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
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