A group of students
Mike Beetham Making a Difference Through Education, Professional Learning and Growth, Social Justice

The Heart of Teaching

Teachers supporting teachers is one of the most powerful forms of professional learning that exists in education. In my twenty-sixth year of teaching I was able to witness first hand the heart of teaching when I spent six weeks working with educators in Sierra Leone as a delegate from ETFO (in partnership with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation). Despite the country being just over a decade past their horrific civil war, the aftermath of that human tragedy lives on in the daily lives of every citizen of that country. My work focused on helping teachers develop peaceful classrooms and schools. Little did I know how much my life was going to be impacted by my experience with those amazingly courageous individuals.

When I arrived in Sierra Leone, I was instantly overwhelmed by the overcrowded classrooms (up to 100 students to one teacher), no professional resources or curriculum and nonexistent basic supplies for students. My initial thoughts were ‘”How could anyone teach in these conditions?” But what I was most taken back with, was the level of commitment, professionalism, courage and absolute pure desire to turn their country around through education. A quote from the Sierra Leone Teachers Union states “We Educate To Liberate”. There was no complaining, no frustration and no giving up. Despite extremely low wages (or not being paid at all), horrendous working conditions, daily struggles for their basic needs, these teachers‘ only desire was to learn and improve their teaching.

I have been humbled by both the dedication and resiliency of the teachers in Sierra Leone. I have become a better teacher and global citizen as a result of my work with these everyday heroes. I think about my friends and colleagues in Sierra Leone and take courage from them every morning prior to starting my day.

 

Image of a person going up a ladder
Ryan G Mentorship, Occasional Teaching, Professional Learning and Growth

Being a Mentor OT

In my first year of occasional teaching, I was as lost as Bambi in a forest fire.

Yes, I was fully certified, and sure, I had successfully interviewed for the OT list.  Yet there I was, in my first few assignments, marvelling that someone, somewhere, had said, “Hmm.  We have a teacher who’s going to be away for the day.  Let’s put Ryan in there.” The thought that I was actually being trusted with other people’s kids was entirely intimidating.  And let’s face it–most of us have reflected on, and at some point have been terrified about, the enormity of our task as educators.

Thank goodness for Sarah.

Sarah introduced herself, took me under her wing, and showed me around the school.  She connected me with full-time staff members and included me in conversations around the lunch table.  When I didn’t know where to find the photocopier, Sarah showed me.  She even pointed me to where the bathroom was (a gesture, I might add, of no small importance).  Did I mention I was lost?

You can imagine my astonishment when later I discovered that Sarah was a daily OT, just like me.

I don’t know if she realised it at the time–or if she’d even consider herself one–but Sarah was a mentor to me.  Her simple gestures helped make my transition to teaching incredibly smoother.  I bristle to think about how those first few days would have been without her.

In chapter two of The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning, we’re reminded that beginning teachers are active participants in the mentoring process.  This applies not only to contract teachers, but also to occasional teachers.  Perhaps this means that as a newer OT, you seek out the mentorship of a colleague you trust who can help you navigate through first season of your career.  Alternatively, perhaps you’re a seasoned OT with a kind heart and a wealth of experience who can guide and assist a newer teacher in the schools where you regularly see each other.

The difference informal mentors make in a school is outstanding!  I’ve seen it myself and I’m sure you have, too.  Mentors help to foster a sense of collaboration and community in their schools.  For me, what started off like a forest fire soon began to feel like greener pastures.  Undoubtedly, the mentors I know make my schools fawn-tastic places to work.

Think about your own schools.  Could you be a Sarah in someone else’s life?  I assure you they’d be forever grateful.  I am.

Thanks, Sarah.

 

Children must be taught how to think
Carmen.Oliveira Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Let’s Get This Learning Started

This year I begin a new journey as I welcome the opportunity to teach Grade 4.  For the record, I must admit that I was a bit nervous simply because I’ve been teaching Grade 6 and above for the past five years.  However, the first week has proven that if we enjoy getting to know our students and work to create engaging opportunities for them to learn about each other, the classroom environment becomes a comfortable place to be, no matter which grade we’re teaching.

Although I’ve had to be more mindful of the way I communicate by constantly keeping in mind that the students in front of me just left Grade 3, I continue to be amazed at how capable children can be when they’re given guidelines for learning and are then left to explore and build on their understanding of the world around them.

This year, my goal is to be very intentional about the feedback I provide, the conversations I have, and how I approach character education.  This goal stems out of the learning I experienced (and continue to do so) with some very powerful books I decided to read this summer.  “How Children Succeed,” by Paul Tough and “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” by Carol S. Dweck, really got me thinking about the way I approach conversations, feedback, and teaching in my classroom.  The books focus on the power of building a strong character based on resilience in children and how to help them understand that more than our talents or abilities, it is our mindset that influences our learning.

If you want to start off your year by exploring how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great success in every area of a child’s life, I recommend you take some time this year to read the books I’ve mentioned.

For a quick overview, I’ve provided an article by Carol S. Dweck below where she explains the growth mindset and how it can positively affect and change the way students learn, think, and perform.

Dweck: MiindSets and Equitable Education

Katie Pryde Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth, Use of Technology

For the Love of Literacy – The 21st Century Learner

Last weekend, I had the joy of attending Halton’s annual For the Love of Literacy Conference. This was my first time attending this conference, and I would highly recommend it! To start off the day, we got our welcome package which consisted of our name tag, the workshop information about the workshops we would be attending as well as a fabulous new teaching bag, which was provided by Scholastic.

To start off the conference, I had the absolute pleasure of listening to an hour long presentation about the 21st Century Learner from the honoured guest, Lisa Donohue (you can visit her blog located at www.lisadonohue.wordpress.com). Lisa is the author of educational books, including her latest book: 100 Minutes. In her presentation, we learned about the key traits to learning in the 21st Century:
* Collaboration (working with others)
* Communication (communicating with others, via various different forms)
* Authenticity (making learning authentic / meaningful to students’ lives)
* Engagement (making learning fun to engage our students)
* Creativity (creative teaching/giving students the opportunity to be creative in their learning)
* Choice (giving students choice is KEY to them being engaged and taking ownership in their learning).

Using digital media is extremely important with the 21st Century learner. Technology is all around us, and using it in the classroom will be engaging and authentic to our students. One quote I absolutely loved that Lisa tells her students is that when they are using social media/technology, they are “tools, not toys” and these tools should be used to “extend, not escape”. I think these are fabulous quotes to teach our students about when using technology in the classroom.

Here are some fabulous ideas of how YOU can implement social media into your classroom/assignments:
* using media literacy with higher level thinking questions (perhaps give students a higher level question, that they can respond to it on their own student blog)
* having a classroom twitter account (I have one, and post pictures/quotes of students while they are learning. My parents absolutely love this. Follow us @class_obrien).
* using Toontastic or mystorybook for storytelling/retelling
*  incorporating Blue Spruce books with technology. Give each group a book from the Blue Spruce collection, and get them to use iMovie to make a commercial advertising their book of choice. They could use many things taught in media literacy as well such as looking at their audience, what is the big idea of the book, etc
* using Edmodo for Learning Skills. Each group could have a different learning skill, and could make their own Edmodo page, which can be accessed all year long

If you can attend next years Love of Literacy Conference, I would highly suggest it. I will be there… will you?

Photo of Carmen Oliveira
Carmen.Oliveira Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Social Justice

Equity Work: Difficult and Transformative

I am currently taking a Mentoring AQ course that is really impacting my understanding of equity in education and how I can work with my colleagues to explore this topic in our teaching practice.  I truly believe that it is necessary for all of us to take a step back and explore equity as it pertains not only to our classrooms, but to our schools, communities, and personal lives as well.  I have decided to share some of my learning and wonderings as I take a closer look at the “Equity Continuum” from OISE’s Centre for Urban Schooling and the TDSB’s Equitable and Inclusive Schools site.

OISE Centre for Urban Schooling: http://cus.oise.utoronto.ca/

TDSB Equitable and Inclusive Schools: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=570&pageid=452

Just some food for thought…

“Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they   need.”-Rick Riordan, The Red Pyramid

This very simple and yet profound quote set off a critical unit of inquiry around equity in my Grade 6 classroom last year.  Over the span of a few weeks (and subsequently the school year), we explored, discussed, questioned, challenged, and brought to light this important understanding that, in order for everyone to experience success and a strong sense of self, they would not necessarily need to be treated exactly the same.  The best part of this experience was my own journey as I grappled with my previously constructed schema around equity and fairness in all aspects of my life.

I vividly remember coming back after a supply teacher had been in the classroom during this period of inquiry and having my students astonished and fuming at her reaction when a student asked for extra time and a quiet space to complete a task.  She said she had to be fair and that everyone would need to hand it in at the same time.  When the students let her know that fairness is when they have the right to learn the way that is best for them to be successful and in our classroom that means people may need different treatment, she completely disagreed in a manner that undermined what they had come to understand as being “fair.”  Our conversation was lively, to say the least, and their questions were ones I have come to ask many times since then: “How can we get people, especially in education, to think about fairness as a way of everyone getting what they need?” and, “How can we create a positive space where teachers, students, and parents question, challenge, voice their own opinions, and feel that they have the right to self-advocate?”  (Theirs were in kid-friendly language, of course).

After looking at the “Importance of Equity in Education” from the TDSB’s Equitable and Inclusive Schools page as well as the “Equity Continuum” from OISE’s Centre for Urban Schooling, I came to realize that, for me, the reasons that make equity work personally and professionally difficult are the same as those that make it transformative and fundamental if we are to move forward in education.

Whether it be with friends, colleagues, mentees, students, or parents, I find that when a conversation begins to challenge the status quo, challenge stereotypes, or involves having to critically look at ourselves, our beliefs, our expectations, or our practice, discomfort can quickly build up and the outcome takes the form of people shutting down, becoming outwardly upset, and unfortunately not evolving or learning from the experience.  I feel that at the core of this difficulty in equity work is the reality that all of us are complex beings having been influenced on so many levels in so many ways by so many people throughout our lives therefore often making us oblivious to how our own story is projected in what we think, say, and do both personally and professionally.  We seem to jump at the opportunity to try and convince others to take our viewpoint and find it easier to criticize those who do not share our beliefs.  However, looking at and inside ourselves is a whole other story.  Thus, the difficulty lies in welcoming discomfort as we tread the path of looking at equity not only by having others explore it but in also working through it ourselves.

The beauty and transformation in equity work comes about when we all courageously welcome the discomfort that arises in questioning our belief system as it pertains to our own culture and that of our school, classroom, and global community.  When we are willing to question the status quo, challenge stereotypes, critically think about how our experiences and schemas influence our pedagogical practice, hold all students (and anyone connected to education, for that matter) to the highest standards and expectations regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, linguistic competence, etc., we begin to pave a path toward open-mindedness, acceptance, respect, and transformation not only within our personal lives but in our professional practice as well.  When I began to take a deeper look at the Equity Continuum, I came to the realization that, even though I honestly believed I understood equity and had infused it in my teaching, there were so many other layers to it that I had not yet begun to peel back.  In the world we live in today, this may be one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as educators, parents, leaders and global citizens, “How will we work to ensure that everyone gets what they need to live a dignified life?”

I now know where my focus on equity will take me: unlearning what I have over time come to believe as the truth when it does not support the idea that everyone can be held to the highest standards and expectations regardless of their cultural background, race, gender, socio-economic status, etc.  I’m willing to get my hands dirty as I explore the topics, ideas, beliefs, experiences, and realities that continue to shape my understanding and practice of equity within our education system.

As Will Durant commented, “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” I chose this quote because it can provoke discomfort by having us admit that we may be ignorant while also noting that the path to discovery is progressive which to me signifies that learning happens when we entertain that which may make us uncomfortable.  Learning is messy business.  That’s what makes it transformative.

 

 

Photo of Carmen Oliveira
Carmen.Oliveira Assessment, General, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, Use of Technology

What’s On My Professional Learning Bookshelf?

A question that sometimes comes up in my ongoing teaching-learning cycles with colleagues and beginning teachers is, “What books do you recommend I read for my own learning?”  Yikes, this is a tough one!  As teachers, the truth is that if we were to pile up the professional learning books we’ve read and/or used throughout our careers we’d easily surpass the height of the CN Tower (I know you it to be true)!

I tend to prefer sharing some of my favourites and those on my shelf at this moment.  The following books are ones I’m currently going through (and enjoying!) because of insights, lessons, questions, and reflections they’ve sparked in my professional learning.  I’ve added the links to their websites which I find very helpful.

Tuned Out: Engaging the 21st Century Learner- Karen Hume

This book invites readers to both rethink what it means to teach and learn in a digital age and put those ideas into action.  The ideas are practical, closely tied to current learning theories, and important to take into consideration within the current reality of how students learn and become engaged.  Along with the book an educator can use the website which becomes a virtual classroom for teachers to both gather and share ideas.  This resource helps educators realize an energized, student-focused classroom that takes advantage of today’s digital technologies.

http://www.karenhume.ca/resources/publications/tuned-out/

 

What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning- Cris Tovani

This book explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students’ thinking and performance with fairness and consistency.  The author admits to struggling to balance her student-centered instruction wit school system mandates.  Her recommendations are realistic and practical and understands that what isn’t manageable isn’t sustainable.  Cris shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals.

Below are a link to a blog and an interview with the author about the book.

http://readingyear.blogspot.ca/2011/07/so-what-do-they-really-know-by-cris.html

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ir43_qzPU

 

Katie Pryde Learning About Your Students, Occasional Teaching, Professional Learning and Growth

Making the Change

As my Grade 3 LTO came to an end on a Friday, and my new Kindergarten LTO started the following Monday, I needed to change from Grade 3 mode, to Kindergarten mode in just a weekend’s time. As I have taught Kindergarten before, I knew what to expect. However, I knew it would take some time for myself to become familiar with the new classroom routines, the new students as well as the Kindergarten program that the teacher had already implemented. Because I will only be working this LTO for 3 months, I felt it was really important to make the transition as smooth as possible and to continue with the type of program the teacher had already implemented. I felt this was extremely important to keep some sense of normal for the students, as the adjustment to a new teacher would be more than enough for them.


The Week Before:

  • I felt extremely lucky that my principal gave me some extra coverage time the week before I started my new Kindergarten position to go into the classroom for 2 half days to meet the students, meet some of the parents and see the program in action. I felt this was so beneficial not only for me, but for the students as well
  • Students got a chance to meet me, and they knew a head of time that I would be their new teacher, so that hopefully eased  the anxiety and helped the transition from one teacher to another
  • I was able to see exactly how a day in this Kindergarten classroom was run

The Week I Started:

  • The week I started teaching Kindergarten, the students were very excited since they had already met me. I came to school with students bringing me pictures they created as well, showing/telling me how excited they were I was their new teacher
  • I hardly changed anything in their room or the program, and just continued teaching what the current teacher had been doing
  • I started giving some diagnostics to the students so I could really see where each of my students were at
  • As I have a lot of ESL and ELL students in my class, I also downloaded a translation app on my iPhone, which helped me interact and speak with my Spanish speaking students
  • We also reviewed our classroom rules and created some carpet rules, to make sure students knew what was expected of them and to show them that I knew/was familiar with the rules they already had in place in the classroom
  • I wrote an introductory letter home to parents, so they know who I am, what my teaching experiences are, and how they can communicate with me (which I got a lot of positive feedback from).

 

Overall, I feel the transition was quite seamless, and I think the main reasons are because:
1) My principal gave me time to go into the classroom before I officially started my new position, in which I was able to get to know and start the bonding process with my new students

and

2)  I kept the program the same, so the students did not have to adjust to too many things at once. With young students, especially Kindergarten students, I feel it is important not to change everything because it will confuse them and may take away their sense of community/ownership that has already been created in the classroom.

A photo of the outdoor
Katie Pryde Diverse Learning Needs, Learning in a Real Life Context, Professional Learning and Growth

Outdoor Education

Outdoor education is something I have been trying out this year in my Grade 3 classroom. I have tried giving my  students opportunities to use the outside world to explore and learn from it. As our first social studies unit was  First Nations people, we decided to go for a class walk to a nearby forest/pond area near our school. We took  some time to explore and look around at the environment we saw around us. After some exploration, we came  together and had a community circle to discuss things we have seen. We pretended to be First Nations people,  and discussed things we would use in our environment to survive (trees for building our homes, ducks for food,  water for drinking water, etc). It was a great experience, and students were able to make social studies  connections to the environment around them.

Although I have been trying out some of the outdoor education ideas, I felt I needed more. So, I signed up for an  Outdoor Education Workshop. It was called Outdoor Education: Look and Learn, which was provided to me  through my school board, Halton District School Board and Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. The  day started off with us playing some outdoor games, which came from the Project Wild resource book. Then, we  went on a hike where we were able to use our 5 senses and explore the environment. We all used our cellphones,  or were given cameras to take pictures of things that interested us. It was a rainy/foggy day, so we were able to  take some beautiful pictures. After some exploration, we were given some birds seed and these chickadees flew right down to us and ate the seeds from our hands. As adults, we were so excited about this, so I could only imagine how our younger students would have enjoyed this.

We were all assigned to choose a few leaves that stood out to us and share what types of activities we could do with them. The leaves were so beautiful with bright orange and red colours. Some ideas were to sort them leaves based on different properties, use the leaves for art (making leaf turkeys for Thanksgiving, or leaf rubbings) and using the leaves for math by looking at symmetry.

It was a wonderful workshop, I learned many things and felt more confident about doing outdoor education with my students. We also were given some wonderful resources. If you are interested in reading more on Outdoor Education, please check out:

Into Nature: A Guide to Teaching in Nearby Nature
http://www.back2nature.ca/resources-research/education

Happy Exploring!!!

Photo of Tina Ginglo
Tina.Ginglo Professional Learning and Growth, Use of Technology

Introducing a New Tool for Learning Takes Time and Patience

I have been absent from Heart and Art for too long!  I have not forgotten about our followers or my fellow Heart and Art bloggers, but I have been distracted with a new challenge.  Last spring, I successfully wrote a proposal requesting laptops for our third grade program.  In mid October the laptops arrived, and since then I have spent every spare moment working to integrate this new learning tool into the heart and art of my teaching and student learning. I trust that my absence from Heart and Art has not been in vain. It is my intention to share my new learning and growing pains with Heart and Art followers.   I hope that Heart and Art followers will benefit from my recent “distractions.”   Each month I will share how the third graders at my school are taking ownership of their learning and growing more independent as they use technology as a tool for learning.

The proposal I drafted commits my students to collaboratively generate inquiry questions that connect to the science and social studies curriculum. My students have begun to use laptops to mind map their ideas and questions using off-line software.   We have just started to use MS Office software (Word or Excel) to keep track of their jot notes and sources and the plan is that they will share their research through meaningful projects such as scripted video documentaries (Windows Movie Maker), scripted video/podcast how-to guides (Audacity), digital scrapbooks, pamphlets, or public service announcements.   I have recently connected with a grade 12 Media Studies teacher who teaches at our feeder high school. We are discussing the possibilities for doing a project together. I really hope this pans out!  You can trust I will share our learning on Heart and Art!

We are at the early stages, but my students are starting to share their inquiry questions, research and new learning using Web 2.0 tools.  For example, I have created a teacher account on Edmodo.com.  It is FREE!  All my students have created student accounts and they now use Edmodo to share ideas and new learning with each other in school as well as from home in this secure educational social media site.  I started by simply posting questions students to consider and discuss on-line.  To date, I created three groups for my students to join:  Science, Social Studies and Room 204- Announcements.  I will share how I use the Announcements group in another Heart and Art blog post.  I am interested to learn how other primary teachers are using Edmodo in their classrooms.  I am following a number of teacher groups on Edmodo, but most of the contributors are junior, intermediate and secondary teachers.  I do believe that Edmodo has its place in the primary classroom as well.  I will post the different ways I am using Edmodo in future blog posts.  My next Edmodo project is to take my literature circle groups on-line.

Obviously, there is a skill set that my students need to possess in order to conduct research and use spread sheets and flow charts to record their learning.  It has been a slow process.  Although most of my students have computers at home (19 of my 22 students have access computers and Internet at home), their keyboarding skills, ability to save their work and access files is limited.  There are times when I think to myself, “This is consuming so much time!”  But I am committed to using 21st century tools in my classroom and to creating an environment where students learn with and from each other within the walls of our classroom and beyond the walls of our classroom.  When I get frustrated, I just tell myself to “Trust the process!”  I hope to join an international project as well this year…all in time…one day at a time…stay tuned!

 

Social Justice Begins With Me Cover
Carmen.Oliveira Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, Social Justice

Opening Hearts and Minds Through Social Justice

I recently blogged about an excellent new resource created by ETFO entitled “Social Justice Begins With Me.”  In my post I described how we implemented one of the lessons in the classroom and then extended our learning by taking it out into the community.  It was such a meaningful experience that I decided to share it with the entire staff as well as the  teacher candidate working with me.  As a result, staff members have now begun to try the lessons in their classrooms and the faculty supervisor overseeing my teacher candidate’s progress has also shared it with the faculty students.  The feedback has been phenomenal which is why I have decided to give you all a quick overview of the resource.

Social Justice Begins With Me targets Primary, Junior, and Intermediate grades with literacy focused lessons that are linked to picture books and short novels that target social justice issues.  The lessons guide teachers through various activities that embed both social justice issues and character education.  One of my favourite aspects of this resource are the ideas that support community involvement, thus taking the learning out of the classroom into a real-life context.  The lessons are also supplemented with graphic organizers, assessment tools and strategies, along with well organized lists of texts that include each synopsis.  The reproducibles are very helpful and applicable to a variety of activities.

My students have enjoyed the experience so much that they suggested we find a way to share our learning with the community in some way or another on a monthly basis.  We have just finished our fictional narratives by writing short stories which the class suggested we share with the folks at a nearby nursing home.  “We can take some scones or biscuits and sit with the elderly to share our stories,” they suggested a few weeks ago when we started the process.  “A lot of times old people are not treated very nicely or their families forget them.  This is one way we can tell them about what we’re learning,” one student commented.  Brilliant idea.  And it all started with a lesson on thanking those in our community with unappreciated jobs.

If you want to integrate social justice into your classroom, this is one of the best resources available.  Try it and please share your experiences with us.  I would very much enjoy to know how the lessons came alive in your classrooms!

Below I have included the direct link for those who want to take a closer look at the resource.

http://www.etfo.ca/resources/new/socialjustice/Pages/default.aspx