1. 1. Developing your professional identity
1.1. Apprenticeship of observation: five experiences that have influenced the creation of prior knowledge of what teaching should look like. 1. your own experiences as a student in school. 2. your autobiography 3. your beliefs 4. your experience working in schools 5. views of teaching you have encountered in the media.
1.2. what is the role of a teacher?
1.3. being a reflective teacher is a must do for all teacher. As a teacher you must always look at yourself and see what you have you done that didn't work out as well and see how you can make yourself. John Dewey states that there is three essential factors to being a reflective teacher: Open mindedness, Responsibility, and wholeheartedness. These attributes are also paired with technical skills of inquiry and problem solving skills. To begin becoming a reflective teacher one must: Discriminate between beliefs and assumption, reflect on your apprenticeship of observation and nay preconceived notions, compare your own beliefs to the beliefs of others, always consider the intimate relationship between school and society.
1.4. There are 5 principles for contructive engagement in teaching: 1. You don't know what you don't know 2. Everyone has their own opinion 3. Let go of personal evidence and look at broader societal patterns. 4. Use your own defensive reactions as entry points to gain deep self-knowledge. 5. recognize how your social positionality helps you engage with your instructor and others that are involved within the course.
1.5. Educational Philosophy: There are 5 types of educational philosophy, perrenialism, essentialism, progressivism, existentialism, and social reconstructivism.
1.5.1. Perrenialism: A philosophy that is based on classical education through the mastery of content with the reasoning of the arts and sciences and focusing on classical works as well.
1.5.2. Essentialism: A philosophy that is in the belief that their is essential knowledge that all students need to learn and master. Essentialism can also be categorized as a back to basics approach of educational philosophy
1.5.3. Progressivism: An educational philosphy that is based on the beleif that students should develop naturally, interest should be the drive for education, teachers role is a facilitator role rather than an instructor. schools should also prioritize the physical development of students as well.
1.5.4. Existentialism: An educational philosophy that is in the belief that students should be the ones who define themeselves, different learning at different paces, students should determine what they want to learn.
1.5.5. Social Reconstructionism: An educational philosophy that is in the belief that society is lacking and need to be changed. Emphasizes the act of teaching social justice. Is designed to develop moral citizens.
1.6. Educational Psychology: emphasizes the question on how to people learn? What really motivates students to stay in school and continue to grow. Some other questions that spark the conversation for educational psychology might be: Are babies clean slates? Are children inherent learners? Is there such a thing as collective wisdom. All these questions come into play when as a pre-service teacher I am trying to develop the type of psychology I want to use. There are 4 types of psychologies used in education: Humanism, Behaviourism, Information Processing, and constructivism.
1.6.1. Humanism: An educational psychology that puts the emphasis on the teachers attempting to understand the students point of view. Compromised of two components of learning: 1. The acquistion of information. 2. The individuals personalization and internalization of information. Learning should be based on the the interests, dislikes, feelings, of the student. Learning should be an intrinsic motivation.
1.6.2. Behaviourism: An educational psychology that is in the belief that learning takes place when we interact with the external environment. Behaviourism is the belief that reactions and actions of other shape our own behaviours. the de-emphasis of free will is very prominent in behaviourism. There are two types of conditioning in behaviourism: Pavlovian conditioning and operant conditiong.
1.6.3. Information Processing: Focuses on how the brain processes information. Deals with 3 ways we solve problems: 1. Attend to stimuli and sensory registry. 2. Encode the information- short term memory. 3. Retrieve it from long-term memory.
1.6.4. Constructivism: The belief that people contruct their own meaning by internalizing and personalizing new and old information. 3 very important people who have influecned this theory are: Jean Piaget, John Dewey, and Vygotsky.
2. 4. Considering way in which you can serve as an agent of change in schools/education
2.1. Importance of pedagogy
2.1.1. Elements of ken Osborne's pedagogy: 1. The selection of content that is to be taught. 2. All the things that compromise the hidden curriculum. 3. Specific teaching techniques 4. The goal of that particular technique.
2.2. Citizenship
2.2.1. Citizenship must be Active and not passive, schools must be oriented towards social justice and democracy rather than the traditional pedagogical forms.
3. 2. Understanding the structures and institutions that govern education in Alberta
3.1. Structure and legilsation of Canadian/ Alberta Schools.
3.1.1. Players in education in Alberta: 1. Governmental and legislative posiitons: Deputy minister, Minister, Branches which include assessment curriculum, funding, etc. 2. Alberta Teachers Association, acts as a professional development agency for teachers in Alberta. 3. School Boards, Public boards and religious minority boards. includes trustees, superintendents, teachers, principals, exempt staff and paraprofessionals. 4. Charter Schools, trustees are appointed not elected.
3.1.2. School Act: Describes the relationship of the minister of education to students,parents, and jurisdictions, and provides for the system of administration for education alberta.
3.1.3. Alberta Teachers Association: Acts as governance, members services, professional development podium, and works with teacher development for all teachers in Alberta.
3.2. Three Pillars of education
3.2.1. 1774 Quebec Act. This act allowed the french the right to maintain their language and practice catholicism
3.2.2. Local control over education, Egerton Ryerso.
3.2.3. British North America Act 1867. Right for separate religious minority school boards.
3.3. Control of curriculum in Alberta.
3.3.1. In Alberta Curriculum is Transparent, meaning it can be viewed by anyone. The current alberta curriculum is founded on the 3 e's of Inspiring education: Entrepreneurial spirit, Engaged thinker, and Ethical citizen.
3.4. Inspiring Education
3.4.1. Ethcial Citizen
3.4.2. Entrepreneurial Spirit
3.4.3. Engaged Thinking
3.4.4. There are 6 core values that support the three e's: Opportunity, Fairness, Citizenship, Choice, Diversity, and Excellence.
3.4.5. policy shifts of inspiring ed. More focused on the learner, focused on education, building competencies, technology to support the sharing of knowledge.
3.4.6. Guiding Principles: learner centered, sustainable and efficient use of resources, engaged communities, inclusive equitable access, responsible and flexible approach, innovation to promote and strive for excellence
3.4.7. Governance shifts in the switch to Inspiring Education: Principles based, governance teams, local direction, accountability for learning excellence.
4. 3. Exploring current issues in education
4.1. The socialization process in schools: The process in which schools are believed to give students social basics to constantly refine and master until they graduate.
4.2. Welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environments.
4.2.1. Three key elements: 1. Relationships 2. Evidence informed practices. 3. Leadership
4.2.1.1. Relationships: Among the adults, between adults and students, and among the students.
4.2.1.2. Practices: Save one Studetn (SOS), 2 X 10, and Cross graded activities.
4.2.1.3. Evidence informed practices: Restorative practices, mentoring, positive mental health strategies, effective behavior supports, social/emotional literacy
4.2.2. Pause and Reflect.
4.3. social justice and ethical citizenship
4.3.1. "Promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity"
4.3.2. Ethical citizen: A citizen that builds relationships based on humility, fairness, and open mindedness.
4.4. Residential Schools and Racism
4.4.1. Church operated aboriginal schools in Canada, used as a assimilation tactic to modernize native americans.
4.4.2. Cultural diversity misunderstood