Frame of reference

« Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely

boring. » Marilyn Monroe. First of all, teachers are people; people are unique, people make

mistakes. This quote reminds me that we don’t have to be perfect; I just want to be fearless, resilient

and authentic both in my career and in my personal life. Most importantly, I wish to inspire my

students to be inspiring by flaunting their flaws and daring to be different.

Connections and

relationships
Relationship with my students is what is most important to me. I believe mutual trust and

respect are fundamental aspects of any healthy relationship. I want my students to feel accepted and

loved. I want them to feel safe and free to be, and self-express themselves. I think that beauty is

found in difference and uniqueness and that people with different values, background and

knowledges have a lot to offer and teach each other. I want my classroom to be a place where

people are sharing, discovering and appreciating other people’s ideas and opinions.

Obviously, relationships with parents are also important. As parents, they most likely know

what’s best for their own children. The way I see it, a teacher and a student’s parents are in a

partnership in which both parties ultimately have the well-being of the child at heart and will openly

share information on the students’ stretches, progression, successes, etc. in order to find the best

ways to support and help the child grow and blossom.

 Establishing good relationships with my colleagues and community is crucial. A good friend of

mine in the business field once said this to me: “It is not about what you know, but about who you

know”. Being in practicum, I now better understand the power of this statement. Indeed, in a highly

collaborative field like education, having good relationships with the people who work at your school

as well as with those who are helping around the school is important for many reasons such as:

getting advices and ideas on how to adapt and improve my instruction, borrow materials from older

teachers who have more experience, get a good sense of the school community, get around the

school and know where to access resources.

Teaching and learning strategies

I believe in student-centered classrooms. The world which we live in is constantly changing

and so do we. Therefore, I think that we need to adapt ourselves and our ways of teaching. I think

that most kids are born with a natural ability to be curious about the world around them and eager

to learn. Therefore, they would benefit in a classroom where I let them make their own observations,

theories and experiment. I want to get to know my students’ interests and passions, because when

one is doing something with passion, the learning goes deeper and the engagement levels increase

significantly. I know for a fact that when one is truly interested in what they’re doing, the work will
be done more thoroughly and enthusiastically. I want to teach my learners how to be active learners

both inside and outside the classroom and encourage them to be wrapped in wonder, go in different

directions and fly on their own. Moreover, I believe in promoting inquiry-based learning, because

finding answers to their own questions will make them feel a strong sense of pride and ownership of

their learnings.

Classroom

management
I want to push my students and set the bar high from the start in order for them to reach

their highest potential. I have faith in my students and I want to challenge them to do things they

never thought they could accomplish before and see that big smile on their faces. However, I would

challenge them, but just enough so that they don’t get to discouraged and give up. Moreover, I

believe that a classroom where a teacher has good management skills includes: have neutral outtake

on conflicts, check in with students regularly, be consistent about expectations and model and

reinforce appropriate behaviour. Finally, I strongly believe that hard work is a two way street and

that you get back what you put in. Thus, I believe in spending lots of energy modeling respect and

love and acceptance in my classroom to get it back in return from my students and towards each

other.
Role of curriculum &

competencies
I think the curriculum has a really good layout and pertinent content. It plays an important

role in the planning process and is a very useful tool which can be easily and effectively referred to as

a guide to make sure that my instruction is still on track and significant for my age group and subject

area. It is a great reminder of where our students should be and what I can do to move their learning

forward. I see the curriculum and the competencies as seeds which we plant in the classroom. The

activities and the projects designed by the teachers and based off those competencies then become

the roots and vehicle for further learning. Finally, students’ learning, involvement and dedication for

a given activity or project represent the leaves growing on trees or the blooming of flowers. This

metaphor helps us see how the curriculum is a focal point and plays a crucial role in moving students

from learning theory to understanding it to successfully applying it to new and real-world situation.
Needs of diverse learners

through inclusive practices

I believe that this is a huge piece of the whole education system. Everybody is different and

have different needs at different times. Therefore, I believe in Piaget’s developmental theory of

learning which explore that learning is a readiness approach (G. Bond, 2008). In fact, everybody’s

brain may appear the same, but work quite differently. Indeed, different parts of the brain are

stronger or develop more quickly for different people. Therefore, children are ready at different

times to learn different concepts or ideas. They need to wait for the maturation of certain areas of

the brain prior to be taught certain things. Plus, let’s not forget all the different types or learners such

as visual, auditory, tactile, motor… I want to make sure I am able to adapt my practise and find

different creatives ways to engage as much learners as I can, according to their readiness to learn and

their learning styles.

Formative and summative

assessment
 As stated in the assessment for learning principle, any assessment, whether it is formative or

summative, should be very clear and straightforward for students so that they know what they are

doing, how to get it done, and most importantly why they are doing it. I think that if the students

don’t know what is expected of them, they will be more likely to be bored, give up, and fail. Plus, in

most cases, motivation decreases and thus students are less likely to become self-regulated learners

(OECD). Think about when you play a board game or a videogame for example, it will be really hard

for you to stay on task, let alone try to win or level up if you don’t watch a tutorial or read the

instructions prior to playing the game. Furthermore, I strongly believe keeping students’

accountability by using the self-assessment technique. It is important to involve them in the process,

and another way of doing that is by giving them meaningful and constructive feedbacks where they

can find suggestions on where they should go next. Being involved in the process will empower our

young students and get them ready for a life full of independent successes and successful

independence.