Gaining confidence with VNPS
"The Wipebook Flipchart has given me that confidence to teach my students, and encourage mistakes, growth and learning while having fun!"
Being a teacher has always been a dream of mine, as a child I looked up to my teachers and always believed they were the keepers of knowledge. I had always envisioned my first year of teachers college to be full of fun memories made with classmates and students. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be started during a global pandemic.This year has brought joy, frustration and hardship, but now looking back I wouldn’t change a thing. I have learned so much from my professors and associate teacher. I now see that teachers are not the keepers of knowledge but the ultimate chameleons, adapting and changing to every situation and challenge they face.
My Introduction to VNPS
I began working with Wipebook in 2018 and have been looking forward to using these amazing tools in a classroom setting. I have been using Wipebook products around my home for over a year, posting flipcharts around the house for any situation, posting ‘to do’ lists, workouts and silly notes to my roommates. When I began teachers college in September I posted a flipchart on the wall beside my desk as a tool to keep me organized throughout the semester. I'd post due dates, assignments and daily reminders. It was such a great alternative to buying a large permanent whiteboard that would have been much more expensive and damaged my walls.
Learning from Mistakes
My first placement began in December and I was extremely nervous to start teaching full time. With all the encouragement and ideas from friends, classmates and the Wipebook twitter community I knew I was prepared. One of the first lessons I did was with the help of MakeMathMoments, I asked the students to work on this problem, and they struggled with the question and seemed bored throughout the lesson. I felt defeated!!
That evening I thought about what went wrong with my lesson and suddenly realized that I didn't use my Wipebook Flipcharts! I had been so focused on getting the work done that I forgot about having fun with my students. The next morning I arrived early at school and put flipcharts all over my classroom, when the students walked in I asked them to grab their expo marker and a partner and find a flipchart. I put up the same MakeMathMoment question and asked the students to begin working on it together on the flipcharts. The classroom began to fill with students voices and math work being done!
After our first lesson using Wipebook Flipcharts the students began asking to use them during every lesson! This felt like such a teacher WIN!!
Math is a subject that I have always found intimidating to teach because it was never my strong suit in school, but the Wipebook Flipchart has given me that confidence to teach my students and encourage mistakes, growth and learning while having fun!
Rachel Delaney, Teacher Candidate, University of Ottawa, Wipebook Education Promoter.
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