This is only the beginning

Personal Reflection on the first week of education program

Dear Kevin,

You're absolutely right. Everything is fine. In fact, I am loving my education program so far.

I remember the days leading up to my program, I was confiding to you how I was worried and concerned that I wouldn't fit in with the vibe of the education program.

All my friends who went through UBC BEd have told me how rough their time was during their program. It seemed as if everything was going to be a patch of war: heavy course load, regimental professors who are too busy to cover content and who too easily dismiss individual student's values and background, colleagues who are constantly evaluating others and find opportunities to have bragging rights, etc. It has been long since I felt such loneliness and fear that I would loose myself in amidst of getting things done.

But, it seems that God really loves me and wants me to be supported in every way possible as I develop to be an educator :)

When I stepped into my first class, I found myself among many other students who wore such friendly and warm smile. They were joking around, down-to-earth, and most of all, welcoming. I was a little intimidated at first that I looked younger than my colleagues. It also did not help that I noticed that I was one of the few Asians in my class. However, the wall I had built for myself due to these visible differences were broken down instantly when my instructor came by, knelt down by the table I was sitting at, to greet us into the year. He personally asked me for my name and how I was feeling. His name is Leyton, and he traveled 5 hours that morning to come and greet us into the year. I felt valued. Then shortly, the class began with some community building activities. Academic exercises followed after.

The rest of the week flew by.

My professors are just wonderful. Each of them bring a unique character and teaching charisma into the classroom. I cannot tell you who my favourite is yet, because I genuinely love all of them equally.

And in the midst, I must say, I learnt so much of what it means to be an educator already.

I was challenged in every class to think for my students and what it means to be specifically, a middle-years educator. I remember I was having a conversation with you with regards to my cohort request. If I can recall accurately, I think I had put Middle Years as my second choice because my teaching experience can transfer well into both elementary and high school (when I am looking for a job). But dearest, there's so much more to Middle Years and SRL than I had ever imagined. And I must say, I am quite privileged to have been placed in this particular cohort.

Burning Question of the Week

• What is the role of a Middle Years Educator?

• How do I understand middle school philosophy?

• What is SRL?

• How can the integration of SRL practices promote learning in my classroom?

• How do I get started?

When I tell people I will be working in middle schools during my practicum, most of them gives me a look of .... well, some combination of shock, aversion and disbelief. "You sure you want to teach kids in that age range? They're in the period of life where they're bouncing off the walls because of hormones, drama, and rebellion" But hear this, love: it precisely because they are in that age range that makes middle school educators so much more crucial.

Children in middle years are going through intense change in their physical, social, emotional and cognitive growth. Because of this, we as middle school educators have a greater responsibility in their development to channel their energy and exploding imagination to their interest. As these children enter into their young adulthood, I - as their educator- am here to direct their ideas and actions so that they are able achieve their goals and dreams. Isn't this wonderful? I AM SO EXCITED to do this for my students.

It has only been a week, and yet I am loving my cohort. Because I am in the self-regulated learning, I will be given the tools throughout this program to empower students to regulate their own thoughts, behaviours and emotions to be able to interact with others prosocially and to reach their success. In the traditional education, teachers are at the stage and they are the ones to tell the kids what is important and to spoon feed them with all the information. However, in self-regulated learning (SRL), teachers are there rather as a guide for the students to give resources when students ask for content and help. But the idea is to really give our students autonomy and ownership in their decisions.

Eight Philosophies of Middle Year Education // Diagram from "It's all about thinking"

This is an important diagram that represents eight philosophies of middle years education. Each of these aspects are crucial to fostering a holistic education for the whole student.

Let me explain further:

• Collaboration. I will talk about this another week.

• Valuing and being prepared to teach adolescents. This means that I, as an educator, need to embrace the student in all their capacities, talents, background, values and challenges. It is to recognize where they excel and where they need help. As a response, I need to be professionally equipped and knowledgeable on which principles and theories to apply to best support the student. It is my responsibility to have the appropriate resources and understanding to provide the right tools and framework for the student to succeed.

• Active and purposeful learning. Rather than to parade through meaningless content, active and purposeful learning refers to intentional and releatable connection between the student and the learning outcome. In my classroom, this means that I design learning experiences that provides students with opportunities to think and communicate critically, creatively, collaboratively, and with growing awareness of their own thinking process. Here are some guiding questions that will help me implement active and purposeful learning in my students: do my students get choice in the creation of this learning task? Do they get to decide how they will represent their learning? Am I challenging students to use thinking skills like synthesizing in this task? When will I build in opportunities for self-assessment and reflection?

• Valuing diversity. I will talk about this another week.

• Learning and teaching in multiple ways. There is this wonderful concept called the universal design for learning (UDL), which refers to teaching strategies that encompasses a diverse learning methods. This allows all students to find different ways to develop their core competencies and understand curriculum concepts. This means that I need to take into consideration when planning lessons the different learning methods students excel in, and explore new ways to teach a lesson to accommodate the diversity of student learning.

• Challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant curriculum. When children are given opportunities to build relationship with competencies and concepts they explore, they engage with the content more deeply. to get the students to reach this stage, I need to ask them open ended questions (ex. what is fair?) and have them decide for themselves how they will seek to answer this inquiry. Of course, this inquiry process requires educators to provide scaffolding and ongoing check-ins with students.

• Advanced learning through varied and ongoing assessment. This refers to a positive support that educators provide for their students which includes check-ins at various points during process, affirmations and constructive feedback, and use of empowering language. For example, some of the phrases I can use for my students include: "I noticed that..." "You successfully..... now try" "How can you stretch yourself in this area?..." "More of this, please!"

• Developing identity. I will talk about this another week.

Are you overwhelmed yet with all this content? It's good stuff eh?

Oh Kevin, there's so much more to tell you, but I am now getting a bit sleepy and I must now retire to bed....

I am so happy to be in this program, and I can't wait to write to you next.

With lots of thankfulness and love,

Theresa

First week of B.Ed Program

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Readings

• Schnellert, L., Widdess, N., & Watson, L. (2015). It’s all about thinking: Creating pathways for all learners in middle years. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Portage & Main Press. [Chapter 1]

• Butler, D. L., Schnellert, L., & Perry, N. E. (2016). Developing Self-Regulating Learners. Don Mills, ON: Pearson. [Introduction and Chapter 1]