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Culture bumps
Culture Bump WebsiteWe learned about culture bumps in class. Culture bumps occur when two or more people enter into a situation with differing expectations about behaviour. Overall, it is important to recognize the presence of culture bumps in order to foster cross-culture communication. An example of a culture bump that came up in class: It is traditional for First Nations to look down around those that they respect. This would be seen as a sign of rudeness and timidness where I come from. -
Dr. Shauneen Pete
First Nation StereotypesDr. Shauneen Pete came to talk to our class about her experiences as an aboriginal in the public education system in Regina. By sharing her experiences both as a student and now as an educator, she was able to help us better understand how we should encorperate treaty education in our lessons.
What I found most helpful was that she suggested it is OK to not always include treaty knowledge in our lessons. She suggested that we are better off not forcing treaty education where it does not fit. -
Discourse Analysis
In class, we identified alternative discourses which guide the way that we see the world. Each individual can have thier own understanding of the world based on their values and past experiences. It is these underlying values that affect how we see and treat others. Through analyzing different discouses, we can see how others may be supressed based on their class, gender, age, sex, race, how able they are and many other things. This is important to identify as it can alter our classroom practice -
Lesson planning
We looked at 10 questions to consider before and during lesson planning that put students at the centre of our lessons. I found this helpful when I was creating a lesson plan template that I can begin with for every lesson I do. The questions help me to make what i do in the classroom relevant to my students. They also help me to consider the individual needs of my students. I took the list of questions and made them my own. This is shown through the lesson planning template I created. -
Learning Theories
Learning Theory Cheat SheetToday we focused on 3 specific learning theories in class: Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Behaviourism. After focusing on this and creating my learning theories cheat sheet, I found that I agree with two theories most. Constructivisim and humanism. Both of these learning theories suggest that the learner must be doing hands-on work in order to make what they are learning meaningful to them. -
Michael Gatin
Michael Gatin was skyped in to talk to our class about his experiences as a teacher. The most important message I took from him is the importance of building relationships with your students. If you are able to connect with your students then they are more likely to open up to you and take risks in your classroom. I found that my best experiences in high school were with teachers that took the time to get to know us. This showed they cared about us and were comfortable with us. -
Teaching Philosophy
My Teaching PhilosophyBy using Michael's philosophy as a starting point, we examined our own views. I found that this was easy as I have already been reflecting on exactly what I want my science classroom to look like. By reflecting on this in class with my classmates and by hearing others' views and values, I was better able to understand my own. -
Who are our students?
We considered who we might be teaching, both as a class and in our triads. By thinking about this, we were able to think about how who we teach is at the centre of what and how we teach. Also, by looking at stats, we were able to consider what values our students may have. -
Microteaching Experience
Today I taught a 10 minute lesson in front of my classmates! I received a lot of positive feedback. This lesson was on environmental action and was taught using the cause and effect model. I found that this was a very helpful process as it allowed me to receive constructive critisism from my classmates and allowed me to analyze my lesson through video. I found the reflective process very helpful. -
Learning from teachers and post-interns
Today we skyped two teachers and had some come to visit us. Both teachers and post-interns shared their experiences and gave us advice. Some of the best advice included: get involved in the school outside of the classroom, plan plan plan!, take on more than you think you can and take risks, its now or never! -
Preparing for pre-internship
Today we got our pre-internship package. In it was a lot of useful information for both my co-operating teacher any myself. I like that it oulined exactly what is expected of me. I found the amount of information we were presented with to be slightly overwhelming! It's hitting me... I am in the classroom in 10 days! Feelings... excited, nervous, anxious, curious, fearful, enthused.... lots!
