Professional Development Experiences

I have been fortunate enough to attend two different professional development workshops during my education program: a career connections workshop and an assessment methods workshop.Ā  Each workshop brought to light new education approaches and connections that I plan to utilise in my classroom.

  1. Career Connections – This workshop highlighted the importance of connecting subject content and concepts with different career paths.Ā  By showing students the relevancy and applicability of concepts, the students will be more engaged with and better understand what they are learning. By introducing students to a range of different careers, students will be able to identify careers that interest them and become motivated to pursue the schooling required for that career.Ā  The workshop instructor provided the teachers with a number of activities to support them in designing lessons that connect to careers as well as a list of useful district and public resources for students and teachers to explore careers education.
  2. Assessment Methods– This workshop explored the diverse strategies that a teacher can use to assess students.Ā  The workshop specifically addressed how to create inclusive assessments that follow the principle of the universal design for learning.Ā  Several big ideas that emerged from this workshop were having teachers create and share an assessment strategy folder that contains different assessment strategy templates to use,Ā  thinking outside of the box in terms of assessment (not everything has to be a test or poster project), collaborating with other educators to design assessments for the same grade subject and asking students for their input on assessment types, such as brainstorming or giving students choice in how they are assessed.

Future Professional Development Plans

There are a few professional development courses I plan on taking to further my knowledge of education methods and support strategies for students. Ā  These courses relate to two of the British Columbia teacher standards.

  1. Standard 1:Ā Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.Ā  To learn how I can better support diverse learners and help all of my students achieve and experience success, I will be taking the free-online courses Supporting Children in Reading and Writing, Educating Deaf : Becoming and Empowered TeacherĀ andĀ Autism Spectrum DisorderĀ Ā through Coursera.Ā  Theses two courses will help me develop and acquire different teaching strategies that I can apply to support and understand my diverse learners.Ā  By completing these courses I will be acting in the best interests to care for and support my students and meet Standard 1 of the Professional Standards of BC Educators.
  2. Standard 9 –Ā Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and MeĢtis in Canada and the impact of the past on the present and the future. Educators contribute towards the impact of the past on the present and the future. Educators contribute towards truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and MeĢtis.Ā  To learn how I can better participate in and support the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an educator,Ā  I must learn more about the culture, history, educational practices of First Peoples in Canada.Ā  I also need to learn more about the cultural genocide the First Peoples have experienced to better understand the families and communities my Indigenous students come from.Ā  The Indigenous Canada course on Coursea will educate me in the areas of First Peoples history, culture and knowledge that I lack.Ā  Once I complete this course I can better Indigenize my classroom and teaching practice as well as better support and connect with my Indigenous students.