Friday 30 January 2015

Recently I was asked:
“How does your perspective and Ideas on teaching and learning Influence your curriculum and development work?”
My perspective and ideas on teaching and learning influence my curriculum development work because of my own learning experiences.  When I was in elementary school I was passed on from grade to grade. I have dyslexia and the education system was not trained to recognize dyslexia so I was labelled stupid and/or lazy. It wasn't until grade 7 when my teacher Mr. Tony Rogers (whom I would love to thank today for literally saving my life) noticed I was not lazy or stupid and sent me for testing. I had to find creative ways to teach myself so that I could learn and retain what was being taught.  The traditional “cookie cutter” way of teaching did not register with me.
I now teach people with barriers from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, most having many barriers, not just one or two. I have to come up with very creative ways to help my learners so they can learn and retain what is being taught.  My experiences in the education system have allowed me to see how many ways there are to teach one subject. It has taught me that it is very important to keep in mind who your learners are, and how they learn when developing curriculums.
My objective is to make learning relevant for every lesson. When dealing with individuals with learning disabilities or other barriers it is extremely important to take into consideration that everyone learns differently. Of the 3 types of learning, Audio, Visual and Kinaesthetic, a high percentage of our students are very visual and also respond well to a hands-on kinaesthetic approach.  
I have to find creative ways to help them relate the lesson to something that they are already familiar with for example; we have an eight week basic cooking program that has to cover all aspects of breakfast cooking, our restaurant opens at 8 am so we don’t have a big breakfast business. At H.A.V.E. we feed our students breakfast and lunch every day. We use this opportunity to teach breakfast cookery.  One day I will teach over easy eggs I will show them how it is done and then each student will make their own eggs. The next day will be poached, and then basted etc. by the end of eight weeks they know everything about breakfast cooking.
Equally important is positive reinforcement. This is done by concentrating on a student’s strong points. Taking a person’s natural abilities and capitalizing on what will lead that individual to not only increase their self-esteem but I have also found that they tend to improve in their weaker areas as well. I remind my students on a daily basis of their previous positive outcomes when they are struggling with something new.
Although positive reinforcement is very important to the classroom environment there must also be a code of conduct that students and myself must adhere to in order for learning to take place. I ask senior students to be accountable and to be good examples for the newer students. I hold myself and my staff to these same standards so that students will not only have positive role models but also know that everyone is on a level playing field when it comes to learning.

I see potential in every student that comes through our door and I believe my duty as an educator is to foster that potential through positive reinforcement, a safe and inclusive learning environment and teaching in a manner consistent with helping each student see that same potential in them that I see.

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