My story...

As the semester winds down, it is important to reflect on the journey that has brought us to this point. This blog is my first form of a personal learning network (PLN) and as I venture out into the real teaching world, I am certain that it won’t be my last. PLN’s are an effective tool for teachers to evaluate their planning, instruction and assessments, see what other teachers and classrooms are engaged in, and share experiences of deep student learning (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Reflection has been an integral part of this entire blog process and is undoubtedly a component of professional growth. It is through these types of practices that we construct and re-construct our own teacher identities and consider what it means to us to be an educator.  

However, the concept of being a reflective practitioner is only one aspect of the characterization of a 21^st century teacher. The framework for 21^st century educators includes welcoming technology into the classroom, approaching education from a new story pedagogical perspective that values deep learning and practices such as passion-based learning, and realizing their potential as agents of change (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). For this blog, I discovered an educator that personifies what it means to be a 21^st century teacher.

Meet Brian Crosby.

Brian incorporates technology into his classroom by writing a blog, having his students write blogs, posting student work on his classroom website and provides instructional teaching videos for fellow teachers and students alike. Did I mention he has been teaching for over 30 years? Talk about adapting to the next generation of learners.

Furthermore, Brian is a firm believer of the benefits and effectiveness of project based learning. As a facilitator of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education, Brian engages students in real-world undertakings that develop 21^st century skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity. Want to learn how to design and race a tissue paper balloon? How about investigating and developing various mechanisms for humans to live on mars? OK, so maybe that second one is not so “real-world”, but it’s still awesome! These are just a few of the projects that have captivated Brian’s students.

Lastly, Brian promotes the importance of teachers and students as activists by linking student projects to public community service, allowing students to find greater meaning in their learning and emphasizing the BE within the KDB curriculum model (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Whether students are creating advertising campaigns for non-profitable organizations or designing a website for the local animal park, Brian’s students are impacting their community through the process of developing life-long learners.

Overall, it is evident that Brian aligns his teaching practices with his true values regarding education, the purpose of schooling and the positive implications of hands-on, student-directed learning.  

Please check out Brian’s appropriately titled blog Learning is Messy, here: 

http://learningismessy.com/blog/

This is Brian’s story. Now, what about my own educational experiences this semester?

I’ve participated in Genius Hour, survived a Popsicle stick quiz, contributed to a research study on integrated curriculum, and dove head first into the exiting world of curriculum documents. Along the way I’ve had the opportunity to discuss my learning with my colleagues and would encourage any prospective teachers to do the same. All that remains is to endure the grueling grind that is the end-of-term assignments and final examinations. That is, until the next chapter of my educational career.

I realize that I lack the experience of an innovative teacher like Brian Crosby, but my journey so far forms an essential fragment of the pathway to my commitment to a lifetime of learning.  The knowledge I’ve acquired, the tools I’ve discovered, and the values I’ve instilled, all contribute to my teaching identity. They tell my story.

And for now, this is the end of my story…but it’s really just the beginning.

References:

Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 Century Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.

Be The Change

I feel it is important to begin to make the connections between what I am learning in my education classes as I work towards my teaching degree and what is being taught in my activity courses on the physical education side of things. Putting my obvious bias aside, it appears that physical educators  that instruct prospective practitioners (at least here at Brock University) are rather innovative when it comes to bringing physical education into the 21^st Century. We learn by doing, value multiple intelligences and concentrate on a holistic education that engages the cognitive, affective and of course physical, domains. Furthermore, physical education seems to lend itself to new story pedagogical means of implementing effective curriculum, instruction and assessment (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012).

For example, lets consider those who subscribe to the importance of the emerging passion-based learning, where students direct their studies based on interest and intrinsic motivation. Why not have a Genious hour in physical education (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012)? Students could choose the activities they wish to engage in, explore movement for themselves and present their findings to the class. Better yet, if they feel they have mastered a specific movement skill or important concept, why not have them teach the rest of the class?

How about the next example? As technology continues to play a more prominent role in 21^st Century education, physical educators must consider how to incorporate handheld devices, educational applications and social media into the gym. Yet, the process becomes simpler when instructors recognize there are programs out there that help students examine and study human movement. There are apps that monitor levels of physical activity. Moreover, students can use technology to reflect on their movement experiences or capture their rich performance assessment tasks, both of which can then be shared online with the rest of the world. The way education is trending, physical educators are not immune to the need to be creative and adapt to the next generation of learners.

OK, one more example and then I promise I will stop. Physical education, like other disciplines, is plagued by the lack of connectedness as students navigate from one topic to the next. In elementary school, students learn to play basketball, then volleyball, then soccer, then hockey. When they get to high-school, they do it all over again! And at the end of it all, they may say something like, “why did I learn all these sports? I’m never going to be a professional athlete.” But, if physical educators get away from activity-based curriculum, and coordinate instruction and assessment around Big Ideas or 21^st Century skills (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012), like movement as a form of expression or communication, the importance of a life-long commitment to physical activity, or the notion of developing problem-solvers, students are afforded the opportunity to make sense of their educational experiences. More significantly, there is an increased chance of deep learning occurring.

The list of ways that physical education can be brought into the 21^st century goes on. The flipped classroom? Integrated curriculum? Developing student resiliency, persistence and grit (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Check, check, check.

Why then, when school programs face budget crises, the first things to go are physical education and the arts? Why is physical education not valued as much as say math or science? In the U.S., certain states have enacted “no pass, no play” legislation, that prohibits athletes from engaging in sports if their marks in various subjects do meet certain standards. The legislation promotes student balance between academics and physical activity. It makes sense…sort of. What if the roles were reversed? Can you imagine a physical educator walking into the English department and telling the teacher that their students have to miss English class until their grades in PE go up (Kretchmar, 2005)? Somehow, I don’t think that would go over so well.

The only explanation I can offer for the negative connotations associated with physical education is to suggest there is a discrepancy between the research and teacher practice. I have demonstrated above how physical educators can bring physical education into the 21^st Century, but that certainly doesn’t mean that these approaches are being implemented in every school across the country. Drake, Reid & Kolohon (2014) describe this is our living contradictions or the inconsistency between what teachers aspire to be and how they teach in the real world, on a day-to-day basis. For me, this means when I finally get the chance to stand in front of my students in the gymnasium, I need to limit my living contradiction and demonstrate that there is more to physical education than running around in shorts.

Last week, one of my physical education professors wore a shirt to class with a powerful message that is echoed by Drake, Reid & Kolohon. No, she didn’t wear the shirt because it was part of her regular laundry rotation. Yes, she wore with purpose. And yes, it was directed at her students. The shirt read: “Be the change.” Message received.

References:

Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 Century Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.

Kretchmar, S. (2005) Practical philosophy of sport and physical activity. Windsor, ON: Human Kinetics.

Images courtesy of:

Susan Drake, Lecture 2014
The Ontario Health and Physical Curriculum (Gr. 1-8)

I wonder...

Week six usually means the same thing for most university students: Midterm exams! In fact, tests and exams have been a fairly consistent feature of my entire educational career. I wrote tests in elementary school. I wrote tests in high school. I wrote tests in college. And, now that I’m in university? You guessed it…more tests!

I shouldn’t complain (even though it seems to be a common theme in my blogs), because I test well. I always have. I think I prefer taking a testing to say writing an essay or preparing a presentation. While I take my studying seriously, I find that for the most part, tests are quick and painless. My problem has always been that I learn the information almost as quickly as I forget it. Once the test is over, say bye-bye to the knowledge. There has to be a better way….doesn’t there?

Perhaps inquiry-based learning is the solution. You may have heard of this before. It goes by other names, such as project-based learning or problem-solving learning, but generally, they all revolve around the same premise: Teachers or students ask relevant curriculum-based questions, which then have to be investigated, answered and documented to demonstrate learning. Other important features of problem-based learning include presenting the results to an audience outside of the classroom, the potential for integrated curriculum and the idea of confronting real-world issues (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012).

The learning can be more teacher-directed (discipline-based inquiry approach), where the teacher sets the parameters of the project in terms of the questions to be asked or the final product requirements (see below) or more student-centred, where the students personalize their inquiries and contemplate questions based on their own interests. These questions guide their learning and the final form the project takes is more uncertain. Many innovative teachers across the country are implementing this learning strategy under the ‘Genius Hour’ designation. The students are often inspired by their own statements that begins with, “I wonder…” (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). And while this type of learning may be unfamiliar as it relates to my own educational career, I think I can get on board with it.

 The image above is an example of student work within an inquiry-based learning environment, as followed by The Galileo Educational Network. The students were asked to create cigar boxes that demonstrated their idea of Canadian history by designing the box panels with historical images, such as main historical figures or important events. Students were required to research their chosen topics or time periods for historical accuracy, justify their inclusion based on historical significance and work with an expert outside of the classroom who provided specific and informative feedback (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012).

As a prospective history teacher, I immediately gravitated to this idea and began to wonder (see what I did there?) what type of inquiry-based learning projects I could incorporate into my classroom. So I decided to give it a try.

The planning for such a project is nowhere near complete without consideration of ongoing assessment and feedback, the incorporation of 21^st Century technologies and over-arching curriculum expectations (big ideas and enduring understandings). Still, it demonstrates elements of backward design that should inform teaching instruction (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Furthermore, I feel it is important to begin trying to get in the teacher mindset – be open to different ideas and teaching strategies, start planning, and above all, think about student learning.

Here’s my idea.

My project asks students to design their own primary source from a chosen time period in Canadian history, which demonstrates their understanding to the question, how can a primary source be used to study and appreciate history?

Step 1: The Know

Students must:

•  Understand what a primary source is.
•  Recognize the various types of primary sources. (I like the idea of providing students with the choice of the type of source they want to create – e.g. map, letter, artifact)
•  Understand that primary sources are created from a specific perspective and for a certain audience, and therefore contain intentional or unintentional bias.
• Understand when and why a primary source may have been created or preserved.

Step 2: The Do

Students should demonstrate the ability to:

•  Plan their investigation and research (inquiry)
• Organize, examine and decipher their research findings
• Communicate their findings through design and present arguments orally/written

 Step 3: The Be

Students should become:

• A problem-solver
• An effective communicator
• An informed citizen

(Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012)

So, what do you think? Am I on the right track? I know what you’re thinking – it’s a work in progress. Just keep in mind…I’m still learning!

References:

Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 Century Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.

Image courtesy of:

http://www.galileo.org/initiatives/vmuseum/content/01_Student%20Gallery/08_Box%20Panels/01_Battle%20for%20Canada/07_Battle%20of%20Louisbourg/07_Battle%20of%20Louisbourg/thumb5b.jpg