The following are competencies that I have been incorporating throughout my practicums:
- Critical Thinking – This particular competency has been developed through intentional questioning. I have selected questions for each lesson that would provoke the students to make connections to previous learning, and increase their awareness of the topics. Students responding to these selected questions through verbal and printed means.
- Communication – This competency was developed through students communicating their ideas during pair and shares, when prompted to share when their popsicle stick was pulled, or by celebrating their wins as a class! Communication is critical to learning development, as students as less likely to remember knowledge they have not shared about. This is why lesson closures are so important! I respect and appreciate this competency to be one of the most essential pieces to a successful classroom.
- Digital Literacy – On my ten-week practicum, students were encouraged to access different digital programs to interact with their learning in a different way. Raz Kids, Essential Skills Complete Math and Reading, and Reading Eggs were used during Daily 3 Math and Daily 5 Literacy. The students were very independent in finding the correct web pages to engage their learning, and they found a sense of pride in their progression within these technologies. A few of my students found Reading Eggs to be a super fun and engaging way to learn, often asking about using this during our Friday free time on the computers!
- Numeric Literacy – Students were developing their numeric literacy while learning addition to 100. This competency was developed through number sense talks. It was really interesting to watch this competency being met through student-to-student lessons. For this, a student with strong mathematical awareness would help an emerging student with their work. They would talk them through the question, demonstrating numeric literacy extensions.
- Collaboration & Teamwork – During our gym classes, students would often engage in collaborative games that required them to work with their classmates. They would have different teammates each gym class, and this encouraged students to problem-solve and practice fair play. This would sometimes require me to moderate the problem-solving, but their skills in working together were visibly improving throughout the lessons. One particular student had a Good Day chart based on their ability to breath deeply and stay positive, something that worked as motivation to play fairly and kindly with friends during gym. This was such a neat way to inspire the student to pursue their goal of receiving a sticker at the end of the day based on their fair and positive attitude. I will definitely try this within my own class!
- Creativity/Innovation – As teachers, it is our job to provoke students’ creativity and innovation. We inspire students to use their imagination and develop connections to the learning. One way that I incorporated this into my teaching was through fiction writing. We worked on adding details that are not realistic to encourage our imaginations to grow. We also shared our creative ideas with the class to celebrate the wonder and creativity of the class. We did this through a sharing circle, a great way to encourage students to be better listeners and speakers.