Outside Again

Week 3 – EDUC471 – September 22, 2017

Oh my goodness… it was so nice to go back outside to learn. The start of today’s class reminded me of EDUC454 (Quantitative Approaches to Environmental Education) I taught during the summer. We were outside for almost every class. I loved it… rain or shine. Come to think of it… I don’t think it ever rained. I could be wrong… but I loved learning outside. In EDUC471, we were outside for the warm-up activity. The hallway was ok last week, but we had to dodge foot traffic during the activity. Those walking through were a distraction, so I loved the whimsy of choosing to go outside. It was a beautiful day, as you can see.  I enjoyed the activity. We had to shake hands, introduce ourselves, and play rock-paper-scissors. If you win, you’re the leader. If you lost, you’re the follower. We played three rounds of the game. All I could think of was the MATH… what a nerd. I liked meeting new people, but also I LOVED the competition. Learning outside is joyful.

This week’s reflection questions:

• Looking at your school career and curriculum, what do you think you are prepared for (post schooling)?

When I had finished my undergraduate degree in chemistry and mathematics, I thought I was trained to work in a lab. That said, I took my major and minor so that I could teach secondary math, science, and chemistry. The best skill I learned in high school that best served me throughout my life and career was typing. I wished I followed through on that course. I dropped out halfway through the course. Generally, I believe that my schooling from K-12 to graduate studies have taught me how to think, but the notion of “getting a job” served as a distractor such that I could not fully learn for fun. It seemed more geared for function, which in many ways was not as fun.

• What experiences have you had while in school that recognized and focussed on your strengths?

Hmm… this is a good question. Admittedly, I focused much of my learning (or schooling) on addressing my deficiencies. I was “burdened” by my reading and writing abilities. For me, it was my sense of “English Language Efficacy” that was my nemesis in school. It was always a perceived barrier and I could never believe that I could make it to the “next step” (i.e. university, faculty of education, and graduate studies). But look at me… I’m done my doctorate and wrote a dissertation to my disbelief. Many of my students felt the same way about math. I’m not sure if I had realized my “strengths” in high school or in post-secondary education. I think that I learned more about my strengths from competitive CURLING, as a student. I am learning more about my strengths now.

• What do you think would need to change in the current curriculum to prepare students for the 21st Century?

I would love to see more choice in learning so that students can discover their strengths but also exercise student agency. Furthermore, I would love to see learning experience more personally relevant and driven by intrinsic goods (aka. interest or passion) rather than extrinsic goods (e.g. grades and course credit). I believe that learning can be and should be FUN. I don’t mean easy… but the “act of learning”… engaging and collaborating… creative and critical thinking… are the source of joy. And from this acquisition of 21st Century Skills (and mindset) via learning content of interest, would lead to a more meaningful learning experiences that would meet the needs of the job market. It is not one or the other, but what foot you lead with that matters.

MY REFLECTIONS

Oh my goodness again… the managing of the logistics of getting people signed up for activities and understanding how to access information for this course has been frustrating and time-consuming to say the least. Having to reprimand students is not my favourite thing to do as a teacher, but when the course is designed such that all of us are interdependent, one person who is not aligned to what is expected disrupts the learning for the whole class. Once again, maybe I should sit in another class (without being noticed) to understand what these students have experienced in their other courses. On the one hand, yes… students are getting graded as individuals… but on the other hand, we are all members of this learning community and we are are going to succeed together. This might be a mindset shift. I’m not sure, but what I know for sure is, we are going to get the BIG IDEA at the end of the course. I feel optimistic and I look forward to our next class. We are going to look at BC’s New Curriculum. I can’t wait. Exciting times!!!