Summative TPGP The objective for my formative TPGP included creating an inclusive atmosphere where all students feel

comfortable and capable of succeeding. I focused on learning to teach using various strategies, how to reinforce certain behaviours, and how to fairly evaluate students. Throughout the semester and during my field experience, I have learned and observed a lot about how to incorporate these goals into teaching.

School and Classroom Culture: Due to growing cultural diversity, I intended to focus on how to create an inclusive classroom environment where all students feel comfortable participating and taking risks. To foster an inclusive atmosphere among students, I wanted to incorporate collaborative tasks so that different children could work together on a regular basis. During my practicum, I noticed that most teachers at the elementary and junior high level arranged their classrooms so that students were sitting in groups of four or five to facilitate group work. Some teachers even switched up the groups every month or two to insure that each student had a chance to work with every other student. This is something I plan to do in my classroom. As a future French immersion teacher, I noticed that this was an especially useful technique I could use to encourage students to practice their French language skills amongst each other. Since educational psychology has shown me that cultural mismatch can occur between students home and school lives, I wanted to learn how to help alleviate the tension between home and school culture. I recognize now that multicultural education can only be effective if

authentic, non-stereotypical, resources are used to represent cultural heritage. During my practicum I had the opportunity to see how two grade six teachers encouraged one Muslim student to share his culture with the class by asking him if wanted to give a short presentation about an upcoming holiday in his religion called Eid al-Adha. During the presentation, the student explained that the holiday involved celebrating his faith by praying, eating, and sacrificing an animal such as a camel. The students were blatantly shocked and disturbed by the last comment about animal sacrifice, but the teacher quickly stepped in and explained how this was similar to how we kill turkeys for thanksgiving dinner in North America. The class quieted down immediately once they realized that their culture was not so different from the student presenting. Finding commonalities between all students is something I want to encourage.

Personal and Professional Integration and Development: My goal in this area was to effectively respond to the fact that children learn and develop in different ways and at different paces. Since this course recommends learning and documenting multiple strategies for teaching each topic, I wanted to observe how the teachers I visited took individual learning needs into account. In one classroom, I observed a teacher who was having his students take an online multiple intelligences test, to see what areas came easily to students and what areas they needed more help in. I am now realizing that, as Gardner proposed, intelligence is not fixed or all encompassing, and that as an educator I will need to plan my teaching to accommodate diverse abilities. I observed an example of this in an elementary classroom, where the teacher attempted to create individual lesson plans whenever possible. For example, when teaching math she would give larger, more difficult questions to students who excelled, but all students received the same number of questions, so

it wasnt obvious that some students were working at different levels. During free writing time, where the students had to write for fifteen minutes, some students had a goal of ten sentences, while others had a goal of three. Although the quantity varied, all the students were expected to work toward the same level of quality regarding spelling and punctuation. In this area, I also hoped to learn how teachers facilitate and asses their students understanding. In the French immersion schools that I visited, I noticed that teachers often repeated key information in English, or presented it in multiple ways, such as verbally and visually, to insure that students understood. Through this class I have learned the importance of letting the students know exactly what they are expected to learn. However, I have also learned that misconceptions are not easily unlearned, since it often involves changing entire concepts. For this reason I would like to discover more about how to challenge students misconceptions.

Learning and Behavioural Processes: Regarding learning processes, I wanted to focus on not overwhelming my students with too much information and on helping them discern which information is most relevant. I planned do this by presenting material in an organized fashion, eliminating unnecessary details, and providing many examples and visual aids. I saw these practices implemented often during my practicum. I am also becoming more aware of how important it is for students to value the material we do in class. For students to value class work, it will need to be oriented toward their long term success, so that they dont perceive it as just one more thing they have to do to graduate. To keep students interested, I will need to take their interests into account, use a variety of materials, and demonstrate my own enthusiasm for topics.

In addition, I wanted to concentrate on reinforcing various behaviours in the classroom. Educational psychology has taught me the significance of the observational learning effect, where students learn behaviours by observing others. I think it will be extremely important for me not to let inappropriate behaviours go without addressing them, because if students see another student getting away with inappropriate behaviour, they may be more likely to engage in a similar one. I think this is especially relevant for me as a French immersion teacher. During my practicum I noticed that in some junior high classes where the students were expected to speak only French, more students would be talking in English if they saw that no one was being told not to by the teacher. Finding ways to intrinsically motivate students to speak French will be something extremely important to focus on in the future.

Assessment and Evaluation: In terms of assessment and evaluation, I intended to focus on consistency and fairness. To determine if my students were progressing, I wanted to give tests, individual take home assignments, and group assignments. Since all students learn differently, I hoped to gain insight into how to structure tests and assignments without putting any student at a disadvantage. After learning about direct instruction in educational psychology, I believe that using a variety of techniques is an effective way to teach and assess students. To implement this technique successfully I would need to provide clear goals for the lesson, introduce materiel in small, logical steps, and give frequent opportunities for students to practice what theyve just learned. To be sure that my students understand, I would assess their progress by having them answer follow up or questions or by summarizing what theyve learned. I would also give a final unit test before moving on to ensure that all students have a good understanding. I think the most

important aspect of this instruction; however, is frequent follow up reviews, such as homework, assignments, or quizzes, throughout the entire school year to make sure that students dont forget what theyve learned. As stated in the educational psychology textbook, direct instruction promotes higher level thinking, where students go beyond recall tasks to apply and evaluate what theyre learning. This method also prompts increased self-efficacy for the subject being taught, and I want all my students to believe they are capable of success.

Through educational psychology and during my field experience, I have learned and observed many techniques I can use to create an inclusive atmosphere where all students feel at ease and as though they have the same opportunities for success. I have developed ideas about different teaching strategies to use, how to reinforce certain behaviours, and how to effectively evaluate students.