Today was the first of the cohort’s Middle School tours.  In groups of 7, we spent the morning in one of the following Coquitlam schools:

• Hillcrest Middle

• Minnekhada Middle

• Montgomery Middle

• Scott Creek Middle

After lunch, the entire cohort gathered in Room 220 at Montgomery Middle – a space we’ll use over the course of the year when we need to get together as a whole group – to debrief the first “practical” experience of the year.  After a 5-minute write to get re-focused, Shep and I asked you to give us a tentative answer to the focus question for today’s tour, “What is a Middle School?”

Many interesting answers were shared.  In the end, we teased out 4 pillars of middle years education:

• Teaming
• Flexible Block Scheduling
• Advisory
• Explorations

Next week you’ll be at a different school and will be able to compare how that group of staff and students work with these pillars.

In the meantime, you can take a video tour of Daniel Webster Middle School in Los Angeles, California to see how it compares with the middle school models you’ve seen and envisioned to this point:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5OtEOKqmw[/youtube]

Cheers,

Lawrence

Today’s class had two distinct chunks.  Here’s the brief scoop on each one:

Lecture on Aboriginal Education

Dr. Jan Hare from LLED presented several key ideas related to working with aboriginal students and their families.  It was a thought provoking presentation that, hopefully, got you considering how you will address the needs of the diverse learners in your practicum classrooms.

Below are Shep’s notes from the presentation:

Notes on lecture by Jan Hare

Presented in the First Nations Long House

October 5, 2009

Introduction to the stories of the four House Posts:

Beaver and Eagle – carved by Lyle Wilson

–       images stress the importance of family origins

–       Cedar is essential to the life of 1^st nations people who live on the Northwest Coast

Raven and Spindle – carved by Susan Point from the Musqueam Tribe

–       through the trickster comes learning

–       Musqueam weaving a traditional art form

Wolf with Pup – carved by Walter Harris and Rodney Harris

–       stories of intergenerational nurturing

–       3 humans emphasize the importance of listening before you speak

Man and Raven – carved by Dan Bevin

– stories of transformation and change

Terms and Definitions:

Indigenous – refers to the the original peoples of the different geographic regions of the Earth

Aboriginal – an inclusive term describing the original people who inhabit a geographic location

First Nations – a narrower term describing the original people of a particular geographic location

Tribe – The specific name for the First Nations people in a specific local region

Socialization of Indigenous Children:

• Children learn language from their social and cultural world
• marked differences in language learning between B.C. schools and the context of a First Nations community which emphasizes the preservation of oral tradition and learning through storytelling.
• there are rules and protocol for sharing indigenous knowledge
• spoken word may have more authority than text
• an example of a rule is, ‘don’t speak unless you have something to say’ this means that silence is acceptable in conversation
• other rules guide how to participate in a conversation
• talking circle formats are common
• stories and language use is closely tied to the land and the seasons

Residential Schools:

• Residential Schools have had a major impact on language learning among First Nations children
• the consequences have affected subsequent generations as intergenerational teaching and communication was interrupted by the residential school experience.
• this led to the erosion of traditional family structures that supported language and literacy learning in original and second languages.
• Many people who experienced residential schools lost their ability to be parents as they struggled to cope with abuse and neglect

Looking Ahead:

• Aboriginal parents want their children to be successful in school as long as they don’t lose their culture and language.
• Aboriginal education is for everyone as we live in a diverse multicultural society
• School curriculum needs to create space for indigenous knowledge
• Aboriginal enhancements have been added to the BC Curriculum
• Shared Learnings is a B.C. Ministry of Education Curriculum Document
• Many school districts have both people and resources to support aboriginal education
• If you don’t know how to approach certain areas of the curriculum, just ask. On campus the library at the First Nations Longhouse is an excellent resource.

More Pre-315 Preparation

In this follow-up to last Tuesday’s seminar, we took questions, outlined protocols for working in a school, and reviewed professional demeanour.   In addition, we had you to think about your expectations – what did you think you would see, hear, do, and feel (in an emotional sense)?  – before embarking on the tours.

Finally, we asked you to keep your eyes open for answers to the question “What is Middle School?” as you made your way around the schools.

If you’re curious, here are links to the websites of the 4 schools we are touring:

• Hillcrest Middle School
• Minnekhada Middle School
• Montgomery Middle School
• Scott Creek Middle School

Cheers,

– Lawrence

Today was a chance for the cohort to show off its creative side as it was the due date for the Artifact Speech Reflection Task.  The task was simple but not easy.  It involved 3 steps:

1. View the videotape of your Artifact Speech
2. Consider your strengths, challenges, and goals as a public speaker
3. Present that content in any format you see fit.

Giving you choices related to product and performance is a tenet of Differentiated Instruction and is responsive to your needs as a learner.  As Carol Ann Tomlinson writes in her book, Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design:

“Just as students differ in their preferred ways of taking in and processing information, so do they vary in the manner by which they best show what they have learned.  Some students need to “do”, whereas others thrive on oral explanations.  Some excel at visual representations; others are adept at writing.  To make valid inferences about learning, teachers need to allow students to work to their strengths.  A totally standardized, one-size-fits-all approach to classroom assessment may be efficient , but it is not “fair,” because any chosen format will favor some students and penalize others.”

On the whole, the completed assignments demonstrated a remarkable combination of thoughtful reflection and creative presentation.  The end products included such things as:

• Songs
• A set of “keys” to public speaking
• Models
• A poster
• A scrapbook
• An alphabet book
• A children’s story
• A universal law
• A set of drawings
• PowerPoint presentations
• A crossword puzzle

Thanks to all who presented their handiwork to the class.

To end class, we took some time to organize the upcoming Middle School Tours.  Here’s the tour info sheet if you need one:

Middle Years School Tours Information Sheet

That’s all for now.

– Lawrence

Not even a torrential downpour could dampen the spirits of the cohort today.  Here’s what shook down:

Pre-EDUC 315 Seminar

From 10:00 – NOON we took some time to think about EDUC 315, the Tuesdays practicum.  To that end, we:

• Gathered information on your Practicum Preferences
• Reviewed the goals of EDUC 315
• Outlined what you can expect from your School Advisor
• Role played scenarios related to professional demeanour in a school setting

Potluck Lunch

From NOON to 1:00 pm we enjoyed a wonderful potluck lunch.  Thanks to all who contributed.

Ropes Course

From 1:30 to 4:30 we engaged in activities at the UBC Ropes Course.  After breaking into two groups, we tackled several problem-solving & team-building games.  My group did the following:

• 3 Object Pass
• Toxic Waste
• Tanks
• Knot or Not a Knot?
• Wrist Twister

We finished the day with a high ropes element that involved walking along a set of swinging beams and tires.

As far as I could tell, the other group tackled the Crossing the Amazon game (I may have the name wrong but I know the activity involved sharks) and the Giant Ladder as their high ropes element.

Last year’s group of TCs completed write ups for the activities they did at the course and compiled them into a .doc file.  I’ve included it here for your reference.  Inside you’ll find the intstructions for some of the the actvities we participated in as well as the guidelines for a few others:

Ropes Course Games in 2008

We are interested in your thoughts on the Ropes Course experience and urge you to leave a comment on our Topics for Discussion page.  Thanks to those who’ve done so already.

Cheers,

Lawrence

Today, Shep presented a workshop on how to get started with your ePortfolio.  One key to the successful completion of this task is to start early and update often.  Shep likened the eFolio to a travel journal; better to write the journal as you visit each locale (over the course of your B.Ed year) than to try and write it upon your return home (during the summer in EDUC 480).

This link leads to resources that should prove very useful as you develop your ePortfolio – TEO HOME > RESOURCES > EPORTFOLIOS.

If you have questions related to your ePortfolio, please seek out this cohort’s eCoaches – Adam and Joe.

That’s all for now,

Lawrence

Here’s what shook down in this class:

Me in a Bag Speeches

After sharing a few highlights from the Me in a Bag speeches to this point, we discussed the Post-Speech Analysis Task.  What you need to do is watch the video of your speech and consider the following questions:

1. What are my strengths as a speaker?
2. What challenges did I face when delivering this speech?
3. What goals will I set for my next speech / presentation?

You can use the 5Ps of Powerful Presentations as a framework for this analysis or you can touch on any other aspects of your talk that strike you.

Now, the beauty of this task is that you can present this content information in any format you see fit.  This approach to the assignment is consistent with the princicples of DI (differentiated instruction).  Here’s a 6 minute clip with some basic info on DI at the K-12 and university levels:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJmEiQ4HmEc&feature=PlayList&p=4C5E68673251FE37&index=1[/youtube]

We brainstormed an extensive list of options in class – which I promptly forgot to write down on paper, sadly.  You could consider analyzing your speech via:

• a map
• a song
• a poem
• a comic strip
• a dance
• a news article
• a poster
• a graphic organizer
• a PowerPoint
• a game show
• a model / diorama
• a sculpture
• a collage

The possibilities are well and truly endless.  The key, however, is to ensure that whatever format you choose is conducive to clearly demonstrating the content.  Shep and I are looking forward to seeing what sort of creations you come up with by the due date, Wednesday, 30 September 2009.

After discussing the analysis, we listened to the final few speeches.

Calendar

Shep noted that he will be doing an ePortfolio presentation in class on Monday, 28 September.  Please bring your laptop to this lesson and, if you don’t have one, Shep has arranged a computer for you to use during this seminar.

Also, I went over the expectations for the Ropes Course outing on Tuesday, 29 September.  Please refer to an earlier post on the ropes course if you have questions.

Course Outline

To wrap up class we handed out the course outline.  If you didn’t get one, you can find a copy of it by clicking the link below:

EDUC 316 Outline 09-10

That’s all folks.  Enjoy your weekend.

– Lawrence

Today we started the “Me in a Bag” speeches.  Before the presentations began, however, we did the following set up:

Rationale

Productive classroom environments are embedded within the teacher’s personality.  The more you can develop powerful communication skills, the more able you will be to reach all learners in your classroom.  This speech should help you develop your skills as a classroom orator.

Criteria for Assessment

We’re using the 5 Ps (+1) of Powerful Presentations to assess each speaker’s performance.  This is a tool that you can use with middle school speakers to help them remember – the 5 Ps serve as a mnemonic – how to deliver a great speech.

Here’s the file: 5 P’s of Powerful Presentations

Partners Rehearsal

We used the A/B Partners strategy to rehearse the speeches.

Delivering the Speeches

The As went with me down to the basement while the Bs stayed with Shep upstairs.  The speeches were enjoyable and will be finished up on Wednesday.  Please remember to bring your flash drive so you can take away a copy of your speech for analysis.  We’ll go in detail on how to analyze your speech next lesson.

I think we were all pleased that no one’s bag contained as many items as the bags shown in these Flickr images:

Flickr: What’s In Your Bag?

‘Til Wednesday,

Lawrence