EDUC 490 practicum was much more then what I ever expected it to be. From the very beginning I felt I had a great connection with my coaching teacher, practicum evaluator and the students. One thing that I really enjoyed about this practicum was that it flowed very smoothly. There was lots of communication between the coaching teacher, practicum evaluator and myself as well as the wonderful staff that made me feel welcome.

Relationship building in this profession is key and so walking into this practicum I felt I needed to make a connection on a deeper level. I opened up to those around me more then I usually would by sharing experiences, asking questions and talking about my goals for the future. I am very grateful for those teachers who opened up to me as well and shared their own knowledge and experiences as well as flooding me with their favorite resources.

I encouraged both negative and positive feedback from both of my coaching teacher and practicum evaluator in order to help lead me into this career knowing that none of us are perfect, that there are no perfect lesson plans, and that we all have the ability to grow and learn. One of my biggest lessons that I learned in this practicum that didn’t quite make sense yet to me in the last practicum was how to make my lesson plans more succinct and to further that learning into assessing the teachings. It was becoming clearer the more lesson planning that I did but it really became clearer when I was teaching the lessons. I focused on my pacing this practicum, especially since time seems to go so fast! One thing that I really focused on and is going to be one of my goals for next practicum would be practicing backwards design in my lesson plans with end goals as my focus.

Throughout the day I found it was important for the students to share their thoughts and own stories, yet we never quite had time. So I started a talking circle in the last week where children shared in a safe environment what they were feeling, things that they liked, what made them happy and also what they are looking forward to. This was a safe and respectful wat to really connect with the students and they loved it!

For my EDUC 491 practicum, my focus will be on backward design, classroom management, pacing, and learning about how to set up your units throughout the year that focuses on the students continued growth.

I am truly blessed to have been in a great classroom surrounded by many amazing teachers who I know have my back and would do anything to help me succeed. I feel more confident now then I ever have that this is the right path for me and that my journey will not end in May 2021, but it will just be a small fork in the path that will lead me to greater things in my future.

Thank you!

Erin Stewart (Van Diemen)