May
22
Developing Inquiring Minds
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | May 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment
(photo from VB Learn)“The idea is for the teacher to ask more questions to stimulate thoughts and share their ideas. It is important to encourage no right or wrong answers and someone’s ideas can lead to new ideas and thoughts. Do not give them answers and let them come through with the answers – it may take longer but it would engage students and develop inquiring minds.”— Katherine Tong from Vancouver Biennale
May
17
Continuing Reflections
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | May 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
When caught up in the everyday routine of classroom teaching, it is challenging to be critical of my practice. Stopping and reflecting takes immense effort to prioritize and juggle all the other responsibilities of a classroom teacher. This whole student teaching experience has been very intense. Today I was thankful for the pro-D day because I had a chance to stand back and reflect on my teaching. The time to think through strategies and get through some prep work was very appreciated.
Our school is inquiring into integrating technology in our instruction. Today I presented a short workshop on how the web, and specifically the iPad, could be used in our everyday assessment and our students’ everyday inquiry process. It was a very enriching experience to be sharing with other teachers how I have been learning with my students. I am excited to attend more professional development days in the district, as it is a great opportunity to network.
May
13
Learning moments
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | May 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment
I have been guiding my students to have inquiring minds. I am learning to plan less activities, and more meaningful spaces for students to fill up with their own wondering and thinking.
During Math today all I had were 3D blocks and geometric objects. We spent half an hour exploring the parts of a 3D shape and all the ways we can sort them into groups. The students started taking charge of their own learning and asking interesting questions such as, “Why do 3D movies not work if the glasses aren’t on?” “Why is the core of the Earth the balance?” “What is the core of the universe?” “Where do we put cones, spheres, and semi- spheres?”
Our science lesson was an extension of our inquiry placemats activities from last week. I typed up all the questions that they had about interesting plants. Students chose one or two to focus on, to find out information for the rest of the class. I pulled books from the library to have a little collection of all the books that have to do with our topic. I also found many magazine articles from EBSCO Kids through our district library resource website. Still, there was not enough material for every student to look through. This lead into a teachable moment when I revealed to them that there are many, many answers for one question, and that the answer does not reside in me, nor simply in books, nor simply in technology. Research is hard, and I encouraged them not to abandon their question just because they were stuck. I modelled for them how to gather information, and by the end of the lesson everyone had a sheet full of facts gathered about their question.
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