uring a pandemic
experience in her program was her preinternship . Gross says , " I was very excited for pre-internship and putting into practice what we are taught . Pre-internship was a confirmation that teaching is the most appropriate path for me ." me , the bigger piece was that everyone was doing something , and came out of it with excitement about what they did that day : I got to see their brains focussed — engagement — and appreciation ."
However , the prospect of pre-interning during a pandemic caused Gross some nervousness . " Not only was I nervous , but I was also concerned about whether or not we would be going out at all ! The weeks leading up to the pre-internship we saw Regina ' s case numbers rising , and there was talk about not going out to schools . Also , I hadn ’ t been with students yet because we didn ’ t get our fall placements due to the pandemic . I was also fearful about how strict things would be in the schools and how I was going to adapt to a ' in your desk and separate ' environment ." To ease her nerves , Gross talked with friends in the education program and some who had graduated and were already teaching about what teaching is really like during a pandemic . " They reassured me that it isn ’ t as scary as it sounds ." When Gross met her cooperating teacher Lori Burton , she began to relax : " Almost as soon as I met my coop and met the students my nervousness disappeared . She was phenomenal and the kids were excited to have me there ."
What surprised Gross about pre-interning during the pandemic was how open and helpful everyone was : " Teachers were inviting me into their classrooms . Kids were so open-minded and excited to try things , and even when it didn ’ t go great ... Everyone was so forgiving and willing to help . I left the school with three boxes of resources , long lists of books to buy , and lots of advice ."
Gross appreciates how much she learned about herself as a teacher especially when things didn ' t go well or as planned : " My co-op was very reassuring , encouraging me to take those risks and try those things because you need to know , and if it doesn ’ t work it ' s fine ; it won ’ t ruin the kids . Try again the next day . Have grace with yourself . You ’ re not going to be perfect ."
One lesson Gross feels went especially well was a math fraction lesson using the star quilt . " Each student received a diamond color using three to six colours . They labeled their fractions and then we hung it on the bulletin board . I thought this was kind of fun and the kids liked it . For
Keelin Louttit finished her Secondary education program ( Major : social studies ; Minor : inclusive ed ) with her internship in the December 2020 term at École Lumsden Elementary School . She comes from a family of teachers ,
Keelin Louttit on internship at École and grew up
Lumsden Elementary School seeing first hand how teaching could make a difference : " My Grandma was a learning resource teacher . Seeing her face light up when she could help kids — I want that ." The University of Regina Education program made the most sense for Louttit because it was close to home ( Balgonie ). She says , " I also knew that it is one of the best education programs in Canada ."
The prospect of interning during a pandemic also made Louttit nervous . " I didn ’ t want to have to go online because I didn ’ t know how teaching online would be ." However , Louttit was soon able to relax : " The first day I met my co-op Corinna Dahl-Ritco , I relaxed and knew it was going to be okay . My co-op was so amazing and willing to help me with everything . I felt assured I would have a great experience ."
What surprised Louttit about interning during a pandemic was that " every day I was excited to go to school and see my students . It didn ’ t even seem like we were in a pandemic . It never really felt like a big scary thing . It was such a smooth process ."
Keelin Louttit holding a kitten to bring a hands-on learning approach to animal classification .
For Louttit , the most memorable experience as a student here was joining the Education Students ' Society ( ESS ) as VP of Professional Development ( PD ) for 2019-2020 . " The PD team was me and Jordan Balfour ( 2020-2021 president ) and Kiah Holness ( 2020-2021 VP of PD )." Her ESS connections were valuable during her internship experience because she was made aware of potential funding from ESS for interns to help with the costs of materials for projects .
A project that the ESS helped fund was a scarf-making project . Louttit ' s class was responsible for the December Virtual School Assembly . Due to the season , Louttit wanted to focus on a theme of giving and kindness . Louttit says , " I wanted to do something special but not take away too much time from curriculum and instruction ." The scarf project had multiple connections to the curriculum . To fund the materials for the activity , Louttit sent a proposal to the ESS and received funding to help cover the costs of the materials . She also received funding from the school . Students made the scarves and the finished scarves were donated to those in need of them : " We took some to the Lumsden Heritage Home , a long-term care facility , and some to downtown Regina ." After the scarves were delivered , " A lot of Heritage Home residents were smiling and some even crying at the windows and wanted to see the kids and watch them play . At a time when kids are thinking about receiving gifts , they got to give gifts and experience the joy of giving ." ( View video of project by clicking here .)
As advice to future interns , Louttit says , " Find one way that you can contribute to stand out . Find ways to empower your students . Not just on internship , but as a lifelong skill ." Louttit received a temporary contract at the same school as she interned at until Easter and she is now a substitute teacher . She plans to begin a Certificate of Inclusive Education in Spring .
Education News | Page 7