Placement Reflection

Placement Reflection
Sir Winston Churchill C.&V.I.

Kalynn Chapman
Student Number: 0676285
Email: kchapman@lakeheadu.ca
Due Date: January 16th, 2017.
Placement Reflection

Introduction

Since I can remember I have had a passion for education and learning.
I can recall saying many times If I could stay in school forever, I would. I
loved high school, it was a time in my life I will always remember consumed
with academics, sports, and friends. My decision to go into the education
program sparked this time last year when I found myself glued to my couch
in a cast with torn ligaments in my ankle. With my partner focused in law
school responsibilities and just having moved away from friends and family in
Muskoka, Ontario, I had lots of time on my hands to determine what to do
with my future. I wrote out a list of characteristics about myself, things I
wanted in a potential career, as well as aspects that I had enjoyed with
previous jobs. All signs seemed to point in the same direction. Teaching was
a career choice that would allow me to harness many aspects of my
personality to aid those around me.

During my injury time, I applied to school and since then have

completed my first placement at Sir Winston Churchill C.&V.I. I will admit, it
was hard to imagine that only a few weeks of class at Lakehead University
would prepare someone to be up in front of a classroom teaching, but it was.
I learned a lot about myself and my students through this experience that I
plan to carry forward to my next teaching placement and career as an
educator.

Classroom Management

Classroom management was an area I found difficult to feel adequately

prepared for before tackling my first placement. It has been previously noted
by teacher candidates that they frequently feel ill prepared from their
teacher preparation programs for effective classroom management
strategies (Rabin & Smith, 2016). I was fortunate to be placed in a classroom
where mutual respect was already in place. For the most part, students
would listen and be respectful of myself and their peers. There were times
when students would act out to impress their peers or avoid work. At the
start of my placement I found it difficult to be firm with students when I had
to ask them more than once to focus on a task or respectfully listen to their
peers. I had a fear that if I was too hard on my students, they would not like
me as a teacher, which I realized is something that is important to me.

I found a large shift in my classroom management skills when I allowed

my students to really get to know me as a person and not just their teacher.
My greatest reward and improvement to classroom management skills was a
result of bonding with my students through sport. At the start of my
placement I was asked to assist with coaching the grade eight girls
volleyball team. This involved sacrificing my lunch break to practice with the
girls and being absent from school for a day tournament. Furthermore, I was
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also given the opportunity to teach my grade eights gym class moments
before the class started in the first week of my placement. Although this is
my teachable, it was not one of the classes I was covering for my placement.
I said yes, although my brain was overloading trying to quickly plan what to
do with the students during the class. Once I got into the gym I quickly
prepared and facilitated various games of low organization which got my
students laughing and working together with their peers. Not only was this a
great experience to learn how to go with the flow but I also noticed a
significant change in the classroom with my students. Through sport and
physical activity, I had bonded with not only athletic students in my class,
but also those with behavioural issues or learning disabilities. As a result,
students would greet me in the halls, talk to me in class about sports and
activities outside of school, and interestingly, they really respected and
listened to me when I told them they were off task in the classroom. I felt a
sense of confidence that not only had my students got to know me, and in
turn respect me, but that I had also been able to know them better in return.
Through allowing my students to see a side of me that was passionate about
physical activity and sport I had connected with students on a different level
that was apparent in classroom management.

Placement really stressed the importance of letting your students get

to know you and developing mutual respect. Being in the classroom was the
best way to learn skills about classroom management and how to deal with
behavioural issues. It was important to be put on the spot and try to deal
with a situation, knowing that if needed, your associate teacher would be
there to back you up. Although initially I did not feel adequately prepared to
handle behavioural situations I now feel that I have tools to gain my
students respect. Through letting my students get to know and trust me I
fostered a positive classroom environment, as well as respect in classroom
management. In the future I need to be mindful that not all students may like
me as a teacher or person. My role as an educator is not to be my students
friend, but rather make their learning as enjoyable as possible, while
mentoring and supporting their future endeavors.

Lesson Planning/ Knowledge of Learners

Planning in the classroom was enjoyable but also posed challenges. I

loved coming up with creative activities to spark interest and enhance
student learning. I felt a sense of reward when my students were engaged
and excited to learn in my classroom. I remember the morning we completed
an opinion based activity that had the students chatting all through lunch
about what happened to them during my class. An area that posed a
challenge was a result of poor attendance. This consistently resulted in
students being on a different section in a unit. I was constantly trying to
catch students up with material they had missed. Furthermore, I was placed
Placement Reflection

in a classroom with many students with IEPs. This proved to add more
difficulty in planning and fairly evaluating students based on their specific
needs. Strategies that I found useful in accommodating for varying levels of
understanding in the classroom included grouping students, co-constructing
rubrics for success, as well as posting learning goals. As the teacher, I was
required to be aware of negative stigma associated with grouping students,
which is important in maintaining a welcoming and safe learning
environment. Another strategy that I found helpful was creating and
maintaining a folder with various levels of activities and worksheets for
students to complete dependent on their specific needs. This way, when I
had a student appear in class for the first time in two weeks, I was quickly
able to create a learning plan that was appropriate for that individual
student.

Interestingly, Mrs. Marks had informed me of her students anxiety

associated with the word test. Her students would shut down and almost
refuse to try to complete a task. Alkharusi (2016) notes that students will
develop perceptions about classroom assessments, in this case written
testing, which can affect their academic achievement. In knowing this, it was
important to assess students fairly throughout a unit rather than placing
unnecessary stress on a final written test. It was also essential to incorporate
written testing as a form of assessment not only to prepare students for high
school, but also so they could overcome their fear of testing in knowing that
it was not the only way they were being assessed. Through incorporating
different types of assessment and evaluation I was able to not only engage
students, but also enhance their learning through meeting their unique
individual needs.

A teaching aid that I was introduced to through readings and class

discussion was incorporating tools to assess for understanding throughout a
lesson. This came into use right away and was invaluable. I am a huge fan of
the exit box, thumbs up/down, as well as think-pair-share techniques. I
utilized this in my classroom to not only assess for understanding of a
particular skill or new learning, but I also modified it to gain a sense of how
students were feeling. For example, I would have students use a smile, sad,
or straight face to represent how they were responding to a new concept that
was being taught. During my observation days I had noticed that my class
was often shy and quiet in the morning hours so when I started teaching I
was quickly able to apply a change in the students normal routine which in
turn engaged and refocused my students. I feel that it is important to create
and maintain a climate the permits students to communicate with me openly
and also allow me to assess and plan how to adapt lessons.

It can be seen that classroom climate as well as planning and

evaluation work together to break or create an optimal learning environment
for students and teachers. As educators, we need to be cognizant of the
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importance of knowing your students as well as checking for understanding.

These are important aspects to consider when altering lesson plans along
with applying modifications or accommodations in the classroom. My
associate teacher did a great job of being aware of this as well as pointing
out situations to consider in my future teaching career.

Knowledge of Self

Going into my first placement I was confident I had strengths that

would aid in my success. I am an organized and a devoted worker. I have a
strong passion for helping others reach their goals and I feel fulfilled when
something I have said or done has contributed to a persons well-being. I also
have a passion for many subjects including science, sports, and the arts.
Finally, I place a high value on teamwork.

In saying this, placement also identified some areas I need to work on.
Planning for lessons consumed more of my time that I had originally
expected. It was difficult to learn content as well as create and present a
plan to your associate teacher in advance. Often with attendance and
various levels of understanding in a classroom I would be constantly
modifying lesson plans regardless of the hours of planning I had previously
put in. I started developing my plans in one large Smartboard file. This way I
was able to move forward as my class was prepared and also move
backwards and touch on learnings that students may not have grasped or
missed. Rather than planning day by day what I had to teach, I would adjust
with my students to ensure they were understanding a topic before moving
forward.

Finally, my students had questions I didnt always have quick

responses for, especially when it came to subject content. This was
something that I was worried about prior to placement. I wanted to come off
intelligent to my students and be able to respond to their questions with
confidence. I had to learn to become comfortable letting students know that I
didnt have the answer to all of their questions and that I would get back to
them with a response within the day or follow up the next day. Furthermore, I
realized that I was role modelling to my students that its okay not know
answers to every question. I would then use this as a teaching platform to
model different means to achieve an answer including asking students,
teachers, family, or searching online.

Conclusion

Placement really opened my eyes and confirmed that teaching is

something that I really desire as a career. I love feeling energized from a
great day at school, or telling my partner about funny or creative things my
students did during the day. I have come away from my first placement with
Placement Reflection

many learnings and I look forward to my next opportunity to apply what I

have absorbed and continue in progressing towards my teaching career.
Placement Reflection

Reference:

Alkharusi, H. h. (2016). Predicting Students' Academic Achievement:

Contributions of Perceptions of Classroom Assessment Tasks and Motivated
Learning Strategies. Electronic Journal Of Research In Educational
Psychology, 14(3), 515-533. doi:10.14204/ejrep.40.15177

Rabin, C., & Smith, G. (2016). My Lesson Plan Was Perfect Until I Tried to
Teach: Care Ethics Into Practice in Classroom Management. Journal Of
Research In Childhood Education, 30(4), 600-617.
doi:10.1080/02568543.2016.1214192