Blog Posts

Blog Post 1 – Best Learning Experience

When trying to think back to some of my best learning experiences, there is one that stands out. I’m not sure if this is in part because it was a more recent experience, but nevertheless it is one that I feel was above the rest. It was a course last summer I took at Uvic that discussed topics related to education. As I am an education student, this was an intriguing topic for me, so going into the class before even stepping foot inside I was already engaged. I had the motivation to learn, as discussed in the readings for this week because I had an “interest or curiosity about the topic”. This was just the first reason as to why I think the class was going to be successful in being a positive one for myself, even before it had started. 

Another reason I believe this class was one of the best ones for me, was because the instructor took a constructivist approach to the activities and instruction within the class. There was not much of the traditional or behaviorist way of teaching where the teacher stands at the front and delivers information and the student does work based on how the teacher has shown them how to do it. We were given some instruction, but were given the opportunity to have experiences and discussion and take away or learn whatever we interpreted it to be. The course and the meaning we took away from it was based on experiences in the class. That could be different depending on which student in the class you asked, but not one or the other was more valid or valuable. I think that as a student, for myself personally, I struggled in school when I was made to do something exactly how the teacher had taught the class. I sometimes need more time to think and process information so classes that are too fast paced tend to leave me not feeling like I’ve grasped all the relevant information. This learning experience allowed me to come to my own conclusions and play out my own process for learning which is something I feel best suits my learning style. 

Blog Post 2 – Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry based learning is, to put simply, a way of teaching and learning that is meant to trigger curiosity. The approach is meant to stray away from the more traditional teaching method of direct instruction when the teacher stands at the front of the room and delivers explicit instruction and information and students are expected to give what they learned back to them through tests and worksheets. In an Inquiry based learning classroom, some of the authority is given to the students in what they learn about, and how they present their new learnings. The teacher’s role is to provide and nurture students’ experiences in the hopes of triggering that new found curiosity. Inquiry based learning is not something that happens overnight and takes time, patience and practice to achieve by both the teacher and the student(Trevor MacKenzie, N.D). Below is a diagram that may help in better understanding the inquiry process within a classroom: 

Retrieved from: Trevor Mackenzie. Trevor MacKenzie. (n.d.-b). https://www.trevormackenzie.com/

The different types of Inquiry based teaching are related to the stages of learning how to swim. You wouldn’t throw a person learning how to swim into to the deep end of the pool when first learning, and the same goes for a student in an Inquiry classroom. You start out slow, structuring the Inquiry so students begin to understand the process in which you take when engaging in Inquiry (Trevor MacKenzie, N.D). Then you move a little bit deeper into the pool, giving students more autonomy in their process. Eventually they’ll be swimming on their own by creating their own product based on the teacher’s prompts. Finally, they’ll be completely left on their own to figure out and trigger their own curiosities. 

Inquiry based learning can be related to our informational resource topic of the Circle of Courage. In the Circle of Courage, the idea is that for a student to be able to learn, basic needs need to be met. Those needs are Mastery, Generosity, Independence and Belonging. It pertains in a way to each need, but especially to the need of Independence. Students need to have authority and choice in their learning, Inquiry based learning, varying from stage to stage, gives them that autonomy at different levels. Giving students that choice in how they learn, what they learn about and how they represent it is a big part of ensuring their Independence need is met. 

References

Inquiry-Based Learning. Trevor MacKenzie. (n.d.). https://www.trevormackenzie.com/inquiry-based-learning

Trevor Mackenzie. Trevor MacKenzie. (n.d.-b). https://www.trevormackenzie.com/

Blog Post 3 – Interactive Media Resource

1. How will your interactive learning resource specifically ensure that the needs of all learners can be met?

The content of our resource is meant to ensure that student’s needs within the classroom are being met, so that they are fully able to participate in their learning. The Circle of Courage states that students’ 4 basic needs of Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity are being met. When those needs are truly being met during their time at school, in theory they should be able to participate and learn. It is the teacher’s duty to provide students with opportunities to meet these needs and nurture that learning environment. 

Our resource specifically is meant to teach educators who may not have been aware of this philosophy to think about implementing in their own classrooms. It will contain information about each of the needs, as well as tools and programs that can be used to foster the growth of that need in their classrooms. Teachers may not be aware of the certain tools that can be used in their classrooms to better meet their students’ needs, so bringing that to their attention as well as explaining how to use them is something that we see as beneficial. Another topic that it will cover is explaining what could happen to students if their need is not met. It is important for teachers to be aware of the signs that certain needs within the classroom are not being met, so they can correct and provide students with proper support.  

The whole purpose of this idea is that all of the students’ needs should be met, therefore our resource will hopefully be accomplishing the goal of ensuring that happens. We feel that it can be a very useful resource for teachers who have heard about the Circle of Courage and want to learn more about it. It also can be used as a positive tool in the reconciliation effort and by Indigenizing our classrooms by including and discussing Indigenous philosophies. 

Post 4 – Interactive Media Resource – Video

The video I’ve chosen to discuss can be found here: First Nations Principles of Learning

This video goes over the basics of the Circle of Courage and what that means, as well as other First Peoples Principles of learning. I’ve found it to be very useful and informative and feel it could be used in Upper elementary to high school levels of learners. The interaction required from the video would be whatever the teacher and students made of it. It doesn’t explicitly ask or tell students to do anything, but it could be used in a way that did. If students were to respond to the video on their own, I feel that some reflection might begin to occur. They may start to think about their own experiences and how they feel when they’re at school. Maybe they would reflect on if their needs in those areas discussed in the video were being met, and what could be done to meet those needs. This as a teacher, would be an excellent exercise to complete as a class to be able to interact with the video purposefully. Discussing as a whole class what those areas meant more specifically, sending them to discuss in smaller groups about how their needs in those areas are being met, or not, in their classroom experience would be useful. Then bringing that back as a whole class to discuss before eventually allowing them to journal or show their thoughts in whatever medium they chose. The teacher could then see where the shortcoming of their classroom or school may be regarding those areas. 

As stated before, I feel that the way students show their thoughts and ideas regarding the video could be done in whatever way they chose. Whether that be to journal, or to draw a picture or whatever they choose, I feel this exercise would be suited best if they decide how they display their thoughts. As far as uses of technology that students could use I feel that allowing them to type their thoughts or display their ideas digitally would be useful for some students. They could use word or google docs to type out ideas or Microsoft paint if they wanted to be more artistic in their response. Technology could be used to ensure all students are able to participate in the activity. 

Peer Review Discussion – Group 1

Learning Pod: # 1

Peers’ Names: Katherine Harris, Natalie Airlie, Fawzan Hussain, Amanda Beechey, Caelum Dudek and Mathew Terhune

Interactive Learning Resource Topic: Well-being and Mindfulness in Children

Identify components of the Interactive Learning Resource that might be missing (e.g., appropriate outcomes, alignment, interactivity, inclusivity, technology use and rationale, presentation, grammar, spelling, citations, etc.).

I think that a little more could be done in regard to your inclusion plan. For example, it was mentioned that for a student who is nonverbal, they could respond using a thumbs up or down to participate in an activity. While this is allowing them to participate in the activity to some extent, it doesn’t allow for full participation. In this scenario, they are not participating in the same way as their peers, and unable to give the same depth of answers. Perhaps allowing a student who is nonverbal to use some sort of text to speech application or if they feel comfortable writing or drawing their answers, it may give them more opportunity to fully participate. I think that your resource does have some great ideas on inclusion, just adding more depth may bolster what you already have.

Provide a summary of The Interactive Learning Resource’s strengths and weaknesses. Draw out specific examples from your peers’ work to justify your feedback.

I think that the topic you chose is one that is very important to consider and be made aware of. The subtopics and essential questions you chose do a great job of highlighting what you hope to accomplish and are very relevant to the topic of mindfulness. I think that you also were able to include some great resources to go along with your essential questions that allow students and teachers to interact and work through the questions you raised. For example, the breathing activities chosen I think do a nice job of giving students an introduction to that topic.   I think that perhaps your assessment and inclusion sections may need just a bit of tinkering or additional information added. Some of the ideas you have are great, but some lack some depth or clarity. For formative assessment, thumbs up or thumbs down is a great way to quickly check for understanding and is a part of formatively assessing students, but it isn’t a very strong tool on its own. What will the summative assessment look like? It’s just lacking a little bit of detail at the moment.

Provide general, specific, and practical recommendations to your peers on how to improve their Interactive Learning Resource.

Overall, I think your Interactive learning resource is useful and has lots of potential. I would recommend re looking at your assessment and inclusion sections and adding some depth to both of them. Perhaps adding some self-assessment activities or peer and group assessment throughout your lessons to add a student-centered approach to learning. Thinking more about how technology can be used for inclusion, and what inclusion strategies are imbedded in your lessons to account for all types of learners in your classrooms.