First Day (for me) of WestCAST!

It started bright and early at 7:30 this morning. My first task of the day was to usher in guests as they walked down the aisles in MFH 162 (the biggest lecture room at UofC if I'm not mistaken.). The keynote speaker for today was Deborah Bell. Her topic was that great teachers are not born, but taught. In other words, the key point of her speech was that teachers are a profession that should have technical terminology to ensure that all teachers speak the same language (from what I got from it).

Once that was done, I had hosting duties from 10:30 - 4:30. I had the chance to host 5 workshops in that time span. There were some really interesting activities, like how to incorporate inquiry based learning in science, how to fill out a professional development plan (which I need for my 408 portfolio!), and how to engage a classroom as a new teacher.

I have to admit, at first, hosting a room was stressful. I had to ensure that the room was set up the way the presenters wanted, that the water jug was filled with water, that people who were in my room actually wanted to be in my room, that I had to keep things running on time, etc. However, I felt "in the zone" for the 3 afternoon sessions (After lunch, though I didn't get the chance to eat lunch today =()

Tomorrow is the last day of WestCAST. Luckily for me, it'll be a lot shorter. I believe I only have to host two workshops tomorrow!

For today's picture

Not quite sure what the red dot means...