For my third field experience, I was to focus on how teachers honor different ways of teaching, how teachers promote knowledge, key supports that they rely on and how teachers build their professional growth. For my cooperating teacher, I noticed how she relies on her vocal cues for her students. Through doing so, she can get their attention and can react to misbehavior. When doing so, she reinforces how her students are in grade one. By doing this, she reminds them that they are getting older and have more responsibility. This, in turn, makes them react to their behavior, as they want to act more mature and adjust themselves. Other resources she uses are interactive posters and diagrams on the wall. The students like being able to use different objects and tools to express their learning, and are eager to do so. I also find that she uses a collective approach to teaching. She addresses all the students at the same time rather than focusing on individual students for her lessons. One more tool I saw her using is the repetition of keywords, such as objectives in questions. She also uses a reward system for students who do their work, such as candies for students that complete their agenda. I think these ways of promoting knowledge for these young students are great incentives to education and seem to work well as students are enthusiastic to learn.

As for her own professional growth, her best advice was to “fake it ‘til you make it.” Essentially, she said to get your foot in the door and explore as many opportunities as you can. One example she had was in her first year, she used many lesson plans and a growth plan of other teachers. She had plans for hers but felt as if other lesson plans were more developed, so she incorporated them into her own lessons. I feel like this is similar to other things that we have been taught in ECS 100. Like how new teachers should try and reach out for support if they are struggling, in this case, she did so in order to improve her own teaching.

For incorporating different ways of teaching, the teacher and the school are very proactive. My cooperating teacher herself is Dene and Plains Cree in descent, and she ties in her teachings she was taught. For example, she integrates the Cree language into her lessons subtly and teaches the children some phrases as well. Also, at the school, although not there when we’re there, they had the Winter Count Buffalo Robe. This was very culturally relevant, as indigenous studies are apart from the curriculum. This Buffalo Robe also travels around to different places, as she said it will reach the pope at the Vatican City.