Running Head: PRACTICUM JOURNALS 1

Professional Semester I Reflective Practicum Journal Entries

Michael A. Tschritter

EDUC 310: The Teacher: Practicum I- Professional Semester I

School: St. Patrick’s Elementary School

December 11, 2014

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Professional Semester I Reflective Practicum Journal Entries

Week 1

During this week, you will reflect on the relationships between the students and your

mentor teacher. How has your mentor teacher established relationships with his/her

students and what are those relationships like?

Retell/Observations:

I have had several discussions with Mrs. Leahy about some of the ways she likes to build

relationships with her students. One of the most impactful ways she does this is through forming

“I Can Rule Statements” at the beginning of the school year, in order to get the students thinking

about what they can do, rather than what they cannot (i.e. The students are directly involved in

helping to develop the classroom rules). She also stressed to me the importance of allowing your

students to get to know a little bit about your life. An interesting way she does this is through a

“Teacher True/False” statement game at the start of each year, where the students guess which

statement is false. The relationships she has built with her students appear to be built on the

foundation of trust and respect for diversity and ranges of student needs. However, she still has

high expectations for each child to always try their best.

This experience/understanding equipped me to better …

I have been thinking a lot about the importance of trust and acceptance for diversity as

the basis for a positive classroom environment. Pangrazi & Gibbons (2009) believe one of the

foremost characteristics of the classroom environment is the trust that is built between students

and teachers (p. 59). I have found this trust to be visibly evident in my practicum classroom, as it

is clear Mrs. Leahy has taken to heart her students’ opinions in the development of the classroom

rules. By having the students develop their own rules, I think it illustrates their thoughts are

clearly valued and it also allows for all students to feel they know what is expected of them. I

think building trust with my future students will be something I have to begin working to

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establish from the moment I meet them. I will do this in several ways including developing

classroom rules with my students and undertaking community building activities where we can

all begin to form relationships with each other based on acceptance and safety.

I have also been thinking about how letting your students get to know you as a human

being can contribute to the development of strong teacher-student rapport and relationships.

Edmunds & Edmunds (2014) explain that being personable with students contributes to the

development of exemplary learning environments where students feel safe and secure (p. 76). I

think that being personable with students will undoubtedly be an important consideration

throughout my teaching career, as it is extremely difficult to form teacher-student rapport if your

students only see you as someone who stands at the front of the classroom and talks. I will strive

to be as personable as possible with my students by sharing with them my own life interests.

Throughout my remaining pre-service teacher training and future educational career, I want to

continue to explore ways I can develop strong rapport with my students because understanding

your students is really the only way you can begin to help each of them reach their full potential!

References

Edmunds, A., & Edmunds, G. (2014). Special education in Canada second edition. Don Mills,

ON: Oxford University Press Canada.

Pangrazi, R. P., & Gibbons, S. L. (2009). Dynamic physical education for elementary school

children second Canadian edition. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.

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Week 2

During this week, you will reflect on successful lesson planning. Fully describe a successful

lesson that you carried out this week. In this reflection, consider if there was a particular

aspect of the lesson that was especially successful.

Retell:

Today the students participated in a Daily Physical Activity lesson I had planned. The

lesson took place right in the classroom and began with a cross-curricular link to spelling as I

had the students participate in an activity called vowel actions for their warm-up. Vowel actions

involve students doing different short bursts of physical activity for every vowel they come

across when spelling words aloud. After the warm-up, I led the students through several short

music videos where I modelled the physical activity actions they should be attempting. Finally,

the lesson came to a close with the students cooling down their bodies through stretching their

arms and legs.

This Experience/Understanding Equipped Me to Better…

I have been thinking a lot lately about how to plan lessons in an inclusive classroom

where every student can feel successful regardless of ability and/or behavior. Edmunds &

Edmunds (2014) believe an inclusive classroom involves a learning environment where every

student is engaged in activities which allow for students to feel successful in their participation

(p. 24). I really tried to plan this lesson to allow for all students to feel successful, by giving the

students the right to choice within the lesson. I believe the vowel actions spelling warm-up

activity was particularly successful, as the students came to their own group consensus on some

physical activities they felt they could demonstrate. I think allowing the students the right to

choose within this activity was a wise planning decision for all students because the vast

majority felt confident they could accomplish the different short bursts of physical activity

picked for each vowel. I believe this experience will help me in my future professional practice

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as I will now always consider that some of the most engaged student learning is the result of the

choices students make about learning themselves.

I have also been thinking recently about the concept of scaffolding within students’

learning. Bainbridge & Heydon (2013) assert that scaffolding involves support given to students

by their teacher in order to help students understand what they are learning (p. 554). Initially

during the one of the first music videos, I noticed the children were slightly unsure about what

dance movements they should be doing. I helped the students understand the rhythm behind the

dance movements by modelling the movements at the front of the classroom as the video went

along. This seemed to help the students identify what movements to do and by the end of the

music video I noticed most of the students were able to do most of the movements

independently. Going forward, I believe it will be important for me to continually consider how I

will incorporate teaching strategies (such as the scaffolding) into my lessons so that my students

can come to a clearer understanding of the concepts I am teaching.

References

Bainbridge, J., & Heydon, R. (2013). Constructing meaning: Teaching the language arts k-8 fifth

edition. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.

Edmunds, A., & Edmunds, G. (2014). Special education in Canada second edition. Don Mills,

ON: Oxford University Press Canada.

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Week 3

During this week, you will reflect on a challenging experience in your practicum. Fully

describe a challenging experience. Why was this challenging?

Retell: I believe whole group behavioural management has been the toughest challenge for me

so far in my practicum. I think this has been my toughest challenge as there are multiple

variables that I (as the teacher) have had to recognize in order to provide a caring and safe

learning environment for my students. For example, during lessons in which student have had to

transition to several different parts of the classroom or school, I have found it challenging to

ensure misbehaviour does not occur and to keep all students focused on learning/the task at hand.

I have also found managing whole group behaviour to be slightly difficult during longer lessons

(i.e. Lessons which are scheduled for two blocks within the timetable instead of one).

This Experience/Understanding Equipped Me to Better…

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about how I can effectively manage whole

group behaviour (i.e. All students within the classroom) in order to ensure the most productive

and engaging learning environment possible for my students. Edmunds & Edmunds (2014) assert

exemplary learning environments are only present in classrooms when teachers undertake

classroom management strategies which focus on producing positive student behaviour. As a

result, a classroom environment where positive student behaviour is the “norm” will allow for

optimal student learning opportunities (p. 64). I have really tried throughout my practicum to

manage student behaviour effectively by providing students with the gentle reminders they need

to make positive choices about their actions/behavior. One way I feel I have effectively begun to

manage student behavior is through recognizing students who may not work well together and

taking action to remind them that they should make the best choice possible for their own

learning when deciding who they will work with or where they will sit. I strongly believe

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students must be given subtle reminders like thinking about what is best for their learning, in

order to be able to come to grasp how they can make sure their behavior is positive. I think

encouraging positive student behavior is still an area within my future professional practice I

would like to further develop, as I want to continue to learn behavioral management strategies

which encourage positive student behavior and inspired, productive learning.

Transitioning between activities and different classroom spaces are also something I have

been thinking about, as a teacher must constantly be aware of how students are moving around

the classroom in order to effectively manage student behavior. Adler, Rolls, & Proctor II (2012)

believe a teacher’s positionality within the classroom is an important part of managing student

behavior as it allows a teacher to have a constant view of what is happening within the classroom

(p. 157). I think this piece of advice about a teacher’s positionality has been very evident to me

throughout my practicum, as I have had to try to consciously be aware during all of my lessons

of where I have positioned myself within the classroom in relation to the students. I have learned

that regardless of what classroom space you are in, an excellent rule of thumb is to positon

yourself somewhere you can view what all of your students are doing. I believe teacher

positionality is something I will continue to work on throughout my teaching career as depending

on what classroom space I am in, I will have to be able to adapt to the environment around me

and effectively manage the behavior of my students.

References

Adler, R. B., Rolls, J. A., & Proctor II, R. F. (2012). Look: Looking out, looking in Canadian

edition. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education Ltd.

Edmunds, A., & Edmunds, G. (2014). Special education in Canada second edition. Don Mills,

ON: Oxford University Press Canada.

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Week 4

During this week, you will reflect on when you most felt like a teacher. Fully describe a

moment when you felt most like a teacher.

Retell: This week I had the opportunity to teach my Grade Two students a very student-centered

social studies lesson. The lesson began with the class brainstorming some ideas about what we

have learned over the past few weeks for early days Iqaluit, Meteghan, and Saskatoon. The

students then used their understanding of the content to draw/develop a personal crest to

illustrate what life would have been like for a child living in one of the communities during early

Canadian times. This lesson was the moment this week where I felt most like a teacher because I

believe it allowed me to engage students with the content they were learning in a very creative

and enriching way. I also felt the lesson was a huge personal success for my teaching practice as

it allowed me to develop a strong outcome-based lesson without jeopardizing student

engagement and/or learning enjoyment.

This Experience/Understanding Equipped Me to Better…

I have been thinking a great deal lately about the importance of teaching lessons to

students which allow them to access their prior knowledge and express their personal creativity.

Bainbridge and Heydon (2013) assert students funds of knowledge are the various cultural,

intellectual, and physical resources students bring with them to school (p. 550). I believe an

important part of my professional teaching practice involves recognizing that all students learn at

different paces and as such, I must keep in mind the importance of planning/delivering lessons

which allow all students to access their own personal understanding of the content. I really felt

like a teacher during the class brainstorming activity because it allowed me to hear the students

own personal opinions about what they have learned and it also served as an excellent check for

student understanding that I used to make sure the lessons I had taught over the previous few

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weeks were effective. I found the individual personal crest drawing activity to be exceptionally

enriching for both the students and me because it was a student-centered activity where each

child was engaged in the task at hand and it allowed me to see the children express their

understanding of what they had learned through the choice of what symbols they would draw

about one of the communities. Going forward I believe this experience has had a significant

impact on my professional practice as some of the most impactful student learning experiences

will come from student-centered lessons where each child expresses their learning in their own

individual way.

I have also been thinking about the importance of developing strong outcome-based

lessons without making them overly teacher-centered and minimizing student

engagement/learning enjoyment. Pangrazi and Gibbons (2009) believe one of the keys to an

engaging lesson is making sure it has clear connections to learning outcomes while still allowing

for individual student expression/creativity (p. 60). I think this statement is important for any

pre-service teacher to remember as content rich lessons do not have to be boring or tedious. I

tried to plan the personal crest learning experience to allow for each student’s individual

expression of their knowledge through giving the students the choice about how they wanted to

draw their symbols and what community they wanted to represent within their crest. I believe

this student-centered activity helped me to feel like a teacher as it showed me how all students

can learn when allowed to express their individual creativity. I think planning student-centered

learning activities with clear curricular connections will continue to be something I will work on

throughout my teaching career, as students learn best when they are provided with the

opportunity for individual expression.

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References

Bainbridge, J., & Heydon, R. (2013). Constructing meaning: Teaching the language arts k-8 fifth

edition. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.

Pangrazi, R. P., & Gibbons, S. L. (2009). Dynamic physical education for elementary school

children second Canadian edition. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.