Robert McMullen

Frame of Reference

Relationships

An ongoing goal is to strengthen connections with my students, and parents/guardians. By learning

about my students I can best determine how to foster individual goals, growth, and development, while
addressing the goals of a class. I build strong ties with my students by incorporating individual interests,
cultural traditions, and ensuring that I check in with every student everyday.
I facilitate student reflection, and individual learning goals through the model of the Community of
Learners. This model supports student learning by fostering a growth mindset by focusing on ownership
of one’s learning, and the ability to reflect and think critically. The Community of Learners is a tool
whereby the four C’s of Community are utilized they include communication, commitment, cooperation,
and compassion. The four C’s help to create class criteria for an inclusive learning environment, to
practice self-regulation skills, and goal setting. The Community of Learners directly supports the BC Core
Competencies: Communication, Thinking, and Personal and Social competencies.

Similarly to building relationships with students, it is equally important to me to connect with parents,
guardians Parents and guardians are welcome and encouraged to participate if they wish to engage with
their child in an educational setting such as helping within the classroom, to act as chaperones during
field trips, and by sharing their cultural beliefs to create a class-wide mosaic highlighting the varying
aspects of a community of learners. Lastly, I maximize connection to the local environment with place-
based learning, and honour various ways of knowing such as indigenous ways of knowing.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Through building connections with students all school year, I create an ongoing baseline for students’
needs and a rapport that facilitates my efforts to help students build off of previous learning and set
goals for how learning can be improved. I utilize consistent daily frameworks such as the shape of the
day, and classroom routines in order to create a dependable structure for students to follow. Consistency
is key to my philosophy as it acts as an additional cornerstone for reinforcing a reliable framework of
daily expectations. I encourage students to take ownership of their learning through ongoing goal
setting, written or recorded reflection, and choices on topics they have interest in and or would like to
explore further. Through consistent timetabling, practiced goal setting, reflection, and time for topics of
interest, I facilitate a blend of inquiry in an environment that facilitates the needs of all learners.

Classroom Management

The connection I build with my students is the foundation of my classroom management. I ensure that I
am consistently modelling professionalism through every interaction I share while creating clear
expectations for behaviour, and quality of individual student work. Moreover, the 4 C’s of the
Community of Learners are utilized consistently to foster growth through practicing ongoing reflection
with all students. By being clear and consistent with all expectations and facilitating student reflection
for individual growth, students practices taking ownership of their learning and making learning
meaningful.

Knowing my learners guides the kinds of intervention or classroom management I utilize. I am quick to
recognize challenges of all kinds that students face. My learners’, their habits, their interests, and their
needs are always considered when dealing with behaviour challenges that arise. Additionally, I
recognize that it is perfectly normal for students to test boundaries--that is a large part of learning, and
understanding how oneself fits into a vast and dynamic world within the classroom and out. My
behaviour management is a working example of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. I pride
myself as being a teacher who values and makes constant efforts to build connections, and value each
learner by always showing an interest and respect.

Assessment

By utilizing self assessment and opportunities to select work for ongoing portfolios, my learners have
ample opportunity to measure their own growth and make comparisons therein. It is vital to recognize
student accomplishments as they arise, and to allow students the opportunity to select works for their
portfolios that are representative of the work they are proud of. The goal as echoed through this
document is that students will be able to develop the tools necessary to reflect of their work and set
goals on how to learn and grow--these are the kind of skills that valued and useful for the rest of their
lives.
Role of Curriculum and Competencies

My teaching reflects the major themes and competencies of the BC Curriculum--such as communication,
critical thinking, personal awareness and responsibility, and social responsibility. I use the Community
of Learners model with my students as it has proven successful with practicing self-regulation, and
working collaboratively with others. The curriculum provides an essential framework for giving
students the tools they need to become citizens that can thinking creatively, work interpersonally, and
think critically in a world that is undergoing a massive global shift in job markets. I work with the
curriculum to give students multiple tools to solve challenges individually, and together. The Community
of Learners Model is one of my main methods to ensure the various facets of the curriculum are met and
exceeded.