Janet Brockhurst

567355771

A personal Frame of reference

I have strong values and beliefs that I have integrated into my teaching pedagogy and

practice.

I believe very strongly in the value of relationship and attachment. I have studied

Bowlbys theory on attachment and have more recently been reading about attachment

in relation to teaching. Research has inextricably linked attachment to school readiness

and school success (Commodari 2013, Geddes, 2006). This to me is the foundational

value for all the work I do and it is essential in my teaching. I have excellent relational

skills having worked for many years as a counsellor and prior to this as a support

worker in many capacities.

I will work to develop a strong connection to all students, building strong relationships

with every child. I will role model and teach self expression and self-management as

appropriate for the students age, and if students struggle at times to hold themselves I

want to support them to remember how. I will use circles and make space for everyone

to find their voice and encourage the strengths. The incorporation and development of

self esteem within self management is also essential to me and I believe supports self

regulation for all students, as when we feel happier about ourselves we generally

manage better. I have a lot of experience in supporting individuals who have challenging

behaviours and lots of experience with grounding and regulation work.

In my classroom I want to establish a community, a safe place to belong, a place to feel

good about yourself and to love learning. I still love to learn and am excited to inspire

students in this same way. I want the children to practice and value kindness,

mindfulness and respect, both for themselves and to those around them. I will model

and encourage these in the classroom, supporting students to express themselves and

become more thoughtful. This will definitely aid classroom management.

The second value I hold strongly is respect which for me is intrinsically linked to

relationships. I will practice respect and teach respect and it will be our classroom

motto, tIt underpins all relationships and is also essential in my approach to classroom

management. I have studied classroom management extensively, looking for strategies

that would work for me and I consistently find myself coming back to respect. Respect

combined with the teaching of self-regulation and developing self esteem will be my

primary management strategy. I will use quiet reminders and speak to students aside

from the crowd. We will also establish class room agreements on how we are that we all

agree to.

Respect also incorporates inclusivity and appreciation of the value for difference, we will

practice acceptance and I will work to make sure all students feel successful and

capable at their level of learning. I have already heard students say I cant do math etc

and each time I have noticed a strength I have seen in them in this skill area I intend to

practice positive encouragement, we can all learn anything with practice and we will

work hard together to improve.

A second area I have been studying is teaching pedagogy, I want to create lessons and

units that provide empowering learning, building critical thinkers who want to learn. I

love the new inquiry based learning and want to build a room full of curious yet
independent learners, Inquiry-based learning projects positively reinforce skills in all

three domains physical, emotional, and cognitive (Education development centre,

2016). I want to support students to be self motivated learners. I have been reading

studies of inquiry learners and the outcomes that have been seen in the improvement of

the students grades and interest in their learning. I do not want students to think I have

all the answers I want them to know we will work together to find answers and solve

problems as a community.

All of my lesson plans will be built upon the curriculum competencies and contents. I

intend to use detailed lesson plans to begin with using criteria students help establish. I

feel we do better when we know what we are trying to work towards so openness

around outcomes and rubrics for grading will be essential to my classroom community.

I have always utilised assessment, in all my work, as an opportunity to get feedback and

plan how I will adapt and modify. I am flexible enough to know if something is not

working we can do something else and think again about method of delivery. I will also

have students establish their own learning outcomes and self assess and monitor their

own learning. I will include formative and summative assessment measuring not the

learning of facts but the skills of learning, the learning standards and competencies that

develop students personal learning traits and critical thinking skills.

A few other essential considerations for my teaching are the incorporation

of multicultural and first nations content throughout our learning. Canadas first peoples

are an essential part of history and current community. I have experience working in first

nations communities and hope that experience will allow me to support our community

to be both inclusive and open to learning through multi-lensed perspectives of looking at

the world.

Another value for me is that we will be active and I will plan breaks and learning that

allow us to stretch and move as our bodies need. We will play and learn by moving and

doing. We will work outside when we can, explore our community and develop our

sense of self in connection with our sense of place.

I will also build rapport with parents, colleagues and other professionals. I think these

connections with colleagues will be essential my first years as a teacher learning from

those more experienced and I will work in a positive and supportive way with all my

peers. I have excellent communication skills and a strong understanding and

appreciation of the value of diversity in any group which will stand me in good stead for

all connections.

I will also be aware of the immense power I have as a teacher and how I make sure that

I am respectful and thoughtful of this power at all times. A simple mistaken word can

change a child's whole experience it is essential I am conscientious of this at all times.

I am already a committed lifelong learner and I like to reflect and adapt to feedback and

be constantly evolving and improving my practice. I will commit to learning current

trends and research on learning to allow me to stay ahead of the curve on new

developments and research.

References

An Introduction to Attachment and the implications for Learning and Behaviour, Bath
and North East Somerset Council, Oct 22nd 2016.
`http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/Media/Education/attachment-and-the-implications-for-
learning-and-behaviour.pdf
Bowlby, John. Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, Vol 52(4), (1982), 664-678.

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING: AN APPROACH TO EDUCATING AND INSPIRING

KIDS, Youth Learn.org, Oct 22nd 2016. http://youthlearn.org/wp-
content/uploads/Inquiry_Based_Learning.pdf 2016 Education Development Center,
Inc