Educators engage in professional learning.

How I met standard 7 in my 490 practicum:

Since I was in a Grade 6/7 classroom, I had to do a lot of relearning before I could teach certain subjects, especially mathematics. My coaching teacher was extremely helpful and patient with me. We would sit down together after school and she would teach me how to do certain mathematical equations and different ways I could teach them to the students, such as how to turn an improper fraction into a mixed number. She also gave me good feedback after each lesson I taught which helped me refine my skills for the following lessons. My coaching teacher lent me several great resources to use for various lessons during my practicum. I made copies of most of them to take with me to my next practicum and to have later when I graduate. I also developed a great relationship with the librarian at the school. She helped me find resources for the empathy lessons I taught the students during the first two weeks of my practicum.

During my practicum I attended three after school staff meetings and a Student-Based Team meeting. During these meetings I was able to see all the “behind the scenes” work that goes into making a school community thrive and how much work teachers do to make sure their students are successful.

On the Non-Instructional Day I attended an online workshop, Their Voices Will Guide Us. This workshop focused on how to bring Indigenous content into the classroom and why it is important to do so. They shared ideas on which books can/should be used to bring Indigenous content into the classroom, some of which I already own, and how this benefits both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous students. I found the workshop quite powerful and the book they emailed out after the workshop, Their Voices Will Guide Us: Student and Youth Engagement Guide, will be a great asset for my next practicum.

How I met standard 7 in my 491 practicum:

During my ten week practicum there was one professional development day on February 5th. I joined my coaching teacher, the other Kindergarten teacher, and the other teacher candidate in an indigenous art workshop. During this workshop we learned how to use natural materials to create art. Two of the projects we did were creating a tree of life weaving and feather painting. We learned the benefits of connecting students to nature and how to bring these materials into our classrooms.

Workshops completed during my coursework at UNBC:
September 2019 – December 2020

  • IEP Workshop
  • SOGI Workshop
  • Poverty and Trauma Informed Practices
  • Inclusion and Differentiated Learning
  • Trauma Information Workshop
  • Mental Health Workshop
  • Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education
  • Aboriginal Education
  • Lyfta Information Session
  • Share Ed BC Information Session
  • Ravens for Reconciliation

Professional Development Days attended during my coursework at UNBC:

School District 57 Indigenous Learning Professional Development Day
January 2020

  • Keynote Speaker on Mental Health: Jordin Tootoo
  • Keynote Speaker on Reconciliation and Women’s Empowerment: Waneek Horn-Miller
  • Medicine Wheel Workshop
  • Legendary Experience Workshop

School District 57 Indigenous Day of Learning
September 2020

  • Keynote Speaker Dr. Dustin Louie
  • Keynote Speaker Dr. Niigaan Sinclair
  • Dora Himmlespach – Oral Stories Through Puppetry

C2C Provincial Conference
October 2020

  • Koh-learning in the Nechako Watershed
  • Mardelle Sauerborn – Land Based Libraries: Our Stories Live Here