Frame Of Reference 1

Frame of Reference My number one career goal is to have a classroom full of students who love learning. Relationships with learners, parents, colleagues, and community Learners: Getting to know my students will be one of the most important steps in becoming a successful teacher. I will highlight their strengths and give them opportunity to work on their stretches. We will be a collaborative classroom that uses our strengths to help others turn their stretches into strengths. I will support my students and try my best to teach in the context of what they are passionate about, which means integrated units and themes on Minecraft, emojis, and whatever else they are interested in. My classroom will be a place where my students feel welcome, safe, valued, and loved. I am very aware that as educators we have complete control over how we choose to speak about children. So much of what we say determines their inner monologue. We give them the words they will use to describe themselves. It is extremely important to me to speak about my students in a positive way and ensure that they have positive self talk. Parents: I will work will the parents of my students to ensure student success. This will be achieved by maintaining open communication and collaborating with the parents in a common goal of moving their child forward. Colleagues: There is so much I can learn from other teachers, collaborating them will not only ensure my own success but the success of my students. I believe in an open door policy and plan to work with the classrooms around me. We can share lessons, combine gym/outdoor time, share resources, and split up our students into groups and give them opportunities to work in different spaces with different students. Community: To achieve a teaching style that values place based learning it will be important to develop a relationship with my community. There is so much I can learn from speaking to elders and other community members that will benefit the quality of my lessons and my student’s growth. Weaving Aboriginal practices and ways of knowing into my everyday teaching is extremely important to me and will only be possible with a strong relationship to my community and the very valuable people in my community. I would like to bring in community members and subject experts as much as possible, this will have to start with relationship building.

Teaching and learning strategies My number one teaching strategy is integrated learning. I think that the new curriculum has done an amazing job at helping teachers custom create unit plans that fit their student’s needs. My year will consist of a variety of themes that take our learning and put it into context. My students will see the connections between all of the subjects and the connections in the world around them. Another goal for integrated units is to give my students a connection to the content. As well as thoughtful integration I will use the power of play to further engage them in their learning. If I have a group that is passionate about pirates, we will have a unit centered around pirates. We will use gems as counters in math, and complete word problems about the architecture of pirate ships. We will learn about scurvy and the health of a pirate. We will read stories and sing old songs about life on a ship. The opportunities are

endless and there are so many ways to connect student passions to curricular competencies. I will do my best to weave the core competencies in as much as possible as well as the successful learner traits. I also value the ability to solve problems, both in math and on the playground. I will teach my students to be independent critical thinkers who can solve almost any problem they are faced with. Our math will be heavily centered around math language and creating and solving word problems. I hope to build a classroom environment where math is not feared, but loved as it is such an integral part of creating a well-rounded student. My students will know that I am a learner too. I am not the gate-keeper of knowledge and they have something to teach me too. They will know that it’s okay to not know everything and what to do when you don’t know, how to find information. Classroom management It seems as though everyone is seeking the secret code to classroom management. Although I am unsure what the secret code is, I think that a large portion of maintaining classroom management is having a relationship that values mutual respect with my students. I will do everything I can to build an environment where they can learn, grow, and be successful, and in turn they will contribute to an environment that supports their peers. I think that it’s important to be firm, however raising my voice seems hardly necessary. I will model the volume, behaviour, and curtesy that I expect from my students. “How can I say ‘no’ less and say ‘yes’ more” is my guiding principle for behaviour management. How can I allow them to do what they want/need to do in a safe, responsible, and productive way. How can I give them space to be themselves and space to learn in their own way? Teach don’t punish. Formative and summative assessment My opinion on summative grades are ever evolving. On a traditional mindset I value grades, I think that they have their place and boost the self-esteem of students who get “good” grades. I think that a “good” grade can be a goal and something a student can work toward. However, I’ve done a lot of thinking regarding what grades really do to serve our students and have thought that perhaps what they really do is label students and put them in a box. My goal will be to move all of my students forward. In traditional grading structures we view students who receive A’s to be the best and students who receive C’s to be lazy. But if we focus on moving every student forward we will notice that the C student started off the year below grade level and has made leaps and bounds in personal growth just to end up at a C. Meanwhile the A student started off the year above grade level and did little to no personal growth to maintain an A, and because they were already an A student we didn’t do any work to move them forward. My students will be more than a letter, they will be pushed to move forward regardless of their starting point and will be praised for every step they take in personal growth. My students will receive continuous feedback and support on the criteria that we created together.

Relationship between theory and practice I have always found neuroscience on learning fascinating and will continue to research and implement new strategies that will most effectively help my students learn. I also have a love for Finland and will continue to research what is working for them and other countries and find ways to integrate their successful practices into my teaching. I recognize that the world around us is constantly changing and our classrooms and teaching strategies need to change with it. We are preparing our students for jobs that do not exist yet. Needs of diverse learners through inclusive practices The first step well be having a very good understanding of who my students are. Once I know my students I will be able to build every lesson plan with integrated differentiation to ensure success of all my students. I also think it’s important to incorporate the role of choice for my students. I will be working everyday to make my classroom more inclusive than it was the day before, constantly trying new things.