EDUCATION 390:
Carly Lorntsen
Education 390: Observational Report Number One
Within the span of these last two weeks, I have been given the opportunity to observe at two different schools for my practicum in the Bachelor of Education program. These schools include Quesnel Junior Secondary and Lakeview Elementary School. There are multiple reasons as to why observing in the classroom is so important. Some of these reasons that I can think of include assisting future educators such as ourselves in the program in clearly understanding the specific needs for each child in every area and to spark our curiosity while finding additional information that will help tremendously later in the field of teaching. Teacher candidates can also interact with the experienced teacher by asking questions and obtaining the best type of advice possible for the future. As discussed in class, it is very important to note that teacher candidates must not go into the classroom with bias or being overly critical simply because it can be disrespectful to the experienced teacher that is being observed and our responsibility in observing is to solely observe and not judge any parties involved. All teachers have diverse learning styles, and we should appreciate each of them allowing us to always learn from them in various ways. Therefore, observation in the classroom can be exceedingly powerful.
The first school that I had the opportunity to observe at was Quesnel Junior Secondary School on October 5, 2021. The main goal on this day was to examine the main focal point of school climate and culture which means that I had to look for the general feeling in the spaces of learning and overall school environment that I had observed. Being placed in grade eight Science, Math, and English was very interesting. With my general interest only being in teaching elementary students, it was helpful to observe an older age category because it can open more opportunities for myself if I decide in the future to switch over to teaching higher grades. In each grade eight classroom that I observed, I seen a pattern of progressivism which is a normative philosophy where students had the opportunity to work in highly collaborative and structured groups in order to complete tasks through experimentation and help from their fellow peers. For example, the grade eight science class I observed worked with microscopes in groups which showed evidence to experimental learning while the teacher approached each individual student to ensure safety precautions were present and to make sure that the students knew how to accomplish each step. I really enjoyed seeing this similar approach in grade eight math as well where students participated in cooperative learning through activities such as rolling dice to determine probability, finding percentages of pizza slices, and a large amount of class discussion while doing so. This classroom also had a welcoming feel with many posters and visual learning aspects around the room for more visual learners which was fantastic to see. The teacher also gave extra resources to students with learning barriers while encouraging them to a great extent. This made me recognize that I must always put the needs of each student first and that it is important at the beginning of the year to ensure that I know which students need those extra resources and which ones work best for them which can enhance their learning by increasing security with the student throughout the school year. While every student has different learning needs, addressing these needs from the start will create an advantageous classroom climate and culture. These events show pure evidence as to what a positive classroom environment should feel and look like. In the grade eight English class, I witnessed more of a perennialism approach to learning which focusses on the individual development of the student rather than skills. Here, students were given the opportunity to participate in a school wide write where they could express their favourite memory in writing. I really enjoyed this idea because it can help students grow and develop by looking at the inner self and creating a sense of identity and purpose. Writing is one of my favourite things to do and seeing this type of work in the classroom made me happy because I believe that it encompasses many benefits for every individual. I feel that this is a value and belief that I hold important as an educator simply because talking about where you came from whether that be in writing, orally, visually, or by any other means allows us to dig deep into our lives and show others how we feel about so many different things. Therefore, feeling comfortable with our identity will allow us to want to learn more subject areas and can promote building strong relationships and connection with others as well. This is something that goes for young students as well. If we weave in this type of learning into the curriculum from the very beginning, we are destined for successful learning for the future.
The second school that I observed was Lakeview Elementary School on October 12, 2021. I had the opportunity to observe a split classroom of kindergarten and grade one students. This was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it. The focal point for this week was to examine the creation of community including routines and procedures that I noticed in the classroom or other school areas for students, staff, parents and caregivers while analyzing how I think that these routines and procedures foster positive relationships including how they contribute to a positive classroom and school community. When I was placed into the kindergarten and grade one split classroom, the teacher first informed me that this would not be a typical classroom to observe because she was older with a cane while having difficulties walking. Therefore, her teaching style was her sitting at the center of the room at her desk for the full day but when it was time to read stories and participate in other activities on the carpet for the little ones, she sat with them on the carpet. I felt that the students were very calm and great active listeners and the experienced teacher I observed did an incredible job at teaching them these skills. Routines included students handing out worksheets for the teacher, working together in groups of four at their tables in a cooperative manner, reminding the teacher of student absences while she takes attendance, and more. I find that it is indeed very unfortunate that the teacher has walking difficulties but, in a way, it teaches the students how to be helpful, caring, and patient. In result, this creates a great sense of community while also providing students with the skill to adapt and recognize that others may be different from you, but it is extremely important to accept them for who they are and always be willing to help them in any way. This is another important aspect that I will teach my future students and it is a critical value that I hold important as an educator. We are there to spread knowledge but most importantly, we are there to teach our future generation how to be compassionate, caring, gentle, understanding, and sympathetic human beings.
In conclusion, the first two observations that I had the opportunity to experience were like a big learning tool box. I was able to look at so many different components in the classroom while learning what new things to me were and what their purpose was, having the ability to reflect on these things and ponder ways in what I can do with these tools when placed into my first classroom. In this learning process, I feel that everyday, I am gaining more great knowledge on what it means to be an excellent educator but I know that there is still a great amount of work to do in order to get to the finish line of graduation and full qualification but I am determined and dedicated to do whatever it takes to be my absolute best for my future elementary students.
Carly Lorntsen
Education 390: Observational Report Number Two
During my first semester of the Bachelor of Education program, I feel that the observational practicum piece that is required to complete has been extremely beneficial. It is very helpful to experience real life classrooms and see for myself what it is to expect when I go into the field of elementary school teaching. As time goes on in this practicum, I sometimes feel a little bit intimidated when I see bad behavior in students or when a lesson plan goes sideways instead of being a success for some teachers. Observing has really made me reflect a large amount and I sometimes ask myself if I can envision myself as a good teacher that can provide students with all the tools that they need. I am the type of person that always puts my best effort into whatever I do, and I just hope that it will always be good enough for my future students. Although, I have been informed that once I am in my own classroom with my own students, I will feel more comfortable, and it will all come naturally to me. Observing in a space that is not necessarily yours or your work space can indeed make you feel all sorts of ways because you do not have those strong connections and relationships with the students like their teacher does with them. I believe that it is normal to have these types of feelings before entering a career because it shows that I am thinking about it all very deeply and it will in result, help with my personal growth. I have also learned that I would love to go further with my education after this program is completed and venture into a masters program to expand my career options even farther with fields such as school counselling and child psychologist. Although, I must finish one goal at a time with this program being completed first. Within these last two weeks, I had the opportunity to observe at Voyageur Elementary and back to Quesnel Junior School which was my very first observational placement when it started at the beginning of October.
I was very excited to observe at Voyageur Elementary School because I know the principal very well as she was my grade nine English teacher and we have remained in contact ever since. She was one of my favorite teachers growing up and I reached out to her on Facebook in my fifth year of college asking questions about her career as I was starting to look at different options of what I could do with all the education I had acquired at this point. She allowed me to observe at Voyageur in the year of 2019 and I loved it. We had talked about how it would be so wonderful for the Bachelor of Education program to come to Quesnel one day so that I could finish my schooling while staying in my home town and living at home with my parents to save money. Therefore, I was so lucky for the program to finally arrive in Quesnel when it was time for me to move on to another city to further my education after completing my Criminology Diploma and Associate of Arts Degree. There was nothing left for me to complete at the College of New Caledonia in Quesnel and with the program arriving right when I was finished sometimes makes me believe that this was meant for me, and it was all meant to be. I strongly believe that being in your twenties is all about finding yourself and that is how my education has really helped me in doing that. Being placed in three different classrooms throughout the day at Voyageur was great because I was able to see a better variety. I was placed in a grade three and four split first, a grade six and seven split second, and finally, a grade two class. I absolutely loved the younger grades of grade three and four split and the grade two. The younger students approached me and were so sweet while one grade two student made me a little art piece which made me very happy and felt like these were the ages, I belong in. In these age categories, it was great to see different ways on how teachers display lessons to them. For example, I particularly liked how the grade three and four split teacher had a spelling crossword on the whiteboard that he completed with the students, and it was all student led. They would complete the crossword together and then would do questions together such as looking at what words were spelled incorrectly by being patient in raising their hands if they wished to answer and helping other students that had troubles. I think that this type of learning is important because it helps students share in their decision-making regarding formulating answers about questions and gives them the power to believe that they have the capacity to answer questions and should never be afraid to be incorrect. The grade six and seven split class alarmed me a tad bit simply because this is where I seen the incredibly large reading problem that we see in today’s education world. Prior to this day and this program, I had no idea that there were so many difficulties in reading and the incredibly large amount of lack in resources to help students that struggle. During this class, my attention was drawn to the table of grade seven boys that sat in the back of the classroom. When math assignments were assigned, they began to act up including throwing pencils across the room, expressing how they hate the classroom that they are in to the teacher, and in result, being asked to leave in an alternate room so that they can concentrate on their work without their peers. The teacher had told me that because of their difficulties in reading and not being capable of reading at all, they act in a very negative and obstructive type of way to compensate for their frustrations in not being able to read which connected to what we have learned in many of our classes in the Bachelor of Education program thus far. This issue bothers me to a great extent, and I continue to try and think of ways in how I can successfully help my future students in having the ability to read well before entering the next grade which will indeed help them in the future.
Observing at Quesnel Junior School is always an interesting experience. Since my main interest is to teach younger elementary children, it is always great to look at different options such as the older middle school grades of grade eight and nine. I was placed in the exact same grade eight Social Studies, Math and Science classes as the first observation I had at Quesnel Junior School on October 5, 2021. Although, I also had the opportunity to observe a grade eight computer and robotics class which was new and quite interesting. This teacher expressed how the most difficult part of teaching is dealing with parents and their concerns. She expressed how she had been teaching for ten years and still feels afraid when she receives phone calls. She began to give me great advice on how to speak with them in a professional manner and to always let them know what is going on with their child whether it is good or bad. I really appreciated this type of advice and the time she took out of her day to explain her perspectives and opinions to me. During my observation with the grade eight social studies class, it was particularly interesting to see the teacher give the students a research project on empires and civilization. The teacher gave me the instruction sheet she had given the students as well which included the curricular competency, overview, instructions, and a marking guide. This was a fantastic example for me to keep referring to when it is time for myself to create these rubrics for my future students. Something that I had also took note of was how the teacher began to express the importance of citing and references in research to the students. I strongly believe that this is a very crucial skill to learn as students enter middle and high school because it prepares them for future post-secondary education since, we all know that almost every assignment requires proper academic citing.
In conclusion, the observational practicum is teaching me many valuable lessons such as what problems I see in the education world today and possible solutions that I can create to help change for the future. It is also teaching me more things about myself and what I am capable of through hard work and dedication, setting more goals for myself, and much more. I also learned more about classroom management and how critical it is to maintain a strong sense of this in the classroom to have a successful school year. Each lesson during these practicums will be very beneficial for me which will always help me make the most out of teaching opportunities and get me closer to my goal of becoming a successful elementary school teacher to tend to every need of all my future students.
Carly Lorntsen
Education 390: Observational Report Number Three
I am super happy and excited that I have already almost made it to the end of the first semester of the Bachelor of Education program with UNBC. I will admit that once the program started in September, I was quite nervous, but I am now feeling quite comfortable and happy with how I am growing as a student and person as the time goes on. With only three weeks left of Education 390 and practicum, I feel incredibly accomplished and am eager to see what is to come. During these last two weeks prior to writing this observational report, I had the opportunity to observe at Lakeview and Voyageur Elementary schools. I enjoyed both of my visits spent at these schools and had the opportunity to observe many different components.
At Lakeview Elementary, I was placed in a grade six and seven split class with an incredibly experienced teacher who allowed me to sit at her desk and observe all day while she was mostly on her feet with the students. I thought that she did a wonderful job with her students, and this resulted in an extremely calm, welcoming, collective, and collaborating classroom culture and climate. I really enjoyed observing the importance of routine in her classroom and how all students had planners indicating what the schedule was for each day. I thought that this would be a great thing to do in my future classroom since I have always based my own life around routines, and I know how critical they are in being successful. Therefore, teaching the habit of routines to students will help them build stability and structure in their studies and their lives moving forward. The focal point of this observation week was looking at teaching for equity, diversity, and inclusion where I had the opportunity to observe the types of diverse learners that make up the classroom and strategies, methods, or actions observed that help address students’ diverse needs. In the grade six and seven split classroom, I had observed one student that sat at his own table away from the rest of the classroom continuously working with a full time Education Assistant. The teacher informed me before school started that he is always incredibly angry and is difficult to talk to which instantly for myself, made me feel so much empathy for him before observing him in the classroom. Throughout the morning before lunch time, the Education Assistant worked with him continuously and it appeared that he was getting angrier and angrier, and she would routinely say that she is there to help him, but he made many comments towards her such as “you are trying to make a fool out of me” and “I just never understand anything and cannot do anything”. I noticed that he would talk about problems at home that were bothering him, but the Education Assistant and teacher tried to distract him with instead of thinking about those problems, thinking about the school tasks at hand. It appeared that this just made him angrier. When lunch time arrived and ended, he was working independently and appeared to be very quiet and calm. Although, when the Education Assistant arrived, he began to get frustrated again. To me, it seemed that he just wanted to be with the other students and more involved with the class instead of being the student that is singled out and having to have an Education Assistant by his side. These situations are incredibly difficult because it is important to ensure that all students feel involved and connected with one another, but it is so difficult when one student needs that extra help but does not want to receive that help. It was obvious in this situation that he was facing difficulties at home, so my hopes are that he is receiving some type of counselling outside of the classroom as well. I recognize that I will be faced with diverse learners, and I am attempting to brainstorm the solutions that can help in the best way possible.
My observation at Voyageur Elementary was also great and I loved being able to observe many different aspects. At this school, my pod and I receive the opportunity to observe in three different classrooms instead of just one classroom and always remain together. We observed a grade five and six split classroom, a grade one and two split class in the library, and the kindergarten classroom. The focal point of this observational week was about professional boundaries and how the teacher demonstrates personal and professional boundaries with students, parents, caregivers, and coworkers. I particularly liked how with our evening class prior to practicum day, we had the opportunity to listen to a professional boundaries workshop and this helped me tremendously in what to expect and how to be when I enter my career. It also helped with observing the next day and what to look for in the classrooms. I felt that all teachers possessed a strong professional boundary sense of knowledge and that was great to see. For example, I observed students asking for help in their assignments and teachers kneeling beside them at their tables and always keeping a healthy amount of distance and the students always showed that they felt comfortable. One teacher had talked about how she speaks to parents on the telephone as well and addressed that she speaks to them in a more casual manner instead of saying phrases such as “how art though?” which was interesting. I feel that this focal point to observe was highly beneficial because it helps teacher candidates in learning what professional boundaries are and how to approach them.
In conclusion, I believe that Education 390 and its observational aspects in the practicum have been very beneficial for me thus far and I am starting to connect many things that I am learning in my courses to practicum while experiencing it in a real-life classroom which is indeed the goal. The focal points for each observation week are great tools in guiding me for what to look for and making me think more critically and to also build stronger reflection skills. I feel that I am at a good starting point in the learning process and am dedicated to continuing learning about new aspects of the career as each semester in the program passes. It is a learning journey for all of us in the program and I am very satisfied and determined in moving forward.
Carly Lorntsen
Education 390: Observational Report Number Four
As I get closer to the end of the first semester of the Bachelor of Education program in the Elementary stream, I continue to feel hopeful and excited for what is to come next as the program progresses. I have really enjoyed my time in the observational practicum and have learned many new things. Therefore, I am incredibly grateful for this experience. As I write this last observational report for Education 390, I am amazed at how quickly the time has gone and cannot believe that my last observation practicum day is next Tuesday on November 30th, 2021. I suppose the saying is true when people say that time flies when you are having fun and enjoying yourself while time seems to drag on when you are not enjoying the moments ahead of you. Therefore, this can simply say that I am enjoying my time in these practicums to a great extent.
Over the span of these last two weeks, I was given the opportunity to observe at Quesnel Junior Secondary School and Lakeview Elementary School. Unfortunately, on November 16th, 2021, the roads were deemed unsafe which led to the school buses not running for students. Therefore, being placed at Quesnel Junior Secondary School on this day, there was many students that stayed home leading to extremely small and quiet classrooms. The grade eight and nine pod system combined due to the small class sizes and played board games and watched movies all day. Therefore, it was very limited in what I could observe on this day. Although, when students went to other classes to play more board games and watch movies, one teacher allowed me to sit in her classroom and work on any homework that I had and was expressing the stress that she was experiencing while doing report cards. I asked her some questions and she had informed me that the goal is to have all report cards go into a digital format which I found very interesting since they were always hand written and typed when I was in the public school system. This taught me that as a teacher, it is important to be adaptable especially in today’s age with advances in technology occurring as we speak. It is funny because I always looked forward to writing report cards myself instead of in a digital format. I often wonder now if that is still a possibility and if teachers will be given a choice in however, they wish to distribute their report cards. I often wonder about parents that are not as technology inspired as other parents. I believe that there should be an option in how report cards are distributed and to take the teacher and parents comfort levels into account first before assuming that all individuals will be comfortable with this option. In the afternoon classes, students still were watching movies and playing board games and there was another student teacher in the same room as me, but he was in his experiential practicum for the University of Calgary. Therefore, I had the opportunity to observe what is expected of us students in the experiential practicum which was beneficial. He walked around helping students with math worksheets that they were working on before they could play board games and it was great to see. He had expressed to me how lucky I was in that the Bachelor of Education program finally made its way to Quesnel as he was waiting for it as well. He could not wait any longer and decided to take the program through the University of Calgary which seems to be going well for him as well which is great. Although this observation day was quite boring, I still learned some important things such as the importance of adaptability.
On November 23, 2021, I had the opportunity to observe at Lakeview Elementary School for the third time this semester and I must say that it has been my favorite school to observe at. The school climate and culture are so incredibly welcoming and warm, and I always enjoy my time at this school the most. I now know for certain that I really want to teach younger children in elementary. This day was special for me as I was placed in my once grade six science teacher’s classroom to observe for the day. Before the students arrived, we talked in her classroom for awhile in the morning and talked about how I was one of her first students and in the first classroom she had ever taught in at Dragon Lake Elementary School. We both thought that this was so crazy, and she even said how nervous she was the night before because she did not want to make any mistakes in front of me while I was observing but I think she did an amazing job. She asked about my experiential practicum next semester where I will be teaching alongside an experienced teacher, and I was talking about how I was a little bit nervous, and she said that is totally normal and she still gets nervous sometimes when anyone comes in to observe her and her classroom. When the grade two students arrived in the classroom, it was so surreal because she introduced me as Ms. Lorntsen, and they all looked at me and smiled. As she left the classroom a couple of times to photo copy some papers, I overheard some of them say things such as “should I give this to Ms. L?” and I sat there and thought “are they really talking about me or someone else?” It was just an amazing feeling in that moment. After this happened, two little girls approached me with coloured pictures they had drawn and said, “I made this for you” and it was just the sweetest thing ever. After lunch, the students participated in something called STEM where they could work on their creative sides and created penny spinners where the circle designed pictures were cut to size with pennies and would spin and the design looked so amazing as they would spin. One student gave me her penny spinner as well and it really warmed my heart at how sweet and considerate these children were. I will keep these art pieces I receive from students forever in a safe place. I also really loved how the teacher had writing goals on the board for students since I am so intrigued with writing and quite passionate about raising levels of reading, writing, and comprehension skills for students. I had talked about the reading problem in the education world briefly with the teacher I had observed, and she said she tries hard to assist the students in being at successful reading levels before moving onto the next grade. I observed her do this by having the students listen to audio books throughout the class, silent reading after every task expected of them is completed, extra support from resource teachers would come into the classroom and take some children out to go and read and receive any extra help that was needed. This was extremely great to see and gave me some more ideas on how I can help my students one day with literacy instruction.
In conclusion, as I look back at every observational practicum day in Education 390, I feel accomplished and learned more than I could have ever imagined. It was amazing to see some past educators that I had in elementary and middle school and how enthusiastic and happy they were for me including how proud they were. I think that the best part about this career is seeing where your students end up and seeing them accomplishing goals and doing what truly makes them happy. Every single teacher in our lives shaped who we are today whether one believes it or not. This past week, I was sitting in the seating area on campus doing some homework with a really good friend of mine that I had met at the College of New Caledonia in 2014 and my Biology professor from last year spotted me and came downstairs and expressed how she really wanted to chat with me and see how everything is going but had a class but ended up coming back to the table I was sitting at after her class and chatted with my friend and I for quite awhile to see how things are going with us in university and expressed how she misses having us in class. I told her all about this program and how everything is going while she expressed how happy she is for me and gave me some extra advice moving forward. Educators such as her play a huge role in our education and even our lives. Recognizing that someone is there and is cheering you on is crucial no matter how old you are. My goal moving forward is to always show how much I care with all students that I have in the future. At this point in the Bachelor of Education program, I feel that I have grown significantly in just these few short months, and I am really excited for what is to come next.