My Last Blog Post… Maybe

September 8, 2024 – Our Final Class Together

We had a 5-hour class together, with one-hour afterwards held for office hours. Here we are… our final class together. I am not going to be super sentimental, but I am very grateful for the willingness and ability of this crew to arrive together on this day to conclude the course of EDUC 405 (Reflective Practice through Inquiry and Portfolio). It’s not only the last in-person with this class before they fully embark into Block 5 and final practicum, but it’s the last term this version of this course will be offered. EDUC 405 in its next iteration will focus more on inquiry with a different instructor. Admittedly, I have mixed feelings. EDUC 405 came from my experience teaching EDUC 431 (Educational Technology) almost 5-years ago and the implementation of portfolio along with TRIADS and the single point rubric during practicum was an initiative a colleague and myself made together.

Prior to the Redesigned Teacher Education Program was implemented in 2020, portfolios were embedded into practicum courses to reflect on practice. It was hoped (at least from myself) that portfolio, reflective practice, and inquiry would continue in an interwoven course called EDUC 405 in the redesigned program. Over time, with different leadership, instructors, and imaginations, EDUC 405 could not sustain itself. Although some or many of the students may have enjoyed and understood the learning intentions of the course, what I have realized is, everyone had to be on the same page. Nonetheless, I wanted to make our last day together instructional, experiential, and purposeful. We focused on peer- and self-assessments and then we participated in a fishbowl discussion (see image above) to reflect on the course but also share our hopes and dreams for the last term.

We ended the course outside at the ceremonial fire circle. I feel like this place was when we first bonded as a combined cohort almost one-year ago. At that time, we were acknowledging the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with Artist Clayton Gauthier and learning songs with the UHNBC Drummers. That day was wet, cold, and stormy… yet we persisted and we were resilient. We stayed outside. On Friday, the day was hot, humid, and sunny. What a wonderful metaphor to symbolize change, growth, and transformation. I had also incorporated the lessons learned from my drum that I had recently made at the Two Rivers Art Gallery and my relationship with the water. The intention was to correlate the drum and water to the portfolio course and their upcoming final practicum. I hope it made sense.

What I am coming to terms with right now is the end of my regular contributions to this WordPress site. I am going to introduce e-portfolios with my EDUC 394 class this year, but the learning intentions would be different from EDUC 405. I am having second thoughts on modelling the importance of regular reflection when I am also maintaining another WordPress site and doing the same. It almost feels like a baton toss (much like the Olympics relay) and I am hoping the transition is smooth. I looked to this platform (and course) when I was unable to access my other WordPress site. I shifted my weekly reflections to this blog. However, now that I have access to my former WordPress site, I was maintaining both sites. Maybe, as part of the change, I will start writing “my book” and journal articles.

I will continue contributing to my other WordPress site. I may also come back to this one to update information, contribute a blog or two, and add something new as a platform for my professional learning with web design and technology. I am not sad, but I am happy that this class has been an inspiration to me, change is a constant, and I am always positioning myself as the learner. Often with change, it does feel better when I am able to choose and exercise my agency versus having to respond to change. Either way, I am adopting the imagery and metaphor I shared with my class last week about moving through life like the river or stream. I will meander. I will go with the flow. I will move where I am suppose to be. There will be slow times and there will be fast times. Sometimes, there might be a rock in the way. Don’t get stalled, just go around and keep moving. Keep learning. Be happy.

So, this is not “goodbye” but more like… “see you later.” I loved EDUC 405. TY. 🙂