The artifact that I chose to reflect goal #1 (Develop a personal approach to teach Social Studies) is from a lecture we had on July 16th in my EDCI 414 course. In this lecture we were able to visualize and draw our dream classroom as a class activity.
Why does this artifact reflect my learning of the objective/goal:
The artifact of this drawing allowed me to think of my possible future Social Studies classroom in a way that I had not prior to this. I realized I had hopes for my future teaching environment that were based in providing a space for students to thrive. I am hoping to one day teach early primary and so creating a dream Social Studies classroom at first seemed very daunting, however once I began exploring what the seating might look like and what various spaces might provide for students I found myself creating a space that I felt reflected my own personal approach to teaching.
What stood out to me in my learning process:
A few things that stood out to me when reflecting on my dream Social Studies classroom drawing was the presence of natural elements such as access to windows, a place to grow plants as a class and greenery in the classroom. Prior to this I didn’t realize how much I wanted natural elements to be embedded in the future learning space I hope to teach in. There are so many aspects of early primary social studies content that connect to place and connections to land, I can see how having these natural element would allow for connections to the social studies curriculum. Another aspect that stood out to me about this activity was how creating personalized learning spaces in my future classroom was a really important component of my design. I spent most of my time while drawing thinking about how to create comfortable spaces throughout the classroom that would fit the needs of each learner. One area that I designed that I would like to implement especially with regards to different social studies units was a book showcase area. This was an area that would showcase a multitude of books on a certain topic during a unit so that students may browse.
How this learning may impact my teaching practice in the future:
I have come to realize over the course of this program and during the process of creating a unit in EDCI 414, that incorporating children’s books into lessons is an important aspect of my personal teaching approach. This activity helped me to realize some of the personal approaches I have to teaching and the things I want to incorporate into future classrooms and social studies lessons. I want to ensure students come first, in the way that the classroom is set up and the spaces that are created.
Feature Image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash