Through our experience in preparation for practicum, as well as throughout the program, we have seen the benefit to planning and curating intentional lessons for our students. While it’s important to be able to pivot and be flexible to changes, it’s also very important to be prepared and intentional with any changes that occur. This will ensure that students are able to reach the academic goals set by the lesson, and that they are able to make necessary connections between activities and curricular content. In my experience in practicum, coming prepared also allowed me to be more comfortable during my lesson and less anxious about anything going wrong because I had premediated a plan for most outcomes. I know as I progress in my educating experience, this will come easier as well.

In my practicum, I taught a lesson in numeracy on ordinal numbers. I knew the students loved reading books, so I made cross-curricular connections and started the lesson with a book about caterpillars that targeted that mathematical learning. I knew from my CT that math was not their favourite, and that sometimes they got very distracted and checked out of the lesson before it was over. In order to combat that, I came very prepared with multiple ideas that would capture their attention. I brought in a large stuffed caterpillar toy that they were able to pass around, engage with and we even named him (Unicorn)! I also prepared an activity that went with the book that was an engaging game for the students to play. My CT gave me the idea from a book she had about combining literacy and numeracy to balance those strengths in students. A few things needed to be pivoted through the lesson, but overall it went extremely well because I was so prepared and ready for anything to happen. Collaborating with my CT on those ideas also created a better experience overall.

As we approach our first years in our teaching career, we must acknowledge that collaborating with other educators, as well as our students will make us a better teacher. Our fellow educators have a multitude of knowledge and experience in the field, and so many are so eager and willing to be able to help the next generation of teachers coming into the field. Being open to taking that knowledge and refining it in our own practice, as well as taking feedback and be able to grow is essential in having success as a teacher and creating success for your students. To take that idea of collaboration further, collaborating and including student input in lessons and activities will not only give your students more responsibility and autonomy, and allow them to feel more connected to their work, it will also provide inspiration. Students are so creative and innovative, and utilizing those skills in the classroom can be so beneficial.

Another skill that I was able to develop over the course of the semester was my ability to implement different assessment strategies and to begin to acknowledge what types of assessments can work best with types of learning needs. As I continue my teaching journey and see even more differentiation, this skill will only develop further.