Final Inquiry

Standard

This section concludes my inquiry proposal/plan. What remains now is to put this system into test mode this September, see whether or not the front load justifies the outcomes.

Introduction

 

Originally, this inquiry was focused on how one might objectively assess a student’s physical project based work with respect to prior knowledge they brought to the classroom, and also measure their growth in process with respect to the design wheel and social emotional development. The subject matter was chosen based on my experience at BCIT, where marks were constantly in question by the student’s as they were allegedly curved on subjective expectations relating to prior experience. For example, I was frequently assigned grades in the 80-90 percent range for decent though unspectacular projects, while the red seal carpenters in the group frequently scored high 70’s to mid 80’s for quite obviously superior work. This of course led me to ponder the inevitable dilemmas of how to grade student work under similar criteria, and how to justify those grades should my decisions come into question. I was and still continue to run on the assumption that many new teachers like me will run into similar dilemmas, so the inquiry has now focused down to creating a simple “handbook” that addresses key assessment strategies in a practical manner, and is adaptable to individual assessors needs.

I was relying on my long practicum to garner information and strategies to help with this project, but found that the focus on assessment at my school was very small, with the demographic dictating that connection with students to help them stay engaged in school as opposed to skipping and subsequently disappearing was paramount. This schoolwide focus left me cobbling bits of research, most of which belong to Kimberly Zumach from her Master’s dissertation on the new curriculum, and some practical strategies from the master teachers I worked with at the school. The actual handbook is something I will develop in the field this year, but the following descriptions will provide the initial framework, based on Zumach’s ideas and my field observations.

 

Key assessment areas

 

As outlined in the new BC curriculum, areas to be assessed include the core competencies, curricular competencies, big ideas, and content. In determining pertinent assessment methods it was necessary to alter the pyramidal focus hierarchy of “for, of, and as learning” (summative vs. Formative) to accommodate for the extremely high focus on safety, especially in technology education and the middle grades. The focus areas can easily be altered to accommodate more experienced secondary students throughout the process. This traditional model shows a shift in focus from assessment oflearning to asand for, but the safety component must follow a focus similar to the traditional model (fig. 3.1) as safety is a no-compromise mastery only concept in most areas of technology education. Beyond this safety element though, the reconfigured model of figure 3.2 is followed.

 

(image from a web page by Jessica Rome at: etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Assessment_as_Learning)

The key components to be assessed, along with the assessment type are summarized in the chart below for clarity:

Assessed component Suggested method(s) Assessment type
Safety Online quizzes or paper Of
RD program (respecting diversity) 9 step program For/As
Employability Rubric For
Behaviour Rubric For
Project process PBL/e-portfolio As/For
Project completion Instructor and self assessed Of/As

 

 

Although all of the above components are valuable, it is necessary to assign some form of weight to them in order of importance. The following chart is merely an outline to be altered as needed, but does give the basic idea of hierarchy of importance:

 

Assessed component Weight %
Safety 45
RD program (respecting diversity) Not weighted
Employability 10
Behaviour 10
Project process 30
Project completion 5

 

There is of course some inherent crossover here such as behaviour and employability within safety, respecting diversity within behaviour and employability, or the dependency of the project completion mark embedded in the process.

Methods

 

In delivering the instructional material, I have decided on the following methods:

  1. Teacher centric instruction
  2. Summative safety assessments
  3. Rubrics
  4. Project based learning
  5. E-portfolio

The following is a short summary of each method, indicating how it falls into the overall assessment picture:

Teacher centred instruction

The respecting diversity program, or a condensed version of it, should be presented to the students as part of the initial class expectations. Rubrics on behaviour and employability can also be piggybacked on this program, and developed with the students to promote the first exercise in community classroom environment.

  • Competencies addressed: Core
  • Assessment type: Formative

Multiple safety demo’s for general shop, hand tools, and power tools will be a large part of the class term. During demo’s, questions should be posed to students, and students should be prompted to re-iterate the main points repeatedly until confidence and mastery is apparent.

  • Competencies addressed: Core, curricular, content
  • Assessment type: Formative

 

Formal safety assessments

These are exactly what they sound like – formal summative assessments to demonstrate mastery after repeated formative assessment within safety demonstrations. I prefer the online quizzes which teachers can customize to their needs, although paper is an equally effective medium and can be signed by both parties to prove mastery should liability issues arise

  • Competencies addressed: Curricular, content
  • Assessment type: Summative

Following these assessments, establishing protocols such as having students orally reiterate the key safety rules of a piece of equipment before first use are suggested (strongly encouraged).

  • Competencies addressed: Core, curricular, content
  • Assessment type: Formative

 

Rubrics

Many types of rubrics are possible in the tech ed realm, but I believe the following two to be of most use in generalizing the expectations of students in a shop environment: Employability and Behaviour.

  • Competencies addressed: Core, curricular
  • Assessment type: Summative and Formative, depends on use and integration

Additionally, specific rubrics for projects may be used as well. These should reflect the criteria for the e-portfolio parameters outlined below. Here, the focus should lie within the process, not the product so frequent formative assessments in line with the rubric should be apparent.

  • Competencies addressed: Core, curricular, big ideas, content
  • Assessment type: Formative and summative

See sample rubrics attached as second file

 

E-portfolio

The tie in factor for assessment lies in the presentation and utilization of the e-portfolio. There are several online formats available including MyEd, freshgrade, portfoliogen etc. My main contribution to this was in borrowing the HACCP assessment format (hazard analysis and critical control points), specifically the critical control points to give the students several checkpoints along the way to assess, correct, design/modify, and reflect. The idea here is that the curriculum and those who drive it have no interest in finished product, only process. My observations however are that students are VERY interested in finished products, so a focus on process, design, observation, corrections etc. serves both needs equally (ie: the finished product takes care of itself quality wise, if the process control points are utilized).

  • Competencies addressed: Core, curricular, big ideas, content
  • Assessment type: Primarily formative, with a self and teacher assessed final “summative” mark

Another key idea is that the learning process is self assessed and corrected by the students, utilizing an assessment as learning structure and meta cognition practice as they reflect on each CCP. The assessments also guide the teacher as assessment for learning, allowing modifications to be made if certain concepts come up continuously unclear and problematic.

Conclusions

 

As stated, this is an ongoing project. Using the framework outlined here, I will test, modify, and assess the usefulness of this assessment system in my first year of teaching this fall. Most of the observations were simply ideas that came to me as I watched the assessment process in action, but I owe a debt of gratitude to the 5 teachers I worked with this spring who’s ideas past and present contributed many of the nuances to the proposed system. Please find attached the power point presentation that breaks down the main ideas in a condensed format, adding a visual augment that hopefully clarifies the concepts.

Highlights from my practicum journals

Standard

Final 2 weeks

 

Well, its all coming to a close tomorrow. We had our CO2 car race last week (see video), constructed our second outdoor cooking appliance, the rocket stove, seen some great mallets turned on the lathe, 3d printed some pretty creepy monsters, and made a chocolate cake that gave the room the appearance of a chocolate bomb going off!

I’ve been saying a lot of goodbyes this week, and proudly nominating my students for awards, and I wish it wasn’t over.

The kids have been fantastic, and I think their competencies in thinking, social and comm have improved greatly; I’d like to think my personality played a role in this.

Final meeting went very well, and it was nice to chat with everybody after the pressure was off and have a few laughs about some of the situations we encountered in the last few months. I see the need for a more n depth assessment technique as a result of the final grading processes I have went through, and have a pretty good idea how I’m going to do thigs in the future (see updated Inquiry on assessment tab). I’m looking forward to CFE in Keremeos next, and hope to garner some more skills in the 5-12 elementary/secondary school I’ve been placed in.

The learning process here has been a whirlwind, and I hope I can replicate all the subtle nuances that made this practicum a success in my teaching career. It’s going to be a lifelong process I’m sure, but I feel the students and staff at Lake Trail have got me off to a great start. Thank you.

Rocket stoves in test mode

Weeks 7-8

 

Things are chugging along nicely, not much to report here save a couple students who have jumped out at me as needing some extra support.

I have to do some I reports, and I feel I missed some of the warning signs with them early on in the course. One of the students has a history of poor performance, especially in elective courses, and has been avoiding talking to me like the plague. I was able to finally sit down and talk with him yesterday, and he is going to need a lot of support if I’m to help him. My teaching partner Mr. lantaigne has a good rapport with him, and we feel that he will improve if we keep the lines of communication open and write out more specific learning objectives for him.

 

I am looking forward to spring break and sleeping in my own bed for a change. Being away from my creature comforts has added a new dimension of life reflection for me, and made me appreciate the supportive people in my life all the more.

 

Weeks 4-6

Wow, things got busy here in a big hurry. Haven’t had much time to journal anything out, but spent lots of time reflecting and focussing on things that went specifically well (read effective classroom management skills). Everything is running full bore now, try to provide a little recap:

 

Cooking with fire: The first prototype of the box ovens worked, but the tape we used failed at 300 degrees F. Amid much moaning and groaning we rebuilt the ovens in 2 classes and have had a successful hot dog lab and cookie bar bake lab as well. The real test will be with the pork shishkabob next class where we’ll have to keep a close eye on internal temperatures to ensure no one gets Trichinosis. The time temperature labs went well also, except for a minor rain out incident. The group leaders in the class have emerged and are proving to be a valuable resource during discussion and debrief.

 

Woods 8/9: I am really enjoying this class a lot since we got things moving a bit faster. I have to figure out a way to integrate some practical during the safety as the students get very antsy after a couple weeks of no hands on. I think some more work with hand tools as we progress through machines would help, but I need them fully on task with safety and no corners cut. Some students started on the lathe and are doing quite well, a couple others need some serious guidance, so I’ve started more small group discussions and demo’s specifically on layout and pretty much anything math or trig related. It’s coming together.

 

Foods 6/7: A high energy group indeed! We re doing a mindfulness technique before every cooking lab called “square breathing” which seems to be working quite well. A couple of my dark horse back row think its quite funny, but the majority of the class seems to garner a lot of benefit from it. I will definitely continue this in my future classes. One thing I have found with this class is that they have a very inflated opinion of their knowledge and abilities. I appreciate the confidence, but I have to reign them in a and slow them down a lot as they skip over important details they do not deem important, and get frustrated because the results aren’t always what they expect. My biggest take away here is trust your own judgement, and don’t take anything for granted with a young age group like this.

 

Woods 6/7: A couple of kids are nearly finished their C)2 race cars already, and I’ve got them working as TA’s with some of the other kids who need more guidance. The car designs range from very simple to pretty way out, but I think everybody has a better handle on design and 3D perception. We have announced race day just before spring break, and will introduce the final project next class – The secret opening box!

 

Midpoint meeting went well. It was a big one, with 5 of us at the table and the most support I’ve ever felt in my life. This is a great crew, and I would love to work with them full time in my new career this September. They all agree I’ve hit a good stride, have used reflection effectively, and have connected well with the kids. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t an effort: You just have to be yourself – human, fallible, and honest.

 

Week 2/3

Cooking classes are chugging along nicely. I set the box oven project in motion this week, and the 6/7 foods class is getting antsy to start cooking. I’ve been switching off with Mr. Darnel on the demo’s in Woodwork 8/9, and he is working his gradual release magic. The kids in there are warming up to me quite quickly, but I have been “warned” not to start too soft or I’ll have a hard time reeling them back in. Cellphones are proving to be a real problem as my FA Mr. Bassett has pointed out. He is a very firm but fair FA, and he doesn’t miss a thing! I appreciate all the feedback of course, and am never at a loss for reflection in practice. As I said in my platform statement, reflective practitioner is my goal, so it’s time to put that plan into action.

I hit the 80% load mark at the end of the week, and certainly feel grateful for the 3 week buildup. Vaulting into this headlong would be doable in hindsight, but I am here to learn and would not trade in those experiences for anything as they set the framework for how I need to do things in the following weeks. I will be taking over in the makerspace soon as well, with my co-teacher Mr. Taylor taking a back seat for a few weeks while I teach 3d printing and design techniques.

Woodwork 6/7 – this is by far my favorite class. We are just finishing up the first few kids on safety, and they’ll be making their first cuts next week. Mr. Williams has let me do the first two projects of my own design, with the third (electronics) pending time frame and materials available. These kids are fantastic and eager, and I know already that they will be a safe and thoughtful class behind the machines. Mr. Williams has been an excellent source of inspiration, and I’m quite glad to have him as another SA.

Reflections – I have learned an awful lot about simple and effective classroom management techniques, specifically wait time. I was shouting over the room quite a bit, specifically with the 6/7’s, and that scenario just continues to amp up and up. Mr. Basset has been a great resource in this department, and every strategy he has told me seems to work quite well.

 

Week 1

 

We’re jumping in here head first this week, with full reins on the Cooking with Fire and Foods 6/7. I have the added benefit of having Mr. Darnel as well as Mr. Fussell overseeing my teaching, both excellent but vastly different methodologists.

Cooking with Fire was an interesting start, I have the entire unit made up, but can see already that I will be diverging from the plan quite a lot. The Foods 6/7 class is following Ms. Lawrence’s old format, with a few tweeks by me, in order to keep continuity with the last 4 blocks the 6/7 grades already had.

Reflections – the CWF course outline was okay, but I seemed to be getting a lot of blank stares so will have to ascertain what that was all about. There are a couple of kids in the back I’ll have to watch closely as I see they have certain expectations about what this course is all about. Foods 6/7 went well, looks like an eager and fun crew. Have a couple IEP’s I ave to read up on more closely, watch my methods and differentiate accordingly.

Last week

Standard

Wow, that certainly flew by. What a great experience it was to get out to Keremeos and see a completely different style of teaching and administration, and a different culture of kids.

I think this opportunity to step out of our newly forged roles to see yet another different perspective was very well timed indeed. As I go to the different districts and schools, I see many educators, new and veteran, weaving the new curriculum into their teaching, taking the best of the old, and reworking and fitting it with and into the new. I see the advantages of talking with teachers who have seen 2 or 3 permutations of curriculum change as well as those who entered in on the ground floor, and try to adapt their styles and advice into my teaching repetoire. The best thing about this whole community? – They share everything, and go to great lengths to elevate you up to the highest point you can be at as you enter your first year with so many ideas, projects, strategies, and moral promises.

I think the group I will miss the most from this experience is the elementary drama gang. This group was so quick to take us in and share their cool quirkiness that it was almost overwhelming. Goodbye today was hard, and the kids let us know that we would be missed. That class was pretty far off my normal beaten path, and I’m very happy Naryn gave me the opportunity to teach it alongside Elaina who I think got the same out of it as I did. Thinking back on this class, I felt like I was totally myself with this group, and that they didn’t any more than the real me to take them through our acting skits and scenarios. I have to remember that feeling, because I (and I’m sure everyone else in the profession) feel that I do my best work when I’m not preoccupied with trying to be anyone other than who I am. Sounds obvious and redundant, but that concept carries a great deal of weight for me.

Working with Mr’s Toth and Collins has been a great experience as well! I met some very cool students in both classes, and certainly hope to cross paths with them again. Although the students ride those guys a lot, I can see the admiration and respect they have for them equally clearly. A lot of the students politely accepted the help I offered, but their go to guys were always Toth and Collins. I hope I have a group of students that loyal and fun in my first job, similar to the group I  was lucky enough to teach in Courtenay  the last few months, and I see what elements of my teaching style I may alter based on the strength of connection these guys were able to make with this group.

It’s hard not to compare and contrast this shorter experience with the longer one I had in Courtenay. The Island school was certainly intense, and I had a lot of sleepless nights, but the hard working crew there always had a way of easing my mind and elevating me to my absolute best every day, and the kids responded well to my new ideas and course projects. Here in Keremeos, the relaxed atmosphere and small town kindness reminded me a lot of my school days in southern Manitoba, and I was able to revisit some of those earlier memories and mix in with the kids (especially the elementary ones) on a more natural level. As icing on the cake, Dave and Marcus (our Faculty advisor and the director of learning inquiry) took us out for a tour of the district (and dinner AND ice cream) so we could have a look at what was happening within, and meet some of the great people that make up district 53.

So, in grand closing fashion to my practicum experience, I have no doubt that I had chosen the right profession, and no doubt that I will pass on the courtesies and assistance shown me through this apex of a multi year journey (I was originally going to do this in 1995….but that’s another reflection for another day) To a future group of TC’s coming down the line.

 

Week 2

Standard

Slightly shorter week this time out as we were treated to a guided tour in and around the entire district courtesy of Marcus Toneatto and David Fairbrother.

This week was quite a bit more involving than the previous one, with the addition of some new opportunities with the elementary kids, and some interesting work in the auto shop, along with continued explorations in the wood and drafting departments.

Continuing on with the two higher risk students in the woodshop saw near completion of their respective projects, and what I feel was a sense of accomplishment and pride in the workmanship. Going back and forth between the two students showed different challenges, with one student having a very high degree of impatience when it came down to the finer finishing, precision joinery section, and the other taking shortcuts on the final phases which resulted in some frustrating repair work which was much more time consuming than the preventative preparation would have been. Neither of these things proved to be a great problem as both students were all smiles as the projects came together. I was a little disappointed the next day however as 1 of the students was suspended for a bullying incident which I understand happened right after our time in the woodshop. It is hard not to feel like I “missed” something there, like I could have modelled some behaviour that could have prevented that, but as Mr. C stated to me later “Don’t fall too in love with these kids, do your best and accept that you can’t be in control of everything, all the time”. It is hard not to get attached, as the student really opened up and spoke about his dad, his prior work experience, and his employment aspirations for the future, and seemed really happy that we were working together – going from this to bullying 1 hour later is the last thing I would have predicted.

I was presented with a new and unique opportunity to teach a couple of elementary drama classes with Elaina, the other TC at the school, and this proved to be a fun and enlightening experience for both of us. The first class was very short notice and we didn’t have a lot of time to prep, but the students were very responsive to the activities and asked if we were coming back for another class – I think that is a good thing! The next class was much more structured as we had 2 days to put together some short scenario acting skits which the students seemed to have a ball with. It is good to feel comfortable in the younger and older classrooms now as I can let my own creativity bounce off of the students unique interpretations of the activities, and feel the results coming off much more naturally then before. I hope I can work with this age group again in the future.

End of week 1

Standard

Made it over to the Home Ec side finally, got a chance to see the cafeteria program in action.

Chef A’s entire class was on a field trip so myself, the other TC I am at the school with, and a student from Mr. C’s wood shop filled in to get the lunch program ready.

I was on the ginger sauce for the pork (turned out pretty fine if I do say so myself) and “general” duties (read dishwashing, serving, and pushing the fried rice and pork to the elementary kids who love pizza pretzels/pops). We sold out, so I guess the day was a success.

After assisting the repairman with the ZEP dishwasher repair I caught the second half of the elementary wood skills exploration class and we continued on with our cool custom cut mini boat paddles. Another good day at SESS, very laid back and relaxed atmosphere both in the school and the town.

Working with some of the higher behavioural risk kids in the woodshop has been a real eye opener. 1 in particular reminds me of myself a lot at that age – impatient, needing assistance but refusing it when the time comes, taking shortcuts etc. I am approaching him from a more collaborative standpoint, asking questions, mulling over possible solutions, and offering positive feedback when good ideas are presented. Seems to be working so far, and the project is quite fun and challenging. I have to be careful with what the students confide when working one on one however, as they express their frustrations with the teachers who are trying to install some self discipline in a very negative fashion, and the inherent good cop/bad cop dynamic can develop if you do not address those negative statements immediately and accurately. I try to frame it in the sense of safety and experience, for example: “The reason we take these steps when working on the table saw is that Mr. C has more experience than both of us, and he knows that not taking these longer steps can result in unpredictable and dangerous behaviour of the saw – just because it didn’t kick back this time, doesn’t mean it won’t the next”.

I’m pretty happy to be working with this new crew and seeing different ideas and perspectives. It is rare that a day goes by without at least one valuable lesson learned.

First few days

Standard

Just getting midway through the first week of community field experience out here in scenic, beautiful Keremeos BC.

The family that is hosting me is very nice indeed! Cute kids that ask me all sorts of questions I can’t answer! Walking outside of the school I am greeted with an amazing view of what they call the “K” mountain (because it has a K shape on the face), and yes, I could get used to this very quickly.

The hardest part of the first few days for me is always the names – introducing and re-introducing myself to staff and students as I try to remember some discerning features and/or associations; everyone is so patient here.

So far, I have spent most of my time between the wood shop, metal shop, and auto shop, as well as the CAD class and Vex robotics, and as always found myself impressed with the breadth of knowledge the students posses. As it is late in the year, I am not trying to wedge myself in here to teach some lessons, but rather provide my services as a second resource floating through the class to collaborate and hopefully assist the students through some sticking points. But as we all know, things just generally follow their own path, and my role will likely change over the coming weeks.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend something I have wanted to sit it on for quite a while, a First Nations workshop. The speaker was excellent, and led through many self reflective exercises to get us to peer at the base of the iceberg underneath the water level. In addition, I learned a little bit about the creator’s story, and how the plants and animals play a role in the collective DNA of nature. It was a great 2 hours, with some awkward moments, emotional sharing, and even some rhythmic interplay – definitely what a workshop should be!

Looking forward to the rest of the week, and working a bit in the Home Ec/cafeteria program portion with the school chef.

Wow….It’s 2018!

Standard

Through these last few years of BCIT and now UBC, every time something came up that I was a little uncertain about regarding teaching, it was deferred to the “I’ll have to address that in 2018” pile. Guess what?

So, practicum at the end of the month, I have all sorts of ideas, I have no idea if said ideas will work, and I’m on task to sort and prioritize. It’s a great group of people I’ll be working with at Lake Trail, good admin, an FA who I think knows a lot about classroom management and has offered up his assistance…What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, as long as I don’t get my overactive imagination in the way. Imagination is a great thing, and mine has stayed as strong as it was when I was a little ‘un, except it has that creeping dark side that holds the “what if…” category on the other side of the second class lever (that’s the teeter/totter style). For the most part I feel good, and the kids really seemed to like me, but I think they were in some sort of interview process once they got word I would be there again next year (from short practicum in November). What if I’m boring? What if they’re yawning during my lectures, how do I make the Canada Food Guide a “fun” lecture? I’m not as worried about the wood shop and electronics, lots of cutting, banging, and power tools to keep anyone engaged for a lifetime, but I’ve never actually “taught” home ec in the traditional sense, just years of nutrition to adults and youth on a one on one level. That is much different.

So I have my ideas, I have my imagination, I have an inkling I passed the kids interview, and I’m ready to dive in to the mix; I hope UBC has some good last words of wisdom before I hurl myself back in time to my grade 6 mindset to ask: “what exactly are these kids thinking right now….?

The inquiry proposal is going well, and I’m hoping to be somewhat ahead of the curve by the time I get to Comox. It’s been quite a vague are for most of us up till now, and I understand its going to get greyer until they figure out a standardized way to assess these kids right across the board, and explain to their parents that its not about ABCD and F anymore, but how deep you can question a concept in your mind, and how far can you go till you get a satisfactory answer to back fill the tunnel that led you there.

We shall see.

Objective assessment of the Inquiry process

Standard

A Method of Objective Assessment:

(For the Inclusion of Inquiry Based Learning in Project Based Units).

 

Introduction

An argument by long time technology education (shop) teachers is that they have always practiced inquiry-based learning. While this is true in principle, many tech ed teachers still feel more comfortable with a lopsided proportion of prescriptive projects versus self guided and directed inquiry driven projects. Having said that, a certain amount of prescribed, instructor guided project work is essential in the tech ed shop, if for no other reason than the high level of importance allotted to safety. Basic safety principles do not lend themselves well to inquiry based learning in practice, so a degree of guided instruction is, in my opinion, non negotiable when it comes to introducing power and hand tools. Once the class as a whole has moved beyond safety and into the first project, the seeds of inquiry based learning can be integrated into what will ideally become a lifetime of creative and critical thinking skills that can transfer into the quick thinking and highly adaptable traits required in the modern post secondary and working world.

 

Assessment Methods

The basis of this paper is how can we properly assess for not only project based learning outcomes, but for the process as it relates to the curricular competencies, and inquiry based learning as it relates to these and core competencies/big ideas. It is essentially a blend of many assessment methods new and old, with an emphasis on practicality for the new teacher. The paper will focus on a multi-part assessment that is weighted heavily toward process and inquiry based concepts, and includes techniques such as:

  1. Beginning of unit reflection on what “chosen ADST skill” means to the student.
  2. Instructor and student generated rubric – broad coverage aligned with the learning outcomes and lectures on safety, teamwork, the classroom community and core competencies, and finished projects (lesser weight).
  3. Ongoing teacher observations and logging, low inference, cross sectional data.
  4. Zumach’s (2016) 10 step handbook for assessment of inquiry based learning
    1. Including assessment “for” and “as” learning through frequent feedback.
  5. End of term reflection on progress in process, for the students to compare and self assess.
    1. Including peer assessment of group dynamic.

Process

Near the beginning of an ADST unit (woodwork for example), the instructor will initiate an individual student self-reflection to get a sense of what they are feeling as they enter the shop for the first (or perhaps not) time. Questions can be simple and open ended such as: “What do you think of or feel when you see all the power tools?” or “What type of projects do you imagine yourself making out of wood?”. These initial reflections will be held by the instructor until the end of term, and will give the students an opportunity to observe and reflect upon the skills, competencies, and social skills they have acquired throughout the unit when compared to their final reflection at the end.

Zumach (2016) states that a rubric or a single letter grade cannot capture the depth of inquiry-based learning that students acquire in an entire term; I likewise believe this to be true. Assessment of process must share an equal depth and breadth if it is to capture all of its facets, so the more traditional rubric should focus on a more broad outline of operations of the individual student relating to the classroom as a community, with a focus on personal & social and communication core competencies, for example:

  • Assessment of your partner and group safety captain.
  • Awareness of others and surroundings via class safety reports.
  • Consistent use of PPE and machine safety protocols.
  • General performance in a group dynamic

These operations and behaviours should be outlined and reinforced in lectures, discussions, and learning outcome in the form of low stakes quizzes, as well as tracked for “assessment for learning” adjustments by way of low inference logging by the instructor (described next). The only summative assessment used will be in the form of a safety test, which must be re-taken until a minimum standard (usually 80%).

With the bulk of the post safety unit comprised of inquiry based learning, frequent observations, low inference incident logging, and frequent feedback can be used as an augment to the rubric as an assessment for learning process. Intermittent self-assessment as described by Davies should also be frequently integrated for the “assessment as learning” component of feedback, a process that has garnered much attention and positive feedback over the past few years (2007). Designing the rubric to guide your prescribed learning outcomes, and subsequently refining and defining it transparently with the rest of the class will add validity and student buy in by supporting your “class as a community” centered pedagogy in a practical, fair, and equitable way.

 

Inquiry Based Learning

It is important for new teachers to also have a working definition of inquiry in addition to the many charts and spirals that describe the process. I found personally that the term “Inquiry Based Learning” was never actually defined for me, and as a result caused me much distress and uncertainty whenever it was mentioned in passing or during lecture.

Zumach (2016) defines inquiry-based instruction as:

Inquiry-based instruction can involve learners investigating real-world problems, developing questioning, research and communication skills, collaborating within and beyond the classroom, and developing a deep understanding of content knowledge. This learning is often integrated into a public setting where the students have the opportunity to contribute to expanding a general knowledge of how the world works (Stephenson, 2015). This method of instruction is often anchored with an essential question that is explored through a guided, partially guided or open inquiry (Wiggins, 2005) (p. 5).

Another more student centred definition is culled from the M.O.E:

Inquiry is the mindset students use to build their own knowledge and understanding through an active, open-minded exploration into a meaningful question, problem, or issue. (Ministry of Education, 2015).

Outlined in Zumach’s assessment of inquiry based learning handbook are several facets of learning that are derived from the core competencies, along with composite additions relating to higher order taxonomic thinking based on curricular competencies (2016):

  1. Personal Responsibility and Awareness
  1. Personal Identity
  2. Communication
  3. Critical Thinking
  4. Creative Thinking
  5. Reflecting
  6. Collaborating
  7. Social Responsibility

IX/X.      Understand: Explain and Understand: Apply.

Zumach (2016) provides a series of lesson plan examples to teach and asses these specific facets in the realms of “for” and “as” learning, used in conjunction with the student self-assessment protocols that require meta cognition to understand, disseminate, and ultimately describe their thoughts (Davies, 2007). To implement a practical handbook such as this would certainly be a challenge to the novice teacher, but at the very least it still provides a framework for progression in the assessment of inquiry process. Many concepts ranging from the entry and exit reflections, rubric of learning outcomes, and assessment for and as learning overlap and merge with the learning facets, and as such could be well defined as similar tools in different contexts – a toolbox to assist the new teacher in building effective, reliable, and valid assessment models for their own ADST (or other) classroom’s.

 

Conclusion

At the onset of the inquiry proposal, I was seeking an assessment method specific to ADST and its (perceived) nuances, but discovered that properly designed and implemented assessment strategies are not only more universal in their structure (owing to the focus of transferable knowledge through inquiry based learning), but less esoteric and more practical when put in the context of sample lesson plans to address the facets of learning. During the upcoming practicum, I will attempt to test the method and observe how closely the outcome aligns with the objective, and report further findings in the final phase of the inquiry project.

 

Reference List

Biggs, J. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning: a role for summative assessment? Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 103-110.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2015). Glossary of curriculum terms. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/glossary.pdf

Davies, A. (2007). Making classroom assessment work (2nd ed.). Courtenay, BC: Connections Pub.

Harlen, W., & James, M. (1997). Assessment and learning: Differences and relationships between formative and summative assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 4(3), 365-379. doi:10.1080/0969594970040304

Zumach, K. (2016). Assessment in inquiry-based learning: the rationale and design of a handbook for teaching and assessing key learning facets (Doctoral dissertation, Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University). Retrieved from https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/2924/Zumach.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

 

 

 

Original outline of key concepts from 450B:

  1. Key concepts to explore:

 

  1. Objective assessment of a students understanding and application of the curricular competencies in respect to making (Biggs, 1998).
    1. How do students utilize this design wheel? Is it effective in producing the best result they can achieve at any given point on their learning spectrum?
  2. Objective assessment of a students physically manufactured product (equity or equality).
    1. Based on a student’s level of background or baseline knowledge, is their level of progression (gap from start to finish) equal? If not, what is a fair and objective assessment of their final level (project or knowledge).
  3. Assessment of a student’s social/emotional and personal development.
    1. Has the assessment of the students work or progress helped or hindered them in the social and emotional development sphere?

Within these key concepts, a built-in problem arises from the lack of literature relating directly to assessment of the newly integrated curricular competencies. As a result, the focus of fair and equitable assessment based upon current curricula in general may be an avenue to explore via comparative and similar study’s (Biggs, 1998)

 

  1. As we transition away from averaging numbers and assigning finite letter grades (Zumach, 2016), how do we re-educate parents on a system they are un-familiar with and leery of the merit? The very nature of the subjective and biased nature of a human instructor calls into play the level of objectivity in any assessment.

Furthermore, cultural differences in students, their individual habitus (and age), and how ingrained the culture is will be important factors in SEL, and personal and social development in the classroom. How do you foster a preservation of the culture while simultaneously fostering a sense of belonging in the new culture? Integrating non-english speaking parents into the students’ assessment process is of primary importance in this arena.

Teaching Philosophy for Home Economics

Standard

Practical experience update to a quasi-theoretical philosophy of teaching:

For clarity and easy referral, the original platform statement is included at the end of this update.

 

When I originally wrote this statement seven months ago, I based at least half of it on articles I had read that made me re-think what home economics was actually about (in the philosophical rather than historical sense). My beliefs since practicum have not changed, but they certainly have shifted and focused toward two major points I outlined in the original platform. The first point concerns my belief that home economics is and always has been about the family, but my definition of family has broadened to include the importance of the community in the classroom ideals I learned and later practiced first hand in my teaching. Being a product of the 1980’s curriculum, I am still adapting to this new idea of the engaged, inclusive classroom operating as a family unit. I learned quite quickly that I have a small window of opportunity to grab hold of the students in the classroom before they spiral down into their familiar matrix of texting and online phone-gaming. I realized that one cannot underestimate the need for this community classroom ownership, and that it must be articulated quickly if you don’t want to struggle for weeks to “get your class back”.

 

By means of further expansion on that idea, the de-emphasis on content in the new curriculum is a slippery slope for a new teacher because esoterically trying to put across big ideas and competencies without solid and engaging activities relating to the content can be met with a lot of glazed eyes, and your journey toward strengthening the core competencies stalled as a result. Again, I am talking about a new teacher, so my ignorance is shining through, but if you find a good hands on project quickly to get you closer to the students, it will make your journey to the higher order thinking and principles a more successful one.

 

The second point that has risen to the surface in my mind is that of reflective practice. I spent a lot of time, maybe too much by some people’s standards, thinking and mulling over ideas, activities, delivery methods, and strategies that worked very well, marginally well, or not at all, until common threads started to form and clarify my thoughts. Reflective practice works, there is no doubt in my mind. If you are in this profession for the right reasons, the betterment of children’s lives, then this should be a natural and necessary progression in your journey as a teacher. Take some risks, and reflect on them in a practical sense after the fact, regardless if they fall flat or soar. I have never been scared to take risks, but like many, I dislike failing. Re-framing this into a learning experience however, takes the pressure off you and your class as the process becomes the precedent, and failure simply a checkpoint – a chance to gather the class for an analysis, charette, or other community problem solving and idea sharing forum.

 

I was pleased to see that my overall assumptions about home economics (and technology education) were on point, and that the practicum gave me exactly what I wanted and needed: A testing ground for my thoughts and ideas on strengthening connections through family.

 

 

Original document

Introduction

 

For me, Home Economics has come to be about the family. On the micro level, this is the immediate family, but the macro view of community, country, and world as family are likewise a view we must adopt. Presently, globalization requires me, and us, to view the world through a more holistic lens, though I can assure you that when I first enrolled in the faculty of Human Ecology in nineteen ninety five, this was not the case. I had an interest in health and fitness, and my primary motivation was to become an expert in both of fields. In some ways I did in fact accomplish that goal, and spent many years, some good, some bad, teaching people how to eat, exercise, and live healthy. What I learned along the way is that I was not dealing with calories, proteins, and the Harris-Benedict equation for “Female – 25-40”, but with real people and real families, and the main challenges they faced as they navigated the very rough waters of life relationships, and the world at large.

 

The changing identity of Home Economics (Human Ecology)

 

People often asked me: “What exactly is Human Ecology?”, to which I answered “Peoples interaction with their environment, with respect to food, clothing, shelter, and family unit management”. Not unlike the mission of Home Economics, this description is insufficient. Everyone understands that we must go to work, conform to certain rules at said work, and get paid so we can survive. But what about the other 16 or so hours of the day, what are the rules, rewards, and duties there? Like the role of Home Economics on the world front, these parameters are not clearly defined, and as a result, both have suffered greatly to survive.

 

In the early part of the 20th century, Home Economics was not only about health and hygiene, but women’s educational and societal rights, and cultural values that pertained to both the family and society as a whole (Smith & De Zwart, 2010). The McDonald –Robertson movement adopted the slogan of “head, heart, and hands” pertaining to the educational goals of young girls and boys in household and manual training respectively (Smith & De Zwart, 2010, p. 20), strikingly similar to the technology education slogan of “head and hands” currently in use today. Through the great depression, war, and rise of commercialization and advertising, home economics continued to survive and attain recognition as a scientific form of home management, only to falter in the nineteen sixties as traditional sciences and ground-shattering events like the race to space shifted the educational focus away from home management (Smith & De Zwart, 2010).

 

Even as home economics continued its struggle to find legitimacy into the late nineties, it continued to broaden its focus in the socio-political scope of family institutions and the economy, community issues in obesity and food safety, and global level perspectives on social justice and sustainability in the new millennia (Smith & De Zwart, 2010, p. 20). I believe that this new global perspective is the outlet that home economics must plug in to as people strive to find meaning in an increasingly disconnected society. Even though technology brings us virtually closer together, its pacing and exponential increase of use in our daily lives threatens the value placed on “organic” interaction. If human beings disconnect from actual interaction, then context, empathy, nuance and mutual understanding are sure to suffer in the wake.

 

Home Economics and the Family

 

An archaic catch phrase of home economics used to be “(home economists should be able to) catch good husbands (because they had a) license to become a good wife and mother” (Darling, 1995). In some ways, this distorted statement is true in that home economists are better wives or husbands because they are trained to understand the family dynamic and its importance in the home, community, and beyond. Although the sexist ignorance of the time may be laughable now, it belied the fact that home economics was already on a noble and pertinent track, leading to its present day indispensability on several global fronts. It is at this point that I must step back and iterate that my belief in home economics is not just a purely theoretical and esoteric view, but a practical handbook for better living within the family dynamic. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was taught to me in the context of home economics and human ecological interactions, and while not culturally universal as once thought (Wachter, 2003), still provides a framework upon which home economics still rests. In terms of food, basic physiological needs are met, but does that also not reach into the upper echelon of safety, love and belonging? Families operate on many levels simultaneously, and the interactions between food, celebration, providing shelter and clothing, and showing love will lead an individual to esteem and self actualization. Many believe that the continuing degradation of this family construct is intimately tied to the fraying social fabric of life, and cite individualism, lack of respect and personal responsibility toward others, general impersonality to daily life, and (the ensuing product of) poor community values as factors therein (McGregor & Chesworth, 2005, p. 30). However, it appears that although people and families are mostly driven by “doing and having” instead of “being and relating”, they are increasingly willing to “trade it all in” in exchange for some deeper meaning to life (Darling, 1995, p. 30). It is here that we move to the next position that home economics must take.

 

Reflective Practice

 

As a teacher in home economics, I believe in embracing the concept of reflective practice. Home economics is in and of itself an interconnected discipline. We study the many facets of home economics independently, like food, textiles and family studies, but also identify that these studies are interconnected and must be viewed as such if we are to be effective teachers in the school system (Vaines, Badir, Kieren, & University of British Columbia, 1988). Vaines describes why we would choose to become a professional home economist by comparing the path of the reflective practitioner (a morally driven vision for the common good) to that of the no choice path which is devoid of a philosophical orientation on one extreme, or a technical rational path through more familiar territory where we fit into the machine like contextual box of “recipe for success” (Vaines et al., 1988). In choosing the path of reflective practice, one must consider many questions involving who you are and what you can do, what the nature of your practice is and what it means to you, along with the consequences therein, and how you fit in and foster a positive impact on a societal, moral and eventually global level (Vaines et al., 1988). As I stated previously, I entered into this profession very much on a technical rational level that, though career driven, still held an inkling of philosophical stance in that I actually wanted to affect a change, one person at a time. I was slow to come around, but my exposure to disintegrating families that my clients (parents) tried desperately to hold intact shifted my thinking toward a greater scope of affecting change on a larger level, with a standpoint of moral obligation replacing my prior egocentrism. Going back into schools after all these years was quite a revelation to me, as the demographic face of the classroom is absolutely nothing like I remember it. In the small town in southern Manitoba where I grew up, I can recall only two east Indian families, and one African Canadian family, the rest consisting of majority white and minority Metis and First Nations. This was in a rural secondary school of nearly two thousand students, so I can only imagine to what extent these individuals suffered in such a grossly imbalanced forum. This contrast impacted me greatly, and was the “enlightening” event that led me into the exploration of the mode of Reflective practice (Vaines et al., 1988). My final thoughts on this mode of practice lie in the First Nations education component which is embedded in the new B.C. curriculum. First Nations have always embraced spirituality and the connectedness with nature, and in many ways embody the spirit of home economics. Many cultures embrace many stages of a life cycle with the child held in forefront as the closest to the spirit world, and more open to knowledge then at any other point in life (McGregor & Chesworth, 2005) – this statement requires no further elaboration.

 

Conclusion

If society is indeed coming apart at the seams due to technology, our ever accelerating fast paced life, or just an overwhelming shift in focus from the world to the self, then the family unit must be rebuilt to support the imminent collapse in both the individual and the community around them. As in any structure, the base must be intact for the structure to hold, and home economics will provide that base. Educating students to the hierarchy of needs, and further adapting that hierarchy to include cultural and First Nations differences is a means of exposing them to a more world-wise view; in doing so we create a global perspective of acceptance and understanding. As we begin to better understand the consequences of our actions and their subsequent effect on others, we can better understand our moral place in the world, and begin a journey toward a life of deeper meaning and purposeful co-existence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

 

Darling, C. A. (1995). An Evolving Historical Paradigm: From Home Economics’ to Family and Consumer Sciences’1. Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics, 19(4), 367-379. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.1995.tb00558.x

 

McGregor, S., Chesworth, N. (2005). Positioning Human Spirituality in Home Economics. Journal of the HEIA, 12(3), 27-44.

 

Smith, G., & De Zwart, M. L. (2010). Home Economics: A Contextual Study of the Subject and Home Economics Teacher Education. Teachers of Home Economics Specialist Association (THESA), British Columbia.

 

Vaines, E., Badir, D., Kieren, D. K., & University of British Columbia. School of Family and Nutritional Sciences. (1988). People and practice: International Issues for Home Economists. People and Practice, 5(3), 1-17.

 

Wachter, K. (2003). Rethinking Maslow’s Needs. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 95(2), 68.