Professional Semester III
I worked as a PS III intern at Winston Churchill High School, fall 2014. I taught Drama 10 and Drama 20/30. I completed 180.25 hours of instructional time. Winston Churchill is an exceptional high school that operates on a first name basis and stresses the importance of establishing strong relationships with students. The staff is friendly and engaging and feels like a true community. I made strong relationships with my students and grew along side them. Philosophically I believe the heart of education is developing relationships and developing complete human beings. Winston Churchill supported me in my efforts to contribute to the school community.
I worked as a PS III intern at Winston Churchill High School, fall 2014. I taught Drama 10 and Drama 20/30. I completed 180.25 hours of instructional time. Winston Churchill is an exceptional high school that operates on a first name basis and stresses the importance of establishing strong relationships with students. The staff is friendly and engaging and feels like a true community. I made strong relationships with my students and grew along side them. Philosophically I believe the heart of education is developing relationships and developing complete human beings. Winston Churchill supported me in my efforts to contribute to the school community.
Classroom Leadership and Management (KSA #7,8)
I established effective routines for my classroom. I started teaching my students our classroom routines from day one. I taught them to form a circle at the beginning of class and look to the smart board for further instruction. I utilized effective bell activities to focus the class. I put an inspiration image on the smart board for students to interpret into a sentence or a brief story. I did not let students opt out or pass. I assisted them when they were having difficulty by asking guiding questions. Presentations of many forms occurred in my classroom. I taught my students how to form an audience to view the work of others. They encouraged and thanked other students for sharing their work with a respectful theatre clap. This helped to create a supportive and positive creative environment. I had high behavioural expectations of my students. I ensured that they were supportive of each other. I discouraged negative comments and required students to compliment each other if they ever put each other down. My students bought into my philosophy and often policed themselves. I used a djembe drum to grab the attention of my students when they were engaged in higher energy activities. I also created carefully scaffolded activities so that students felt confidant in participating and remained engaged.
Planning and Instruction (KSA #1, 3, 6, 9, 16)
In my Drama courses I taught Orientation, Storytelling, Greek Theatre, Mime, Collective Creation, Improv, Scene Study, and Writing. I concentrated my efforts on enabling self-expression and increasing the dramatic skills of my students. I taught students specific dramatic forms but my focus was on what students are able to do with those forms. I believe in creating artists who know how to express themselves in the dramatic medium that best fits their artistry. Drama is inherently about communication and storytelling. My units were structured around preparing my students for a final performance that showed the culmination of their skills. I exposed my students to many different dramatic forms of expression and let them experiment. My students determined how to make the medium of expression suit their needs. I directed my students and worked with them individually to develop their creative ideas and their dramatic skills. I gave personalized feedback designed to help them grow as artists and give them more tools to express themselves. My class was centered around collaboration. Students collaborated with each other, with me, and with mediums of presentation.
Co-Curricular Involvement (KSA #14, 15, 16)
I started a guitar club at Winston Churchill High School. We met over lunch hours 28 times for a total of 23 hours. The focus of the group was guitar instruction, music appreciation, and music collaboration. The structure of the group changed to meet the needs of my students. We originally met only once a week but expanded it to twice a week in early October and then to three times a week in mid November. The Club gave me the opportunity to establish strong relationships with five students who were passionate about studying the guitar. I switched from a music history lecture model to a student initiated album of the week model. We chose one or two albums each week, listened to them over the course of the week and then discussed our impressions and thoughts on the albums. I taught beginner guitar lessons and provided more advanced materials for study depending on student readiness. I listened to the needs of my students and directed my instruction towards their interest. Wherever possible I incorporated material from the albums that we were listening to in any given week. I have been overjoyed to work closely with my students. I have truly learned as much from them as they have from me. Our club developed into a collaborative music community where we learned from each other and played music together. The Club has reinvigorated my love of the guitar and been a highlight of my time at Churchill.
My co-curricular activities were focused on my guitar club but I also supported other school activities whenever possible. I volunteered at two football gates and one volleyball gate. I observed and supported Churchill’s fall drama production. I attended the audition, the read thru, a full run thru, and the production on closing night. Many of my drama students participated were a part of the cast and I was proud to see them in action under the skillful direction of Greg Walcott.
I worked as a PS III intern at Winston Churchill High School, fall 2014. I taught Drama 10 and Drama 20/30. I completed 180.25 hours of instructional time. Winston Churchill is an exceptional high school that operates on a first name basis and stresses the importance of establishing strong relationships with students. The staff is friendly and engaging and feels like a true community. I made strong relationships with my students and grew along side them. Philosophically I believe the heart of education is developing relationships and developing complete human beings. Winston Churchill supported me in my efforts to contribute to the school community.
Classroom Leadership and Management (KSA #7,8)
I established effective routines for my classroom. I started teaching my students our classroom routines from day one. I taught them to form a circle at the beginning of class and look to the smart board for further instruction. I utilized effective bell activities to focus the class. I put an inspiration image on the smart board for students to interpret into a sentence or a brief story. I did not let students opt out or pass. I assisted them when they were having difficulty by asking guiding questions. Presentations of many forms occurred in my classroom. I taught my students how to form an audience to view the work of others. They encouraged and thanked other students for sharing their work with a respectful theatre clap. This helped to create a supportive and positive creative environment. I had high behavioural expectations of my students. I ensured that they were supportive of each other. I discouraged negative comments and required students to compliment each other if they ever put each other down. My students bought into my philosophy and often policed themselves. I used a djembe drum to grab the attention of my students when they were engaged in higher energy activities. I also created carefully scaffolded activities so that students felt confidant in participating and remained engaged.
Planning and Instruction (KSA #1, 3, 6, 9, 16)
In my Drama courses I taught Orientation, Storytelling, Greek Theatre, Mime, Collective Creation, Improv, Scene Study, and Writing. I concentrated my efforts on enabling self-expression and increasing the dramatic skills of my students. I taught students specific dramatic forms but my focus was on what students are able to do with those forms. I believe in creating artists who know how to express themselves in the dramatic medium that best fits their artistry. Drama is inherently about communication and storytelling. My units were structured around preparing my students for a final performance that showed the culmination of their skills. I exposed my students to many different dramatic forms of expression and let them experiment. My students determined how to make the medium of expression suit their needs. I directed my students and worked with them individually to develop their creative ideas and their dramatic skills. I gave personalized feedback designed to help them grow as artists and give them more tools to express themselves. My class was centered around collaboration. Students collaborated with each other, with me, and with mediums of presentation.
Co-Curricular Involvement (KSA #14, 15, 16)
I started a guitar club at Winston Churchill High School. We met over lunch hours 28 times for a total of 23 hours. The focus of the group was guitar instruction, music appreciation, and music collaboration. The structure of the group changed to meet the needs of my students. We originally met only once a week but expanded it to twice a week in early October and then to three times a week in mid November. The Club gave me the opportunity to establish strong relationships with five students who were passionate about studying the guitar. I switched from a music history lecture model to a student initiated album of the week model. We chose one or two albums each week, listened to them over the course of the week and then discussed our impressions and thoughts on the albums. I taught beginner guitar lessons and provided more advanced materials for study depending on student readiness. I listened to the needs of my students and directed my instruction towards their interest. Wherever possible I incorporated material from the albums that we were listening to in any given week. I have been overjoyed to work closely with my students. I have truly learned as much from them as they have from me. Our club developed into a collaborative music community where we learned from each other and played music together. The Club has reinvigorated my love of the guitar and been a highlight of my time at Churchill.
My co-curricular activities were focused on my guitar club but I also supported other school activities whenever possible. I volunteered at two football gates and one volleyball gate. I observed and supported Churchill’s fall drama production. I attended the audition, the read thru, a full run thru, and the production on closing night. Many of my drama students participated were a part of the cast and I was proud to see them in action under the skillful direction of Greg Walcott.