Christine Ho Younghusband

Building Relationships

Day 5 (of 187) – September 10, 2018

I am slowly but surely flooding my office at UNBC with “stuff.” There is no way that I will handily fill 5 BOOK SHELVES within the school year, but I am prepared for the challenge. I am also slowly but surely catching onto this DAILY BLOG on days of learning. Yes, I am learning. And yes, I am one day behind, as anticipated because it takes time to form new habits. That said, I had no classes on Monday but I like to go to the university to work and meet new people. All that I have to do is LEAVE MY DOOR OPEN. This is nice. Personally, as an extrovert, I like the door open. But having my door open provides an invitation to others to walk by and say HELLO or have a seat to have a chat. I liked that. I met more faculty (new to me), connected to familiar faces, and chatted with some students one-to-one. What I am appreciating most about teaching and learning at UNBC is that I can be myself. I feel authentic to my practice and to those I work, teach, and learn with. This is a nice feeling. I like being in a state of change, personally and professionally, which helps me to gain a deep understanding of the change process and how RELATIONSHIPS are at the core of what we are trying to do and achieve.

Today will not be a super long blog reflection on learning. I’m anticipating to write another blog entry tonight on today’s day of learning. I’m teaching tonight too. Anyway, I love that I continue to make connections with other people to broaden and deepen my understanding of teaching and learning. I am diversifying my understanding being in a different place with different people and I love the opportunity to make myself vulnerable to the learning process with hopes that it will influence my teaching practice and thus improve or enhance the learning experiences of my students (aka. teacher candidates) and their students to be. This is a good place to be and I hope to continue building relationships so that we can move forward together towards a common goal. Don’t get me wrong… as much as I am excited to lunge forwards 3 steps… I do step back one or two because it’s the right thing to do. This is the thing about relationships. It’s a give and take process. There are no winners. It’s opportunities for teaching and learning. In the end… realizing this after a brief conversation with another student this morning… it’s not about what you teach that students remember, it’s the relationship that you have created and nourished… and how you made them feel in that relationship will last a lifetime.

You Can’t See Yourself

Ah yes… my fave… a FOOD PIC. This a photo of a Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict from “Ohh Chocolate in downtown Prince George. It was sooooooo delicious and sooooooo unexpected. First of all, there was something yummy in the hollandaise sauce that was tangy and somewhat addictive. So, goodbye potatoes dipped in hollandaise sauce. It was the first thing to go off my plate followed up by the strawberry garnish as a palate cleanser. Then I moved onto the piece of maple bacon COVERED IN CINNAMON. What the? So delicious!!! This does not speak to the main course of the meal… the Eggs Benedict. At first glance, you’d think that the HUGE piece of salmon is lying on a piece of toast, but no. With closer inspection, it was a piece of toasted croissant. Moist and tender to the knife and fork. The egg, sauce, salmon, and croissant was a winning combination and this was a LOCAL chocolate coffee house. YUMMY. Best of all… Breakfast special for the month of September… TWO breakfasts for the price of ONE. Winning!!!

This blog entry is not a food review… but really, today’s brunch AND COFFEE at Ohhh Chocolate were outstanding. It’s not even a commentary of the awesome local venues that are up and coming in Prince George, but I hope to go to more. I’m really enjoying myself. Furthermore, it’s not one of my DAILY BLOG ENTRIES to reflect on each day of learning; a challenge I have personally taken on from Ian Landy @technolandy because I think it’s absolutely crazy to blog everyday. So, I might post this blog entry onto my personal Facebook Page. Day’s like this is an opportunity for me to get out of my apartment (or university campus office) to connect with those I know who live in or near Prince George. Today, I made plans with one of my former Math 12 students from Chatelech Secondary… Deb Petula… now Deb Young… to have brunch. Ohhh Chocolate is like a modern, locally owned business with lots of yummy things to eat and drink.

Meeting up with folks like Deb (and Nicole Doran from a few weeks ago) is an opportunity for me to explore the City of Prince George through the lens of my former students but also current residents of Prince George. I am slowly but surely getting my bearings but I think this will take some time. To get anywhere that’s not College Heights, UNBC, or Winners, I have to turn on my MAPS APP on my iPhone and trust that I am going to end up where I want to be. Thank goodness for technology. Without it, I would definitely still be in my apartment wondering if I knew anyone in Prince George. That would be a sad state of affairs. Here I go… up and over the hill via the university to get to the other side of Prince George to head to an area called “The Bowl” to pick up Deb from her home. I met her husband Jack and waved hello to her two little ones who were in the house. They were super cute and still in their jammies. You knew it was Saturday morning.

It was clear to Deb that I had no idea where I was going. She had to be my human MAPS APP to get to our destination. On the way there, we chatted about how she landed in Prince George. I did not realize that she schooled at UNBC, met her husband at UNBC, and started work in Prince George soon after university graduation. She’s been in Prince George for 17 years… which means I taught Deb at least 18 years ago… now that BLOWS MY BRAIN. Has it really been that long? Must be true though… I just can’t believe time flies. We chatted all morning as if no time had few by. I liked that Deb had to tell her friend this morning that she couldn’t do coffee with her because she was going out with her MATH TEACHER. Oh ya… feels good!!! I had no idea that I was Deb’s favourite teacher and favourite math teacher. I enjoyed having her in my math class but I did not know I was a favourite. Huh. YOU CAN’T SEE YOURSELF… the title of this blog entry.

This cognitive awakening got me thinking about my research and self-assessment. How do we know what we know if we can’t see ourselves? This is metacognition at it’s finest. I’ve always believed that we all need “a mirror” to see ourselves. I don’t think SELFIES are going to cut it. That’s all orchestrated and designed for social media, but how do we really see ourselves? How do we measure ourselves? I wonder about this. I do recall not being other people’s favourite teacher, but is that really true. I loved how Deb said during brunch today… that I made math easy to understand and FUN to learn. She said that I made math too seemingly too doable that she wanted to go to university to study math and become a teacher. That was my biggest compliment I took from today. I had no idea I was achieving this with my high school math students even though it was my intent.

We had an amazing brunch… as mentioned earlier… and seen in my favourite to do FOOD PIC. We headed out to check out another area that many locals had mentioned. We went to “The Hart.” I was surprised how many people I’ve met and chatted with mentioned that they live IN THE HART where it apparently SNOWS MORE due to higher elevations. Not going to lie… I’m glad I’m not living there. I’m not handling the snow already and it’s a beautiful summer day heading into fall. Let’s not talk about this. So, we drove out to THE HART and I managed to make my way around a ROUNDABOUT. Yup. it’s the small wins that matter most. Wow. I was so glad to drive out that way. I had never been here before and can see why people live out in The Hart. It’s a bit of a distance and well… I like the convenience of where I live (for me) at College Heights. Now, I know.

En route, Deb mentioned the Northern Lights Winery. I wanted to go back there because my other friend, Kat, who taught up in Prince George with a French Cohort with SFU said it was a place to go. So let’s… It was AMAZING. A beautiful location along the Nechako River… an establishment built only 3-years ago that makes FRUIT WINES. Of course we engaged in a wine tasting and both Deb and I walked away with two bottles of wine each. From apple to huckleberries… the wine was unusual and delicious. What an awesome find in Prince George. There was a tour from France visiting the winery and it’s great to know that they too serve brunch, lunch, and dinner. I’m coming back to get two more bottles of fruit wine… but possibly closer to October when the cherry wine comes in.

Thank you Deb Young for taking me around Prince George. My mantra: One venue at a time. I loved how Nicole Doran (former Chatelech Secondary student) took me around to different places in Prince George as well as brunch at Nancy O’s. That was amazing. Next time, it will be Chicken and Waffles brunch (with a side of bacon). I will be meeting up with Melissa Darney (another former Chatelech Secondary student) on Monday morning and I met up with school trustee colleagues Trish and Tim from the SD57 Board of Education. I have also met folks from my Twitter PLN… Glen Thielmann who now teaches at UNBC and Shannon Schinkel who will be guest modding #bcedchat later this month. I was reunited with Deneen Sawchuk who teaches in SD57, but did teach in SD46 with me years ago. We went to Zoe’s Java House. YUM. My colleague Deb Koehn has been great introducing me to Prince George and UNBC. We went to Sushi 97 last week for lunch. That was good. My kid would have loved it. Now, I’m in the midst of making plans folks from Quesnel… Dot who used to curl with me in Gibsons and Gloria who served with me on the BCSTA Board of Directors and current chair of the SD28 Board of Education.

Thank goodness for people. Without them, I would be hibernating in my apartment in College Heights… blogging about what could have been. Instead, I’m blogging about what is… with gratitude, great experiences, and good conversation. I am so pleased to know so many people in the Prince George area. There are more and I will meet more. FUN!!!

Cruising Around

Day 4 (of 187) – September 7, 2018

I am cruising around campus today and I have slightly deviated from my one route to and from the Teaching and Learning Centre to anywhere else. No classes for me today and “the floor” was very quiet. I believe only one of four cohorts were in session. It was a good opportunity to do some work and get things done. Fridays is also the day Gretchen, one of my colleagues, is on campus. She’s on campus only on Fridays and teaches the rest of her courses online up north. Yes, she lives somewhere more north from Prince George. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s doing it. Anyway, we connected and I helped her move her furniture in her office. In return, I coerced her to go to the UNBC Faculty Association New Faculty Welcome Reception. They were serving lunch… why not? It was fun to cruise around campus with her to find the FA Lounge and meet new people.

After lunch and introductions, we left the event with some swag and bought UNBC Orange T-Shirt Day shirts from the bookstore. We had a chance to talk about EDUC490 and connect up with the Education Coordinator Deb later in the afternoon with Practicum Placement Coordinator Carol. Gretchen was getting stuff done and so was I. Today was a great opportunity to talk to the IT/AV department and visit the university library. And check the picture above… UNBC WEATHER DEPT… I was captured by the MATH. This was a pleasant surprise during my university exploration and checking out the university cafeteria where we bumped into the Dean with her son (who’s attending the university). It was a really good day. It makes me think about the importance of understanding place to understand my work and my place. I had a good day, but now it’s time to go to bed.

I am looking forward to tomorrow and Monday where I get to meet up with former Chatelech Secondary students (from my era as secondary math and science teacher) who now live in Prince George. I am really happy to meet and reunite with people here in Prince George. It’s a good reason to get out of my apartment or office at the university. I love connecting with them. It makes me feel more settled in Prince George. And thank goodness for technology. I don’t think that I would be able to do what I am doing now without technology. I feel connected to my family even though they are still on the west coast in Sechelt. Love the daily SnapChats, texts, and surprise FaceTimes. It makes me feel good… like going to bed early. Not my normal, but hey… I just bought snow boots.

No Class Selfie

Day 3 (of 187) – September 6, 2018

Unbelievable. I review my pics and this is what I’ve got. This is one of 3 pictures of course sign-ups. That’s it. I had full intentions of taking a selfie with my EDUC 360 class… my first class at UNBC… but nope. I must have been focussed… or not focussed. This would depend on your perspective. I chatted about stuff that I did not intend to while going through my course syllabus. Admittedly, going through the course syllabus is not one of my favourite classes to facilitate, but it’s was definitely a great opportunity for my class to give me FORMATIVE FEEDBACK on my course syllabus and ask questions. Dang… I did change my mind on some of the course assignments and yes, there were errors in my course syllabus. AWESOME. I appreciated the feedback. No only did I learn how to get stuff posted to BLACKBOARD (a different platform from Canvas), I also updated my course syllabus with version 2. The irony does not escape me when much of my course chatter was about FORMATIVE and SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT. This was nice.

It’s interesting trying to transfer what I know and understand from my teaching and learning experience at SFU (Simon Fraser University) to teaching at UNBC (University of Northern British Columbia). As the saying goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know” but you’re surely going to find out when you put yourself out there and TRY. It’s interesting to hear how other classes went. I shouldn’t be my own toughest critic, but as always… it could have been better. I was orienting myself to how to use technology of the classroom, getting my PowerPoint going, and turning up the volume. That’s still true… except I’m not navigating how to use the TV/VCR (lol). I was getting used to the class orientation, class size, and plowing through my course syllabus in less than 2-hours. I was so used to students not really knowing each other, classes ranging from 28-38 students, and 4-hour classes. It was a shift in momentum for me… but I’m looking forward to more.

Well… that’s the only class that I’m teaching this week, but I have much more to do and achieve. Now that I know the basics of BLACKBOARD, I need to get my other classes on board. I have some prep to do for next week’s classes and I want to get my head back into research with SFU’s Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy (CSELP). I’ve been postponing that and really, I need to take the lead on that… because I have something to learn. So I really appreciate having an office where I can leave work at work… so that I can get to different work at home. This is the pros and cons of not being with my family. There is a huge part of me that wants to be in Sechelt to be with my kid, man, and dog. On the other hand, this is my time in Prince George to make the most of this teaching and learning experience in Prince George at UNBC. I must stick to my core belief… “anything is possible.” The goal is to make it happen. Onwards and upwards.

Teacher Orientation

Day 2 (of 187) – September 5, 2018

Wow. It’s Day 2 of the Teacher Candidates Orientation at UNBC. It was so great to see again and listen to BC Ministry of Education’s Superintendent of Learning Pat Duncan speak to our Teacher Candidates about BC’s New Curriculum. It’s nice to hear from the person “on the top” talk about what’s being imagined for BC Education and WHY we are doing it. I was shocked about the exponential growth of technology and access to information. It was a nice reminder to listen to Pat with the continued message from the Ministry of Education that change is happening, it needs to happen, and it’s going to be messy. It’s so crazy for our Teacher Candidates to consider especially when we have been educated in a school system that was predictable, efficient, and routine-like.

I also appreciated that after Pat’s 1.5 hour presentation that he field questions from our Teacher Candidates after his spiel, during lunch, and afterwards with our Year 2 Teacher Candidates. Our students asked some really difficult questions and I could not help myself but jump in from time to time about my take on BC’s New Curriculum and where I think we’re heading towards. It was a great dialogue and we also heard from other UNBC instructors… Glen, Deb, and Richard… contributing to the conversation. I am grateful that our students were not shy to ask the tough questions. Ir reminds of me of the “wicked question.” Questions with no clear answers. This can make some people uneasy and frustrated, but also it may make others excited and liberated. For me, I’m the latter.

Thank you to the School of Education Coordinator Deb Koehn and Placement Coordinator Carol Fedyk for making this 2-day learning experience with our Teacher Candidates possible. For me, it was very classic “education” but also it was a great way for our students to transition back into university life and for teacher training via Practicum. Lots of learning ahead and I also felt like this 2-day experience was part of my orientation as Lecturer/Instructor at the university. For this, I am grateful. The day concludes with me doing work in my office and preparing for tomorrow’s class and beyond. I sent my detailed course syllabi to our copy centre with no expectations of getting my copies until next week. NOPE. I got them within an HOUR!!! I was shocked and dismayed. Thank you Barry for your kindness, communication, and quality of work. This made my day!!!

Back to School

Day 1 (of 187) – September 4, 2018

Welcome BACK TO SCHOOL. It’s been almost 8 years since I had a full-time job. That seems so crazy to say… 8-YEARS!!! I left teaching secondary mathematics in public schools in the fall of 2010 to pursue my doctorate degree and spend more time with my daughter. During that time, I also served as a school trustee, which was another opportunity to stay connected with K-12 education but from a different point of view. I loved teaching secondary mathematics. I loved all of the people I’ve met as a school trustee. Now that I am done my doctorate degree, it was time for the next step.

I am very grateful to be working at UNBC as a full-time Lecturer in the School of Education. I am teaching predominantly teacher candidates during practicum, but also I am teaching undergraduate courses in curriculum and instruction and classroom dynamics, and a graduate course in research methods and design. It’s pretty much a job of my dreams. I am also involved with opportunities connect with school districts and reimagining teacher education. I am really thankful to engage in these conversations and I look forward to teaching the students, learning as I am doing, and creating some educational change that will enhance the learning experiences of teachers candidates, coaching teachers, and university instructors. I just finished my course syllabi TODAY!!!

As seen in the photo above, today was TEACHER CANDIDATES ORIENTATION DAY. I was more of a participant than facilitator. I am still learning about the program’s culture and I loved having the opportunity to meeting Year 1 and Year 2 students, elementary and secondary. There was definitely a nice BUZZ in the room as we engaged in some classic edu-activities to break the ice. I enjoyed chatting with those at my table. I am really excited to start teaching on Thursday. Tomorrow is the second day of the orientation and we will be listening to my friend and Superintendent of Learning Pat Duncan. It’s amazing how small circle things are. Superintendent of Graduation & Student Transitions Jan Unwin also visited our School of Education faculty last week. I enjoy seeing familiar faces.

With our 1.5 hour lunch break, Teacher Candidates had the opportunity to participate in the University’s Orientation events while I had the opportunity to pick up a FREE PLANT for my office, PG swag and maps, and unload some of my personal items to fill at least one bookshelf in my empty office. I am pretty stoked to have an office. It’s really nice to work in. I also used that time to connect with IT, find my class lists, and finalize my course syllabi for this term. I was so happy to get feedback on my syllabi from a seasoned practitioner in higher education. Admittedly, that took some courage on my part to get feedback, but also it’s my choice to take or leave the feedback. I was pretty satisfied with what I had produced and imagined. I did make a few modifications and VOILA… done.

What I realized today is, I will be teaching a graduate course, a Year 1 secondary course, and Year 2 elementary course. This is a nice sampling of the school of education. I am also supervising one student who’s completing her MEd in Multidisciplinary Leadership. It’s really fun so far. I appreciate the help I am getting from my colleagues and the conversations we are having. My mission is to make teaching and learning VISIBLE at UNBC. We are in the midst of change and I’m super excited for our students, the university, and the community. I can’t wait to learn more and see what’s possible. My purpose is to enhance the learning experiences of students. Let’s see how this goes. Apparently, I will be writing a daily blog, so I’m imagining we’ll find out soon via blog.

Embracing Change

Day 0 (of 187) – September 3, 2018

Well… I have taken on the challenge of blogging everyday during the school year. Now that I am at UNBC in Prince George,… living away from my family… this would be an excellent time to reflect on my learning and experiences. Thank you Ian Landy (@technolandy) for inspiring me to do so. I always thought you were CRAZY blogging everyday, but you were inspired by George Couros (@gcouros). I like the idea that one is learning from another. I also appreciate the notion of you don’t know what you don’t know unless you try. So… here we go!!!

Of course, I have started this daily blog challenge one day behind. Yes, it will be a 2-blog day. I could have started with DAY 1 today but I was thinking about this blog entry before writing about DAY 1 – “Back to School.” I’ll get to that blog entry after I get this one done.

First of all, I love this photo. A snapshot of my little family on FaceTime. It’s also how we are going to spend our time together. It’s true… my little family stayed in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast and I ventured alone to Prince George to start a full-time teaching appointment at the UNBC School of Education as Lecturer. I’m pretty excited about this opportunity and the teaching/learning experiences I can be a part of. Admittedly, I’m pretty stoked. It’s a nice match to my expertise and research background. I am super happy to stay close to the K-12 system, teach pre-service teachers, and do research at my own pace. It’s nice.

One thing about EMBRACING CHANGE that I am not a personal fan of… and continue to struggle with… are the people who will come and go in your life. When I was younger, classmates would come and go. I was very accepting of that idea. As an adult and building relationships with those in your workplace, for instance, I am perplexed how some friendships are broken or temporarily set aside, while others stay unscathed and stronger than ever. At some some level, it’s really out of my control and yet on another level, I wished that things would always stay the same. This is a naive point of view. Of course if I am changing and making changes, the people in my life will change. The only way I can accept this phenomenon exists is that to allow new people in my life, others have to go. It’s not like I choose this. Well… I may sometimes, but rarely. This belief helps me through the hurt and unknown reasons why people are no longer in my life.

I look forward to those who will enter my life while in Prince George. I have met so many great people and it so awesome to be reunited with former students, friends from the past, and members of my Twitter PLN face-to-face. Lots have people have entered in my life in addition to meeting really nice people in the community and UNBC School of Education. It is an excellent exercise of making myself vulnerable and open to meeting new people, but also let go of those who no longer want to or need to stay in my life. This phenomenon has happened several times during the last 24 years since I left university during my undergraduate years. It’s something I am noticing and mindful of. In the end, I will EMBRACE CHANGE but in doing so, the people in my life will also change.

Thinking Formative

Yes. I have taken a photo from the archives… well, it was not taken that long ago… last month. I’ve been meaning to blog all week and waited for my moment of inspiration. I almost blogged about bumping in to THREE Sechelt folks in Prince George. That was very exciting, but that was only tweet and Facebook post worthy. LOL. I also thought about blogging about all of the people I know in Prince George, whether it be a former student, trustee colleague, or someone from my PLN. It’s really amazing and I’m enjoying my time trying to connect with these people face-to-face. It’s super fun. My moment of inspiration has come from thinking about the details of my syllabi for courses I’m teaching at UNBC, my associations outside of my employment, and rebranding my website and company.

THINKING FORMATIVE. That’s why I love this photo above from my EDUC454E100 class. It was a photo taken from our last class together as they partake in a learning activity that required a full-exercise of the core competencies of thinking, communicating, and personal/social. To succeed in this activity, everyone had to be operating in the formative. What do I mean by that? Everyone is sharing their two-cents on what they thought the image would look like. Every student contributed to the creation and formation of this beautiful image, “Coming Home” by Coast Salish artist Margaret Briere. Some information shared had value. Some input was taken, while others were not… and that was OK.

I remember the kind of work it took on my part to make this class fun, engaging, and meaningful for those who wanted to participate. One of the most overwhelming comments that came from my students informally was that they were so surprised of the LEARNING COMMUNITY we’ve created. Some said that they knew maybe one or two people in the class prior to the course starting and now walked away with many close friends and colleagues to connect and collaborate with. This warms my heart, but why did this happen? We were THINKING IN THE FORMATIVE as a learning community.

Ongoing formative assessment from my part, class discussions, and an open-door policy were critical. Students were encouraged to ask any questions, seek clarification, or get formative feedback on anything prior to demonstration of learning. This was a BIG IDEA. Some of my students asked for feedback after they performed but what is there to say unless they were going to do that exact same learning activity again. I could give feedback if they planned to do that learning activity in their classes as a future teacher or teacher candidate, but there was no moment when I wanted to give formative feedback after they had been evaluated. Why? What’s the point? This took much explanation for my students to understand the difference between summative and formative assessment.

Can you imagine if you were being judged at every moment and that everything you do was “worth marks” and being evaluated? YIKES. Or worse… believing that we are being judged or evaluated all of the time. With this perception or reality, no one can be their authentic self, be willing to make mistakes, or receive information that might be helpful to them and the learning community. We are all interconnected. Our shared success should matter to all of us. This is the kind of climate and culture I tried to create in my EDUC454E100 class. Some of my students asked me how I created that learning environment. The underpinning to that course’s success and sense of community was knowing that I was on their side and THINKING FORMATIVE. To form and be informed...

One of the downfalls of THINKING FORMATIVE is thinking summative. There is no judgement. It’s not personal. The job of the learner or receiver is to take what is being offered wholeheartedly and do something about it… or not. Sometimes the formative feedback can’t be received or heard because we think or believe that we are being judged or evaluated. This is the EGO talking… wanting to protect self from what is happening and what they can do about it, if they want to. This was a HUGE idea for my students to understand. I offered, many times, that they could have handed in their DRAFT final project to me as many times they wanted formative feedback on their work before they handed it in to be evaluated. Very few took me up on that opportunity and as a result, some received grades that was less than “meeting expectations” (aka. an “A”).

This HIGH STAKES culture needs to shift… and this will take time and practice. It also takes wholeheartedness and vulnerability. Moreover, it will take an open mind, trust, respect, and kindness. It’s complicated. I cannot tell you how many times I had to park my ego as the instructor to make this happen. EGO BUSTING is two-way. Thinking formative is a two-way conversation. My job is to help and support the learner. The learner’s job is to receive feedback and do something about it. This is also reciprocated. Lots of ego parking is needed to forward together and succeed. Do I believe that everyone can get an “A”… the answer is YES. We just have to find a way to get there.

A New Perspective

After moving to Prince George and settling into my new community as I prepare to teach at UNBC (University of Northern British Columbia) for the upcoming school year, I returned back home to Sechelt… to work, rest, and spend time with my little family. Admittedly, it was a little strange. My little family kept on asking me about how it felt to not live here anymore. HELLO??? I still live here… and in PG for work. WE have TWO residences. This was apparently a BIG IDEA. Another big idea was looking through my “past life” shall we say through different lens. I loved giving Sally “dog hugs” and yes… picking strawberries from our garden. This was a big deal. I NEVER PICK BERRIES. It’s true. What kind of outdoor educator am I? So crazy, but I really appreciated the process and the product. Look at my harvest!!! Ok… I live in a strata and I picked every ripe berry in the garden the time. I was very rewarding and somewhat satisfying. I enjoyed cleaning up my house and leaving my house in a particular order. I loved calling up friends and connecting up with them to have coffee or go for a walk. It’s much more meaningful. What’s strange about this whole experience is that I’m not saying GOODBYE FOREVER, but I have said goodbye to other things to make this move happen. In return, I am saying HELLO to a full-time teaching position teaching pre-service teachers, HELLO to a new community, and HELLO to new possibilities. This excites me. Although I am not looking forward to being away (physically) from my little family in one month intervals, I am looking forward to the challenges offered by teaching and learning at UNBC School of Education. I was so glad to go back home for a bit and I am even more glad that my little family have travelled up with me to PG to visit, check out the new digs, and spend time with me. I was craving to turn the page of my last chapter and start a new one in my PEDAGOGICAL JOURNEY. Here I am in PG. Let’s see how this chapter goes. I’m stoked.

Outdoor Math Adventure

#EDUC454E100 – Week 13 – August 2, 2018

Well… this is the last week of EDUC454 evening course at SFU Surrey Summer Session. I cannot not believe that our time together has ended. I also cannot believe that I am well overdue to write this blog reflection on Week 13. I do have a reason… I (successfully) moved to Prince George, BC last week soon after our class. I will be teaching at UNBC (University of Northern British Columbia) as a full time Lecture in the upcoming school year. I am really looking forward to teaching at UNBC, but moving to Prince George felt like going to first year of university all over again… except I am in my 40’s. Moreover, I did not get internet connection into my “new place” until yesterday. I am now connected. It feels good. So here I am, sitting in my apartment in Prince George… blogging… thinking about EDUC454… and imagining about the courses I am going to teach at UNBC.

When I look at the picture above… I think on the one hand that taking photos of my class is a great way to take attendance. The class is certainly not at full capacity on this last day together. There was no exam or final paper due on August 2nd that would lure (or coerce) students to come to class. I would suspect that students who are absent were motivated by getting assignments done for other courses or personal reasons. My view is that we get too preoccupied by the TASK and underwhelmed by the LEARNING experience. I don’t blame students for this phenomena because schools are designed to focus on achievement versus delving into what’s possible, taking risks, and having fun. On the other hand, when I look at the faces of students in the photo smiling above, I think about the “goods internal” to learning and the drive to learn something NEW. I appreciate this a lot because tonight’s class was only about engaging in the learning activities I facilitated (i.e. The Outdoor Math Adventure). No marks. No grades. Just learning.

I started the class with a learning activity that I acquired from the UBC Aboriginal Math K-12 Symposium. We are WEAVING. I wished that I could have delved deeper in my inquiry project from last year that explored CEDAR and harvesting cedar. I love weaving and have a high respect for those who do. I also wished that we could have had someone who is a WEAVER from the local Indigenous community to talk to us about weaving and why it is so important to Indigenous people. What are cedar baskets used for? What role do weavers have in the traditional Indigenous community? How long does it take to complete a basket, hat, or pieces of clothing? How does one create the design and how does he/she implement it? I have so many questions and would love to embed the local peoples into our learning experience. That said, this was an opportunity for my students to realize that and experience the complexities of weaving (using strips of bristol board). Different patterns. Different experiences. Students choose. Students create.

Here’s a beautiful screenshot of a Tweet of our weaving experience. Math and place. I just love it. Thank you Kim for tweeting your final product. It’s an excellent segway to our next learning activity… the YOUNGHUSBAND OUTDOOR MATH ADVENTURE. Well…. it wasn’t that adventurous. Not my wheelhouse, but there were lessons FOR ME embedded in the learning activity… in preparing for it, forming challenging questions, and estimating the use of technology and math efficacy. I was surprised how many students, if not all groups, used technology to answer the 3 BIG QUESTIONS. This goes beyond using their handheld devices as “calculators” but they were using them as “fact finders” and for “unit conversions.” I watched one group solve one problem without going outside (which was the whole point of the activity)… see picture below… I’m in the background. The point of the learning activity was to ESTIMATE space, make realistic assumptions, and hypothesize REASONABLE solutions to the problem. They were asked to use Twitter to make their learning visible and tweet out a Math Curricular Competency from BC’s New Curriculum.

Here are the questions posed to the class. Hindsight, I should have made the questions more vague. Another change I would make is to explore other spaces that we have not gone to before. I was a little wary to start roaming the Surrey Central Mall as a learning space (with mathematical calculations), but I am satisfied how each team had solved the questions and what assumptions they made. A clear demonstration that students did not come up with the same solutions because each group made different assumptions.

Here are a few sample tweets that students have posted. I was hoping for more. As I look through these tweets, I see that not all of the groups posted on Twitter… whether if they forgot the hashtag, did not tweet, or security settings. This goes to show that we should have had a mini lesson on Twitter. What I hoped for was a flow of tweets from students on their calculations and Math curricular competencies. I got some. You have to start somewhere, but I like the potential of using social media or apps like GooseChase to post pictures as a way for students to demonstrate their learning and share with others.

Luckily the groups answered the questions in a timely manner. They returned to class and each team were asked to put their calculations for each question on the board. Students engaged in MUSEUM where most team members observed each team’s solutions while one member from each team stayed back to explain what they had done during their problem solving experience. After we had the opportunity to look at the different solutions and variation of answers, students were asked to pick the MOST REASONABLE solution and explain why… THE MATH DEFENCE. This is where it got interesting and heated. Math got exciting. I loved how students rationalized what was good or bad, what was considered, and what was assumed. In the end, we’re ALL WINNERS and got candy.

We conclude with my NEW favourite learning activity. It was the first time I tried this activity, like the last one, and I was so pleased how it turned out. It is another activity I learned at the UBC Aboriginal Math K-12 Symposium. Well… I learned it from someone who learned it at the symposium the year previous. I embarked on protocol and asked an artist to use one of her images for this activity. The artist’s name is Margaret Briere. I first met Margaret in 2011 at a Pulling Together Canoe Journey. She was one of the Indigenous youth. Since then, I’ve been watching her her growth and development on social media. I could not resist asking her to be a part of this learning experience. I also asked her for her interpretation of the image, “Coming Home.” I loved the metaphor. My students were COMING HOME as they were approaching the end of this course. The learning activity involves scale, problem solving, and communication. In the end, it was an exemplar of COLLECTIVE EFFICACY. We are all in this together. Teaching and learning.

I printed the image on an 8.5″x11″ paper and subdivided it into a 5×5 grid. I wanted to ensure that all students had at least one square to scale. I liked the idea that they would be working with squares versus rectangles. That would be something I would try next time. Students were also given an 8.5″x11′ piece of paper. First, they had to make it into a square and then they selected a small square image to enlarge it. We could have used a grid. Some students folded their paper to form grid creases. Most did not. I liked that because I wanted students to use their intuition, or knowing, with respect to scale. Once enlarged and coloured in, students took their square to the front of the room to piece the image together. They had NO IDEA what the original image looked like. They had to figure it out. I loved listening to the conversations. “Maybe these pieces are the corners.” ” Is this a spindle whorl?” “I think this piece goes here.” The following set of pictures shows the emergence of pieces being added to the puzzle… the students’ collaborating, communicating, and cooperating… and the beautiful formation of Coming Home.

Thank You EDUC454E100. It’s been my pleasure to teach and learn with you.