Professional Learning Series

A Personal Reflection

Throughout my year at the Faculty of Education, I have been continuously obtaining valuable knowledge in the field of Education. Through our Professional Learning Series (PLS) workshops, my fellow teacher candidates and I have gained a plethora of knowledge and practices in different aspects of the field:

Professionalism

Some of the Professional Learning Series workshops focused heavily on professionalism and the inner workings of becoming a practicing educator. I recall learning about the importance of setting boundaries as an educator and exploring the debate regarding whether or not teachers should censor their social media. Reflecting on this, I do think it is important that educators maintain these professional boundaries after hours of work, as teachers are public figures and role models to children. In this digital age of technology with the younger generation, I understand that children have easier access to finding their educator’s profiles online. If we are presenting our professionalism to our students each day, I personally think we should maintain these boundaries and maintain the same professionalism online. As well, I think educators should keep the boundaries regarding online friendships with children and their parents, as recommended by the Ontario College of Teachers workshop. In addition to boundaries and outside professionalism, we also learned about the importance of our Duty to Report, and the complexities that come with that. Upon learning about this, I now understand the importance of being there for children, as they may come to you due to a lack of support from home. I will ensure to be a reliable figure for children, while consistently upholding my duty to report.

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Emotional Support 

Another aspect of education covered in the PLS workshops is emotional support. These workshops allowed me to get a better understanding of teaching through a trauma-informed lens. This asked me to reflect on my own privilege and taught me that things that may not be triggers to some students may very easily trigger others depending on their trauma. I now understand how I can be more mindful of these students, and how to avoid triggering them inside the classroom. Additionally, I had the privilege to learn even more about the social-emotional learning (SEL) framework and its five competencies. During the workshop, we discussed ways to integrate this into the classroom. Examples I intend to use one day include giving children group activities to improve their ability to collaborate, as well as giving children appropriate classroom tasks and jobs to promote responsibility. We also learned about the importance of teaching students how to self-regulate. I believe this is especially important due to the pandemic and the levels of mental health issues rising in children. Teaching them how to self-regulate will be an important lifelong skill they will use as they continue on their own journeys when facing stressors, which is why I will certainly be implementing this concept in my everyday teaching. 
 

Assessment and Evaluation 

In addition to the faculty’s course regarding assessment, I also learned a lot from the various assessment and evaluation workshops provided. Through these, we discussed the three types of assessment (as, of, for). We also discussed how when I was a young student, there was a large emphasis on assessment for learning and summative assessment. This equated to a large number of quizzes and tests, placing lots of pressure on young students without first checking to see what they know. Now, we are working to place a larger emphasis on assessment as learning, a process in which students are asked to examine and reflect on their progress in learning and make the necessary adjustments to improve. Furthermore, I learned about the importance of feedback. I now see how feedback needs to be descriptive enough for students to understand what may need to change, as well as to make it encouraging, meaningful, and tailored to each student. Finally, I was relieved to learn more about report cards and the process of making them, as it always had felt like such a daunting topic for me.

Inclusivity- Inside the Classroom

Another aspect of education I learned through my workshops is how to foster acceptance and celebrate diversity in the classroom. One thing I have really enjoyed learning about is the implementation of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I intend to learn the needs of students before they begin in my class, and then create an environment that is inclusive to all of these students before they begin, rather than just modifying for specific students. I also learned about the importance of using person-first language when working with students who have diverse abilities. Additionally, we discussed the importance of moving beyond shallow support for LGBTQ2S+ students. I think we need to move beyond raising the flag and demonstrate support, care, and empathy for these students, ensuring our classrooms are safe spaces for all to exist. I also understand this requires me to continually practice teacher reflexivity, and ensure I am using inclusive language and being the most supportive that I can be for all students. 

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Inclusivity- Outside the Classroom

Lastly, through our workshops, I have been able to learn more about how to support students outside the classroom as well. For example, I was surprised to learn about how many students in Windsor-Essex are living below the line of poverty. For this reason, students may not have the materials that their fellow peers have, nor will they have the same opportunities. This is why being a support outside the school, when many of these children may not want to be in their home environment, is vital. This may present itself in ways such as being a part of extracurricular activities, like coaching or hosting a club. It may also mean getting children in touch with summer programs such as day camps or free sports for them to stay involved in the community when school is out.

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In summary, I have learned and been able to reflect on the abundance of information I received through the professional learning series workshops. I value this experience and intend to use all that I have learned as I continue down my path and career in education.

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