thanks

Great stories and insights. I totally agree with your comments. And Leanna, thanks so much for continuing to posting here with us. It's so awesome that you care about what's happening with us and what questions we have about the program and our teaching careers!!! Mark, sounds like you are having a great time on your practicum and I love your story about Mr. T. That's awesome. I totally think you hit it bang on with your comments about respect not being what you are wearing and what you look like but who you are and where you are comfortable with what you are doing! Thanks for the ideas on professionalism. Leanna, I have been struggling with the job description thing because as far as I am concerned all the "professional" things besides the academic teachings should come naturally and that as good people we should know how to be successful just because we truly care. So thanks for replying to me.
As for me, I am at VIC high. I only managed to get there one day last week (friday) because I was super duper sick!! I got pink eye, sinus infection, flu....you name it! So I am really looking forward to tomorrow and next week! The school is really cool. Lots of big windows!!!! Old architecture and an interesting student body. Should be fun. I think I will be teaching Socials 11 which I am really nervous about but c'est la vie! Good luck everyone can't wait to hear your stories! Liane

Observation

I hope everyone has a great observation. Good Luck and lets keep talking about it up here (if we have time) this week and next week. Have fun,
Ashley

professionalism

Hey class....I doubt that anyone ever looks here anymore, which I think is a shame. And that's wierd because I wasn't even into the blog to start with. Anywho, I just wanted your guys opinions on professionalism and what you think is the TEACHER'S job description? I am feeling kind of unnerved about some of the comments that I have been listening to lately and I feel like I would like to talk more about it with you guys, people I trust. so if anyone reads this, probably only ashley will, I want to know what the ad or job description would (actually should) look like for say a math teacher. Aswell, I would like to know what a job description would be for a contributing citizen and as any member of society........
Thanks, hope things are going well for you this term, Liane

Way to go team "Fine Line"

That was excellent team work and school spirit everybody. I had a really great time cheering you on!!

What is literacy?

I don't know about everyone else but this literacy class gives me many questions? I don't really understand what we are going to do in this class. If anyone has any ideas or answers if you could let me know.

Welcome Back

Hey everyone! Although its not that exciting to come inside from this beautiful summer and settle into dreary fall I am excited to see everybody. Also I am pumped that we are getting closer and closer to knowing our school and getting to know our students. Good Luck everyone and hopefully we'll have lots of classes together.

Outstanding teachers

Congratulations on being done your summer classes!

It sounds like everyone did some fantastic teaching on Monday. I was so impressed to see all of you take charge, get organized, and be so keen to get teaching - true professionalism!



You all showed amazing growth over only 3 and a half weeks; the teaching profession is truly fortunate to have such talented and passionate people such as yourselves entering the field. I look forward to hearing how your journeys unfold.

This Sociology 434 Assignment is Driving Me Nuts!

I think this is a useless assignment, and I am so frustrated with the fact that it makes no sense at all!

IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!!

How on earth am I going to get this ridiculous requirement done by tomorrow!!!???

Sorry.

Leanna

I hope that I am allowd to critique on the blog....but since it's going to be edited anyways I thought I would. I just wanted to post how awesome I think Leanna is. I have learnt alot from her class. I haven't necessarily learnt what she wanted me too (or maybe I did) but I learnt alot of valuable stuff. I learnt the importance of open communication in the classroom; I learnt that it's OK to call your teacher by their first name and that there is still respect; I learnt that it's really beneficial to be honest with your students, it helps to develop trust; I learnt it's important to give positive feedback and promptly; I learnt it's good to question the system and try to make a change; I learnt it's really important to think about how you are going to assess learning; and I learnt that teachers (even though we were told it can't happen) can be cool. So thanks Leanna and because this isn't a mark based class no one can accuse me of sucking up, I am only being honest. And it's nice for teachers to know that they are appreciated especially when they work hard at something, like Leanna obviously did!

language choice

Just a warning, what I am about to say borders on the too-much-attention-to-detail side, but as an excuse I will tell you it is not teacher-training induced. I have always been this way (well, at least since high school) so maybe that is some sort of excuse to mention such a nit-picky thing as the language used in a classroom (or anywhere else in life).
My biggest pet peeve is when people say "you guys" or "guys" when referring to a group of people that contains both males and females. I know I do it too, because it is easy, and the definition of "guys" is up for debate. But I really strive not to say it, as I don't want to dis-clude (is that a word?) the females in my classroom (or anywhere else).
Does "guys" bother anybody else, or am I totally dwelling on a 1950s definition of "guys"?
The alternatives are kind of messy and awkward: I don't like "guys and girls" and I don't like "boys and girls" (unless they are boys and girls - that is under 12 or some age). "Students"? "Class"? How do we refer to our "student body"? They're not "men and women," really - and I think that would be too awkward. "Young adults" -- as in "Okay, young adults, let's get to work." I don't think so!
Help!

(ps. my other pet peeve is being called a "girl" at this stage in my life. I've heard this time and again when people will refer to Mr. So-and-So as a "man" and Ms. So-and-So as a "girl" despite the fact they are both in their 50s. )
(Did I tell you my B.A. is in English?) (joke)

Time management....bleagh.

Well, this is more or less a reflection on my 10 min. sociology presentation today, but it fits in to what I was saying about the group mini lessons.

Things certainly went better in the planning stages for me - I planned out my time, and had it done the night before, along with a couple of chances to run through it (and it took about 11 min.). But then presentation time came - I talked a little more about this topic here, a little bit more about that topic there - and pretty soon Alan is holding up the 1 min. left sign, and I'm only 2/3 of the way through my presentation. It would've been salvageable had I skipped a few things and moved on to my last example as a wrap-up - but instead I got verbal diahrrea, and perhaps a bit incoherent. I still remember looking at the screen as I fast forwarded through my slide presentation, and saying "Whoa, the Rhind papyrus - right, the Egyptians knew about Pi...then there was Archimedes - and he came up with a better value." Really informative!

Anyways, it was yet another reminder about how much I need to focus on what I'm doing/saying, and set REALISTIC expectations for what can be covered in a period of time. Those who have been in a classroom environment - did you have any system for figuring out how much time stuff would take, or was it more or less trial and error?

A Whirlwind of Information!

Wow, today's seminar(s) were stocked full of useful and important information...that could not have been any more different in nature.
Phil's talk on 'Intergrade Pro' was great because I hadn't even stopped to think about the whole keeping track of grades thing that goes along with the whole teaching thing! It is really quite amazing how many "little" details are overlooked when concentrating on the interpersonal skills that we have been focussing on for the majority of our courses. I think it is really useful for us to step back once and awhile to learn about all of the things that will make the 'meat and potatoes' part of our job a little bit easier to manage. Photocopying 101, Teacher Resources 210, etc. etc. etc. As I'm sure most of you felt today...

So many things to learn, so little time.

Chemistry in ACTion

Well, I decided that I could just as well put my reflection on the mini-lesson up here as I could email it to leanna, so here it is.
I felt that the lesson went well and that everyone was able to get into it enough even though we were pressed for time, and everyone was wanting to leave... thanks to everyone for sticking it out and letting Donald and I go. Looking back on it, I can see that the lecture part of the lesson went a bit too long... we had planned for 3 minutes, but it went for about 6. The part where everyone was brainstorming how to act out the different bonding forces could have also used a bit more time. I did not anticipate so many questions during that time, and I should have because that is the time when everyone is working out how to REALLY understand it all. The questions that everyone brought up were relevant, and I could honestly see high school students asking them. Because of the rush for time, the presentations and conclusions were rushed, and not as effective as I had hoped, but the presentations were very telling of how well the students grasped the concepts. That part would have been good to have more time, because it can be used as an informal way of assessing the students. Also, it would have been a great time for peer-to-peer teaching so that the information would have been able to settle into the students minds if there was more time.
I felt comfortable in front of the class, and it was great to be able to work with Donald because we both had the same concept in our minds that we were wanting to get across and I felt like we were on the same page.

Mini lesson reflection | noitcelfer nossel iniM

First, as has been said many times already, I liked all of your mini lessons! Each one had a slightly different style, some a bit more rambunctious, others a bit more mellow - it was neat to see all of your different personalities reflected in your lessons. It reminds me why they don't try and fit all of us in one "teacher mold."

I thought the math lesson went ok, but there are some things that could have used a bit more work, for myself. One, it was a bit ironic that Ms. Gaiptman was in the day before talking about organization, and there I was at 3:00am after finishing my sociology paper printing off stuff for the lesson, and cutting up little squares of construction paper over breakfast the next morning. Bleagh. The main problem was that I didn't really have a chance to clear my head and think through what the lesson was going to look like before we stood up and did it, which I think could have really helped.

Second, it was a good learning experience in terms of planning the timing of lessons. It seemed we tried to cram a certain amount (intro, activity, wrapup) into the 15 minutes, instead of trying to plan on what would actually fit into 15 minutes and doing that part in a relaxed/non-hurried manner. It just would have been nice to have a bit more discussion on people's ideas, and see if they could develop their ideas more through discussion - rather than rushing through the sharing of ideas, aborting any discussion, and then me going on to explain the answer on the board.

Third, I wish I had taken a few more minutes to review subject material - as I tried to wrap things up, Anna and Alan both jumped in and commented a couple times (thank you!) when my explanation was a bit incomplete or off base. By the way guys, I'm totally in awe of your knowledge of math - it seems I just can't pull that stuff out of memory and go at it, or teach it intuitively as you two can. So it was a good reminder that for my sake, to have confidence in what I'm saying in front of the class, I'm going to need to review the stuff before I tackle it in a lesson.

Allrighty, that about wraps that up. Cheerio!

thinking nice thoughts

Just sitting here thinking and I thought that I would share with you the view from my deck. This was taken a few days ago and is facing south west. That ripple that you see is where the waves break at Muir Creek.

friday, friday, friday

Friday was great - I really enjoyed all of your lessons, as everyone else has been saying, but it's true! Even math, which works against all of the neural networks I've fostered in my brain, was really fun and a great learning experience. I cannot fathom the genius that you all must have! I think I might go back to school and try out math and science courses. Oh! And history! Yikes. So much.
Anyway - I guess I'll talk about our lesson that Rob and I "taught."
I enjoyed it, and thanks to all of you for being such active role players.
When Rob and I were picking out the music that morning in the car I got all giddy about using Jimi's version of The Star Spangled Banner I think I scared Rob. It was very exciting and I definitely think I am going to use it or something like it to talk about form vs content in a future English class.
That said, I realize the planning I did did not prepare me adequately for the lesson. I knew what I wanted to say before I got to the front of the room, but like Anna, when I got there my mouth took over and I don't remember what came out. To Rob, I don't think you rambled, I was happy you were there to act as a coherent force for our team, but I was a little disappointed with myself for kind of stepping back.
Also, relying on what students might say in lesson planning was a little bit dodgy - I knew you would all be kind and come up with great responses, but what about high school students?
All-in-all, though, I really enjoyed "teaching." I keep putting it in quotation marks because I wonder what was learned. Maybe that is my biggest question. I know what I learned from the rest of you, but I'm questionning how effective my style and content were.
I think I'm contradicting myself - best to say good night!

Wow, Those Mini Lessons Were Great!

I would just like to start out by saying how impressed I was with the calibre of each group's mini lesson. I fully agree with all of the comments that have been posted, and I even came home on Friday and told my husband how many great new things I learned at school!

As a bit of a self-reflection on my mini teaching experience, I felt really excited and energized to share my love of history with the class. Although this is a good thing to an extent, I think that I may need to put things into perspective a tad when I'm teaching teenagers. I almost think that I felt I may feel "let down" if my students don't share the same passion for history that I do. EH...HEM, I'm pretty sure there won't be a ton of students that get really excited to learn about history when I step up to the plate to teach, but I sure hope that I can introduce a least a spark of interest in one aspect of the curriculum. (By the way, whether your interest was genuine or not, each one of you really made me feel like you were enjoying the activity.)

You guys and gals were so much fun to teach, and I can't wait to see what else we all have up our sleeves!!!

Exciting Mini Lessons all around

I was very excited about everyone's mini-lessons. We hear all the time about the effectiveness of discovery learning, and hands on activities but I always think "but how would we actually do that?" Well everyone had awesome ways and I actually learned about chemistry and math I still know what Vander Waals forces are 1 whole day later wow! I think that I need to prepare better to answer some of the questions of my students around my lesson. Who knows what they could ask...ex what is the purpose of the seven deadly sins?

(The goal of the seven deadly sins was to illustrate for laypersons of the
church the need to be mindful of capital sin, or sin which requires penance in
Hell. Capital sin is graver than venial sin, which can be forgiven through
confession. it was introduced in the 6th Century)

In case you still want to know Liane. I definately was suprised that I wasn't more confident in front of the group and I think I will work on that in my second mini lesson. Way to go everyone! You are all going to be fantastic engaging teachers.

integral mini lesson

I would like to comment on my performance today during the mini lesson. I have a tendency to try and take over and I noticed myself doing that to Anna and Mark who were doing an admiral job of teaching and directing. I am very enthusiastic about math and try to contain myself so that others can discover the joys of math themselves. I hope that I didn't step on toes. I know too that I did not fulfill my role completely in the opening remarks and Anna, thankfully, picked up on that and went with the flow so that it seemed seamless, Didn't it?? Anyway thanks for the save Anna. Timing was a concern but I think that any subject would be very hard to cover completely in 15 minutes especially if you try to incorporate discovery learning into the plan. This excercise did help me to see the value of planning and how to make adjustments as you go and for the future. I think having smart students helped quite a bit too.

This part of my comment comes on Saturday morning after I had a dream about the presentation. I went right through it in my dream and one part kept replaying on a loop. It was the part when I told Ashley that what she thought was an ellipse was in fact not one. I remember the very bad remark of mine that it was a good thing that we were going to take geometry soon. I am so sorry for that Ashley. Actually I should have commended you for the creative thinking that was going on in your head. It was especially creative if indeed we had not taken geometry yet. Those are the kind of comments that I really have to watch for so that I don't turn a student off from my teaching. Thankfully I know that Ashley will forgive me, she is that type of person.

It's not ONLY like that!

I was soo disappointed with myself today after listening to the VP talk about doubting yourself and listening to your intuition! I started to listen to my doubt and that really makes me angry. I worked so hard to get where I am and yes I have doubt BUT there is nothing else I want to do with my career than to teach and I know that. So a piece of advice I wanted to share with you all incase you are doubting yourself too.....it's not ONLY like the what we have been hearing about. After maybe a year of teaching you will NOT have to work 12 hour days to be effective. You will be a great teacher IF you love teaching and it will come naturally. I know it! I want to share a quick story with you. My dad is an elementary school teacher (he has been a teacher for 30 something years, he is trying to retire but loves teaching too much) and I have met SO MANY people that love my dad. It's very hard for me to believe sometimes, he was my teacher too for 2 1/2 years. Yikes! But the moral of the story is, he still has neighbourhood kids knocking on the door to play with him, or students waiting in the morning to ride their bike with him to school, or parents thanking him for caring about their children, even parents of his students that were his students at one time coming into the school for advice! I never remember my dad not being there for my brother and I, sure maybe some nights we was tired BUT he had balance in his life and he learnt to leave his work at school (most nights). HE usually left for work at 8ish (we all did together to go to school) and he was home by 4 ish. So don't panic we are where we are for a reason and ENJOY it, it is FUN!

Anywho, I still haven't finished this dreadful paper for Sociology. Good luck to you who are in the same position. Cheers, Liane

lectures, lectures, lectures

I was just doing some reading for my history of education class and came across an interesting paragraph which I thought I might share with you all. The topic of the paper is a survey on education in BC done in 1924 by people named Putman and Weir. Within the survey they make clear their dissatisfaction with the present day teacher's college: the normal school. One of their beefs is with the perpetuation of lectures as the most used style of teaching.
"[Putman and Weir's] third subject of concern [was] knowledge transmission by indiscriminate use of lectures... For several reasons, they deemed lecturing inappropriate as the unique teaching device. For one thing, few who delivered lectures actually excelled in the art. For another, lectures denied students an active part in an intellectual transaction. Then, too, student teachers themselves nurtured on the lecture method would probably inadvisedly adopt it as their own way of teaching in the public school classrooms of BC. More threatening than all of these reasons was the fact that lectures stressed subject matter, whereas the ideal normal school, that 'laboratory for child study,' necessarily placed its emphasis on the child." *

I found it very interesting that in 1924 there was a movement to move away from the lecture - and here we are in 2006, over eighty years later, discussing the same issue at our "teacher's college."

* from Calam, John. "Teaching the Teachers: Establishment and Early Years of the BC Provincial Normal Schools." in Schools in the west: Essays in Canadian educational history.

Organization!

We've heard it from everyone...tip #1 (or at least top 2) Be organized. Now I don't know about everyone else but my organization tends to suffer when I am under stress or busy....I always let it slide and soon I am living in a pig sty of epic proportions (not dirty just cluttered and crazy). When I first moved to Victoria my room here was so tidy that my family and friends at home had wondered what had come over me, but now with assignments and a little bit of busy-ness I am surrounded by stacks of paper, clothes, and anything else that finds its way to my room. So I am looking for tips.
How can I stay organized even in pressure situations (practicum) for example?
Does anyone have any strategies they use? How do you keep on track when it comes to organizing your stuff even when you can't find time to do everything you have to do in the day?
Is there any strategies for organizing your marking? Ideas? Non-school stuff? that you have heard of from other people or you plan to use yourselves.

I like Smitty.

Wow. What a class...
I just wanted to comment on one thing we sort of touched on: that is, getting to know your students before you meet them.

First, an extreme example:
My French 12 teacher confronted a friend of mine the first day we walked into class. He told her that he was not happy to see her in the class, that he had heard of her misbehaviours and whatnot in other classes, and that he would be very happy if she dropped the course right now and saved him the trouble of kicking her out.
And she did.

Obviously, this French teacher was a bit of an arrogant you-know-what which is very unlike the kind of people we are. I just want to point out the danger in knowing too much about your students from other sources before they get to show you themselves.
This happens in "real" life for me. I've found that if someone has given me the lowdown on a certain person, my perspective of that person is coloured before I even meet them. I find I don't try very hard to get to know this person unless they wow me, which they usually do and I realize - hey! I almost missed an opportunity to get to know this person because of something I heard through the grapevine.
So I agree with Smitty on this one. However, he was great at showing us the value of getting to know something unique and positive about your students and what that can do for classroom interest and self-esteem.
Wow.

Portfolio examples

Here are some Math and Science portfolio examples. Remember to draw from the Prescribed Learning Outcomes in your subject area when setting criteria for the portfolios with the emphasis on the students learning to determine and prove that they have learned something of significance.
Science Portfolio
Another Science Portfolio
Math Portfolio for students
Math Portfolio *sophisticated example
Please let me know if you find any other helpful sites.

I got an A !?!

I know that this is unrelated to this course but I think it's a good learning experience that maybe we can talk about. In our Sociology class I got an A on my cultural biography and I am disappointed. I am not usually the type to complain about marks but I just don't see the worth in the the assignment and being graded on it was very difficult. I think I deserve 100% because whose to say that one's autobiography is better then another and I feel like my story is a 100%.

What do you think? I understand the value of Authentic assessment alittle better now after this experience and I want to make sure that as a teacher I try really hard not to be offensive. Also, I realize how important it is to have open communication with your students......

I talked to the teacher and I feel way better. Thanks for the advice and open communication is really the key

The impacts of teacher's dress and appearance

I just wanted to bring this topic up on the forum because it was such a hot issue in the classroom and we couldn't put it down... I also never had a chance to say anything about it so I thought I would wait until I got here.
I agreed with the point brought up that you don't want to wear a suit and tie type of thing all the time because you are aloof of the students, and it it isn't as practical for wearing all day (like heels). However, on the other end of the spectrum, Liane was saying that she wanted to connect with the students on more of their level.
Leanna tried to mention that what you wear does however set the tone for the classroom. I think that dressing more like the kids so that they can relate to you negatively affects the teaching atmosphere even though they will be more comfortable with you. This is because they treat you like a peer...meaning that they won't give you their attention in the same way, or obey you.
Something that I heard about clothes to wear is for you to dress smart casual. This means that it is comfortable and yet a little bit dressy. any other suggestions?

Lazy Kids

I know some hackles were raised by the comment on "lazy kids" during the student-teacher presentation. So what is your stance on the issue? Our education tends to focus on our role as teachers (naturally), but at some point individual agency (that is, the choices the students make) also needs to be taken into account. Personally, I believe that there are some students where the problem is not that they aren't challenged, or interested, or that they have serious issues - it's just that they honestly don't want to work. They want the route of least resistance, to avoid hard work, to have results now rather than wait for gratification, to have fun and focus on the social life (or computer games, or reading books, or whatever). I've known many students (occasionally myself!) who simply decided that some immediate gratification was of far greater importance to them in the short term than the results of hard work in the long term; a "make merry now, worry later" mentality. So how far do we go in trying to run after or motivate those students?

Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing to let consequences (mainly, a lower grade) befall these students after a few attempts at trying to get them on track. Especially at the later high school level, I think students need to be held accountable for decisions they make as they get ready to deal with living as adults. No first-year university prof or a superior on a job site is going to hold their hand and talk softly if they're late, skipping, or lazing around during the day - is it really fair to the student to let life after graduation be the first time they have consequences to their actions?

Again, there are difficulties, in that not everyone who is not handing in work or attending is simply avoiding work (as Alan pointed out in the seminar the other day), and it is difficult to assess who is who. But if someone refuses time and again to be in class, to hand in homework, to take advice on future choices, to receive assistance - how much energy should a teacher expend to help them?

I should point out, I am differentiating between those who try hard and still achieve lower results in assessment, and those who simply do not try to begin with...

Discussion results

I realized in the discussion just how easy it is, as Leanna said, to go into a discussion with a "truth:" I picked my topic because it is something I have a strong opinion on, and it is easy to try and pass on that opinion rather than let the students develop their own opinion. Thanks to some good feedback, I was able to realize that as information was presented that began to contradict my ideas/opinion, I was quick to jump in with more information and ideas to try and move the discussion more in my direction, or try and move things along. I wasn't even doing it consciously; I just reacted in the moment, and it was only in retrospect that I was able to see what I was doing.

It just highlighted for me that in discussion, it's important that we present information (from different viewpoints if possible) and don't reveal our biases or opinions; and as much as possible let the students develop their own ideas. Then maybe at the end, if there is a strong message that is necessary to pass on, try and incorporate it into the wrap up - but on questions where there is no clear or "right" answer (just listening to the topics brought up, that seemed to often be the case) to let the students process the info and discussion points, talk about it later with friends/family, look up info if they're motivated/interested, and formulate their own opinions.

post from Mar to discussion group

Group B - Leah, Don, Liane, Adam
Sex Education that Works:It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education, partly because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm

Did anyone learn anything from that activity?

I'm at home laughing at myself - what a whirwind intro to alternative assessment practices (I really just didn't want the cookies to go bad for Tuesday's class). So here is an example of alternative assessment:
What did you learn from that activity? (I'm meaning about assessment but you can include what you might have learned about how to run an activity in class if you so choose). Did I make any sense? What did you take away from that lesson and what questions do you still have regarding assessment (asking for questions tells you where students are in the process).
PS I will also give you a shortened version of the powerpoint on Tuesday!

Discussion Group Topic -Group A

Hello Group A (Suzan, Rob, Will, Drew, and Vanessa(and me Ashley))Ok, I just wanted to get some feedback on my discussion topic because it is fairly heated and I wanted to give you guys a choice.
My first pick in order to keep you guys discussing for a full 15 min is the Lebanon-Israel Conflict
If it is cool with you guys I will use this as my discussion topic the link is
BBC News Q&A
If you think it might be too difficult or too controversial or you just don't want to talk about it we can do my second topic which is equally as exciting Historiography, including "what is history?" "how do we look at the author's objectivity/subjectivity?" "what can what is written about in history tell us implicitly about the historical event it is talking about?"
To learn more about historiography click this link
Historiography
I will photocopy either of these options for us depending on which topic you prefer.

Take care of yourself

This seems to be a good place to share how you all plan to take care of yourselves during your practicum. There will be lots of work, but in order to be successful it is essential that you take care of yourself. What kind of support systems do you have or will you arrange? What things will you let slide (that are healthy to let slide...)? What will you do for fun?

What do you know about assessment?

We've all experienced assessment throughout our lives. What has your own personal experience with assessment been? What kinds of assessments did you experience in high school? What is the purpose of assessment?

A couple of things...

1. I fixed the blog so that only invited members to our blog can now comment (I had clicked on the wrong choice previously - so anyone with a blogger account could comment - sorry!)
2.In planning your discussion for Friday - refer to Bloom's taxonomy as well.
3. Your discussion groups for Friday will be as follows:
Group A - Ashley, Rob, Will, Suzan, Drew, Vanessa
Group B - Leah, Don, Liane, Adam, Mar
Group C - Anna, Steve, Alan, Lisa, Lara, Mark
4. I also have had 2 groups of three approach me for co-teaching next Friday - so there is room for 1 more group of three.
5. Here is the link to the BC Prescribed Learning Outcomes (& lesson ideas) - these are the skills and concepts that guide what you teach in your classroom. I will bring a few hardcopies into class yet.
See you tomorrow!

How about teaching styles

I thought perhaps another helpful topic to push us forward in our thinking about our roles as teachers would be to have you respond to what teaching styles work best for you to learn; how can you incorporate the various teaching styles into your subject area; or why should we consider and use all the various styles. What will you struggle with when incorporating another teaching style.
I will share my resistance to direct teaching: I get nervous about lecturing for a number of reasons. For starters, lecturing suggests that I have all the information (which I do not!!! Not even on a topic that I know a lot about). I am not an auditory learner, so lecturing feels ineffective to me (remember this is my resistance - not a truth about learning in general). I also believe that direct teaching establishes a power imbalance (one that can not be escaped completely, and is sometimes important in order to establish classroom expectations and rules). Finally, although attention is nice, I prefer not to be the center of learning - I would rather be on the outskirts watching the possibilities unfold.
That said - there is still very important reasons to use direct teaching. I thought I would share my weaknesses first!

GROUP WORK BITES BACK

I'm just fresh from class and wanted to say a couple things about direct/indirect learning.
I think this is a tricky area especially when we think of indirect learning as "group work." I, for one, was and can be absolutely terrified of group work. My entire degree (English) was done almost entirely without a stick of group work - the classes were structured around lectures, note-taking, and essays. I was comfortable with that, but at times didn't feel challenged. When I took an Environmental Studies course in my last semester for some variety, I nearly dropped the class when I learned of the daily group discussions we would be required to have and the large group project at the end. Luckily I decided to take up the challenge and learned some valuable things about myself and the environment. Furthermore, I felt like I was actually doing something that affected the real world, rather than talking about form and style and why Margaret Atwood is God.
So far I have found that education courses at UVIC are heavy on the group work. As my teachable subject is English, I was required to take 3 education courses as prerequisites last year. In at least one of the classes we were broken into different groups daily and asked to complete some task. This became a chore because it was used so much and was so predictable. The class became monotonous and stale, much like Matt's math class at Oak Bay High.
Obviously, there needs to be a balance between lectures, group work and a variety of other exciting options out there. I'm looking forward to learning how I can incorporate a variety of teaching styles, while still maintaining a certain level of comfort amongst my students.

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Education Seminar 790: Ideal Learning

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Authentic Assessment

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Quick Note

I'm looking forward to what will come in this seminar. I'm sure we'll have some fantastic discussions and thoughtful debates.

I just want to say that I am very excited about this course. It is all very new to me and so I am viewing it as an experience to expand my horizons so to speak. I hope that everyone will take what I say in stride as sometimes I speak out loud what I am thinking. Just know I will never intentionally hurt someone's feelings but if I do please help me to not do it again.

Exciting new journeys

Hello and welcome to 790 - a class of questions, comments, thinking, answers, and sharing. I am so excited to be apart of this stage of your journey toward becoming a professional teacher. We will have a full, but hopefully, meaningful 17 days ahead of us.
If you feel like commenting today, perhaps you would like to comment on what you might want to do differently when you teach, than what you experienced...