Working Portfolio Presentation
My field study is going to be a year long study. I am going to use my journal as the main source of data. I will be sorting and interpreting the "data" multiple times throughout the year. Creating my Baseline Portfolio helped me understand where I was coming from as a professional, and I think that it is equally important to know where my collaborators are coming from. Kat suggested that I revisit my Philosophy of Education, as well as any other staff member that I am collbortaing with during this field study. I will be reporting out on my field study at the end of January, but I think that this data sorting activity is another way to assess where I am now as a teacher, and investiagte any connections with my co-teachers. I am going use the Data Sorting Guide to sort and analyze: Josie's Philosophy of Assessment, my Philosophy of Education, a variety of my student teaching reflective writing samples, and Cory's Creedo.
My wonderings and reason to sort this data:
When I re-read my Philsophy of Education will I still agree with what I wrote?
Will I connect to the things that Josie and Cory wrote when they were pre-service teachers?
Can you completly disagree with someone's Philosophy of Education but still colaborate effectively?
Description:
What are my initial insights into the data?
My guess is that I will agree/connect with most of Josie's Educational Philosophies. I think that I will agree with most of Cory's but that his will hold a higher value to the academic side of teaching/learning.
What did I see as I inquired?
(I will spare you from reading the entire thing.)
When I re-read the Philosophy of Education, that I wrote as a pre-service teacher, I copied and pasted anything that stood out as something that I still believed, connected to, and practiced.
***
I believe that all students should be given the same consideration, but that each child will have a varying perception of their educational experience.
I believe that all students will be intrinsically motivated to learn if there is organization, and if the activities are engaging, relevant, and challenging.
The ideal curriculum that is most conductive to learning is divergent and encouraging of active participation, is relevant and appropriate for student’s developmental levels, is challenging, and is flexible to change.
Students’ conduct problems are not usually entirely based on the current situation and that external issues like family problems or self-esteem are always involved in the student’s reaction.
It is important to never pick up the rope with a student and become emotionally involved in an argument because this tends to blow any problem out of proportion.
I believe that my role as a teacher is to open my student’s minds to universal truths and ideas including the worth of education, living life with integrity, self-confidence and reflection, willpower, and being responsible for decisions.
***
Josie Moore:
Philosophy of Assessment
(Connections that I made to her Baseline on Assessment Practices…)
It seems to me that there often exists a disconnect between students and the grades they receive for their work
Above all assessment must to be for the benefit of the students.
Assessment must be tailored to the specific students for which it is designed, and must address not only the expectations of the teacher and administration, but the unique knowledge, skills and history that students bring to their learning experience.
There must be continuity in our expectations as teachers, and these expectations must be made explicit to our students from the very beginning of our time with them.
For an assessment strategy to be truly student-oriented, students must be aware of our intentions and goals for their learning, they must be given the opportunity to be involved in the assessment process to some extent, and they must understand the connection between our expectations, the assessment process and the final outcome of that process.
Self-reflection is one of the most important endeavours a teacher undertakes,
Assessment is a means of increasing parent involvement, by providing information on academic performance , but also behaviour, social interaction, successes in the classroom, and any areas of potential concern – important aspects of the school experience that parents often know little or nothing about.
***
Cory’s Credo:
(The parts I connected to…)
I believe that humour can be a profound tool in the classroom.
I believe that while all students may not be passionate about the subject material, the teacher himself should never lose sight of that passion.
I believe that teachers should be able to express his/her individuality in the classroom and in the course content.
I believe that 'classroom community' should be organic and not something which is forcefully delegated by the teacher.
I believe that the classroom should be a place in which students feel safe in cultivating their own ideas.
I believe that the ability of a teacher to alter his/her own beliefs and ideas, in the face of compelling evidence, is an indication of a mature professional.
Below is something Cory's created to show his connections to my Philosophy of Education:
Interpretation:
What was my initial question and how do these patterns inform it?
Before I revisited my past writing, I was wondering if my ideas about teaching and learning had stayed the same or changed, and what either result would mean? My fundemental ideas about teaching and education are still the same. I started working out teaching in Missouri, TOCing in SD#48, and teaching in the Squamish mainstream school system. Even after the first year I was really struggling with the way I thought a "teacher" should be. I remember feeling guilty or weird when I would try projects about things that I cared about. Looking back, I know I am where I am supposed to be. I always feel supported and have the freedom to let the curriculum be a guide to work on projects that I actaully care about.
How are these happenings connected to my teaching and, my classroom?
What connections do I see to the theoretical readings l've completed?
After reading my Philsophy of Education, I remember some of the things I struggled with as a pre-service teacher. I went to school in the United States and in a particularly closed minded/conformist state. St. Charles, Missouri is a 10 minute drive from Ferguson, MO. There was no personality infused into the "teacher" courses I took. Back in University, the majority of my courses were focused on how to maintain control and insisted on conformity. During Teacher's College most of the "question" persiods were focused on classroom management ( the majority of methods that were crushing a positive learning enviroment) and "being in control." There was very little talk about lessons, leanring, teaching success or failures etc. I questioned if some of these classmates even liked kids! I think the reason I have been drawn to the Alternative school, Ross Greene, Gordon Neufeld and attachment teaching is because they all in their own way address the need for attachment, belonging, and teaching the whole person in a genuine and authentic way.
I am learning that a meaningful teacher-student relationship is the prerequisite for powerful and impactful teaching.
The above learning statement is important to my teaching practice because it is now the benchmark from where my learning and teaching career will evolve from.
I know that if I am going to spend that much time with anyone, young or old, that I need to have a connection. I may not necessarily like every student I teach, but I have learned that taking time to understand/acknowledge each student is a difference maker in my teaching practice. The issues we are exploring in this Diploma Program are parallel to my core beliefs and values, both personally and professionally. I knew that when I started, but I think that the Diploma Program structure has been a great oppurtunity put my thoughts under a microscope and really assess what my teaching intentions are.
My learning statement has helped solidify the universal values I have as a person, who I am as a teacher, and how important it is to make sure that these shine through during my daily teaching.
Competencies
ENGAGE in innovative practice, encourage risk-taking and support learning communities in local and global contexts.
SITUATE the student at the centre in co-learning, co-planning, and co- teaching pedagogical pathways.
COLLABORATE purposefully with students, colleagues, parents and other educational partners
What new wonderings (questions) do I have?
I signed up to take part in the collborative learning rounds program.
I am wondering if it will actaully be valuable to have another teacher come into our classroom?
I am wondering if there are any other teachers that are co-planning or co-teaching, who would be willing to collaborate purposfully with Josie and I?
I wonder if I should keep this field study year long or if I should report out and then create a new field study for the spring?