July 5 Reflections on Your Practicum and Thoughts on Next Steps

 

1.                Name: Matthew Yuen

2.                Teaching specialty/specialties: Mathematics

3.                Highlights of your teaching practicum experience:

a.      Experiences that you remember with a smile (learning, growth, “I love this job!” sorts of things) Trying out math games and online activities such as Polynomial Jeopardy and mathematical nature walk outdoors. It was an amazing feeling to see so many students having fun and learning simultaneously. I also liked including memes in my lessons and seeing students react to them.

b.      Challenges: Things that were a struggle, perhaps in the “We learn and grow through challenges and hardships” category of “learning experience” A challenge I faced during my practicum teaching experience was trying to engage students through online/hybrid learning. When teaching hybrid, I could easily engage with students in class with me but the students at home I often did not know whether they were actively taking notes or listening to the lesson.

c.      Ongoing learning: Things that, at the end of your practicum, had you thinking, “I want to learn more about, or work on developing my skills in .…” (?) At the end of my practicum, I wanted to learn more about ways to incorporate First People’s Principles of Learning activities in my lessons.

4.                Reflecting on the way the video, “Message from the future II”, plays with the notion of messages across time: What is the most important thing that would write in a letter to your future teacher self (e.g. five years from now)? In my letter to my future teacher self, I would ask if I am happy with the ways I have created and taught my lessons. Have I done my part in developing the problem-solving skills needed for my students to become critical thinkers for themselves? Have I introduced my students to complex problems that exist in the world?

5.                Post-BEd plans: e.g., if you have already secured a teaching job, what/where? Or, some other sort of job? Or, further studies? Or, if you don’t have solid plans, what are your hoped-for post-BEd options?): Note: The purpose of this question is to provide us (Amanda and Mati) some context to get a sense of your interests and potential needs as you move into your career. In September, I will be starting my teaching career as a TOC with the Vancouver and North Vancouver School Districts! Ultimately I would like to have my own classroom, but I think this will be a good stepping stone to getting familiar with various subjects and school environments as I would also be interested in teaching other subjects such as Economics and Physical Education.  

6.                Anything else? If there is anything else you would like to share, please do! Amanda and Mati would love to learn more about you – I did my undergrad at UBC studying Math and Economics, hence think it will be fun to intertwine teaching both these topics together. I also have a keen interest in environmental and outdoor education. Lastly, I have been playing hockey for the majority of my life and it would be a dream to coach in a high school setting.