Hello! My name is Eadaoin and I am very happy to be a part of Cohort 21, season 8. Yesterday was our first face to face meeting and it was a wonderful day of connecting and getting started on the whole process. To start off my C21 blog, here are some thoughts about what has affected me and ways I want to have an impact as a teacher.
My grade 9 & 11 science teacher had a lasting impact on me. I didn’t take science far after high school. I had a biology minor for a very short time during undergrad but soon decided to pursue English and history exclusively. However, I will always remember his science classes in high school. My teacher employed a model of relational learning, making sure to connect with his students through humour. I also remember him taking the time to go home and research our biology questions, whether or not they were related to the topic we were studying, and return soon after with the answers. I remember the kindness.
I want to be a teacher who models kindness for her students.
Social skills is one of the most important things our students can learn. When those skills are in place, all sorts of other types of learning can happen. I think I help develop this skill in my classrooms by just having the students talk to each other. Whether that be through partner work, group discussion, or providing peer feedback, it happens a lot. I also try to work in student-teacher conferences which provides a chance for me to get to know the student better while discussing course matters.
I’m looking forward to a great year with this new network of innovators.
