Learning+Community


 * ** //Working with Students in the Learning Community// **


 * During my first practicum, I taught Grade 7 Math. I was able to build professional student-teacher relationships with these students because, despite the limited amount of time I spent at Henry Hudson Senior Public School, I tried to learn every student's name and tried to learn more about my students (e.g. finding out about their interests, hobbies, goals). This really helped me to become comfortable with teaching my students, and also helped students work up the courage to ask me questions whenever necessary (they didn't fear me).


 * When I developed my lessons, I tried to incorporate as much hands-on and collaborative activities as possible. One of my favourite lessons is the one I planned for my Faculty Advisor's visit. Although I didn't make it through the entire lesson, I was very pleased with what I had accomplished. The topic of the lesson was Working with Percents, and as a Minds On activity, I had the students work in pairs to design their own logo using pattern blocks. But, there were some "rules"; each pair was assigned a certain number of pattern blocks, but were allowed to create any design the chose (so long as it was appropriate for the classroom). Students were very engaged in the lesson; I think the enjoyed it because they had complete creative freedom. Once they created their logos, they each had to fill out a chart in their Math notebooks. In the chart, they had to record the fraction of their logo that corresponded to each colour (i.e. yellow (hexagon), red (trapezoid), blue (rhombus), green (triangle)). Each fraction had to be expressed as a decimal and a percent as well (students were required to show their work). In the end, I found that I addressed a very key concept pertaining to fractions during this lesson. I found that many of the students were expressing their fractions incorrectly; rather than dividing their logos into equal parts, students simply counted the number of pieces per colour, and wrote their fractions as a portion of the total number of pieces (e.g. say there were 22 pieces in total used, four of which were hexagons. Students would represent this as 4/22). Although I'm sure students were intuitively aware of the fact that fractions are equal portions of a whole, they accidentally neglected this fact as they found the fractions (I used the word "intuitively" because of the way in which students reacted when this fact became clear aft
 * er my hints). So even though I felt horrible at first about not getting through my entire lesson, I realized that not all was lost because I reminded students (and, in some cases, taught students) that fractions are only representative of equal parts of a whole.


 * During my first placement, I helped my AT with the after school Math Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Students attended this club to seek additional help in various areas of Math (the students were recommended to attend by my AT; each student had to inform his/her parent/guardian and return a signed consent form) One day, I had to fill in for my AT and lead one of the Grade 7 sessions; it was quite a challenge because the classroom was filled with students, most needing substantial help in various areas. I tried my best to help each student to the best of my ability. My goal as an educator will be to implement differentiated instruction strategies in an effort to cater to the needs of my students.


 * I've learned a lot from my courses this semester. I've gained so many great ideas that I can use to communicate with my students. Some examples include Wikispaces, teacher websites, student blogs and pirate pad (Etherpad). These examples present convenient ways for students to communicate with their teachers; I plan to implement these initiatives in my future classrooms (and perhaps while out on placement too). ||
 * //** Working with Parents in the Learning Community **//


 * If there's one thing I've learned through my experience so far is the importance of communicating frequently with the parents/guardians of my students. Unfortunately, there are times when the parents/guardians don't care much about the success of their child/ren. However, for the most part, parents/guardians do care and want to be involved. During my recent placement, I saw several cases in which parents came in to talk to my AT about their son's/daughter's progress in his Math class. This was very pleasing to see and reminded me of how essential it is to keep the lines of communication open with parents/guardians. In today's day and age, there are a variety of ways in which parents can communicate with teachers, such as via telephone, Skype, email and meetings in person.


 * Many schools have parent volunteers who help out with various programs. At my recent placement, I met the mother of a child in one of the Math classes I was teaching, who occasionally volunteered during the after school Math Club. She is also an Ontario Certified Teacher. Parents/guardians play a vital role in learning communities; they are the voices behind the students, fighting for access to quality education for their children and themselves. Very inspiring, if I do say so myself. ||
 * //** Working with Educators and Others in the Learning Community **//


 * Over the years, I learned the importance of building relationships with my colleagues. Teaching is a hard job and, in my opinion, educators don't always get the credit that they deserve. It was inspiring to see the strong relationships established between the Math teachers (and the teachers in general); they openly shared ideas, strategies and resources. I can tell that the development of these relationships took some the load off of teachers; there was no need for them to reinvent the wheel!


 * NSBE, the National Society of Black Engineers, is an organization to which I have been an associate member for two years. This organization is the largest student-run body in North America, with over 33,000 members. NSBE's mission is "to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community". NSBE provides many initiatives to increase student success in the STEM subjects (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); subjects in which students across North America are struggling more and more. I encourage you to check out the various programs geared toward student achievement and retention at the NSBE website. Click [|here] to access the NSBE programs. ||