What the Tech?

Working through questions about technology and education

Month: July 2020

Revisiting the Curriculum Trails

July 28, 2020 / / 0 Comments

In my post, What is Curriculum?, I laid out my thoughts by explaining, “To me, curriculum is the map at the trailheads of a network of bike trails” (Westwood, 2020, para.1). I suggested that the students were represented by the riders and the educators were represented by the trail guides. It follows that the entire educational journey is represented by the trails and not all riders take the same trail. I am happy with this metaphor but works of authors, Dwayne Donald, Ted Aoki, Maria Montessori, and Kieran Egan have inspired me to take a second look at the trail map.

The trail map has some stops where the Indigenous peoples of Canada are discussed; the history stop is fairly well trampled but there is much more to learn. For example, I doubt that any Indigenous person would appreciate me referring to them as “of Canada” since Canada is a settler label. This is where my trail map really falls short. It was drawn by settlers for settlers. Donald states, “What is needed is a decolonizing form of curriculum theorising that conceptualizes Aboriginal and Canadian perspectives as relational, interreferential, and mutually implicative” (Donald, 2009, p. 24). This seems to suggest that riders may travel the same trails but they may observe things along the journey in a number of different ways, including Indigenous perspectives. Perhaps, they ride a bit slower with a bit more care or in groups that share knowledge and ways of knowing with each other. The problem for the guides is that many have no idea what those perspectives are. In addition, I believe some of the perspectives differ from community to community. How can someone write an Indigenous perspective to be “covered” in the curriculum if the perspective of Indigenous people from W̱SÁNEĆ differ from those of the SecwĂ©pemc? Donald argues that we need Indigenous peoples to share their inherited wisdom and “teach the dominant society about balance, justice, peace, and living well on the land” (p. 27). With Indigenous experts on the trail, telling the guides and riders what to notice, in time, the guides will become skilled in sharing that knowledge as well. The Indigenous perspective cannot be written up in a provincial curriculum document, it must remain part of the lived curriculum.

Aoki’s writing makes the distinction between curriculum-as-plan and the lived curriculum (Aoki, 1993).  The curriculum-as-plan is the set of curriculum statements laid out by curriculum planners. This element is what I usually think of when someone mentions curriculum and is represented as such by the trail map in my metaphor. The trail map is posted for all to see by officials who have never met the riders on each trail. The lived curriculum is the one that educators must tune into but is not necessarily visible. This is the one that is affected by practicalities and personalities, the uniqueness of learners and pedagogical situations, “the more poetic, phenomenological and hermeneutic discourse in which life is embodied in the very stories and languages people speak and live” (Aoki, 1993, p.261). Aoki posits that the educator must move between the curriculum-as-plan and the lived curriculum so in my metaphor, I envision the educator dashing back and forth between the trail map and the rest of the goings-on on the trails. Educators have to respond to every broken spoke, every skinned knee, every unique discovery, and change their practice for all their learners as well as the individuals. As an aside, I also enjoy how Aoki describes the curricular landscape as arboreal as that is how I see these bike trails.

Finally, how do the writings of Maria Montessori fit into my metaphor? Montessori (1912) wrote that schools “must permit the free, natural manifestations of the child” (p. 25).  She believed that external rewards and punishments force learners to complete unnatural and barren tasks in unnatural and barren settings. She added that under such conditions, a learner could never become a master. It follows that in order to become a master, one must study according to one’s passions. One hundred years later, Kieran Egan would likely agree. “One of the problems with much schooling is that we do not spend time enough to find topics ‘become sweet’, indeed, we skip across the surface of so much learning that the whole enterprise can become to many students ‘tedious and distasteful.’” (Egan, 2020). It is easy to permit kindergarten students to explore freely and follow their interests. The trail map is designed to give them room to follow their passions. That said, I know many educators continue to use prizes and punishments to modify learners’ behaviours, completing tasks and sitting up straight at circle time. Because learners’ movement and inspired whims are more easily indulged in Kindergarten, it is easy to envision the many trails meandering through the trail network as learners explore on their own or in small groups. What I do not often see, is the top of the trails, where I believe learners are forced on narrower, steeper trails in order to qualify for post-secondary education. How many learners at the top have opportunities for learning in depth?

In Kindergarten, when young learners are grappling with what the expectations of school are, they do not necessarily seek to pursue in depth learning. It is the work of the educator to observe and listen to learners, to discover their interests, and encourage them to explore topics to greater detail. This, I know, is a place where I need to work on my own practice and have been for the past few years. I need to spend more time as a guide and less as a park ranger. An even higher priority is my need to decolonize Kindergarten. How will I incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing beyond greetings and counting to ten in SENĆOƩEN? I need to find knowledge keepers who are willing to share their ways of knowing. I need to find different ways of exploring the trails with my learners. I must observe and discover my learners so I can make the most of our lived curriculum.

 

Evidence Review for EDCI 565 Assignment #3

July 26, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Our focus for our project was centred around three outcomes: building community between educators and elementary school learners, building community between learners and their peers, and supporting parents and caregivers as their involvement in schooling is forced to increase.

When asked to share evidence for why we gathered resources for building classroom community, our first response was, “Why? Isn’t it common knowledge?” We would be hard-pressed to find an educator who does not agree that building an inclusive classroom community is a top priority for successfully teaching children. After all, many educators are familiar with Lev Vygotsky’s theories about social interaction and cognitive development, as “he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of ‘making meaning’” (McLeod, 2018, para. 2).

Classrooms are places of constant interaction and it is these interactions that educators depend on to get to know their learners. Many such interactions start with the educator sharing information about themselves, ideally setting the tone for an inclusive space. Hoskins et al. (2016) explored discourse as a means to build classroom community. They contest that classroom interactions should take place on “a level horizontal plane with speakers, namely the teacher and students, conversing as equal contributors in a cohesive dialogue, independent in their thinking and contributions” (Hoskins et al. (2016), p. 295). An article by Zhang et al. (2017) cited Cutler’s 1995 publication that also discussed the idea of discourse in the classroom, stating, “the more one discloses personal information, the more others will reciprocate, and the more individuals know about each other, the more likely they are to establish trust, seek support, and thus find satisfaction” (p. 335). It is the sharing of this information that can make an educator seem more likable and relatable than someone who is standing at the front of the room demanding attention. 

Song et al., (2016) took this notion of disclosing personal information further by exploring relationships in distance learning situations. They conducted a study that found that many educators in distance-learning situations did not spend as much time engaging in interpersonal communication practices as face-to-face teachers do. They concluded that it is critically important for online educators to disclose personal information about themselves to online learners, more so than in face-to-face learning environments. They added that “(o)nly when teacher SD (self-disclosure) helps build positive teacher-student relationships, can it positively influence learning outcomes” (p. 441). In other words, if educators disclose personal information that learners value, learners are going to respond to the relationship more positively, possibly with admiration or trust.

In our experience, once trust is established, learners begin to open up and become comfortable in the classroom setting, asking questions, sharing ideas, and seeking approval with both teachers and peers during instructional and social times. “Students of varied ages, experiences, and backgrounds who perceive their teachers to be supportive of their needs and interests are more engaged, more motivated, more self-directed, and more socially connected at school than their peers” (Saul, 2015). Furthermore, when “students have opportunities to talk and listen to each other, provide emotional support, share learning experiences, and develop respect, they are more likely to feel that they belong and are understood and cared for by their peers (Furrer et al., (p. 106). The result is a culture of inclusion and respect.

It is important to make sure this culture of inclusion and respect carries over into the educators’ relationships with parents and caregivers. While caregivers of home-schooled children volunteered to become deeply involved in their children’s education, the COVID-19 crisis has forced all caregivers to become involved whether they like it or not. On the bright side, Barnard (2004) found that when parents become involved in their child’s schooling at an early age, the benefit can last until at least the age of twenty. As well, Huber and Helm (2020) quoted other studies that have proven “a caring educational style, in which parents, peers and teachers support students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence experience and social integration, is positively related to volitional competence, including persistence and perseverance” (p. 249). The downside, according to Barnard (2004), is that many educators are not certain how to engage parents in a way that does not feel patronizing. Parents need to be welcomed into the process of schooling, not just the fundraising. COVID-19 has dragged parents and caregivers into a new level of school involvement and they will need educators’ support to be successful. 

Creating a classroom culture filled with trust and reciprocating discourse, along with a variety of activities and learning engagements, encourages learners no matter where they are to interact with their educators and peers. Classroom culture has never been more important than during this time of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During online learning, it will be these shared experiences that will enhance the educator-learner connection and lead to a more positive learning experience for all involved. 

 

References

Barnard, W. M. (2004). Parent involvement in elementary school and educational attainment. Children and Youth Services Review, 26(1), 39–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2003.11.002

Furrer, C. J., Skinner, E. A., & Pitzer, J. R. (2014). The influence of teacher and peer relationships on students’ classroom engagement and everyday motivational resilience. National Study for the Society of Education, 113(1), 101-123. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248702173_The_Influence_of_Teacher_and_Peer_Relationships_on_Students’_Classroom_Engagement_and_Everyday_Resilience

Huber, S. G., & Helm, C. (2020). COVID-19 and schooling: Evaluation, assessment and accountability in times of crises—reacting quickly to explore key issues for policy, practice and research with the school barometer. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 32(2), 237–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-020-09322-y

Lloyd, M. H., Kolodziej, N. J., & Brashears, K. M. (2016). Classroom discourse: An essential component in building a classroom community. School Community Journal, 26(2), 291-304. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1124019.pdf

McLeod, S. (2018). Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

Saul, R. (2015, November 24). What is the influence of teacher-student relationships on learning? EdCan Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/what-is-the-influence-of-teacher-student-relationships-on-learning/

Song, H., Kim, J., & Luo, W. (2016). Teacher–student relationship in online classes: A role of teacher self-disclosure. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 436–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.037

Zhang, C., Du, J., Sun, L., & Ding, Y. (2018). Extending face-to-face interactions: Understanding and developing an online teacher and family community. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(3), 331–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0864-8

Thoughts on Play and Play-Based Learning

July 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Over the past four years, I have been teaching in a Kindergarten classroom. When I first started, I was guided by a draft of the new BC Curriculum (B.C. Ministry of Education, 2018) plus the mentorship of the other Kindergarten teacher at my school and the principal. The word “play” and its variations appear in the Kindergarten document less than ten times. Consequently, my concept of Kindergarten play came from my mentors. Recently, my district has been promoting play in the primary grades, but with the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis, efforts have stalled. My District Teacher Leader for Early Literacy and Learning mentioned that she was excited about the new Play Today B.C. Handbook (BC Ministry of Education, 2019) so I am happy I was able to make the time to read it. In addition, I found two articles to examine alongside the BC Curriculum. These readings brought clarity to my thinking around play and play-based learning.

In the article, A Scoping Review of Research on PlayBased Pedagogies in Kindergarten Education, Pyle, DeLuca, and Danniels (2017) determined that research on play in schools is divided into two types, free, or child-directed, play and teacher-directed play. They recognized the two types could be combined into mutually-directed play, led by children and teachers cooperatively (Pyle et al., 2017). They found that while most teachers agreed that free play is important for social-emotional development, many struggled with the value and efficiency of play for teaching academics.

Teachers expressed concern about time and the academic pressures of curriculum, parents, and teacher colleagues (Pyle et al., 2017). I shared these concerns. Though I know that our curriculum and district are now promoting more play-based approaches, I also know that my grade one teacher colleagues have certain expectations for their incoming learners. Also, I feel pressure from other kindergarten teachers in my school who use didactic methods. Consequently, I often fall back into traditional methods of instruction, reducing play time. Pyle et al. (2017) conclude that researchers focused on free play found positive connections with cognitive, social-emotional, and self-regulatory skills, while researchers focused on teacher and mutually-directed play found positive connections with numeracy, literacy, and other academic skills. They add that researchers and educators need to move toward the integrated concept a continuum of play.

Curious about the continuum of play, I explored, A Continuum of Play-Based Learning: The Role of the Teacher in Play-Based Pedagogy and the Fear of Hijacking Play (Pyle & Danniels, 2017). This article defined five categories: free play, inquiry play, collaboratively designed play, playful learning, and learning through games. It placed them on a continuum from child-directed to teacher-directed.

The article provided some concrete examples of each category of play which allowed me to see that my own practise has already begun to change. I have always used large chunks of free play time and employed some learning games. I am continuing to build my repertoire of learning games and playful learning activities. Inquiry play and collaboratively designed play are more challenging as they require new skills and making more room in our day. As I increase learning games and playful learning strategies, I hope to spend less time helping dysregulated learners to catch up on academics during play time. The only challenge left would be overcoming my compulsion to keep all the adults happy.

Convincing parents, guardians, and my teaching colleagues that increasing play time in its various forms is best practise for kindergarten, and beyond, will be easier now that the education ministry has published the Play Today B.C. Handbook (BC Ministry of Education, 2019). It cites a variety of research to support its statement, “Play-based learning opportunities in primary grades challenge children and contribute to strong communication, critical thinking, ability to make friends, take responsibility, collaborate, persist, investigate, solve problems, innovate, acquire reading, writing, numeracy and digital literacy skills, and cross-cultural understanding” (BC Ministry of Education, 2019, p.22). The handbook contributes to educators’ understanding of play by describing four categories: functional play, constructive play, dramatic play, and games with rules. It adopts the continuum put forth by Pyle and Danniels (2017).  The handbook provides examples that help define the educator’s role. With this ministry-supported document, I feel I have something to point to when questioned by adults regarding my practise.

These readings are important to curriculum because they supplement the specifics of what to teach, the Big Ideas and Learning Standards, from the B.C. Curriculum (B.C. Ministry of Education, 2018) with ideals about how to teach it and why. It helps define my role in play-based learning. Whether these ideals and definitions should be included in the curriculum itself is a question of teacher autonomy and access. Including them might affect teachers’ abilities to decide their methods. If excluded, teachers may not assess or access them at all. If memory serves, the old B.C. curriculum included suggestions linked to learning outcomes. This may be a wise approach for implementing play-based learning strategies in the new curriculum. Because they are suggestions, autonomy would be protected, but teachers who wish to embrace play can find concrete ideas to begin building play into their practise. Should the rationale for play be included in the curriculum document? I think that there could be a link to the rationale in the document, but I still believe that promoting the rationale should fall to ministry, district or administrator-initiated professional development. After all, the switch to play-based learning is not simply a concern for Kindergarten but for all primary grade teachers and beyond. It should not be the responsibility of one keen teacher to sell a new doctrine to an entire staff.

The Rationale Behind Our Three Outcomes

July 18, 2020 / / 1 Comment

As primary teachers, we are well aware that the relationships we form with our students are the key to helping our young learners be successful. This past spring, our online experiences revealed that there will be new challenges this coming September, especially if we have no in-person time with students. Often learners don’t like to talk, even when you meet them in person. Our meetings online with students resulted in a mixed experience. Some students participated less with their parents present in the room, and it was really hard to get the safe community feeling of the classroom back again.

The role of parents and caregivers of primary-aged students is different from that of older learners as adults often have to take on the teacher role as well as tech support, counsellor, and manager. For example, younger learners need help with planning their time, using the technology, printing and organizing assignments, managing their energy, as well as completing and submitting work.

Because classroom culture and community are such a huge part of a primary classroom, our goal with our project was to find resources to keep that community feeling going during remote learning. In our post, Building Community With and Between Our Learners, we decided to look at the relationships between the teacher and the students as well as between the students themselves. In Tips for Supporting and Connecting with Families, we also explored resources written to help with parent communication, which we also felt was a challenge during our time of remote learning, because parents immediately became members of our class experience, too. Below indicates the outcomes we pursued for this project.

Outcome #1: By the start of the year, primary educators will be able to build appropriate online relationships with their learners.

  • Identify activities to facilitate appropriate relationships with each/all learners.
  • Curate resources to facilitate and build digital citizenship skills
 Outcome #2: By the start of the year, primary educators will be able to build appropriate online relationships between their learners, both in-class and online.

  • Identify activities to facilitate appropriate relationships between each/all learners.
  • Identify safe ways for students to socialize online.
 Outcome #3: By the start of the year, primary educators will be able to build appropriate online relationships with their learners’ families.

  • Identify safe ways for parents to facilitate student social interactions
  • Identify ways teachers and parents can effectively communicate
  • Identify ways teachers can support parents with technology
  • Identify ways teachers can inform parents on how to support their children with the curriculum/assignments

 

We began this project by searching the internet for articles, blog posts, and Twitter feeds that addressed the concerns of building online and blended communities, and supporting parents. Below are some of the search engine descriptions we used:

We then began to check them against a rubric for evaluating resources. We used the Berkeley Library’s rubric for evaluating resources. We found this rubric to be clear and concise, with additional information to think about if we were unclear about a specific resource. The following is an example of how we used the criteria against the Berkeley rubric:

 

Resource Evaluation
Five Virtual Ways to Build a Classroom Community
  1. Authority – Who is the author? What is their point of view?
    • Shelly Bautista is a 7th year primary teacher at Carson Street STEAM Academy in Carson, CA.
    • Masters in Education Technology and Media Leadership
    • PBS Early Learning Champion
    • Works to empower others to use technology in fun and creative ways
  2. Purpose – Why was the source created? Who is the intended audience?
    • To give educators of young children a place to start when planning to teach virtually
  3. Publication & format – Where was it published? In what medium?
  4. Relevance – How is it relevant to your research? What is its scope?
    • Resource is intended for primary educators
    • Gives clear ideas for starting and maintaining relationships with young learners
  5. Date of publication – When was it written? Has it been updated?
    • April 1, 2020
  6. Documentation – Did they cite their sources? Who did they cite?
    • No citing, but there are links to the resources and ideas the author writes about

Some of the resources we found are not backed by prominent organizations and PhDs so, in addition to the Berkley rubric, we evaluated them against our own expertise and experiences with our own learners. Also, we are unsure of how to assess these sites and posts for accessibility; however, as all of our resources are web-based posts, platforms like Google and Twitter have built-in tools that can be used to assist with many accessibility issues. Almost all of the posts we gathered information from scored well against this rubric. The most commonly missing element was the documentation of sources within the post. Many resources are also plagued by advertisements so users need to beware of corporate interests. We found the resources we chose grouped themselves into five main categories:

  • Sites like Edutopia and ISTE, backed by foundations or organizations with things like boards of directors or mission statements, often had posts that were written by higher-level educators about topics within their field of expertise.
  • Other sites, such as the ones from Bored Teacher, We Are Teachers, Tech & Learning, had well-written posts by teacher contributors, but the sites might also have posts related to sponsored content. These sites also identify with the “Teacher Lounge” idea as a place for teachers to share their advice and classroom ideas. For these posts, we had to look a little harder to find the information needed to mark them against the rubric.
  • Some of the curated posts were not specifically associated with a primary classroom, but we felt that the ideas or resources described could be adapted to meet the needs of a primary class. Posts like Engaging Students: Puppets in Online Education, which is intended for English as a Second Language Educators, or Caring for the Parent-Teacher Relationship during COVID-19, which is aimed at the middle school level, had adaptable ideas to help with either creating community or parent relationships.
  • Social media links, such as from Twitter and Instagram, posed a different problem when marking against the rubric. Some Twitter searches yielded great links to interesting ideas or sites, but it really depended on who you followed or which hashtags you found. Luckily, we had been in recent contact with Alec Couros who mentioned a relevant question he had posted. As well, Pernille Ripp’s Twitter stream was recommended by a fellow cohort member and we noticed she has over 71,000 followers including many educators we know and trust. In exploring both Twitter feeds, we have discovered more educators to add to our Personal Learning Networks.
  • We had only one or two sites that had good information for parents but were obviously trying to sell a specific program or platform. However, we felt that the information given could be applied to other situations and offered some good tips.

This past spring, we discovered that some of our tried and true in-class strategies did not work in the emergency remote learning environment. We needed to experiment with new techniques; some that worked for our colleagues did not work for us and vice versa, especially with primary learners. Because every teacher is different and every group of children is different, introducing new ideas for building a responsive, safe, social “classroom” community may also need to be experimental. The resources we gathered have ideas that may be proven for the authors but meet varying levels of success with different educators. We believe this list offers some exciting ideas, and we are looking forward to implementing many of them in the likely event that we will be engaged in some form of remote learning this coming school year. We know they will meet with varying levels of success, but we believe in the value of trying new things. We invite educators to try them with us and join the conversation at #remoteteachingresources.  

“Everett At School” by Joe Shlabotnik is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

“3d man with magnifying glass looks at folders. Choice concept.” by solutionist999 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

What is Curriculum?

July 10, 2020 / / 1 Comment

“Sports and Activities” by FamiljenHelsingborg is licensed under CC BY 2.0

To me, curriculum is the map at the trailheads of a network of bike trails. Educators are the trail guides, responsible for knowing their sections of the trail. Often, the trail guides learn about their section of trail from other guides rather than looking at the map. The learners are the riders. The bottom of the trail is kindergarten, a wide, open space where learners can meander, play, and explore as they gradually learn the skills they need to get started. Some will wobble their way along with their fellow riders and little guidance from the trail guides. Others will need the guides to hold their seats a little longer. Still others may need training wheels. The goal for the guides has traditionally been to help every child get the tools, skills, and/or technology they need so they can travel the main trail. Many riders are happy to stay on the main trail with their fellow riders, enjoying the stops along the way. Others find the main trail too flat, too steep, or too crowded. The guides may choose to send them up different side trails where the knowledge and skills differ, but they will eventually rejoin the main trail. It doesn’t matter if riders take the corners high and slow or low and fast, as long as they do not wipe out, they will still get around the corners.

Near the top, the main trail splits and riders can choose which trails they want to use to complete their journey. At times, the guides at each section may invite riders to explore a choice of trails on their own or even to try blazing their own trails through the bush. The guides cannot lose sight of the riders and must use their own skills to make sure each one makes it to the next section of the trail. The guides are on bikes too and are developing their own skills on the trails so they can best help their riders. Over time, unused trails will grow over and new trails will emerge. Riders and guides are increasingly putting motors on their bikes, technology that will move us through the trails at a different speed and require different stops. The trail guides will help each other when it is time for a new map.

Looking Back to Look Forward

July 10, 2020 / / 0 Comments

As our cohort heads back into the virtual classroom and I prepare to get back into blog posting again, I found myself looking back at one of my previous posts, Remote Kindergarten. It was a bit of a rant about the overwhelming nature of what has come to be called Emergency Remote Learning or providing Learning Opportunities for our students. What is coming for the next school year in September, however, is not supposed to be more of that same model. It is supposed to be something more sustainable. I hate it when I hear the word ‘sustainable’ because it implies that this COVID-19 situation is going to last a long time. That is unsettling by itself. In B.C., the ministry’s plan is to say nothing of the plan until the third week of August. I can’t decide if this is a good or bad for me. Not knowing means I can do little about planning for September. On the other hand, it means I can do little about planning for September. Yes, I repeated myself. I can’t decide if I would like to know now and have multiple contingency plans in place or if I would rather have something somewhat more definitive later and not stress over it through the summer. I am leaning toward the latter because I am confident in my ability to put together a good program on the run. This is especially true as my kindergarten colleagues and I were able to work very well as a team. The hardest part will be facilitating the social learning.

In the concluding paragraph of my aforementioned post, I said, “In the end, the most significant thing we can do is talk with them, connect as much as possible, and facilitate connections between them.” This is a big concern for me because unlike this past school year, this coming September I may have to do this without ever meeting the children. Last year’s group and I had a good rapport before the onset of Remote Learning.  How do I create that relationship with children who may never sit in the same room as me? Kindergarten has the disadvantage that, other than younger siblings of older children in the school, most of the students are new. They don’t know or trust me.

I am excited about the resource that our cohort is working on in in our Learning Designs course. I think it is a great idea and I am, of course, gravitating toward how to create social relationships with and between my students (and their families). I hope I am able to find some great ideas. I hope we are able to make a resource that is truly helpful for ourselves and our colleagues. I wish we had more time. The course is done at the end of July and there is so much to talk about!

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