My Transformative Moment

There were a lot of nerves on my first day of practicum, which of course was completely normal, but my nerves were even higher because my teacher mentor wanted me to begin my earth science unit that day.  I owe a lot of gratitude to my teacher mentor because he truly believed in me and knew that I would be successful.  Once full immersion hit, he was only in the classroom when he had to observe me.  I remember him telling me that I am now the classroom teacher, that these are my students, and that I am the one in charge; he told me to trust myself and that I could do it.  Having my teacher mentor passing on his classroom to me was when I truly knew that I was am no longer a student, I am a teacher.  This feeling passed on when I was in Antigua where I was in the role of a teacher mentor.  The two undergrads that I was teaching would always come to me and ask me what they should do.  When these two were asking me for their help and needed me, I felt even more as a teacher.  Below is a statement that one of my undergrads wrote on her blog post after us student teachers left the island while she was in Antigua on the Champions for Health Promoting Schools Program...


"All the undergrads scanned the room waiting for the TEPs to join us but when they didn't, we were all stuck with disbelief in knowing that they were gone.  This experience would not be the same without the help and mentoring of the TEP Stampers.  I can proudly say that Kasey Smith, my TEP teacher mentor, did everything she could to prepare Rochelle and I for when she left.  It was a very strange feeling this morning arriving at Five Islands Primary without Kasey.  However, as the day went on Rochelle and I had everything under control due to the amazing guidance from our teacher mentor."

Smart Boards with Smith

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. 

The classrooms that I taught in during my practicum all had a Smart Board installed.  I had never used a Smart Board before and I was anxious about it because I saw my teacher mentor use it in each of his lessons, so I knew that the students were used to that and I should be implementing it in my lessons as well.  My teacher mentor gave me a quick run-through about the Smart Board and how I can make my lessons more interactive for my students, but I really learned the most by sitting on my laptop for a couple of hours and exploring the program.  I enjoyed using the Smart Board and it allowed me to set up my lessons beforehand and watch my students go up to the board and do interactive activities within math, science, and HCE.  Nearing my phase-out, I was talking to my other colleagues from TEP and asked if they were using a Smart Board in their classrooms.  Many of them did not have them in their schools, so I had three of them come into my classroom after school and I put on a Smart Board workshop.  I walked them through how the Smart Board works, what program they need, and how they can adapt lessons and make them their own.  I showed them how interactive my lessons have been by showing an example of the rock cycle jeopardy I created for my students that they played before they wrote their chapter test.  One of my colleagues filmed the workshop so that they could remember how I explained the use of the Smart Board.  We as teachers will be attending professional development days for the rest of our careers, so I put on my own for my fellow TEP colleagues.

From Student Fearing Math to Teacher Loving Math

Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.

Educators are knowledgeable about how children develop as learners and as social beings, and demonstrate an understanding of individual learning differences and special needs. This knowledge is used to assist educators in making decisions about curriculum, instruction, assessment and classroom management.

 I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Fraser Valley focusing on history and visual arts.  I entered the Teacher Education Program hoping to be teaching in a middle school, but I initially did not want to take the risk of being placed in a math/science class because I struggled terribly as a student in math.  I completed grade 11 math in high school, hoping that I would be done with it forever.  I was told by a faculty member of TEP to not worry about what I will be placed in and to teach the grade that I want to teach.  I requested grade 7 and I ended up being placed in a grade 7 math/science classroom.  I was extremely nervous for this but I decided to take on the challenge because I knew it would make me a better classroom teacher.  My practicum required even more work because each night I was teaching myself new math concepts that I never understood when I was in grade 7.  I did not want my students to experience what I did in high school; I wanted to be a confident math teacher, be able to answer all their questions, and be available to assist them when they needed extra help.  The feedback my teacher mentor and faculty mentor was great and they told me that because I did have difficulties with math, I was an effective teacher because I explained everything step by step.  I had numerous students who were very low in math and would express their frustrations to me.  I was able to connect with these students because I completely understood how they felt and we worked together to make their learning successful.  By the end of my practicum, my students were thrilled with their math marks and I could not believe how much I enjoyed teaching this subject.  I understand that students learn in different ways, so I implemented ways in my lesson plans where I could meet my auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic learners.

Testing the Teacher?...Not Anymore!

Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests. 
 
Educators are responsible for fostering the emotional, esthetic, 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 the beginning of my practicum, my grade 7 students were testing me and they were trying to see how far they could push in order to get their way in the classroom.  In respecting my teacher mentor, I was not going to implement my classroom rules and expectations until I was taking over at least 80%.  On the first Monday of full immersion, I cancelled my math blocks and I sat down with my students and we had our classroom rules discussion.  I wrote a lesson plan on what I wanted to cover in this class and I told my students what my expectations and rules would be because I wanted my classroom to be safe for each one of my students to be in and for them to be comfortable.  After I explained to my students and they showed me that they understood, I asked them what they are expecting from me and how I can help improve their learning environment.  I wrote down everything that my students said and I implemented everything as soon as possible.  The rest of my practicum had very little classroom management issues because I showed my students that I respect each and every one of them and they respected me in return.  They understood that I care for them and that I want them to enjoy coming to my classes because they feel safe.  

Social Justice: Diversity in Science

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.

Anti-Bullying hashtags with my grade 7 class.

At the beginning of my practicum, I did not know how I was going to meet the Social Justice value because I was placed in a grade 7 math and science classroom.  We took a Social Justice class in the Teacher Education Program and I was not only excited, but also prepared to cover this in subjects such as language arts and social studies, but that was before we received our practicum placements.  I met with my teacher mentor before the start of my long practicum and we went over what units I would be teaching.  For science, he asked me to teach an Earth Science unit, and this included teaching the theory of Pangaea to my students.  I was thrilled to teach this because it was one of my favourite topics to learn back when I was a student.  The first day of introducing Pangaea finally came and after I explained to my students what it was about, a boy in the class put up his hand and said, “Miss. Smith that is not how God made the Earth.  This theory is wrong.”  I stood there in front of my students in shock; I realized that I never thought about this controversy before I had introduced my lesson.  As we all quickly learned in our practicums, it is important to think on the spot.  Even though I was teaching about our continents and not about how planet Earth was created, I took on this teachable moment.  I told the class that everyone in the world has a different belief on how our planet was created.  I asked this student if he would be comfortable in explaining his theory and he gladly did.  I then went on to ask other students in the class if they have different beliefs and we ended up having a class discussion on different beliefs that people have about the planet we live on.  I ended the conversation explaining to my class that what I am teaching is one theory and that is the theory of Alfred Wegener; but as we have seen, each person has a different theory.  I received more respect from my students after this teachable moment because I respected them and their beliefs.  I did not realize that I could cover social justice in the topics that I was teaching but I quickly understood that social justice can be covered in all subjects and that it is important for teachers to respect the diversity and differences in their classrooms.

Reflective Practice: A STAMP in Antigua

TEP believes that educators must engage in reflective practice.  Reflective practice is 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.

Becoming a good reflector is one step closer to becoming an effective teacher.  Teachers cannot improve the way they teach and connect to their students without reflecting on what was previously done.  During my practicum, I kept a journal that I wrote in at the end of each day and wrote about how I was feeling, how my lessons went, and what I would like to improve on.  I had the chance to go on a once in a lifetime opportunity to Antigua, West Indies to teach health and physical education at a public school there for two weeks.  While I was there, I wrote a reflection on my experience so far.  Attached below is my reflection, along with the link to the blog that it was posted on.  I appreciate reflective practice because it allows one to showcase how one is feeling in the moment, and these moments can easily be forgotten.

Teaching health to a grade 2 class at Five Islands Primary School

“A Change in View by Kasey Smith

Dear Family, Friends, and Followers of the Champions for Health Promoting Schools Program,

We have now completed our first full week of teaching at our schools in Antigua.  Words cannot even begin to explain how this week has been so far, nor can they describe how much our students have impacted us and changed our lives.  Each day has been different for all of us and we are always excited to share stories at our Red Couch meetings.  Student teachers and undergrads have bonded extremely well and there is continual excitement wherever we go together.  As a student teacher, my experiences so far in Antigua have changed how I view education and it has been interesting to see how different it is when comparing it to Canada.  My TEP colleagues and I here in Antigua (also known as STAMPers) have only completed our teaching practicums less than two weeks ago; after our first day of being in our Antiguan schools, we have already seen huge differences on how teachers control their classrooms, their classroom management strategies, and their planning.

Marissa Lucas, Rochelle Smith and I are teaching physical education and health at Five Islands Primary School.  We were instantly welcomed on our first day since Five Islands is a large school and have been a part of the Champions Program for numerous years.  For those of you at home and who know me very well, I will share with all of you that I did, in fact, shed a tear (I know, it is a shock!)  I could not believe how excited the students were for our arrival.  It is amazing to see how much these kids love being at school and how much they appreciate teachers.  After talking to the other student teachers here, we could not believe how quickly we have made connections with our students after one week of teaching as compared to our practicum classrooms back home.

My most memorable connection so far was with a grade 6 student on my first day being at Five Islands.  A group of grade 6 girls came up to me and asked what my name was.  After I told them that my last name is Smith, their mouths dropped and they ran off to get their friend; her last name is also Smith.  Back home, this would not be a rare occurrence, but I quickly realized that Smith must not be a common surname in Antigua.  She told me that she will never forget me, and we have continued to grow our bond ever since.

Another great moment was when the grade 6 boys taught me how to play cricket for the first time.  I did not know the rules of the game but these students were excellent teachers.  Once they taught me the rules, they allowed me to be the batter.  Since I am a female, they said that I will not be able to hit it far so they stood quite close.  After he threw a nice, soft bowl (which is what they call a pitch in cricket), I hit the ball over their heads and to the fence.  The looks on their faces were priceless and then I told them that I played softball back home.  Ever then, they have had me play cricket with them each morning and lunch time.

My teaching partners and I have learned so much from each other. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them become so comfortable teaching our students.  Each day has been interesting and we created many memories.  We have worked very well together to modify activities on the spot and I am confident that they will be amazing once we TEP students depart the island on the 11^th.

After the Champions returned back to the Anchorage Inn after school today, we all wore our green shirts and left to attend the Fitness Street Jam in the heart of St. John’s.  We joined in on the streets and ran behind a truck that was playing soca music.  Our group worked up a good sweat by doing aerobics and dancing with a large group of people.  After heading back to our current home, we sat at the Red Couch and prepared for Unity Games that will be held tomorrow at Jennings Primary School and Greenbay Primary School; we also celebrated Hillary’s birthday!!

I wanted to end this post by thanking each and every one of you for supporting all of us through this amazing journey and helping us get here.  We could not have done any of this without you and we could not thank you enough.  All the Champions are doing an amazing job so far and we will continue to do so.  We are making an enormous impact on our students in Antigua and you have allowed us to travel here and make a difference.

Sincerely,

Kasey Smith, Teacher at Five Islands Primary School”

http://healthypromotingschools.com/2014/05/02/a-change-in-view-by-kasey-smith/

Pedagogical Sensitivity: All Students Can Succeed

TEP supports a pupil centered view of teaching.  Educators must develop an understanding of the primacy of the pupil-teacher relationship and its ethical underpinning while honouring and respecting the needs of each pupil.  Educators must have the knowledge, skill, and confidence to adapt and develop curriculum to meet the specific needs or each pupil.

Remembrance Day all my students completed.

During my time at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Teacher Education Program, I learned how important it was to teach based on the students in my classroom.  I took the skills I learned in TEP and implemented them into my classroom during my practicum.  As much time as I put into creating unit and lesson plans, I put even more time into creating strong relationships with my students.  Each student in my classrooms was very different, but they all needed to meet the prescribed learning outcomes and it was my job to get them there.  Overall, in both my classes, I had a total of five students who had learning disabilities.  It was important for me to know how to get these students to where they needed to be and what challenges they faced in getting there.  I made great connections with these students and would ask them what I could do to help them succeed in their grade 7 year.  One of my students was very low in the classroom and almost his entire curriculum was adapted.  At the middle school I was teaching at, he would get pulled out of the classroom for language arts, math, and French, but he was in my classroom for science and health and career education.  He had no confidence when it came to writing and spelling, so for him to feel confident in finishing a test was close to impossible.  I sat down with him and asked him how I can help him succeed in the classes I was teaching.  He told me that he did not want me to shorten the questions on my science tests because he enjoys science and understands it, so we decided that when it came to any writing, he would sit at my desk with me and tell me the answers orally and I would write down exactly what he was saying.  This student exceeded my expectations during my practicum and I could not have been more proud of his accomplishments.  Overall, all five of my learning disabled students did very well and I implemented a lot of hands on learning during my practicum because I knew that these students would excel in this type of environment.  Seeing these students smile and be excited for my classes made all the time and effort I put into improving their school experience worth every minute.