Ongoing Professional Learning at NUO Conference 2023

The 2023 Teacher Education Conference at Niagara University was both informative and engaging as a teacher candidate. I believe that the information that I gained from attending the conference will support me in becoming an effective teacher while also providing me with the opportunity to speak with fellow colleagues, and gain new perspectives and insights in regard to their practicum experiences. This reflection will address the OCT standards of Commitment to Students and Student Learning as well as Ongoing Professional Learning. The two workshops that I will be discussing are Tony Ceelen’s Ten Strategies to Create a Collaborative Classroom Culture, and Theresa Penney’s Preparing for Interviews and Applying. 

 At the start of the conference week, I attended Tony Ceelen’s presentation on Ten Strategies to Create a Collaborative Classroom Culture. This presentation was a great way to start off the conference in my opinion, as Mr. Ceelen provided the TC with fantastic advice accompanied by his real life experiences. One of the main focuses of the presentation was getting to know our students and building a relationship with the students in the classroom as well as their parents or guardians. Mr. Ceelen described how when he was a classroom teacher, he would call each parent on the phone the first day of school and have a 2-3 minute conversation with the parent or guardian, introducing himself and letting the students parent or guardian know that he was happy to have their child in his class. He also told the TC that when he became a principal he would call one student’s parent or guardian a day and provide them with a “sunshine call” which helped him to build a positive relationship with the parents in the school community as he was proving to both his students and their families how much he cared. 

These stories really stuck out to me as a TC and inspired me to try and do something similar when I have a classroom of my own one day. Some other important components of Mr. Ceelen’s list included having a sense of humor, celebrating the talents and gifts that each student brings, having structure and organization in your classroom as well as remembering to see the best in each child. Mr. Ceelen ended the presentation by sharing how “When you see the best in each child and expect the best of them, seldom will they disappoint you!” This was a fantastic way to end the presentation and an even better way to begin the week of conferences. This presentation addresses the OCT standard of commitment to students and student learning as Mr. Ceelen demonstrated the various ways that he has supported and cared for the students that he has taught over the years and the ways that he has built relationships with those students and their families which was extremely inspiring. 

The last presentation that I attended at the conference was Theresa Penney’s Preparing for Interviews and Applying. This presentation reflects the OCT standard Ongoing Professional Learning. As TC we are now coming to the end of our time together at Niagara, as we will be graduating in a few short months. As we have learned throughout our time together, learning for teachers whether new or experienced, never ends. The presentation by Ms. Penney about preparation for the interview process was very informative and helpful as there were many great tips and advice provided by Ms. Penney as well as some examples of potential interview questions. The presentation discussed ways that TCs should represent themselves in an interview, a brief overview of questions as well as understanding that the interview process is not something to be fearful of – as we have come so far and we will soon be qualified to teach in Ontario. The importance of drawing on practicum experiences was also something that was mentioned, as these experiences  are critical components to mention during an interview. After speaking with other TCs, many found that this presentation was very helpful, as Ms. Penney was able to ease many of the worries that TCs had about the interview process and provide excellent advice and strategies to use before, during and after the interview process. 

Overall the 2023 Teacher Education Conference at Niagara University was wonderful and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend conferences as they provided me with a great deal of information and knowledge that I plan to incorporate into my future teaching career. I wish I could have attended more of the available conferences as all of the topics that were being discussed sounded like they would really benefit TCs and our journeys in becoming successful educators.

Brought to you by AlexisP@NUO-491