My Perceived Brain

Day 36 (of 187) – October 24, 2018

What did I learn today? We are all different. Of course “I know” that we are all different, but today’s guest speakers on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) during my EDUC 360 class shed some light on some of these differences and WHY. The guest speakers were arranged by a colleague of mine for another course she teaches that my cohort is taking. The guest speakers are teacher consultants in the local school district but also presenters for @POPFASD (Provincial Outreach Program on FASD). They provided the teacher candidates (and myself) with lots of information on what FASD, why it happens, and how we as educators can help SUPPORT these students in our classrooms. I do like the mindset of what works for FASD students works for all students. They offered data, research, and strategies to support students with FASD and how we as educators need to be informed of what it is and to question our assumptions about FASD and students in general. It is so true that when you are dealing with 30 students at a time, 4 blocks per day… it can be daunting and somewhat confusing what we observe from our students and how we deal with these behaviours. I would say, YOU DON’T KNOW PEOPLE’S STORIES. You just don’t. Luckily, as teachers practicing at schools, we have resource teachers to support us in supporting the student in our classroom but also a “team” of professionals to support the student as well. Another great message… we are not alone in our work in supporting students. We have research-based recommendations on how to support FASD students but many of these strategies will support all students. That’s key particularly when we are not the professional who identifies FASD students, we support students. Because 70-75% of FASD students are not “physically” recognizable, we could easily mistake behaviour derived from FASD as “bad behaviour” and respond with disciplinary actions versus implementing a strategy that supports student learning. Although this workshop was intended for my secondary first year teacher candidates, I walked away with valuable information on the what, why, and how to support students with FASD.

PS. This is a picture of my perceived brain. The whole class participated in this activity… and yes, they were all different. I saw it as different moods. Another student saw it as a picture of them… MY STUDENTS. Admittedly, I am student driven. Very appropriate.

A Learning Community

Day 35 (187) – October 23, 2018

My visit to the Sunshine Coast was very short. One day, really. I took the moments of hugging my dog, buying her treats, and snuggling with my kid at night. After coming home late last night from men’s hockey, my husband drives me out to the ferry terminal at 5:30am to catch the first ferry out of Langdale to Horsehoe Bay. It’s not an easy feat and I don’t miss these days. I felt lucky to have bumped into a couple of more friends on the ferry. This was so fun. These two are not educators but lifelong friends. One who I know from having babies at the same time and the other is a high school classmate of mine. I loved our conversations on the ferry and on the bus. One of them is coming to Prince George next week. Can’t wait to connect once again. I’m heading back to Prince George. I’ve got a meeting and a night class to teach. I was so tired when I reached the airport that I feel asleep on the computer table at YVR… drool and all. No shame.

I arrived back to Prince George safe and sound. No delays and I arrived to campus on time. The meeting went well… then we followed up that meeting with another meeting. I needed that meeting to figure out how my year will end. It was good and I’m very optimistic for the winter session. I can’t wait. That said, I have the fall session to move forward with but also tonight’s class. The first half of our class we spent at the library learning from the librarian about research and the second half in our class reviewing a chapter from the textbook. We fell short of time and postponed one of our chapters for next week. It’s such an easy going class. I am compelled to personalize their learning in the context of educational research and design. It’s super fun to take a kind of pace that is guided but also self-directed. This group of learners are diverse and I enjoy connecting with them about their learning and learning experiences. We are moving forward with the concept of research and it’s messiness. I hope they will enjoy research as much as I do. It’s not easy. We are making progress. I am very thankful for our learning community.

Informal Learning

Day 34 (of 187) – October 22, 2018

After an awesome few days in Whistler… I had a bit of time to return to the Sunshine Coast… to visit my dog, my kid, and my house. Again, thank goodness for my husband who drove me back to Vancouver from Whistler to catch the ferry in Horseshoe Bay. En route, we went to the Britannia Copper Mine Museum. That was fun. My husband panned a flake of gold and we took the tour. Loved the experiential learning aspect of this tour. I could not imagine being a miner in those days. Well, I was imagining and really, really didn’t want to be a miner in those days. Anyway, it was another fun learning experience to conclude my professional learning experience at the Northwest Math Conference.

I was so inspired this weekend, how could it get any better? Of course it got better. With my quick one-day visit on the Sunshine Coast, I had 3 coffee dates while my kid was in school. The first one we went for a walk on Davis Bay and had coffee (and blueberry pie) at Wheatberries. The second one was in Gibsons and we went to the Beachcombers for a delicious cappuccino. The third coffee was back in Sechelt at The Bakery where I had a medium skim milk latter and my favourite veggie pizza. I’m a bit of a regular at this place when I’m home. A hat trick of coffee made for a very busy day… but also an opportunity for INFORMAL LEARNING. All three of my friends are educators but have very different roles and responsibilities. What I love about these people is, they are MY CRITICAL FRIENDS. They are people I can “think out-loud” with… who will tell me the straight goods and vice-versa… and who inspire me with their strong will and conviction.

I feel very lucky to have these people in my life. In addition to these three, I have more people in my life who are my critical friends. They are the ones who will listen, who will advise, and who will lift me up. I can’t ask for any more. I feel lucky to have more than one critical friend in my life. They are people who I trust and respect. I don’t have to spend anytime to impress them… thank goodness. To me, it’s friendship at its finest.

Bridging the Gap

Day 33 (of 187) – October 19, 2018

Thank goodness for my husband and daughter… planning the weekend so nicely. My daughter went to Kamloops to play rugby and my husband took time off work to pick me up from the airport to drive me to Whistler to attend the Northwest Math Conference. We had a good time together. He said it was like “a date.” That’s nice. I guess it would feel that way if I’m up in Prince George working at the university and he is still on the Sunshine Coast as full-time parent and housekeeper. It’s all good. I was so glad to get back to my roots… my people… my tribe. MATH EDUCATORS. I feel a huge connection to these people and I love being a part of the BC Association of Math Teachers. Furthermore, I love to learn. What a great way to fill my cup. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.

Above is a photo of me and Mahtab, a professor from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. WE met long ago at another Northwest Math Conference and back then, we were both secondary mathematics teachers. It was so great to connect with her and so many other math educators in BC and the United States. I love meeting new people and chatting with them about math and math education. I felt so fortunate to make the second half of the opening keynote. See photo below. The whole conference, for me, was about mathematical thinking and making it visible. I loved the suggestions for assessment but also concepts throughout the conference that focussed on what do you notice, what do you wonder about, and what if? Mathematical thinking is about what’s possible.

My 45-minute presentation at the Westin (a neighbouring hotel) was about my EDUC 454 course at SFU-Burnaby in 2017. My message: TAKE MATH OUTSIDE. Be curious. PLAY. There were about 200 people at my session. I was thinking there was going to be 20, at most. Anyway, I think the session went well and I feel honoured to be a speaker at this conference. Other speakers I went to had similar messages. My mind was shifting… and I liked it. I even got to see Dan Finkel… TWICE. I introduced myself to him before his sessions at the BCAMT table. We had just watched his TEDx in one of my classes a couple of weeks ago about exceptional mathematical teaching. His workshops were outstanding. HOW MANY? WHAT IF? Was what I got from his first workshop. And, CONJECTURES AND COUNTEREXAMPLES… I got from his second workshop. He is very compelling. The IGNITE sessions were awesome, I met lots of people, and the closing keynote was exceptional. Too much to say about in so little space… still digesting and appreciating.

THANK YOU NORTHWEST MATH CONFERENCE 2018 COMMITTEE!!!

Lesson Alignment

Day 32 (of 187) – October 18, 2018

No students shown in these photos… but definitely evidence of their learning is documented here. Both lesson plan learning activities demonstrated LESSON ALIGNMENT. What do I mean by that? As we discuss in this class the learning standards (e.g. the curricular competencies and content) in BC’s New Curriculum, the Big Idea, the Core Competencies, and formative & summative assessment… MAGIC HAPPENS when they are all in alignment. There is coherence. The learning activities allow students to learn the content but also demonstrate their learning. The formative assessment should guide student learning and summative assessment evaluates if the student had achieved the learning standards intended. Furthermore, the learning activity should also help students develop their core competencies as it enlightens the student on the Big Idea. Both groups struggled with this alignment, but groups succeeded in the facilitation of their learning activities. there is intention in what we do and how we design the lesson plan (aka. the learning), we can and should expect students to be engaged, transformed, and joyful. Both groups succeeded in this. The struggle was real and design is complex, challenging, and ultimately rewarding when it all works out. Nothing is an accident in teaching and learning… and learning just doesn’t happen just because. We create it. We help it. We intentionally design it. This was a nice way to end the week before heading out to Whistler to attend, present, and volunteer at the Northwest Math Conference.

Making Revisions

Day 31 (of 187) – October 17, 2018

Ahhhh… yes, making revisions… DISSERTATION… a funny coincidence in this daily blog of learning. It’s difficult to imagine the number of revisions I took with my dissertation. As pretty satisfied with my dissertation, I could not get to a place of completion without the feedback from others. Thank goodness for my friend, former colleague, and editor. She was awesome. I learned so much from her about grammar and my writing patterns. Then I got an academic editor and she was equally awesome. Her expertise on APA and formatting was exceptional. I was also super happy with my supervising team… yes, it was a journey. Finally, I am thankful for my examining team and the feedback they provided me on my dissertation during my oral defence. As difficult as may be to listen to or receive some feedback, I am so thankful to those who are willing to give feedback. It’s an opportunity to get better at what I do. It’s up to us to take it or leave it.

Feedback play an integral role to making revisions, but so does time and experience. Admittedly, I’m glad that I was able to retrieve a PowerPoint from a presentation I made last year to reuse for my upcoming presentation in Whistler at the Northwest Math Conference. It’s been pretty crazy week so to same some time on the creation of a new PowerPoint presentation is a godsend. That said, the PowerPoint needed revisions. I added a few slides and some text. I updated the PowerPoint presentation with my current thinking and polished up the flow, content, and images… and now it’s good to go. It was also nice to reflect on my teaching and learning at that time. That’s what the presentation is about… being vulnerable and taking risks. I hope it goes well. We’ll soon see.

Co-Teaching

Day 30 (of 187) – October 16, 2018

You don’t get to do that everyday… co-teach. I had the great fortune of teaching with my colleague today. We spent a day on the weekend to plan this day. We went our separate ways to plan our lessons and co-lesson and we were ready to go. We had the first year cohorts for the day. It was an excellent time to discuss what was to come for practicum… triads, e-portfolios, and the Practicum Team. Honesty, I never co-taught before. I quite enjoyed it but I also feel that my colleague have developed a relationship where we can teach and learn together, make adaptations on the fly, and give each other space to say what we need to say. It’s a strange compliment though. I truly believe that our teaching philosophies are very similar but our pedagogies are completely different. She’s an elementary teacher and I’m secondary. It’s kinda funny because our approach to the same concept or content looks different, but we’re saying the exact same thing.

There is a level of trust and respect that is required to co-teach. I feel very fortunate that we have this relationship. I am learning a lot too. As far as our presentation went, the Practicum Team is basically university instructors, practicum mentors (aka. faculty associates or supervisors), and coaching teachers (aka. school associates or teacher supervisor) are working together to support the learning of teacher candidates (aka. student teachers) during practicum. We were co-teaching in the morning then split up the group in half. My colleague talked about triads, observations, and collective efficacy… and I got students to open up their e-portfolio and discussed the single point rubric as an ongoing self-assessment tool during practicum as it relates to the BC Teacher Standards as competencies. Students reflected on their learning experience so far, provided us feedback, and formed triads. I’m satisfied with what we accomplished, but I’m pooped.

Learning Outside

Day 29 (of 187) – October 15th, 2018

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.

Lateral Interconnectedness

Day 28 (of 187) – October 12, 2018

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.

Assessment is the Hurdle

Day 27 (of 187) – October 11, 2018

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!!!