Day 62: Taking Risks

Recently, Kit Luce and I had the opportunity to spend time with intermediate teachers at Worsley Elementary School in Wasaga Beach.  A number of important ideas came out of our learning with the teachers and students.  One particular overarching theme that existed throughout the week centred around “Taking Risks”.  

Going into schools classrooms and planning lessons for students we do not know can seem risky.  We could only make educated guesses about whether we would be meeting their needs.  There may be a perception that we have the answers...when, in reality, we are coming in with questions and just as eager to learn with the classroom teachers and with the students.

The teachers take risks also.  They invite us into their rooms and we are grateful for that.  We get to see varied classroom setups, amazing approaches to teaching and it gives us the opportunity to learn from and WITH the teachers.

Lastly, we saw risk taking by the grade 7 and 8 students in how they responded to having us in their learning space. The students were incredibly kind and gracious with us.  We know very little about them and they gave us their time and attention and shared their thinking with us.  We recognized that they extended the trust they have in their teachers to us. We appreciate that and do not take it lightly.

Another conclusion we came to was the importance of Consolidation in math lessons. Our focus was to show how we could meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom through the use of manipulatives and open and parallel tasks. Varied representations of algebraic expressions provided for multiple entry points for student understanding.

The task:

Roll a number cube twice to fill in the blanks in this pattern rule:  Start at ____, increase by ____

(no snake eyes)

• represent this pattern using manipulatives, creating the first 4 terms
• on your white board,  represent this pattern visually, using a table of values, numerically, graphically?

What would be 10th term?

Challenge? What would be the 100th term?

                   How can you determine an algebraic expression for your pattern?

When we looked at the patterns created we focused on the connections between the visual representations and the table of values in order to develop the algebraic expression.

  

What we recognized was that consolidating conceptual understanding is essential everyday, even if the concept is revisited the next day.  The consolidation phase is where we remove the context from the activity.  This deconstruction provides students with the understanding and, hopefully, the confidence to practice and grasp the learning goal.

Thank you to Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. Ferris, Mr. Pike, Mr. McLean and Mr. Kemp at Worsley Elementary School for your professionalism, enthusiasm and guidance.

Day 33: Moving from our Comfort Zone

So this is my first blog post. I have to admit I feel a little uncomfortable with writing this. It is so out of my comfort zone! But, I know that is exactly the reason why I should do it! So here goes…

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the SIM (System Implementation and Monitoring) sessions for the Barrie Region. The two days were filled with lots of opportunity to learn and I found myself reflecting on that learning for some time. I thought a lot about MJ Gallagher’s suggestion that it is a leader’s role to comfort the distressed and distress the comfortable. I also thought about and agreed with the emphasis placed on remembering the human factor in everything we do. After an almost exclusive SIM focus on Math last year, Literacy was highlighted again and I really liked that the focus seems to have grown to include the critical literacy needed for our learners to navigate the digital world. Overall, the messages delivered at SIM seemed to confirm that Simcoe is not only the right path but is leading in many ways. I thought about how lucky we are here in Simcoe, and specifically, how lucky we are as part of the Program and Innovation Team because our leaders have given us “permission to innovate.” It speaks to the trust that has been developed in our system. Presenters at SIM spoke of how important it is to cultivate a culture of innovation and a culture of inquiry. I have been reflecting on what was started last year and I am excited by the possibilities this year.

Day 30 : Multidirectional Learning

A wise woman once said there is "No day without learning", and today was no exception!  This afternoon we worked with a passionate group of educators who wanted to dig into Blogging!  We realized quickly that we needed to take a few steps back before we could progress. Last year, our system moved forward rapidly with technology enabled learning, yet we are still on a learning curve.  After a summer of digital detox, we need to have patience with refreshing our own skills. We can relate to those students in our class who come back after a summer and may be a little rusty with some of their skills.  Our learning continues to move forward, but sometimes we need to take different directions (or step sideways or backwards) to regain our momentum.

Using the EasyBlogger Jr app

Learning can also shift direction based on the influence of our collaborators.  Today we experienced new learning when one of the participants shared the gadget on Blogger for Google Translate. This enables us to be more inclusive of the increasing multicultural communities in our county, as we communicate on our blogs.

Setting up our first blogs!

The journey will be ongoing as several of the participants in our session are going to continue their learning down different paths. Some will back up and revisit areas they wish to explore further, others might step sideways and explore other platforms or tools to support them, and some might even take a rest from the journey.  We felt honoured to be tour guides "on the side" as we brushed up on our skills and learned on our own pathway. We invite you to join us in our trek toward making our learning visible through blogging.  A "roadmap" for this excursion can be found in this shared Google Folder: bit.ly/EasyBloggerJr

Louise Owen & Marie Swift

Day12: Respect, Compassion and Gratitude

Some time ago I had the privilege to train under Sensei Phil McColl and O’Sensei Don Warrener in Goju Ryu Karate Do. The tenets that governed this martial arts instruction were respect, compassion and gratitude. As we embark on a fresh school year, I am reminded of the parallels between instruction in the dojo (martial arts training hall) and in the classroom.

Commonly interpreted as ‘teacher’, the literal translation of the Japanese term ‘Sensei’ is ‘one who has gone before’. It is from this interpretation that the tenets of respect and compassion are best understood. The karate ka (student) from the outset of his or her training is taught to show respect toward the Sensei and toward fellow students. By way of counterpoint, instructors and senior students are expected to show compassion for students who have less experience or need extra help. Ongoing respect and compassion help to create a positive, collaborative and harmonious learning environment in the dojo.

Is this so different in SCDSB schools and classrooms? When I have the opportunity to observe student learning in our classrooms, I am pleased to see evidence of respect and compassion in our students’ work, our teachers’ lesson plans and in the classroom environment. Listen for the evidence of respect and compassion in the following SCDSB student’s account of his grade 9 mathematics experience:

The third tenet of martial arts training that I remember well is gratitude. In the dojo we were grateful for our Sensei, our training facilities and partners and our loved ones. As an educator in SCDSB I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and teach, my students, my supervisors and colleagues, available learning tools and my loved ones.

I wonder if we had more explicit discussions with our students and colleagues about respect, compassion and gratitude if it would help to create an even more positive learning environment in our classrooms. I wonder how this way of thinking could complement our dedication to the fostering of growth mindsets. My humble challenge to the reader is to look for, encourage and celebrate with students the evidence of respect, compassion and gratitude in our daily work.

References

Sensei Phil McColl, McMaster Goju Ryu Karate Dojo

http://www.gojuryukarate.ca/macdojo/sensei.html

O’Sensei Don Warrener, Don Warrener’s Martial Arts Academy

http://www.gojuryukarate.ca/macdojo/osensei.html

Day 11: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Learning

Today we had the privilege of spending time with intermediate students (and teachers Marci Hunter and Jason Fishpool) at Ardtrea-Cumberland Beach Public School, as two classes were engaged in a range of technology-enabled activities lead by Tyler Cave.  His passion for entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving through technology was evident in every challenge he offered the students.

   

In one classroom (as well as an outdoor space), students had opportunities to experiment with a carousel of learning with Makey Makey, littleBits, Reality Goggles, Dash and Dot Robots, Sparkfun Inventor's Kits, a Roominate Building Kit, a Snap Circuits Rover, Cubelets Robot Blocks, a Vex Robotics IQ kit, an Arduino kit, a Logics Bumble Bee, among others. Students customized their own learning in a digitally rich environment.  

           

In another classroom, students were navigated through discussions that developed an understanding of role collaboration, design thinking, construction and evaluation.  They were given kits that included a wide range of materials to develop a Hovercraft.  The groups were given time to plan, design and build!  Were all groups successful on their first attempt?  No.  But they went back to the original design, assessed the model, made modifications, and tried again!
What came out of this valuable experience was a great deal of student choice and voice, meaningful discussions, and collaborative learning.  What was most inspiring was the perseverance and determination these students demonstrated.  For this group, "giving up" was not an option!  
Ardtrea students discovered, experimented, constructed and created throughout their day, with few limitations and minimal guidance.  In short, the students found constructive, fun ways to LEARN!  

Thank you to Marci Hunter and Jason Fishpool for inviting us into your amazing classrooms. Thank you to Tyler Cave for taking student engagement and innovation to a new level!

"Think left and think right and think low and think high.  Oh, the thinks you can think, if only you try!" ~ Dr. Seuss

Marci, Jill, and Paulyne

Day 5: Life is Meant to be EPIC!

I love this time of year.  A time of excitement and new beginnings….and best of all new shoes!  Maybe, if you’re lucky, two pairs of new shoes - a pair of indoors AND outdoors.  

When you are a teacher and it’s the first week of school, people are always interested in how your week is going. When you are a kid at this time of year, it’s the same thing. I asked many students about their first week of school and most of them responded with a “good”, “great” or, “okay”...but a couple of them replied with an enthusiastic:

“EPIC!”

For one student, his week was ‘epic’ because he landed in the same class as his pals, for another she was excited because she FINALLY got to wear her brand new shoes! For me, it didn’t matter what the reason was, I just loved their enthusiasm.  I started reflecting on their responses and I was inspired by their passion.  Then, I came across the following video from John Spencer and I knew I just had to write this post. Sometimes, (especially this week), I get caught up in the the busyness of life, the discomfort of conflict, and I forget about the important things...like passion, purpose and people.

In the video, John says that epic stories aren't comfortable. It's true! I encourage you to think about the school year ahead. Push beyond your comfort zone and go ahead...make it EPIC!

Day 3 - It Takes a Little Time

Here we are 3 days into the 2015-2016 school year and I am coming to realize something that I had forgotten. In our world of instant access to everything, I had forgotten the necessity of time to process. 
For the last three days, I have been struggling to learn new software. I have to learn to work within it because it is the only thing that will work for the intended purpose. I admit, this learning is not fun, it is hard and sometimes I have been hugely frustrated. It is taking way more time than I actually have to give, but, when I finally figure something out and make it do what I want it to, the feeling of self-satisfaction is fantastic!
Last night I was thinking about this process and looking through the student lens.  As teachers, I think we often want to make everything go smoothly for our kids, we want everything to work and work the first time. I'm coming to understand that it is in the process, in the struggle that the real lessons come. That feeling of, "I figured it out!" is what builds self-motivation to learn. We need to give ourselves and our students the permission to take the time to think, work and figure it out. The lessons of that process are the building blocks of real learning. Even though it's not fun, I'm persevering because in the end, it will be worth it!