J. Riddell Matte (2021) It only took me all term…[photograph of a mess on my kitchen table]
It only took me all term to shake off January. It only took me all term to stop being distracted by my own face on zoom. It only took me all term to appease the digi-gods enough that they are finally allowing me to submit my assignments on Brightspace.
It only took me all term to blog about my Personal Learning Network (PLN).
On Wednesday, I left the EdTech Camp ‘Assessment’ breakout room full of hope and inspiration at all that the other participants in the breakout room have accomplished, what they are still working towards and as I head into my first practicum – what is possible in terms of assessment. Then, I picked up my kids from school, made snacks, immediately joined a recommended facebook group and realized that I had been thinking that I needed to feel as though I was ‘connected’ to some greater network-machine, like a fancy pre-covid cocktail party full of small talk with my peers, teachers and other education professionals. But, before I made dinner and did more homework that evening, I also realized that for me, a PLN, is about curating support in ways that are convenient right now. I know that joining one facebook group is not enough, but I like that there are facebook groups, and although Twitter and longterm blogging are not for me, Instagram is. Instagram is easy to engage with, practical and informative. I like the image driven platform, the story options and I truly appreciate all of the educational professionals who are willing to share their pedagogy and practice.
I believe that my personal learning network will expand, as the reality of the pandemic shifts and as my professional practice evolves, but for now, I’m working on it.
First, I would like to say that I wholeheartedly agree that Minecraft is an incredible learning tool. I have witnessed it in action with my own kids, both in an educational context and free play (which is arguably educational as well) and I am continually impressed with the real world knowledge they glean from the game and the incredible structures that they are able to effortlessly build.
But….
I have SO many questions!!
In discussion with my pod I have been reassured that the game is really not that complicated and advised that a mouse would be better for navigating than the Mac tracking pad that I’m currently using…..but I am not even sure that I want to invest the play-time required solve some of my Minecraft mysteries, especially when we are already spending so much time online.
Ms. James presented a very engaged perspective, one where she was just as passionate about the program as her students, but what if you’re not? What if, as a teacher, you want to engage your students and enhance their learning opportunities and enable them to experience this tech, enjoying all the benefits that come along with that, but don’t love gaming yourself? How far down the gaming path do we need to go, to properly/successfully implement these programs in the classroom?
Update:: Since writing this post, I have played Minecraft with the fantastically supportive and patient members of my tech pod. I am happy to report that my kid built me a crafting table, I learned how to pick flowers, gather seeds, collect chicken eggs, cut down trees and I even built a fence with a friend (which we then lured a flock of chickens into!)…and it was actually kinda ok!?
Knock, knock…Who’s there? Diamond….Diamond who? You’re diamond me crazy!
Authentic vs Artificial Self is something that I’ve been thinking about for a while now, both as a grown-up human person and professionally. The closer I am to having the privilege of engaging small humans in learning, the more important it feels that I gain a better grasp of this in order to be the kind of teacher I hope to be!
One of the things I appreciate most during this interview was Maxwell’s perspective on ‘value’ as it relates to how we see and engage with our students, the enjoyment that we take from our job as teachers and how these contribute towards creating a greater sense of community that supports authentic learning. He also suggests that in order to foster authenticity we must provide opportunities for young people to experience true accountability, both as a learning tool and community building, similar to the summative exhibition held at High Tech High.
I found this next video to be extremely valuable in perspective building and expanding on the understandings of authenticity, and value, as they occur beyond the self and out into the wider world.
Although Jodi-Ann Burey is speaking about authenticity in the workplace, her message is an important one to consider, as it truly applies to classroom communities and all places where people are. IF we are to be our authentic selves and teach from a pedagogy of authenticity, then we must hold space for our students (and fellow humans) to be their authentic selves as well. As teachers, I believe that this applies to the personalities, learning preferences and interests held by each of our students. If we are not willing to accept our students as whole people, just as they are, everyday, then we are not leading from a place of authenticity, our students will likely not feel the safety/acceptance to be their authentic selves and their learning opportunities lessened.
I know, that as pre-service teachers, we have all heard all of this before but in the crunch of the day and the beautiful mess that is life, I think that it is worth repeating, remembering and intentionally practicing personal authenticity every chance we get .
As a final note:
If you google ‘Authentic Leadership characteristics’ you will find lists of traits which those individuals deemed successful in this practice hold; integrity, purpose, fostering relationships, leading with heart, long-term goals (teaching with the end in mind) and consistency, just to name a few, but in this last offering Christopher Emdin proposes that we, as teachers, add “create magic” to the list.
I believe that teaching is an art. And when you accept this artistic assignment, don’t let anyone take it away from you. Be that unique teacher you were born to be, and share your experience and passion with your students. Try out those great ideas that are percolating, and watch the magic happen in your classroom. Persevere in spite of any fears that your activity might not be the best one. It’s OK! Through choosing authenticity, you will be able to grow as an educator and, through that work, create meaningful experiences with your students. – Lisa Dabbs for Edutopia
“We don’t know what we don’t know” was something that Chantelle Morvay-Adams said during her recent presentation and this is ringing very true for me this week…
Up until last week’s class I had been enjoying the process of Inquiry, learning about planning and illustrating children’s books. The assignment provided me with an excuse to make art (during a term when I desperately need it) and research something that I am interested in. I expanded my teaching tool box; exploring fairytales, experimenting with illustration techniques and materials, playing with writing, and investigating different graphic novel apps/platforms- all providing me with a greater understanding of how inquiry based learning might Feel for students. But, “we don’t know what we don’t know” and now that I am better informed, having had the opportunity to listen to Morvay-Adams and look over the BCEdAccess webpage (specifically the inclusions tracker), my inquiry feels a little frivolous/uncomfortable…
As a result, I am trying to focus on “we don’t know what we don’t know” as a reminder, that as teachers (and humans) will never know everything, nor will we ever reach a place where we feel like we’ve ‘made it’ within our profession (and life?), but rather that we can “do better when we know better” and to always keep learning. Always.
I am sharing Shelly Moore’s TedTalk, “Under the Table -The Importance of Assuming Competence”, because she is fantastic + a great source of information around these important issues of integration/inclusion & listening to her talk made me feel a little less overwhelmed…
(Project Zero :: Thinking Routines (2014) from Sue Borchardt on Vimeo)
Two of my notes from Trevor Mackenzie’s talk on Inquiry & what it means to be a Constructivist Educator, read; “Thinking Routines, such as ‘Notice (observations), Wonder (share a Provocation such as an artifact or question) and Know’, promote equity as they allow all students to engage and develop critical thinking & question asking (the ungoogleable question!!) skills,” and “The smallest things can have a huge impact”. As a pre-service teacher, I recognize that I will need a hot minute to figure out what guiding a classroom full of students is going to look, feel & Be like, but I believe that these two ideas are central to a successful Inquiry based practice. As I look forward to my first practicum, fostering the development of Thinking Routines and modelling a culture of kindness in the classroom, seem like a great place to start and a solid foundation on which to build my practice.
Resources
The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero’s Thinking Routines Toolbox, describes Thinking Routines as “the patterns by which teachers and students operate and go about the job of learning and working together in a classroom environment” and the site has sooooo many great articles and resources that support establishing Thinking Routines in our daily interactions with students, as well as our overall pedagogy & professional practice — I would suggest taking a look!
Make & Do; Thoughts on Education, Technology, Creativity, productivity, and Balance, a blog by Tracy Ann Clark, provides a great summary around the importance of Visible Thinking, as well as a Visible Thinking: Prompt Picker ‘fortune teller’ template. The template prompts students to consider, but could be adapted for practical use, the different Thinking Routines.
…can be thought of as game of ‘find the rule.’ Concept Attainment is a ‘backward conceptualizing’ approach to making sense of new ideas. It is a teaching strategy characterized (in terms of thinking patterns of the learner) by “a pattern of decisions in the acquisition, retention, and utilization of information that serves to meet certain objectives” (Bruner et al 1956). [Teach Thought]
I love this approach to teaching & learning!
Jennifer Gonzalez, author of the ‘Cult of Pedagogy‘ blog, describes Silver, Strong, and Perini’s (2007) research behind concept attainment as a successful strategy, which fosters both student engagement and a greater understanding of the learning material, because as humans we are naturally inclined to organize our experiences around observed similarities.
While watching the above video (and looking through other examples) I found myself wondering what it would feel like to participate in concept attainment as a class member, looking at ‘yes’ and ‘no’ examples and discussing the differences and similarities while trying to define the focus concept. I also thought about how, as a teacher, you would go about successfully creating a concept attainment lesson, the examples that you would choose and how you might engage students in a constructive interaction while not giving the answers away…so interesting!!!
“Learning how to learn is Life’s most important skill” – Tony Buzan
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