Practicum

The world around us is changing and becoming more diverse every day. More people are immigrating to new places, exploring new cultures and living among people of mixed and different cultures/backgrounds than their own. Today’s population is more diverse than ever before and continues to grow this way. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, there are skills, knowledge and expertise students must master to succeed in work and life; it is a blend of content knowledge, specific skills, expertise and literacies (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009). The teacher plays an important role in preparing students for the years ahead as well as making sure they have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to navigate the real world around them. Future and current educators need to be prepared and educated themselves about diversity and how to teach this in their classrooms to children young and old. It is now more prevalent than ever that teachers create a safe and secure environment for all of their students at all time. All of their students should feel safe, valued and appreciated for their uniqueness by their peers. Throughout the semester I have observed teaching practices and environments that support these important factors in teaching young children today.

My host teacher puts great efforts into getting to know every child in the class. Their strengths, their missing skills, their culture, home life and this helps her know what is individually appropriate for every child. What we learn about specific children helps us teach and care for each child as an individual (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). My placement in this classroom has taught me so many valuable skills and information about a culturally responsive teaching and about tech integration that have no doubt will help me strive as a teacher in my future. As the world around us is inevitably changing, so are the people around us and the technology around us. As teachers, it is our job to make sure that children are prepared for this ever-changing and real world.

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Standard

6. Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. (b). Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

References

Copple, C., & S. Bredekamp, eds. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth 0 Through Age 8. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Copple, C., & S. Bredekamp, eds. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8: DAP in the early primary grades. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
ISTE, (2017). International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators.
National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC] and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. (2012). Technology and interactive media as tools for early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 framework definitions.