Blog Post: Reflections on Your Practicum and Thoughts on Next Steps
- Name: __________________Ivy Li ______________________________
- Teaching specialty/specialties: _______Math _______________________________
- Highlights of your teaching practicum experience:
- Experiences that you remember with a smile (learning, growth, “I love this job!” sorts of things:
At the end of my practicum,
one of the students from my grade class gave me a bar of chocolate and told me “Ms.
Li, thank you for being such a nice teacher”. That was the moment I truly believe
education is a rewarding profession (not for the chocolate though). Students appreciate the hard work you have done
for them.
- Challenges: Things that were a struggle, perhaps in
the “We learn and grow through
challenges and hardships” category of “learning experience”
One of my challenges came from
comparing which teaching pedagogy was better, the thinking classroom, or the
traditional instructional teaching style.
Although I still don’t have an answer, I am sure that to be an effective
teacher, I should always create an environment that allows students to think critically.
- Ongoing learning: Things that, at the end of your
practicum, had you thinking, “I
want to learn more about, or work on developing my skills in .…” (?)
- Reflecting on the way the video, “Message from
the future II”, plays with the notion of messages across time: What is the most important thing that would write in a
letter to your future teacher self (e.g. five years from now)?
The message delivered from
the video was seemingly unrealistic. However,
as teachers, it is important to have an optimist mindset. If I were to advise the future me, I would
say maintain your professionalism and your principles.
- Post-BEd plans: e.g., if you have already secured a teaching job,
what/where? Or, some other sort of job? Or, further studies? Or, if you
don’t have solid plans, what are your hoped-for post-BEd options?): Note: The purpose of this question is
to provide us (Amanda and Mati) some context to get a sense of your
interests and potential needs as you move into your career
I prefer to work part-time
and spend some time with my daughter. Meanwhile, if situation permitted, I would
start master’s in education in two years.
- Anything else? If there is anything else you would like to share,
please do! Amanda and Mati would love to learn more about you –
Student expressions of gratitude make it all worth while! You bring up an interesting point about assessment difference in secondary and post-secondary! As well, I appreciate that you are thinking critically about different pedagogical approaches. I hope you keep inquiring in whatever form it takes!
ReplyDeleteI'll add, the chocolate is an awesome part of the job :) Really lovely connection, and expression of appreciation. Your grappling with "teaching style" is very interesting (and, something many teachers continue to grapple with throughout their career). A thing to consider adding to the "which teaching pedagogy was better" grapple might be, "depending on the situation/context" (that's the "art" part of the "art and science" of teaching -- trying to sort out which strategy is best in the current situation, rather than "best" overall). Very thoughtful reflection!
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