Professional Growth

Commitment to Students and Student Learning

My commitment to students and their learning is at the heart of my teaching practice. I strive to create a nurturing environment where every student feels valued, understood, and capable of growth. I start by introducing myself. At the start of my Grade Four placement, I made this slideshow to show students who I am, and I was immediately able to make connections through shared interests.

Working individually with students has reinforced my belief in personalized support. Whether guiding a student through challenging concepts or encouraging a reluctant learner, these one-on-one interactions were powerful moments of growth—for both the students and myself.

At the conclusion of my first placement, my AT facilitated a community circle and goodbye party that deeply affirmed my approach. Students openly shared how they had learned from me, expressing appreciation for the supportive space I created. As a heartfelt parting gift, I crocheted a "Try-Ceratops" figure for the class, accompanied by a poem I wrote about perseverance. This gesture symbolized my dedication to student-centred education, encouraging resilience and celebrating our shared learning journey.

The students affectionately named the dinosaur "Blueberry," quickly turning it into a beloved classroom mascot. My Associate Teacher later shared with me that Blueberry became a source of comfort for the students; they regularly hugged it when they needed reassurance or support, and used it to manage anxiety, particularly before tests or challenging tasks. They even made hats for Blueberry's horns. Knowing my creation contributed positively to the emotional well-being of the students has reinforced the importance of incorporating compassion and empathy in teaching.

Artifact Descriptions: Images feature the Try-ceratops, the poem that accompanied it, and a photo of myself and a student at the Goodbye Party they threw for me. They planned games, made decorations, put together a menu and danced a lot! What meant the most to me was all the kind words they shared and the drawings and cards I'll keep for a lifetime.

Professional Practice

My professional practice continually evolves through reflective teaching, intentional planning, and collaboration with mentors and colleagues. I consistently integrate current educational theories and practical strategies into my lesson designs, ensuring my instructional approaches are effective, inclusive, and responsive to diverse student needs.

Throughout my placements, I've developed assignments and activities designed to foster deep understanding and active student engagement. For instance, for Grade Four I created interactive PowerPoint lessons on decomposition and adding with number lines, using animations and visuals to support students'

A student working on the rock cycle experiment. They used Starburst candies as their rocks and wrote observations.

understanding of foundational math concepts. Students also participated in a hands-on science activity to learn about the rock cycle. Additionally, I facilitated meaningful writing activities, such as having students write pretend letters to soldiers as a thoughtful Remembrance Day activity, promoting empathy and historical awareness. The students were also very clever when using colour wheels in Art! Near the end of my Grade Four practicum, I facilitated a citizenship activity in which students would create themselves for a board in the classroom.

A student used her pastels and colour chart to make a guide to help her understand analogous colours.

In Kindergarten, I created centres focused on hands-on exploration and established interactive learning centres that emphasized fine motor skills, site words, and simple math. By keeping the centres engaging, the students were able to learn and have fun at the same time. In the future, I want to incorproate even more hands-on activities without the aid of worksheets.

These thoughtfully structured experiences demonstrate my commitment to implementing best practices and addressing individual learning styles. I discovered what worked and what didn't, and learned a lot about how I want to adjust my pedagogy. My ongoing dedication to refining my professional practice supports the creation of dynamic, engaging learning environments where students thrive academically and personally.

Class community board. Some students were away, and their artwork was added later. All the adults in the room made a citizen, too.

Playing "Roll a Sight Word" to practice reading, spelling and fine motor skills.

Kindergarteners counting and colouring for math.