About Me


I’m Clarke. I’m an Instructor of Intensive Academic English living in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. I am a fan of education, writing, and fitness. I’m also interested in video games and dogs. I have been teaching ESL for 4 years. I started online as a part time job and it ended up taking me across the world to South Korea where I worked for almost a year. It was an eye opening and life changing experience to teach and live in a foreign country. I now work at Robertson College, I teach a variety of students and I am also involved in curriculum development. I love my job and I work everyday to improve as an educator. 


Action Plan - Unit 3

Area of Need
e.g., have a good grasp of how sounds work in English
Action to be Taken
e.g., review the phonemic chartand practice using it to explain a few challenging words
When e.g., by May 12
1. Have a good grasp on creating appropriate materials and curriculum for classrooms in an academic environment
·         Review curriculum development theories such as blooms taxonomy in order to develop appropriate learning outcomes
·         Utilize my PLN to assist with questions and to have open discussions about what is needed
By June 30th
My next class begins June 7th and I am developing a new course for September 2019
2. Develop and implement a strong teaching identity and philosophy
·         Ask questions and participate in discussion throughout my TESL course
·         Listen to students and their view on classroom needs
·         Pursue further education and professional development programs to learn about other theories related to teaching identity in ESL education.
Ongoing.
Will develop and change overtime
3. Learn about ESL teaching theories that can be applied in multi-level classrooms
·         Study the appropriate materials for the TESL course including the textbook, course content and discussion forums.
·         Utilize my PLN to learn about other ESL teachers theories
·         Practice and implement theories that I believe would be successful in my classroom
By the end of TESL 0100.





          

My Classroom - Unit 7
My classroom
Above you will find my drawing of my visualized classroom. The above classroom would be for adult learners in a higher education context. Some things that I've included that I believe would be important are tables that are able to be moved for the students, a whiteboard for both teacher and student use and large open windows. I believe that having the ability to change the layout of students desks presents a lot more opportunities for flexibility in learning. Also, in my ideal classroom, I would have very large windows that have the opportunity to be closed and covered by blinds. I believe having natural light in a classroom can make a big difference in learners overall morale, especially if it is a long class. 
I also hope to have areas for discussion in my classroom, whether that be at the students desk, circular tables or couches. I want the classroom to feel safe and inclusive so that it can foster engaging and complex discussions and debates. 

Another item I think is very important for me as a teacher is a wide desk with space to work and develop curriculum. Of course, I hope to be moving around the classroom and actively teaching most of the day, but I think it is very important that instructors have a space that is exclusively theirs and ergonomic for work. 

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