Here we are! The First practicum all wrapped up and completed. To be honest it almost doesn’t really feel real that is over because our first practicum seemed to be one thing that all of us in this cohort kept thinking about since we started this program last fall. I happened to be in a grade two classroom which was good for me to test out that grade as previously I had felt that I would prefer to be with the younger primary grades. I definitely loved being in this grade but after observing a lesson in a grade seven class I definitely realized that the age of the children can really affect your approach and relationship with those kids. So as far as finding “my grade” as everyone says, I don’t know if I have solidified that yet but so far I have loved every class I have been in which can make it confusing! So, for the “big three”; What went well during this practicum? I believe that during this practicum my classroom management and ability to connect and create relationships with my studnets was definetly something that went well. This is also in part due to my studnets though because they were all very respectful of me and their peers so it was very easy to work with them. I will be stealing alot of my Coaching Teachers classroom managemnet techniques such as using chimes, “magic words” , “Mystery people” and so on. I tended to really just use some of the techniques she had already established so that I was not disrupting any of the routines the students were used to. I did add some of my own things into my second week though. For example, whenever I did a science lesson with the studnets I would get them to take out their imaginary science kits, dig for the safety glasses and strap them on. I did this mainly for a little movement break and a way to trnasition from the provouis activity into science but it was a bonus that the studnets really got into and liked doing it every science lesson. My classroom also had an EA that was will us everyday so for those students that needed extra help or had specfifc learning challenges I was able to get her to work with those studnets to help meet the needs of the diverse needs in the class during a lesson or more challenging activity. One thing that I liked doing as well was that whenver we did circle talks or science experiments sitting in a circle, instead of sitting in a chair above the children I chose to sit on the ground with them and be on their level. I know that as teachers we expect a certain level of respect and we are there to help them on their learning journies and not be their friend necessarily but I enjoyed being on their level as it felt right to me.

What was I working on during my first practicum?

For this practicum I was really working on my lesson planning and making sure I was planning interactive and exciting activities for the students. In my first week I was doing some more “traditional” activities and borrowing some ideas from my coaching teacher. So, in my second and third weeks I really tried to start thinking originally. I did a few lessons that I am really proud of. For example I did a lesson that was focusing on adjectives, so I based around my students using their senses to come up with descriptors for something. The activity for this lesson was to describe popcorn, so I had made everyone popcorn and we went through our senses and described our popcorn. This was a super fun hands on activity- and not to mention very tasty! Overall for this practicum I was really just trying to get a handle on what this whole teaching thing is about- how does a normal day work, what are the expectations, what do the students expect from you and so on. I think that from this experience I have gotten a good idea of the routines and things that go into making a classroom successful but what I also understand is that your classroom is very much shaped by what students you have and who they are.

So, what’s next? Coming from this experience I would definitely like to continue working on the management of myself and working on my professional side as a teacher. Why I point this out is because for myself I find that I approach the students in a very familiar way almost because I am used to treating them this way in my previous and current work experience with children in childcare. So I would like to work on creating those professional boundaries while still remaining caring and open for my students. Another thing I would like to focus on is more large-scale assessments. Why this is a goal of mine is because I found that I was focusing on a lot of unrelated topics in this practicum just simply because three weeks is not a lot of time. So moving forward I hope to be able to set up my lessons and units based on what skills I want my students to come out the other end with on a more big picture level. Overall I am excited about what is to come, the rest of this program is just ramping up as we have a really quick turnaround for our second practicum and very full summer schedulle right into our long practicum. There is lots of work to be done but I also know a lot of learning and growth and I am excited about the outcome.