General – Page 69

November 30, 2016 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection

Painting with the same brush.

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en — PublicDomainPictures / 18043 images CCO 1.0

Underlying
An artist was preparing to paint one day. First, she stretched and secured her canvas over its wooden frame. The artist continued by arranging her brushes, planning a colour scheme, and then by setting up her supplies. Finally, it was time to ponder her subject forever to be captured in a moment of time and occupied space – where her vision would be on display in pigment, oil or acrylic for evermore for all to enjoy.

The artist could already see her finished masterpiece. As if the picture had miraculously painted itself. Without anything left to imagine, conjure, or deliberate she began.

Un-(der) inpired
It was all right there in living, er um, cold dead colour. All she had to do was slather it onto the wintery whitewashed space in waiting. She pulled out the widest brush in her kit, dipped it into the first colour, white, and painted a perfectly straight line across the top of the canvas. She dipped her brush again and repeated, the same thing over and over, with the precision of her first strokes until she has covered the entire canvas. She felt satisfied, but did not have time to admire her work for long. There were 29 more canvases to cover just like the first one. She smiled, sighed, dipped her brush, and started on the next one. Yet, with a pallet of colours and brushes at the ready, the artist only knew how to paint with a single brush and to use white paint to do her work.

http://kaboompics.com/one_foto/880/brush-painting-the-white-wall CCO License

Under pressure
Does teaching ever seem like this to you? Do educators feel they are asked to paint blank canvases everyday, but are only given one wide brush and a single colour to work with? I wonder whether that is how some teachers have come to feel when a learning system is imposed on them which expects students to be taught to the test?

Teachers plan and prepare their materials to deliver a lesson much like the artist in the story above and in the end are expected to use the broadest brush and one shade of paint. What may be more disappointing, is that many only have time to paint one coat before feeling they have to move on.

Underwhelmed
I am not a huge fan of the traditional textbook. In fact I have called them “knowledge coffins” in the past. When traditional textbooks are at the centre of the instructional day, there is little option for learners to explore beyond its pages. Yes, it’s all in there, but at what cost are other things and ideas being left out?

First, consider the cost of purchasing texts/licenses per class. Math books alone can range upwards of $1500 to $2000 for a class set per subject. What happens when the curriculum gets revamped like what has recently happened in Ontario with the French(2013), Health/Physical Education(2015), and Social Studies(2013). Could the money schools, boards, and government pour into photocopies and textbooks be used to provide Chromebooks for every student instead? Imagine the cost savings in paper alone. If we did this, every learner from K to 12 could be equipped with a productivity and research tool for the classroom at their fingertips? And, at home too if WiFi is available.

Unrepentant
I am a fan of adaptive and hands on learning environments. In the classroom, I want students to have a voice in how and what they are being taught so we can democratize education. I believe all educators possess the means/ability to transform and tailor their instruction to suit their students. What they need now is a safe place to do so and that’s an issue of system and school leadership.

To paint a portrait of the future, educators need to use the prescribed curriculum as a pallet filled with colours that is not limited to a paint-by-number task. However, many are afraid to use other, less traditional brushes and materials to paint their masterpieces because the outcomes might not look resemble or match work gathering dust on the walls.

Yes, there are things to be taken from the past, but the world outside our classrooms has not remained fixed in space and time. Neither should it remain static inside. The classroom must become a vibrant and connected place where students have access to, and be able to contribute to a world of knowledge.

This requires courage to happen. It requires time for others to understand, accept, and embrace. It doesn’t have to look perfect. The mess is an important part of the process.

Ask yourself what or who inspires you to take chances as a learner? What new idea(s) would you try in your classroom if you knew you couldn’t fail? Start by giving yourself permission to change things up in one subject area, and then go from there.

I’ll be here to chat if you want to talk more about how we can change the portrait of education to a landscape of creativity, differentiation, and encouragement.

In the meantime I have some brushes to clean.

November 29, 2016 Tammy Axt General, Professional Learning and Growth

Getting ready for my first TPA- Evidence of the Competencies

Now that I have been teaching for five years, I have to complete my first complete TPA, including all competencies and all components. The whole TPA process can be overwhelming and stressful and preparing for it has caused me some anxiety, I won’t lie. Due to a mid-year change in administration, I haven’t set my date yet for my evaluation, but I thought it was time to start getting prepared for my pre-observation meeting. I figured getting prepared early would alleviate some of the anxiety I am feeling.

In preparation for my TPA, I have read two really helpful sources of information:

1. The Ministry of Education has written a manual that outlines the entire TPA process. You can download and read the manual at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/appraise.html. It is a long read, but it outlines the process in detail.

2. The Professional Relations Department at ETFO has written two really helpful bulletins on the TPA process. I really appreciated guidance around all of the pitfalls to try and avoid.

Advice for members

http://www.etfo.ca/AdviceForMembers/PRSMattersBulletins/Pages/Teacher%20Performance%20Appraisal%20For%20Experienced%20Teachers%20-%20Advice%20to%20Members.aspx

Overview of the Process

http://www.etfo.ca/AdviceForMembers/PRSMattersBulletins/Pages/Teacher%20Performance%20Appraisal%20for%20Experienced%20Teachers%20-%20Overview%20of%20the%20Process.aspx

I have also attending my local’s TPA workshop that was held earlier this year. At that workshop, the presenter encouraged us all to make our evidence of the 16 competencies really clear and accessible for our administrator. The presenter shared with us a variety of ways in order to present your evidence such as folders, a binder or photo books. I have decided to gather a binder of evidence that shows my ability to demonstrate the sixteen competencies within the five domains. Here are a few pictures of the contents of my binder and how I have organized my presentation.

I organized the contents into the five domains. Below is a peak into the fourth domain.

I used post it notes to highlight how the contents demonstrate the competencies.

Getting evaluated can be stressful, but gathering evidence of your success in the sixteen competencies can go a long way to guiding your conversation with your administrator in a positive direction. You already do amazing things every single day in your classroom! Just gather up some of those materials and get ready to shine.

November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 Will Gourley Assessment, Celebrating Success, General, Mental Health, Report Cards

The upside of encouragement

Photo by Peter Kratochvil https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

It’s that time of year again. Autumn leaves have turned colour and fallen without a care to the ground. Halloween candy supplies are at seasonal lows and sugar fuelled misbehaviour incidents are subsiding.

There is a love-hate feeling attached to this time of year. A love of the beauty that nature has bestowed upon us, and a hate for the extra work it adds to the lives of many. How we see this season may define our perspectives in many areas of our lives. I will not be raking this year, but always take time to enjoy the changing colours.

Fall is also a time for appreciation and reflection. For many educators, it means time to write Progress Reports. It can also be a time of mild anxiety on both sides of classroom.

Teachers might be asking, “Have I assessed enough?”
“Did I give students enough opportunity to demonstrate their understandings?”
“Did I do everything I could to foster success?”
“Did I catch it when they were successful?”
“What will parents think of my assessment of their child?”
“What are the next steps in my class before the next reporting cycle?”

Students are probably wondering how they are doing too?
“Did my teacher notice that I am trying my best?”
“Did I do everything I could to succeed?”
“What marks will my friends get?
“Am I below, at, or above average?”
“Will my parents be happy with my marks?”
“Am I happy with my marks?”

Come to think of it, I have been thinking a lot about assessment lately. Educators assess for, as, and of learning. We use conversation, observation, and product to quantify student achievement and qualify our instructional methods. We have achievement charts, success criteria, and demonstrations of understanding all orchestrated to associate a grade, mark, or secure a checkpoint before moving forward. There is however, another key catalyst to move our students towards success. And that is encouragement.

Think of it this way. Have you ever been complimented by someone after something you did? I’m sure it was encouraging? Of course it was because you were noticed and validated for your efforts by someone else. I always value when someone takes the time share their appreciation for something I’ve done. Even when I didn’t see it myself. Each time I receive encouragement makes me want to work even harder. Our students respond this way too.
Why wouldn’t they?

When I look at what educators hold in their actions, words, and interactions with students – it is the power of encouragement that can make the biggest impact. So how can we use it to empower our students to succeed? Have you ever seen a student happy after receiving a mark, or feedback that only magnifies what was wrong with their work? How about after you complimented them after a job well done?

Students, usually, know where they stand in the classroom, whether they are budding on the tree, or withering. This could be emphasised for the better every time educators choose to acknowledge the good that is in each of their learners. Bandura shared that, “Teachers should also encourage students as a way to enhance their self-efficacies and thus improve their learning.” Some might call this Strengths Based Learning. For me encouragement is a simple, yet crucial instructional tool which promotes a positive outlook on effort, learning, and assessment.

When students are encouraged they are free to become risk takers who are safe to try, safe to make mistakes, safe to fail, safe to try again, and always safe to learn. As the marks fall on this year’s progress reports, with encouragement, students will see the beauty in their efforts instead of being raked over for their work.

November 6, 2016 Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, solidarity

Remembering To Remember

Life is so busy that it sometimes takes an overwhelming effort to make time for yourself, let alone remembering all the sacrifices that have been made that allow us to live in such a free country. Yet we must and we must teach our children so they understand the why of remembering and not just the act of remembering.

Every year we make a concentrated effort to bring the community and school focus on Remembrance Day. Teachers and students put together emotionally compelling presentations to honour the generations from our past that made the ultimate sacrifice to make Canada the country it is. As part of our daily commitment to students we must commit to educating them not only about the world events that lead us to November 11, but also the small, day-to-day acts that make their world safer, healthier and provides them with a seemingly endless list of opportunities.

Take the time to have classroom discussions about the role of police officers, firefighters, physicians, crossing guards and any other key individuals that impact their life. Write letters of thank you and deliver them to those individuals or organizations. As a teacher (and key role model for your students) model for them on a daily basis how remembering can be demonstrated in such small ways as simply saying thank you.

Finally, as a teacher who has been in the profession for over thirty years, I must say thank you to the generations of colleagues before me. They spent days on the picket line, sacrificed family time and were the target of public scrutiny in order to make my profession what it is. I am blessed to have job security, benefits, peace of mind knowing my wife is treated equitably as a teacher and that my working conditions and student learning conditions are constantly being protected. This was not always the way for teachers.

“Remember For More Than A Day”

November 6, 2016November 6, 2016 Kelly.McLaughlin General

Flexible Seating

Working towards my student flexible seating classroom has been an interesting journey so far. The journey started in September with two bean bags, two carpets and one outdoor soccer chair. These items were interesting and were the go to spots in our room. The bean bags were always crowded and students enjoyed working on the carpets while reading or working in groups.

I started to bring in more items and we started to need more room for all of these items. The entire class designed a plan for our room (four in total) and I showed every class in the school their plan. Then, after a winner was chosen, we got to work to re-set up the room.

The final plan included a few new items:

an exercise bike for brain breaks
two more carpets donated by a grade eight student
a large purple bean bag donated by a student in our room
two blow up coaches that are hard to handle as they deflate every twenty to thirty minutes
one large rectangular table
one small hexagon table

We are now almost at our goal, we have seven interesting seating areas in our room. These areas are all different and are available to all students. Students are now choosing where they sit every morning, the seats are not permanent and they are a work in progress. I cannot wait to keep adding items and taking some away as they unfortunately break…

Students having a large say in the way their class looks I believe is the best way to set up a class. I encourage you all to give your class design over to your students!

October 31, 2016October 31, 2019 Will Gourley General, Teacher Wellness

What’s really scary

Ir’s October 31st, and in the chilling shrills of SCTV’s Count Floyd, “AAH-OOOOOOOOOOOOO, it’s very scary!!!!”

That’s right zomboys and ghouls, two months of school have flown past faster than a banshee in a frighter jet. Did you stop to breathe? Have you had a chance? Did the start of the new school year take your breath away? A new year can be full of tricks and treats for both new and experienced teachers alike.

Congratulations, by my calculations 20% of this year’s pumpkin pie has been sliced and served. What memories will you take away from these first two months. In my class we take some time to thresh out what’s been alright from the blight.

We had another reorganization due to rapid growth in our school. That meant quite a few changes. Some students had to be moved to new classes, we welcomed new staff, and in some cases routines needed to be re-established with a completely new classroom dynamics. Did you have to re-organize after prepping all Summer for a different grade?

Did you smile? Did you know that some teachers were taught not to smile until November? I couldn’t make it past the first day. Chris Emdin’s TED Talk Teach teachers how to create magic shows us a better way. Now this is something to howl about. AAH-OOOOOOOO!!!

Has your year been a fright or a delight so far? Beware as the chilling thoughts of report card writing are lurking around every corner. When I first started teaching I was tormented by minutia of learning the operating system, communicating learned, strengths, and next steps in parent friendly voice, administrative preferences, and to make sure I had enough data to back it all up. VERY SCARY!!!! With the support of my grade partner(s) and a cauldron of caffeine I have slain the very beast that haunted my early practice.

How are you balancing the tricks and treats of classroom life? Did you give yourself permission to enjoy the experience? I find that teachers get so caught up acting like humans doing that they forget to enjoy that they are human beings. Where’s the treat in that?

You owe it to yourself to take time to take it all in while taking care of everything in your classroom. You’re an educator who stands alongside a room full of time machines, each with boundless ideas and imaginations. So that if we’re going to be afraid of something it will only be the boundaries we try to put around ourselves and therefore our students. Now that’s something scary. Happy Hallowe’en.

October 31, 2016 Tammy Axt General

A letter to an inspiring teacher

Amazing work that encapsulates the heart and art of teaching and learning is happening all around the province every day. Many of us can remember that one amazing teacher who had a positive impact on our life. Recently, I decided to look up that one teacher that really had a positive impact on me and wrote her an e-mail telling her how amazing she is. I realize how impactful she was on my current practice and how I try to emulate her caring nature every day in my classroom.

Hello Ms. S,

My name is Tammy Axt (used to be Gallant) and over 20 years ago I had the pleasure of being one of your students.

Today, I spent the day at a workshop where the following question was asked: “Which teacher had the biggest impact on your life?” That answer was a simple one: it was you, Ms. S.

I joined the cross country running team, which you coached, during my time in high school. I was not interested in joining, but my friends talked me into it. I was definitely not the fastest runner that you ever coached, but because of your perfect blend of high expectations and caring nature, I felt great after every practice. You gave up your time after school to run with us around the neighborhood and taught us the mantra “Kill the Hill” when running up the never-ending hill close to the site where the school used to be. You taught me that hard work pays off and to never give up on difficult tasks. I really believed that you cared about us, our futures and our well-being. I have carried so many lessons learned from that time over the past twenty years.

You also supported me through the opportunity of teaching a dance unit to younger high school students when I was in the upper grades. Talk about a confidence builder. You really took the time to help me prepare and execute a successful dance class during your gym period. You valued my abilities and recognized my strengths that I didn’t even knew I had. Taking on that leadership role was huge for me, and it started to shape my ability to explain things to other people.

As you might have guessed, I am now in the best profession in the world as well. I am a teacher with the Peel District School Board. I teach music, drama and dance to students in grades 1 to 5 and I love it. I try every day to do what you did for me, for my students.

You also might be interested to know that I lead learn to run clinics in my community, where we also have a huge hill. The mantra “Kill the Hill” continues on. I try to look at all of the runners the same way you looked at me: with confidence and belief in their abilities.

I hope this letter finds you well and if you have a moment I would love to hear how you are doing.

Thank you for doing all that you do every day to help kids reach their potential.

Tammy

October 31, 2016 Tammy Axt General

Classroom Management- Nothing seems to work. What should I do? Part One

Classroom management is something that has been drilled into me since day one of Teachers’ College. I use my knowledge and training every day to make sure that my classroom is a safe and enjoyable place for students to come and learn. However, I do believe that classroom management is not always perfect. Sometimes a strategy that you have used for years just doesn’t work with a certain student. Also, every year your new group of students brings with them a new set of challenges. Maybe they are a chatty bunch or a group that really struggles with social skills. Therefore, classroom management is always a skill that needs work and constant reflection.

In addition, sometimes your management strategies can be working with a certain student, then one day, for whatever reason, it stops working. This is the position that I am in this week. I have had one of my students for a couple of years in music and this year, the strategies I have used are just not working as well as they have in the past.

As the problem is escalating, I feel like I have tried as many strategies that I can think of to help this student be a positive, productive member of our class, but nothing seems to be working. So now what?

After I exhausted all of my own strategies, my first step was to book a meeting with my special education team. To help facilitate this meeting, I brought in a few notes to help me explain the issues that were happening in class.

The page of notes that I brought was divided into four sections:

Section one– Concerns

This section outlined the concerns about the academic success of my student. In my experience, this is always the place to start any meeting of concern with administrators or advisory teams, as it shows the impact the behaviour is having on the child’s success in school.

This section also briefly outlined the behaviour concerns that I was witnessing in the classroom. I chose two main concerns as a starting place. I know that if the concerns that I chose were managed, things would not be perfect, but the student would be able to learn and begin to have positive interactions in the classroom.

Section Two- Strategies tried and results

This section explained the strategies that I have tried and what the results were. I wrote about proximity teaching, peer helpers, one-on-one assistance, scaffolding and many more. For each strategy, I explained exactly what I said and did, and what the child’s response was to the intervention strategy. This helped the special education team and I to identify trends and allowed the team to begin to see the picture of the interactions in the classroom.

Section Three – What is working/Not working

For this section, I made a list of things that I felt were working in the class such as: entering the classroom, finding their designated spot, sitting in that spot during introduction of lesson without interruptions. I know some of this may sound very obvious, but it helped the team and me to identify some triggers for the student. It also gave us a starting point for further discussions on strategies to help the student.

Section Four- Next steps

This was a section that I left blank for notes to record all of the suggestions and ideas.

This is only the beginning of the conversation about this student. We will be meeting again this coming week to co-plan intervention strategies and plan check-in points for this student to gauge the success of our plan.

October 23, 2016 Will Gourley General, Occasional Teaching

Making la vida “OT” less loca

By Agriculture And Stock Department, Publicity Branch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

As a teacher, the daily demands of planning, preparing, assessing, and constant learning occupy most of my waking hours. Thankfully, after several years at, what I call, the speed of learning I have achieved what appears to be a work life balance.

One thing I clearly remember, from the start, was a vow to never (emphasis on never) take a day off due to illness, PD, or any other reason. And for a while, everything went according to plan. Steadfastly, I made it 8 months before the inevitable happened. I had to take a day (NTIP will get you every time).

4 brain wracking hours of over planning later, I gave myself permission to believe I was ready to be away. Looking back, I had really over-prepared and I know it…now. From what I reckon, I planned about 3 times more instruction and work on that single day for the Occasional Teacher or OT who covered my classes. Well, better too much than not enough right?

After the experience I began reflecting about that day. My first thoughts were a tad egotistical, truth be told. Did my class(es) behave, were my plans good? Was I going to be outed for not knowing how to prepare for an OT? What if I messed up? I felt a bit vulnerable. What if my colleagues (all experienced teachers) had to cover for me? What would I do the next time?

I also thought about what it must be like for the Occasional Teachers who, on a daily basis, find themselves in a different school classroom teaching someone else’s students and lessons? Did they ever get a chance to feel connected to the lives they were impacting, however brief? I remember the first time I noticed a couple of OTs sitting by themselves in the staff room during lunchtime – little to no eye contact and even less interaction. I didn’t like how it appeared so different than the inclusive environments we were espousing in our classrooms.

Did it have to be this way?

We are all in the same educational boat, but it seems that some are sailing on a different part of the ship. Did I break an unwritten rule the first time I said hello, and invited an OT to sit with our staff to eat? Did I miss a class in teacher’s college that covered how this was supposed to play out?

Perhaps, this was a rite of passage that all OTs had to go through in our profession? If it was, I claim ignorance, but what I observed guided me more towards how I wanted to support these colleagues who were going to occasionally be part of my teaching life. I wanted the OTs that were me for the day to feel welcome and valued in the space in my place.

So, I started with my Day Plans; ensuring they were informative, concise, and easy to follow. As a prep coverage teacher, I made sure all of the resources were marked by subject, class, and time on the schedule. I included names of students who are helpful, descriptions of students who might need extra support, and all details related to any/all safety routines/plans. Thankfully, our school had a booklet printed up with most of the general info to leaf through as well.

I thought about what else could I do? Maybe they’d like a snack? So I included a peanut free granola bar with my plans too. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I had a number of teachers write a personal note saying that no one had ever left them a treat. It made me feel good because we all know as the day goes on a little snack goes along way to staying strong. To this day I have a drawer full of treats ready to share with my OTs. I knew that if a little snack works for my students, it would work for others too.

Now that I’m a homeroom teacher, I share my plans with OTs digitally via Google Apps for Education or GAPPS. This allows me to include links to any internet content like websites or video to be shared throughout the day without having to risk typing in the wrong URLs or mistakenly opening the wrong file(s). The easier I can make their job, the better the day.

Taking stock of my OT plans from last year, it struck me that, for various reasons(mostly giving/receiving PD), I was away over 25 days from my class last year. I had to rely on a host of OTs like never before and with their support not a lesson was missed. Each one delivering the lessons and sharing important feedback after each day.

With more days out of the classroom guaranteed in the future, I know my students are in good hands.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your OT stories and keep the conversation going.

October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 Laura Bottrell General, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning in a Real Life Context

Wisdom Begins in Wonder

The end of the Kindergarten day. The students are safely back with their parents, the classroom is a mess and I’m probably covered in some form of art medium, tidying blocks, cleaning paint brushes, organizing toys and most importantly, reflecting – reflecting on the deep thinking, problem solving, exploration and discoveries that my students made in just one day. Sometimes this meaningful learning took place as a result of a simple question or observation made by a child that exploded into a day full of inquiry. One morning, a group of students were chasing each other’s shadows, which led to the entire class exploring the concept of light, an inquiry that captured their full attention for three days. Another day, two students noticed a sprout growing in the cracks of the pavement outside which turned into a nearly month-long exploration of life and natural life cycles. Another time, a large truck came by the school to pick up a garbage dumpster, and after witnessing this the entire class spent days researching heavy trucks and vehicles, relating them to simple machines. This eventually stemmed into a second inquiry about recycling and caring for our environment. In every case, the learning spanned into their writing, their demonstration of mathematical concepts, their dramatic play, their art creations and their building projects. What was my role in all of this? To question them, support them and observe them. This is what I love about Kindergarten. It is the perfect environment for inquiry-based learning.

Inquiry is probably one of those buzz words that you are hearing left and right – and rightfully so. To prepare students for life in the 21st century, we need to change the way we are teaching them to think. In other words, we need to teach them to think. It’s not just about teaching facts and information, but teaching our kids how to come across, process and communicate that information. The process of inquiry is not just about delivering the curriculum in a new way, but equipping our students to apply critical thinking, research and exploration skills to all areas of their life.

A colleague of mine implements Genius Hour in his grade five class. For one hour each week, his students are given time to research and explore any topic that is of interest to them. His students are working in a variety of areas – researching dogs, writing skits, creating a new sport, making presentations about the Eiffel Tower. Are they necessarily working on curriculum concepts? No. Are they learning? Yes! Are they engaged, intrinsically motivated and excited about their learning? Yes, and this is the key.

When our students are engaged in an authentic inquiry process, guiding their own learning, being autonomous in their decisions and problem solving on their own, they are engaged in much higher learning. We need our kids to take ownership of their learning. We need our kids to be excited to explore the world around them. We need them to wonder. When we accomplish this through immersing them in inquiry based learning, we are creating 21st century learners. It’s not always about what our students learn, but how they learn it.

Many classrooms that I have been in are using the inquiry model of learning in at least one or two subject areas – most often in science and social studies. Think of how valuable the learning could become if one inquiry could span into all curriculum areas, much like it does so naturally in the Kindergarten classroom. Why not give it a try? As I’ve learned from teaching Kindergarten, when students are free to direct their own learning, amazing things can happen.

As a teacher, it is such a rewarding feeling to watch students go above and beyond in their learning when they are motivated and engaged. I think it’s important for us all to remember that sometimes we need to step back, stop teaching and start asking.