November 2015

Frame of Reference

Nadine Rossel
575 665 757

I believe each child is a unique individual that when given the right skills they can
blossom to their greatest potential. My desire would be to provide the students with a
trusting, non judgemental, safe environment, where all ideas are accepted and their
opinions are welcomed.
In the classroom there should be fair, consistent and clear rules creating respect for
themselves and others. I would like to provide lessons each day that not only keep the
learners active but engaged as well. In the classroom I am to create an enthusiastic
atmosphere where every student feels successful with themselves and their work by the
end of the year. My teaching approach would be to incorporate plenty of group and
individual work; as some children work best on their own and other needs to be in a
group. Having a lot of hands on projects is a good idea for visual learners. Incorporating
music in the classroom is not only fun but a good exercise for auditory learners; Music in
the classroom during spelling or printing activities to keep the brain flowing. As for
kinesthetic learners my physical education class would be an excellent way to stimulate
them as well as having ten minute work stations for certain subjects to keep them
moving. On top of that keep the learners brains working by having stretch and mini
exercise movements every ten to fifteen minutes to help keep them more focused. Also to
provide a classroom that is accustoming to all learners needs. I plan on making my
classroom a diversity friendly environment where all diversities are accepted and
acknowledged. Maybe have a week where we address differences among people and

cultures so everyone is on the same page. I would be relating my identities with the
students and seeing their identities as well, while trying to make a community in the
classroom involving everyones personal identities. I would research any differences in
the class in order to be more knowledgeable about all areas, and create a comfortable
environment where everyone feels included. I would address any questions right away so
to let the students know that any differences are accepted and not a bad thing like
sometimes media makes them out to be. My identity is pretty clean cut according to
social media, I am a female, who is straight, right handed, middle class, Caucasian, from
Canada, perfect eye sight, and good physical abilities. There is obviously more to identify
me, those are just a few, but I am more aware of differences because my identities are so
normal according to society so I think because of that I can see the classroom from both
views and make myself aware of who is in the classroom. I think I can also learn from the
students who are from other social locations so I can become familiar with their identities
that way too. I want my classroom to be a place where everyone no matter the
differences can be see as the same and welcomed as a classroom community. A place
where differences are something to learn about, so you are knowledgeable, so we can
stand up for those when they are put down because we are well informed about all
aspects of their identities.
I would like my classroom to be clean, organized and environmentally friendly in
order to teach children to respect their surroundings. I plan on having recycling, garbage
and compost bins in my class to get students in good habits early. Also I believe an
organized classroom is a clutter free mind, and also leaves less room for distraction. I
would like to have hands on environmental activities like planting trees outside or having

a river/ waterway clean up day. I enjoyed being at an eco school during my practicum, in
order to see how an environmental friendly school can be accomplished. I love the fact
that the students had many different places for field trips in walking distance, like to the
ocean, streams, small mountain hikes and wetland adventures. Not only for field trips, the
school had great multilevel fields to play on outside and they had plans to create their
own wetland on the edge of the field. Most teachers had a lot of outdoor time during the
day with their classes which I think helps student learning and helps create the students to
feel comfortable at school rather then stuck in a classroom. Fresh air and activity gets
their brains flowing and this is so important to keep them engaged all day. Many of the
PLC meetings they had planned were around eco school systems as well so the teachers
were learning all the time how to better create the eco idea inside their classrooms. We
went to an eco village to gather ideas on how to recycle more intensely, reuse materials to
make new materials, like houses or benches, and how to cook with what the environment
provides for you. The eco village was all natural and surviving on its own resources,
which gave many of the teachers ideas on how to incorporate eco into their classrooms
even if it was just a small amount. Being an eco school was very appealing for many
parents and some families drive across town just to take their children to an eco school.
They had a lot of themed weeks where the school is really trying to focus in on different
aspects of being environmentally friendly; for instance recycling and composting. All
grades have scheduled gardening times and even some classes use only their natural light
in their classrooms. Eco schools are also about helping students become healthier, so they
are proactively trying to teach students about bringing healthy lunches and eating good
foods in their daily lives. Turning into an eco school is a long journey but a really good

thing to implement into any community. Not only is the school involved and the students
but people in the community surrounding start to get involved as well and soon you have
a eco district.
As a teacher and role model my relationship with the community, parents and my
colleagues is respectful, trusting and open to ideas from all individuals to improve my
classroom. I will use these groups as a resource to educate the children. I would also like
to incorporate community involvement in the classroom, to give the students a sense of
belonging and awareness of the environment. Each field trip will have a lasting impact to
carry on their lifes journey. I would also like to have an open classroom vote on the
places we go and tasks we do each day so each student feels important and that they have
a voice in what goes on in the classroom.
Managing the learners in the classroom can be done by laying clear rules out as to
what is expected and how that can be accomplished. Preparing the students for the day by
letting them know the plan for the day can be helpful and reassuring to them because then
they know whats to come. Assigning classroom duties throughout the day can help give
students a sense of accomplishment, leadership and pride towards their home room.
Having fun and unique attention grabbers like a bell, or rain stick can help keep the
children focused and back on task when getting a little loud. Getting to know the students
and building relationships is very important because once there is a sense of community
and family within the classroom the students are more inclined to participate and listen to
your lessons because there is a trust bond there. In all my practicums I found soon as I
had more time to get to know the learners I was able to adjust my lessons and build the
lessons more towards the students interests. And once they got to know me there was a

sense of trust as well as leadership within the classroom, we are all responsible for our
own learning and if we want respect we must deliver it as well. I feel like when building
criteria and classroom goals together with the learners you are giving them a sense of
ownership over their classroom and they are more likely to follow the rules because they
respect the list that they made. Creating a good safe environment right away is very
important, some students dont come from safe environments and if they know they can
feel safe in the school they will come to school and participate more often then they
would before. I also found in one of my practicums the program called mind up to
very useful in classrooms. It works around self regulation, where students are mindfully
using their senses to participate through out the day. For instance my teacher at the start
of class would ring a bell and the students would mindfully listen for the bell to stop
ringing fully, meanwhile they would be deep breathing and focusing on the movement of
their chest up and down. I found it to be very calming and used as a good reminder
throughout the day. Reminding the learners are you being mindful of your space or
mindfully watching during the lesson. The students caught on really quickly and really
tuned into their behaviours. I also found that using different self regulation tools for
different students helps everyone concentrate a bit better and get back into the green
zone. I learned how to make sensory bins in one of my practicums and I found that the
students really enjoyed having these during centers or just when they needed some time
to themselves throughout the day. For younger grades it gives them a sense of exploration
and lets them use all their senses to discover the different items in the bins. I think giving
the students brain breaks when you see their energy levels depleting is very essential to
keeping the enthusiasm throughout the day. Even if it just one student sometimes needs a

break you could for older grades let them have a walk around the school and come back
or get the whole class to do a walk around the school, because usually if one student is
feeling off a few are as well. I also like the fill my bucket story used in many schools
and work places. I used it in my practicums to let the students know they should respect
each other and their teachers. Getting a little fill your bucket card when you do something
nice randomly always makes the students feel positive and happy. It is important to keep
your classroom on a positive note.
Assessment will be done individually focusing on the strengths of each individual and
using those strengths to improve the weaknesses as well. Home work will be looked at as
a whole and not just the final answer. Positive critiquing on handed in homework and the
gold star system can be motivational. I plan on giving time in class for homework so
children have time to grow socially in sports teams or clubs after school. Using a lot of
formative assessment to help build towards your summative assessment is very
important. As we learned in class before it is important to gather assessment from all
areas not just from tests but from oral speaking, journals, discussions, presentations and
other things that we usually give a check mark for and dont look any further at. It is also
important to let students choose how to present their own work, always give choices.
Giving choices not only lets the students be creative and feel comfortable in their final
product but gives them a push into being responsible for their own actions something
they will need in the higher grades. Calling tests, quizzes or celebrations of learning are
nicer ways to take the anxiety off of the word test, which is so formal and final. You want
to have assessment flow with the least amount of anxiety as possible.

I hope to be an excellent educator one day and provide my students with dedication.
Learning is a life long process and there will always be new methods and technology to
improve and update on. I hope to embrace the new and honour the old methods as well.
My love and passion for teaching I hope to integrate into my students and I hope its
something they can reflect back on that will impact their lives.