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.

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