Taver Rice

EDPB 600

Frame of Reference

My path to teaching has been a meandering one, with many stops along the way.

Some of my core beliefs have been in place for as long as I can remember, such as the belief

that there is inherent value in all living things and that all life is thus deserving of respect.

This parallels the first Earth Charter principle to, Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.

This same belief underlies my commitment to social justice and my ongoing efforts to amass

knowledge, to acknowledge my own privilege, and to act ethically and responsibly to

address inequities around such things as gender, race, class, sexual orientation, ability, etc.

(also TRB 1 and 2). Other beliefs lay dormant for much of my childhood, a fascination and a

draw that went unexplored until I had achieved a degree of agency and responsibility to

enable independent exploration. This includes my fascination and love for the outdoors,

the wilderness environment, the animal kingdom, self-propelled activity and my belief in the

value of experiential education. These core beliefs have led to a variety of experiences, both

personal and professional, and have supplemented my formal biology education with the

knowledge that I love to learn and that I love to facilitate others learning, growth and

development.

My own theoretical approach most closely aligns with the constructivist and critical

theorist learning theories, in which the learning is actively constructed, is sensitive to

context, including the social, cultural and political contexts, and is both an individual and a

group process. I believe the purpose of education is to prepare students for life, to empower

them to successfully pursue education and work pursuits as they choose and are able, and

to live as responsible, effective, contributing members within their communities. In order to

achieve this I believe students need to know how to think for themselves, to feel

comfortable sourcing information, asking questions, and drawing their own conclusions. I
also believe students need to have confidence in their abilities as socially and emotionally

skilled and aware individuals. Fortunately the new BC curriculum also identifies these as

core competencies and the new curriculum emphasizes integrated development in these

competencies throughout all the subject areas. To fully realize these competencies I believe

students need access not only to instruction and opportunity, but also to a physically and

emotionally safe, inclusive, supportive, and appropriately challenging learning environment

in which risk-taking and making errors are integral to learning.

The challenge is to construct such a safe and inclusive classroom in which all

students feel respected, that their ideas and contributions are valued, and which is

conducive to learning for the widest possible range of students. This process begins with the

establishment of classroom guidelines done in collaboration with my students that

emphasize respect, participation, and effort. My own actions need to continually support

and reinforce these guidelines such that the goals remain transparent and are actively

modelled, and that the students are both supported in developing these skills and also held

accountable for their own actions as appropriate. I employ specific strategies such as

questioning students at random (names drawn out of a cup) to ensure a space for all voices

and to encourage thinking, effort, and mistakes (recognition for starting the process, for

sharing thoughts, thanking for sharing mistakes - requires careful and thoughtful

facilitation). I also try to be aware of both my privilege and the underlying social justice

issues in order to proactively address such inequities in my teaching. This include ensuring

diverse representation in the media I use (women, people of color, the differently abled,

etc.), incorporating Aboriginal ways of knowing in an appropriate and respectful manner

(using First Nations stories as another way of accessing biological knowledge, for example),
and acknowledging and discussing embedded stereotypes and assumptions when they

appear, for example.

In addition to being safe, respectful, and inclusive, a classroom also needs to be

effective for learning to take place. This includes having organizational structures in place

such as bins for handing work in or for student collection of missed handouts. It also

includes effective classroom management techniques. The foundation of my approach is to

establish clear, consistent expectations which are modelled and reinforced on an ongoing

basis. I practice early and non-intrusive interventions, like Barry Bennets bumps, when

necessary, and shift to a more restitution based response if further escalation is required.

This involves the student both in identifying the issue of concern and in creating the

solution, which is ultimately more of a team based response (what can I do to help you

achieve this?).

I believe an effective classroom also requires an effective teacher, a passionate

individual who blends knowledge, enthusiasm, empathy, and an adaptable approach in

support of student learning, including empowering students to learn for themselves. In my

opinion, a successful teacher needs to be knowledgeable about the subject area(s) being

taught, about student growth and development, about different learning theories and

styles, and about a variety of instructional and assessment methodologies (TRB 5). Armed

with this knowledge the teacher can employ a variety of instructional and assessment

strategies to suit the diverse needs and abilities of their students. This includes presenting

information and learning opportunities to suit a variety of learning styles, including visual,

auditory, and kinesthetic learners, through such things as videos, diagrams, manipulatives,

and experiences, as well as traditional lecture formats. Assessment should ideally be

comprehensive in nature as well to ensure the communication method is in support of, and
not a barrier to, effective demonstration of learning. Vocabulary manipulatives, for example,

can be used to test for comprehension through sorting and categorizing exercises, when

lack of writing ability or reduced fine motor skills may be a barrier to traditional, writing-

based, assessment. I also believe ongoing formative assessment will enhance learning for

the student by providing relevant, timely feedback for them and also by alerting the teacher

to areas of instruction that might need further attention or adjustment. Formative

assessment can be both formal, as when students hand in assignments for feedback with

opportunities for revision prior to grading, or informal, as done with in class questioning and

checks for understanding. I recently had to revise and reteach a lesson on adaptation when

such questioning at the end of the lesson revealed the learning intentions had not been

achieved! I also think assessment should be a transparent endeavour and capture a

students performance across a wide variety of domains including, for example, written

communication, oral communication, work ethic, and conceptual understanding. Students

are much more likely to be successful when they have a clear vision of the end goal and are

able to see the path that will lead them to their target. This also allows a more personalized

approach to learning and development as not every student will travel the same path or

reach the same end point. This greater flexibility helps to ensure all students are

appropriately challenged and supported in achieving their greater educational goals. I am

beginning to differentiate lessons and assignments to allow for a variety of skill and ability

level as well as for learning aptitudes and interests. For example, a recent exercise involved

a write-in-role to demonstrate understanding of the carbon cycle. Some students were able

to take the co-created rubric and begin working independently straight away while others

required greater support and scaffolding in order to create the framework for their write-in-

role. My hope is also to incorporate experiential learning, whether in the outside

environment or through project based learning to offer students another, more concrete,

way to engage with the material and see its use and application. My desire as an educator is

not only to facilitate mastery of the curriculum, but also to support students emotional and

social growth and development. As such my classroom includes collaborative elements, with

students exchanging ideas and supporting one another in their work as when building

analogies for the immune system or working in partners in the biology lab, as well as

opportunity for individual learning and self-reflective analysis. Having repeatedly

experienced the benefits of learning about students interests and passions and connecting

them to course curriculum, I will continue to do this in the future. I encourage my students

to approach me with ideas they might have for projects connected to the course and subject

matter at hand, as recently when one of my students approached me with a climate change

video they thought was interesting. Not only did I use it in my class, I also discovered a great

resource for ongoing use! I believe such internally motivated, student driven ideas and

projects afford the greatest opportunities for successful learning.

Finally, I recognize my classroom does not exist in isolation. The student, the

teacher, and the learning environment are all embedded in and part of a greater community

involving parents, guardians, family and the community. The teacher needs to work with

both the student and the surrounding community to best support student success and

connections in a cooperative and collaborative manner (TRB 1, 3 and 4). In addition to

building positive relationships with my students I also need to connect with their support

networks. Online platforms such as Fresh Grade, Jupiter Ed or Google Classrooms can

supplement email, phone, and face-to-face meetings, providing parents and guardians with

regular, pro-active information about their child as well as more communication options. I

have participated in three parent-teacher evenings so far and have experienced first hand
the benefits of a collaborative parent-teacher relationship in supporting student growth and

success. My last practicum also provided the opportunity to collaborate with a variety of

programs and classes as well as community volunteers in the restoration of a community

garden, in the process fostering connections both within the school and between the school

and the greater community.

Teachers also need to have their own support structures in place, especially positive

and supportive networks with colleagues and administrators to share insights, resources,

and techniques, to support one another when challenges arise, and for collaborating around

student needs, on projects, or in planning. I have found formal and informal discussions,

honoring my commitments and obligations, clear and honest communication about my own

needs and challenges, respectful requests for help or sharing, and a willingness to provide

my own attention and assistance when requested to be useful in creating this environment

for myself. This, combined with a reflective practice, an open mind, and a willingness to

embrace new ways of doing things should set me, and my students, up for ongoing success.