Connections

All the artefacts shown in my portfolio are part of my journey into developing my teaching philosophy that reflects all the theories that I learnt about as well as how I put those theories into practice.

Some of the academic readings that I have done in this degree have greatly contributed to how I think about design for learning when I make my lesson and unit plans. One of the readings is about the backward design process introduced by Wiggins and McTighe (1998), which taught me how first clarifying learner outcomes helps us to design learning tasks and activities in a way that allows students to have a better understanding of the concepts. By engaging in the backward design process during my Field III placement, I was able to ensure that my students are aware of the outcomes and create purposeful lesson plans that integrate curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998). Students are able to understand how the concepts that they learn in science are connected to the “bigger picture” in the real world. This is something that made me fall in love with science - everything in this world is connected and there is so much we can still learn about our world.

As a new teacher, I often get overwhelmed and worried about making my lessons inquiry-based and more student-centred while still teaching the Program of Studies and making the lessons fun. What I use as a starting point is introducing students to the “big idea” that connects each lesson to science in the real world. This allows students to start reflecting and asking questions about the concepts with an inquiry-based approach. I constantly revert back to the “Big Ideas in Science” that Harlen (2010) brought up. By introducing these big ideas to students, we can ensure we give them learning experiences that “reflect a view of scientific knowledge and scientific inquiry that is explicit and in line with current scientific and educational thinking” (Harlen, 2010, preface). I acknowledge that I am still learning about more engaging and fun ways to incorporate these big ideas and will get better at it over time.

As someone who has had the opportunity of living in three different countries (India, Kenya and Canada), I am able to bring in my experiences of studying in these countries to my teaching practice. I can relate with immigrant students or students who are still learning English to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where each student feels like they belong.

During the process of creating this e-portfolio, I was able to reflect on all of my experiences and how they make me the person and teacher that I am today. Each of these experiences (amongst many more) have allowed me to develop the skills and knowledge that help me achieve each of the competencies listed. Additionally, critical feedback from my peers allows me to see these experiences from a different point of view. This allows me to strengthen or challenge some views that I may hold, ultimately resulting in improvement and growth on my teaching practice.

References

Harlen, W. (Ed.) (2010). Principles and big ideas of science education. p. 21-23.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexander, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.