July 5th Blog Reflection Post

1. Name: Karishma Sharma

2. Teaching Specialization: Mathematics

3. Practicum Reflection:

a) One of the moments that made me smile was working with students who were initially struggling and watching their progress and eventual success. One student in particular hesitated with their questions in the beginning but slowly became unafraid to ask me to repeat explanations and try questions similar to those we went over and have me check them over. By the end, the student's questions became more specific and they were better at articulating exactly what they understood and where they were still confused. I think that was an amazing realization for me because that's exactly what I want students to be able to transfer outside the classroom as well.

b) One of the major challenges I found was attendance. Our school had a remote week -  in-person week rotation and students often skipped the remote lessons. When students skipped class, it became nearly impossible to catch them up and have them understand the content they were meant to cover on the current day. I quickly realized I needed to hold them accountable during the off-weeks as well so I began implementing "Homework checks" with feedback given back, which were solely formative assessment check-points (and I was transparent about this as well). I found that a higher number of students participated and were at least less behind than they would have otherwise been. I also found that this method benefited the students who were already on-track because they were able to receive feedback at more regular intervals.

c) I have two things in terms of what I would like to learn. First is my on-going journey of learning about Indigenous Perspectives and how to bring those to my classroom in a respectful and meaningful way. I was able to work with the Indigenous Education Department here in Prince Rupert and I feel like the deeper I get into this inquiry, the more I realize I really don't know much at all. I also realize it is not a subject where I can "study up and become an expert in" and that it is vitally important to listen to Indigenous voices and collaborate with Indigenous people in my community to properly represent Indigenous Perspectives.

The other thing I would like to learn more about is how to effectively keep parents/guardians in the loop with their child's progress - both problem-areas and successes. During the pandemic, we lost out on this outer community aspect and I anticipate having to put in some work while navigating this area of teaching (not because I think parents are against me, but more so being organized enough to keep parents updated/involved to an appropriate extent). 

4. I think the most important thing I would write to my future self would be to stay humble and to continue to learn from those around me. I find that most of the role models I have in my life are in love with learning and that in turn inspired me to be motivated and try new things myself, which I would argue fueled my creativity and passions. I would want to tell my future self to keep that energy going and to lead by example for the next generation of students in the same way my role models did for me. 

5. I have a (tentative - provided I complete the program!) TTOC job in School District 52 starting this fall.