Evidence/Artifact #1: Ignite and Bite
School District 79 has been offering a quarterly profession development workshops called Ignite & Bite. The District Learning Team created this series for members of the SD79 learning community and other community partners to ‘ignite your thinking and have a bite with colleagues.’ Topics include Indigenous Understandings, Mental Health, Inclusion, and Curriculum.
I attended the first of this series where I took part in a workshop on Skills Canada’s Wind Turbine Challenge hosted by one of the Teachers in SD79’s Careers Department. After the workshop all presenters and attendees took part in dinner that was hosted by the district as a way for people to collaborate and network.
During my Fall practicum I taught an Applied Design, Skills, and Technology unit on paper circuits. Students created cards using copper tape, LEDs, and button batteries. The lesson was a success which gave me the idea to bring this success to others in the district. The Ignite and Bite was the perfect opportunity to share the unit with fellow educators. I contacted the organizer of the event and was selected to present Paper Circuits at the 4th Ignite and Bite.
Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation, but I will be planning on presenting at a later date.
What I learned and Why is it important
With all the knowledge in school districts it is important to be able to share your knowledge with others in the learning community. This gives educators the ability to share what they have learned and are bringing to their students in the hope that other educators will experience first hand a topic they might be interested in bring to their class or school. I feel with the success that I found in my paper circuits lesson, sharing this success with other educators might make them feel more comfortable with the materials and use it in their classroom.
References
BC Teachers’ Council. (2019, June 19). Professional Standards for BC Educators. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teacher-regulation/standards-for-educators/edu_standards.pdf
Ignite and Bite. (2020). Cowichan Valley School District Learning Team.
Evidence/Artifact #2: Competency Tracker
During my final semester of teacher education I created a curricular competency tracker that can be used by grade 7 teachers. This tracker lists all the curricular competencies for all subjects in the grade 7 curriculum. My plan was to use it during my spring practicum at George Bonner Elementary. I shared the tracker with a few of my classmates at VIU and they thought it was a great idea. I then uploaded it to my website and shared it on the Facebook group “BC Teachers – New Curriculum Sharing”. This group has almost 4000 members and is used by teachers all across British Columbia to share resources, ask questions, and support other teacher’s.
After I uploaded the competency tracker I created I received positive feedback including one of my colleagues who teaches grade 6/7 in the SD79. She indicated she would be using the tracker in the future.
What I learned and Why is it important
Teaching does not happen in a silo. To become an effective teacher you need to be collaborative with other educators. This does not have to be in the same school or district, but can be across large regions, nationally, or even internationally. Just as I explain to my children and students, one person cannot know everything about everything. When you share expertise you create a supporting and collaborative teaching community and draw on other teacher’s knowledge to better your own practice and pedagogy. I have created many supports and resources which are used by many new and experienced teachers.
References
BC Teachers’ Council. (2019, June 19). Professional Standards for BC Educators. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teacher-regulation/standards-for-educators/edu_standards.pdf
BC Teachers – New Curriculum Sharing. (2017, September). Facebook Group. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/149242672338374/
Lawrence, Devon. (2020, February). Grade 7 Curricular Competency Tracker. Retrieved from https://mrdevonlawrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/curricular-competencies-assessment-tracker-grade-7.pdf
mrdevonlawrence.com 