CONNECTIONS

Having the opportunity to reflect on my teaching experiences and how they fit within the TQS has made me think about how I have been developing these areas throughout my life. I am a firm believer of learning through my challenges and failures and as Bob Ross says, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” I believe that taking risks and trying new things makes me a stronger learner, leader, and teacher. This corresponds with the TQS area of a commitment to life-long learning, and I that believe wherever life takes me, I will forever continue to learn. From 2017- 2021 I worked in Out of School Care, and it was there where I learned how to foster relationships effectively with children, parents, staff and management. I helped to create an environment where people felt like they mattered and had a voice. I believe that this experience will be enormously beneficial to my future school and classroom.

I have noticed a gap with demonstrating a professional body of knowledge, but I know that this is due to a lack of experience teaching. I know that I will further my knowledge in this domain during my Field 4 experience as well once I have gotten a position of my own in a school. I know that I have built strong relationships with professionals at the University and in the schools I have been and I know I can access these people for assistance for finding effective resources and/when a conflicting problem may arise. Another gap I have noticed is in establishing inclusive environments. I know that this is not an easy task and students can have a variety of different needs and backgrounds. In my TPGP I am currently devoted to expanding my knowledge of universal and targeted resources as well as giving students opportunities to show and learn leadership in the classroom.

During my life experiences as a student, employee, and teacher, I have always sought out feedback from others for improvement and development. During the process of creating my TQS section of my e-portfolio I worked with a critical friend who helped me refine my formatting and pointed out any errors I could fix. This helped me with quality control and to provide an expert delivery. I always seek out critical feedback in my writing, projects, and lesson plans to show professionalism and dedication to my field. I additionally offer critical feedback in return to help others in my field improve, feel valued and have the ability to show the same level of professionalism. This is a win-win practice.