Author Archives: bma7

Teacher Night at Science World

There were two main takeaways from the Teacher Night at Science World: amazing resources, and great ideas.

I discovered that Science World provides free, teacher contributed, curriculum linked, science-based resources, lesson plans, and activities for educators. Additionally, Science World offers a program that connects teachers with scientists, engineers, technologists and tradespeople to enhance classroom teaching through workshops. I found the idea similar to the Skype classroom where you can invite guest speakers into the classroom through Skype.

I was also able to pick up some great resources for the students in my class. Based on the interests they expressed through their Genius Hour Projects (provide link), I collected information about starting a recycling program at our school and about programs offered at the local film production school. I think the students will be excited to receive the information.

The Science World staff presented several great inquiry based demonstrations that could easily be modified for the classroom. The demonstrations focused on discovering science through the active alteration of variables. They were similar in concept to the “undemos” we created in our Science class. One of the examples that I thought would make a particularly great inquiry-based demonstration was the Come-Back Can. It would be similar to a black/mystery box lesson in that the students could try to guess how the Can worked, and perhaps extend the activity by getting the students to attempt to recreate it.

British Columbia Association of Mathematics Teachers (BCAMT)

The BCAMT Conference was held on Saturday November 29th 2014

BCAMT New Teachers Conference outline

BCAMT New Teachers Conference 2014 poster

Keynote Speaker

The Keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Ann Anderson. She expressed the importance of connecting math to everyday life to enhance student engagement and comprehension of applicability.

Workshops

The first workshop I attended explored the use of games in math. A key takeaway from this workshop was that games are a way to modify content and vary instruction for learners. We explored ways to minimize luck and enhance strategy in the games to optimize student thinking during the activities. We played numerous games from the Math Games for BCAMT, exploring objectives, strategies, and variations to make the games more or less difficult depending on the class and lesson objective. The games were great, however, I noticed that many created to be competitive. As a strong advocate for collaborative learning, I tried to think of variations of the games to promote a common goal for the students within the framework of the game. Focusing on a common goal, individual accountability, and positive interdependence, I came up with variations for some of the games that would promote collaboration as opposed to competition.

The second workshop was called “Creating a Thinking Classroom,” and it was based on the research of Dr. Peter Liljedahl. The basic concept is to get rid of note taking, minimize instruction, and focus entirely on constructing learning by struggling through problems and debriefing/discussing the thinking process. The key factors in this methodology include many vertical, non-permanent surfaces, random groupings, and relevant tasks created through problematizing the curriculum (A great article written by the workshop leader, Mr. Michael Pruner outlines the idea). The methodology provides ample opportunity for teachers to conduct ongoing formative assessments, and to praise strategy and thinking over results. The teacher values the struggle, and the thinking required to solve the problems. After the students have struggled through the problems, the teacher facilitates a debrief where students discuss what strategies they used and why.

Mr. Pruner tends not to give repetitive homework assignments, but instead talked about how he uses journaling extensively to reflect on students’ thinking, and end of term assignments. He provides the students with resources they can use if they want to practice or read up on the task further. He says that this is part of the students taking ownership of their learning, and developing intrinsic motivation. I liked the idea of taking pictures of the boards when students were finished, and helping them create portfolios of their thinking. Mr. Pruner said that at the end of a unit or term, the students would get to choose one of the problems, and do a more extensive assignment on it. He showed us some of the creative ways in which the students demonstrated their learning. I appreciate the methodology in that it illuminates student process, and encourages students to talk out the problems.

Technology in Transit

I participated in the Technology in Transit event organized by the Educational Technology Support staff of the UBC Education department. The intent of the event was to showcase a technology-related project that could be used to enhance student learning in the classroom. I chose to showcase Explain Everything as I had recently created an educational video about the evolution of a flatworm with the app, and incorporated the app in my practicum classroom. I wrote a brief description of the app and a bio for the ETS website, and created a handout for students and staff (Explain Everything handout)

The event consisted of presenting the app’s functionality and demonstrating several potential uses in the classroom to student passerbys during lunchtime in the Education building at UBC. Several staff members showed a keen interest in the app’s abilities, and many students took copies of the handout. At the end of the event, I was awarded with a certificate of participation.

Computer Using Educators of British Columbia (CUEBC)

The CUEBC conference was held on October 24th 2014.

Keynote Speaker

The conference began with an excellent keynote speaker named Will Richardson. Mr. Richardson emphasized the pivotal role that technology has begun to play in our classrooms, and highlighted the importance of embracing technology as a way to transform education. Much of what Mr. Richardson spoke of resonated with me, and has influenced the way I approach lessons in my classroom.

Mr. Richardson discussed the importance of fostering conditions that make students want to learn more. He shares my belief that promoting discovery of content through problem solving, building, playing, and creating will better result in long lasting comprehension due to the constructive nature of the learning taking place. Mr. Richardson had an excellent idea about creating integrated “missions” for students instead of specific subjects. For example, “the elimination of hunger,” which can be approached from biological, statistical, and humanities perspectives.

In order to maximize discovery, classroom walls need to become much thinner so that students can reach out and communicate to experts, a feat possible with current technology. With the radically changed classrooms, student self-regulation becomes increasingly important as students learn to navigate through, and use the information online.

Workshops

The first workshop I attended was held by Bryson Norrish, a Google Certified Teacher in Vancouver. Mr. Norrish explored just over 20 apps/websites that could be used in the classroom to support learning. I plan to test out and try as many of the apps as I can in search of those that fulfill the “Redefinition” category of the SAMR model, promoting transformation in education. Mr. Norrish also mentioned that we could apply to the Google Teacher Academy, and if selected, we could go to Google for a 2 day workshop. I would love to do this, as I have a strong passion for technology integration in the classroom.

The second workshop I attended was held by Bryan Hughes, a North Vancouver teacher. Mr. Hughes explored the potential for iBeacon use in the classroom; Bluetooth beacons which connect the physical world with digital devices. Unfortunately, these particular beacons required Macintosh Operating systems. However, upon watching the presentation I was able to relate beacon use to QR codes and began brainstorming many ways in which QR codes could be used in the classroom to facilitate Total Physical Response activities.

The final workshop I attended was on Digital Citizenship and Social Media with students. The workshop touched on adolescent brain development as it relates to social media use, an awareness of social media driven envy, and the importance of constant critical analysis of what is seen online. With reference to Juan Enriquez’s TED talk, the workshop reinforced the permanency of online behaviour.