It takes a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master.

Pedagogy

Love of Games

I grew up playing games such as Go, StarCraft, and many more economic, strategy games that requires deep thinking. It allowed me to combine theory and practice and gave me the ability to think deeply about complex problems. I aim to translate this into teaching by creating creative games that challenge the students' understanding as well as their core competencies.

Technological Literacy

My expertise in living in a technologically focused world allows me to create experiences that will help my students develop their computational thinking abilities as well as create a positive digital identity. This allows my learners to collaborate with their peers to interact with emerging technologies such as VR learning and robotics.

Cross-Curricular and Holistic

Part of my teaching style is to utilize my classroom and environment in the learning process. This will often involve using different disciplines to engage all my students in their own way. This also gives students more control over their own learning and encourages them to become intrinsically motivated learners who understand how they want to learn.









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Scott Creek Middle School

Scott Creek was my first contract position and my first real experience as a teacher. I was fortunate enough to work there as a 0.4 teaching Mandarin and Math to a class of 6/7 and a class of 7/8s. 

My experiences were invaluable as it gave me the confidence to be relaxed in my classroom and enjoy connecting and teaching my students. I was able to direct how I collaborated with my teaching partners for joint lessons and reporting purposes as well as field trips and school events. I was able to establish a quick and strong rapport with both my classes and had opportunities to talk about current issues with them in addition to the academic subjects. I was an advisor for the Diversity Club and ran a table tennis club after school. 

With the COVID-19 situation emerging alongside fear and racism amongst my Chinese student population, I was able to be vulnerable with them and talk about the situation with calmness, respect, and understanding.


Math

As a math teacher, I aim to teach math that allows my students to challenge their basic foundations by using them in creative ways. I would often switch between teaching mathematical concepts and giving them puzzles that require them to work it out both mathematically and logically. If possible, I would find some way in my classroom to create vertical working spaces that allow students to collaborate in groups and to share their answers with their peers. 

There were also times where I created competitive games where students would play in pairs or as a class for a clear purpose. I was lucky enough to share my perimeter and area game with my students and they immensely enjoyed the process of practicing working with unique shapes, manipulate shapes, and discovering the relationship between area and perimeter.


Mandarin

Mandarin was a unique experience for me. I am fluent in Mandarin, but I never thought that I was teaching it. Fortunately, I had a strong basis in EAL teaching, which gave me opportunities to supplement my teaching partner's materials as well as put my own creative spin on my lessons. 

Some highlights included using circles to explore Chinese culture and how it relates to language and teaching emotional literacy through the usage of Chinese. We set up an assembly during the Chinese New Year festivities and my students had the chance to work with a robot. We broke down the individual phonemes in the language and challenged students to collaborate in programming the robot to greet the school in Mandarin.


Montgomery Middle School

Montgomery Middle School was where I had the pleasure of doing my practicum. I taught a class of 27 grade 6/7 students in all core subjects. The experience allowed me to further hone my abilities as a teacher in the community by attending staff meetings as well as IEP meetings in addition to running a meet the teacher night. I participated in spirit assembles as both demonstrators and contestants to build connections with my students. Outside of the classroom, I had the opportunity to coach grade 8 girls volleyball with my principal and to teach tactics and theories of chess to an established chess club during lunchtime.


General

If you ever came by my class, the first thing that you'll notice is that everyone is standing and doing activities that directly lead to the learning goal. This is important to me as it shows that they are engaged and enjoying learning. I lead every morning with randomized seating so that my students will be able to sit in different parts of the classroom and make connections with their classmates that they wouldn't usually talk to. My lessons involve giving students time to express their thoughts and leading them towards a logical way of understanding the curricular content.


Math

Math is one of my strong suits. During my practicum, I was able to extend their computational fluency as well as their comfort with operations and decimals through interactive lessons, vertical workspace, and an original game affectionally named ice chess by my students.

The collaborative learning process increased engagement and allowed students to have fun while still working on foundational skills. 


Language Arts

My language arts lessons gave the students time to think and get lost in their own world. Through cards with fantastical art, they were able to dream up their own characters, settings, and plots and then combining them to create their own story. The writing process and the ease of the project allowed me to differentiate students' skills and needs and gave me opportunities to help students that were struggling as well as gave EAL students a chance to shine.

The cumulation of the process ended up in a sharing session under a starry sky following the First People's Principles of Learning and storytelling.


Science

Science gave me a challenge as I had so much that I wanted to teach, but did not have the time to do so. Instead of rushing through the content, I gave my students the time to practice their research skills and their ability to collaborate in small groups. Through clever usage of KWL charts and jigsaws, they created a project of their choice that touched on the subject of what it's like to live in space. We had a nice ending with a field trip that I organized to the H.R MacMillan Space Centre. During work time, students were given the opportunity to use a VR experience of being in the International Space Station. The tightness of space and the lack of orientation gave students a first-hand experience of what astronauts feel when they gaze upon the Earth from up above.


PHE

PHE was a fun experience for me. I was able to bring my love of physical movement and create modified games that gave students time and space to develop skills in a fun setting. I taught wrestling and Smashball to both a 6/7 class and a 7/8 class with great results. The wrestling games that I ran gave the girls a chance to let loose and be competitive amongst their peers. Smashball gave my students a different take on volleyball and was fun for students of all physical abilities. It was nice to see all my students engaging and communicating with each other to make plays.


Social Studies

Social Studies gave me a chance to experiment with new ways of teaching and learning. I was lucky enough to run KAIRO's Blanket Exercise to give students a chance to experience the history of indigenous populations. The activity was followed by a circle that allowed students a safe place where they can share their thoughts.

Other Educational Experiences

Educational Assistant

Scott Creek Middle

Terry Fox Secondary

Suwa'lkh School

Charles Best Secondary

Jan 2016 - June 2019

  • Supported category C, G, and Q students through grade 6-12 in All academic subjects through creating and modifying academic material with a clear learning objective
  • Led workshops for educational assistants during professional development days on the topic of "how to integrate smartboards into the classroom" and "how to create activities that blends technology with traditional teaching methods"
  • Supervised students during school events including School Spirit Days, Remembrance Day Assembly, Terry Fox Run, and Halloween Dance
  • Created a team of leadership students and organized the yearbook club. The tasks included teaching basic photography as well as teaching students how to use the software as well as the basics of visual design.
  • Organized a Chess Club with 18 regular students to compete in a ranked format
  • Created the opportunity for a grade 6 boy with down syndrome to participate in beginner band as a trumpet player and arranged for him to partner up with another student to succeed in the choir
  • Directed a beginner band of over 100 students for the school concert to warm-up properly for their annual Christmas concert and directed them onstage with the proper seating arrangement
  • Coached and managed the Terry Fox Ski/Snowboard Race team; accompanied a group of 9 students to Whistler for races
  • Coached and managed the Terry Fox badminton team, ran practices for 25 students and counseled students during games in areas of strategy as well as their mental game

Special Education Specialist

Private Clients

Oct 2014 - June 2016

  • Worked one to one with a 13-year-old non-verbal category G student
  • Created a curriculum that supplemented his school academic ones with his own interests such as art and music
  • Used a natural progression to teach math concepts to ability level and maintained a high proficiency in basic math skills through the use of drills and math games
  • Followed a daily routine of occupational activities that involved OT exercises, boxing, martial arts, tennis, badminton, and biking
  • Worked on fine motor activities such as doing fine craft such as clay work as well as using wood to create items such as birdhouses and boxes
  • Used community trips to teach lessons on safety, transportation, and communication skills
  • Used social gatherings to increase the social skills of my student through joint activities such as bowling or swimming
  • Played and reflected on board games that requires cognitive planning to increase problem solving skills and to help transition from simulations to reality
  • Implemented strategies to provide an alternative to maladaptive behaviors such as video gaming with the use of art therapy activities

Special Educational Assistant

Mediated Learning academy

Oct 2014 - December 2015

  • Worked mainly with Category G students and a student with fragile X syndrome
  • Acted as the teacher for a period of 2 months for a grade 5 classroom, running activities with a mixed group of 10 students and 6 educational assistants in math and art
  • Collaborated with classroom and resource teachers in writing IEPs and modified learning objects to better meet the match the capabilities of the student
  • Created math and English lesson plans and material for the students on my caseload which used the students interested to better engage the student in learning
  • Collaborated with occupational therapists and speech language pathologists to ensure that my student's sensory needs are filled and they are progressing in their speech therapy
  • Ran pre-approved occupational therapy sessions for elementary/middle school aged students with proprioceptive and vestibular sensory needs
  • Organized a month-long class project in where we created a short musical for the talent show. The students engaged in script writing/editing, choreography, and pre-recorded the lines in order to assist the students with anxiety to participate
  • Ran a small yearbook club using project-based learning ideology in which three students made a fully customized yearbook for their class with the goal of increasing their computer literacy and spatial awareness skills
© 2020 WYNN ZHANG | All rights reserved
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