Scavenger Hunt

Get academic: Share a recently published academic article or journal in your subject area that you would like to read and why. 

I recently participated in a 6-week study circle at work about ADHD. One of the attendees asked if there were specific strategies for working with ADHD students who were also English acquisition learners. The question arose because of our recent learning that ADHD is often associated with deficiencies in the frontal lobe of the brain (the area responsible for language processing and memory). Because I plan to teach EAL, the question piqued my curiosity and I cannot wait to have some time to read the article our host shared with us, A Model to Manage EFL Learners with ADHD and Dyslexia, published in the Journal of Education and Practice. “The study design aims to help both teachers in class management and learners with learning difficulties cope with the expectations from an EFL learner, especially in terms of vocabulary and reading development.”

Develop professionally: Share an upcoming conference or academic event that you would like to participate in and why. 

Attending the IB Global Conference taking place in October 2022 in The Hague, would be very cool, especially for meeting like minded teachers from different geographical areas. However, the main reason to attend this conference, in particular, is to participate in their ‘educational technology and  innovation’ workshops, “combining technological tools and resources with educational practice to facilitate learning”. I have noticed during the clinical practice that I shy away from bringing technology into the classroom and I would love to be inspired to learn more and take risks in this area.

Build life skills: Host a scavenger hunt activity for your students on life skills or social-emotional learning and take a picture of items collected by students. 

A social and emotional scavenger hunt in which students look for things that make them feel specific ways such as joy, strong, and grateful to name a few. And, to think about self-care and positive affirmatives. They especially enjoyed sharing and explaining their finds with their peers. Click here for a compilation of their findings! Here is an example page:

Create awareness: Implement an activity with students to overcome any one stereotype towards culture, ethnicity, gender, or learning differences. 

The current EAL unit is about the unit book, Freak the Mighty, and the theme of friendships and friendships in the digital age. The classroom teacher and I have discussed that this unit would be more fitting with the theme of disability since both the main characters are stereotyped due to their disabilities (a learning and physical one). As such, he was onboard when I suggested we spend a couple of lessons teaching about stereotypes and first impressions. In the video you see a snapshot of an activity to introduce students to stereotypes (they look at five images and make assumptions about the person’s personality, job and whether or not they would be friends with that person. They then discuss if they are stereotyping during this activity. Afterwards I tie in stereotypes to their unit book and focus on disability. Here's a video snapshot.

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Create a memory: Take a picture with your cohort.  

missing Duncan

Find common ground: Show pictures of a hobby or interest that you share with a teacher colleague at your school.

Hanging out with my colleague Sacha (she works in PYP), good friend Despina (I met her through Sacha), and Sting! He played a concert at Gröna Lund in Stockholm. We love 80s music and whenever we get a chance, we attend a concert. Our next one is in June at Rosendal to see Simple Minds.

Get social: Add a post on the Community Forum with one important thing you learned during your clinical practice.  

One of many important things I learned during my clinical practice is to go to the staff room! As an introvert, this was quite difficult for me. Even in my current role at the school, I tend to eat lunch with the learning support team, people I am most comfortable. Of course, I would have lovely conversations with teachers in the hallway and with those in the office I share but going to the staff room was a barrier for me. But I figured why not try something new and give myself the opportunity to get to know the other staff and it was the best decision. They are so generous in sharing their insights with me. Even if at first I sat there, having my afternoon fika, listening in on some conversations, there is always going to be something to learn and/or share.

h. Share an achievement: Share the biggest learning challenge you faced in the program and how you overcame the challenge.  

The sheer intensity of the work involved! The amount of work which goes into each module, unit, and activity is something that I comment on whenever I’m asked about the program. It turns out I am not very good at the juggling act; maintaining a healthy work-school-life balance. I made an intentional decision to cut back on my work hours. As a result, I make space for yoga and spending time with friends and family.

i. Get personal: Share one professional ethic that you always live by.    

One of the professional ethics that I always live by it to treat others as I wish to be treated. I commit myself to acting courteously in my day-to-day interactions with others, despite my mood or life situation. It is important to me to have a positive impact on the people I come into contact with. For me, empathy is a key part of this because it helps me understand and work well with others. While it takes attention and commitment, it’s worth it for my colleagues and for my students.

j. Get finished: Complete and submit your e-Portfolio that you started in the beginning of the program. 

It has been fun to be able to tuck away my learning from the Moreland teacher education program here on the blog. It will be a keepsake I return to time after time.

Thank you for stopping by!