Location Statement
I was born and raised in Dawson Creek, BC. Being born and raised in the north I was obviously drawn to UNBC and their small class sizes. At UNBC I completed my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Psychology. Afterwards, I was very confused in what I wanted to do for a career. I had started my masters in cancer research and natural product drug discovery, again at UNBC. Quickly, I realized that living a life centered around research and its competitive/output driven nature (at least of the lab I was in), decided that this was not the path for me. I did a lot of self-reflection and realized that the jobs that I have brought me the most joy were centered around teaching and working with youth. So, I applied to work as an educational assistant at a local high school and found myself working in learning assistance and I was sold. The kids, while taking a bit to warm up to me, were fun and wanted to learn. But I enjoyed trying to adapt my explanations and ways of teaching so that they all could accomplish their work. This is what truly inspired me to be a teacher.
My values as an educator:
Be accessible and reflexive. I have learned through my experiences that not every method of teaching is going to be useful for all students. I want to be adaptable, helpful so that all students can be successful. I personally enjoy using a constructivist method of teaching, where students have to build their own learning. I found that the essentialism teaching philosophy often leads to just regurgitation for a test and not deep learning. In this constructivist method, we can start with low floors, allowing for many entry points into the learning.
Foster critical thinking. As an educator I want to foster critical thinking, questioning, and creativity. I want to create situations that require students to think critically, and implement their literacy and numeracy skills to solve problems. Especially in the age of social media I want youth to question that information that they find and not take it at face value. This is one thing that I have learned in my time at university that we really need to evaluate the information we find and understand peoples motive and biases.
Be relevant. I really want to provide practical, meaningful, examples to make learning relevant. The best teachers I have learned from had always given useful examples to help broaden their perspective and that are either meaningful to them. I also want to help find ways in to use technology to either keep them engaged and help them later on in life.
Outside of work…
I am an avid crafter. Recently my creativity has exclusively gone into knitting and crocheting. I find that these practices are repetitive and semi-meditative. I think it is a great way to be productive away from a screen. Also, I love being able to gift my creations to friends and family because they are made with care and will keep people warm.
I also enjoy going outside. I I found for a long time because I had “nothing to do” I would get bored and go back inside. So, I have taken up mountain biking, running, cross country skiing, and gardening. Basically, these activities give me a reason for me to be outside- and I enjoy them!
Sincerely,
Megan Bassett