EDPY 303 Recap

Woop woop, this is my last class that for the year that I'll be doing a recap for. I wasn't going to recap for EDPY 303 (Assessment class) until I got my letter grade received. We all wrote the final exam on March 12 and didn't get our grades till today (March 31). That's 19 days later! For me, totally not cool. Did you know that professors have 5 days from the point students write their class final, to give their later grades back? That's typically the guideline, but how often does that happen? Usually 50%. Assessment was clearly an exception! 

I don't even remember this class fully, it's been almost a month since I sat in its lectures! The final for this class was also the latest one for me, so I wrote the final, took time to work and relax, then BAM practicum hits. The final was decent and fair, just like any other final and I walked away with an ehh grade. #kindadisappointed

EDPY 303 was pretty straight forward, where we learned about different assessment practices to exercise when student teaching or teaching. I remember there was a lot of proper test creations, such as selected-response, constructed-response, matching, etc. My favorite section in this course would be the how of assessments and learning its pros and cons. Should I use checklists? Rating scales? Holistic or analytic rubrics? These questions are what I'm asking myself during my IFX currently! 

Am I right or AM I RIGHT?

I sat beside my good friend all assessment classes, who I met last term and we partnered for both of the assessment assignments. She's an example of someone who I want as a teacher across my classroom! She's that amazing. And so am I.

Week 2 Recap

So, I'm currently at work blogging because I wanted to tell you how my week 2 of my IFX went. To be honest, it was a little rougher than the first week. I had a couple lows during Tuesday/Wednesday, where I felt a bit insecure about if being a teacher is what I'm meant to be doing. But you know what, that's okay, I felt like I needed that realization to see if teaching is truly for me. I felt like I finished this week strong and positive as spring break, SPRIIIIIINGGGGG BRRREAAK, is here, about time! PS - this picture is a typical spring break picture which is something I am unfortunately, not doing.

I'm not sure why I struggled with teaching this week, but my MT has high expectations for me I feel like. They're higher than what I originally expected, but I'm slowly understanding that she wants me to achieve so much more than a typical IFX student! She just wants me to do my very very very best and I can see why her bar is raised so high. She pushes me more, in a great way, to achieve that bar.

She gave me great pointers in what I need to work on, classroom management skills especially. I've been experimenting with tricks in how to get the children's attention here and there. Ones I've tried include "if you hear my voice, touch your ear/nose/lips/etc" and also "if you hear my voice, clap once/twice/three times" and "hands together, sit on them please". If you have any others that work great with your classroom, I would love to know!

Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break -- I'm almost 99% sure that every, and I mean every teacher is way more excited for this break that students. Yes, that includes me!

Even though there's "break" in Spring Break, I'll be doing anything but that. I have about 10 different lesson plans I need to complete, plus creating any additional worksheets and power points. Oh yeah, did I mention how I still have to w-o-r-k. I still need to make money as I'm a poor, hungry student. I just realized that every day for the past 2 weeks, I always go and grab either an L or XL 3S 1C coffee from Tim Horton's. Have I turned into that kind of teacher?! One where I absolutely rely on coffee to survive the day? I may have. Students even ask me "Mr. Fabia, you ALWAYS drink coffee!! Why?"

Meet Mr. Fabia

It wasn't until Friday that I had the opportunity to explain a little bit about myself to my grade 6's. I immediately started to teach on Monday, however I never had a "real" introduction of me to them. Instead of talking about myself, I kind of made it into a game!

I put up a list of 11 things and they have to choose 6 that they think I am. I went down the list and explained which nouns I am and which I'm not. It was actually pretty interesting and only took 10 minutes! After going through the list, I asked who got alllllllll 6 right. Turns out, not a lot! Surprise, surprise. The cool thing is, after this "game" ended I heard someone say "that was a fun activity!" Ha, it was just a different way for them to discover who I am before actually talking about myself.

I dare you to try it out if you can! I put it down below for you to see. Can YOU guess which six I am or was? ;)

Week 1 - Check!

Wow, what a week! Wednesday I pulled the longest day at the school thus far: 12 hours. My MT wanted me to stay with her for the school's "student-led conference"-like evening so that night I wasn't home till about 8pm. Thursday I went to The Price Is Right Live with my friend and last night I didn't get home till late evening as well. The past few days, just like the days to come will always be go go GO.

I was going to blog earlier this morning but I have this thing, called a job. Where I need it to earn money. I got home from working and took a nap, and now I'm here! Talking to you recapping my intense (yet rewarding) week of my first practicum.

Two things I learned this week:

1. I have the best support system. At the school I'm at, my mentor teacher is hands down, absolutely, positively, happily, such a great mentor. She's given me constructive criticism and feedback that is going to help me be successful later on. She understands where I'm at in my teaching experience and is taking all of my previous experiences into consideration. Not only I have a great mentor teacher, the other staff and other student teachers are such a privilege to work with. I'm one thousand percent blessed in the administration and people who are here to support my journey through my IPT!

2. I need to transition from student to teacher more effectively. An area I need to work on as a student teacher is making that transition from a University student to a teacher. For the past 3 or so years I'm used to saying words like campus, lecture and cafeteria. And that's okay as that was my setting and environment for that time. Now, I have to change up what I say as these words, along others, I can't use anymore as a teacher since my grade 6'ers won't understand! I'm doing my best to use more elementary friendly vocabulary such as instruction or lesson -- so wish me luck! Transitioning from student to teacher is a lot harder than people give credit for.

Two Days In!

Wow, already started yesterday and I am already so so so busy! Which I love! I'll do a quick recap as I'm currently watching The Challenge: Rivals II. (Go Sarah and Jordan!)

I've observed for the most part yesterday and my MT and I sat and planned out the upcoming week for me to start teaching. I already made some lesson plans and am so excited for this journey to happen!

Today, we went on a FIELD TRIP! Yes, field trip, on my second day, huh what huh!? We went to the legislature and unfortunately, my MT couldn't come. It's okay, since I told her great the experience was. This was a great day to spend time with my grade 6's in an environment that is outside the classroom. Check out my pictures!

Selfie with Ed Stelmach!

Palm Trees looking up!

Stairs where we took our class group picture

Pros & Cons of Group Work

Group Work. Ohhh group work. Every semester I expect to work (or partner) with people in terms of assignments or studying, and this semester was no exception. Having only three classes, each one had some sort of partner or group work component.

In assessment, we had to do a two-part assignment either by yourself, with a partner or with a group of three. I worked with my fantastic friend (and partner in crime) who I met this past year! We got pretty decent scores in our assessment assignments that it wasn't something major we stressed about--as we had each other to rely on.

During music, we had to do a group lesson about a topic from the POS (Program of Studies). I worked in a group of 4, and to be franc, it was a little bit of a headache. I felt that there were more hiccups than necessary but then again, it wasn't worth that much. I'm thinking in my head "only 10%, only 10%, only 10%." I did learn from this though, how group work you're forced to work with people who have different work ethics than you and how people voice their ideas differently. Sometimes, you don't even have control with whom you're with. You just have to deal with it, which exactly is what I did. Rather than just getting frustrated, all it takes is time. Time to adjust, time to explain and time to absorb the different learning styles people have. Will Smith says it best... I think.

Lastly, for science, we were presented the biggest group term assignment so far in my undergrad. Where with a group, you plan a lesson plan (ours was relating to Air & Aerodynamics!), deliver the lesson and answer a bunch of questions analyzing our experience and evidence. I worked in a group with 5 other people, where hands down was the best group I've worked with school wise. I think it's because we meshed well right at the beginning. Usually, I take a leadership role come group work but I didn't this time around. I felt that every person contributed to our term assignment equally. Did I mention that it was worth 35%!? Yes, 35%! We met multiple times and helped each other constantly as it lightened the load of the assignment itself.

If someone asked me what I learned from working with my science group, I would have to say how teachers are very supportive of one another. I always felt that way during this course and I look forward in the other teachers I'll be working with later in my career (or even during my practicum)! All in all, I really did luck out in working with an outstanding group of pre-service teachers. Even though this meme brings some truth and humor, it does not reflect my experiences of group work this past term. Or did it..? 

Orientation for Orientation

I was so busy throughout the Orientation training today that I didn't even snap a picture, so this one below is courtesy of my friend Ms. L! 

This is my 3rd time volunteering with the UAlberta Orientation program as an Orientation Leader that I'm so stoked to work with the group of OV's (Orientation Volunteers) I'm assigned! 

Being a part of this amazing program I can see the skills and attributes correlating into being a(n awesome) teacher. As there are certain positions within Orientation, as an Orientation Leader I know that I'll be leading new students around, showing them the reasons why UofA is the best institution they have chosen and "educating" them about campus.

In relation to teaching, being an OV you also have to be energetic, enthusiastic and model leadership-like qualities. Which in my mind, having done it twice previously and once more this year will help strengthen my teaching abilities. Also, I love Orientation as it's a great way to start off my academic school year! Plus you meet a bunch of new friends!

See You Later Volunteering!

Due to my practicum starting this Monday, I finished (for now) two of my volunteer experiences today. Super bittersweet. I understand that I don't get paid for my time going to the schools, but it's the students, teachers and support provided that honestly helps me in realizing why I want to be a teacher.

This morning I was at the school where I read with various children--aging from grade 2 to 6. I read with a grade 6'er, telling him that I was going to be a student teacher for his grade and asked him to give me advice. Honest advice. He told me the following

- "Watch out for the silly kids"

- "There's always going to be drama"

- "Most either cry or get extremely sad"

At grade 6, really?! I told him that this sounds like grade 2, but then he told me his reasoning and it became more clearer to me. It was cool that he gave me honest, honest advice when teaching a group of his own grade because other than me, who's more of an expert in a grade than a student in that grade itself! 

And then there was this 3rd grade girl who was magnificent in her reading! I could tell right away. She told me that she absolutely dislikes Frozen. Yes, a child who does NOT like Frozen. Is this real life?! She mentioned that she dislikes the singing and Elsa and Anna, but concludes that her favorite character is Olaf. OLAF MAN! Furthermore, she told me that during reading Jack and the Beanstalk she does not want to live in a castle as a princess because she dislikes dresses, wearing them and seeing them. THIS GIRL IS GOING PLACES. And to top it all of, she wants to be a teacher. A TEACHER!! So unique this child is--surreal to see it up front.

My afternoon then consisted of helping out with an in-school field trip with a group of Kinders! These guys are so interesting to observe as they have no filter... which I love! I helped them with glass art which was cool to create!

It seems like I'm a 'student teacher' already at these schools, but I'm not. Because of my practicum, I won't be back till maybe September or even January at the schools. It's nice to reflect on back on these volunteer experiences because as I previously mentioned, they help me realize why I'm doing this teaching profession for. Not a goodbye, but a see ya later!

Recap: EDEL 330 Science Curriculum

The second class I took this term is EDEL 330, also known as Pedagogy and Curriculum for Elementary Science. I find that a lot of EDEL courses you sit in table groups, instead of rows, and for this class specifically we did A LOT of table/group/partner work!

The topics in elementary science are pretty darn cool. I mean in grade 2 you learn about magnetism and buoyancy/boats. Grade 4 students learn about light and shadows, wheel and levers, etc. And in grade 6 students learn about air & aerodynamic, flight, evidence and investigation (which, by the way, is what I'm teaching during my practicum!) and other concepts. There's so much more variety and interest with elementary science. High school was just a big blah with only chemistry, physics and biology available. Good thing I'm going to be an elementary teacher, because seeing me teach chem or bio, will end up great! not be the best decision! That's where I need my friend Ms. L!

There was this one major term assignment that this class consisted of, where the quick and dirty version of it is plan a lesson, deliver the lesson to grade 6 students (topic - Air & Aerodynamics), record their observations and answer 3 questions (broken down into a, b, c, etc) with your group. I won't go into detail here, since I'll talk about it another blog post, but group work can be challenging. For this huge term assignment, I got the best of the best (group member wise). Expect a post from me soon where I'll talk about group work more in depth and its strengths and weaknesses.

Here are pictures of what my partner and I built during class. Basically, using art-straws the goal is to support several textbooks. It also has to be at least 50cm high and be considered an "elegant solution". This was one of our class activities where we analyzed science, technology and linking it into STS proper decision-making skills.

This was also my earliest class this whole year, not just this term. So I'd be lying if I looked forward to this class every Monday and Wednesday. 9 AM classes and me just for some reason, don't get along. Yes, our professor would mention information that would be on the midterm and final, but it was also the people that I sat with made the class even more enjoyable. I made a great choice sitting with them on day 1!

I'm also relieved in how the cards have been dealt. What I mean is that I am teaching a majority of science in my practicum. Taking EDEL 330 specifically this term is going to propel me into being the best science student teacher for these 6th graders! Science does rule!

Recap: EDEL 325 Music Curriculum

One of the three classes I took this term was EDEL 325, or Pedagogy and Curriculum for Elementary Music. Going into this course, I was really excited for it as music is not classified as a core subject--rather an option. I do have a tiny music background singing in a city choir and used to play piano and the French Horn that I was looking forward in my background knowledge to be of use. 

Our professor was the best! Really, it didn't feel like a lecture class. Instead, there were times were we played instruments (like the recorder and the xylophone!), we sang to songs and participated in activities that broadened our musical understanding. Our professor also introduced cool concrete manipulatives, seen in the photo below. Learning music is best achieved not just sitting in a desk, but also with moving, participating, singing, dancing, and much more. 

Felt Staff Concrete Manipulatives

(Yes those are my salted and graham crackers, I got hungry at that time as music class was during lunch time!)

There was this assignment during our class where we had to choose a piece of children's literature, and incorporate it into teaching musical concepts, as in the Alberta Program of Studies. We had to write 5 mini lesson plans and create a display for it. With my library knowledge, I used the good ol' Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? as it's an all time classic of mine! For my display, I took selfies of each of the actions and glued it to one side, and on the other it's the animal itself. This would help students, such as with limited English vocabulary, to also be familiar with the animals in a kinesthetic learning environment. Along with the action cue cards, I made stick puppets of the animals too. 

Purple Cat, Brown Bear, Green Frog, Blue Horse, Yellow Duck

Can you guess which animals I'm doing the actions for?

This is such a great class for beginner music learners because each class helped me to build upon my fundamental skills from before. I highly recommend this course for anyone who is looking for an interesting option and who wants to further explore elementary music! Seriously, it was the one class I looked forward to every Monday and Wednesday.

One One One!

So the number that best represents me right now is currently ONE! Why?! Well, In exactly ONE week I start my IFX and also I have just ONE final left. Even though I only have 3 finals this term, it is the greatest to know that one is remaining. I also can't believe that I actually get to start student teaching next Monday! My this term is flying by it's crazy!

I have been ridiculously busy with studying, work and others knick-knacks that I haven't blogged in a little while. As my term of classes end, I hope to get into the regular routine of constantly blogging about my thoughts and experiences for you guys to read! I hope to even take more pictures to share rather than GIFs -- that way I'm not shamelessly advertising GIFs daily. 

In the next couple weeks, I'll be doing quick blogging recap of my courses (assessment, science curriculum, music curriculum) so watch out for those. And of course, my other upcoming ones too!