Reflection for TRB Standard 6

For my evidence I have chosen an Aboriginal storybook created by one of my

grade 8students. This was the final product resulting from a two and half week spring
practicum unit entitled Aboriginal Legends. I have chosen a sample of students work
from this particular unit because it profoundly highlighted to me the need for the
teacher to have a broad knowledge base of the subject area they teach. It also
taught me how to manage my expectations and helped me to understand at a grade
8 level the subject I was teaching.Before my practicum my knowledge of Canadian
Aboriginal culture was next to non-existent to the extent that I was barely aware of
Aboriginal communities within the small Canadian Town I was residing in. This was
mainly due to the fact that I am not Canadian. Prior to my practicum and in line with
the emphasis on increased engagement with Aboriginal culture outlined in the new
BC Curriculum, my sponsor teacher requested that I teach this unit.Learning about
Aboriginal cultures and how they can be represented within the context of legends
was a valuable experience in creating a broad knowledge base. As I discovered
during my research it was not just the empirical and factual knowledge of the subject
in terms of structure and content, but also how to present this knowledge in a
manner that is both sensitive and respectful. This was particularly important because
the aim of including Aboriginal perspectives within the new curriculum is to
essentially create respect through understanding. Due to my focused research, I now
possess a broad knowledge base of a subject I did not possess before my
practicum. Working within the Canadian education, this will be useful knowledge that
I will continue to call upon.I believe the example of students work clearly illustrates
the synthesis between the correct content of the material and expressing reverence
for the subject. The student has produced an outstanding piece of work that pays
credit to the hard work and long hours of research Iput in prior to the start of the
practicum. Furthermore, this also shows how committed I am when it comes to
providing my students with the knowledge they require in order to achieve their best.