Reflective Poem

Reflective Poem

Moss laden pathways filled with the scent of skunk cabbage

These are the highways of my youth

Transporting me from abandoned log cabin to mud drenched cave

Free to scavenge, discover, create, imagine.

I was given many gifts.

The gift of freedom, of challenge, of accomplishment.

Opportunity to grow and show what I was capable of

Opportunity to try and fail with support to fall back on

Never meant to feel like a failure or that I needed to try harder

Back home, a warm house filled with love and laughter

Tireless parents who always managed to find time for me

I was never a burden, never an inconvenience,

Extended family surrounded me. Bringing excitement and connection

A cultural connection. I was always one but tied to another.

I wanted simple tuna sandwiches but ate eggplant parmigana at lunch

Feeling like I was part of one culture but reminded daily that I was part of another

I disliked it. I grappled with it. Now it is something that I cherish

I teach. I am part culture, part freedom, part adventure, part responsibility

I want to support, respect and challenge

Assistance without

What was your most wonderful learning experience?

What was your least wonderful learning experience?

What do you try to do as an educator?

What kind of ecology? What are you really trying to do as an educator?

Philosophy /orientation to education

How does the learner guide the educator?

Where are you now as a Learner? As an educator?

Coles Notes to Inquiry

1) Introduction:

Background to the Story

-Personal /Professional Relevance

-Experiencial/ Theoretical Perspective

(What is your disposition/ Where do you feel comfortable)

2) The Question : Focus of Inquiry

Rationale

3) Literature Review

What is the curriculum stuff is situating you in the larger field of education

Situate yourself in the literature/ methadology

Situatie and question at the intersection of - these bodies of knowledge around your topic

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4) Methadology / Situate

Qualitative / Quatitative Paradigm

(ie. Qualitative Arts Based Narrative Researcher)

You can do mixed Method.

Action Research is part of PAR Participatory Action Research

Case Study

5. Method: Research Design

a) Do Reading

Interviewing

Sites of Inquiry (Where are you going to do the work) (ie. Your own reading / Interview with teachers

Self: Reading / Writing

In you class/ With your students: Interviewing

b) Data: What is my data?

6) Data Analysis : What are my learnings/ Synthesis

7) Findings (what you see/ what you observe/ What you have wondered about

8) Discussion

9) Look at the implications of it.

10) Future direction/ future questions

Look up: Holistic Education

Poem

Where I am from

What is my philosophy of Education

Where am I going

Possible Question

What sort of conceptual framework do kids have around assessment. What is the metacognitive process. What do they think is happening. Why do they seem unable to assess themselves or understand what is expected of them?

Why Can't They Seem To Get It? Sept 30

I can't seem to understand how it is that I can directly teach material in class and when I do an assessment of understanding I find that the kids don't understand the material to the degree that I thought they did. Very often I ask who doesn't understand something and I stare out on a sea of blank faces.

Generally I assume that when I'm going over homework that kids don't ask to have their question covered because they're bored or that I'm going too slowly. Today I asked the kids if they don't respond to questions because the answers I'm giving are taking too long and I'm going too slowly or that they're simply bored....Most of the kids said that they aren't bored and they aren't thinking that I'm going too slowly. I was pretty surprised. It just reminds me that you can't ever get in anyone's head. It's impossible to ever know what another person is thinking....all the more reason that have the kids develop more responsibility for teaching themselves.

Can kids be their own teachers. What needs to happen /what supports to we need to give in order for that to take place.

Where are they as teachers? Do they know what is expected of a teacher? Of a student?

What conceptual framework do they have for learning. Can we help to develop this conceptual framework?

Reflection for Sept 11

As we're preparing for the year, we talk in class about expectations, organization and preparing for tests etc. As part of one of my discussions I asked my students "If the teacher didn't tell you what was going to be on a test, how many of you think you would be able to figure it out?" Very few kids put up there hands (approx 20 %) I was surprised by this. We think that kids have an understanding of what is expected of them but I think it is still a big mystery.

While going over the learning outcomes for the year I asked the students if they knew what a learning outcome was? Very few knew what the were (only a couple of kids). Again I found this to be surprising considering how much time we have spent on assessment for learning this year.

As I've been doing my readings I notice that I'm able to approach them through a new lens. I'm able to look and relate to readings as an experienced teacher. As I read I'm able to relate what I read to my practice. Not only am I able to relate it to my practice but I can see the connections to teaching methadologies that I've been exposed to. I see connections between the way we teach math to ______________________ and the practice of restitution to ___________. It just highlights the fact that I have grown a lot as a teacher over the last many years. I know more about my profession and I can see how much more room there is to grow.