Genius Hour

Welcome back! Day one of teachers college has just begun where I will resume posting about hot topics in education!'Genius Hour' is a topic that I have some familiarity with, but have never fully grasped, as it goes by many names. To my understanding, it incorporates elements of play, passion, and inquiry based learning where students are encouraged to pursue topics of interest in order to engage more deeply with the material. But as it was pointed out by my colleagues, 'Genius Hour' can take a variety of forms, from blogging, to social media posts, YouTube videos and so on. As previously mentioned in my blog posts, Robby Novak better known as Kid President uses his social media prowess to inspire others through motivational YouTube videos. This is an excellent example of Genius Hour, as Robby was allowed to explore his own passions using a multimedia medium.

Digital Literacy

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Digital literacy can be defined as the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, and share information effectively; an essential skill for engagement and citizenship in the 21^st century (Education World, 2016). Students are constantly bombarded with confusing media advertisements, Instagram and Twitter posts, Facebook and Pinterest sharing pages and other multimedia digital platforms. We must accept our roles as partial consumers of the media, but change the narrative in which we receive and interpret this information; we can no longer be passive and feeble but critical and informed.

According to the Ministry of education, technology can be a true asset as it has the capability of contributing positively to local and global communities by connecting otherwise isolated groups (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005). The vast wealth of knowledge that is available to our students is truly extraordinary, and this open accessibility of information can make learning more meaningful and engaging. There is no longer an option to ignore digital expansion, but rather educators must learn to embrace it and utilize it to the best of his/her abilities. Keeping in mind the ministry’s criteria for a good digital citizen, we must teach our students how to identify credible sources, respect the intellectual property of others, and use effective strategies for information searches (including keywords, narrowing search perimeters, etc.) (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005). Alongside these strategies, Education World has provided a comprehensive list of digital literacy resources for teachers that can be used in a variety of educational settings with many age groups. 

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Reflecting on my own experiences, I was asked to put together an educational video that I would show to my classmates on a topic of my choosing, and I found this process incredibly rewarding. For students who do not excel in writing, recording sound clips can be an effective alternative for displaying information. One of my most memorable placements was in a kindergarten classroom; I was amazed at the level of skill and digital aptitude that these students displayed. They were asked to create a video on Pete The Cat where the students would count the buttons on his jacket, describe the shoes he was wearing, and where he was planning on going. The students were excited to share their stories with the class, and took pride in the videos they had created. This goes to show how incredibly versatile technology can be, and when employed appropriately can spark new learning, engagement and creativity.

Despite the obvious ‘pro’s’ of technology in the classroom, there are also a few drawbacks to consider when creating lesson plans. It can be a distraction for the children, so you must create a structure and culture of respect when working with digital aids. Secondly, not all students will have access to these digital sources at home, or you make work in a school that does not have iPads, camera’s, or smartboards in their classrooms. To combat this, teachthought provides a wonderful list of digital resources for those who are looking to implement technology into their classroom free of charge.

Ultimately, we need the full range of skills we associate with media and digital literacy in order to take full advantage of the rights we hold as consumers, online community members, and citizens. Technology also has a strong influence on communication, and allows experimentation in pedagogy and assessment; for example, instead of grading a paper you may choose to grade a documentary produced by a student. Becoming digitally literate is an absolute necessity in the 21^st century, and as educators it is our responsibility to prepare them for this task.

References

Acedo, M. (2013, December). 25 teaching tools for the digital classroom. In Teachthought: We GrowTeachers. Retrieved March 31, 2016.

CC Technology (2012) [Video file] Retrieved from

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinshine/6969804185/in/photolist-bBU4XF-efoWfy-

CC iPad Dream2 (2010) [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lancesh/5066618648/in/photolist-8HHKcW

Granata, K. (2016). Ten Digital Literacy Resources for Teachers. In Education World. Retrieved March31, 2016.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2005). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8: Health and physical

education.

Thematic versus Subject-Based Curriculum

Subject-based education involves more traditional approach to curriculum and teaching that is divided into several ‘subjects’ including math, history, English and so on. This approach of structuring the disciplines is practical, as it isolates specific skills and knowledge that we hope our students will acquire, and design lessons around these expectations. However, this approach is often criticized for its rigid, prescriptive approach to curriculum delivery as it focuses on specific skills and content rather than an integrated delivery.

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            Thematic approaches to curriculum delivery on the other hand, include cross-curricular, integrated and interdisciplinary design, where knowledge and skills can transcend multiple areas of study. Lake (1994: as referenced in Putwain, Whitely & Caddick, 2011), identify six characteristics on non-subject-based curriculum: including combining subjects, emphasizing project work, multiple sources that go beyond the textbook, holistic relationships among concepts, and organizing the curriculum to revolve around themes and flexibility in student grouping.

            In terms of motivational outcomes, Putwain et al., (2001) acknowledge that performance-approach goals, or goals intended to demonstrate learning, declined significantly in classrooms using a subject-based approach. Although goals are adopted on the basis of personal antecedents it is suggested that a thematic approach promotes a more understanding and flexible environment which will improve the learning and competence of students. Putwain et al., (2001) describe three features of thematic classrooms that illustrate the positive impacts they can have on students. Firstly, an educator has the capability of grounding curriculum in local issues intended to create a more engaging approach to learning. As a result, students have reported stronger mastery-approach goals, or an interest in developing their learning, compared to subject-based classrooms. Secondly, the focus on group and individual projects improved collaboration amongst students, and often provided the students with more formative assessment and feedback from teachers than you would expect from a subject-based approach. Thirdly, social comparison is not as prominent in a thematic model, as students are often working collaboratively not competitively; therefore a self-referenced mode of competence judgement may be more frequent using this approach.

            Integrated instruction has certainly become prominent in 21^st century education, and is posed as a better way to meet the interests and needs of students while maintaining curriculum-specific expectations. This approach has been linked to the idea of ‘spheres of work’ in which intersecting subjects contribute to a holistic understanding of a concept or action; an essential framework for educational reform. 

References

Putwain, D., Whiteley, H., & Caddick, L. (2011). Thematic versus subject-based curriculum delivery and achievement goals: findings from a single-school study. Educational Research, 53(4), 387-398. doi:org/10.1080/00131881.2011.625149

21st Century Education

21^st Century Education is becoming a dominant topic of discussion among educators today, as it addresses the need for a shifting educational paradigm in order to keep pace and respond to an ever-changing global community. Alongside the mandate that every child must be given adequate resources to support individual learning, as educators we must also modify individual instruction in correspondence with the strengths and needs of every student. This includes recognizing the diversity of each student as well as the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they may already have. Perhaps most importantly, both educators and students must work collaboratively to construct a foundation that supports critical literacy so that students are able to synthesize and interpret information.  

My experiences as a fourth year undergraduate student have shown me that ‘literacy’ is not a segregated and shallow category that contains only written and/or oral communication skills, but rather it is a multifarious grouping that contains multiple forms of literacies with fluid and dynamic meanings. For example, media literacy, moral literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacy, multicultural literacy, and so on, are all considered subcategories within the evolving framework of ‘literacy’.

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As we take our next steps into the year 2016, I believe there will be a resurgence of interest around health, including nutrition, and physiological, spiritual, and mental health. The New Year provides an excellent opportunity for educators to jump on the proverbial ‘health band wagon’, in order to improve and enrich our student’s understandings of health literacy. I also believe that technological literacy will continue to play a major role in the way we communicate and interact with one another. App education is a booming area of interest, and apps such as Notability, See, Touch, Learn, Kindle, and so on have proven to be useful and effective within classrooms. Apps and other technological devices also provide the function of serving as alternative and differentiated methods of instruction and assessment which may assist some students.

As I have mentioned, 21^st century education is a framework that supports and encourages student’s strengths and multiple literacies. Although 21^st century makes repeated references to the curriculum and accompanying expectations, there are underlying principles that support a holistic educational framework, that encourages learning and skills that can be transcendent beyond the classroom, and further applied within a global network. As educators it is important that we present material that is useful and relevant for our student’s today, and that we build off of their innate strengths and potentials. 

Using Board Games in the Classroom

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Can you say BINGO?! Over the years, studies have examined the benefits of using instructional games in the classroom to improve student’s motivation and academic performance. In correspondence with inquiry, passion, and project based learning, curriculum and lessons should originate and be designed from the interests, knowledge, understanding, ability, and experiences of the students (Pinder, 2013). If teachers attempt to engage students in their own learning through activities that are collectively managed by all participants, the process can generate a variety of perspectives, and lead to greater understanding (Pinder, 2013). It is understood that teachers who add creativity into their lessons can enable students to fully grasp an understanding of the lesson (Pinder, 2013). The following examples are cross-curricula suggested uses of game activities, which can extend to topics like biology and maths, and all the way to ethics and world issues, as illustrated in John Hunter’s World Peace Game.

Bingo: Bingo cards allow students to gather, select, and organize information in an appealing fashion; while simultaneously gauging gaps in their own learning (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). During my placement I have seen bingo used effectively for math problems. The teacher would read out “5”, and on the students’ bingo cards would be problems like “2+3, or 2+4”. The students will have to gauge which equation equals the correct response, and as a reward they are able to put a chip on that space.

Monopoly:  Monopoly offers students a chance to construct concepts and skills involving probability, basic numeracy such as addition, subtraction and multiplication, and spotting emerging patterns or trends (Caldwell, 1998). By engaging children in discussions about chance such as ‘what are the chances of rolling a 6’, it incorporates classroom discussions about prime and composite numbers, as well as the probability. Both StahlVan-Brackle and Education World discuss alternative games that could be played in the classroom, but both authors support that position that games can provide an additional instruction or assessment tool in the classroom.  

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Create your Own Game: It is important to remember that games can be created for different platforms, including role-play, live scale simulations, or trivia (Nicholson, 2011). Games with extrinsic integration of context, such as jeopardy, would be relatively easy to create and an appropriate tool to use when studying for a quiz or exam (Nicholson, 2011). In order to create a developmentally appropriate game, the creator must consider the learning outcomes, and strive to make a challenging problem relatively simple for the players (Nicholson, 2011). Secondly, the creator must consider the intended setting in which the game would be played, as well as the interactions that would occur amongst the players.  The next step is to integrate the content; Nicholson (2011) suggests that focusing on a few pieces of content is more effective for long-term retention than have to focus on many broader topics. Above I have included an example, where a student had created their own game called ‘Life Happens’ in which a student is divvied scenarios that he/she would have to budget for in real life. At the end of the game, students discussed how they would handle the problem which led to a greater conversation about empathy, and decision making.  

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Playing board games is a creative way to support learning at home, and it certainly makes homework more fun! As an educator, the rules can be adapted to meet the needs of your students; rules can be slowly integrated, or scaled down, but should be agreed upon before playing. Overall, studies have shown that playing instructional games has led to significant improvement in the four components of motivation which include: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (Klein & Freitag, 1991 as referenced in Pinder, 2013). So what are you waiting for? Let’s start playing!

References

Caldwell, M. L. (1998, February). Parents, Board Games, and Mathematical Learning. Teaching

Children Mathematics, 4(6), 365-367.

Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom

Assessment: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner (pp. 6-8). Don Mills: Oxford University Press

Education World (2013). Five Reasons to Use Games in the Classroom .In Education World.

Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reasons-to-play-games-in-the-classroom.shtml

Hunter, J. (Actor). (2011). Teaching with the World Peace Game [Online video]. TedTalks.

Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game

Nicholson, S. (2011, September). Making Gameplay Matter. Knowledge Quest, 40(1), 60-65.

Pinder, P. (2013). Utilizing Instructional Games as an Innovative Tool to Improve Science

Learning Among Elementary School Students. Education, 133(4), 434-439.

Stahl-Van Brackle, L. (2015, May 1). How Making Board Games Can Lead to Real Classroom

Innovation. In Make. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://makezine.com/2015/05/01/making-board-games-can-lead-real-classroom-innovation/

Arts Integration in the Classroom

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When I say the words ‘art education’ what do people immediately think of? Perhaps drawing, painting, or dance? But these shallow interpretations are only a small possibility of what arts education could be; in reality it is increasingly complex. The purpose of integration is to take a specialized and segregated subject like arts education and promote dynamic pathways of interdisciplinary teaching and learning that connects art to other subject areas (LaJevic, 2013). Art can be used as a way to make meaning of the world, promote high levels of student learning, and can stimulate creativity and self-expression (LaJavic, 2013).  

                Although teachers are beginning to explore collaborative and digital learning, the majority of teachers still continue to rely on textbooks and supplemental workbooks for subjects such as math, science, language arts, and social studies (La Jevic, 2013). While textbooks can be utilized as a resource, the lessons often become mundane. Arts should not serve the purpose of filling in the empty time throughout the day, but rather should be incorporated into the components of lesson planning (LaJevic, 2013). For example, teachers often ask their students to cut snowflakes in the winter time as decorations for their classrooms, but what they often forget to mention is how this snowflake represents symmetry, an essential component of geometry or science in connection to different states of matter. In this example, the arts were considered an activity rather than a way of thinking or knowing which contributes to the devaluation of arts integration (LaJevic, 2013). That being said, arts integration is not easy, and it requires a level of skill and understanding that not all teachers currently possess. Since arts’ teaching was not a formal part of their own education, teaching about the arts can create uncertainty, making arts integration an intimidating task (LaJevic, 2013). Assuming that teachers understand art from different cultures, that they feel confident teaching them effectively, and that teachers know how to encourage students to explore the arts are dangerous assumptions because it does not take into account the diverse backgrounds of each teacher (LaJevic, 2013).

             
         This topic is personally meaningful to me because I went to an integrated arts high school, so I am familiar with the concept of arts integration and how successful it can be if employed correctly. Erik Stern and Karl Schaffer’s MathDance is an excellent example of taking elements of the arts in order to ‘spice up’ an ordinarily boring exercise like counting the number of possible outcomes to a problem. Instead of simply asking the students how many ways they can form a handshake, they ask the students to model their answers and compile them into a dance.

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Chemi (2014) does an excellent job of describing the current dilemma of Arts education. In this metaphor she describes art education as the whipped cream on the schools metaphorical pie. While whipped cream certainly makes the pie more attractive and more delicious some would argue that it is not absolutely essential, and should therefore be omitted from a truly healthy diet. If arts are like whipped cream, then what healthy foods would academic subjects correspond to? In this example, academic subjects were likened to rye bread; a food with rich nutrition that is suitable for everyday consumption, yet it is often bland in taste (Chemi, 2014). Chemi (2014) calls for a new recipe to be developed, one that integrates enjoyment and purpose; perhaps rye bread pudding with whipped cream! We can see real-life examples of this concept in both Susan Riley and Jane Fung’s blogs where arts integration is present in the classroom.

In real life there are no distinct boundaries between academic subjects but rather they are intertwined. Arts integration celebrates the rhizomatic overlapping qualities between subjects and approaches education as a whole. Educators must be willing to get lost and welcome the uncertainties that arts education brings in order to develop creative and exciting curricular and pedagogical possibilities (LaJevic, 2013).

References:

Chemi, T. (201). The Artful Teacher: A Conceptual Model for Arts Integration in Schools. The National Art Education

Association Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 56(1), 383-3370.

Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st-

Century Learner (pp. 6-8). Don Mills: Oxford University Press

Fung, J. (2013, May 17). What You Can Do When the Arts are Missing from Your Elementary School. In Tch:

TeachingChannel. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/05/17/arts-integration/

LaJevic, L. (2013). Arts Integration: What is Really Happening in the Elementary Classroom? Journal for Learning

through the Arts, 9(1), 1-30.

LaJevic, L. (2013). The lost and found space of the arts in education. International Journal of Education through

Art, 9(1), 41-54. doi:10.1386/eta.9.1.41_1

Riley, S. (2012, November 30). Use Arts Integration to Enhance Common Core. In Edutopia: What works in

Education. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/core-practices-arts-integration-susan-riley

Stern, E., & Schaffer, K. (Actor). (2012). Math Dance [Online video]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws2y-cGoWqQ

Teaching for Social Justice

CC David (2012) [Video file] Retrieved from
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Social justice teaching is difficult to conceptualize because it involves many different disciplines with various applications, and may vary depending on spatial and temporal factors. It is often used as an umbrella term to deal with larger issues within society such as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and so on. Creating contexts where praxis is possible for social justice is complicated because it is often left to the discretion of the classroom teacher; or in other words educators have the option of bypassing equity discussions if it is not considered as ‘worthy of class time’ (Lee, 2014).

There are multiple contested meanings of the phrase social justice teaching in the classroom, and it is not my goal to provide a comprehensive picture of this complex subject, or to discuss the various justice-oriented pedagogies that may exist; rather I hope to provide a clear understanding of why this topic is so important, and how social justice teaching can be successfully incorporated into the classroom (Kelly and Brooks, 2009).

Prominent early theorists like Piaget and Kohlberg concluded that children have little capacity for developing social understandings or sensitivity to social justice issues which meant that complex topics like politics or equity would be developmentally inappropriate for younger children to learn (Kelly and Brooks, 2009). The concept of childhood innocence is a construction of childhood that is used to justify the exclusionary practices that keep children separate from active citizenry (Kelly and Brooks, 2009). Common assumptions that educators hold may include: these talks may make the children feel badly, the children are uninterested in these subjects, or they are incapable of moving beyond their experiential understandings to engage in holistic topics; however these widely held assumptions may be unwarranted (Kelly and Brooks, 2009). Robby Novak, better known as Kid President, is a 10 year old boy engages in discussions on social justice, creativity, spirituality, compassion, and the changing dynamics between students and teachers on YouTube. This just goes to show that perhaps children are far more capable then we give them credit for. Research has shown that by the time children enter into the pre-school years they can already distinguish racial differences and may hold negative attitudes and prejudices to some groups, which is why early school years are formative in shaping children’s understandings of the world (Hawkins, 2014).

Using the UNCRC as a framework to guide our interactions with children, it is our obligation under article 29 to prepare children for a responsible life in a multicultural society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance and equality of sexes (The Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). As noted by Doek (2009), one of the fundamental changes that the CRC was able to contribute to the growing field of social justice, was that it brought human rights to the forefront on the international agenda; and by doing so, legally supported acceptable moral and social action.

CC Madisynalia (2012) [Video file]
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According to Hawkins, there are two essential beliefs that underpin teaching for social justice; that there is injustice in the world, and some are consistently and undeservedly privileged while others are consistently and undeservedly disadvantaged (Hawkins, 2014). The second belief is that we as educators can be agents for change, and challenge the cycles of oppression within the classroom (Hawkins, 2014). Explicit accounts of what social justice teaching should look like in the classroom are scarce, however researchers suggest that facilitating classroom discussions, or practicing communicative democracy can alter individual perceptions, help children understand their relations to others and ultimately engage in collective problem solving (Hawkins, 2014). Questions like, how is the truth represented, who is disadvantaged and who benefits, or who is excluded from the text are all thought provoking questions that engage students in critical thinking (Drake, Reid, and Kolohon, 2014). Looking back at my own experiences in elementary school, there were several opportunities for the teachers to engage in these topics; bullying is a great example. Bullying does not happen alone, but rather it comes from underlying racism, sexism, classism, etc.  so by naming the type of oppression that these kids are experiencing it allows them to understand the complex world that they live in. At a younger age, critical picture books are a developmentally-appropriate tool to use in younger classrooms to facilitate awareness of complex issues, moral decision making, display empathy towards others, and extend themselves to understand issues beyond their immediate environment (Hawkins, 2014).  It is our responsibility as educators to incorporate social justice teaching into the classroom through anti-bias curriculum that challenges racist and hegemonic beliefs in order to prepare students for democratic society.

References

Doek, Japp E. (2009) The CRC 20 Years: An overview of some of the major achievements and

remaining challenges in Child Abuse & Neglect, 3, pp.777-782.

Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the

21st-Century Learner (pp. 6-8). Don Mills: Oxford University Press

Hawkins, K. (2014). Teaching for social justice, social responsibility and social inclusion: a respectful pedagogy for

twenty-first century early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(5), 723-738. doi:org/10.1080/1350293X.2014.96908

Kelly, D., & Brooks, M. (2009). How Young is Too Young? Exploring Beginning Teachers' Assumptions about

Young Children and Teaching for Social Justice. Equity and Excellence in Education, 4(2), 202-216. doi:10.1080/10665680902739683

Lee, Y. (2014, October). Three Cases of Student Teaching Practice for Social Justice in Early

Childhood Education. Journal of Education and Training, 2(4), 11-22. doi:10.111144/jets.v2i4.489

 McLaughlin, M., & DeVoogd, G. (2015). Picture Books to Support Critical Literacy. In Critical Literacy. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://quest-critical-literacy.wikispaces.com/Picture+Books+to+Support+Critical+Literacy

Novak, R, perf. How to Change the World . 2013. Web. 23 Sept.

2015 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z7gDsSKUmU>.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UN Committee on the Rights of the Child:

Concluding Observations: Canada, 20 June 1995, CRC/C/15/Add.37, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6af5a14.html [accessed 23 September 2015]