Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.

Educators are knowledgeable about how children and youth develop as learners and social beings. Educators demonstrate an understanding of individual learning differences and needs. Educators recognize the importance and connection of cultural identity, ways of being and worldviews to student learning. Educators use this knowledge to inform decisions about curriculum, instruction and assessment. Educators work to create a positive, safe and inclusive learning environment to best meet the diverse needs of students.

What did I learn?

During our first semester, we had the priveledge of going out into different school to observe different teachers and classes. While I was doing my observations I had the chance to look at classrooms and see how different teachers sought to create a positive, safe and inclusive enviroment. Indigenous artwork, FPPL posters, posters about inclusivity and diversity, flags and other visuals were some of the simple ways teachers communicated their desire for a safe and inclusive space for their students.

I also had the chance to see a variety of seating plans which can affect the classroom environment and social setting. Some science labs had lab benches arranged in unique patterns, some younger grades had tables in groups and some classes had the more traditional desks in neat rows. During my practicum, my class had desks that were arranged in two semicircles. This arrangement was preferred by both myself and my students because it encouraged discussion, collaboration and socialization. For a grade 11 Pre-Calculus class, it worked very well.

Why does it matter?

Students are wonderfully diverse learners. As teachers, we must be flexible and able to adjust our teaching to best fit the needs of every student in our class. For learning to occur in our classrooms, we need to first ensure that it is a safe space where every student feels welcome and comfortable. Once we have achieved that, then we can ask them to place themselves in the vulnerable position of learner. This can be difficult to achieve and differentiation is always going to be a struggle for teachers, however the relentless pursuit of it is the most important thing. If we forget about students with different learning needs and choose not to consider the climate of our classroom, THEN we will have truly failed to uphole this standard.

What’s Next?

In every class I teach I want to create a safe and inclusive environment for my students. In some subject areas, this means openly including different cultural knowledge and skills. In my math class, I struggled to find unique ways of incorporating the FPPL, without the content feeling tokenized. For example, I could write word problems and use Indigenous concepts as examples but I do not want it to feel forced or aggravating to Indigenous students. This is something that was discussed amongst math teachers in the school and is a uniform struggle. If I teach math again I want to prioritize the part of this standard that outlines creating a safe space and designing a class that helps a diverse group of learners. It is something that I did attempt in my first practicum but could ALWAYS continue working on and improving.

Standard Three Artifact:

During my first practicum, I had the privilege of observing and assisting in a Northcoast Art and Design Class. The teacher of this course is a Non-Indigenous person who demonstrated that they recognize the importance and connection of cultural identity, ways of being and worldviews to student learning. Before COVID this teacher acted more as a facilitator of the course by bringing in “mentors” who had a deep connection and understanding of Indigenous Art and were able to teach their craft to the students. In the years after COVID, however, bringing in mentors has become extremely difficult and this teacher has done their best to help students learn these skills. I was informed that this course will no longer run in the future and the art teacher wants students to be able to explore art of specific cultures in the general art classes. I know this teacher does a wonderful job of creating a space where students feel they can choose any art form when studying art. Cultural identity, ways of being and worldviews are highly valued and respected in this teacher’s classroom.