Week 2 Reflection

#2- Engaging in Career-Long Learning

March 11-15, 2024
Grade 5, Mike Mountain Horse Elementary School
Megan Anderson

While in classes at the University, I had many opportunities to collaborate with fellow
students on assignments and projects. In my first practicum at Plaxton Elementary, there were six
other student teachers in my school. This provided ample opportunities for sharing information.
Additionally, there were two other student teachers in grade one classes, the grade one
classrooms shared a hallway, and my classroom was adjoining a classmate’s room. We often
worked together on lesson plans, shared teaching strategies, and other teachers gave
observational advice.
In my present situation, I find myself quite isolated. Most of the student teachers I know
were placed in secondary schools, with only a few of us placed in elementary schools.
Additionally, there is only one other student teacher in my school, and she is in another grade.
Mike Mountain Horse School (while being an amazing learning environment), is quite disjointed
in its design, and my classroom is separated from the other grade five classrooms due to space
restrictions. Because of this separation, my Teacher Associate is the only contact I have daily,
and to speak to the other grade five teachers I must go to a different wing of the school. I
struggled with the isolation quite a bit in the first week of classes, and I missed the collaboration
in my first school placement.
This changed last Friday when the grade 5 teachers got together to have a quick meeting
to discuss the Project Based Learning activity they have been working on. The planning session
was exactly what I had been waiting for. The way these four teachers communicate, share
resources, and plan their classes to distribute responsibilities is admirable. They added me to
their team drive so I would be able to access their worksheets and resources and have been
wonderful in sharing their ideas on how to use projects to assess understanding.
This past Tuesday, the grade five team had an entire day to dedicate to professional
development within their grade. I was thankful to be a part of this planning process, and I was
able to integrate myself into their plans and offer my assistance in the PBL activity. They have
these dedicated PD days every few months, and it allows them to align their learning goals to
streamline the grade five educational experience for their students. As we have continued
through the rest of this week, I have collaborated with the other teachers on my lessons for next
week and have offered my resources for them to use. I had created a PowerPoint for use when
discussing Atlantic Canada National Parks, as well as a card game to use when discussing
animals and vegetation. The other teachers were quite excited that I was sharing my creations
with them, and I was thankful that I could contribute to their stash of resources.
When attempting to learn from my experiences, I truly appreciate the feedback I receive
from my teacher associate and have asked my students how I can do better. One of my students
suggested that I give them more time to write things down when we are going through a slide, so
the next class I made sure everyone was ready before I moved on. Another student asked if I
could sit at the front “moon” table when he needs extra help, because he can see the board better.
I have been trying to create opportunities for feedback from both my TA and the students. I have
worked with substitutes on two occasions since I have been in this classroom, and I asked both if
there was anything they think I could work on in my lessons or delivery. I know that my
improvement will only come if I actively seek feedback from those around me.
The most challenging part of being in a grade five classroom has been the need to
incorporate technology into my lesson plans. I have very little experience with technology, but I
was lucky to be placed with a TA who is incredibly gifted in this area. He has been very helpful
in showing me how to use the tablets and laptops in research projects, and as a formative
assessment tool using programs like math prodigy. He has also encouraged me in my passion for
project-based learning as a summative assessment tool and has given me many resources for how
to incorporate technology into these projects.
My collaborative relationships in PS2 were slow to start but have become a crucial part
of my growth thus far. My TA has agreed that being isolated from the other grade five classes is
not ideal and has been a hinderance when trying to collaborate with the other teachers. It’s
wonderful that the other teachers realize this difficulty and go out of their way to make him feel
included and that his opinions are important to the success of the team. I believe that individually
these teachers would be great. However, as a group, they can accomplish so much more than
they could alone. Their teaching styles and contributions compliment each other, and their
students benefit from their willingness to collaborate. Going forward, I hope to find a team like
the one I am lucky enough to learn from at Mike Mountain Horse school.