Social Media and Personalized Learning

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019

Concepts and Reflections: The Journey Begins

What I have learned this semester is a huge question. To be honest, I, like most of my students, thought I would enter class and “do” the courses. I am not sure if that comes from a place of arrogance on my part, or if it was uncertainty. As the classes moved forward, I was finding myself meta-cognating on my practice. I found myself engaging on the possibilities of researching my own practice, with the aim of improving myself as an educator. I found myself embracing the ideas, and possibilities, of networks beyond my own jaded views of the social mediums. I found myself listening to my colleagues, and their diverse experiences and fields; learning more about what I could gleam from them. From Kindergarten teachers to high school, north and south, east and west, we are all struggling with how to open our ideas of learning, instead of trying to protect our classroom bubble. We, as educators, struggle with our practices, whether semi-retired, or 3 years in. We, as educators, can all learn and adapt our classrooms for the good of the students, ourselves and our schools. This is just the start of our journey as a cohort, but we are going to grow together as a community. The following are some thoughts I have, as to what I have learned this semester.

I heard, many years ago, that I should look at inquiry as a teaching tool. As I looked at the classroom I was running, with the individualized learning and streamed software, I realized this was, in fact, an inquiry classroom. Mic drop…. I win. However, when the idea that there are different levels of inquiry, was brought to my attention, I was forced to pick the mic back up, as I was not doing it very well. That is not to say that students were not successful in my class, it is just that there was not as much success as there could have been. I went too far at the start, and did not properly incorporate all the scaffolded levels of inquiry. I jumped right to guided inquiry, which left some students behind. I had to adapt on the fly. That is to say, I had to, as the researcher of my classroom, redefine the method, and try the next cycle again.

In the ideas of research in the forms of diary-based research, action research, and phenomenology, are all valid. For me to move forward in my practice, I must reflect. I must see, in real time, what is happening and act on rectifying, or enhancing, a situation to allow for movement forward. Furthermore, I need to reflect on what is happening in the class, and adapt my ways of facilitation: that would be action research. Education is beyond numbers, and counts, as each individual learner is different. There needs to be more than one way for them to see and react to their learning. To do something well with one student, may also work with another, later on. When learning becomes more individualized, the ideas of how to educate each person must be adaptable. Phenomenologically speaking, I must help the students to share their lived experience, as learners, by allowing them to share their lived experience with a project. I think group-talks between classmates about a project will allow for a shared experience and deeper level understanding of their own thoughts, and the thoughts of others. This process will, hopefully, help them to see the project in different lights and lenses of understanding. Furthermore, there may be an overarching struggle with the assignment, that are seen by the groups of students, and that group and I may come up with, a great way to move themselves forward. This should be documented by myself, and allowed as an exemplar to future students. The more tools that are in the kit, allows for an increased ability to reach a myriad of students and their needs. As I have alluded to in a previous post, our practice is, in essence, research. Moreover, when doing research on our practice we become both the researcher, and the researched.

There is a desire to reach the level of depth in inquiry. In the 568 class, run by Trevor MacKenzie, we took a look at the levels of inquiry, shown using a diagram of the pool (see above). There are many levels, or depths, of inquiry. They range from: starting with structured, controlled, guided, and ending with free inquiry. I know, ideologically, that I can not just throw the students into the deep end (free). That would be a huge mistake. However, we must not keep them in the shallow end due to our comfort. The pool metaphor is apt because if one were to go into a public pool, they would see that there are people in all the depths. Some shallow, some deep. In my inquiry classroom, the ideal situation would be to have that “public pool mentality”. Have the kids swimming everywhere based on their abilities. I would strive to move the students from the shallow to the deep through structured, and controlled inquiry. However, once in the free inquiry, it is not good enough to just tread water in the deep end, we should aim to be diving and grabbing objects off the pool floor; we should always push our ability. How would I move them through different depths? Observation, journaling, and revision through the natural flow of action research.

As inquiry evolves in my classes, and my school, choice will be even more valuable as we are exiting the age of teacher as “dispenser of all knowledge” and moving towards having them acquire the knowledge through personal preference and passion. It is essential that the experiences of inquiry are built, or scaffolded, through previous inquiry knowledge, and attempts, on both our parts, as educators, and on the part of students. Every swimmer starts in the shallow end with water wings and feet on the floor. That is essential because we are teaching them a new skill so they don’t drown. To put a student in the position of “drowning” is not acceptable. Furthermore, putting ourselves as educators in a position to drown is equally unacceptable. Assumptions of a student’s abilities can lead to problems. There are students who may max-out at the guided stage, or controlled stage, and there are others who will excel at the free stage way faster than we anticipated. That, as an idea, sounds like a diverse and functional inquiry based classroom to me.

In my Photography 11 class, in the past few years, I have taken a criteria assignment, inquiry approach, that is teacher led, but with a lot of freedom in execution. An example being, with fast vs slow shutter speed. There is a requirement as to the number of each type of photo that must be handed in, with a personal reflection attached. However, what students take pictures of is up to them. Freedom is very important and allows for a vast variety of work. However, when they get to Photography 12, the way in which they move themselves forward, in the class, is deep-end, free inquiry. I have exemplars, that I show the class at the beginning of the year to help them see how much work is involved to get to the end project. I conference often with the students, and pull many back to the shallower ends of the pool, if needed. I have had 3 students actually complete a totally unguided, free inquiry project, and the results were outstanding. It was great to see the students fully immersed in their learning, by challenging themselves in their work. The buy-in was huge. Furthermore, the buy-in is still very high, even in the shallower end inquiries. It is the idea of choice that is driving the success in my classes.

My goal, as an educator, is to put this into effect in all my classes. I am making strides, but have a long way to go, in creating a cohesive practice. Every step forward is movement towards

the end goal of true inquiry, and I am realizing that steps are enough. As I mentioned earlier, to try to make the shift in one leap was not efficacious, to either myself or the students. I have to create a space of comfort and understanding to allow my students to be willing to step out of their comfort zones. I appreciate all that the students have given to me, and my practice, in terms of trust and work. I know that, together, we will keep growing our abilities, as people, to become truly engaged life-long learners.

Andrew Vogelsang

July 24, 2019

Cross-Curricular Inquiry in Theory and Practice: Fort St. James Secondary School

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Introduction

Teacher/student motivation and engagement is at the forefront of what we are trying to ameliorate at Fort St. James Secondary School. The new curriculum, as of 2016, gives us the freedom to fully explore cross curricular and inquiry methodologies in our school. Beyond that, our close-knit educational environment of 280 students and 20 teaching staff, allows us, as teachers, to work together to utilize a cross-curricular framework, to guide our students in breaking free from the traditional classroom model, and engage them in the learning of their own choosing. Throughout this Master’s Degree we plan to focus on three predominant areas of study: Social Studies, Digital Media, and Carpentry. As a general query to guide us in this process, we are asking the question, what are the benefits, for both teachers and students, of employing Cross-Curricular Inquiry on student motivation and engagement, at Fort St. James Secondary School? Furthermore, we are hoping to hone our skills as practitioners of collaborative inquiry, to enhance the emerging atmosphere of the facilitation of effective, and differentiated student learning.

Paper Overview: A method for teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects: Lessons from a case study by Katerina Avramides, Jade Hunter, Martin Oliver, and Rosemary Luckin

Prior to adopting an inquiry model for our students to adhere to, it is prudent that we, as educators, believe in the efficacy of the inquiry model, as a process. Indeed, “teacher inquiry offers a powerful, participatory, and evidence-based approach to innovation in schools” (Avramides, Hunter, Oliver, & Luckin, 2014, p. 259). A method for teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects: Lessons from a case study, examines the benefits of a cross-curricular STEM project in a highschool. Avramides K. et. al., discuss their results including: teachers’ use, and comfortability of using digital, tools to record and report on student data, how to include teacher involvement in cross curricular applications or projects, and support from top management levels in regards to implementing cross-curricular learning within a school.

Avramides K. et. al., report that inquiry must not be forced on teachers, but rather led by teachers. In order for cross-curricular inquiry learning to be a success, teachers need to be willing to “provide an environment that supports long-term change…[and be] initiators of change.” (Avramides, K. et. al., 2014, p. 249) This article resonated with us, as it illustrated how there can be challenges in implementing cross-curricular design, especially when teachers are not willing to collaborate in small teams, to assess and discuss issues that come up, while engaged in this style of learning. Often, they are not comfortable with specific digital tools that are used to log student performance. Specific outcomes from the case study, include: 1.) The necessity of collaborating, amongst the project lead and involved teachers, must be constant and take into consideration one’s knowledge of the digital platforms being implemented to record data. 2.) The type of research method(s) implemented may not be preferred by all. Some may prefer qualitative or quantitative methods, which may influence how data is collected and reported on. 3.) Interviews (qualitative research) with individual teachers on their experience of the inquiry process revealed, more than surveys did, because the teachers had the opportunity to discuss their specific challenges. 4.) Instructors’ use of digital tools to communicate their inquiry into student learning varied, on comfort level. 5.) There is a balance between teacher autonomy and controlling what or how the teacher-researcher conducts their inquiry. (Avramides K. et. al., 2014.

The above diagram represents steps educators can follow to implement their inquiry of student learning. It is also a similar model that students can employ to complete their own inquiry research. Furthermore, this model follows the similar cycle of questioning, reflecting, and producing, that the Action Research methodology employs.

Avramides K. et. al,. reminds educators, and administrators, that using inquiry in a cross-curricular fashion is a learning process for all involved; it involves collaboration, and revisitation, of the processes to facilitate students’ success. Furthermore, educators will require, “training and support to develop learning designs,” (Avramides K. et. al., 2014) that will enable educators to easily collect data, and support students, in their learning processes. Lastly, the challenges endured by staff, that were presented in this article, would be similar for students if they were to complete an inquiry on a particular project, or within disciplines. It takes time to gather information, record data, reflect, and process. Students, like the educators in the article, will need communication, feedback, and support.

Social Studies

Following the new curriculum for Social Studies, as set by the BC Ministry of Education, the goal for the Social Studies curriculum is to, “give students the knowledge, skills, and competencies to be active, informed citizens who are able to think critically, understand and explain the perspectives of others, make judgments, and communicate ideas effectively.” Four BIG IDEAS, or concepts, that learners focus on in Social Studies 10, include: “Global and regional conflicts shape our world and identities; Economic, social, geographic and ideological factors influence the development of political institutions; World views lead to different perspectives and ideas in the development of Canadian society; Historical and contemporary injustices challenge Canada’s identity as an inclusive and multicultural society.”

Students will be working on inquiry projects that involve two components. The first portion includes the learners’ use of their digital skills to highlight their question, document their learning experience, track progress, and explain the answer to their inquiry question. The second portion of the project involves, the creation of a culminating showpiece, or artifact, that learners’ believe represents an important segment of their research.

For their inquiry project, students can work either independently, or with a partner, and they will have the opportunity to choose a topic, that resonates with them, from within one of the four big ideas. Students will use a format of, “I need to know about…..” or, “I wonder about….” in order to assist them in developing their question, thus leading into their inquiry project. For example, a student may use the aforementioned format to assist them in developing their inquiry question: “I wonder how new technology impacted Canada’s role in WW2?”

During the inquiry process itself, students can choose a digital platform, including Prezi, blog, or powerpoint, with which to record their inquiry process. Here, students can document their specific inquiry steps, including: question development, list of resources, reflection and/or collaboration if working with a partner, on what they understand through the completion of their reading, what they found interesting, connections to the inquiry question, and their conclusion. This digital documentation illustrates the learners’ journey, much like a timeline or story-map, and it can serve as a reference which can be referred to throughout the inquiry process. This portion of the inquiry project can be developed in the computer lab, or the library.

The second portion of the inquiry process is the construction of the showpiece. Students will have the opportunity to design a 2-D or 3-D model, or a web-page, that represents a segment of their inquiry that they found particularly interesting to their learning. The item created can involve using the computer labs for web page design, video, 3-D printing, or constructing in the carpentry class (for example building a wooden diorama, or using the Computer Numerically Controlled Router – CNC machine). If using the 3-D printer or CNC machine, students can work in the computer lab to create and download their designs in order to print. Students using the CNC machine will have to ensure that the wood they are using is prepped, and ready, prior to commencing the engraving process. Similarly, if students are working to build a model in the carpentry shop, students again, will need to ensure that their wood is accessible and prepped as necessary.

Upon completion of this inquiry project, students will have the opportunity to present their work to the class. Students will use their digital diary to illustrate their learning process, and the outcome to their inquiry question. Students will also have the chance to showcase their 3-D model, 2-D model, or other media representation, and explain why it was important for them to construct their particular model, and its connection to their inquiry.

The purpose of the project, is to engage students,in developing questioning skills, research, and data collection skills, in an area that is interesting to them. At the same time, this relates it back to one of the four main ideas of the course. Furthermore, engaging students to digitally chart their learning process, enables them to visually see, and understand, their progress ( or meta-cognition) down the pathway of inquiry, or personal discovery. The creation of the showpiece incorporates skills learned from Digital Media Arts, and or Woods/Carpentry courses, to further provide students with the opportunity to promote their creative skills, knowledge, and kinesthetic learning.

Limiting factors of completing an inquiry project in this fashion include: time, and having staff that support, and believe in, the cross-curricular model. First, in terms of time, creating a detailed timeline with students, prior to beginning the process, enables them to have some say in what they feel is an acceptable amount of time, and also puts the responsibility on them, to adhere to the agreed upon plan. That being said, the project should not be allowed to drag on, and students should be prepared to have regular check-ins with the teacher. Second, it is essential to have staff that you can work with to create cross-curricular projects, support each other, and learners, in this developing process.

Digital Media

As an Applied Skills Department, we are working towards a more inquiry based platform of learning. We are looking into student-centered approaches of meeting the new curriculum. The big ideas are replacing the limiting prescribed learning outcomes. This is essential to making inquiry possible, as the students are more free in displaying, how they learn, what they learn, and route in which to learn it. In my classroom, the idea of stand and deliver does not go past grade 8, and even with the 8’s, I will teach a concept, and then their project is based on open criteria. My goal is to teach to passion, and not create automatons. The ideas of problem solving, working as a group, and grit, are all key to my room. This is a rapidly changing world, and I want to help prepare the students, so they can meet future changes with adaptability.

Digital Media is an emerging field that changes on a daily basis. The idea of media and technology is so vast, that to truly meet the students desires, and passions, one must be willing to have a diverse classroom. Furthermore, the needs of technology goes far beyond my classroom. At any one time, I can have as many as 15 different software programs being used, as chosen by the students. This is designed to engage all learners, in their passions. What is great about this, beyond the engagement in the room, is the applications that can be seen, and used, in other courses.

Technology, and cross-curricular applications, are growing substantially at Fort St. James Secondary School. At any time, the computer lab is filled with students from other disciplines, creating show-cases of their learning, using the technology provided in the lab. Though this creates a busy and dynamic place, as those students are adding to the learners that are already there for class, the diversification of the software use is what is truly amazing. Students from English class will be making videos, and editing them, about their inquiry projects. Students from French, will be in the lab, creating visual representations of French art, and culture. Social studies students, will be in there for research and inquiry based projects, or creating political cartoons etc. That is to say, the lab is always bustling, and the teacher is very busy, but that is the point. The more our school can utilize its labs, to engage learners, the more the actual learning is on the learner. Teachers as facilitators, is a growing idea in our school, and one that we are keen to promote.

The shop and the computer lab, share a lot of work, as we use the Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router to make: table tops, signs, and plaques for the students, school, and community. The board preparation and finishing, is done in the shop and art room, but the design happens in the computer lab. This is a great example of different disciplines working together to make this happen. The students flow between the rooms to get the work done. The thing that this method requires, is a willing group of teachers, who are flexible.

The shop, computers, textiles, and art teachers at our school, are always willing to have an extra body in their class, to help move a project forward. This agreement is fluid, in that there is no defined time that we are doing a project “together”. The idea is that all the shops and labs, are open to the students during class time, to go and work on interdisciplinary projects. The de-segmentation of our classes, and the movement of our students, makes the school, the classroom.

Carpentry

Learning carpentry basics, not only teaches students how to create objects, but provides them with a set of practical skills, they will be able to use throughout their lives. At its core, students engage in a process that allows them to: familiarize themselves with the many tools they will likely use during adulthood, conduct minor repairs on their home or property, help them build spatial cognition, and provide them with an engaging avenue to pursue inquiry based projects. Furthermore, this maker space, lends itself as an open, accessible, and hands-on learning environment which is conducive to getting students moving, interacting, and creating.

The key tenets of Carpentry have been updated in 2016, and are laid out on the Government of British Columbia’s New Curriculum website. The main categories of learning now include: understanding context, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, making, and sharing (“Woodwork 11,” n.d.). These categories set a reasonable, and practical, framework for students to engage in the inquiry process. Regardless of what project the students are pursuing, it is possible to meet each one of these criteria set for by the Government of British Columbia. If we look at a true cross-curricular model, it can be argued that a student is also able to achieve competency in this curriculum, while working on an inquiry project, for another course.

Take, for example, a student that is participating in Deirdre’s Social Studies class. This student becomes fascinated with, the Iliad and the Odyssey. After examining these works, the student wants to focus on the fall of Troy, specifically the use of the Trojan Horse. As part of their final sharing, they decide to build a working replica. After designing the blueprints for a replica of the Trojan Horse, in Andrew’s Digital Media class, they then have the option to use the three dimensional printer, or come to the carpentry shop to represent their learning. Ultimately, at this stage, the student will have already completed the context, defining, and ideating processes, as outlined by the Government of British Columbia. If they complete this project here, they will also effectively prototype, test, and make their project. Finally, by completing their sharing, in a show-case of their inquiry, they have met both the Social Studies and Carpentry curriculum, and should be credited as such.

This example, demonstrates the potential flow of students during a semester at Fort St. James Secondary School, with each student, or small groups of students, pursuing their areas of passion. Despite this success, there are a number of difficulties related to Inquiry learning that need to be addressed. The most dominant of these issues, is the limited shop space available, and the limited specialty staff, to manage students pursuing an inquiry with a carpentry component. With only a single carpentry teacher, the shop space is limited to twenty four students. We have made this limitation work, thus far, by relocating students not directly working on the building aspects of their project, to another space. For example, the planning, designing, and blueprinting components, can be done in the computer lab. Although this has worked well here, it may lend questions to scalability in another site.

Training students to use the potentially hazardous equipment, is also a difficulty in the inquiry process. As the inquiry model lends itself to the free flow of students, and allows for a broad time-frame in which students may arrive in the shop, it is challenging to ensure each student is receiving adequate machine training. Training itself, takes a number of direct hours of support from the instructor. It involves a paperwork component from the Ministry of Education and WorksafeBC, a demonstration component, as well as a practical component – which is repeated until proficiency is achieved. This is most efficiently done in groups, as it takes a considerable amount of the instructor’s time to complete. It is best to gather as many students early on to complete this component, but all too often students are missed, or express interest in carpentry at a later time. Ultimately, we support all of the students through this process, in our small school, but this again, speaks to the potential challenge of scale, using the inquiry process.

Conclusion

It is clear that an inquiry-based methodology is both a valid, and efficacious, form of learning, that encourages our students to not only seek meaning with what they are learning, but become engaged in a fulfilling conversation with it. As was clear in the article, “A method for teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects: Lessons from a case study” (Avramides K. et. al., 2014) there are some issues when trying to present an inquiry-based system; the most important being both teacher buy-in, and teacher autonomy. The research shows that a top-down approach, though possible, is not the most effective, as it overrides the idea of autonomy. True inquiry, should be organic, and a place of comfort for the teachers. Furthermore, there needs to be a strong, and willing, small group of teachers that are going to work together to implement the best strategy. The article states that, “there is a fine balance to be struck between controlling what teachers do and maintaining cohesion” (Avramides K. et. al., 2014, Pg. 258).

Here at Fort St. James Secondary School, we have that small, willing group of teachers, trying to push the boundaries of student learning. What we are trying to create, is a culture of inquiry, that is both organic and fluid. The idea of learning, and representation of that learning, happens only in one class, is being challenged and re-structured. Our school, has many champions to the inquiry approach, and the administration is very supportive in challenging the status-quo.

References

Avramides, K., Hunter, J., Oliver, M., & Luckin, R. (2014). A method for teacher inquiry in cross-curricular projects: Lessons from a case study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 249-264. doi:10.1111/bjet.12233

McAteer, M. (2014). Getting to Grips with Perspectives and Models. Action Research in Education, 21-42. doi:10.4135/9781473913967

Social Studies. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/core/introduction

Woodwork 11. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/11/woodwork

Resource List

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

https://fsjss.sd91.bc.ca/Pages/default.aspx

https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/doi/epdf/10.1111/bjet.12233

http://sk.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/books/action-research-in-education/n3.xml

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/11/woodwork

h https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/10/

ttps://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/core/introduction

https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/resdocs/headsup.pdf

July 19, 2019July 21, 2019

568 Week 3 Post- Paradigm Shifts in my Classroom.

Photo by Daniel Josef on Unsplash

In the Ted X talk by Jeff Hopkins, founder of the Pacific School for Innovation and Inquiry, he discussed the paradigm shift that he felt was essential to the future of education. I would agree. I would also posit that it is already happening. The new curriculum in BC is leading to the differentiation of learning as both a teacher and a learner. The outcomes are not limiting; in fact they are freeing. The problem is that some educators, in both training and experience, are having issues seeing this new method as valid, as it does not allow for the acknowledgment that we have done our job by checking all the boxes. Any step, no matter how small, is a step forward.

I was told when starting my teaching career, that the best way to do this was to have a list of the prescribed leaning outcomes for each discipline I teach printed out so I can check off when one has been completed, and therefore know that I have worked through all the needed “material”. However, what is the ”material”? Has anyone really learned the material fully or merely assimilated it for a short time and then dumped it? The problem is, the way I was taught to teach, was not preparing me to see the validity of this new, and sometimes messy way of inquiry based practice. Fortunately, I was trained to think and operate in a very dynamic and messy world; restaurants, which allowed me to transfer the adaptability I learned there into my practice as a teacher. But what about the teachers who are 20 years in, and have been told to change the way they do everything? What about the parents who want to see the kids “prepared for university”? A paradigm shift is called a paradigm shift for a reason, because we are fundamentally shifting what education is. We are doing more than merely converting from gas to electric, we are blowing up the idea of transportation as a whole, metaphorically that is.

The system needs a redesign and that is never more evident than in a my computer classroom. Hopkins spoke to sparking the flame, however doing that in a traditional form of teaching in a classroom that holds all the computer disciplines at one time, can be challenging. I started off trying to do the stand and deliver method, everyone doing the same thing, and that did not work for a variety of reasons. The main reason being, variety. I had a diverse group of students in that room, wanting to learn very different aspects of computers and software. For example: some wanted to film videos and edit, others wanted to program, others worked on graphic design, others concentrated on game creation, others developing architectural skills, and the list can go on. Basically, I got sick of looking at bored faces because I was trying to check boxes, but they were checking out. I decided, as a course of shear functionality, that I had to change the way I taught. So 5 years ago I streamed my class.

A stream is a software choice and flow. In grade 8, I introduce the students to most of the options and when they come in grade 9 they, hopefully, have an idea as to what they wanted to focus on. Grade 9 is a year of adventure and trying new things to find that spark. Most students will eventually find where they want to focus on in the future during that year. I have students picking different software every year for an eclectic look at potential technology fields they may wish to pursue. It is messy. It is fluid. It is full of growth and mistakes for both me as a facilitator and them as learners. Moreover, it is working well most of the time. Every day, week, semester, I tweak and play with what is happening to make sure more and more learners are captured in the room. I am still not done expanding my classroom and pedagogy but it has been a great journey.

At the end of the day we are all looking for learning. I love to see the lights turn on in a student’s eye when they “find that spark”. I am glad that the new curriculum for the technology classes allows for the fluidity and flexibility to give the students a chance to find their passion and not just check a box.

Andrew Vogelsang

July 14, 2019July 15, 2019

568 Assignment #1a Week 2- Both Sides of the Tracks: social media has many sides.

Photo by Apollo Reyes on Unsplash

6.5 hours! That is the time I spent on my phone yesterday. I am not sure how I feel about this. Is online time preventing me from bonding with the actual humans, and pets, in my life that are physically in the room with me? I have had Twitter for years now. I mainly use the medium as a way of getting news and catching up with friends from far away. However, I feel I am in a space of self-promotion more and more. Unfortunately, I am horrible at self-promotion. I don’t really want to and never have. I am starting to realize that getting out there (twitterverse) and meeting groups that I can reflect with is a great thing. This week alone, I added some colleagues from around the province that I would never have known about if I were not on Twitter.

In this week’s class we had a guest speaker, Jessie Miller, and we discussed safety, privacy, and professionalism. I found Mr. Miller to be very well informed and he had great ideas on how we as practitioners can work with students, and parents, to reach a level of online awareness and safety, not only for today but 10 years from now. I agree with this sentiment as I have had to have discussions with students about what is being posted by them and how it may affect them later on. I tell them the story of me being a hiring manager at a restaurant and how I used to Facebook search the applicants. I found some very interesting things that I don’t believe were intended for public consumption. When Jessie Miller talked about the fact that once it is on the internet it is out there, I realized that I have had those conversations with the students. Moreover, most students don’t seem to care. I know that it is where they are developmentally and they will care one day; however I don’t know how to impress that on them.

I have seen the destructive force of social media at play in students’ lives. Bullying now is 24/7. We as a school work hard at looking into online student behavior and working with the students on appropriate comments, think before you send, and other strategies to help them become good online citizens. However, there seems to be this belief that parents are involved and there to help. That is not always the case. Ideally, parents would help with the education of students on appropriate etiquette around management and use of a device. Unfortunately, some parents, and the percentages change based on where you are and many other social and situational factors, don’t want to help and think it is our job to educate this situation alone. I feel we gloss over, or don’t want to see, the levels that addiction can play in the narrative of this story. There are so many aspects of media and device-use that we are struggling to meld together that do not mesh right now: Not yet.

I am not saying that phones and social media are evil, and that they are going to cause the downfall of society as we know it, because society as we know it is ever-changing. We need to see the issues as they are and deal with them. Moreover, we need to enhance the positive aspects of social media use; greater reach with your ideas, networking, connections to others that were never possible before. Social media is a fantastic invention that will, and is, revolutionizing the way we see the world and interact with it. However, we are tending to see this issue in a very polarized way.

Those who believe that social media is great, usually have trouble hearing the negatives to it. In contrast, those who dislike social media do not want to hear the good. I want to qualify this in that this statement represents most but not all, in my opinion. Social media is like a city. Imagine if you went to a city and only saw the affluent, well put together, and safe areas with trees and parks where people are milling around. You would say, “What a beautiful place”. However, what if you went to the same city and went to the other side of the tracks and you saw the destitution and struggle. Graffitti covering the walls and various nefarious things happening on the street corner. You would say, “That place is brutal, I would never live there”. The fact is, this is all the same city, just different areas of it. It is impossible to live in one area without even acknowledging that the other exists. So the answer comes down to, do you want to ignore or minimize the other area that you don’t like.

To claim that Twitter is 98% positive is outlandish. Just like it would be outlandish to say it is 98% negative. It all comes down to what part of the metaphorical city you live in. Unfortunately, for those in the negative parts, they are there by choice more than for social-economic reasons that an actual city implies. It is my contention that people will find what they want on these networks. Furthermore, why they are in the areas, or groups, they are in says more about them and their desires than their financial and social predicament. If people want to argue, belittle, abuse, and slam others they will tend towards politics and other social hot-button topics. They will follow and retweet what they like and in doing so, create a place online that caters to them. If they like sports they will follow sports networks, athletes, and teams. If they want to talk about education they tend towards other educators and researchers in the various fields and pedagogies of the discipline. Networks, therefore, are the cities you make.

Upon reflection, I find myself in an interesting journey when it comes to social media. I am influenced by the actions and reactions of the young people I see using it and think it can hurt. I see my fellow professionals in education using it and I can see that it helps to foster understanding and community. I see the sports people talking and realize that Kawhi Leonard left and Mitch Marner has still not yet signed and I get sad. It all comes down to where you want to be. That being said, we as people cannot diminish or ignore what is happening on the other side of the tracks while we celebrate the greatness of the medium.

Andrew Vogelsang

P.S. I cannot, in any way, blame Twitter for my 6.5 hours yesterday. There is this game called “Alien Shooter” and I think I have a serious problem.

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019

Methodological Dichotomy: Past Practice vs. Future Outcomes

Teaching is a funny thing. Right when you think you have it figured out you decide to try something new. Why? Because you realize what you’ve done can be better. I worked in the restaurant industry for 17 years; I adapted to new restaurants, new positions, and new leadership roles. One thing that is true about the industry is that it is incredibly stressful, but it is consistent. A full restaurant with massive table turnover never really varies from one to the next. Classrooms on the other hand, change from day to day. When entering the teaching profession I thought that I knew what being both proactive and reflective in a stressful environment meant. That is until I entered the classroom.

The one thing I’ve learned in my last 8 years of teaching is that I can always be better. There are always better ways to make sure that all learners are engaged, involved, and challenged. Part of the vocation is reflection. I find it essential to look at my classes and see areas in which I can improve. Thus, my practice must constantly evolve because I can always be better. That is where I think I will incorporate a diary into my tool box. After reading, Research Diary: A Tool for Scaffolding (Engin, 2011), I started to look at a diary as more than just a tool for CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and teenagers. As a Psychology major, I tend to see the world in that lens. Engin says, “…[she] became aware that her research diary was scaffolding her own construction of research knowledge.” (pg 296). Engin is saying that if she could use the diary to build her understanding, not only of the research itself, but her methods and intentions, than her research methodologies would be more sound. I diary as well, but in my head. However, what do I retain of my insights? I find myself, at the end of every semester, wondering what I could have done better and how I would go about making that change. However, by the end of the semester, how much have I forgotten about what happened in my class? 5 months and 25 kids x 4 classes. That is a lot to expect to remember. If I were to diary daily, or at least weekly, I could remember with greater detail the areas in which something really worked or didn’t. I could write down what was intended and what ended up happening. I could avoid the 20/20 hindsight of somehow convincing myself that what worked is what was actually intended. If I were to start looking at the outcomes of a lesson, or unit, as it pertains to the intent of the lesson/unit in the first place than I would be able to either change my intentions because the outcome was better than I intended; or change the methodology I used so I could get the desired outcomes for the lesson/unit. I know that the idea of switching methodologies to steer outcomes is taboo in science and data collection because is it really reliable to cherry-pick the data you like to strengthen your position? However, in the classroom, the steering and scaffolding are essential to get the required student learning. My classrooms, and the learning that takes place there, are the research. My teaching and lesson success are the researched. I am the researcher. But what are the readers, the students and parents, expecting to see in my classroom and my delivery?

In this week’s classes we looked at the dichotic view some hold of what it is to properly educate. When we looked at the articles, Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Ananlysis of the Failures of the Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching by Kirschner, Sweller &Clark (2010) and Teaching for Meaningful Learning: A Review of Research on Inquiry-Based and Cooperative Learning by Barron& Darling-Hammond (2008) we saw two very divergent views of what is successful educational theory. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark argue that, “…based on our current knowledge of human cognitive architecture, minimally guided instruction is likely to be ineffective”(pg. 76). Whereas Barron and Darling-Hammond state that, “[students] gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to those who engage in traditional forms of learning.” (pg1 of book excerpt). I believe that this is the crux of where we find ourselves in the real world: Divided. As mentioned by Dr. Irvine in class, a colleague of hers likes to explain education as a pendulum. A ball swinging from extreme to extreme forever trying to correct the failings of its past position. As I teach my law students, life exists in the gray area. Finding a central position, though ideal, is not as easy as it sounds. I believe that, for example instituting a fully inquiry based system of learning without addressing the base knowledge required to start is a poor pedagogical choice. However, I believe that teaching nothing but facts and not allowing for individual thought and expression is equally as detrimental. The gray area is the fusion with sound scaffolded knowledge leading to an open expression of their learning.

We are products of our own education and of our own educational and chronological history. The parents to whom I will try to explain my new philosophy of the classroom, both inquiry and project based learning models, are products of their educational history. Students, who resist the change because they are products of their educational history and they have mastered the ways to succeed in the older, more familiar, style. We as educators have a unique job because everybody thinks they know what that job is. Almost everybody’s gone to school; therefore they understand being a teacher because they’ve seen people teach and have been taught themselves. The way they were taught will greatly influence their value on how I educate and education as a whole. Our classrooms are a research experiment for all to watch. We have to make sure our research (our practices) are sound, valid, and reliable. That does not mean that we only do what has been done before, because if we fail to define a new path forward in our own classrooms, that fit us as individual teachers, then our essence as an educator and facilitator will not be genuine.

I have failed in my classroom more times than I can count. Not because I am bad at my job, but because my expectations are high and I love taking risks and trying new ways of engaging learning and learners. There is always a better way to reach a student. There is always a better way to explain a problem. There is always a better way to teach a software program. I can always be better, more concise, more available, and more aware. In short, I can be better. I, like all of you, show up to work everyday ready to do my best. I, like all of you, do my best; and I, like all of you, show up the next day striving to do better than the day before.

By: Andrew Vogelsang