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 »
I’m back home in Sechelt… even though I think this is a photo from Prince George. It’s been a crazy day so far… ranging from super awesome to super awful. I guess it’s ok to have one of those days. I am glad to be back home and to be with my family. Today, I am riddled with conflict. Mixed messages, really. On the one hand, I am offered many compliments by those in the field. It almost frightens me how nice the comments are such that it sets the bar of expectations too high. I was offered a continuing position at the university and I eagerly accepted it. I was also offered to be a part of several edu-opportunities that I am honoured and humbled to be a part of. I can’t help but be excited.
Although today was not an instructional day for me, I had the opportunity to talk to several folks in the field today via phone and face-to-face. It’s so nice to talk to people about education, to share information, and to learn something new. I feel very lucky to have people like this in my Professional Learning Community (PLC). I chatted with a couple of students via Google Hangout to clarify an assignment (and I hope I did) and yes… I got my course evaluations from SFU this afternoon. My ratings ranged from VERY GOOD to VERY POOR and “this instructor should never teach again.” Wow. That’s rough. I guess they were very clear by the end of our course that this evaluation was SUMMATIVE.
The irony is, I think this was one of the best courses I’ve taught and this is probably the worst ratings I’ve received. I am lead to a place of deep reflection, fear, and wonder. It’s so strange that one of the comments I received that I did not give any feedback yet this group disliked receiving “low marks” for each assignment they received in other classes. What I wonder about is, if they weren’t receiving any feedback, neither was I. Based on this feedback, this class wanted a rigorous Q-course, less student led learning, and more direct instruction. I did not know that at all. The formative feedback in this course was definitely not two-way. This course helped me to understand BC’s New Curriculum in a deeper way, but that learning was not reciprocated with this group of new teachers.
One comments said, “I don’t even know what environmental education is?” My response today is, Google it. The course was more than that. Some students were so beside themselves that I posted their pictures and talked about our class in my personal (aka. it’s my professional) blog. It was in my course syllabus that I would be blogging about our course and answering the same questions as they did during the course as part of being a reflective practitioner. They were welcome to do the same. I heard no complaints or concerns about that until the final evaluation. Well… I am going to take the time to remove their photos from online. This is disappointing. They are adults. Student teachers. Modelling their learning to the world. They were awesome. Their learning activities exceeded my expectations. They were living and doing environmental education that was personalized (and I had hoped more meaningful than me lecturing to them). I guess this was not the case. There were expecting something different and the formative feedback that I received during the course did not align to those in the final course evaluations.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 28th, 2018 | Comments Off on Mixed Messages
I’m already a day behind my daily blog of learning. That’s ok. I was advised today to keep by daily blog of reflections short and focus on the BIG IDEA of the day. I appreciate the challenge. It’s not easy, but this is an opportunity to practice what I preach. I am learning all of the time and I am open to feedback. The day begins and ends with my EDUC 360 class. I want to go with the flow and be led by student learning versus teacher pulling. I guess that’s what I could do. I have done that for years and I guess at some level, students expect that. On the other hand, how to you maintain student led learning?
I was asked today in class to post the PowerPoint on Blackboard before the class so that students could pre-read what would happen in class. I said no… because I was led by their learning and wanted to go with the pace of the class as we moved forward. I have not adhered to the exact PowerPoint based on what we have learned or covered that day. I saw some nods of heads believing that my students understood what I was saying. I have no idea if they do or even if they are telling me the truth. In higher education, you create a course syllabus anticipating what the class would know and would be like. Sometimes it’s a hit and sometimes it’s a miss. I’m torn. Do you just plow through what you your syllabus regardless of the students in front of you? My thinking is disrupted.
Students are so accustomed to the teacher telling them what’s up or down. You can’t create on the fly because there is an expectation of what should be versus of what could be. I guess I have to be ok with the student’s need for certainty. They want the tables in the same place, seating plan to remain unchanged, and I guess the teacher telling them what to know whether if they like it or not. Is it like Buckley’s the cough medicine? It tastes awful but it works? Truth. We did not get to where I had wanted to be in my course syllabus at this point in time. I wanted students to take the time during class to make sense of the Core Competencies before we headed into lesson planning. Maybe I just should have “told them” what it is to “getter done” so we could move on…
What I know for sure is, you have no idea who will be in your class, what they are going to know, and what they are going to want to know. Moreover, you have no idea how they would like to learn it. So how does one ever know if the course is too redundant, too easy, or too hard? We work in our own classes. SILOS. The only one’s who know is the student. I will ponder this idea. I’m heading back to Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. Time with family. Time to reflect. Time to meet with others to lead and learn. I will continue to ponder about this… teaching & learning. It’s more complex than I imagined.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 28th, 2018 | Comments Off on Flying Home
What another incredible day. It’s WEDNESDAY. Hump day… and I mean that. As mentioned in previous blogs, I have learned that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is the PEAK of my teaching week. I’m in the middle of it. Oh my goodness… After being in a trance from yesterday and last night’s course, I spent many hours after midnight planning and prepping for my two classes today. I think that the only reason I’m awake right now is because I am doing my laundry in preparation of going back to my other home on the Sunshine Coast to see my family… and work with FNESC on Monday and Tuesday.
The planning and prepping paid off. We had a great class in EDUC490. We are looking at some changes to the program and I am looking at this cohort to be the innovators, the leaders, the early adopters. It’s a big deal to be THE FIRST. Although it may seem “scary” or uncertain, it’s also an opportunity for growth, improvement, and excellence. We are looking at strategies and tools to create cohesion and closure on their learning experience at UNBC. This is a BIG DEAL. It’s not easy to put your two-years of post baccalaureate professional program. It’s more than just learning “how to do learning”… It’s about learning about learning… learning about learners… and learning about teaching as learner.” These are BIG IDEAS to self-actualize but I am hopeful we will succeed.
So… I feel like we are BUILDING MOMENTUM in EDUC 490 as we approach the 4-week practicum. I love that we had the chance to discuss FORMATIVE and SUMMATIVE assessment via CASE STUDY. I want us to learn how to look at and collectively problem solve situations found in teaching and learning via case study so that “it’s not personal” or too specific. These problems are worthwhile problems… but let’s focus on the problem versus the people or politics of the situation. It’s our pedagogy and educational philosophy that matters in addition to establishing a clear understanding of complex concepts such as assessment and evaluation. We had a great discussion today.
My next class… EDUC360… always humours me. We were discussing the BCEd Plan to place some context of BC’s New Curriculum as we continue to look at Curriculum and Instruction and move towards lesson planning… as our second iteration. During my lesson, I was compelled to get them to move their tables from the U-shape into PODS. I’m a pod teacher… for sure… and I used this as an opportunity to demonstrate PERSONALIZED LEARNING as we discussed key elements of the BCEd Plan. Wow… moving tables was a journey… self-selecting groups… and assigning roles for group discussion. We are learning about what we can do as teachers as learners. It’s super fun. I love this META experience. We had a tonne of fun and a lots of laughs too.
But go figure… you give students CHOICE so that they feel that they are active participants in their learning. It’s about ownership and agency. So I gave my EDUC360 class a set of criteria to problem solve before we started small group discussion. Move two tables to make a SQUARE and have 4 people per square. As joyful as I was to see the U-shape dismantled, there are 16-students. You do the math… there should be 4-squares. After all that was said and done… they made 6-squares!!! Yup. And they quickly reflected on the situation and quickly judged themselves appropriately. You can’t help but giggle. I loved it. Students moving. Students choosing. Students SENSE-MAKING together. What is PERSONALIZED LEARNING? And, what do “teachers” have to RETHINK about?
The day concludes with an evening with Secondary Years Coaching Teachers and Teacher Candidates to facilitate the Inservice session for EDUC490 in preparation for the 4-week practicum. I loved having the students at this event. They bring an energy to the room that’s exciting and optimistic. With my colleagues, we welcomed all those who attended, spoke about upcoming changes to the practicum program, and had a yummy dinner together. I love how FOOD brings people together. We had small group discussions and members of the NEW EDUCATION CLUB are already planning for an EDUCATION CONFERENCE for the summer. LOVE IT. Student leadership. Service learning. Student engagement. I am so proud of the students at UNBC. I look forward to the next coming weeks. I can’t believe it’s already been a month into the Fall Term. I can’t wait for more.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 26th, 2018 | Comments Off on Building Momentum
