During EDUC 491 practicum, I learned a variety of ways to implement classroom management skills. I tried many ways of capturing the attention of the students, ranging in clapping to a beat, having a list of call-back phrases, and to ringing a bell. For the class that I was in, some of the strategies were very successful, and others didn’t suit the class. I did find more strategies to try during the final phase-out week as I observed in different classrooms and absorbed some ideas from other teachers. One strategy that I feel will suit my personality best would be counting down from five. This gives the students a chance to finish their sentence, get to the area they should be in for the lesson, and ready themselves to learn. The counting down method seems like something I would like to try as the timeframe to transition is clear, and it allows for a conclusion to the side-conversations before turning attention to the teacher.
I also learned about the different interactions between other members of staff. I had a full-time Education Assistant in the class that I was teaching in. I would need to help direct the EA to take a student for a sensory walk, assess and communicate my observations of what the students needs, and work with her to ensure that the students are receiving the support that they require. I also collaborated with the resource teacher and school counsellor to take some students for support during Daily 5 Literacy Skills. The students would attend small group meetings to play literacy games or reading in small groups. We had this extra support each afternoon and I learned about how beneficial it can be to have extra adults to read with and assist students in developing their literacy skills.
Each practicum held great opportunities to learn about different programs that each school offers, to see how unique each learner is, and many different strategies for classroom management. I have loved meeting other educators and hearing their stories about programs or strategies that have worked for them. I feel that each practicum showed a new perspective into what it means to be an educator, and how each group of learners is much different from another.
As learned throughout the courses, I had an experiential opportunity to learn about differentiation within a classroom, and how to ensure that each student can succeed. This has been impactful for thinking through lessons, organizing group work, and designing my own worksheets that have a wide difficulty range, yet meet the same learning outcome. This is the skill that I appreciated the most from the program, and will assist me within my own classroom in the future.
I am so thankful for this learned journey and for everyone that I have met along the way. There have been so many inspiring and supportive people within the education program that I know will continue to support future and current educators as we grow and learn!
