Morgan Bentham

My name is Morgan. I am originally from Toronto but have lived off and on in Nunavut for over 10 years. In 2017, I graduated from Master of Teaching (MT) through OISE at the University of Toronto. My research is focused on Indigenous education, specifically exploring conflicts between Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldview both inside and outside education.

After graduation, I got a job working in for the Department of Education as a grade 5 teacher in Nunavut. This year, I returned from maternity leave with a brand new 5-month old baby girl and the challenge of transitioning from a grade 5 teacher to a Junior High/ Senior High teacher. Currently, I teach grade 8 math, English, art, health and career studies, in addition to high school art for grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Here I am, past the midway point in the year, and I am still trying to get a good system of assessment down for this grade level. How do I implement an effective program? How get an accurate assessment? How do I keep up with the marking?

Although I have found providing immediate and timely feedback to be beneficial for my students and my classroom, keeping up can be a challenge. When I am able to apply timely feedback, however, I have noticed that students respond by producing better work and are much more focused. I have found when I am marking daily, instead of weekly or monthly, my classroom functions and feels more efficient, almost healthy.

My teaching practice is still a work in progress; it is something that I am trying to build and constantly rebuild. perhaps as I continue to reinvent and rebuild throughout this year and this course, I will have a better grasp of how to effectively create more efficient and accurate assessments.