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.