Experiential Learning & Coping with Dynamic Situations
In terms of my practicum-related field experiences, I would like to reflect on the placement component, set out by the B.Ed program at OISE, and the practicum, as part of developing professionalism.
As a social science teacher, who specializes in politics and history, I was fortunate to have the chance to practice teach with the supervision of very knowledgeable mentors in two separate academic high schools located in downtown Toronto. In addition, my internship was my third and last placement, which was again in a high school in downtown Toronto; this was slightly a different practice teaching experience, as it was an alternative school.
Having the chance to read Chapter 21, titled School-Based Experience, by Michael K. Legutke and Marita Schocker-v.Ditfruth, I can definitely recall times where my practice teaching through my practicum placement, did involve new and complex experiential learning:
“Since Schon’s publication on the nature of professional action in dynamic situations of practice (Schon 1983), we have become aware that teachers have to cope with situations of uncertainty, complexity, uniqueness, instability, and value conflict.” (Legutke & Ditfurth, pg.210)
For instance, when I was completing my practicum at Jarvis CI, I had encountered an usual situation. During my spare, when I was sitting in the Geography / History / Politics department on the lower floor, I and another teacher heard a bang sound, … it came from the boys washroom down the hall. As a novice teacher, I was curious and anxious to know what had happened. A few minutes later, a young male student appeared into the hallway, he was bleeding severely from the head down. Although he was mumbling, he said that a couple of intruders came into the school, to the boys washroom downstairs, and asked him for cigarettes. When the student replied that he does not smoke, the intruders picked up the metal garbage bin and banged him on the head.
As a result, as Legutke & Ditfurth explain, teachers, especially ones who are completing their practicum, need to be ready to act during ‘dynamic situations.’ Hence, I immediately acted, but with instructions from my mentor; she had asked me to take over one her colleagues class and supervise, while she went to aid the student who was injured. Once I was in the classroom,I was left with the responsibility to calm down and control a large class all by myself. This was an extraordinary experience, as I had to keep them seated, away from the door, and relaxed; this was a complex and challenging task, as the class had already seen the injured bleeding student in the hallway faint and that ambulance was on its way. The next morning our school made headlines on City TV!
On the whole, Legutke & Ditfurth has helped me to recall how practicum experiences can be all-encompassing! In other words, it is a unique opportunity for experiential learning, where research, observation, reflection and practice merge to create an authentic,yet complex teaching-learning experience!
As a social science teacher, who specializes in politics and history, I was fortunate to have the chance to practice teach with the supervision of very knowledgeable mentors in two separate academic high schools located in downtown Toronto. In addition, my internship was my third and last placement, which was again in a high school in downtown Toronto; this was slightly a different practice teaching experience, as it was an alternative school.
Having the chance to read Chapter 21, titled School-Based Experience, by Michael K. Legutke and Marita Schocker-v.Ditfruth, I can definitely recall times where my practice teaching through my practicum placement, did involve new and complex experiential learning:
“Since Schon’s publication on the nature of professional action in dynamic situations of practice (Schon 1983), we have become aware that teachers have to cope with situations of uncertainty, complexity, uniqueness, instability, and value conflict.” (Legutke & Ditfurth, pg.210)
For instance, when I was completing my practicum at Jarvis CI, I had encountered an usual situation. During my spare, when I was sitting in the Geography / History / Politics department on the lower floor, I and another teacher heard a bang sound, … it came from the boys washroom down the hall. As a novice teacher, I was curious and anxious to know what had happened. A few minutes later, a young male student appeared into the hallway, he was bleeding severely from the head down. Although he was mumbling, he said that a couple of intruders came into the school, to the boys washroom downstairs, and asked him for cigarettes. When the student replied that he does not smoke, the intruders picked up the metal garbage bin and banged him on the head.
As a result, as Legutke & Ditfurth explain, teachers, especially ones who are completing their practicum, need to be ready to act during ‘dynamic situations.’ Hence, I immediately acted, but with instructions from my mentor; she had asked me to take over one her colleagues class and supervise, while she went to aid the student who was injured. Once I was in the classroom,I was left with the responsibility to calm down and control a large class all by myself. This was an extraordinary experience, as I had to keep them seated, away from the door, and relaxed; this was a complex and challenging task, as the class had already seen the injured bleeding student in the hallway faint and that ambulance was on its way. The next morning our school made headlines on City TV!
On the whole, Legutke & Ditfurth has helped me to recall how practicum experiences can be all-encompassing! In other words, it is a unique opportunity for experiential learning, where research, observation, reflection and practice merge to create an authentic,yet complex teaching-learning experience!