Friday, October 28, 2016
Social Studies - Resource Collection Reflection
While gathering my resources for the Resource Collection, I realized there were many resources out there that can be used in a grade 7/8 Social Studies class. I realized there were many lesson plans posted by other teachers that one can adopt and change however they wish. There were also multiple interactive resources that one can use to engage students. Resources such as, NASA, Pinterest and Youtube can be used for any grade level. If I had to teach a grade 7/8 Social Studies class, I believe I would use all these resources especially the lesson plans and the interactive websites. All in all, this assignment was really helpful because it was practical and can be of use in the classroom, whether it be during placement or in my own classroom.
Social Studies - Resource 10 - NASA
Retrieved from: NASA Image
I would use NASA in an inquiry lesson where students are required to use the website to answer questions concerning global warming.
Social Studies - Resource 9 - Pinterest
Retrieved from: Pinterest Image
This specific Pinterest resource takes you to Grade 8 Lesson Plans from Ontario that would be of great to use in a grade 8 history class. Grade 8 Lesson Plans from Ontario provides lesson plans and activities for topics such as the American Civil War and Black Canadian Migration Experiences. These topics are both in the curriculum and should be covered in a history class. All in all, this a great website that can be used to teach the entire grade 8 history class since it provides multiple resources and covers both strand A and B in the curriculum .
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Social Studies - Resource 8 - Simulation
Retrieved from: First Nations
Social Studies - Resource 7 - Historical Atlas
Retrieved from: Historical Atlas of Canada
Social Studies - Resource 6 - CBC Learning
Social Studies - Resource 5 - The History Education Network
Retrieved from: The History Education Network
This website provides multiple resources teachers can use when teaching a grade 7 or 8 history class. It can even be used as an interactive resource where students are given a topic to investigate using this website.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Social Studies - Resource 4 - Visual Database
Retrieved from: Louis Riel
Incorporating visual aid activities in the duration of a lesson plan can be very beneficial for many students. The Archives of Ontario Visual Database is a database that includes drawing/pictures of many of the historical figures/events students will learn about during History in grade 7 and 8 Social Studies class. Images of historical figures can be used to encourage students to remember the impact these individuals had on history. Associating "faces" with the acts of these historical figures will make these figures more relatable to students.
Social Studies - Resource 3 - Geography Inquiry - Based Learning
Retrieved from: Inquiry - Based Learning
Inquiry- based lessons begin with the teacher/student posing a question they would like to investigate. Students then attempt to answer their questions through research, experiment or activity. Inquiry-based learning encourages students to think deeper and develop their own thoughts as well as "inquire" about what they are learning. With that said, this activity is an inquiry assignment that can be given to a grade 7 Social Studies class during the Geography unit. This is a great resource as it engages students and encourages them to be more involved in their learning.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Social Studies - Resource 2 - History of New France
Retrieved from: New France
Social Studies - Resource 1 - Interactive Assginment
Retrieved from: Interactive Websites
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Critical Literacy Across the Curriculum
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| From criticalliteracyandcreativity.wikispaces.com |
If you are a social reconstructionist or agree with this philosophy, then critical literacy is for you. Critical literacy is one of the most powerful strategies you can use involving critical thought about what you see and hear. In a nutshell, it is analyzing different resources to understand perspectives outside one's own. According to Roberge 2013 through this skill, students learn to deeply understand text thus unravelling the true intended messages of texts. As a result, students are better able to appreciate others perspectives while becoming more aware of the inequalities, oppressions and injustices present in everyday life (Roberge, 2013).
But how can critical literacy be applied to other content areas, outside the typical English classroom? There are certain ways this can be done (which is mostly from Roberge, 2013):
Science: The best scientific strand in which critical literacy can be best applied, is environmental science. Examples include:
- discussing the different viewpoints of certain real-world environmental issues (Grant & Lapp, 2011).
- researching theories about non-mainstream concepts, that have been omitted from textbooks
- explore possible solutions to environmental problems while considering different perspectives
Nutrition: This is another great content area that can be critically analyzed, especially when coupled with media. Students can learn a great deal about the major influences imposed by the media, on their food choices. Examples include:
- watching TV and collecting data on the types of cereals that are shown in commercials.
- calculating the amount of sugar in popular cereal compared to other cereal (this requires a trip to the grocery store).
- evaluating organic foods compared to other 'regular' foods.
Social Studies: Critical literacy can very easily be incorporated in any social studies/science class. This is especially true when the content learned is related to different cultures and ways of knowing. Examples include:
- role playing, to understand another person's perspective on an issue, past event or controversy.
- creating 'what if' debates about past events, such as the establishment of residential schools or the arrival of Jacques Cartier to Canada (which he thought was India).
- using the RAFT method (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) to understand different viewpoints.
There are countless ways critical literacy can be incorporated in the classroom. It is just a matter of doing the research and taking the time to create meaningful lessons. Although a little time-consuming, it can be an extremely rewarding experience for your students (and yourself too!).
If you involve critical literacy in your classrooms, please comment below with ideas you'd like to share.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Learning Through Visual Thinking Strategies
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| From https://amoablog.wordpress.com and http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com, respectively |
As a student-teacher, I have of course been exposed to various types of instructional strategies. One in particular (which I found out later, had an actual name), involved the use of pictures where we were asked "What do you see in this picture?". The picture depicted a setting that appeared to be an arts class, back in the mid-century era. Of course, because this is an arts class and I'm a scientific, I didn't realize the significance of what we were doing. However, it wasn't until later the next year, that I realized that using imagery in the classroom can be a very powerful way to elicit critical thought.
Visual Thinking Strategies (also called VTS) are inquiry-based teaching strategies that are becoming more popular these days. They involve posting an image at the front of the class (either via a projector or smartboard) and asking students the following three (3) questions (refer to Murawski 2014 for more details):
Notice that these questions are open-ended, where there is no right or wrong? This simple fact makes sharing of ideas more appealing to many students. In other words, students feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts because there is no basis for judgement. This in turn helps students 'gain greater confidence' in themselves (VTShome.org).
- What’s going on in this picture?
- What do you see that makes you say that?
- What more can we find?
VTS engage students through whole class discussions, allowing students the opportunity to learn from each others' perspectives and creativities (Robertson, 2012). This in turn exposes students to the reality that people have different ways of thinking and see the world differently than they do even though what they are looking at is fixed. It also involves collaboration between students as they question each others' views to better understanding each others' thoughts. This leads to the point that if VTS is used properly and consistently, students can learn to "respect and understand others' cultures and points of views" beyond the classroom environment (VTShome.org)
This strategy also provides a means to connect the lesson to real world issues, by inviting students to pause, observe and take note of details they see. This allows them to expand their understanding and knowledge about real life and what's happening on an international level. It allows them to make meaningful connections to truly understand the 'big picture' (Gonchar, 2015). Similarly, VTS is a great way to assess prior knowledge while offering the opportunity to build on that prior knowledge to explore further. As a result, students gain a better understanding of what is really happening in the world around them (VTShome.org). Consequently, they will learn to be better critics of what they see in the mainstream media as well as in their immediate micro- and macrosystems.
Although VTS appear to be an 'artsy' teaching method, they can be implemented in any content area classroom from kindergarten to grade 12. Since I've realized the potential of using this strategy, I plan on making it a point to use it regularly as starter activities (hook) for my science lessons. In fact, it could easily be coupled with STEM lessons!
If you use VTS in your classroom, please comment below with your most effective image(s) that you've used in your lesson(s).
Monday, October 3, 2016
Every Teacher Should Blog
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| From www.serendipityandspice.com |
I have realized over the course of this blog, that blogging should be performed by all teachers (and student teachers). From experience, I feel that blogging has not only significantly contributed to my personal learning as a student teacher, but also has be a great resource for staying up to date with new educational tools and strategies. It could even be considered a professional development strategy that is has no limit in terms of its educational content.
Blogging is a wonderful way to share your knowledge and discoveries even as you conduct research for whatever personal or professional reason (ie. lesson planning, classroom management, assessment strategies). Your blog can in turn become a professional development strategy for other professional educators too. As such, it becomes a great outlet in serving and contributing to your professional community worldwide.
Similarly, since writing reflections consistently is the basis for effective teaching, blogging can also serve this need. Reflection is about writing what you've learned about your lesson (through experience) and the end result of what you've observed, as a mean of keeping track of how to improve. It is also through reflection that you learn about yourself, your philosophies and methods of teaching. Since you are already writing about all this stuff in your reflection journal, why not do so online where others can learn from your observations and experiences too?
When I research and write about a topic that I had difficulty understanding before, I find that getting myself to blog about it actually clarifies the concepts I want to learn. As teachers, we know that it is when students are able to teach others that learning is at it's peak. As such, blogging forces you to learn and fully understand a topic before writing about it.
Come to think of it... students should be blogging too!
Sounds like a Car... A 5E Model you say?
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| from www.bscs.org |
Inquiry based learning is one of the most popular instructional strategies used today. However, it is also one of the toughest to implement in the classroom. While searching for types of inquiry activities to use (and blog about), I stumbled across a great article related to the 5E inquiry model: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. This model, which was never discussed in our Faculty of Education classes, is one which actually explains in detail, the components of a good inquiry lesson. It supports the 'constructivism' philosophical approach (Piaget and Gardner) where it is believed that students learn best by exploring and constructing their own ways of understanding an idea or concept. (Nasa.gov)
Engagement: Purpose is to assess prior knowledge and get students engaged by way of starter activities that peak student interest. The activity (or hook) should connect prior knowledge (lessons) to possible misconceptions thus creating 'cognitive disequilibrium', an uncomfortable state or frame of mind. Examples of these kinds of 'hooks' include: asking a question, showing a 'discrepant event', showing a problem, doing a cool demonstration. The goals is to have students to successfully engage due to the motivation lead by the 'hook' activity. (Mostly from bscs.org, p.9).
Exploration: Provides students with a basis at which to work with in order to further explore 'unbalanced' concepts, processes and skills presented during the 'hook'. Students use their prior knowledge to base their new learning from, while exploring ways to reinstate equilibrium through investigation. For this phase to be effective, it must be hands-on and students must be given the necessary time to explore objects, events and/or situations. Teachers must only act as facilitators in the learning process. (Mostly from bscs.org, p.9).
Explanation: Teachers focus on one aspect of their students exploration process and gives students the opportunity to explain their understanding. Teachers then introduce new concepts, ideas or skills to students while providing a formal explanation about the new idea. The teacher should connect the student's explanation to their own explanation as well as the experience itself. This tends to deepen student understanding, which is a critical part of this phase. (Mostly from bscs.org, p.9).
Elaboration: Students can further explore and demonstrate their newly acquired understanding by applying or transferring it to new situations. These activities can be more complex and require high-order thinking. Interactions within small groups and collaborative learning give students the opportunity to develop new ways of thinking. The main goal of this phase is to get students trained in generalizing concepts and processes.(Mostly from bscs.org, p.10).
Evaluation: Teachers and students can assess new student understanding while affirming whether students have reached the respective learning goals. This can be accomplished through formative teacher evaluations, and self-evaluations, although peer-evaluations may also be used. (Mostly from bscs.org, p.10).
This model was created in 1987 (I believe) by the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS). Have you ever heard of it?
Scaffolding to Bridge the Gap
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| From www.cbsrentals.ca |
In our social studies class, our professor has introduced us to a very common scaffolding strategy - breaking down an assignment in chunks, giving us a deadline to complete each one. The idea here is to get us to complete our assignment in steps, while giving us meaningful feedback along the way.
Scaffolding is an old concept that originates from Lev Vygotsky's 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD) theory (ASCD, 2010). ZPD "is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help" (Innovative Learning, 2011). In other words, teachers will scaffold in order to guide students toward reaching the next level up in their understanding of a concept. It is a temporary strategy that is gradually lessened as students master the new learning level.
Thus, in order to successfully scaffold a student, a teacher must know where a student is in their learning and understanding. This can be assessed through questioning, and other formative evaluation strategies. From there, it becomes just a matter of knowing effective scaffolding methods to get students to reach their next level of learning. Five (5) great scaffolding strategies are presented here:
1. Always Demonstrate: Many learners are mostly visual and tend to prefer seeing what they have to do instead of trying to figure it out on their own, with written instruction. I am one of these students. I find that modeling is a critical scaffolding strategy that should be used as often as possible, no matter what. It is a wonderful way to show students exactly what is expected of them. (Alber, 2011). This strategy involves showing how to complete an assignment (or lab) and the use of Examplars, an example of the final product sought.
When a project or assignment is assigned to students, share an exemplar with them so they know exactly what your level of expectation is. Have the rubric that will be used to assess their work handy, and go over the rubric with them while evaluating the exemplar. This also provides a great opportunity for students to ask questions for further clarification of the assignment. (Alber, 2011)
2. Daily Discussions: Ever heard of the expression "Two heads are better than one"? Discussions can be viewed in this way, in terms of scaffolding strategy. It encourages students to engage in whole class and or small group discussions in order to deepen their understand of the concept being explored. It gives them the opportunity to connect ideas to see the bigger picture as well as relate what is being learned to previous experiences and knowledge (Alber, 2011). It can also be used by way of debates, think/pair/share, triad teams and more (Alber, 2011). Daily discussions should be part of the every day lesson and thus, it is imperative that teachers put the extra effort to ensure students feel safe to share in the classroom.
3. Visual Aids: Graphic organizers have been repeatedly used by teachers as an aid in learning for students with special needs, such as English Learners and children with exceptionalities. But it is important to note that they can be just as useful for other strong students as well. The main purpose of using visual aids is to help students organize their thoughts to further understand the concept being taught. Graphic organizers can be used by teachers during the course of a lesson, or they can be used by students during the course of study. There are various websites online that offer graphic organizer templates, which any teacher can use (TeachingHistory.org).
4. Effective Questions: Coupled with daily discussions, asking effective questions can deepen thought and improve understanding of a lesson. As stated by Rebecca Alber (2011), there are certain types of questions you should aim for: specific, guiding, and open-ended. Additionally, it is crucial to allow students enough time to think about the question prior giving an answer. Read All Teachers Should Ask Good Questions for details on how to create effective questions.
5. Small Group Work: Small (3-4 students) group work leads to collaborative learning, which is again, extremely important for students to increase their levels of understanding. Not only that, it also gets them to refine their social skills, such as negotiation, conflict resolution, communication, and listening skills (Alber, 2012). I personally really like to incorporate group work as much as I can, because I believe in community-based learning.
What is your favourite scaffolding method both as a teacher and a student?
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Getting Students 'Hooked' to Learn
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| From www.tes.com |
Ever heard of the expression "the first 10 seconds determines first impressions"? Well, not only does this finding relate to first impressions of a person, but they also determine the amount of interest in a classroom. I find that in order to maximize student interest, first impressions are paramount in keeping students engaged and motivated to learn your content. Luckily, there are various ways to grasp your students' immediate attention and keep their attention for the rest of a lesson. These 'ways' are called 'starter activities' or simply 'hooks'.
There are tons of resources online that can help you find the right hook for each of your lessons, regardless of your content area. I personally find that anything funny or that elicits some type of discussion, are the best. Here are my top 5 starter activity ideas:
1. Magnified picture: Posting a relevant magnified image, on the board at the beginning of class as students enter the classroom, is a great way to have them start thinking about the day's lesson. It is also a great way to generate prior knowledge. Simply google 'magnified photo of' and your topic, in order to find a great image that fits.
2. Text your vote: Posting a poll question where students answer one of two answers, is also a great way to encourage discussions. The best questions are opinion based, as you can have students volunteer answers before the lesson begins. This can stir some quite intense debates the classroom, which keeps students engaged. Kahoot is one of many sites that offers poll options which are simple to create and use.
3. Music videos: Who knew you could start the lesson with a music video about your content? Students generally love music and learning content through popular songs is a great way to catch their attention. Sites that offer music videos include: Songs for Teaching is a great social studies music site whereas Mr. Parr's Science songs is great for science.
4. Pass the parcel: Kind of like musical chairs, students pass around a brown paper bag with question cards inside, related to the day's lesson. As the music plays, students must pass this paper bag around. When the music stops, the student holding the bag must pick a question card inside (without looking) and answer the question. This can be used to review the previous lesson or to assess students' prior knowledge about the lesson to be taught that day. This is a great way to engage all students and get them excited to learn. (Idea taken from Outstanding Lessons site).
5. Gratitude journal: Having students come to class and begin by writing in a personal journal, what they are grateful for, is a great way to keep students in the right frame of mind, the entire day. According to Blogger Vicky Davis, this activity has been proven to even increase long-term well-being and happiness. Although these journals are not content area specific, they can still be extremely beneficial for their being.
What is your favorite starter activity? Please share in the comments below.
Professional Development For Ontario Teachers
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| From americantesol.com |
As part of our due diligence as teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure we keep learning in order to stay updated with current ways of teaching and learning. There are multiple ways one can accomplish this, through registration of AQ (additional qualifications) courses, to reading journal articles and news articles. Another great way is through webinars. In my search to keep learning and growing in my field, I have found several websites that offer free online webinars for teachers.
Here is my top 4 list:
1. Ontario Teachers' Federation Learning Sessions: Has monthly webinars about various topics including new technology, how to teach math, incorporating financial literacy in any classroom, lesson planning, inquiry-based teaching, and more. These webinars are my favorite as they are specific to the Ontario curriculum and give meaningful information on how to effectively improve lesson content and delivery.
2. International Institute for Restorative Practices Webinars: Offers free webinars on how to implement restorative practices in the classroom. These courses also provide the opportunity to learn how to bring the restorative practices concept at a whole school level.
3. ASCD Professional Development Webinars: Offers a long list of great presentations about topics such as how to become an effective teacher, cultivating curiosity in the classroom, meeting students needs, how to motivate reluctant learners and much much more. This site requires that you register before having access to these archived webinars, but it is free and well worth it. They also provide you with a presentation handout of the webinar, so you can keep it for future reference.
4. #stateoftheART Best Webinars List: This blog offers their list of the best 20 webinars found online. Although not Canadian, it offers a great list of specific presentations that you can watch online. Each webinar is offered by different organizations/websites (ie. Coursera, EdTech, etc), so you can always check their list of webinars as well. It will surely give you an insight on different ways of teaching around the world.
If you are aware of other great webinars that are offered online and free of charge, please share by commenting below. We are always looking for new ways to develop our teaching and learning skills.
Connection Before Content Through Restorative Practices
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| From http://www.centerforrestorativeprocess.com |
If you haven't heard of this new 'restorative practices' movement in today's classrooms, then you must read on. According to the Center for Restorative Process, this technique has been proven to "help to create calmer, more focused classroom(s)" by way of building a sense of community and stepping outside of self to understand others perspectives on behavior. This is turn helps students develop empathy, conflict resolution skills, emotional intelligence, leadership skills and much more. Restorative practices are best performed in open circle dialogues and are easily implemented with students. The key to success however, is consistency.
Although there are numerous ways to perform restorative practices in the classroom, new teachers can develop this technique quickly by learning these five (5) main requirements (all information presented here is taken the Center for Restorative Process (CRP) document):
1) Physical arrangement: For this technique to work well, students must be placed in a position where they can see each other face to face. This can be accomplished through a circled seating format. There are various types of circles that can be implemented (ie. basic circle, fishbowl circle, popcorn circle, etc). It is best to research these set ups prior to commencing on the restorative practice journey, to see which would work best for your end goal. For details on each type of circle, see page 21 of the CRP document.
2) Talking piece: A talking piece is an object held by a speaker during the circle meeting. It's main purpose is to give a student the opportunity to have a voice and be listened to. Only the person holding the piece can speak, and it is everyone's responsibility to be respectful of this individual's thoughts/feelings. This object could be one taken from nature (ie. rock, feather, shell) or even purchased. The aim is to choose something that signifies peace and calmness.
3) High-quality Questions: For a circle meeting to be successful, high-quality questions must be asked in order to elicit deep and thoughtful discussions. They can also be used as a means to 'check-in' with students current moods/feelings. When restorative practice circles are new to the classroom, questions should be more general and superficial. However, as they become a routine and students build trust with one another, they should be of a deeper nature. The key is to ensure they are relevant and meaningful to your students' lives (and/or current events), are open-ended, and invite deep thought. For examples of high-quality questions, see page 12 of the CRP document.
4) Respect: It is crucial to teach students to listen without judgment and interference when someone (the person holding the talking piece) speaks. In other words, it is a sense of release portal without feeling judged. Thus, it is important for students who are listening to respect the speaker's thoughts and feelings, no matter how much pain the speaker is going through. The purpose of the circle is to build a sense of safety and belongingness. As well, it is important to show respect by keeping what was said to oneself - not to gossip it to friends outside class. Thus, it may be necessary to remind students daily of these rules prior to commencing the dialogue.
5) Reflection: Although not a requirement, it may be a good idea to have students reflect on their thoughts after a meeting or on a weekly basis. This could be accomplished by way of a personal journal, where students are asked to write down what they've learned that week or how they can improve as individuals based on the week's circle dialogues. It could be a great way for them to keep track of growth, both on a personal level as well as an academic one.
For more information on learning restorative practices, join these FREE webinars hosted by the International Institute for Restorative Practices: http://www.iirp.edu/webinars.php
Have you used restorative practice in your classroom? If so, what have you as an educator or student, learned from this technique?
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