My time at Connect to Learn Therapeutic Learning Centre in West Kelowna, BC as an education assistant provided a unique learning experience. At Connect to Learn I was able to transfer my knowledge of behavioural intervention techniques to the classroom environment. Most of the students at Connect to Learn were in the middle school-secondary grades, and had left public school settings. Every student had an IEP that we would use to inform our teaching practice and support relationship building. We created carefully tailored learning experiences to keep students engaged and motivated.
Many students were involved in our Life Skills program, and all students participated in weekly Social Skills workshops. We would use this time to explore socio-emotional development through a variety of activities such as scenarios, creative expression, discussion. At the learning center we combined our skills to create the best learning experience possible for our students, one staff member was an art therapist, one knew all the video games the students were playing (because he was playing them too), and my specialty is getting the students moving! The beauty of collaboration was clearly demonstrated by the team at the learning center and is something I will carry into my practice as a teacher.