August 18, 2017 – A photo taken the day after my doctoral oral defence of me, my mom, and my dad.
December 31, 2024 – Climate Change Education – BLOG 1
I went into the photo archives and pulled out this image of me, my mom, and my dad. This photo was taken the day after I successfully defended my dissertation. My mom could not attend my defence. She was not feeling well, but she was always routing for me. In fact, I think she waited for me. She passed away 6-months later. Writing about my mom was not the intention of the blog post, although, I will be writing about my mom soon. I wanted to write about her ever since she had passed away, but I was not ready. I’ve done a lot of work to get to a place of readiness and 2025 is the the year.
My intention in writing this blog post, and there will be many more for 2025, was to write about my thoughts and reflections as a research team member of the Climate Education in Teacher Education (CETE) research project. We have been working on this project for more than 2-years and a few months into our third year. The project started with a focus on Climate Change Education (CCE) with teacher candidates in the first year as one response to the Association for Canadian Deans in Education (ACDE) Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future (2022). Five of us got together.
The initiative started with one person on our term who has an expertise in climate change education and I helped out to share the ask with colleagues within the School of Education to see who was interested. Our research team of 5 formed and amongst the 5 of us, only one of us was a tenure-track member. The rest of us were either term, lecturer, or adjunct. We did not have the agency, ability, or motivation to get the research project off the ground, so this faculty member became the Principal Investigator. The initial goal was to investigate CCE use with Teacher Candidates.
The methodology chosen for this project is Educational Design-Based Research (EDBR) using Sandoval’s Conjecture Mapping. EDBR uses multiple strategies to unpack a complex problem in practical and doable ways. Conjecture mapping tracks our intentions and changes over time. The method, if anything, is experiential with many opportunities to pivot, when needed. We have pivoted many times, and that’s ok. We also work with a Design Team which is comprised of folks who are experts in the field, locally and nationally, and their role is to help guide our work/project.
Our main intervention of the CETE project is CCE workshops for practicing teachers and teacher candidates with a focus on northern BC. We offer/ed 4-workshops per year and in planning these workshops, we tried to anticipate the needs of the field but also listen to the feedback after each workshop. The preparation and development of these workshops are time intensive and much effort is given by research team members, design team members, and research assistant(s). We have offered and facilitated these workshops online and a few of them in person.
The attendance to these workshops have increased over time and so has the research project. As our dreams and aspirations grew, the research project expanded to 4 REB’s… the first is with Teacher Candidates, the second with practicing teachers from 2 school districts, the third is a self-study involving the research team, and the fourth one is the most recent that is focused on Indigenous knowledge holders and elders. This blog post series will focus on REB3, the Self-Study. We are asked as research team members to reflect on our experience and growth within the project.
Finally, I am back to writing about the picture above from my doctoral oral defence. Why does this image matter? My dissertation was about “out-of-field teachers” teaching secondary mathematics. I have an interest in out-of-field teaching, professional learning, and educational leadership. Lots of what I am interested in is MAKING A CHANGE… in one’s practice, in school/class culture, and in educational policy. I love the idea of agency, influence, and engaging learners to “be the change.” We are learners too. Anyway, this is my interest and motivation for the CETE project.
Moreover, I’m blogging about it as a means to reflect on my role on the research team and how this project is impacting me, as a learner, educator, researcher, and educational leader. We have a framework on MS Teams to record our reflections, however, my brain does not work in that way. I found the template to be a barrier to my reflections, so I have decided to blog about my thoughts in my reflective practice and then unpack my reflection within the framework as part of the analysis. Anyway, I am an “out-of-field” researcher on this project and learning lots on CCE and research.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, December 31st, 2024 | Comments Off on Reflective Practice: A Documentation
A patio pic taken from my apartment of 6-years taken on January 1, 2024.
I start off this blog post with the first picture I took in 2024. It’s a #patiopic from my apartment. I lived in this apartment for 6-years. Two of those years are blurred due to the pandemic. I lived in my house that I owned in Sechelt while I was teaching remotely and my kid was finishing Grade 12. And a few years was living with my kid in this one-bedroom apartment and my bedroom and office was situated in the dining room. Yes, I lived in the dining room with no door for more than 3-years. But this living arrangement was worth it to make it possible for me and the kid to live together. She had a transition year and picked up a couple courses to then enter into the nursing program at CNC and UNBC. I am so proud of her and she is half-way through her third year. In 2024, we have transitioned from surviving to thriving.
So much has happened in 2024. I am so HAPPY… my #OneWord2024. This year, I was focused on a SLOW mentality that embraced wellness, joy, and sustainability. The mantra is, do what you can do, one step at a time, and it’s ok that not everything gets done. SLEEP is a good thing. LOL. It’s true. For years… meaning decades… I would often forgo my well-being to get work done. There was no joy or self-compassion. My thinking had to change. In doing so, my sense of self and value for self needed to rise. My one-word HAPPY helped me to refocus, self-assess, and reflect on what’s important to me and what makes me happy. It’s as simple as that. I finally understood my agency. I joined research committees I want to be a part of, I volunteer for committees I want to contribute to, and I do what I want to do. That’s it. Who knew?
This year, I supported a few teacher candidates in their inquiries and presentation at three conferences. We are aiming for a fourth conference and hope to publish. I joined two research committees and on one of them, I am the Principal Investigator (supported by my more experienced peers). I also finished writing a chapter for a book on behalf of another research team who also supported me in that work. I also had my first term without teaching courses so that I could focus on my writing and my first year not supporting practicum. I am so happy to have this time to focus on research (and learning a tonne) while keeping a teaching role in my position. I loved working with the outgoing teacher candidates and learning lots from the incoming teacher candidates. I am honing my teaching practice and presenting lots. Yay me!!
I’m not sure if this is a year in review, meaning, being very specific with events, but I have go mention that I loved working with the teacher candidates this year, outgoing and incoming, I purchased a new home, and I got my gall bladder removed. Mentioning these three things indicate the love I have for teaching and learning, that I value myself to live in a home that I love and not feel dependent on other events to happen first before prioritizing my needs and wants, and my health matters. My health has been unravelling during this decade of my life, but I am so grateful that I could have the medical care and service to get day surgery and be fully recovered in less than a month. I never felt better… physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Although I’m not curling this season due to health reasons, I feel like 2025 has a lot more to offer. I’m back to weekly blogging and loving where I am. Thank you 2024.
One of the last photos I took today, December 29, 2024, looking at the patio of my new place.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, December 29th, 2024 | Comments Off on A Year in Review for 2024
I have to admit, Friday, November 15th, the day of the full moon, a billon things were happening and of course, I was unable to be in two or three places at time. I had to make choices. First, I had a manuscript review to submit. I worked on it during the week but could not quite get to the report until the day. I needed the time to think about it to synthesize my thoughts. Second, the CATE chapter was due. We received copy edits almost a month ago and I took the time to go through the edits and got some help from a colleague to get to the FINAL DRAFT. I was so grateful to the copyeditor, my colleague, and the freedom to get that chapter done and submitted for publication. The CATE book should be published by the end of this year.
Writing that chapter with my colleagues for CATE was an awesome learning experience for me. That is one of the things I am learning, to understand higher education, you just have to jump in and do it. Experiential learning is at the heart of being an academic. You don’t know until you know. I am thankful for the mentorship and support CATE and my colleagues offered me. I learned a lot. Third, I had three meetings on Friday: BCTEN Fall Convening, Educational Robots university team regroup, and CETE workshop development. I am involved in each of these groups in different capacities and all of these meetings involve research. It’s great to be a part of different learning communities as we move forward together in each respective group to contribute to and enhance BC education. And, my writing counts too.
Unfortunately, with all of these meetings, I missed a couple of good presentations I would have liked to have attended offered at the university relating to Indigenization and race-relations in higher education. These topics are important to me, but I feel that it’s a good problem to have the challenge of deciding what to do with my time. I hope that these two presentations were recorded. I can only hope. Finally, My day concluded with going out with my friend and attending the first Indigenous Fashion Show. The event involved two elementary schools and local Indigenous artists. I loved the feelings of community and belonging. My friend knew a lot of people. I was getting a bit overwhelmed, but the event was OUTSTANDING. There were students, community members, school district folks, and many vendors. I was a door prize winner!! My friend and I had a tonne of fun!! What a wonderful way to end the day!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, November 17th, 2024 | Comments Off on The Full Moon
I hate the idea of having to blog every two weeks. I guess it is what it is, and today I am making a re-commitment to a weekly blog post. I am reminded why I started blogging. It’s not just about developing a reflective practice, but it is also about practicing my writing skills. Admittedly, there has been a tonne of things happening and right now, I feel settled such that I can “spill the tea.” Mid-October, I put in an offer to purchase a townhouse. I am excited and learned a tonne over the last month.
My first lesson… follow your gut. There was just a day when I felt like I should look at places to live. I went to a few open houses (in townhouses, in particular) and kind of regretted not getting my finances in order so that I could put an offer into a place when I saw one I wanted and liked. The strata scene is not very big in Prince George. I was not sure if I wanted to live in a house and do all of the maintenance and condominiums are far and few between. I’ve lived in an apartment for six years not realizing that I would be in “this place” for this long. As it turns out, the commitment I wanted to make was “to place” and “to myself.” I wanted to settle and be in my home.
My second lesson… ask for help. The last time I purchased a house was 20-years ago. Can you believe that? My kid brought that to my attention TODAY, which alarmed me in some ways. She’s right. She was one-years old when I first moved into my first house. Now, my kid is 21. She’s got the math right. I’ve been looking online for quite some time for a place to live. I was so unsure if this was the next step I wanted to take, and if I did, what steps would I need to take? I ended up texting one of the real estate agents I met at one of the open houses. She responded promptly and has walked me through every step of the house-buying process. For this, I am so grateful. I had lots of questions and she’s been great. I feel that she has my best interests. I also want to give kudos to my banker from my former hometown, the home inspector, and all of those folks who helped me along the way. Thank you!!
My third lesson… when you know, you know. Making a decision and making a commitment has been challenging for me to say the least. Most times, my decisions have always been conditional. If this, then that… was the typical mantra. The truth is, that’s not how life works. Much like the first lesson, you’ve got to go with your gut. I spent a lot of my online searches and open houses looking for a place that would feel like home. I would find myself settling for “the next best” or something that was “cheaper.” These consolidations were things I typically adapt and live with but I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching in the last 5-years and I wanted to find a place that I loved. We looked at a half dozen places at my preferred site and the unit that I thought was maybe third or fourth on my list became first. The garage was a deal breaker for me, but the owners changed it from what was seen on the website. I called in my kid to see it this was a good place, and soon after I made an offer.
My fourth lesson… be patient and be present. The effort to remove the conditions to purchasing the townhouse was one that my relator walked me through (or at least talked me down from off the bridge) and my banker at my credit union really made things possible. Because it was 20-years ago since I last bought my house, the whole process was new to me. I followed the advice of my relator to get the home inspected. The home inspector was amazing, through, and supportive. And, every person (so far) that I talked on the phone to change things like home insurance, utilities, and movers have all been very helpful and professional. Now, I am in the middle of packing my stuff up. We are about 2/3 of the way through with a few weeks before we move. October 31st was the day when the sale was final and all conditions were met. Trick or treat? It was definitely a TREAT. Life is unravelling quickly and swiftly. We are moving at the end of the month. I can’t believe it. HOME… at last.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, November 11th, 2024 | Comments Off on When it Rains
Oh boy… I do really try to contribute to my blog (on both WordPress sites) on a weekly basis. There are only a few times where I have not been able to in the last few months, but there are just some times when I am just not able to. I started this blog post last week and I was unable to get to it (amongst many other “things to do”) over the last week. And here we are again at the end of another weekend. I could have compelled myself to write two blog posts to make up the one I just missed, but I’m not going to. I’m just going to let it go and move forward. Last week, I could not make up the time and catch up… and that’s ok. I can only do what I can do… and that’s it.
Although this blog post might be extraordinarily short, I am grateful to take a moment to return to my reflections and the idea of the “imperfect leader.” My EDUC 606 class is reading Andy Hargreaves “Leading from the Middle” and in Chapter 2, he describes the IMPERFECT LEADER. Lots of what he had written resonates with me and knowing that aiming for perfection is unreasonable and unrealistic. Imperfect leaders learn from their mistakes and rely on community to lead (or co-lead). Moreover, to be an imperfect leader, you have be know thy self. Self-knowledge resonates with me deeply, in particular with Parker Palmer’s work in “The Courage to Teach.”
Teachers are leaders. Self-acceptance and knowing your strengths and stretches are key attributes to leadership. I can see how this could test one’s sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence to lead, but humility and vulnerability are also key attributes as well. LEARNING is central to “good” leadership. Learning is not perfect. In fact, learning happens when it’s messy, confusing, and mistake-oriented. You just have be be willing to make those mistakes and learn from them. That’s what matters, but also appreciating the mistake. What a gift!! Admittedly, I may not have thought that way in past, but as I am learning and understanding myself makes me a “good” leader.
Take a look at this image. What a beautiful metaphor. You have a vision. You execute. You do you best, but… it’s not perfect. I love sunny-side up eggs and buttered toast. As you may notice, when transferring the eggs from the pan to plate, it resulted in one of the eggs to flip upside down. Broken. I took a few attempts trying to flip it back up, but opted to just leave it alone. It’s fine the way it is. The breakfast was still delicious. Not perfect, but really, it was perfect. I have been vibing on this breakfast for the last week or two. It tasted just as I had hoped and nothing beat dipping the sour dough toast into the egg yolk. If anything, no added stress and pure satisfaction.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 27th, 2024 | Comments Off on Imperfect is PERFECT
What a wonderful day. It was a very hectic week. As much as I love having my weekends, the natural consequence is having a very fulsome work week. The week started with attempting to complete three conference proposals to Congress 2025. Initially, I had no intention of going to Congress next year mainly because I am trying to catch up on my expenditures of travel for work. A long story short, I chose to go to conferences to present my work when the travel costs exceed my annual allotment of professional development funds. This pro-d behaviour is not new. I went to a lot professional development events when I used to teach in K-12 schools. What I have learned in the last year or two is, I love going to conferences. I love connecting and re-connecting with people, I love learning new ideas, and I love to present and travel.
If anything, I underestimated the time it would take to complete these proposals. In all three proposals, I took the lead in writing them. I guess that could be my first problem. The first proposal I completed was with and for a TRIAD of teacher candidates who have been engaged in a program-long inquiry about land-based pedagogies and student wellness. We are presenting in Kelowna in a couple of weeks and we have presented in Calgary and Prince George. They have been honing their presentation and now I have joined the team. We are planning to write about their LESSON STUDY with hopes of publishing it. The second conference proposal was with my colleague and friend about un-colonizing assessment. We’ve been presenting about it a several times as teacher professional development. We are planning to implement some of our ideas during my assessment course next term. It will be PROGRAM EVALUATION. Finally, the third conference proposal was about my work with IN-SITU learning and my assessment course. This paper is single authored.
The due date for these proposals was October 9, 2024. I finished all three proposals by October 8, 2024 and submitted them in on October 9, 2024. Yay. That took many long days to get those proposals completed and folks had to engage in its completion as well. I was so happy to get them done and submitted, and I’m grateful that I was able to meet the goal of getting all three complete and submitted. Each paper went to different associations (i.e., CASIE, CAARE, and CATE). I hope it goes well, but only time will tell. They are now under peer-review. That evening, on October 9, 2024, I had my night class online with graduate students then curriculum class with teacher candidates the next morning. Switching gears from writing and research to teaching (and vice versa) can be tricky and time consuming. I am so grateful for my night class and the work we are accomplishing. We just finished reading and discussing about PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED. That is eye-opening and powerful work written by Paulo Freire. Then, after being on line for 3-hours, I had to prep for my Thursday morning class. I had to update my syllabus and make copies the next morning.
In the end, the hard work is rewarded with learning outside. We went to Cottonwood Island Park. The fall weather as cool and sunny. We spent the morning lesson planning and learning how to navigate BC’s Curriculum. Although it may have been a bit cold, there is something to be said about learning on the land. Unfortunately, I did remove one more outdoor learning experience from the course syllabus as well as a final assignment (that was adapted into something else). The more I am learning about this group and what I want to achieve, sometimes it’s ok to say goodbye to a couple of things so that we can slow down and appreciate what we are learning about. There is so much to learn in teacher education and my one course is only one of many they take during their 16-months within the program. It’s ok to let go and take the learning in stride. There is no question that I was very grateful to head into a long weekend. Although I missed the northern lights on Thursday night due to cloudy weather, I had a fruitful Friday with several online meetings and then LOTS OF SLEEP.
If anything, I am very grateful for the work I get to do. I love the learning and the students. I could not ask for more from this job. I look forward to what’s next.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 13th, 2024 | Comments Off on Being My Authentic Self
All I can say is, I am super spoiled and feeling very lucky. I love how my kid decorated our place with balloons while I was out at a play. Admittedly, I was reluctant to post this image, but hey… that’s my age. I appreciated the effort and thoughtfulness. I have memories of my dad (many years ago) and our family going out for dinner to Galaxy Gardens in Prince Rupert. We were celebrating FREEDOM 55. I think my dad was retiring and turned 55. I’m actually not sure if he retired at 55 and he did go to China to work for a few years, but the whole idea of retiring at 55 is nowhere near my psyche. I’m just getting started. LOL. I mean that, with my career and personal life.
My kid treated with all of my favourite things. She gave me flowers, little HBD gifts, dinner out, an ice cream cake, and a pottery night. She went above and beyond. She got all of my favourite things and I love the birthday card too. I’m the “best mom and roommate.” What more can I ask for? The feelings are mutual. I feel super lucky to be with my kid as she develops into a young adult. I can’t believe she is 21-years old, but I feel that we have a very joyful and respectful relationship and mom/kid and university roommates. In many ways, I feel like we are growing up together. Our time together as roommates has been fun so far. I enjoy her company. Sometimes I just think 54 is just a number. I feel 54 and I don’t think I look 54. LOL. If anything, I approach life with a learner-mindset. It’s taken me some time to get here and I love it.
During my birthday week, I went to COME FROM AWAY. I had floor tickets and I loved my seat. Lots of space in front of me, a chatty person beside me, and the CN Centre transformed into a theatre. I could not have asked for anything more. I loved the play. It set the tone for my birthday month and I am so grateful that I was able to go. The experience reminded me about how much I love musical theatre. I have so much admiration and awe for the actors, the coordination, and the logistics to make that play enjoyable and real. I was taken away by this play and so grateful to learn more about what happened in Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. I can’t believe that 9/11 happened so long ago. I remember exactly where I was on that day. I was getting ready for work (teaching math at the high school) and I was watching the news. After the play, I went out for “drinks” with a former student. It was truly an amazing night.
What is this image? Me… and my free HBD drink from Starbucks and my favourite soup dumplings from Costco. This image summarizes how things are going for me. I love where I am. I love that I have the opportunity to do what I love to do. And, I am learning more about me, about others, and about life. It has been a incredible birthday and I feel more and more better about being me. I look forward to the upcoming year and what will come and what is meant to be. My heart and mind are open. Life is good and I can’t wait for more learning. YUS. I’m feeling very grateful.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 06th, 2024 | Comments Off on Happy Birthday Day to Me
My kid and I had oysters on Friday at Earls. It was a good way for us to end our week. She’s fully immersed back into school, and so am I. Eating raw oysters is a treat for us. It reminds us of going to Puerto Vallarta last winter and we found an awesome place downtown where we at a dozen oysters TWICE. We enjoyed the restaurant and the food too. Oysters at Earls in Prince George is a find for us and I was grateful to spend my Friday after work with her to relax, enjoy, and connect. I don’t seen her as much as I like to during the week. We are both super busy. What struck me with this FIRST oyster was the deliciousness of preparing it and slurping it. The tang of the lemon, the spiciness of the tobacco, the umami of the onion sauce and grated horseradish, and the sweetness of the oyster was SPECTACULAR. The experience instantly slowed me down to a place of gratitude and joy. Hello long weekend!! We had a great meal.
That pretty much ended my week and going into things like email do not even make my radar until right now (i.e., Sunday night). I have taken some intention to learn how to make Saturdays for me and “be a person” on that day. What that means is, I do laundry, I recycle, I go food shopping, I spend time with my kid, I sleep in, I go for a walk, and anything else that is “productive” but benefits me as a person. It feels great. I almost feel that my body, mind, and soul have full accustomed itself to this way of being that my body just responds accordingly… no work on Friday night, all day Saturday, and most of Sunday. This way of being has provided me with some clear boundaries with work and life. My mindset and wellbeing are generally good. Stress is managed. I will not lose sleep on things that I can’t get to. There is always tomorrow.
This Saturday, I spent the day committed to cleaning up the bathroom, purging crap I was no longer using, and going through my dresser for clothes that need to be given way. Since moving to Prince George, I was consumed by acquiring THINGS as a form of security and safety. I thought, at first, moving to Prince George would be temporary. Now that I’ve been here for 6-years, it’s time to make an effort to put a halt on the HOARDING process and critically look at what I have acquired, what I am holding on to, and what I need to let go of. This cleansing process is taken with some intentionality. I am secure. I am safe. Last week I went through one clothing rack to remove clothes I no longer wear and no longer like. That was one garbage bag that was donated to Value Village. This week, I went through my dresser and underneath my bed which resulted in two more garbage bags and another donation. Moreover, cleaning the washroom et al resulted in two more garbage bags of garbage. Yeesh.
The washroom looks (and smells) spectacular and the areas addressed in my apartment look similar but BETTER. My kid cleaned her room too. We did some laundry and had dinner at home on Sunday. That was super nice. The purging process is gradual and ongoing. I feel that by removing some things from my place that I am holding on to is an act of letting go. I’m not sure that it’s liberation, but I do feel like I’m freeing myself from the past and spending more intentional time in the present. It feels great!! There is more stuff to sort through and admittedly, I feel stiff and sore from the cleaning and purging process. I’m not sure why, but it’s very clear that it’s something that I do not normally do. What I want to keep are things that are important to me. My goal is to purge about one garbage bag per weekend. I’m a little ahead of schedule. LOL. The more that I get rid of, the more settled I feel. Yay me.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 29th, 2024 | Comments Off on Gratitude in the Little Things
My first night in Prince Rupert. This photo was taken from my hotel room at the Crest Hotel.
September 22, 2024 – Uncolonizing Assessment
I had this awesome opportunity to return to my hometown of Prince Rupert to present with my friend and colleague, Desiree Marshall-Peer, to School District No. 52 (Prince Rupert) about “uncolonizing assessment.” We presented before in 2019 at the First Nations Education Steering Committee Fall Conference in 2019 before the pandemic. We are both former secondary mathematics educators and we met 10-years ago when we were both on the Math K-9 Curriculum Development Team. We have very different styles and approaches, but our values and way of thinking are very aligned. And, the way we are able to collaborate and work with one another is nothing like any other. We have a push-and-pull with our approach and we seem to get things done. I was very happy that she invited me to co-present with her.
We have the ultimate collaboration-chemistry. She brings her perspectives as a Cree-Ojibway educator and I bring my point of view on assessment and teacher education. We co-presented the keynote in the morning along with two IGNITE presentations from folks from the secondary school and then we each facilitated workshops with the middle school and secondary school in the afternoon. I worked with the secondary school. In the morning, we tried to model what we were trying to present about with respect to un-colonizing despite the theatre set up. We embedded several opportunities to sense-make with those in the room and provide responses to the larger crowd. We also incorporated a sticky note/gallery walk during the break to think about “What is colonialism?” (with respect to classroom assessment).
Serendipity. I took this photo from the window of my room at the Crest Hotel.
We were co-constructing knowledge. The topic and discussions during the keynote were potentially challenging and thought provoking, and they were intended to be. We were focused on Standard 9 of the Professional Standards of BC Educators and classroom assessment. How we assess dictates how we teach; it’s not the other way around. We concluded the keynote session with urging teachers to engage in ongoing formative assessment in their classes (as exampled with with salmon experience) and using Kirkness & Barnhardt’s (2001) as a reflective tool to self-assess their assessment practice. Does your assessment practice embody respect, responsibility, reciprocity, and relevance? This self-reflection can be affirming or cue to reflect and adapt, if needed. The assessment practice needs to be a partner in the learning process.
What teachers teach and what students learn should have an intentional learning target and clear success criteria. In the salmon example, if the learning target is about my knife skills to clean the salmon, do not assess me on whether or not the gills of the salmon were removed or if I could identify the parts of a salmon. The success criteria should reflect the learning target, like how I was holding the knife, the quality of the cut, and safe and responsible use of the knife. With the same activity (i.e., cleaning the salmon), the learning target maybe be cleaning the salmon, so the product or outcome matters (i.e., removal of the gills). I hope this point was made clear in the presentation. It’s a big aha for me as an educator and teacher educator.
Co-presenting with Des Marshall-Peer at the Lester Centre of the Arts.
In the afternoon, I worked with the secondary school teachers, EAs, and administration. What a welcoming crew!! My friend/colleague from UNBC and his spouse (who is also a teacher at the high school) took me out for lunch with another friend of theirs at Opa’s before heading back to the high school. The food was yummy and the company was engaging and dialogical. Lunch out was an excellent transition to the afternoon workshop. My friend/colleague offered to help me with my workshop presentation. Generous and I immediately accepted. He and the school principal were very helpful with facilitating the afternoon session in the multipurpose room. I could see my the house I used to live in across the street. That’s how I started my workshop session and started group work as I would in teacher education.
I considered moving the folks around the room as they had self-selected tables to sit at. A quick ask and pivot to have them stay in these groups to feel some agency and belonging. Talking about assessment is not easy because we are talking about VALUES. We started the workshop session with the 6 question posed by the school district. Each group had to choose a question, by consensus, to address. With posters and group roles (i.e., the reporter, recorder, and facilitator), each group discussed a question of choice, recorded responses on a poster, then shared 3 key ideas from their conversation to the whole group. I let the group know after this discussion designed for sense-making that I too was pre-assessing them on their ability to work in a group, to discuss their practice within a group, and to follow directions to inform my next steps. I was modelling assessment and being explicit with “Christine 2”.
Fish and chips (cod) from the Crest Hotel.
BTW: Christine 2 is my inside voice; Christine 1 is my teacher-self; and Christine 3 is on a soap-box. This strategy I use in my EDUC 394 to dispel the complexities of teaching to teacher candidates. Christine 4 and 5 do exist, but let’s hope we never get there in a classroom… LOL. Anyway, this crew was prepared for my BIG ASK. In the keynote, we had The Ask of “what step(s) can you take to un-colonize your assessment practice?” My Big Ask included the Kirkness & Barnhardt’s (2001) 4Rs from the keynote presentation, the proficiency scale for the BC Student Reporting Policy, and grading (aka., the 100-point rubric) and consider what they needed, what students need, and what families need. It was like the overlap of two three-circled Venn Diagrams. It was a big ask and let me tell you, the conversation was rich, compelling, and will be ongoing. Each group reported out and if anything, their thinking provoked. The session concluded with a COMMITMENT to change. “What is one thing you would consider changing in your assessment practice?” They wrote this commitment on a piece of paper (anonymous) and submitted this commitment to an envelope to be revealed later to check in to see how they were doing. They were also asked to find a critical friend or friends to work with while they embark this change.
Change is a process, it’s incremental, and it’s ongoing. Change is not an event. Me coming to their school or school district does not provoke or create change. It is those who are involved with the change who make the change. The Big Ask is really asking for system and pedagogical change. ASSESSMENT IS A CONVERSATION, which requires time, sense-making, shared language, experimentation, reflection, reflexivity, learning, vulnerability, courage, humility, love, and community. ASSESSMENT DRIVES PEDAGOGY (not the other way around). So, how can we design learning experiences that acknowledges assessment as the driver to how we will teach and learn? This question is the big idea behind this work as we in BC continue on this journey of un-colonization of our practice and pedagogy to benefit and support the learners in our care. I know we can do this. It takes one step at a time.
PS. the images above were my most favourite taken (or eaten) in Prince Rupert.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 22nd, 2024 | Comments Off on Returning to Place
I’m not really sure what I mean by this. There is no question that I am passionate about coffee and Costco soup dumplings. I would call this image “the breakfast for champions.” I would often eat this meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If I don’t have a lot of time in the morning to make breakfast… soup dumplings. If I’m feeling down and sad… soup dumplings. If I’m feeling happy and excited… soup dumplings. I hope you can see a clear pattern here. I just love this quick and easy meal. It’s comforting, consistent, and delicious. That’s all I can say about it. It’s my go-to meal. I just love it.
What else do I love?
I love to teach. I may not be an award winning educator or chosen to be a guest speaker for graduation, I love what I do. I was so happy when I returned back to teaching at the university after leaving K-12 education. Although I spent some time professional development workshops and public speaking as a school trustee, nothing beats teaching students. I love the relationships, the reciprocity, and the joy that comes from teaching and learning. It’s hard to describe, but I love the creative process of planning, prepping, and assessment. Trying new things and making things better with each iteration motivate me. I love the learning that comes with teaching.
But I caught myself this week and noticed what “stokes my fire.” I love assessment. That might be somewhat of an understatement. I’m not an assessment researcher, nor am I one to claim numeric precision or accuracy with my assessment practices. What I will say is, assessment frames, drives, and reflects my pedagogy and values. If I could, I am an advocate for and fan of the single point rubric. I love the idea of having a clear learning target, explicit success criteria, and different ways for students to demonstrate their learning. I found myself just capitalizing a Zoom conversation about assessment in an upcoming keynote my friend/colleague and I are preparing for, and everything that I was teaching during one of my classes was framed around my assessment practice and intentions. I just love it. Assessment is important to me.
When I think about my research program, I am drawn to out-of-field teaching, professional learning, and one’s sense of self-efficacy in the context of teacher education, mathematics education, and climate change education. Where does assessment fit into all of this? Self-assessment and formative assessment are critical within these topics as well as identity, agency, and vulnerability. I suppose that I cannot oversimplify my interest in these areas even though I’m encouraged to articulate this agenda in a sentence or two. Indigenous worldviews and knowledge in addition to culture and my ethnic identity are entangled in my research interest along with leadership, power, and policy. The human experience is a complex one. I am creating my own path. If anything, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a colleague recently… do what makes me happy. It takes courage, patience, and trust.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 14th, 2024 | Comments Off on Looking at Myself
October 13, 2024 – Do what you love
