Constant Learning

January 29, 2019 Arianna Lambert Building Inclusion, Classroom Layouts, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Constant Learning, Flexible Classroom, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning Resource

I’m super excited about this being my 10th year of teaching. Although this year, I’m not teaching in the traditional sense of having my own classroom, I feel really lucky to work with educators as they design exceptional learning experiences for students. Over the last month I’ve been taking some time to reflect on my 10-year journey and all of the opportunities that have lead me down my current path.

One such reflection was about my experiences with blogging and thinking about the reasons why it all began. In 2016, I was looking for an easy way to connect with parents around the work that we were doing in the classroom. I wanted to parents who weren’t always able t o visit the school to know what was happening and to feel a part of the school experience and learning of their child. Even if only 1 parent took the time to read the blog, I found value in writing it. My weekly writings also offered me the chance to reflect and think about what we were doing in the classroom and the reasons why. I truly enjoyed blogging weekly and for the most part, kept it going for the last 3 years.

In September 2017, I started blogging for the Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning and it’s truly been an honour. Every month is an opportunity to reflect on my practice and write in the hopes of inspiring even 1 new teacher to perhaps try something new in their classroom or possibly consider an idea from a different perspective. When put that way, the task now seems a little daunting. For this post, I wanted to get back to the heart of what inspired me most about this online community and the resource that is its namesake.

Over the summer of 2017, I was sent the Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning resource. I have to say that the subtitle is a little misleading. It reads: Practical ideas and resource for beginning teachers. Perhaps it should read: Practical ideas and resources for ALL teachers. Even though this is my 10th year teaching and perhaps I’m not still a beginning teacher, there are so many amazing ideas inside. This past month, I pulled it off the shelf and dug back into it again and found a few ideas that I would love to share. I really hope that you take some time to dig in and find some amazing gems that you might be able to use in your classroom.

Mentorship

In chapter 2, there is a section on the importance of Mentorship. Throughout my career – not only as a beginning teacher – mentorship – whether formal or informal – has been an important part of my growth. In my first year, from Linda, I learned how to easily plan a Math unit that allowed for flexibility based on student learning and interest. In my second year, I learned from Toba how to truly engage students in the French language while making it relevant. In my third year, Alyson taught me the importance of connecting with students and genuinely caring for them not only academically but socially. I can honestly say that the list can continue and as the years progressed, there were often times more than one “mentor” from whom I was learning. I’ve always believed that there is something to learn from every experience and I think that I’ve been able to learn as much as I have because of the people around me. Pages 17 and 18 of the resource share models of mentorship. Take a look and see if you can find one that works for you. You never know where it might take you!

Classroom Set-up

Screenshot 2016-10-23 at 08.23.27 Chapter 2 ends with classroom set-up. As many of you know, I was a passionate advocate of flexible seating in the classroom. Years ago, my students worked on a Math project where they re-designed our classroom while taking into consideration their learning needs. They measured the classroom and petitioned our Principal for some money for items they thought would better meet their learning needs. Some wanted standing tables while other wanted opportunities to sit on the floor. We created a learning environment that worked best for us and the autonomy and increased levels of ownership in the classroom were an indication that students felt as thought the classroom was their space. Now I know that we were lucky in that we were given some money to redesign but since leaving that school, I learned 2 important lessons: where possible, let students design the space so they feel that sense of ownership in the space and be intentional about what you chose to include in your classroom space. This picture of our space looks quite full and I would have to say that every item spoke to who we were as a group. On pages 25 to 30, I love that each of the classroom learning spaces are different and yet the amazing educators can speak to the differences that they have included in their classrooms with intentionality. I just started feeling a little nostalgic about designing learning spaces!

Ideas

This resource has a variety of ideas meant to allow teachers and students get to know each other in the first hours/days/weeks of school. One idea that tempts me to ask around to borrow a classroom is found on page 52. I love the prompts and think they’re great for getting students – and frankly even teachers – to get to know each other on a deeper level. Beyond the first weeks of school, I think activities like these really help to promote a sense of belonging and inclusion in classroom spaces.

Tips

It’s report card time and I know that once again the crunch is on. Throughout my career there were many times that tips from others on best practices came in handy. This resource is FULL of great tips – and questions – that help to guide educators through some of the different aspects of our jobs. For report cards specifically, I really liked the Big Picture Questions on page 87. When reflecting on them, I think they would have been great questions for me to have asked myself during writing.

If you haven’t already, please take a look at this resource. It’s fantastic! Not only for the beginning teacher but I strongly believe that every teacher could gain something from taking a read. Once again, I’m grateful for the Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning for the chance to reflect and hopefully I’ve inspired you to take a look for yourself!

January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 Kelly.McLaughlin Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Math, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Questioning, self reflection

Taking the time to collaborate and learn how to bridge the gap

Once a month, my colleagues and I go to a highschool to look at a math sample from each of our “marker students”. There are a group of about ten of us which is made up of highschool teachers, elementary teachers and math facilitators. We take time to identify what the student knows, what they are struggling with and how we know this. The main point of these meetings that occur each month is to bridge the gap between elementary and high school. We are trying to review the necessary skills that kids in grade eight will need for next year and then we will spend large amounts of time focusing on these skills in addition to the topics we currently are expected to cover. It is very helpful to know which topics to spend the most amount of time on so I will look forward to the times in the future when we will be discussing those items.

At these sessions, we talk about what the student’s work shows us, if they are struggling with something, what does that tell us about how they are learning. We call this section of debriefing the interpretations.

The next part involves looking at next steps for students and teachers. It is a great use of time and helps us as teachers look at students we need to help further and then, we directly review how to help them reach these next steps.

All teachers get to share their marker students and then we spend time talking about how these students can get some help to further understand the questions and the overall math concepts.

The challenges we face when planning and attending these sessions include selecting a rich task that we can really dive into once we gather as a group. We tried using past EQAO assessments but couldn’t find any open ended questions. We then turned to some other test questions. I also find it hard to find the time to pull these students aside to help them once we find out ways to do so after the fact. The skill is so specific once we find out what they need help with that it seems hard to just discuss it as an isolated math skill.

The benefits to meeting like this is the amount of minds on tackling the questions and looking at helpful next steps. I really look forward to all of these educators coming into a classroom with me to help the students who are struggling in a real life setting. That will be great for all of the students, especially since they would then have at least ten educators in the room to help them grasp the challenging topics.

January 2, 2019 Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Coding, Constant Learning, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Integration, Learning in a Real Life Context, Modern Learning, Resilience, Robotics, Technology, Technology in school, The Global Competencies, Use of Technology, Using technology well

Coding with Microbits

Twice I have attended the Ontario Teachers’ Federation “Pedagogy before Technology” conference in the summer. This year I attended a design workshop that the InkSmith company provided and would never have been able to predict the chain of events that would follow. In the workshop we were grouped with people at our table to come up with a design concept and present it in the manner of a “Dragon’s Den” pitch. As we discussed the concept and made diagrams on chart paper, I put the visuals together in a small Google Slide presentation and added an entertaining video. I have my drama specialist and I’m not afraid to ham it up in front of a crowd. When it came time for the presentation we wowed the InkSmith team and ended up presenting to the entire group. We then went to lunch and I didn’t really think too much more about it. However, because I had so loudly and visibly put myself out there in an entertaining way, I was contacted by the team at InkSmith and then connected with kidscodejeunesse team. Kids Code is a federally funded program that helps students learn to code. They provide free workshops to classrooms across the country using handheld, programmable micro-computers called micro:bits. The coding program is web based and is in the blockly format but can also be switched to html for more advanced coders. When a workshop is provided to a classroom, the teacher is provided with ten microbits for the class to use and keep. You can visit the website kidscodejeunesse to sign up for a workshop for your classroom.

This is the microbit connected to a battery pack.

Kids Code Jeunesse provided me with training and as part of my job as an innovations consultant, I now go into classrooms within my school board to deliver workshops to students. The only coding that I had done up to this point was with Spheros and Ozobots which was quite rudimentary. I am now immersed into the coding culture. Which means that sometimes my kitchen counter looks like this:

It was a little out of my comfort zone to be sure. As I have gone into classrooms I have admitted to students that I’m not an expert on microbit technology and I have learned from some of the students that have been engaged in complex coding on their own time. With a quick conversation with the classroom teacher I can usually make some decisions around differentiating the program to keep students engaged.

You might be wondering what it is these little computers can do. The LED lights on the front can be programmed to light up in patterns which create animations. Students can create dice or rock, paper, scissors games and with a few alligator clips and a small speaker or headphones, microbits can be programmed to create music. With a little innovation and some adaptation it can be programmed to water plants automatically or become a pedometer. It can also be paired with a robot called K8 which can be purchased from Inksmith and assembled. The microbit website itself is where the coding takes place and it has easy to follow tutorials and ideas for projects to code.

The initial workshop is only the beginning. The only limit to these little computers is the limits of your student’s imagination. Microbits would be incredibly useful in a maker space or genius hour environment. The students develop design and critical thinking skills and problem solving techniques as they create and de-bug programs. It is an amazing way to introduce coding to students-especially if you are a teacher who is brand new to coding. Be warned: coding is extremely engaging and you and your students may have an inordinate amount of fun while learning.

December 29, 2018 Michelle Fenn Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Inspiring Students, Integration, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Modern Learning, Use of Technology

The Almighty Meme

My teenage son is obsessed with memes. I remember my friends and I at his age, randomly quoting lines from John Hughes or Monty Python movies which confounded the adults around us but my friends and I would collapse into hysterics. I am now the confounded adult but instead of movies, the quotes are from internet memes and vines.

As a teacher I always seek to leverage whatever is important to my students in order to make language engaging and authentic. Last year I used their interest in Snapchat and connected it to “book snaps” in order to synthesize information about what they were reading. Over the holidays I played a game called, “What do you Meme?” which is an adult version of “Apples to Apples” but with pictures. Although the content was rather explicit (obviously not to be used in a classroom) and more than a little embarrassing to play with my 86 year old mother, I got to thinking afterwards about the language processing that it took in order to play this game and how could I turn it into an engaging teaching opportunity. The idea around the game itself is rather simple, choose what you consider to be the best “caption” for the meme (photo) and then another person chooses their favourite of those put forth by the players. The idea is to make it “relateable”.

I realized that there was a great deal of inferring going on while we were matching the statements to the pictures. We had to read the facial cues, look for other clues in the picture and then also relate what was happening in the picture to some kind of an emotion or shared human experience. I’ll give you an example.

“When you have beaten your big brother to the last piece of chocolate cake.”

In order to come up with that statement, I had to make some decisions. I really had to think about the photo and determine what was happening. For me, it looked as though the cat was laughing and feeling rather satisfied with himself. Then I had to think of something that would cause that reaction in someone to which other people might relate. It is rather complex thinking.

In the classroom before any writing would take place I would provide many examples of popular (and appropriate) meme photos that are being used in different ways and discuss these with my students over a period of time. What makes it funny or something with which people can relate? What about the human experience is being shared in this meme?

Then I would provide a photo something like the one above on the Smartboard for students at the beginning of the language period. Just one at a time at the beginning so that we can take the opportunity to break down the thinking. Students could then invent their own statement for the photo and justify their idea when they share it with others. In order to scaffold for some students, I might provide a variety of statements like the game itself and have them choose and justify their choice. Students could also take or choose their own photo and create their own memes using apps such as Canva or Pic Collage. This could also lead to an authentic digital citizenship opportunity with how to search and use photos that are public domain. In addition, these memes could then be shared on a class blog or social media to receive comments from others which provides feedback to students on their creations.

To take the idea of the memes further, the students could then use them as story prompts and create a narrative around the meme. I might also ask the students to create some memes like book snaps which relate to the books that they are reading. See the example below:

“When Fudge ate Dribble.”

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing-Judy Blume

A meme that needs an explanation isn’t a good meme, just like you shouldn’t need to explain a good joke. There is a kind of sophistication in the thinking process involved in the creation of memes and they connect us as human beings. Memes are this generation’s political cartoon, headline in the newspaper or funny birthday card from “The Far Side” creators; a visual paired with words that connects a shared human experience. Know what I Meme?

November 29, 2018 Arianna Lambert Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Inspiring Teachers

Broadening Learning Space in Education

In my new role I’ve had the privilege of working with educators in different parts of North America. Through this work, I’ve been inspired by educators who are excited about transforming education so that student learning is engaging and prepares them for an ever changing future. In conversations with these educators, I’m amazed by the great work being done in pockets throughout however, I have started to ponder: how we can move forward in even greater ways? How do we “build capacity” (a term that I’ve often heard), not just within our own schools, districts or provinces but beyond that to ensure that great learning is happening for students throughout? What are ways in which we can support and inspire each other to continue the great work? How do we highlight inspirational stories in education on a large scale?

I’ve used social media – Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google + – and in-person meet-ups through conferences and events. Inevitably I run into the same people at conferences and online and while they inspire me and push me further in my thinking as an educator, how do we connect all of the little pockets that are out there? In this post, I’m sharing a few ways in which I have connected with others and am hoping to start a conversation on how to take things even further.

Twitter

I actually love Twitter! Three and a half years ago when a former principal suggested that hop on to join a chat that he was having at a conference, I had no idea how my world would change. Little did I know the great impact it would have on my teaching and the many connections over time. From co-creating #tdsbEd to following education hashtags, it’s become my daily dose of inspiration on-the-go. I’m fortunate to have found fantastic people to follow and have had the opportunity to meet and learn from many of them. In what ways have you used Twitter to connect with others? Are there specific hashtags or handles that you follow because they have helped you grow as an educator or sparked an interest? Please share!

Facebook

Alright…I know that it’s 2018 but I am new to Facebook. It’s taken me years to finally jump on and it’s been an interesting experience. On the FDS Facebook page, there are amazing posts that we share related to trends in education and I’m hoping to use this educator group as an online community where people can ask questions, share ideas and even get feedback on some of the innovative approaches used to engage students in classrooms.

ETFO Events

Do you find that face-to-face interactions are more appealing? ETFO always has amazing events for members. I’ve attended many in the past and find that they create a great environment for networking. I have lasting friendships resulting from a couple of events. Many of these events center around current and relevant issues in education with a lens on equity. Every event has allowed me to walk away feeling empowered and at the same time reflecting on myself and my interactions with others. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to attend events and highly recommend them to every educator. Potentially, you’ll gain a new network of critical friends who might call you to go further in your own learning.

These are just some of the learning spaces that I’ve been a part of. I know that many, many more exist. How do we expand them even further? Have another innovative space where amazing learning is being showcased? Please share them!

November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 Kim Cousin Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Flexible Classroom, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Math, Science, Students as Teachers, Technology in school, Women at Work

Coding for all

hourofcode.com

This has become an annual event across the nations. In Canada, 200,000 technology jobs will not be filled in the year 2020. Hour of Code is a great way to teach about some of the opportunities available to students. December 3 – 7 is also known as Computer Science Education Week and Canada Learning Code Week. I will have students participate in a variety of activities relating to these coding activities. This is a way to introduce and enrich the learning of students from all grades.

Hackergals Hackathon

Hackathon has also become an annual event. December 12^th schools from across Canada will participate in an event which they have been learning and practicing for this past few months. Hackergals vision is to empower young girls across Canada to explore the possibilities in coding. Women are under represented in technology and this event strives to expose many girls to computer science in the classroom.

First Lego League(FLL)-

www.firstinspires.org is another activity that students eagerly participate in. It does have an extra cost unlike the Hourofcode and Hackergals which are both free. FLL is an event that instills many skills and abilities to all who participate. It is a team building, code learning, exciting journey for all who participate. Lego League has many different avenues for all grade levels. December is the competition time where students will participate in a Qualifying Tournament to determine who will move to the next level of play. Involvement of the community provides much success for may teams.

I have enrolled teams in all three of these events. These individuals grow in many ways and often take leadership roles in next steps. I encourage anyone who has the support of staff and community to become actively involved in any of these activities.

November 22, 2018 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Special Education

Behind the behaviour – seeing our students

I see you.
I see you trying.
I see you fidgeting.
I see you working hard.
I see you fighting the floor.
I see you being a peace maker.
I see you standing up to bullies.
I see you waiting for snack time.
I see your random acts of kindness.
I see you struggling to pay attention.

I see you trying to find the space where you fit in.
I see you when you haven’t had a good night’s sleep.
I see you watching the seconds slowly tick as time crawls.
I see you throwing things because words have escaped you.
I see you searching for representation in the books you read.
I see you when you are trying to make the distractions vanish.
I see you walking off your school bus with an emotionless face.
I see you when you arrive to school without warm winter wear.
I see you taking extra long water fountain and bathroom breaks.
I see you when you come to school without having a morning meal.

I see you working to make your classroom and school a better place.
I see your desire to move about, doodle or make things with your hands.
I see you looking around the room for something else to do. Anything else.
I see you in your worst in best moments as you learn and grow as a learner.
I see you trying to understand that one student who just doesn’t fit in. Yet.
I see you avoiding difficult things because of a fear of having the wrong answers.
I see you writing notes to comfort someone who is feeling down and needs a friend.
I see you getting frustrated when things don’t go as well as you thought they would at first.
I see you when you come to school exhausted after a previous night’s music, sports or tutoring.

I see you because you matter to me.
I see you because it matters to be seen.
I see the potential in you even when you don’t.
And if I see it, so do others. Now you matter to all of us.
We see you.

Love your teacher(s).

November 2, 2018November 2, 2018 Kelly.McLaughlin Assessment, Constant Learning, Inquiry, Inspiring Teachers, Modern Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, Questioning, self reflection

Innovation Collaborative Inquiry

I am currently starting a really exciting journey which involves myself and a group of 10 teachers. We are choosing a topic that interests us and going on a year long journey to discover the answers to this question. We are currently thinking about our question having to do with student led learning and how can we get students to take the lead with their learning and how to make meaningful tasks that will inspire action.

We are meeting 3.5 days this year and we are able to work alongside these other teachers to discuss our findings and see how we can put this plan into action in the classroom.

The first meeting involved getting to know all the teachers. We did this by mingling with the crowd based on which card in the deck we had (all sixes went together, the tens went together..) and then we met up with the same suit cards and then we had a few different challenges after that. When we met with our random groups, we answered the question how have we seen or used innovation in our classroom. It was amazing the chats that we had when this question was posed to us. I felt happy explaining my students current inquiry projects where they research a question of their choice which they will then present to the group it relates to. I also shared about selecting meaningful projects that will somehow create change or an action in our school. We discussed all of our innovation ideas and then we were asked to go back to our seats.

A teacher across the room shared about something that someone had said to her that will change and solve all problems involving math: going gradeless. She mentioned there would be various levels in math like when children go to swimming lessons and they wouldn’t be able to move onto math level two until they finish level one. In a way it sounds like an IEP but it would be in place for all students.

The rest of the morning we had to find a group of people that had a common area of focus as us and that is how I ended up in the student led learning group where students guide themselves to tasks that they find to be meaningful and essentially are 21st century learning tasks. This group will meet next week to discuss our plans.

After going to this exciting learning opportunity, I went back to my class and made a self reflection for our drama haunted house that the students had just finished planning, creating, presenting and then cleaning up. I had them assess themselves using four words: not engaged, somewhat engaged, engaged and very engaged. I told them to circle which word best described their involvement before, during and after the haunted house. It was incredible to see that the word they had circled lined up with the way I would assess them. If they had done this same self assessment and I had put marks or levels on the page, I am not so sure they would have been as successful with their assessment.

I am excited to continue learning with my inquiry group and keep trying out things that we learn as a group. The gradeless self assessment was just one small thing that I know will come of this exciting learning opportunity. It is very fun being apart of a group of like minded people that are really hoping to see a positive change in our classrooms.

More to come!

November 2, 2018 Michelle Fenn Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Genius Hour, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Math, Modern Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, Technology in school, The Global Competencies, Use of Technology

Introducing Coding without Robots

A few years ago when I started hearing about teachers doing coding and robotics in the classroom I dismissed it as a fad. I didn’t understand the value of coding nor could I see how it tied to the curriculum. However, I recognize as a professional learner my initial reaction to something radically new can sometimes be resistance. I think that this is because I can’t see myself fitting “one more thing” into my classroom practice. I always have to give myself time to process, research, find the value and then finally accept it. After I have tried a new practice with students and see the beneficial outcomes, I endorse it and then begin to share it widely with colleagues.

When I began the journey with coding and looked at code.org I tried it on my own and admittedly, understood very little. I went to more workshops and conferences but avoided the coding and robotics thinking that it just wasn’t my bag. Then I had a colleague that dragged me in to the world of coding and robotics. We worked together. I’ve since become convinced that we need to teach all students how to code. I have also figured out that you don’t need any robots to do it. In fact, when you start-you don’t even need a computer.

The above picture is a coding game that I used recently with a grade one and two class. Students placed their obstacles (rocks) on a grid. They placed their “gemstone” or finish on a spot on the board and their “robot” (animal) on another spot. They wrote their code on a sticky note using arrows and then had their partner take their robot through the code to test it for “bugs”. A big part of coding is knowing your left from your right and being able to write instructions that someone else can follow. We started out the day coding one another to walk in a square using only: “forward” “turn left” and “turn right”. It was amazing to see how much problem solving took place. They were using positional language, procedural writing, clear communication, visualization and proportional reasoning. Their thinking was exploding! The students were engaged in the learning and well on their way to being able to code something online. From there we explored the Scratch Jr. app. After a short look together at what the different “buttons/blocks” meant they were able to code independently. As teachers we sometimes get bogged down in the fact that we don’t have the money to purchase the technology and shy away from trying things based on the fact that we don’t have “the stuff”. However, laying the groundwork before introducing the technology piece to students is key. We need to always consider the pedagogy before the technology.

October 30, 2018 Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, Learning in a Real Life Context, Modern Learning

Creative Confidence

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of creative confidence. At its core it’s about believing in your ideas and that you hold the ability to have a positive impact on the world.

I share with people all the time that I’m always amazed by kindergarten students. Whenever faced with a challenge, they somehow jump right in and offer solutions that they truly believe will work. They eagerly share solutions to everyday challenges without censoring themselves or second-guessing their ability to actually be a part of a change for the better. But what happens with these eager students as they move into higher grades? At what point do they start to censor themselves and display that creative confidence in a muted way? I’ve had students as young as those in grades 4 and 5 who no longer believed in their ideas and genuinely didn’t know what steps to take in order to solve a problem “in the right way”. How did they get there? How do we get them back? I wonder if the following elements that exist in Kindergarten classrooms might be key in answering these questions.

Play

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have the two most amazing nephews in the entire world! I genuinely love watching them play. Sometimes in role as others or even just as themselves, they interact and problem solve on the fly. Issues come up when the other character doesn’t quite respond in the way one expects and they have to come up with a solution so that the game or activity continues. There’s the freedom to play anything and to try anything. The idea that you have to be good at playing just doesn’t exist. They just do it at home and at school. I wonder if we adopted the same idea for older students as they entered the classroom, what might the learning be like? What if tools were given and they were asked to interact with them in a way similar to play? What if there was no association with being good at something but the idea of just jumping in and trying it was valued. Would students engage more and worry less about the outcome? Would they embrace failure and try again, ultimately learning as they try again? How would our classrooms be different if this concept or idea was valued well after kindergarten?

Design

Kindergarten students are forever designing something for someone or something. They build homes for their figurines with blocks and use craft materials to build homes for animals. They also draw pictures to bring a smile to a loved-one’s face and some use tech to create. How might we keep this going as they age? It’s no secret that I’m going to say…dig deep into Design Thinking! It’s a creative framework that can be used in any discipline to allow students to hone their creativity as they work towards creating unique and innovative solutions for real-world problems. Consider the learning goals that you are working towards, connect them to a real-world problem and let students engage in the process. The more that they see themselves as creators of meaningful change in the world, the greater their creative confidence will be!

Interdisciplinary Learning

I can’t help but be inspired by the interdisciplinary learning that happens in kindergarten. This reminds me of the learning that happens as adults. I joke that I don’t just do Math between 10:30 and 11:30 and often wonder why this is the case for our students. What if we were able to integrate subjects? What if students saw connections between the work that they were doing in Language and in Math? Or Social Studies and Science? Would they learn more easily learn the transferability of skills? I know that it’s a challenge when we have a specific number of minutes or hours of a specific course that have to be completed and even more so in Secondary Schools where subjects are taught by specialists. In what ways might we make a shift so that learning isn’t so siloed? I don’t have an answer but I wonder if when students see the connections between subjects, if they might just become more excited about approaching something new because they realize that they have a tool-kit from a variety of subject areas that can be meshed together to them as they go.

I’m working on my own creative confidence by playing more, designing new things at Future Design School and thinking about how I might be able to help others with interdisciplinary planning and learning for students. I’ll keep you posted on how things go!