After four fantastic (yet still incredibly busy) months of summer break, today was the day we officially returned to campus to regroup and recharge for Year 2 of the B.Ed. program. The day began in Marion Hall (which brought back some serious [awful] memories of my first year Organic Chemistry classes), where all the Year 2's gathered for a welcome by the Dean of the faculty, Raymond Leblanc, as well as information from the Director, Assistant Director, members of the faculty, and other invited guests from various school boards in the city. It was a lot of information to take in at once, but being surrounded by like-minded future educators again was extremely inspiring, and reminded me once more why I have chosen this career path. I seriously cannot wait to be a teacher!
There are a ton of cool and exciting things coming up this year that I am already looking forward to. The first being the fact that we are in Practicum immediately to start our year. From September 6-16 we are going into the schools to see how the first two weeks of school really look and the types of preparations which are necessary on the teacher's end. It is going to be so beneficial to see the first day of school, see what types of activities my Associate Teacher has planned, how she has set up her classroom, and what the plans for the year will be. After these two weeks we will be returning to the same schools every Wednesday to continue to get to know the students and the faculty. Over this period of time we will be taking on more and more responsibility for lesson and unit planning, leading up to our six week Practicum from November 7-December 16. By November we should be prepared to be teaching a large portion of the day, having created our own unit plans and assessment tools to teach and implement in the classroom. I am actually meeting my Associate Teacher for the first time at the school on September 1, as I plan to attend the faculty's first staff meeting. I can't wait to see my new school and dive into classroom prep and activity planning! In addition to the welcome back and housekeeping, we were also addressed by one of the faculty's Assistant Professors, Michelle Hagerman (who was actually my Curriculum Planning and Assessment professor in Year 1 and who had us create our very own digital space in the first place!), about some super exciting initiatives happening around the use and integration of technology in the classroom. I am especially excited about this, as in the new year Professor Hagerman and myself plan on collaborating on a few projects pertaining to technology integration, and so I feel extra motivated to spread the info! A new website has been created for Education students at the university strictly for information on technology and digital spaces. The website can be found here: Ed Tech University of Ottawa The vision is that all Faculty of Education students will create (if they have not already done so) a Digital Hub where they can post and track their progress and growth in the education profession. This website will then compile all the URLs of these digital spaces and keep a database of information. The Ed Tech site also contains resources and information on Professional Learning opportunities and workshops that faculty and students are able to attend. I personally think this initiative is a wonderful idea and it totally aligns with the current digital age and the emphasis on technological prowess in the classroom. After the morning session we all gathered on Tabaret Lawn for a pizza lunch and some time to catch up with our classmates. The students from the Year 1 program also joined in, and so we were together for the first time as our full faculty. Pretty cool! After lunch, the groupings got small again, and we split off into our individual sections to meet our PED3151 profs to discuss what is expected of us leading up to our September practicum. This meet up was especially memorable, as it happened to be the same group of students as well as the same professor I was with last year. We all became quite close through the Year 1 struggles, and so reuniting to begin it all again, while being a little older and a little wiser, was fantastic. I left campus feeling a little overwhelmed, but definitely excited. Oh, then I stood in line for my UPASS (OC Transpo bus pass) for 3 and half hours. If I wasn't already tired from the information overload, that wait ensured total exhaustion. I foresee an incredibly busy semester ahead, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Stay tuned for updates on my Year 2 journey. Thanks again, Miss Coleman
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AuthorJessica Coleman holds a Bachelor of Education as well as an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences, both from the University of Ottawa. She is an Ontario College of Teachers certified teacher, currently working towards a Masters of Education degree at uOttaw, as well. Archives
September 2018
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