Below are several competencies that my supervisors suggested I discuss in my personal portfolio. I believe that this list will shift over time as I gain experience and further develop my identity as an education facilitator.

• Critical Thinking
  • My strengths in the use and teaching of critical thinking skills lie in the use of questions to develop strong arguments that acknowledge and accommodate inquiry.
• Communication
  • I believe that my emphasis on the value of communication in the classroom is two-fold. I do my best to acknowledge communication as a key element of interaction between learner and education facilitator. I try to create spaces where everyone feels free to ask questions, add ideas, and help each other learn. My hope is that this communicative awareness will allow learners to leave my classroom and apply the same empathic skills out in the real world.
• Intercultural Awareness
  • A great deal of what I teach is closely related to my identity. I find that learners will be significantly more interested in developing their own identities if they know that I am still in the process of exploring my own. I tell learners about my personal experiences (within reason) as a Filipino/British/Canadian and how my experiences growing up and connection to place influence the way I treat others and myself. I use myself to introduce cultural and unconscious biases. My goal is to teach learners how to see these things about themselves without feeling guilty about who they are. I want them to have the tools to grow.
• Social Justice
  • I have had the pleasure of teaching a Social Justice 12 course as part of my final practicum. I really hope that I can teach it again one day. I don’t think I had a clear idea of what “social justice” was until I started teaching it. I believe that social justice is the link between all of the critical and analytical skills learners have gained and the purpose of learning.
• Information & Digital Literacy
  • A core practice in any course that I teach is studying bias, perspective, and worldview in the research of any topic. Once learners can grasp the importance of these ideas, our next task is acknowledging these ideas within our own inquiry. I use the internet, infographics, and hard-copy studies to help learners inform themselves about their chosen topics and how THEY fit within the context of the knowledge that they gather.
• Numeric & Scientific Literacy
  • Numeracy and scientific literacy is extremely valuable to any subject or study. Without an understanding of numeracy or science, learners may not be able to connect their learning to significant data or research processes. For example, my social justice class always used infographic data to inform their thinking. They must understand the data AND the way the data is presented in order to glean the information necessary to participate in class discussions.
• Collaboration & Teamwork
  • Collaboration is a key element of any class that I teach. I learn more with every new group of students about how I can better present information to my learners and use their individual strengths to better the classroom. This idea is one that matters a great deal to me. Teamwork is the key to learners feeling like they belong in their classroom environment in a safe and healthy manner.
• Civic, Ethical & Professional Responsibility
  • It is becoming clearer to me that my position as a teacher truly is that of a public servant. I am here to be a role model for learners, peers, and the community. I can only do that if I really believe in living ethically, professionally, and responsibly.
• Creativity/Innovation
  • THIS. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPETENCY FOR ME. If we cannot use the skills we learn to innovate further, then what is the point? Nobody should ever feel like they have to stop being creative. At any age. Creativity is what helps us connect ourselves as individuals to everything that we learn.