TRB Standard 7Exemplars:
First by Erin Arrowsmith; Second by Heather Finlay Third by Lucrecia Simon Fourth by Melinda Louis (with permission) |
Educators engage in career-long learning. Educators engage in professional development and reflective practice, understanding that a hallmark of professionalism is the concept of professional growth over time. Educators develop and refine personal philosophies of education, teaching and learning that are informed by theory and practice. Educators identify their professional needs and work to meet those needs individually and collaboratively
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Reflection 1 - "The ABCs of Behaviour" Professional Development SeminarThe first piece of evidence that I have chosen for TRB Standard 7 is a blog post that I wrote in January 2018 that reflected on a seminar on behaviour that I attended at the Nanaimo Ladysmith school district’s Fall professional development series, “Meet and Eat.” I also included a few images from the seminar series with the blog post.
From my first embedded practicum in Fall 2017, I had some experience with classroom management resulting from teaching a couple of lessons to the students in our classes, as well as a bit of instruction on classroom management from our Principles of Teaching course. However, classroom management is an area about which I want to learn as much as possible before embarking on my next practicum in spring 2018. When I saw that one of the “Meet and Eat” seminars was called “The ABCs of Behaviour,” I knew that this was an opportunity to learn that I could not pass up. The seminar covered practical background information on behaviour, including how to describe and begin to analyze a student’s problem behaviour, particularly if a teacher needs to write a report to district inclusion support staff for assistance. Additionally, the presenter provided some concrete examples of positive reinforcement strategies that could be used to help change a student’s behaviour. I felt that a blog post on this professional development seminar would be a good addition to my e-portfolio as both a summary of this seminar for any other student teachers who might be interested in learning more about student behaviour, as well as to demonstrate that I was an educator who believed in career-long learning.
I plan to use every learning opportunity that I come across to learn more about the particular aspects of teaching that I find more difficult so that I can continually improve my teaching practice. Learning more about problem behaviour and how to document it so that the inclusion support staff can help, made me feel more knowledgeable about my ability to deal effectively with problem behaviour in my classroom in the future and who to approach if I need assistance. Reflecting in the blog post made me realize that the behaviour seminar also supported my approach to teaching and learning. While I am realistic about the high likelihood of having students with problem behaviour in my classes, I also believe that a positive approach to classroom management will be the most effective and fruitful way to address problem behaviour. This approach was echoed by presenter Liz Sparling through her discussion of consequences and the use of positive reinforcement in the classroom. I believe that having a creative approach to setting up one’s classroom with visual supports as needed, making use of lots of movement opportunities during the school day, and most importantly, using consistency and a sense of humour when addressing student behaviour, will all make classroom management easier in the long run. As someone who is a linguistic learner, reflecting in a blog post or journal is one of my preferred ways to make meaning from an experience that I have had. The strengths of this piece of evidence are that I was able to summarize this experience and the learning that I took away from it, as well as reflect on what this learning means for my future teaching.
TRB Standard 7 is important to me as a new teacher because I know that I will enter the education profession as a beginning teacher who is well-trained, but who still requires additional targeted learning and years of experience to become a master educator. The standard states that “Educators engage in professional development and reflective practice” and writing this reflection has shown me the benefits of engaging in both of these actions concurrently. For me, understanding what I have learned is often not completely clear until I have written about it, so self-reflection after my learning is as important as attending the seminar itself.
I am grateful to Nanaimo Ladysmith school district for allowing VIU student teachers to attend the “Meet and Eat” professional development series to extend our learning even before we are certified teachers. In addition to the seminars offered, we also had the opportunity to network at the seminar and over dinner with other teachers and student teachers, allowing us to start making professional contacts with teachers outside of the connections we have already made through our VIU courses and practicums. I hope that the Cowichan school district where I plan to work also offers similar events because I plan to take advantage of as many professional development opportunities as possible to continue to develop and refine my teaching practice when I first start out and to improve as a teacher on an continuous basis throughout my career.
From my first embedded practicum in Fall 2017, I had some experience with classroom management resulting from teaching a couple of lessons to the students in our classes, as well as a bit of instruction on classroom management from our Principles of Teaching course. However, classroom management is an area about which I want to learn as much as possible before embarking on my next practicum in spring 2018. When I saw that one of the “Meet and Eat” seminars was called “The ABCs of Behaviour,” I knew that this was an opportunity to learn that I could not pass up. The seminar covered practical background information on behaviour, including how to describe and begin to analyze a student’s problem behaviour, particularly if a teacher needs to write a report to district inclusion support staff for assistance. Additionally, the presenter provided some concrete examples of positive reinforcement strategies that could be used to help change a student’s behaviour. I felt that a blog post on this professional development seminar would be a good addition to my e-portfolio as both a summary of this seminar for any other student teachers who might be interested in learning more about student behaviour, as well as to demonstrate that I was an educator who believed in career-long learning.
I plan to use every learning opportunity that I come across to learn more about the particular aspects of teaching that I find more difficult so that I can continually improve my teaching practice. Learning more about problem behaviour and how to document it so that the inclusion support staff can help, made me feel more knowledgeable about my ability to deal effectively with problem behaviour in my classroom in the future and who to approach if I need assistance. Reflecting in the blog post made me realize that the behaviour seminar also supported my approach to teaching and learning. While I am realistic about the high likelihood of having students with problem behaviour in my classes, I also believe that a positive approach to classroom management will be the most effective and fruitful way to address problem behaviour. This approach was echoed by presenter Liz Sparling through her discussion of consequences and the use of positive reinforcement in the classroom. I believe that having a creative approach to setting up one’s classroom with visual supports as needed, making use of lots of movement opportunities during the school day, and most importantly, using consistency and a sense of humour when addressing student behaviour, will all make classroom management easier in the long run. As someone who is a linguistic learner, reflecting in a blog post or journal is one of my preferred ways to make meaning from an experience that I have had. The strengths of this piece of evidence are that I was able to summarize this experience and the learning that I took away from it, as well as reflect on what this learning means for my future teaching.
TRB Standard 7 is important to me as a new teacher because I know that I will enter the education profession as a beginning teacher who is well-trained, but who still requires additional targeted learning and years of experience to become a master educator. The standard states that “Educators engage in professional development and reflective practice” and writing this reflection has shown me the benefits of engaging in both of these actions concurrently. For me, understanding what I have learned is often not completely clear until I have written about it, so self-reflection after my learning is as important as attending the seminar itself.
I am grateful to Nanaimo Ladysmith school district for allowing VIU student teachers to attend the “Meet and Eat” professional development series to extend our learning even before we are certified teachers. In addition to the seminars offered, we also had the opportunity to network at the seminar and over dinner with other teachers and student teachers, allowing us to start making professional contacts with teachers outside of the connections we have already made through our VIU courses and practicums. I hope that the Cowichan school district where I plan to work also offers similar events because I plan to take advantage of as many professional development opportunities as possible to continue to develop and refine my teaching practice when I first start out and to improve as a teacher on an continuous basis throughout my career.
Evidence 1: Book Review- Drive, by Daniel PinkThis evidence piece is a book review of Daniel Pink's novel, Drive. I read this novel and did a summary of the novel and then applied the theory in the book to my teaching practice.
This book is about how to foster intrinsic motivation through autonomy, mastery and purpose. Daniel Pink warns against the use rewards and punishments, except for in specific conditions, because they can inhibit and prevent intrinsic motivation. From this book I learned a great deal about how to create a classroom environment that fosters engaged and motivated learning. I would argue that this book added a great deal to my professional development as a teacher and made me realize how important it is to continue to learn and grow professionally. This book specifically argues against the common use of rewards and punishment because our society has evolved past this as an effective technique. This alone made me reflect on my teaching practice and my classroom management strategies. |
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Since reading this book I have tried to incorporate more student autonomy into my planning. So far, it seems easiest to provide autonomy in providing choice in tasks and techniques. Pink warns that we must scaffold autonomy. This is also something I have now tried to incorporate into my planning by first starting with a couple of choices and building more autonomy throughout the unit. Additionally, I have been incorporating purpose into my culminating tasks. For instance, creating anti-bullying posters for our school after our novel study of Drake Blake, Bully Buster and making YouTube-like teaching videos for next years grade threes about thermal energy. I agree with Pink that purpose is a key element to intrinsic motivation.
I know in my previous experiences students are always asking "Why?", "Why do we have to learn this? Why are we doing this?". As they should. In order for learning to be meaningful it should be interesting and purposeful. I have also reflected on my previous use of rewards. I believe, and Pink will also argue, that there are certain conditions where rewards can be useful. However, I have also had reward-based systems turn into slippery slopes of needing even bigger and bigger rewards to get work done. According to Pink, this is because rewards can be detrimental to intrinsic motivation.
I have also thought a lot about creating opportunities for mastery. This seems to be the biggest challenge as there never seems to be enough time. However, I think doing cross-curricular and inquiry-based learning may provide more windows of concentrated study and practice.
TRB standard seven is definitely important for new teachers or master teachers. Continual learning is one of the things that excites me about teaching. Our societies and classrooms will continue to evolve over time and it is our job as teachers to continue to learn, reflect, and implement change when necessary. As a new teacher I have so much to learn. Current books about motivation, mindset, grit, flow, play, nature-based learning, positive learning environments and classroom management are all areas I plan to investigate over the summer months to help me continue to develop professionally.
Works Cited
Pink, Daniel H. (2009). Drive-The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, New York. Text.
I know in my previous experiences students are always asking "Why?", "Why do we have to learn this? Why are we doing this?". As they should. In order for learning to be meaningful it should be interesting and purposeful. I have also reflected on my previous use of rewards. I believe, and Pink will also argue, that there are certain conditions where rewards can be useful. However, I have also had reward-based systems turn into slippery slopes of needing even bigger and bigger rewards to get work done. According to Pink, this is because rewards can be detrimental to intrinsic motivation.
I have also thought a lot about creating opportunities for mastery. This seems to be the biggest challenge as there never seems to be enough time. However, I think doing cross-curricular and inquiry-based learning may provide more windows of concentrated study and practice.
TRB standard seven is definitely important for new teachers or master teachers. Continual learning is one of the things that excites me about teaching. Our societies and classrooms will continue to evolve over time and it is our job as teachers to continue to learn, reflect, and implement change when necessary. As a new teacher I have so much to learn. Current books about motivation, mindset, grit, flow, play, nature-based learning, positive learning environments and classroom management are all areas I plan to investigate over the summer months to help me continue to develop professionally.
Works Cited
Pink, Daniel H. (2009). Drive-The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, New York. Text.
Exemplar by Lucrecia Simon
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I had been hearing about the phrase “growth mindset” in the education environment for a while so when a classmate shared a link to a webinar called How Teaching Growth Mindest Can Lead to Student Success, I thought it would be a great opportunity to find out more about it. I was very pleased to discover that growth mindset, that is, the belief that our talents and abilities can be developed over time through effort, perseverance and hard work, is precisely what I had always believed in, except I had not given it a specific name.
In addition, this webinar tied in very well with another workshop I attended a couple of years ago on strategies to improve learning skills (See my blog post Using Brain Power to Improve Learning Skills). As a result of attending this growth mindset webinar by Cassie Tabrizi, I have now learned how to communicate these ideas to students and I have been provided with a booklet in which I was able to record my thoughts and notes from the webinar to refer back to them when needed. I have acquired a few tools to create the right growth mindset environment in the classroom, so students feel motivated by the belief that they have not simply “been dealt a hand of cards” with no control of their learning path. Attending this workshop has also broadened my knowledge on effective strategies to encourage improvement, perseverance and safe risk-taking to contribute to my students’ academic success.
In relation to TRB 7, this experience has shown me the importance of constantly reflecting on our teaching beliefs and strategies, and seeking opportunities to grow as educators. Teachers must strive to keep themselves informed on an ongoing basis on emergent strategies, theories and approaches that might lead to improvements in their teaching and understanding of student growth and development.
This evidence addresses the theory of growth mindset within the classroom and how fostering this environment can contribute to student success. What was most useful about this webinar, however, was that it was specifically tailored for educators. There are lots of books and presentations on this topic, but Cassie offered specific practical advice on how to implement this in the learning environment. The detailed explanation of the elements of the GROWTH model and to implement them is one of the first practical examples:
In addition, this webinar tied in very well with another workshop I attended a couple of years ago on strategies to improve learning skills (See my blog post Using Brain Power to Improve Learning Skills). As a result of attending this growth mindset webinar by Cassie Tabrizi, I have now learned how to communicate these ideas to students and I have been provided with a booklet in which I was able to record my thoughts and notes from the webinar to refer back to them when needed. I have acquired a few tools to create the right growth mindset environment in the classroom, so students feel motivated by the belief that they have not simply “been dealt a hand of cards” with no control of their learning path. Attending this workshop has also broadened my knowledge on effective strategies to encourage improvement, perseverance and safe risk-taking to contribute to my students’ academic success.
In relation to TRB 7, this experience has shown me the importance of constantly reflecting on our teaching beliefs and strategies, and seeking opportunities to grow as educators. Teachers must strive to keep themselves informed on an ongoing basis on emergent strategies, theories and approaches that might lead to improvements in their teaching and understanding of student growth and development.
This evidence addresses the theory of growth mindset within the classroom and how fostering this environment can contribute to student success. What was most useful about this webinar, however, was that it was specifically tailored for educators. There are lots of books and presentations on this topic, but Cassie offered specific practical advice on how to implement this in the learning environment. The detailed explanation of the elements of the GROWTH model and to implement them is one of the first practical examples:
Give explicit instruction.
Revel in (safe) risk taking.
Opportunities to ask for help.
Words with power (to ask for help).
Timely smart goals.
Have high expectations.
This evidence is a solid example to support TRB 7, because as a future educator I was able to identify my professional need to become more knowledgeable in this new concept that seems to have become very popular in the education sphere. After attending this workshop, I was not only surprised to find out that I already believed in this approach, but I was also provided with the terminology, ideas and strategies to communicate and implement this mindset in my classroom. As a result of this experience, I have come to understand why it is critical that educators “engage in career-long learning.” There is always more room for growth and further development. We can all improve just as we are asking our own students to do. What better way to teach this than by doing it ourselves!
Naturally, Standard 7 is intrinsically related to the improvement of my teaching skills and abilities in all aspects. As a future educator, it is my responsibility to ensure my learning does not become stagnant and that I am continually refining and further developing my teaching strategies and approaches. Therefore, in my practice I will always endeavour to uphold this standard. In fact, although this webinar has been very useful I felt I needed to deepen my understanding of this philosophy so I am now reading Carol S. Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. I am looking forward to learning more about how to change mindsets, where mindsets come from, and mindsets in sports and relationships which as some of the topics addressed in this book. I believe it will contribute to strengthening my knowledge on how to create a classroom environment that helps my students to believe they can grow and learn and that leads them to a more successful learning experience.
Revel in (safe) risk taking.
Opportunities to ask for help.
Words with power (to ask for help).
Timely smart goals.
Have high expectations.
This evidence is a solid example to support TRB 7, because as a future educator I was able to identify my professional need to become more knowledgeable in this new concept that seems to have become very popular in the education sphere. After attending this workshop, I was not only surprised to find out that I already believed in this approach, but I was also provided with the terminology, ideas and strategies to communicate and implement this mindset in my classroom. As a result of this experience, I have come to understand why it is critical that educators “engage in career-long learning.” There is always more room for growth and further development. We can all improve just as we are asking our own students to do. What better way to teach this than by doing it ourselves!
Naturally, Standard 7 is intrinsically related to the improvement of my teaching skills and abilities in all aspects. As a future educator, it is my responsibility to ensure my learning does not become stagnant and that I am continually refining and further developing my teaching strategies and approaches. Therefore, in my practice I will always endeavour to uphold this standard. In fact, although this webinar has been very useful I felt I needed to deepen my understanding of this philosophy so I am now reading Carol S. Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. I am looking forward to learning more about how to change mindsets, where mindsets come from, and mindsets in sports and relationships which as some of the topics addressed in this book. I believe it will contribute to strengthening my knowledge on how to create a classroom environment that helps my students to believe they can grow and learn and that leads them to a more successful learning experience.
