Concluding Remarks

As this course is coming to an end, I took time to reflect on this course and what it has taught me.  There are many new concepts that I have learned throughout the course of this semester that I believe will make me a better teacher.  Interdisciplinary learning, the KBD umbrella, integrated thinking are all aspects of the course that were very important to learn and I'm glad I had the opportunity to learn through EDUC 4P19.  Also the discussion between the class that was created through the course in terms of blogs and curriculum groups was a great aspect to the course.  It allowed us to hear other peers ideas and opinions about education and the education system as a whole.  It opened my eyes to a wide variety of ideas that I have never though of before.  The group work in this course was very appropriate and beneficial.

Last week the class participated in Genius Hour before this class this concept was new to me.  I think it is a great idea, it allows students to share what they are passionate about.  Not only does it help them as they learn researching skills, but an aspect that I didn't realize it benefited as well is their public speaking skills.  Public speaking is hard for anyone to do, let alone a student doing it in front of their peers.  What better way to make the students comfortable with public speaking then Genius Hour.  It allows them to present something they are interested in and most likely have background information on therefore will feel more comfortable presenting.  I am very glad we learned about this in class, it will definitely be something that I incorporate into my classroom one day! You can find all the information you need on Genius hour through this link: http://www.geniushour.com

My favourite outcome from this course is the curriculum aspect.  This has opened my eyes to a whole new world in teaching.   I have never even seen a curriculum document before let a lone had the opportunity to create my own.  Because of this class I now have a better understanding on why teachers do what they do in order to make the curriculum creative, and that is what I hope to do in the future.  It is important for students to be interested in what they are learning, and with the curriculum already being set in stone for the teacher it can sometimes be difficult to keep it creative in order to keep students interested.  During the time I spent with my group discussing curriculum, and thoroughly going over the geography aspect; I was already making mental notes on activities that I could do with the specific sections in order to engage the students and have them enjoy the topic.  This is done quite often in elementary school; an example I can think of from my personal experience is Grade 4 medieval times section.  It is important to keep units within a class fun, new and interesting.  And that is what I want to do as a high school teacher, keep the excitement in the units like elementary teachers are oh so well at.  This class has taught me more about teaching then I would have ever expected in a class and has inspired me to be the best teacher i can be.