Earlier this week in EDPB 503, our class discussed a student’s anecdote in which she came across two intoxicated teenage boys in a vacant bank parking lot. According to this student, these young men banged on her vehicle window, loudly and laughingly requesting fist bumps and high fives. The student took a moment to consider, rolled down her window, obliged each young man in a high five, shared a laugh, and drove away. Meanwhile, these young men were videotaping the encounter, presumably to upload to social media.
This encounter has been ruminating in my mind all week as I consider how I would react in a similar situation. My desire to enter the teaching profession has largely stemmed from my calling to show young people that they matter and have value in this world: I want to form meaningful relationships with teens that will impact their lives for the better. However, I believe an encounter like the one in the bank parking lot would violate my professional boundaries. I do not want a misconstrued video on Youtube or a misunderstanding outside of school time to undo years of preparing for a fulfilling teaching career. There is definitely a delicate balance between ‘reaching out’ to students and having professional and personal boundaries in the interest of liability, safety, and reputation. In my opinion, this anecdote transcends the particulars of the incident itself, and opens up the question of where ‘the line’ is with student interactions. Where does professional life end, and personal life begin? I am asking myself these questions because the teaching profession is essentially nuanced: teachers spend countless hours outside of school time volunteering, making calls to parents, writing reports, marking, using their own money for class resources, investing in the lives of kids. We bring our work lives home: teachers are always ‘on call’, always thinking about how best to serve their kids, and that makes that personal and professional boundary not as cut and dry as an alternative vocation. It is based upon several days of thinking about this complex issue that I have created a bit of a manifesto for my boundaries as a teacher. I have worked incredibly hard in university for nearly 7 years, and do not want to get burned out, or have a liability issue on my hands. With that in mind, I am committed to the whole person flourishing of each of my students. I will pour out my life, my energy, my time to help my unique learners succeed. I will stay up late marking, making lesson plans, creating hand written letters for each of my graduates. I will bring balloons and treats and make sure kids have lunches and someone to talk with while they eat a lunch. I will coach clubs and write scholarship reference letters. I will go out of my way to ensure that my English Language Arts room is stocked with inclusive and equitable texts. I will take classes to learn the Indigenous language(s) of whatever community I am ultimately placed in, because I am a guest to this place, and have something to learn. That said, when I come home in the evening, my top priorities will be my beautiful family and my own well-being. My students deserve me at my best. Boundaries are in place for everyone’s success; reputations and personal spaces are important. And if an intoxicated young person approaches me on my own time, shoving a camera my direction, and wanting to be ‘buddies’, I will (very carefully to avoid running over toes) drive away and keep on driving. This is not because I do not value their wellbeing, but because I value my students enough to still want to be teaching in 25 years. It is so important to establish professional boundaries in this vocation, and to carve out the physical and emotional spaces needed to run teaching’s long race.
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Creating a joyful learning culture that effectively adapts to the technological innovations of the 21st century can be an incredibly exciting challenge for an upcoming educator. Technology can be used in a myriad of ways, from students submitting digital assignments in Google Classroom, to parents checking grades through programs such as Jupiter Education, to students learning math, science, history, and literacy concepts in innovative new ways.
I have noticed in my practicum an increased emphasis on digital productivity, allowing the teacher to streamline his assessment and planning strategy, and allowing parents to check students’ grades and the status of assignments. Personal digital devices are welcome in the appropriate context, such as looking up dictionary definitions, or accessing the high school’s app. Online safety, inclusion, stewardship, and news validity are increasingly hot topics that must continue to be addressed by parents and educators; I think this is something that teachers should continue to emphasize, and actively intend to work into my curriculum. For example, I intend to have students examine current events by printing off five news articles regarding the same event (such as from Fox, The Washington Post, CNN, The Globe and Mail, Global News), and have students analyze similarities and differences between different online news sources. Before beginning my post baccalaureate, much to my chagrin, I believed that English Language Arts and classroom technology were largely incompatible, and somewhat resisted the idea of incorporating digital literacy into my pedagogy. Books, papers, pens, and perhaps Microsoft Word were the ideal tools for young learners. However, I am rapidly being swayed to the Dark Side of technological integration with English Language Arts. For example, there is a terrific program called “Storyboard That”, which I will actually be sharing in my tech presentation. In that program, teachers can ask students to map out characters, themes, plot points, and vocabulary terms for a given text into a fun and interactive digital interface, unleashing student creativity, and allowing students to collaborate on some truly imaginative projects. Teachers can collect and assess the projects directly from “Storyboard That”, and the results can be shared with the class. Another way I am incorporating digital literacy into English Language Arts is in my Shakespeare unit plan that I am creating. In my unit plan, I will be selecting scenes from the play Othello to bring to small groups of students, along with a fun prop box. Students will have the opportunity to read through the scenes, and create their own version of central, transcendental themes and emotions of the scene using props and modern language. Students can then film their scene, upload to Youtube or Google Classroom (with parental consent, of course), and the short films can be shown periodically through the Othello unit as these key scenes appear throughout the lessons. I believe that by integrating technology, students will be able to collaborate, think creatively, personalize their learning, and take tremendous pride in their work as it is shared with others. As part of developing my pedagogy in EDPB 501, I have researched and reviewed current literature regarding assessment in the arts and humanities classroom. “Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom” argues that the end product of artwork alone is not sufficient for an accurate student assessment; accurately assessing students’ work extends beyond their technical ability, and reaches into the process of thinking, learning, peer mentoring, and responsible classroom stewardship (Douglas & Jaquith, 33). Of particular interest in this chapter was the author’s suggestion of a rubric for a more accurate student assessment, which takes into account the method by which the student acquired ideas (ideally from personal experience); the final artwork demonstrates effectual organization and forethought; some elements of art and principles of art are incorporated into the piece; the artwork is complete; 3-D pieces are sturdy and built with quality care; the artist carefully and respectfully handles materials and cleans their workspace; students respond positively to the works of other students and treat those works with respect; artists are productive with class time, mentoring other students, or researching future ideas (Douglas & Jaquith, 37).
Additionally, the text suggests that educators complete progress reports of observed growth for their students, and include such factors as planning and organization, student innovation, risk taking, skill and technique development, the development of meaning and expression, the student’s ability to work independently or collaboratively, and the student’s ability to problem solve (Douglas & Jaquith, 39). This section was incredibly relevant to my teaching practice, as the assessment of literature and creative writing is inherently nuanced, much like art. This assessment method – considering process and attitude instead of merely an inspection of the final product – can be applied across a myriad spectrum of arts and humanities, and can take the needs of diverse learners into account. It can also aid in a personalized learning plan that emphasizes classroom equity, as well as personal growth in the individual (such as an increased ability to take risks with one’s work). Whether I teach art classes at a high school level or not, I am confident that I can develop this rubric to create an inclusive assessment plan that considers the efforts and attitudes of my individual, complex, and unique learners. References Douglas, K. M.,, & Jaquith, D. B. (2009). Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. This blog post addresses in ineffectiveness of multiplication drill sheets to foster life-long math skills, and suggests game-based strategies that may help students learn multiplication skills. I believe creating a game-based learning culture is necessary for achieving 'flow', and can be applied to any discipline.
In my opinion, drill sheets are an effective means for students to learn multiplication, but at the expense of disrupting student enjoyment of learning, and certainly at the expense of flow. I remember being introduced to “mad minutes” in the fifth grade; I quickly learned my multiplication tables, but I also quickly developed anxiety surrounding the speed with which I was expected to churn out the information, and was flush with embarrassment when I could not work as fast as my peers. For me, multiplication took time and planning. It was about in the fifth grade that math began to lose its pleasure, and to be looked upon as a chore. Looking back in retrospect, I believe that multiplication drills were in place because it gave my teacher a quick and easy means of assessment; while the drill sheets were not serving me, they seemed to be fitting his needs quite nicely. As I reflect upon this time in my schooling and on my journey as a future teacher, I am reminded that my pedagogy must reflect the emotional wellbeing and student engagement and flow rather than quick means of assessment, personal ease, or being able to quickly check off a bullet point for a student’s competencies. Without relationship, engagement, and joy in the classroom, our subjects become moot, and the student can lose that spark of interest that creates a life-long learner. Based on this belief, I would like to introduce three strategies that may help students with multiplication proficiency while maintaining engagement and flow: 1) Multiplication War In this card game, students divide into partners. The teacher may decide ahead of time to group students with similar levels of math proficiency in order to keep things fair, or select the partners at random. Each partner will receive a deck of cards, which is split between the two players face-down. The players each draw a card and place it face up on the deck. The student who is able to multiply the two numbers first is able to keep the cards. At the end of the deck, the person with the highest added total wins the round. 2) Multiplication Scavenger Hunt Individually or in small groups, students are given a bingo-style scavenger hunt sheet and are set to work multiplying objects in the classroom. The first team to create an ‘x’ shape (or an alternative) receives a small prize. Options for the scavenger hunt could include windows x window panes in each window, computer keyboards x the number of keys on the keyboard, number of chairs in classroom x chair legs, etc (Lynette, 2010). This activity can provide movement around the classroom, and working in pairs can enhance reciprocal learning as students’ support one another’s success. 3) Multiplication Bingo In this activity, students are given a bingo card with the sums of various multiplication tables, placed in random order (such as 28, 64, 72, etc..). The teacher calls out a multiplication set, such as “4 times 7”. If the student has the sum (28), it can be stamped, with the goal of creating a complete line. The student hands in their signed copy of the bingo sheet to ensure they have been participating (Geiger, 2016). Although activities such as these cannot always be adapted into a lesson plan due to time considerations or a teacher’s desire for more traditional instruction, I am convinced that students learn best through flow, in a low-anxiety environment, and ideally with the reciprocal support of a partner. Although game methods may make it more difficult for the teacher to assess proficiency, game methods can foster an equitable learning culture in which mathematics is not met with fear, boredom, and hostility, but with a sense of wonder. References: Geiger, Anna. (2016). Free single-player multiplication bingo. Retrieved fromhttps://www.themeasuredmom.com/free-single-player-multiplication-bingo-games/ Lynette, Rachel. (2010). Send Your Kids on a Multiplication Scavenger Hunt. Retrieved from http://minds-in-bloom.com/send-your-kids-on-multiplication/ When I was completing the third year of my undergraduate degree, I was assigned a major group project. For said project, my group and I were instructed to create a major power point presentation, present on a given research topic, and write an accompanying paper. The presentation was one of the cornerstone projects for the course, and would occur on April 1st. I have always been a relatively ambitious student, and, wanting to ‘do my bit’ so to speak, offered to accept each group member’s research notes, add them into the power point, and create a small research paper based upon what I assumed would be completed paragraphs handed to me by my peers.
I think you can imagine how this anecdote ends. After days of attempting to collect the notes of some rather lackadaisical team members, I was finally able to assemble a motley collection of hastily scrambled, Wikipedia copy and pasted notes from my various group members. It was 5:00 on the evening of March 31st. I spent the entire evening single handedly creating the group project on my own. Unfortunately, that evening was my oldest daughter’s fifth birthday, and I completely missed it. It was a low moment in my parenting career, but I was left feeling out of options. I quickly developed a distaste for group work. Certainly, this is the negative extreme on the group work spectrum. I have also been a part of group work where ideas are wrestled with, thinking flourishes, and students build upon one another’s perspectives and creative processes. I am convinced that done correctly, group work can allow students to team up stronger and struggling students, encourage healthy debate, engage differing perspectives, and allow more well-rounded, nuanced learners who can go beyond mere facts and correct answers to grasp those “Big Ideas” with clarity and confidence. Additionally, group work allows students to reciprocate their learning to each other, reinforcing core competencies and inspiring a student’s confidence as they impart knowledge and take on a teacher-like role. Finally, being able to work well with a variety of people (even difficult people) to create a greater vision will aid in a greater understanding of a student’s self-identity and personal growth. On a broader scale, being able to collaborate to create something good is a building block in building a more peaceful and more knowledgeable world. In my opinion, group work is most effective when expectations are clearly established at the beginning of the activity or project. The teacher’s goals, objectives, and lesson plan should be clear. This way, students will not have to spend valuable time worrying about understanding the assignment, and more time collaborating effectively. Class time should be made available for students to meet for group work, as schedules can be difficult for busy students to sync. The teacher can also request interim reports (such as reference lists, notes, etc…), and students should be required to briefly share how they have been contributing to their group’s success. The final report should include a brief snapshot of how each individual member added to the project, and peer assessment should be considered part of this process. Done with accountability and under some gentle, joyful guidance from the educator, students can enjoy the collaborative benefits of group work, learn to work as a team, and create impressive projects that can be a source of a student’s confidence and academic success. |
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