PSII Lessons Learned- Reflecting, Re-adapting, and Reviewing
Lesson Plan Reflections
Following the teaching of each lesson in my PSII practicum, I set aside time to reflect on the strength and weakness of each lesson. Through this process, I feel as though I demonstrated my capabilities as a reflective practitioner and as someone who understands the ups and downs of being a life long learner. The depth and authenticity of my reflections were meant to demonstrate my desire to exemplify KSA #15 by showing that I acknowledge the importance of life long learning.
Re-adapting
Although I came into PSII with very thorough and detailed unit plans for both social studies and language arts, there was a lot of re-adapting and rethinking that took place throughout the duration of these units. Due to various religious celebrations, PD days, and other unforeseen circumstances, I ended up losing quite a few days with my grade six students. Consequently, I had to decide which outcomes from the program of studies I could meet in such a limited period and what products of learning would best show the student's ability to meet these outcomes. I also had to change some of my ideas for lessons, based on the fact that some activities took longer than anticipated. However, through the re-adapting process, I feel as though I really began to appreciate the relationship between practicum experience and discovering that "...there are many approaches to teaching and learning." (KSA#9).
Reviewing
I learned throughout this practicum that there are so many more meanings for the word reviewing. I learned that reviewing is not only a student process, but a teacher process. I was constantly reviewing passages in the novel or reviewing social studies material, just to make sure that I was exhibiting competency in various subject areas (KSA #4). I really enjoyed engaging in fun review activities with the students, however, and it was very rewarding to see students demonstrate their ability to review with one another and with me. I will keep my newfound discoveries about reviewing in mind as I embark on my PSIII practicum in Spring 2018.