The year at David Livingstone is drawing to a close. Students have been working hard over the last week, by writing thank you posters for local businesses who donated money for the trip to the Yukon. Over the last two decades, Ms. Cassie has worked really hard at building good relationships with local business. The Main Street corridor donates a lot of money towards the trips every year. It is nice to see that a good relationship goes a long way. Making sure to say thanks is important. Students create large posters and decorate them. A picture of all 54 students, who went on the trip, has been attached to the bottom of each poster to show the impact that the businesses’ contribution has on David Livingstone students. On Friday we go out an deliver them.

The year has really been amazing. I had always imagined that I would have a good time teaching but this process has taught me so much about myself. It really has been a journey, and I almost hate to say it but, I have changed. So much about this process, as far as I can tell, is about humility, co-operating, and working hard. Taking in so much feedback is a very difficult thing, especially when you are working so hard. The results, on the other hand, are undeniable. I really feel like I have grown into a “teacher”

Now, I suppose the anxiety begins. Will I get a job? I hope so. I really do love this profession. It is far more work than I thought it could be, but it is by far the most rewarding work I have ever participated in. Working with young people is just so amazing!

Now to reflect about the inquiry presentation at the Vancouver Public Library. Wow! What an event.

For about 5 hours divisions 1 and 2 filled the VPL’s promenade. At first there ways a little nervousness on my part; as I thought to myself “Will anyone talk to these kids?” Not only did many people take a genuine interest in the students project, lots of members of the public would stop and talk with a group for 30 minutes. IT HAPPENED CONSTANTLY! It was so great to see students genuinely engage with members of the public for so long. What a wonderful time.

I invited my 96 year old grandmother, who happens to be a retired teacher, to come down to the event. She took the handy-dart and arrived at around 11:00am. She made here way through every poster. She couldn’t believe how great the students were. That means something coming from a pro like her!

It was great to see the product of a year of work on display. You can really see the impact that a large field trip, and a yearly theme has on learning. The students REALLY knew what they were talking about.

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So know it is the last day and I am met with mixed emotions. On one hand I am thinking “yes! I am FINISHED” on the other hand I am sad that my time with the students has drawn to a close. Yesterday we went to the beach. It was a nice way to finish off the school year.  Today we are cleaning. There is lots to do but the kids are pretty ambicious. They seem content to clean for hours.  I have cleaned up my desk and have gathered my things. It seem odd to think that I will not be back in the classroom after sending so much time, and work, here. L

Well, I have reached that point. It is the day before we depart Skagway Alaska and head back home. The year culminating field trip seems as though it is over before it began. After all of this preparation, the end is here. The final day of our trip was spent with mostly free time. It was a refreshing change of pace that let most of us relax and enjoy what we have accomplished over the course of this trip and the year. The last hour of our day was a large game of opt-in soccer, dorm time, or park time. What an amazing end to an amazing experience.
During our time in Skagway we went on a historic tour of downtown. From the teaching perspective it was refreshing to hear our guide concede that the students knew more than she did. It was hilarious for everyone and a fun time.
A trip of this scale is bound to have its ups and downs. There were periods of incredible stress. Moments when you think you have lost a student, or there is a serious behaviour management issue, Now as I lay in the internet cafe across the street from my hotel room I am writing my final reflection.
Beyond the learning, what has been great about this trip is seeing the friendships form that you previously would not have seen much of in a school setting. Students who were previously not super friendly with one another became quite close.
Throughout this experience I have seen students working quite hard on their inquiry projects, and I have been recording little notes when I see things that I think are good. I worked one – on – one with the students who needed extra support. The way that the field trip was organized however, made it possible to only meaningfully observe about 50% of my classes’s work on their inquiry project. A lot of meaningful assessment will have to continue to take place after we return home.

BREAK — time passes!

IT is now 9:11am on June 2nd. We have boarded the train from Skagway to Whitehorse. The train is an idyllic ride through steep peaked mountains. The views are just astonishing. As this ride makes it way across the jagged rock some students are working diligently on their inquiry projects while others are playing cards.
It was a 5:30 am wake up call today. Many students are fighting the urge to sleep as they recognize these are the last moments of their trip. We will see how long that adrenaline will last. Soon, I imagine many of them will be sleeping.
Throughout the trip we have been exposed to a number of different ecosystems. So many things which tied into my science lessons were noticeable. One thing I am really glad which I looked at with the class was the concept of the midnight sun. We looked at why the sun sets so late in the north. The reality of dealing with the midnight sun was another issue, especially when we were camping.
We had one student, who repeatedly woke up at about 3:00 am because it started to get very bright outside. He would wake up and assume that the camp had packed up and left without him, while in reality everyone was still sleeping. Everyone, including the student, had a good laugh about this. It is really disorienting! I also have to laugh because the same thing ended up happening to me. One night we moved inside a cabin instead of camping because it was pretty cold and wet. Inside the cabin, I was on the bottom floor while the students, and another adult were upstairs. I woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t see any students. Alarmed I sprung to life, put on my shoes and went screaming out the door. In my semi-conscious state I imagined that I had forgotten the students outside! My panic quickly dissipated however when I saw the pile of shoes outside the front door. “Oh yeah!” I thought, after realizing we had moved inside the cabin for the night. When I recounted this story to the other teachers in the morning, they laughed and said that I “Pulled a S” Pretty funny indeed.
Overall the trip has been wonderful. I think another reflection in a few days will be warranted once all the excitement of the trip has gone. It is amazing how many experiences one can have in such a short period of time. A bond between the students has been built. A bond between the teachers and students has been built. At the end of the year it will be hard to say good-bye.

BREAK – Some time passes

Now as I sit in the Tim Horton’s at the Vancouver International Airport I will write my final piece of the day. it was a long one. Wake up was at 5:30 am and I am just sitting down now, at 8:17 pm to post some final thoughts. Pretty much the entire day was travel, much of it was on the train which was relatively relaxed and allowed for students to freely mix with one another. This was a great way to just have some final bonding! Parent pick up went smoothly. Most parents were waiting for students at the door. A few students had to wait about 20 minutes before their parents arrived. That was bound to be happen in  a group this large.

Overall I have to say the trip went really well. We are tired. Beat. Exhausted. But with the hard work comes a sense that we can walk a little taller; proud of our accomplishments. All this preparation, and now its done. All of the years learning was brought together by actually visiting the historic site. I can’t believe how much I learned. And the ideas that you are not sure are right or wrong in your head that are confirmed by your visit.

I am so tired now. I hope this made sense. I think I will post again when I have had some time to regroup.

See you soon!

First, a note: Internet has been few and far between in the Yukon. What I have been able to get a hold of so far has been slow, making it very difficult to attach photos to this post.  Cellular data (when I have had reception) has been good however so I have been posting some photo’s to my Twitter. Search #YukonTrip2016 on twitter to see what I and my fellow leaders have been posting throughout the trip. 

I was fortunate to be placed in a practicum classroom that has a large scale year culminating field trip. Throughout my long practicum I have been delivering a blended language arts program which looks at both English language as well as Social Studies curriculum. As the term has progressed I have been using Pierre Berton’s “Klondike” to study the last great gold rush! Perhaps you have heard of it.

The year has been spent reviewing tales of prospectors who made the treacherous trip up the Yukon River in hopes of striking it rich. What has been so interesting about this practicum is that the class is able to make real life connections to what they have been studying. For our “year culminating trip” we have ventured to Canada’s North, the Yukon Territory, in the hopes of seeing something REAL relating to what we are learning.

Before I go into the learning that has taken place on the trip, I would first like to remind you the wonderful effects that the “big trip” had on classroom learning throughout the year. Because the students knew they were going to the Klondike, the bar (as far as I can tell) was raised. Student engagement throughout the semester was high. Towards the end of the semester, students began working on their inquiry projects, which are in depth research projects about topics of interest that relate to the driving question “What does the north contribute to Canada’s story?”

A lot of learning has taken place. The activities which we have been lucky enough to participate in, for the most part, directly relate to student inquiry projects. In order to facilitate some note taking I, and Ms. Mack (Division 2) teacher, developed an Inquiry notebook which had some prompts in it, as well as some paper to freely write notes on. It has been such a joy to see students pulling out their notebooks when some important information comes up in a presentation. There has been multiple occasions where students are asking for email so they can as more questions.

Some of the groups, who have benefited the most, where the inquiry projects who are studying some history relation to First Nations. The first hand accounts which students have come into contact with over the course of this trip has been amazing. So many of our the people sharing the history have been amazed at the level of understanding students are coming up with. This high level of knowledge has resulted in thoughtful questions which drives an even deeper understanding of the material.

Beyond the inquiry there is so much more to write about. I will briefly talk about some of it but save a more detailed account for another posting as it is late and I need to sleep. One thing about this trip has been the incredible amount of work it takes to keep 54 students happy, rested, and socially responsible in this sort of environment. The days have been long and packed with things to do. Many of the adults are feeling overwhelmed with the workload although I am trying to take it in stride. I am having the time of my life. Yes, I am tired, but this has been the trip of the lifetime and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it!

Another thing worth mentioning is all the “drama” that goes along with a school trip. The “meltdowns” which have not happened that much this trip. The inappropriate behavior during dorm time. Loud restaurants. THE FORGETFULNESS!! 54 students leave so much stuff behind! It is unbelievable (although I suppose I can’t complain as on TOC day I forgot my water bottle in Amanda’s room) It really is frustrating while simultaneously funny and cute seeing what students leave behind. When you end up handing it back you a hero for about a minute.

Today I am writing from Dawson City. The place which we have studied throughout the year. Even from the teacher’s perspective I am learning so much. Not only about the history but about the students. Many students have had the opportunity to come out of their shells. I think about one instance which happened last evening. While on the paddle boat, a student who is usually very shy approached me with a huge smile on her face and told me a joke. She was full of joy and laughter and continued merrily only her way with a friend who was equally possessed with laughter.  This was a student who had never really initiate conversation with me in that way before. We have spoken many times but it is usually I who starts the discussion. This time she was just so eager to share her joke. It felt like such a “win.” Seeing students come out of their shells and showing a new side of themselves has been amazing to witness.

Well, it is getting late and I have a relatively late wake-up call at 7:00 am. We are going to eat a breakfast provided by the hotel. They seriously make the best “hotel coffee” I have ever had. I did a little of inquiry of my own and the server told me that she comes from Sweden where strong coffee is a must. I am sad that we are departing tomorrow as it will be my last cup of STRONG coffee. Alas, we will have to see what Skagway offers, but util then you will just have to wait to see.

CHEERS!

PS

Camping in the Yukon has been cold and I wish I packed a better pillow!

Well, I have finally calmed down enough in my practicum to feel comfortable taking time to reflect about my experience. Before it was lots and lots of late nights developing lessons from resources that were not traditional textbooks. You know, it is pretty hard creating lessons from scratch. With more an more exposure, however, I think I am getting better at it. Admittedly I still have places to grow but man… what an amazing experience practicum has been so far.

TOC day. I got the call Sunday night. I had somewhat expected it as I figured Yvonne would like to see how well we prepared for the Monday, especially considering what a nice evening Friday was. Luckily I spent the time on Friday to leave, what I hope, was a very well described plan. It was quite length, a narrative almost, but there is so much consideration that goes into each lesson I find it hard NOT to write a lot of information down. Anyway, I will have to read over Madeline’s blog to see how the day went!

As for my experience in Amanda’s grade 3/4 classroom. First. When I heard I was going to Amanda’s room I was pretty excited. Beyond liking her as a person, I know as a professional she would be prepped/planned/prepared. I was not surprised to find the day thoroughly planned out. Her instructions were easy to follow and I did not have to ask Megan (her SA) much at all. In fact, Megan seemed quite content to give me full control. In many ways, it felt like a very genuine TOC experience. Megan was only in the classroom for a handful of minutes throughout the day.

I did not really have too many problems throughout the day. Amanda’s class was very respectful. It was a room full of athletes. It seemed as though every student had some news to share about their soccer victory over the weekend. One tool that I very much missed was the random group generator. I just find that tool is a great way to get students up and about. It is a chance for them to move around and interact with new students. It adds a breath of freshness to the educational experience.

It was really great to gain some experience with some younger students. I have to say that they were a lot of fun. I was slightly nervous heading in that I would not have the strategies to manage younger students. I quickly realized that I could manage. What was mild anxiety turned to excitement and interest as soon as the first student walked through the door. My curious nature means that any latent anxiousness is quickly counteracted by a question that pops into my head about any new people that I meet!

It is interesting to note the behavioral differences between grade 3s and grade 7s. Admittedly my experience with the grade 3s is more limited but I believe I noticed a few things worth mentioning. First of all, the younger ones are more prone to calling out. It seems, that for some, it is very difficult to resist sharing some little bit of information that they have. Whereas the younger students seem unaware of the boundaries they are pushing, grade 7s often actively seek to push boundaries. As a grade 7 teacher there are many students who want to be the “class clown”  in Amanda’s grade 3/4 class, I did not see any of that.

Another nice piece of the TOC day is having an opportunity to explore the culture of Surrey schools. I have long been curious about what my colleagues have been up to on the other side of the river. It can be somewhat isolating by myself at David Livingstone! It was really great to see some faces that I have not seen in a while and get exposure to the innovated district that is Surrey. Megan took a few minutes after class to show me Fresh Grade and how she uses it. I have taken some time on my own to “mess around” with Fresh Grade but you can only do so much when you do not actually use it in the classroom. Megan went through several of her assessments and explained where she saw value.

Overall, a very interesting and fun day. I definitely notice that the younger grades get a little bit more frigidity the longer activities go.  Going forward I really want more experience working with the younger grades. Younger students passion for learning is brilliant. You can see the emotion in the students eyes boil over when they figure something out for the first time. Anyway this was more long winded than I intended it to be. I think it is best to stop at this point. Maybe I will think a little bit more and post another reflection in time. I kind of wish we had more days to do the TOC thing though. The challenge is exciting and the change of grade a welcome experience.

Cheers!

Notes:

As I said early I was going to wait a little while before posting some of my other week’s practicum reflections.  It is an interesting process to post privately, in Google docs then repost publicly on my blog. Having these anchors to come back to give me more to reflect about as I go forward.  Stay tuned!

Week 3 Reflection

The third week has come to a close and I have had so many positive experiences. First notable part of the practicum experience has been workload. I have been putting in a lot of hours which is simultaneously rewarding, because I see the results of my hard work, and stressful as time for other things (like family, exercise and leisure) have been reduced. During this time I am really trying to show what I can deliver!

Reflecting on my teaching, pedagogy and philosophy.

After being observed in my math lesson there were a few points where I feel that I could work on. First, with regards to the way I structure my lessons it is important that students always have something to do. I have been exploring how the random group generator works in order to help control pacing in the classroom. One of main features of teaching math is the range of aptitudes that are noticeable in each class. While some students breeze through math worksheets, others take much longer to complete the task. Part of my teaching practice, with math now, has been looking for ways for students who have finished their work quickly to still have something productive to do. Since my reflection I have experimented with having the students create their own questions. Which worked, although I want to have more tools in my kit to keep the students who quickly finish their work productive and engaged. I have also started to develop some challenge questions that students can work on. I have also, prepped for my next lesson, designed a lesson where we work on the answers together as a class. By restricting the class to one question at a time, having the students answer their questions with the senteo clickers, and then having students volunteer to come up and show their understanding by solving the questions in front of the class several class management objectives have been obtained. We have a class where engagement is high, where students are scaffolding each other, and students are busy all the time. There should not as much opportunity for “idle hands”

Another thing which has been happening in the practicum has been the opportunity to collaborate with another teacher. Because I am heavily platooned with the other 6/7 class we are teaching the same material. Although we are delivering the content in different ways to meet the needs of our individual classes, we have had the opportunity to come together build lessons and brainstorm ideas. This has been a wonderful part of the practicum so far, and I am grateful to have to opportunity to learn from experienced professionals who are so dedicated to their work.

I went into the practicum with the hope of exploring the community around the school. Placed-based education has been a big influence on my pedagogy and as a result I have taken the opportunity to extend learning beyond the classroom. I have been out in the garden, fundraising in the streets and meeting with parents after school. The chance to make some of the school walls “melt away” has been great. Going forward I have even co-planned a lesson (with Teala) where we go onto Mainstreet and ask the public “What does it mean to be Canadian?” As part of an introduction to the Inquiry Unit where we are exploring the driving question “What does Canada’s north contribute to Canadian Identity?”

Overall, practicum has left me tired and inspired. Can’t wait for week for!

Time.

How I have changed since the first week of teaching. When I first started all I could think about was: how am I going to fill all that time? Today the experience is much different. As I am up against the wall of “going to the Yukon” I have found it very difficult to get everything in that I wanted to. Time is such a limited resources and finding the teaching hours to successfully deliver meaningful content is difficult. How do I get it all in? I suppose I must be content with delivering as much as I can without sacrificing quality of teaching. There definitely seems to be a trade off. For students to properly digest, understand and work with material, I have seen, that they need time to process it. You must repeatedly come back to material in different ways, from different angles to solve different problems while continuously working on the same overall theme.

The experience of working with a class theme of the Klondike has shown me the incredible power of a class theme as well as the power of cross curricular studies. To date,  it has been so rewarding to teach my class. Seeing the result of the hard work pay off has been a tremendous experience.  Now that we are approaching our trip to the Yukon, I must admit that I too am anxiously anticipating the trip.  By having to create and teach all of my material I have become quite familiar with the history of the Klondike Gold Rush. As a result, I can not wait to see what it like why I get up there!

Time. Finding the right mix of depth and “fresh” is critical to making the most of it.

Tune in for another post very soon. TOC is approaching tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what life is like in other classrooms. We will see!

I began writing my reflections in a folder baried somewhere in Google docs. During this time I was as stressed as I have ever been in school. Since this time I have replaced this stress with hard work. Toady I am starting to find a health medium, although it is almost 8 o’clock as I write this from my classroom.

Here were my first thoughts!

WEEK 1 – Reflection

Week one is done. I have to say I am feeling the stress of getting everything done. There just does not seem to be enough minutes in the day. To get everything done that needs to be done. It is amazing to be in the teaching element full time now. My SA is one of the hardest working people I have ever met. She has set the bar high, and for that I am appreciative. I feel so fortunate, at this early point in the practicum to be surrounded by dedicated teachers.

Planning, planning, planning. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it. But I am putting in the hours to get stay on top of things. The demands of detailed lesson planning are keeping me up late. But I am getting them done.

To reflect on how my teaching went over the first week. For the most part I think my lessons were very successful. My lessons are taking me longer than I thought they would. Many lessons are turning from 1 into 2. Although I am still learning my timing, I can definitely feel that I am beginning to settle in. The students I am working with are just wonderful. For the most part, I feel at ease in front of the class. I am getting more and more comfortable controlling the classroom using quiet technique which require patience instead of a more heavy approach.

I can’t wait to continue the practicum. The challenge has begun, and yes is a challenge. I hope I can raise myself up to the bar. I plan on giving it my all.

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I will post more of my reflections from practicum over the next few days. I am find the process of reading through my notes quite interesting/telling.  Stay tuned. 🙂 I have to plan a Math lesson now.

A quick reflection on my inquiry synthesis.

Today, I presented a synthesis of my understanding of assigning homework at the elementary level. My inquiry has felt simultaneously long and short. As the pressures of the semester coming to a close continue to mount, the inquiry remained at the front of my mind. I have really enjoyed reading about and looking into my topic.

For my synthesis I drew from several resources. With respect to “Where I came from”, the paper which really shaped my inquiry was an article by Alfie Kohn titled Re-thinking Homework which can be found on his blog. This article cemented in my mind that homework is not as straight forward as one may think. At the very least, I began to understand that some critical thought was required with respect to it. Currently, I am interested in learning more about homework clubs as described by Lauren Slagter in Homework Club Offers Support Beyond Academics. Finding ways to bridge homework and community is part of the place-based approach to education that is evolving as my teaching philosophy. Homework clubs can create a safe, relaxing, and welcoming environment where students are free to do as much or as little homework as they like. Usually students would have access to help if needed. It is a positive working environment which many students may not have access to at home. Finally, with respect to “where I am going” I think the ultimate resource will be: myself and the classroom I am headed into. By paying close attention to my experiences in the room, I think I will be able to gain new insight about homework.

For my synthesis I chose to do an elevator pitch. It was a relatively quick presentation which explained my journey of understanding homework. I thought the pitch went well. I tried to be brief, which was harder than I had imagined, and entertaining. I find if the audience is having some level of fun they tend to absorb some of the things I am saying. If I can get my message across enough to stimulate some critical responses then I feel I have done my job.

I was trilled with the response from the class. Other TCs seemed to take interest in what I had to say and challenged me with some interesting and thoughtful questions.  Along side this post I have attached the notes which I used for my elevator pitch.

As I go forward with my practicum I am hoping to integrate my inquiry into my practice. By assigning homework through the lens of understanding community rather than “traditional worksheets” students are more likely to make meaningful connections to the content they are learning.

Inquiry Synthesis.pdf

As I continue to think about the role of homework new ideas have come to mind. It seems that the latter part of this semester has largely been focused on outdoor education. This is due, mostly, to the fact that one of our professors Hartley Banack advocates for its use on a regular basis. Getting outside is something that is fairly simple and because walking trips do not generally require a permission slip the barriers to getting outside are not that large.

Looking at The Benefits of Place-Based Education as a resource we can see that outdoor education has many benefits beyond what one’s intuition might be.  For example, most would probably agree that students generally like being outside because of the many opportunities for play. Catching students in this “play” mode is critical to find ways to integrate teachable moments to outdoor education. When children are playing they are, for the most part, participating in exploratory practice. There is a high level of engagement which, generally, means a path to student learning.

Because may inquiry is on homework, I often look at many of the subjects we cover at UBC and wonder how they might relate to my inquiry project. As I have repeated stated: I want to know how to create meaningful homework that is not over burdensome but allows for students to make connections in their world outside of school to what they experience in the classroom. This is where I see amazing potential to integrate place-based learning and outdoor education with student homework.

If, for example, a teacher were to assign homework which ask students to be mindful of their community over the course of a few weeks the class could gather a lot of information about the surrounding neighborhood. From the discoveries of this sort of work, many lessons could emerge. If, a student noticed that a lot of garbage had been dumped in a certain area near the entrance to a community garden a lesson about waste would hold a lot of water with the students. Other students might be encouraged to go explore the are for themselves. They might try to figure out why people are dumping they stuff in that area. If student passion is high enough, a field trip might be possible. Where students not only go and help to clean up the area but might participate in analyzing what the garbage is. Maybe a lot of the materials that were thrown away were recyclable and an awareness initiative could be started to encourage the local residents to recycle.

As you can see, possibilities for teachable moments are increased just by having an understanding of what is happening in the community around the school. Students have the ability to be impactful agents in their communities and make a REAL difference. The learning opportunities are diverse and rich. By integrating this approach with how we assign homework, I believe that we can extend learning in the classroom.

Something worth exploring.

I think.