Author: hypeonlife (Page 2 of 3)

“Describe your own experience teaching or learning in the context of learning theory (behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, social learning, connectivism). What theory best describes your belief around how learning takes place?”

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Experiential Learning:

Participating in the Indigenous Specialization Program at UVic opened my eyes to the power of experiential learning and it’s guided my pedagogical practice.  An example of this in my classroom is my Buddy Reading Program.  I can talk to the students about the concept of “personal and social responsibility,” or, I can take my kids out of the classroom and give them opportunities to connect in their community. I believe this facilitates their identity and how it relates to community and the world.  Students reflect on the experience positively, and self-reflect on ways they could improve their interactions with the Little Buddy’s.

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Constructivism:

As discussed on “Most Likely To Succeed”, the school curriculum we follow was created 130 years ago.  Since then, the way we access information has changed drastically.  In my classroom, students are not lectured at or using the entirety of class to do worksheet or gather information without the process of applying it.  Knowledge in my classroom is used as a tool to create, question, apply critical thinking skills or use in effective problem-solving situations. 

An example of this in my classroom would be a recent project in my Social Studies 8 class. Students learned about the Social Hierarchy of the Feudalism System in Ancient times. Students learned from a variety of sources including a documentary, textbooks, and a powerpoint presentation. They then applied their knowledge by creating a “Modern Code of Chivalry” and creating a powerpoint presentation to share their modern day codes with the class. The summative project for the unit was a world in Minecraft Education that conveyed the social hierarchy in a 3D Model. Students created incredible homes and farms of the peasants, including farm animals in the homes for warmth, as was reflective of the time. Students conveyed their creativity by constructing detailed buildings for each aspect of the social hierarchy. Some highlights include moats around the castles, specific weapons in the Knights homes, and artwork on the walls in the castles. In my opinion, these two examples demonstrate social constructivism, as students worked collaboratively with others to create these projects.

These projects also remind me of earlier research we learned about around the “SAMR Model” of integrating classroom technology. In my opinion, these two projects are examples of high level thinking, and using technology through the process of redefinition. The students are creating new worlds that reflect their knowledge acquisition, and no two worlds that they create, are the same. They can diversify their and create visual representations of their learning.

“The SAMR model, represented as a ladder, is a four-level approach to selecting, using, and evaluating technology in K-12 education. According to Puentedura (2006), the SAMR model is intended to be a tool through which one may describe and categorize K-12 teachers’ uses of classroom technology (see Fig. 1). The model encourages teachers to Bmove up^ from lower to higher levels of teaching with technology, which according to Puentedura, leads to higher (i.e., enhanced) levels of teaching and learning.” (Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)”
(Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)

(Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)

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Scaffolding:

Scaffolding has always been an ongoing practice in my classroom and pedagogy.  Guided practice, modeling, graphic organizers, and chunking information are all part of my daily practice.

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Community of Practice:

I have two consistent community of practice groups.  One in technology innovation and another that gets together quarterly to discuss how to support our grade 8 learners in their transition from elementary school to high school.  I enjoy getting together with other professionals so that I can enhance my perspectives, be reflective on my teaching practice, and enhance my knowledge base.

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I’m fortunate to share my educative space with teachers who are implementing progressive practices in their classroom. I met with Connor Podmorrow in March of 2024 to inquire about his progressive assessment practices. Connor and I share a passion for integrating project-based learning, self-directed learning, and e-portfolio’s. In this interview, I am most interested in how he applies formative and summative assessment practices in his classroom. Here are the questions and videos of our interview:

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Question 1: Tell us a little bit more about how you use student directed self-assessments, and with students helping with creating assessment in your practice. I’ll get you to start by telling us a little bit it was teaching philosophy and how you use it in assessment.

Connor highlights many of the challenges we face as teachers, including being able to communicate effectively to the parents and guardians. Communicating home is one of the fundamental reasons I also use digital portfolio’s. I have my students email their parents their digital portfolio links, within in the first weeks of school, to practice writing professional emails and to learn to embed hyperlinks. My hope is that this facilitates parent and guardian involvement and that those at home can share in the students progress and success in the classroom.

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Question 2:

How is assessment integrated with students? Would you do it at the beginning so that they can have an idea of what the formative process looks like or do you wait for at the end and then sit down with them and create a summative assessment rubric or like how does that look?

 

Connor responds by saying, “Again it’s very reflexive on the the kids that I’m working with so if I’m working with say like a group of grade 10, 11, 12s there will be I will usually have a group of curricular competencies based on that course whether it’s social 10 or social justice and I’ll have kids circle and take those curriculum pieces and place them into their own rubric and then from there.” He then goes on to describe that students will reflect directly on how their project highlights the strengths of that competency. He also has them address their growth in the project. He works collaboratively in a verbal conversation with each student in a conference setting. This is something I have been hearing more about in the classroom and I’m glad teachers are giving their 1-1 support to students in this way. In my opinion, this is much more comparable to how people get feedback in the workforce. They don’t get an “A+” on their work, they get feedback, suggestions, praise, or otherwise, and they have to digest that feedback and make changes accordingly.

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Question #3

If someone is interested in the philosophies and the methodologies that you’re using could you suggest any books or resources?

Connor: “3 big ones that I lean on hard:

1 – Curse to Teach – Parker Palmer

2 – Seven Fixes – movement from summative assessment 

3 – Ungrading  (shown below)

https://studio.youtube.com/video/kXD7hzVlbIU/edit

https://studio.youtube.com/video/kXD7hzVlbIU/edit

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Question #4

Okay, hypothetically, you’re sitting down with a student and you’re asking them about what they think their grade should be. What is some language that you use around that what’s the conversation piece if they feel like they got a certain grade, and you feel like it’s a different direction either better or worse?

https://studio.youtube.com/video/0x3WHcIhv2I/edit

Connor says he uses a visual representation of proficiency scale with, with engagement as the measurement. He says, “I lean more now to more of a visual representation of that great determination piece so I’ll have a piece of paper here and I would say like like an amber, a green, or a red and for proficiency scale that would be like extending, proficient, developing and emerging. Then, I’ll have an axel versus engagement, and then we’ll use that as a way to reference where they are.”

I appreciate that Connor has considered a visual component to the conferencing with his students. It’s important to have clarity around assessment and students are familiar with the proficiency scale, but often have difficulty understanding the association with their core or curricular competencies goals.

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Overall, I appreciated sitting down with Connor and hearing his passion about assessment practices in his classroom. I gained some new insight into the practical application of conferencing with students, I myself have just started to do this in the last semester. I enjoy working one-on-one with students to talk about their perspective on their efforts and I value the formative approach that Connor has in his classroom practice.

“Describe your best structured learning experience. It may be in a formal
K-12 or higher education school settings, apprenticeship, or experience
through your own teaching. What made it memorable and worth writing
about?”

During my Bachelor of Education, I enrolled in a program called the Post Degree Professional Program in Indigenous Education.  As described on their website, “The Indigenous Education post-degree professional program is designed to enhance relational accountabilities with local Indigenous people and communities. It provides aspiring teachers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) with a relevant, relational, and transformative education designed to foster a deeper understanding of First Nations, Inuit and Métis histories, cultures, and ways of knowing and being.” {Updating}

Day one I recognized this program would be different.  It was an enormous change from the style of learning I was used to in University.  Instead of sitting at desks and listening to the Professor lecture, we sat in a circle, facing one another.  Instead of taking notes, we learned through shared readings, stories and by sharing thoughts and reflections.  My reflection after day one was… this is the first time anyone in my educational career in post-secondary had asked me HOW I was doing, emotionally.  I felt seen, heard, validated, and quite vulnerable.  I wasn’t used to sharing my feelings, in fact, I cried more than anyone in the group when it came time to share.  

Perhaps the most profound thing I realized during my time in this program was that it was the FIRST time I had learned about Residential Schools in my entire life.  I learned about Roman history, World Wars, and Civil Wars in highschool Socials classes – but not once did I hear about the colonization history in Canada and the effects on Indigenous Peoples.  I remember thinking that I was robbed of this knowledge.  I also distinctly remember that I would never let my students go without this knowledge in their lives.  They deserve to know the history of their own country, so they have a clearer understanding and don’t carry biases or racism forward in their lives.

Another take away from the program was the way in which Indigenous Peoples learn and teach their young.  I’m grateful that I learned this at a time when I was about to embark on my teaching career, as it formed and shaped my pedagogy and my belief in teaching in a pragmatic, experiential, and reflective way.  Historically, Indigenous Peoples don’t teach in a linear or analytical way, they teach in a natural, experiential way.  The Elders teach by doing, the young watch and learn, and practice by mimicking their elders.  They teach through storytelling and oral language is how lessons are passed on.  

We had the honour of working with an Indigenous Elder and I noticed many differences between my traditional schooling and the way he taught.  He reminded me of my Papa, who would let me help him in his woodwork shop.  My Papa was calm, patient, and forgiving.  He would let me help him, but much of the time I just watched him work, watched how he slowly moved and carved wood into beautiful shapes.  Pace was one of the biggest differences between my usual lecture-based classes, and the Indigenous ways of learning and teaching.  The Elder seemed to slow time, unaffected by a clock or a regimented schedule.  I was so used to working in a structure that I remember finding this difficult, and thinking, “When is this due?”  

Our elder showed us how to make a paddle.  We each received a large piece of wood and he taught us how to hand carve the wood into a paddle.  The previous year’s class had made a canoe together, and we looked at the beauty of it as we formed our own paddles.  The work we did embodied an Indigenous way of learning.  We sat together, opened our hearts and shared stories, speaking our lives to one another.  There was no checklist of things we needed to accomplish; the act of creating something together was the act of learning. 

Later in my Career, I had the honour of working with two Indigenous Support Workers, one of which is an Indigenous man from our local Okanagan Indian Band.  I gained respect for this man, who again, exemplified this calm, commanding of respect, attitude.  I once again enjoyed this style of teaching he provided my students.  He taught my kids how to use a bow and arrow, and how to play lacrosse, which historically has its roots in Canadian Indigenous culture.  

We learned about reconciliation, and what it means to actually reconcile for Indigenous People.  I learned reconciliation is about action, about creating connections, and healing through sharing stories and culture.  We visited Tribal Schools on the Coast and learned how Indigenous communities are taking back their culture with language revitalization and celebrating culture.

We participated in a Seafood Festival on the Sea, where we hustled and bustled to cook fresh seafood caught by local Indigenous peoples, and served it to their community.  What I noticed was these events weren’t always “glamorous”.  Lying just below the surface of these families was generational-trauma, socio-economic conditions, and issues stemming from dependency on drugs and alcohol.  As a class, we explored the underlying factors contributing to some of the things we saw and the lasting impacts on Indigenous communities.  I felt my preconceived notions melting away and being replaced by empathy, understanding, knowledge, and a voice.  A voice grew for those students who I would teach in the future and I have continued to use it.  One example I will use is from an interaction I had this year with a colleague.  Armed with my arsenal of understanding of Indigenous history and family dynamics, I helped one of our Indigenous students through the year with additional support.  Honestly, it was mostly providing this student with adequate food, and encouraging them to get to school.  Many factors at home were preventing them from attending regularly.  Long story short, another teacher suggested that failing them might be a motivator for this student, and I was able to diplomatically disagree.  I hope I was also able to impart some wisdom about supporting our Indigenous students and the reasons we need to make extra efforts to provide them with guidance.

I think about this program often and smile.  I made strong connections with fellow educators and shaped my pedagogy to be embedded with the following ideas:

Education is not about checking boxes.  

Life shapes us.  Some students need more support than others.

Sharing circles can help us all grow.

Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces.  

My role as an educator is to help students cultivate their strengths.

Learning is not always linear.  

Celebrate Indigenous culture.

Teach about Indigenous history in Canada.