insight regarding some of the behind-the-scenes operations required to make this happen.
Scientific research and discovery is happening at an exponential rate - too fast for one person to stay entirely up-to-date. It is important, then, that science teachers know where to find information and resources that are relevant to student learning. During PSIII, I found it very useful to use social media as a means of getting updates from the field of science. Whenever news items were released that related to curriculum, I made an effort to share the news with students and follow it up with a class discussion. In my experience, bringing these resources into the classroom not only enhanced student engagement, but also provided an avenue by which students could independently pursue their own interests. Below are some of the resources I frequently used for science news
YouTubeChannel DNews https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWQYUVCpZqtN93H8RR44Qw YouTube Channel VSauce https://www.youtube.com/user/Vsauce Facebook Page IFLScience https://www.facebook.com/IFLScience.org/?fref=ts Overall, PSIII has been the most challenging yet rewarding experience of my life. I quickly recognized the immense diversity among the students in my classes and wasted no time trying to determine the best way to reach them all. Some required extra one-on-one attention to clarify concepts or instructions for activities. Some worked better in pairs or groups, and some worked best on their own in a quiet space in the vacant room next door (I was fortunate enough to have this extra space close by so I could still keep an eye on them while monitoring the rest of the class.) For one grade 9 student in particular, I had an educational assistant for the first half of practicum, but when their relationship became untenable there was no replacement available for the assistant. At that point I made changes to my day-to-day teaching strategies to accommodate this student’s needs. I knew that he enjoyed the computer game Minecraft and in collaboration with the CTS teacher often offered it as a reward for his work in my class. Although I found it very challenging to manage the time I spent with this one student versus the time I needed to spend with the rest of the class and with other students who needed one-on-one time, I found even the smallest successes of those students very rewarding. Needless to say, I also gained valuable experience in differentiating my strategies to meet the needs of each student. It has become and will continue to be a personal goal of mine to become as effective and efficient as I can at differentiating for the diverse needs of learners. -Miss K |
Koreen Klassen
I am a passionate science teacher interested in assessment and student ownership of learning. Archives
February 2018
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