Professional Semester I
I completed my PSI semester in Sept-Dec of 2013. In my coursework, I developed knowledge and skills in curriculum and instruction, classroom management, assessment, technology integration, literacy-building, and child development (educational psychology). This is my group response and self-reflection for an educational psychology case study. This is a sample performance task I created and later used to think through my art and language arts lessons.
I completed a 5-week practicum at a Catholic school in Lethbridge. This involved:
During this time, I also tutored a grade 4 student in writing and math. It was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Metis culture, the challenges of learning with FASD, and strategies for working with dysgraphia.
I completed a 5-week practicum at a Catholic school in Lethbridge. This involved:
- teaching grade 4 language arts (film study unit on Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away). This is the final project I developed for my grade 4 language arts class. The students enjoyed brainstorming ideas for multimedia presentations, and worked well together on this engaging task, based off previous lessons for a film study unit. Other assessments leading up to this included a Film Critic Journal, Group Response Questions, a Movie Review, and a Peer Edit of the movie review.
- teaching grade 4 social studies (First Nations of Alberta)
- teaching grade 4 math (patterns)
- teaching grade 4 art (three-dimensional drawing). This is the series of lesson plans I taught, as well as reflections on their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
- teaching grade 1 physical education (yoga, dance)
- teaching grade 4 and 5 physical education (yoga, dance, aerobics, martial arts)
- assisting with literacy and numeracy centres for grade 4, using a combination of written work and games on laptops and iPads
- using the Smart Board as an instructional tool in each lesson
During this time, I also tutored a grade 4 student in writing and math. It was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Metis culture, the challenges of learning with FASD, and strategies for working with dysgraphia.