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Professional Learning Guide

Alyssa Fortin
University of Lethbridge
PSIII, Spring 2018
University Consultant: Dave Adams

Goals

Goal 1: Incorporate more games into my lessons to better improve their learning quality.
Purpose: To increase variety in learning strategies for a wide range of students.
Rationale: I do not remember playing many educational games as a child in school. I do
remember doing fun activities as different ways to understand concepts. Recently, I have seen
multiple teachers using games in Math or Language Arts, but I would like to try and incorporate
games in the sciences and social as well. My first two practicums were hard to practice this as
the time and place were not adequate to test them out. My PSI was more experimental and I
had few “game” strategies to try. In my PSII, I was able to incorporate a couple games with my
Jr. High and High school art students, but the age range of the students made it difficult. These
higher classes are strict to a subject area and expectations.
Questions:
1) How do I take an educational approach to games in the elementary classroom?
2) How do I ensure that they are conducive to the learning environment?
Evidence:
https://www.renweb.com/incorporating-game-based-learning-classroom/
 Increased motivation
 Encourages creativity
 Enhances problem-solving
 Provides a greater sense of personal responsibility
 Autonomy and independence

Goal 2: Incorporate mindfulness in students.

Purpose: To increase self-awareness in students.
Rationale: In teaching students to be mindful and self-aware, they become more focused on
their learning and personal development. It improves multiple skills and allows for students to
take responsibility for their education. When I was in school, moments where we were allowed
to reflect on ourselves and our learning were the most meaningful. It gave us a chance to
realize the effort that we have put in and what we need to put in to be successful. Pride and
satisfaction were feelings that often accommodated these moments.
Questions:
1) How do I implement this into everyday routines?
2) How do I make students more aware of their learning and personal responsibility to it?
Evidence:
https://www.teachstarter.com/blog/teaching-mindfulness-improve-student-learning/
 Decreases anxiety and stress
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 Increases engagement and concentration

 Increases emotional awareness
 Enhances problem-solving and decision-making
 Increases verbal communication skills
 Increases compassion

Final Descriptive Report

My experience at Dr. Morris Gibson School will definitely remain in my memories forever. Not
only did I get to teach a grade that I have done before with new units, but I also had the
opportunity to help put together the school’s bi-annual musical, “Madagascar Jr.”, for grades 4-
6. Seeing the progress of the students in the play was really rewarding in knowing that I helped
students create something that they are passionate about. I really pushed myself to get
involved in the school and make connections with colleagues and students. I learned a lot about
math curriculum and implementation during PD sessions, and had my Professional Inquiry
Project topic inspired by another session regarding Makerspaces. My PIP focuses on
makerspaces at the classroom level, and how teachers who have little to no access to one can
incorporate characteristics and activities one would find in a makerspace in their classroom and
teaching. I cover areas such as curriculum relevance, budgeting, materials, space, time, and
other considerations. I enjoyed putting it together and found the research involved useful to
help others as well as myself.
When looking at the goals that I set for myself at the start of the semester, I believe that I have
come a long way and have met them. My goals included trying to implement more games into
my lessons, and fostering mindfulness in my students. I was able to add games in my health and
science units, and the incorporation of projects in some of my Social units were beneficial as
well.
During the month of January, I taught the Inuit communities unit in Social, did a novel study
using Magic Treehouse “Polar Bears Past Bedtime” by Mary Pope Osborne, introduced healthy
eating and physical activity, and did Inuit-related art activities with my Grade 2s. There was
definitely a lot of learning for me involved with these topics and how the students were able to
adapt to my teaching methods. Given the diverse learning needs of the students in the class, I
feel that I have become more aware of what it takes to monitor a busy classroom. I have
noticed a growth in creating a more inclusive environment for my students throughout the
term. At this point, I was still adjusting my methods to see what worked best for the students.
In February, I taught Exploring Liquids in Science, investigated non-fiction and poetry in
Language Arts, continued healthy eating and physical activity, and introduced the students to
famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh with
accommodating activities. Throughout this month, I noticed more and more differences
between the students. I found that January was a month full of adapting and finding a place
where my students and I could become comfortable with each other, whereas February finally
allowed me to solidify my teaching strategies and really involve the students in our units. March
was a very productive month. Seeing that the Inuit social unit in January was new for both me
and the students, I decided to approach the Prairie community unit differently by making it
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more project-based. The students reacted positively to this adjustment and had fun learning
about Saskatchewan and its Ukrainian culture through explorative projects. We also read the
novel “Freckle Juice” by Judy Blume, and had fun discussing and doing activities that
corresponded with the story. Hearing the children laugh and want to continue reading the book
after I stopped was really rewarding and reassured me that the students enjoyed the work I had
planned for them. In April, I taught the Acadia community unit in Social, read “Fantastic Mr.
Fox” by Roald Dahl, and introduced artists Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. We did projects in
Social like the month before, which I found helped the students learn and understand the unit’s
content better than standard book and classwork.
I learned so much during my final practicum experience, and will miss watching my students
grow and learn new things.