Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Comprehensive Portfolio Paper
Comprehensive Portfolio Paper
Introduction
The
graduate
diploma
program,
Teaching
and
Learning
in
Todays
Through
created a PBL unit about creating a government. Before starting, I asked students
if they found Social Studies interesting when learning from the textbook; thirtythree percent (33%) were interested. Upon completion, I asked the students again
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and sixty-three percent (63%) were interested in Social Studies. Thus, I learned
PBL is far more engaging for students and I should do more projects and less work
directly from textbooks. In my classroom now, I am doing at least one project per
term and not relying on the textbook as heavily.
In examining how I teach, I believe students learn what they live (Law Nolte,
1972) and if you want to develop the whole child you need to give them a range of
experiences (Noddings, 2005; Smith, 2013).
believed, but I have not necessarily acknowledged until taking the diploma
program. In my classroom, I focus heavily on current events and global citizenship
by reading news articles weekly and having a yearly fundraiser for building water
wells in Africa. I also teach digital literacy in my class, where students learn how to
stay safe online, respond to bullying, and ensure they are following copyright laws.
I continue to provide my students with a variety of activities to help them develop
as an individual3.
From the learning described above, I continued to read about the
development of the child4.
successful in life (Marzano and Heflebower, 2011). Marzano and Heflebower went
on to list skills each child should have: growth mindset, resiliency, and optimism. I
wanted to know why these particular skills were important, and began reading
about the brain. When one is angry or scared, one is unlikely to remember new
information (Willis, 2009a) and when students know how their brain works, they
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This new
study6.
For my field study, I specifically wanted to see if teaching students about the
brain7 would change their beliefs about learning.
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previously disliked.
because teaching this has the potential to change the lives of students
(McDonald, 2015a)8. We need to be teaching students skills they can use not only
in school, but also outside as well (Eisner, 2002), which is why I firmly believe
students need know how their brains learn.
My final new understanding came from the work I did in my last field study,
combined with a try something assignment I did in the Fall 2015 semester. I
began doing number talks9 in my classroom as a result of learning that when
students preconceptions (Donovan, S., & Bransford, J. (2005). pg. 219) about a
topic are engaged, students will actually learn the new concept more readily
(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 1999).
multiple ways to solve problems based on what they were experiencing during
number talks (McDonald, 2015b). After doing number talks, I completed a field
study to see if I could impact students use of the algorithm to solve math
questions by teaching them mental math strategies. Teaching them the strategies
had no impact on their use of the algorithm 10 (McDonald, 2016). Upon this result, I
delved deeper into why there was no change and came upon an interesting idea.
If all the math experiences children have involve simply answering questions, and
not talking about the math concepts and number sense involved in questions,
students learn they do not need to know why, they just need to answer the
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question (Pearce, 2015). So in order to create change in how students solve math
questions, we need to change how students are taught.11
Educational Practice
This diploma program continues to have profound impact on my teaching. Above, I
described numerous changes I made in the classroom as a result of my new
understandings.
practice. I recognize there is a set curriculum that I must teach, but I also feel
more at liberty to use my professional judgement to teach other skills I deem
necessary. The new curriculum, specifically the core competencies, includes skills
that I believe in: social responsibility, and personal awareness and responsibility. I
am excited about being able to include my educational philosophy within the
curriculum. A second major impact is that I now have the knowledge of how to do a
field study. This is something I would like to continue. My past field studies have
helped me become a better teacher. Field studies give me valuable data when
trying something new in my classroom and help me determine if it is a practice I
should continue. Finally, the program as a whole has helped me become more
reflective. I am journaling regularly, keeping a record of what worked, what did
not, and how to improve lessons. Overall, I feel I am a better teacher due to the
experiences Ive had in this diploma program12.
Educational Communities
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Being in the diploma program helped me gain confidence to share my ideas with
others. Consequently, I joined a few different teams last spring and this school
year.
First, I became the lead teacher for the launch of MyEdBC and provided
training for my staff on how to use the new program 13. Since September, I have
provided extra support for teachers when issues arise with MyEdBC.
Second, I
became part of the Learning Partners program where experienced teachers are
paired with first year/new-to-the-classroom teachers13. I provide support for a new
teacher by helping with scheduling subjects, marking, and report cards. I also help
my mentee to deal with challenging behaviors. Last, I am part of the curriculum
implementation team for grades four to six 13. I, with 5 others, have developed two
workshops and resources for teachers on the February 9 th and April 25th curriculum
days. Before entering into this diploma program, I would never have considered
joining any of these groups. I am more willing to openly participate on teams and
voice my thoughts and ideas.
Learning from Others
One of the best things about the diploma program is being able to have
discussions with my peers.
article, and then having discussions about it whether we agree, disagree, or feel
the authors point is valid. For example, in the spring 2015 term, we were studying
curriculum and trying to define it. My own definition of curriculum changed as a
result of the conversations we had (McDonald, 2015c) and the time I took to think
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about it14. Another example of this occurred during my second field study. I was
having trouble collecting data around time on-task. I spoke with a small group of
peers in the diploma program about my difficulty and learned from them that
measuring time on-task is hard to do as a classroom teacher with so many
different responsibilities15. I value the time Ive spent with my peers because they
have also helped me grow as an educator.
Beyond the Diploma Program
I have learned a great deal and had so many different learning experiences. I look
forward to continuing my learning through completing more field studies.
I am
district so we can work together. During the program, I also became an educational
leader through the different teams and programs I joined. I am continuing to be
involved in the mentoring program and I hope to share my learning with others in
the school district, possibly via workshops.
Conclusion
Learning from others, participating in educational communities, and my new
understandings have all helped me to become a better teacher. The experiences
are significant because I would not have had them if it were not for the diploma
program.
teaching in a way that better aligns with my philosophy. I feel re-energized and am
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