Having a gallery walk for our inquiry projects was a great experience. Not only did we have the chance to learn about a variety of topics, but it was also a celebration in a sense. We all had worked so hard on these projects for the last couple of months, so it was nice to see what everyone came up with. And, honestly, it felt great to see others appreciating the work you put so much time into!

Being a social and emotional learning cohort, I saw a lot of our projects – no matter what the topic – ended up connecting to the topic of community somehow. Because of this, I learned a lot about why a classroom community is so important. I think one of the points that really caught my attention was the idea that a community “formulates a zest for life in students and a joyful atmosphere in the classroom.” For me this is really important and one of my personal goals. I find that a lot of students find coming to school as just a requirement, not something they are personally interested in or motivated in. However, if classrooms can have a positive atmosphere, somewhere students want to return to every morning, we might just be able to raise this motivation in students

Something I have frequently wondered about are combination classes. I have never really understood how these classes could be valuable for students or even teachers for that matter. For example, when we were being assigned practicum classes, I really did not want a combination class as I thought these classes might be taking away from student learning. That is, by trying to accommodate two different grade levels, I thought we might be missing out on a lot from each grade. However, over the last months I have learned this is not necessarily true. And, now having a look at an inquiry project I learned a lot more. These classes can actually be quite enriching experiences for student as a result of the range and diversity in these multi-age classes. For example, this diversity can offer more opportunities to for students’ self-expansion by learning from different aged-peers. Also, through the presence of different ages, students learn more about responsibility. The older students can develop a sense of caring for their younger peers and the younger can observe the older as role models of positive responsibility.

Since the beginning of the program we have had many dialogues about individual student needs and our responsibility as educators to meet these needs. This is not a simple task and we will become more comfortable with experience. A project I looked at about differentiated instruction really spoke to this topic. There are four different methods of incorporating differentiated instruction in your classroom to meet diverse student needs. First is content – teaching material using a variety of different techniques (auditory, visual, groups, individual work, etc.). Second is process and providing different ways for students to learn material – using manipulatives, using rubrics and allowing extra time for work completion if needed. Fourth is product and allowing students to show their work through various representations. For example, writing, drawing, drama plays, etc. Lastly, is classroom environment, creating learning spaces meeting individual student comfort levels – again tying into the notion of community.

Another inquiry project had some great information about creating your own classroom community. What I really liked was the idea that there is no one recipe, formula or process to create a community. Really, the creation is mediated by how the class operated and how relationships are developed. I think this is really important because every year, as a teacher, the process will be different with new students. Four points that really stuck out for me were giving the students responsibility in the class – this builds pride and ownership; using humor – this can add to the comfort level in the class and just general joy; allowing opportunities for sharing personal stories – this fosters relationship building and a sense of belonging; and lastly, having a class name. Having a class name was my favorite, I can see this building a bond between the students and a sense of collaboration.

Lastly, I have never really looked into the topic of creativity and there was a very informing project by one of my colleagues. Creativity is really important as it fosters individual growth, which is so rewarding. Something really interesting I read about is “genius hour.” This is time dedicated for students to explore what they feel most passionately about personally. I can see this being so rewarding for students as most of the time in schools they are required to engage in content and materials chosen by teachers and administrators. This time would almost be like their own inquiry, even if it is into the simplest of topics!