It’s been 3 days since my last blog. This might be a reoccurring theme… me catching up on my daily blog of learning… BUT… I do appreciate the time to think, reflect, and land. Literally… LAND. I’ve got to remember to register for the UBC MOOC on Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education AGAIN. What I took away from the last time I took this online 6-week course was LAND IS IDENTITY. That course validates how I feel here in Prince George and how I directed my learning in EDUC 454 – Quantitative Approaches to Environmental Education. I’m presenting at the Northwest Math Conference in Whistler this upcoming Provincial Pro-D day and I am presenting about what I have learned building math efficacy while teaching EDUC 454 at SFU Burnaby Campus in 2017.
On this Monday, I learned more about my PLACE at UNBC. I just discovered a new wing of UNBC campus and I am always curious about learning about where I am working this school year. It’s a beautiful facility. I have to remind myself to WALK to get to know my place better, but also take the opportunity to explore and learn. Of course, I was just leaving a meeting this afternoon and I was looking through the windows thinking about a conversation I had with my colleague about learning spaces and learning places. A one end of the hallway, all I could see was the greenery of the courtyard (where baby deer was born last year). As I walk through the hallway, I see this. My colleague teaching students OUTSIDE. A nice surprise. Loved it. Let’s find ways to learn outside.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 17th, 2018 | Comments Off on Learning Outside
Admittedly… I needed to take a time out this week, thus daily blog of learning or reflection was postponed for a few days. The way I figure, I have until the next day of learning to blog and reflect. Thank goodness for the weekend to give me a moment to breathe and think about my learning. LATERAL INTERCONNECTEDNESS. Even the title of this blog entry took some time to compose. Although I was at the university this weekend to participate in SEGA (Supporting Education Graduate Advancement) and planning and prepping with another colleague for an upcoming meeting and teaching/learning opportunity, I feel fortunate to be mentored. I am learning. That is my greatest joy.
I also went to THE THANK YOU CANADA TOUR on Saturday night, hence the picture. It seemed like a good photo to depict what I have been synthesizing for the last few days. One thing I knew for sure was the interconnectedness of teachers and the quality of their practices. For example, when I taught secondary mathematics, I understood that how well I taught my math course would influence how my students would learn and perform in the next grade of mathematics. Similarly, that would be the same for students entering my class from other classes, which would inherently influence how I would teach.
I have always been aware of other people’s pedagogies and believed that working side by side, I would be able to maintain my professional autonomy as a secondary mathematics teacher. In the last few years in higher education, I am more aware of the influence of other courses that my students are taking and how their experiences influence how students expect from my class, thus influence how I teach. I am more awakened than ever, particularly when I want to create a competency-based learning experience and figuring that out in real-time. It’s one thing to be aware of what other teachers are doing in their class, but it’s another thing to change what I am doing because of it.
I am not point fingers or blaming… in fact, I look at myself and question what I am doing and how I can do better. I am heartened by the idea that we are stronger together. I think about CURLING… like I do with most things. I am so fascinated how much curling has taught me about systems, leadership, and teamwork. There is an interconnectedness amongst players… like the ice skaters at #TTYCT. They are a team. When one falls, another will pick you up. In curling, every player, every position matters. We all have a shared understanding of the game, individual strengths, and our responsibilities. The best teams are ones that have this deep knowing as a collective. Interdependence isn’t just from game to game, but amongst players… working together towards a common goal.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 14th, 2018 | Comments Off on Lateral Interconnectedness
Wow. Today was a learning day for me… and I am so grateful that I have a class whom I can learn from. Talk about modelling what you preach. TEACHERS ARE LEARNERS. Assessment and evaluation has been at the heart of my teaching practice for most of my career. Ranging from doing what you think you should do… to differentiating formative and summative in the context of a secondary mathematics classroom… to being a HUGE Assessment FOR Learning advocate… to higher education in Teacher Education. It’s a curious situation when you want to model what you want to see… and then, you learn something. There was no question in my mind that how I assessed and evaluated students dictated how I taught my class. For example, when I taught a course that had a provincial exam, we spent much of our time catering our teaching and learning to meet “the standards” of the provincial exam so that student would “succeed” on the exam. It was almost like teaching 2 classes… one for math and the other training for the exam.
Free from exams and teaching teacher candidates about BC’s New Curriculum and competency-based learning, I am compelled to swing the pendulum to the opposite end of the continuum and focus on FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT and holistic assessment in the course. First problem, students were not accustomed to this and it was TOO RADICAL for students to comprehend especially when they felt that their “grades” were at risk, but also students wanted some feedback to understand how they were doing. Although I thought I was giving feedback during their demonstration of learning in REAL-TIME, there was some expectation to get “some closure” on their learning activity. We just finished an article today in class on “competency based learning” and it was recognized that ASSESSMENT IS A HURDLE, along with other variables such as mass education, systems, credentials, and education policy. It’s complex and the article was 17-years old… yet still relevant as we continue to implement BC’s New Curriculum that is competency based.
There is no question in my mind about the AWESOMENESS of the learning demonstrated when we are “final exam free.” Personally, I believe that Teacher Education is a competency-based program as we are trying to engage students in learning experiences to hone their knowledge and competencies to develop their pedagogy and become novice teachers. What I learned today is, assessment is required soon after the demonstration of learning to help with their learning. Although this does not have to be “mark driven” and focused on number acquisition to 100%, it does have to comment on how students have done and suggest how they could be better next time, if needed to. This alone created a STRUCTURE within in our course where students are now asked to self-reflect on their demonstration of learning (e.g. Assessment AS Learning), be provided with feedback from the instructor but also students from the class (e.g. Assessment FOR Learning), and make a judgement on how they are doing using a SINGLE POINT RUBRIC with specific criteria as “meeting” or “not meeting expectations” (e.g. Assessment OF Learning). I think the pendulum has swung back to the middle. I’d like to thank my students for their feedback, honesty, and inquiry. Truth… this is what makes teaching and learning BETTER!!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 11th, 2018 | Comments Off on Assessment is the Hurdle
First of all… I would like to thank Noelle Pepin @Noelle_Pepin from School District No. 57 (Prince George) for visiting my EDUC 360 class to share her thoughts on identity, curriculum and Indigenous Pedagogy, and @Beaded_Tweets. I was so grateful that Noelle took the time to prepare for and present her thinking and knowing. Where did the time go? There was so much to learn and understand about MakerSpace, ADST, and her why for pursuing CODING WITH BEADS. From weaving to beading… from coding to Twitter… from Indigenous Ways of Knowing to modern times… there were many concepts to delve into. Personally, I loved the idea of looking at CANNED SALMON and how this artifact could be used to inspire INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING to support BC’s New Curriculum looking through the Indigenous Lens. I appreciated the opportunity to code WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY. I like the hands on approach and the possibility of looking at patterns and coding trends. Thank you students for participating this afternoon and carving out space in our class time to participate and listen to Noelle’s pedagogical journey. All my relations.
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Admittedly, today was a tough day… but a good day. Perseverance, GRIT, and the will to continue to move forward has HUGE rewards. I am always honoured to be in the presence of others who are clear with their convictions. I am always learning. It makes me think about Parker Palmer’s (1997) – Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity of a Teacher and UVIC’s TRANSFORMATIVE INQUIRY. I think today was my TOUCHSTONE moment… that makes me think about my values and beliefs, question what I know and understand, and transform who I am as a RESEARCHER-TEACHER-PRACTITIONER. Practice what you preach and here I am in a META-MOMENT. I feel lucky to be here and proud to be surrounded by outstanding people to create this learning opportunity for me. Take care of yourself. Be kind. Learn from your experiences. Be humbled. Transform.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 10th, 2018 | Comments Off on Coding with Beads
Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving… so no daily blog of learning for me this weekend or Monday. Tuesday came by and went… and here I am (again) reflecting on the last couple of days in two separate blogs. What am I getting at? PEOPLE NEED STRUCTURE. Hindsight… maybe I should have made this a “daily blog”… but I do appreciate the break from writing and reflecting too. On the contrary, I used to blog when I felt inspired too. That led to much online irregularity and reflection. So my question is, TO WHAT END?
I love looking at my dog, Sally… and receiving daily pics of her from my husband. It somehow makes me feel like I’m at home on the Coast while I’m living in Prince George. Look at how awesome this photo is. My dog, in the forest, connected with nature. But if you notice… she’s on her leash. STRUCTURE. What I like about this leash is that it retracts. It gives Sally enough freedom to choose to walk close to us or forge forward to explore, sniff, and chase. That said, there’s a limit. The leash is not infinite in length.
Whether it be parenting, teaching, or LIFE… we all need a bit of structure, predictability, and limitations. Horribly though, I’m a FREEDOM girl… meaning, I can function within a framework, but if it gets too tight, too limiting, or too prescriptive… it’s not for me. I am hyper-aware that people also need some freedom and CHOICE… but to what end? The goal is to find the sweet spot of compromise, reasonability, and adaptability. That can be challenging at times, particularly if we get too stuck in our habits, routines, or traditions.
Comfort is a good feeling… meaning, it provides some solace in times of chaos. For example, It was reassuring to me for my dad to remind me and my siblings that today was my parent’s wedding anniversary. I miss my mom deeply. It’s only been almost 8 months and this was their first anniversary that they did not celebrate together. My dad bought her NEW FLOWERS for her resting place. They are beautiful. My mom would have loved them. And, my dad got good news from the eye doctor and thanked my mom for this anniversary gift. This heartened me… knowing that my mom provides us structure.
Change is not easy. It’s not suppose to be. As much as I realize that my mom was the centre of our family network… and I have such a high regard for her ability to keep us together and connected, my family is in the midst of re-establishing ourselves and trying to find a NEW STRUCTURE as a way of being. Things are not the same, but I am hopeful that we will find our new norm… our new structure. In the meantime, I will embrace the MESSINESS OF CHANGE and know that we will reconnect and land on our feet again.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 10th, 2018 | Comments Off on People Need Structure
Oh my goodness… I am so tired. I feel like I’ve been running on 5th gear for the last few days. It was nice to have a quiet day at work on WORLD TEACHERS DAY. Hello Friday. No classes to teach and quality time spent in my office to get things done. I am very thankful. Today was also an opportunity to connect with colleagues, students, and friends. I went out out for lunch with a couple colleagues from the floor, coffee out with my grad student, and out for dinner with my PLN buddy. My grad student got me this plant. So unexpected. Can it get any better? Yes it can. This might be my shortest blog. Tired.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 05th, 2018 | Comments Off on Hello Friday
I only have GRATITUDE today. I feel so lucky to know that I have people in my life who help me RISE. From an early morning phone call… to another morning meeting call… to an online F2F call… to an AWESOME class… to getting a cookie… to completing some paperwork… to buying some books FOR ME at the bookstore… to dropping into a class… to dropping into another class… to a chat in the hallway… to a Twitter DM… another DM… a hello in my office… a text message… a SnapChat… to another chat in the hallway, in the staffroom, at my office… to an afternoon F2F meeting… to another office hello… to cleaning my office… to receiving and sending emails… to a 30 minute #bcedchat… to making myself a big plate a spaghetti for dinner… and now drinking this cup of coffee.
OK. I did not intend to recite all of the things I’ve done today… but it’s my way to convey that it’s all the LITTLE THINGS that made a difference to me… to LIFT me up… and remind me of the joy of what I do. I am also filled with so much GRATITUDE for all of those who are in my life. I am so thankful. How appropriate as we approach THANKSGIVING WEEKEND. Nothing is perfect and I am so glad to have those who are able to reframe a situation, give me a smile, or just be there for me just because. What I love about this is that the feeling is mutual. RIGHT BACK AT TO YOU ALL. The highlight of my day was the teaching and learning during my class and in other people’s classes on THE FLOOR at UNBC. We are doing great stuff and I can only get super excited for our students and their students. Today was a good day. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 04th, 2018 | Comments Off on Fills My Cup
Hello Hat-Trick of Daily Blogs of Learning… Yes, I’m almost caught up. For the past handful of days, I’ve been really reflecting on my practice and the kind of educator I want to be. I’ve been in the field of education for almost 25-years and I am always learning. To learn is to be humbled. As great and wonderful things have been going, I should have expected a downside to offset all of the amazing things that have been happening to me. I respect the opportunity to be grounded and be struck by reality. It’s a good thing, in hindsight. With all learning, it’s not the mistake or error that matters, it’s what you do with that knowledge that matters. I’m thankful to have friends who help me to reframe.
First… I removed all names and photos from my summer class. Based on feedback from the course review, it was clear that I overstepped my boundaries and it was not appreciated. All of those weekly blogs have been updated and revised. Although I am disappointed that we were not able to share our learning in a way that I had hoped, it was not about me and I should have sought consent. I was trying to model what I hoped to see, but I was not aware how much it upset my students. I think that upset me the most… was not knowing. FORMATIVE FEEDBACK goes both ways, but I did not make the connection that my students were so disgruntled until after the fact. That said, I knew that they had struggled with some concepts that I was trying to model in light of BC’s New Curriculum, but it was perceived as defiance and lack of direct instruction.
Second… in deleting those names and pictures, I am conscious of mentioning names in my PROFESSIONAL BLOG and what pictures I post. Since my feedback, I’ve been asking permission to use student photos or know that retweeting photos is OK. I’m even hesitating with names I’ve mentioned my last two blogs in fear of negative feedback. I mentioned them because they are AMAZING and want to acknowledge them. I need to rethink how I teach, learn, and lead in higher education. WE ARE NOT THERE YET… is a mantra I hear on a regular basis. When will we be there? I think about my edu-hero Dr. Geoff Madoc-Jones. How did he do it? He must have felt alone… yet, I know that everything he did was to implement change and help students rise. He was AMAZING.
Third… I end my hat-trick of edu-blogging tonight by acknowledging my classes today. No names mentioned… no pictures of them revealed… but they were absolutely AMAZING today. Yes, I dropped the ball on bringing my own birthday cake to one class (LOL), but my other class started the class by singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me. I will cherish this day. I will continue to work on relationships and being my authentic self. My first class today re-brainstormed a bunch of MUST-HAVE words for good teaching… professional, competent, caring, flexible, engaging, reflective, passionate, student-centred, inclusive, motivator, collaborator, and learner… to name a few. These words resonate with me.
When you know better you do better – Maya Angelou
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 03rd, 2018 | Comments Off on Being the Change
My mom would have hated this… me posting a picture of her on social media. But this is a picture of a picture… and she smiling with two cakes sitting in front of her. I never seen this photo before, but my bother has made a collage of photos of my mom at the condo and I just loved this photo of her. He said it was the only photo he could find with just her… smiling. It’s amazing. I noticed it on my birthday. It’s the best gift ever. I miss her greatly and I felt she was with me this morning celebrating my birthday with some cake. Seemed serendipitous. Happy birthday to me and my twin brother Mark. Thanks mom.
I feel grateful to have spent a couple of days on the Sunshine Coast with my little family. It was like “normal” meaning it felt like I just came home after a conference. We were just into our regular routines, but I had the chance to give my dog several doggy hugs before heading out to the Lower Mainland. We spent Sunday standing in the rain watching my kid play rugby and then we headed off to the condo where my sister made an early turkey dinner for my little family, her little family, my brother, and my dad. It was also our early birthday dinner gathering too. It was an excellent way to getter all done.
I stayed at the condo to work the next couple of days on the FNESC Math 8/9 TRG revisions in Richmond, then it was off onto a plane back to Prince George to teach my night class. Not only was working on with FNESC was a huge gift and privilege, working up at UNBC is as well. I feel very lucky on my 48th birthday. Yes, I’m almost 50 and my career in higher education has just begun. I am also very grateful for my colleagues. My plane was delayed almost 3-hours and I am so grateful for my friend and colleague for chatting with my class while I was trying to get to campus 30 minutes late. Thank you Deb. You are amazing!!! And thank you night class… it was an awesome birthday.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 03rd, 2018 | Comments Off on Happy Birthday
First of all… Can you believe it’s October? Second, I cannot believe that I have the opportunity to work with the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) to revise the Math 8/9 Teacher Resource Guide (TRG). Finally, I am three daily blogs of learning behind. Yes, I am challenged tonight to get 3 blog entries done. It’s one of my #firstworldproblem edu-nightmares, but it’s an opportunity to harness the concept of a SHORT BLOG. Capture the BIG IDEA instead of a play-by-play of the day. I can do this.
What an incredible opportunity to work with Jo Chrona (@luudisk) and my good friend Desiree Marshall-Peer (@educatalyst_dmp) from UBC Okanagan. I also had the opportunity to meet and work with Cam Hill from SD52 in Hartley Bay and Bernard Gobin from FNESC. I love this work. Teaching Mathematics in a First Peoples Context Grades 8 and 9 is an amazing document that was almost a perfect fit to the Integrated Resource Package (IRP), the previous BC Curriculum. Now that we are immersed in BC’s New Curriculum, it’s time to modernize this Teacher Resource Guide in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), 21st Century Learning, and Indigenous Education.
With this project, I am so driven by my feelings and my love for story, Indigenous Worldview, and mathematics. Instead of leading with mathematics and the rigour of mathematics, let’s dig in deep into the story. It might be a traditional story, a narrative of a lived experience, or something that best captures the themes found in the resource that hooks the learner into mathematics in an Indigenous context. Des was one of the original writers of this document and I look to her direction for her expertise, but also Cam’s. I appreciate Jo’s leadership and Bernard’s willingness to make things happen. Today reminded me of curriculum development on BC’s New Curriculum Math K-9. That’s where I first met Des. She is the best. Thank you for inviting me on this journey. I’m loving every minute of it and looking forward to our work together and the final product to support teachers and learners in BC. We made excellent progress. Lots of work ahead.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 03rd, 2018 | 2 Comments »
