Overall

Overall Experience

My Practicum and Math (Alex Willison) My AT did not introduce any Grade 8 curriculum during the first week of class. She did however, have the students complete a CBM (Continuum-Based Math) booklet on Counting. The CBMs are a diagnostic tool that show what skills each student possesses, and where remediation is required, if necessary. Here is what the tracking sheet looks like: It was interesting to note that most of the students are located in Phase 5, where Grade 8s are expected to be. That being said, about a third of them are located in Phase 3 or 4, which is alarming when you can see that these encompass skills learned in Grades 3-6. For obvious privacy reasons I could not post the actual tracking sheet. My AT has given me copies of the textbook and teacher's guide for Math Makes Sense 8, so that I can start looking at curriculum and planning lessons for when I get back. If everything goes according to schedule (which we all know rarely ever happens, but I digress), then I will begin by teaching the Location and Movement unit: the coordinate grid, including transformation, reflection, rotation, and translation.

One "A-HA" moment I had during my practicum was being informed by my AT that tests only had to include questions that met the Overall Expectations as outlined in the curriculum. NONE OF THE SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS NEED TO BE TESTED. I am sure that Robin can provide a little more information about this.

Well, specific expectations are basically details of the overall expectations, not a different set of skills, right? If the overall says: By the end of Grade 7, students will: • report on research into real-life applications of area measurements you are going to have to be specific when you test that and go into some shapes that have measurable and calculable areas, etc.. Just my interpretation (Doina)

Observation Week (Kathryn) My first week was great. Although my AT played it by the books, so I was only able to observe I fee like I learned a lot. The most important thing I took from the experience is the way my teacher set up his relationship with the students . Being a K-8 school, all the students know each other and the AT already. He made it very clear that everything he would do for them this year was in their best interests and to make them prepared to enter into high school next year. He also made sure they knew that certain things he did was out of respect of them and their dignity. For example, he told the entire class that if he calls students in the hallway to talk it is just to respect their privacy because what he says to them is no one elses business but their own. He is also very experienced and so is constantly relating things to the students lives which I found they really appreciated. I can't wait to go back and start teaching.  First of all, I hope you all had an amazing first week of placement. I know I sure did!!!! My AT was great, however she got a job offer on Thursday and accepted it (everyone cried). So today, Friday September 10th, I experienced a whole different teaching style. My grade 8 class is a hand full, but they are finally starting to respect me. In the middle of the week, I did a personal introduction of myself, speaking about my past experiences in elementary and high school, why school and teaching is important to me, and finally what I want to gain out of being in their class. I think they really appreciated this. But WOW, everything is so much more different than my last three placements. Being there for the first week of school was really a great privilege. All the rules, standards, tone of the classroom, etc. was set. I taught my first lesson for math today. Who would have thought area would be so difficult to teach. I'd love to share more about that experience in class. Can't wait to go back in October, but having a new AT will sure be an adjustment for me.
 * My First Week (Rubina)**

My host school had an assembly today for all of the students and staff. This was nice to experience. Once everyone was gathered the Vice Principal introduced every staff member to the students including the TC’s that were there as well. It was nice to see the students unite together with pride for their school. Some staff did energizers that got everyone participating – luckily this was right before lunch as the students were sure energized when it was all over! I had forgotten how fun and exciting it is to be in such a positive atmosphere like that. I can't wait to return in October to see how/if the school spirit has changed. On the classroom side. Today was a busy day in math! Students were working on factoring; prime factorization, greatest common factor and lowest common multiples. It was great to see how the curriculum is taught as this is the only subject so far that we have actually done any curriculum work. The students were finding it challenging however it gave for a great opportunity to help!
 * My Experience So Far (Michelle K)**

I am LOVING my placement so far! I have already learned so much and can really relate to my AT. She teaches in a very similar way to the way that I want to teach and I really appreciate everything she does and everything she throws at me! I am so sad that I have to leave after tomorrow and not be back for a month! My AT has used a lot of tribes strategies this week! I really like seeing it applied in the classroom! I also have been invited to the class science trip, which I can hopefully go to, and am planning on attending parent/teacher night! I am pretty sure I am going to be coaching their intermediate girls volleyball team when I am back in October as well! Hope everyone else is having positive experiences! Can't wait to hear more next week!
 * My Experience so far (Jessica)**

So far my placement is also going well. My AT is taking grade 8 Math and English for three sections. She lost her room this year and has a small space to keep all her belongings and her desk. We go in different rooms including the portables through out the day, though she is a senior teacher in the school it is also a new experience for her. My observation is that the first week of school is really hectic, there are so many things that are happening e.g. distribution of books, agendas, permission forms on top of the delivery of the curriculum. I am looking forward to come back in October and teach myself. All in all a really great learning experience!
 * My Field Placement Experience (Samina)**

The past three days have been awesome and I am really enjoying my placement. My AT is great! She is really organized and on top of everything. She has been in her classroom for nine years now so has everything that she will ever need - its quite amazing. It has been a great experience to see how the first week of school goes through the eyes of a teacher - so many little things I wouldn't have thought about such as collecting money for locks, rearranging of classes due to high enrollment, creating and distributing IEPs. I am looking forward to our return in October! There is so much that I want to observe and learn I can't wait to go back!
 * My Experience So Far (Michelle K)**

I have to agree with Girthiga. I am really sad that we have to leave so soon! Having our placement at the beginning of the year was a great way to start our placements here in the BEd program, and a great way to get to know the students in the class. My AT is amazing. Sometimes I swear she's telepathic. I'll be sitting in the back of language class, and everything looks like it's going perfectly fine until she interrupts her instructions to tell the kids to write on the same page in their notebooks as yesterday, and not on a different page. I was thinking to myself, well that's common sense, I'm sure 90% of these kids were already doing that, but then I watched as every student turned their page over. I never thought you would have to teach students how to organize their notes! Anyways I can't wait until Saturday when I get to sleep in (early start school!!) and THEN I can't wait until October to come back :)
 * My Experience So Far (Heather)**

My Associate Teacher is my new hero. I haven't realized (or I have forgotten) how much administrative work is at the beginning of the school year. And how many situational challenges can be present at the same time. The lost student, the ESL that almost doesn't understand English, the lockers, the locks, the rules, the ADDs, the problems at home, I forgot my agenda, I lost my agenda, I forgot my pencil case in the locker, I don't have my gym equipment, and so on, never ending.. So I have this awesome teacher who's on top of everything, has this soothing but firm manner that calms both students on the verge of panicking as well as those bent of mischief. Today we start the curriculum activities - I can't wait. So far my placement has been very interesting. I have seen yet another take on classroom management which more or less makes the students govern themselves and each other. Being in a 7/8 split, I have seen some different strategies on dealing with the curriculum for both grades in the same classroom. Some seem to be more effective than others. It is interesting to see the student's change in behaviour between subjects. In one class in particular the difference is like night and day. I am going to see if I can find out some strategies to deal with kids that are out of control before the class even starts.
 * So far - awesome! (Doina)**
 * So Far, So Good: (Vicki)**

I love my placement so far!! Yesterday was great and today was even better!! I can't wait to come back in October and I am sooooo glad we got to do this week and get to know the students/AT before being thrown in in October! I am still a little nervous for the 3 weeks in October, but so excited!!
 * Overall Experience (so far): (Jessica)**

**Overall Experience (so far): (Christe M.)** My placement, thus far, has been valuable in terms of my progression as a teacher in acquiring and applying the necessary skills to educate the students. One of my most memorable moments was being able to work with a student who has learning disabilities. At the beginning, the student was very shy and slow to react to questions. After having some one-on-one time, however, he is more comfortable with me and answering questions aloud.  My placement, so far, was very valuable in terms of seeing the associate teacher set up class rules and expectations. My associate teacher is not in a rush to start the curriculum ; instead, she is reinforcing the class routines and expectations. She also evaluated what kind of learners the students are, what they are interested in and what their goals are. As a minds-on activity for math, she asked students to write a math journal: retell, relate, reflection. One thing is that there are two Smartboards in the school but they don't get used a lot. I am thinking if I can work on that. **Overall Experience (so far): [Lisa]** My placement so far has been amazing. I had no idea how much organization and work went into getting a classroom organized in the first week. There always seems to be a new letter or form going home to parents. Money and forms seem to arrive everyday (And sometimes in the middle of the day), which all need to be organized and sent off somewhere. It was also interesting to see my AT create the class rules. He got the students involved in suggesting rules, and ultimately modified them to make the final version. The students all seemed so excited to be a part of the decision making process. However, I think my favorite part of the placement was working with some of the students during math class. A few of the students are doing a modified math curriculum, and during classes, I spent a lot of time helping them. It was great to get a chance to help out. I'm really looking forward to a return in October to see the differences in the classroom, such as seating, student behavior, and rules. I really enjoyed my first week of placement. There was not a whole lot of curriculum delivered, but rather the focus seemed to be on evaluating the level each student was at, particularly in math. One of my AT’s main focuses in math seems to be making sure all the students know their multiplication tables, as she is very bothered by the fact that not all students do. Another one of the things my AT really likes to focus on is what she calls D.E.A.R., or Drop Everything And Read. It is 20min a day, where everyone in the class, including us, just reads silently for 20min. This could happen before science class, or math, or any subject really, but it happens every day. One thing about my placement that I think will be very rewarding is the opportunity to work with one student in the class who has both ADHD and turrets. He is a good kid, but he has a lot of issues in the classroom, and only gets an EA 25% of the time. That was one thing I noticed about the school I am at, is that there seems to be a shortage of EAs. The boy in my class would benefit immensely from having an EA more, but he has to share his EA with another boy in the school. I don’t know much about the other child, but from what I have heard, is that all of the staff agrees that he should have an EA 100% of the time. Unfortunately, they are short on EAs and neither of these students gets an EA as much as they should. I guess part of being a teacher will be making the most of a difficult situation, where resources may be short. I enjoyed my first week of placement. There was very little curriculum covered within the first week of school, after talking to my AT, she said that she may get into the curriculm as the second week progresses. She focuses on getting to know the kids and having the kids get used to her teaching style and expectations. My AT's teachables include Music and English, and as the IS students are on a rotary system, each Intermediate teacher is expected to teach their homeroom class language and math, including their "teachable subject" to the other classes. Each period is about 30 minutes long and sometimes it is only long enough to introduce a topic or concept to the class before they leave to go to another class.
 * Overall Experience (so far): (Yana Ma)**
 * Overall Experience (so far): [Greg Leverton]**
 * Overall Experience: [Mala Singh]**

My AT is very organized and has many strategies in place to engage the students and create a stress free environment for learning. She created popsicle sticks for every class that she teaches and uses this to ask students questions or to express their thoughts on a specific subject. Each student has a 'right to pass', but they also know that they will eventually respond to the teacher. I can't wait to return to my placement with my AT where I hope to see and experience more curriculum and see the changes that occur as the year progresses.


 * My Biggest (Math) Concern After the First Week: (Steve R.)**

Since this is a math-based wiki: I was astonished to discover how many students in my grade 7 class essentially do not know their multiplication tables. And I'm not talking about the IEP or support students. I know that we would like to teach concrete and intrinsically motivated material, but it is a simple fact that most math becomes much more difficult to do without a basic foundation. If for no other reason that to make their experience in grade 7 math tenable, students need to know their multiplication tables! I am very concerned: How can I afford to spend time helping grade 7 students learn their multiplication tables without cheating everyone out of the real curriculum?

I would say give it to them as homework - 1-2-3 weeks, and expect them to learn the thing by themselves. I'm not sure how CAN you help them, it's a simple learn-it-by-heart affair, maybe it wasn't obvious until now that they need it? (Doina)