Katryna Hinkley

Mandy Klauck
November 30, 2023

Self-Critique and Learning Application Assignment

I have tremendously grown as a teacher since the beginning of the semester. Looking

at my previous educational philosophy, it feels forced like I was just reciting facts. I had a

sense of what was important to me as a teacher. I knew what I was passionate about. Now I

feel that I’m imagining my classroom, how I’d like to teach, and I have theories to back up

my values as a teacher.

Throughout this semester (in all my classes), I’ve felt I’ve gained a better sense of

how to be inclusive in my teaching. Originally at the beginning of the semester, I knew I had

to do it, but I didn’t have an idea of how. It felt so overwhelming after taking ED205 and

realizing all the parts of being a teacher, but not knowing how you’re meant to do all of that.

Now I know more about different types of pedagogies, like culturally responsive pedagogy,

trauma-informed teaching, TAB, Universal Design for Learning, and SIOP. In both visual art

education courses, I also learned how to make unit plans and lesson plans. I was curious how

to do that, and I’m glad I finally learned that skill and have a better understanding of it.

Another skill I was able to practice was teaching lessons (in both classes). These were my

first real lessons that I had taught besides in Folk, Ethnic, and Indigenous Art. It was great to

get experience going from lesson planning to teaching because they are two separate

skillsets.

It's hard to pick one most beneficial part of this class. I think it would be planning my

units and lessons. At the beginning of the semester, I had no idea how to do so. Again, I felt
really overwhelmed at where to start with planning. I feel like I’ve gone from wisps of ideas

of what I might want to do in my classroom to concrete ideas that I definitely want to

integrate into my classes. This has greatly contributed towards painting a picture of who I am

as an educator.

Something I’d like to investigate further is Universal Design for Learning. I’ve really

gained interest in this area and accessibility this semester (might also be because of working

in Student Accessibility Services). I feel like I understand the basic concept, but I feel like

there is more to learn. I found the video you shared about affordances fascinating, and the

ADDIE model at the Advancing your Accessible Mindset workshop that I went to. Because of

this, I think I would like to particularly dig deeper into learning about user experience design.

This will help me design a classroom, lessons, and projects that are accessible to as many

students as possible and create a better experience for all students.