Ongoing Professional Learning
"Members recognize that a commitment to ongoing professional learning is integral to effective practice and to student learning. Professional practice and self-directed learning are informed by experience, research, collaboration and knowledge." - OCT
Teaching, like acting, cooking, or medicine, is a practice - and should be treated as such. Especially in a profession focused on ensuring that the process of learning is enjoyable, we must embrace and celebrate the fact that the learning never really ends! There will always be things we can improve upon, always more to uncover. Simultaneously, each new experience and discovery, as well as our inner wisdom and guidance, can offer us both renewal and a more grounded confidence from which we continue our practice. I see this practice as one where we must continuously strive to strike the balance between intellectual humility, and solid conviction.
Seeing this work as a craft has been an invaluable lens to adopt, and particularly helpful to me as my training and experiences in Theatre gave me a basis in this approach, as well as an understanding of the value of possessing a beginner's mind. And just as lenses serve their purpose, so other tools do the same. Realizing that there are many tools out there which could help make our lives, and the lives of our students easier, better - as well as tweaking the way we use the tools we already have - is an important part of my teaching journey.
Not only does taking on the role of student remind us of all the unique needs and demands this entails, but we find and see how learning itself is enjoyable. Especially as someone in the earlier stages of the teaching journey, there is an eagerness to learn from those who have gone before. If the process of research teaches you anything, it's how much there still is to learn about almost everything!
This is why I have embarked on a range of additional Professional Development training & engagement initiatives since arriving at OISE, highlighted below. First off is the Inclusive Teacher's Certificate Program, created to help teachers make their classrooms and learning settings more inclusive for learners of all abilities. Below is a quick blurb about the program, as well as a pdf file containing much greater detail and depth into the program and the people behind it.
Seeing this work as a craft has been an invaluable lens to adopt, and particularly helpful to me as my training and experiences in Theatre gave me a basis in this approach, as well as an understanding of the value of possessing a beginner's mind. And just as lenses serve their purpose, so other tools do the same. Realizing that there are many tools out there which could help make our lives, and the lives of our students easier, better - as well as tweaking the way we use the tools we already have - is an important part of my teaching journey.
Not only does taking on the role of student remind us of all the unique needs and demands this entails, but we find and see how learning itself is enjoyable. Especially as someone in the earlier stages of the teaching journey, there is an eagerness to learn from those who have gone before. If the process of research teaches you anything, it's how much there still is to learn about almost everything!
This is why I have embarked on a range of additional Professional Development training & engagement initiatives since arriving at OISE, highlighted below. First off is the Inclusive Teacher's Certificate Program, created to help teachers make their classrooms and learning settings more inclusive for learners of all abilities. Below is a quick blurb about the program, as well as a pdf file containing much greater detail and depth into the program and the people behind it.
| inclusive_teachers_certificate_program_registration_package__1_.pdf |
This has been an excellent and enjoyable program to be a part of so far, and I will be finished it in just 3 days time! The highlight for me was the panel discussion in the final webinar. The perspectives and guidance offered by the experts helped remind me how important it is to advocate for the students who may need it the most, as you may be the only person who will. The whole program re-confirmed my interest in working with students with special needs, something I have enjoyed since coaching Special Olympics back in High School. Just being diagnosed with ADHD this year at age 30, my understanding of and desire to support neurodiverse brains has exploded. For more on this certificate program, check out the consolidation activity documents below.
#1 - Where I read a student's IEP and then created a Physical Education Program Page, and
#2 - Where I redesigned an activity/event to make it inclusive for students of all abilities.
| jackson_fowlow_consolidation_activity_1.pdf |
| jackson_fowlow_consolidationactivity_2.docx |
I am also well on my way towards completing the highest level of the Environmental Co-Curricular Credit Opportunity - Sustainability Leader. More info on this initiative can be found here, and see the quick blurb below. As soon as the EECOM 2021 - Canadian Environmental Education Conference dates were announced, I excitedly signed up and am looking forward to the focus on Urban Environmental Education - a main topic of my own current MT Research. Beyond this, I'm also working towards the Cultivating Personal Health & Wellbeing through Mindfulness Co-Curricular Credit Opportunity, skills and sessions I know will benefit myself, and therefore my students as well. Further, through OISE's mentorship program I had the privilege of being paired with two mentors and in our monthly meetings I was able to pick their brains, receive guidance, new perspectives and helpful resources.
