How does the IRP help and/or hinder you as a beginning teacher? Provide a description of who today's ELA students are and how they learn.

British Columbia’s Education system operates under a model that uses Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) to provide information that teachers require to implement age and subject specific curriculums. British Columbia’s IRPs for Grades 6, 7 and 8 English Language Arts (ELA) were developed in 2006 and 2007 and remain the current standard. The six language arts addressed by the ELA IRPs are writing, speaking, listening, viewing, representing, and reading. A beginning teacher is considered any teacher entering their first year of classroom teaching, beyond substituting, where unit and lesson planning is required. I believe that the IRPs provide valuable direction for beginning teachers who are learning and adapting to so many different situations in their new profession; however, it is also imperative that teachers understand their students and how to effectively deliver the requirements of the IRPs while meeting the student’s needs.

Atwell describes the middle school student as one that is very unpredictable, she says, “Middle school students shuttle back and forth between naïveté and world-weariness…They are self-confident and self-doubting; they think I’m funny and they think I am pathetic; they take responsibility for the younger kids at our morning assembly, then they run them over on the soccer field at recess. They never know–and I never know–what they’ll be when.” I think Atwell’s account accurately captures the essence of this developing and impressionable age during the middle years of a child’s education. As students, these children are active learners so it is the job of the teacher to combine the goals of the IRPs with lessons that address student’s cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains.

In order to deliver material that addresses each learning domain for middle years students, educators must effectively operate in two paradigms: what to teach and how to teach it. The IRPs outline Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) in order to provide framework for teachers on what to teach. It is then up to the teacher and school to determine how to teach lessons to best address the unique learning styles of each student.  As a beginning teacher, the ‘how’ practice is generally quite underdeveloped compared to that of an experienced teacher; therefore, the direction offered by the IRPs frees new teachers to focus on delivery. On the other hand, the comprehensiveness of the IRPs cannot be ignored. Time is at a premium for the beginning teacher and to be knowledgeable of all IRPs for each middle school subject would be almost impossible in light of the immediate need to be in front of the class with a prepared lesson plan.

Despite the sheer volume of information contained in the IRPs, a critical eye can distill this comprehensive tool to provide some excellent tools for teachers and administration. Effective evaluation is often a contentious issue in the education system and the PLO’s present a loose rubric for proper evaluation of both students and teachers. In the absence of PLOs, what is taught and what is evaluated would be misguided and inconsistent across grades, schools and the province. It should also be emphasized that for beginning teachers, knowledge and guidance from experienced educators cannot be underestimated. Communication between teachers complements the IRPs and is imperative to increasing positive development of new teachers as well as ensuring seamless transitions for students between grades and schools. IRPs once again provide the framework for these conversations so that teachers can effectively assess the needs of each student.

Teachers must be constantly learning from their students in order to understand the classroom dynamic and what each student requires. The IRPs give direction for this assessment and allow teachers to focus on effective teaching delivery for each unique learner. As teachers grow and develop within the system, I suspect that the IRPs may become somewhat of a hindrance to an experienced tracher’s creativity and personal pedagogy; however, for new teachers, the guidance and breakdown of PLO’s will help ensure they flourish in a commonly chaotic first year.