Hello esteemed and distinguished colleagues,
Well, my time has come to step up to the podium and post my two cents worth. And while they are only two cents, it's more like two cents one might have had back in 1903. Yeah, that kind of two cents…worth way more than the worthless two cents we know today.
So my question to all of you, and your participation is greatly appreciated, is what are your thoughts and feelings about the direction this programs is taking, now that we have some foresight into what this program is all about?
I ask you this right now because I am very curious to compare and contrast all of our feelings about this program now, versus how we are going to feel at approximately this same time one year from now as we are finishing up our final practicum and ready to take on the big scary teaching world on our own.
So if you are up for it, and want to make a significant blog contribution, please short answer the following 4 questions:
1. What do you think has been the most useful part of this program to date?
3. If there is one thing that you think could be most beneficial in creating positive change for this program in general, what would it be?
4. Do you see any merit in attempting to address these issues we are faced with in this program, or do you feel that the onus is upon the department to figure out how to adjust and improve it at their own discretion ? Why?
As you can see, these questions start to take on some dark and shady undertones, which I think adequately relate to a lot of sentiment I have perceived in class. DON’T BE SHY! This is your time to vent boys and girls! Get it out there and put it in writing.
It will be very interesting to reflect back on this post in a) one year from now and b) two years from now, Allyson included.
Ill take a que from Mr. Bandura and lead this one by example. Also if you have only one breath, elaborate on ONE point that strikes a chord with your feelings.
ReplyDelete1. The most useful part of this program so far has been the connections I have made with other potential new teachers. We are all in the same boat now, but it was a rather lonely boat when I first got in. The support network is there and I know it can be relied upon, should myself or any of us ever need some help.
2. No, even though my teaching friends and family members basically called it out, this is not like I thought it would be. I actually was expecting much more practical experience, even in our course framework and more specific to the teaching concentrations that we were accepted into.
3. I would like to see a change go out that has new students in the program go through some classroom observation before, or concurrently with the first semester of coursework. I think we need to experience what it really feels like to be in that situation before we start to learn about it, so that we can a) start shaping mental ideas of what OUR classrooms are going to be like and b) to actually see what the classroom learning situation is like now. This coming from someone who stepped out of the high school classroom in 2002 and has not been back since. A lot has changed.
4. While I see merit in wanting to change the program, I just feel that in my short time within it, it just seems a bit futile. While you may think this as a bit of a cop-out, consider this. What part of this program is going to impact you to a greater degree - the coursework or the practicum? Is it worth wasting your valuable time and breath over?
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ReplyDeleteGreat questions Ben. Perhaps next seminar should be labelled "Ben Day" ?? Just a suggestion! Allyson, Are you listening? Ben, you bring up many concerns and questions that have been floating in and out of many of our recent conversations. Here are my answers, and I hope they won't be for marks.
ReplyDelete1.Most Useful? I would have to agree with Ben. The opportunity to network with like-minded people and people who are feeling just as underprepared as I do. I guarantee you we will be able to rely on each other to expand our networks and possibly help each other find work in the future.
2. Meeting Expectations? No. Especially when it comes to our methods courses. I really enjoy my methods class and I think my instructor is brilliant. However,I don't feel that this one class is providing me with enough information to turn around and teach English Language Arts. My English methods instructor keeps referring to his course as a "general overview." Isn't this the time to get really specific? I was done with general overviews in second year. Also, why isn't seminar a year long course!? I find the discussions and content of seminar more useful than many of our classes because we talk about what it's like to be a teacher in the REAL WORLD. I'm thinking that's pretty relevant.
3. Positive change? A Code of Conduct! Pelman (ironically) was telling me that we are the only faculty at Uvic without a code of conduct. If any faculty should have one it should be Education. In regards to Ben's comment about field experience in the first semester: As Helen pointed out at the beginning of the year, only about half of us will go on to teach. So, we should probably get a good idea of what our job will look like early on, no? Unit planning? Haven't seen much of that at all.
4. (Changing the direction of this question slightly) Coursework vs. Practicum. Practicum for sure. That will be a real wake up call. As we discussed in Cindy's class today: Holy crap, you mean teaching isn't all about facilitating effective group work? WTF?? That is what everyone else has been telling us for sure! And I always had a sneaky feeling that this model wasn't quite accurate, but I thought, hey, maybe things have really changed since I graduated in 2003. Thank goodness for Cindy who says it like it is.
For the record Allyson, if you are out there, I also think you say it like it is, and we appreciate this.
And the only other thing on my wish list (which ties into #4 and whether or not to try to change the program) is the heavy focus on the BC curriculum. I understand that as a B.C. university we have to focus on the B.C. curriculum, but we are also being told that unless we move to Prince George (No Thanks! and sorry to Allyson and Ravinder) that it is highly unlikely that we will find work unless we hit the road and get out of here. Any many of us plan to do so. So would it be too much of an imposition to focus just a little less on the BC IRP's?? Not to mention, the politics surrounding education in this province are kind of scaaaaary…..
Thank you Ben, for allowing me to vent some frustration here. Can't wait to do it all over again over beers this evening :)
1. I would probably have to agree with you and Cory about the most useful part of this program. However in terms of learning, I think the best part of the program is yet to come with the practicums. Also, I’ve learned to become extremely efficient at writing a lot of BS. You were right Allyson, we are definitely going to learn to hate the word ‘reflection’.
ReplyDelete2. Has the program lived up to expectation? Hmmm, well I had already heard from a few fellow science teachers of what to expect but was trying to be optimistic. There have been some useful discussions but I feel like I haven’t learned near as many practical classroom techniques as I’d hoped but we do still have another semester with all new classes.
3. Increasing the hands-on experience would be way more beneficial. I learned more from teaching for 8 weeks this summer with Science Venture than I have with this program so far. There is no replacement for actually being put in the situation and learning as you go. I also feel that there should be more instruction in your curriculum area. Some of the classes really don’t apply much to all teaching areas and I know we may have to teach out of our subject area..ya ya ya I get it, but still.
4. The whole point of course reviews at the end of the semester is to bring about any necessary changes to the program. Considering we have heard from numerous graduates about the struggles within this program and there haven’t been any changes, it seems like a pointless battle. Also, I agree with you, we are only here for a little over a year so is it really worth it? But moreover between six classes and 30 hours of work a week I don’t have the time or energy to care enough to make a change. Plus I don’t want to piss off all the holistic markers out there. Not you Allyson ;)
Well Mr. Craigen, you certainly posed some interesting ideas! It really is a tough draw between theory and practice, some say it's too much of one and not enough of the other, and vice versa! I guess if this were all practice oriented it could be taken out of the university and you could be certified based on your knowledge of "what" to teach versus the "how" to teach - all of that "theoretical" stuff - the nuanced reality of teaching a multitude of different learners, etc. The US has started certificating people who haven't gone through teacher ed programs - they're "fast tracked" based on a standardized test of their subject knowledge and have to pass another standardized test to see whether they are capable of teaching. Sounds "interesting"? On another note, with 9 teacher ed programs running in BC, the possibilities for more practicum time is dwindling - competing for spaces in schools where in essence, there would be student teachers in classrooms year round if T.Ed programs could get their way! Just some food for your thoughts! See you all Wednesday.
ReplyDelete1.) Most useful part of the program would have to be the science methods course (and method's course text) and Helen taking us to SJ Willis.
ReplyDelete2.)Meeting expectation = Yes and No
I feel that we are getting a lot of practice with lesson plans, practical information and opportunity to practice what we've learned. However, I feel like there is more group, than individual, learning which I understand there is a lot of people in the program but it would be nice to have more individual tasks.
3.) I think it would be benificial to separate the teaching areas a bit more. It seems like a lot of what we learn isn't applicable to a science classroom and if there were two different programs, one for arts and one for science, than there could be more of a focus on those individual subjects
4.)I think it's up to administration to work it out.
1. Until now I would say that the majority of my classes have been useful. While I cringe when I look at my assignment list, I have learned how to write lesson plans, how to navigate IRP’s for both my subject areas, finally figured out what was happening with the job action from a teachers perspective, and learned different strategies to use in any classroom (incase I have to sub that dreaded math 9 class).
ReplyDelete2. To be completely honest, so far the program has been what I thought it was going to be. I knew there wasn’t any classroom experience in the first semester, just classes, and so far all of the classes I am taking relate to education. Of course I am among the many that complain about the work load, but I feel like the classes are setting sort of a framework of techniques and classroom management skills, and really introducing me to becoming a secondary teacher in BC. I have had teaching experience, but that hasn’t prepared me for teaching in a high school and all of the mandates that come with that. The one thing I was surprised about what the fact that since none of us “technically” has any teaching experience, Professors expected us to know teaching terms (pedagogy, Blooms taxonomy, IRRP/PLO’s etc…) assuming we had some knowledge of these beforehand.
3. While it is probably a logistical impossibility, I would love to see this program be 12 months, instead of 16. Other than that, I think that explaining exactly why we have to take some of the classes and how this develops the program to students before they enter the program would take away any confusion about what are the expectations of the program and why we have to take particular classes.
4. For the issues that I have raised, I don’t see any merit in attempting to make changes. Part of the reason I would advocate for a 12 month program are personal, so I wouldn’t be able to speak for the rest of my peers if they agree with this. I would make a suggestion that preparing students with a bit more information about the program (maybe a newsletter with their application AND acceptance letter or something) might take away some of the dissatisfaction with the students if they knew these things before they accepted the program. Ultimately, this program has been around for however many years, so to try to make changes seems futile to me.
I think I bring a slightly different perspective to the classes we have been taking, simply by virtue of having taught for a number of years. That said, I taught ESL not Science, so while I now feel very confident while teaching ESL, I don't yet have that confidence in the field of Science.
ReplyDelete1.) Most useful part of the program? I would definitely agree with the connections I have made with other soon to be teachers. I also agree that our Science methods class has been useful, though I would like to have learned more from it. I'm not sure how that could be facilitated within the time limits of the semester, but I wish I had more hands on info for teaching science classes. I also learned a lot from Pelman's class. Many of the strategies that we've been taught in our classes are especially relevant to me, because I can fully see how to use these strategies within an ESL framework. It's taken a bit more work on my part to understand how to intregrate these into science, but I still think it can be done.
2.)Meeting expectation: When I interviewed for this class, my question to the interviewers was "based on my previous teaching experience, how do you recommend I get the most of this program?" They suggested I try to relate everythign I learn to my previous experiences, because otherwise I could end up feeling that some classes are pointless. So far, I have felt that the program more or less met my expectations. I have learned a lot, because I've made the effort to do so, however; I more or less expected the classes to be the way they are. After all, the only reason I am here is because to teach at the schools I want to teach at, I need a piece of paper from the BC gov. Canadian beauracracy as its best!
3.) I think the largest complaint I have had with the classes in the education program have been that many of the profs are disorganized, don't teach well, and have no specific guidelines for what is expected from their students. When I was 19 I might have accepted this as par for the course in uni classes, but not so much any longer. Especially given that I am in an EDUCATION PROGRAM, I would expect that my teachers reflected that level of competance. Though unfortuantely, in most classes I have taken at UVic, whether in education or not, I have not found this to be the case.
4.)I write novels about my opinions on the teachers, but I think it makes little difference. It's up to the administration to work it out, because it seems like they don't take student evaluations very seriously anyway. Just gotta suck it up, just like you do with getting the teaching certification paper. No amount of complaining will change it... so just learn as much as you can with the resources you're given.
1) I think the most benificial part of this program has been in its establishment of a sense of community. I feel like during my previous degree at UVIC I have been left to my own devices in figuring out what I need to graduate, succeed and move on in the 'real world.' I think having a class to make sure that everyone knew what was going on and what needed to be done has been a HUGE benifit... I'm realizing now that you wanted me to comment on the program and not this class.... but i still think that my answer works :).
ReplyDelete2)Yes, i think that this program has lived up to my expectations. However, it has in no way exceeded them. I agree with Corey in that I think that the methoods courses could be more specific. Yes, I like hearing general opinions and seeing case studies; however, I feel like there has been almost no attention to the course itself. My main question at the beginning of the semester has been "how do we design a semester in a way that allows flow while giving each unit the attention it deserves?" I understand that there is no 'correct' answer to this; however, examples and different opinions may be helpful. With my art course.... I feel like a better job has been done of this; however, it is a course that I have taken before in my undergrad and I had hoped that it would go more in debth.
3)Like Ben said, I think there should be more classroom experience; when I watch my friends and classmates in the PE program I see a confidence that I do not see in my PD classmates. I wish that we would do smaller devided practicums like they do, or at least go in and watch some classes take place.
4)Jenna's comment was dead on.