Substitution Experiences
- Giulia Lato
- Apr 21, 2015
- 3 min read
As a teacher in training, it’s been very eye-opening and helpful to have the chance to substitute in schools. I’ve been hired by the Commission Scolaire de Montreal, which has given me the opportunity to spend more time in classrooms and to engage with children. Every time I sub in a new class, I ask permission from other teachers and try to take pictures of the classroom environment in order to pick up on any good techniques. Here are what some of the interesting classrooms I’ve been in look like:
These classrooms may look similar in the sense that they have lots of visuals on the wall, and that’s probably because they are all classrooms for very young children. Nevertheless, each class that I’ve been in was different from the next in its organization. For example, some classes had a reading corners, some didn’t. One of them had an audio centre, and one had beautiful art on the walls. I’ve come to realize that the learning environment is very significant to student learning because it can contribute greatly to the student’s learning experiences.
Click here to read about tons of tips for creating the most effective classroom environments. These tips are offered in one-line sentences, which makes it very easy to understand and absorb. The document starts with a lovely quote by Loris Malaguzzi: “There are three teachers of children: adults, other children, and their physical environment,” which I think is very true. Malaguzzi founded the Reggio Emilia Approach, which is very much concerned with the learning environment and treating children with dignity and respect. I actually put this approach into practice when I created a Kindergarten learning centre because we had to incorporate elements of this approach. I talked about this Kindergarten centre in this post.
The ideas come from The Third Teacher, a book that looks at the significant link between how children learn best and the school environment. I think it would be helpful for me to acquire this book and read it, or at least make note of the main guidelines that are linked to above. The environment should promote student learning and I think an effective physical environment makes children feel safe, happy, and ready to learn.
In general, substitution is giving me the chance to develop Competency 11 and Comptency 12 because I’m actually in the classroom, interacting with other professionals and students. I’ve had the chance to talk about some pedagogical choices with other educators in the schools I’ve been in. I often take advantage of my situation and ask other teachers for help or for teaching ideas. Moreover, whenever I’m in the classroom, I must behave professionally, which means demonstrating responsibility and good judgement. I’m responsible for a whole class of children and I have to remember that I am serving as their role model for that day. I think this is such good practice for the future because I am acquiring more and more experience in the classroom.
I’m definitely going to keep this idea of the third teacher in mind when it’s my turn to decorate my classroom and to create an effective learning environment for my students. As the years go by, I know I’ll learn more about the best ways to organize a classroom, and I’ll be able to take inspiration from the other teachers in the school where I’m working. I’m excited to have my own classroom because I’ll be able to personalize it and make it my own.
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