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.

__________________

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.