The goal of my research was to answer the question "how does technology contribute to inequity within the classroom?" In order to answer this question I examined two factors, access and technological skill. Additionally, I attempted to analyze the amount of support that is provided to students with regards to technology.
The paper can be found at the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hb0jjBB9v7CLJKO287suJa04-Cp7G7VKkftwk0p1pFU/edit?usp=sharing
Reading through all of my old blog posts I am reminded of how much we have learned during this class. It feels like so long ago that we were sitting in the garden singing and writing poetry. This class showed me many new ways that we can think about and teach math and physics. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the embodied learning activities we did and hope to include many of them in the classroom wherever I can. I will be sure to come back to these blogs to remind myself. Even if I forget some of the activities that we did, the new avenues of thinking that we have explored will allow me to conceptualize math and physics in different ways.
Overall, this class was a enjoyable experience. I appreciate the classroom environment that Susan established. It truly was a space of collaboration and exploration and I can't wait to continue our work in inquiry 2.
In order to attempt to answer my inquiry question I talked with teachers and students throughout the duration of my observational practicum. I tried to gather multiple perspectives on how technology can be used in the classroom and the attitudes towards tech. In addition to the classroom I looked around the school as well for other resources (library, computer lab, etc.).
Reflection: During the course of my research I was surprised by a few observations. Considering that teachers were forced to shift to online teaching last year, I was surprised by how many teachers went right back into their old habits and didn't incorporate any of the technologies they used. A few teachers that I saw continued to maintain their online resources. This discrepancy between what different teachers are doing was of particular interest to me. I was also surprised by some of the student attitudes towards technology. As I mentioned in my presentation, I observed a debate in a science class. When considering whether they should incorporate other research from their phones the majority of students voted on not using them. If I were to plan a debate I would have allowed students to research on their phones without a second thought. I think we often take for granted both our students access to technology and technological skills.
I still haven't found all the answers in terms of how we can incorporate technology in our classrooms, but I hope that I will at least be more considerate and aware of any unintended consequences.
Link to Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hk2EOKap6DbxDJHn2nUEHWPAWB3Nf3BV30QZI6Dw9NQ/edit?usp=sharing
Link to poll (I'm not sure if this link will work permanently): https://www.menti.com/qwxnkkhqr6
Today we worked with combinatoric permutations in a myriad of different ways, including sound, poetry, and visual art. I noticed how my engagement changed in each activity. The most interesting to me was when we incorporated the bells into our movement. The combination of sound and physical movement held my attention more than the poetry or art. This was likely not the case for everyone in the class. Perhaps others were more engaged at different points in the lesson.
I wonder how a more traditional lesson on combinatoric permutations would have sounded. I imagine it would have been much less fun.
Here is the link to my annotated bibliography:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13SJxHJLm-8cixD-m7H2FJtZn5k4mB-OcDn9niB6QIQs/edit?usp=sharing
In class we talked about gender and mathematics. We discussed the first woman to win the Field's medal as well as Donna Strickland's Nobel prize.
The subsequent discussion about women in stem was interesting. Jenny brought up the danger of tokenizing women in stem while promoting them. It was not something I had considered while watching the video, but after hearing it I can definitely see what she was saying. While promoting gender diversity and science we must work to include all people. One easy way to do this is with posters and decorations. Posters celebrating diverse people in science can immediately begin to break down pre-existing stereotypes, but our efforts must not stop there.
Language is how we communicate with each other. In order to communicate and share ideas we must first establish a shared understanding of the language we use. In science this means carefully defining terms and making vocab lists, but this use of language can also be limiting. Language is the tool we use to describe the world. If we limit ourselves to the language we have already invented we are limiting our ability to discover new ideas. We are limiting the way that we think. In order to enhance our students' learning we must encourage them to explore ideas using other languages, including non-verbal ones. Reading this passage helped me realize why we should include indigenous perspectives and knowledge in our learning. We include them because they can expand the way that we think about the world, allow us to access new understandings, and see the world from a different perspective.
Question: How does SES affect learning in an increasingly digital world?
When we consider how SES contributes to inequity in the classroom the conversation is usually focused on extreme poverty. Issues of transportation, tuition fees, hunger, etc. are brought up. The BC ministry of education is committed to providing financial assistance for these issues but do not consider subsidizing technology. As we shift towards more and more online resources and tools, the impact of devices (including a reliable internet connection) cannot be understated.
Concept A: Internet Access
What online applications do we use in the classroom. Zoom, canvas, online simulations/other learning tools, all of these require internet access for students to use.
Concept B: Devices/Technology in the classroom
How do we use devices in the classroom. How can we empower student learning using technology while also maintaining equitable classrooms.
Concept C: Resources
What resources are available for students without access to internet/devices. Are these resources sufficient and well maintained?
Watching the videos and the subsequent discussion in small groups was very interesting. One idea that stuck out to me personally was from the Jo Boaler video. In it she said that there is a pre-existing idea that only some kids can be good at math. For whatever reason this a prevalent idea in schooling and an extremely damaging one as well. Part of overcoming this misconception is encouraging our students to have a growth mindset when it comes to education and learning. I also enjoyed seeing the TED talk from the creator of wolfram alpha as part of that video. In it he said that math requires 4 steps with computation being only 1 piece of the process.
Seeing the Alfie Kohn video made me question the practices we use in education. What is the purpose of grades? And how do we ensure that grading is achieving these purposes and not creating more issues. It is hard to think about removing grades, because it is uncertain what we would use as a replacement. I think we do need some way to evaluate our students learning, but it is difficult to think of ways that we could accomplish this fairly.
This paper presented an interesting perspective on the teaching philosophy that we currently use. I like the imagery and metaphors of the grid, representing the rigid nature of our current system. The square shape appears in the shape of our classrooms, our schedules, and our teaching philosophy. Yet where do we see such pristine right angles in nature? This idea reminds me of what we learned in EPSE 308 about social emotional learning (SEL). In that course we talked about how we learn things that we care about. We need to form an emotional connection in order for anything to have any meaning. The traditional ideas of worksheets and memorization (of boxes like the image in the reading) are flawed. These activities may help us with recall, but to really learn something we must take a different approach. Even our own thoughts do not follow such a strict grid. We usually don't think in boxes and distinct lines, thought flows like a river. A certain level of standardization must occur to bring some order to the flowing river. The last thing I took away from the reading was that the way we were taught affects our teaching. It seems obvious, but if we were educated in the system using a grid, with straight lines and order, it is extremely hard for us to think in any other ways. Part of the value of this course is to be able to experience some of the ways we might accomplish this, to expand our minds to new teaching possibilities.
Today we wrote another sit-spot poem. For this one we took note of how our spot had changed since our last visit two weeks prior. For me the most noticeable difference was the temperature. The air was much cooler than last time. Dew that was cool last time became cold and uncomfortable when it seeped into my shoes. The poem I wrote is below:
The article by Moshe Renert was very interesting to me. The three quotes that stuck out were:
"The Rethinking Schools movement, for instance, has been instrumental in raising awareness about the ways in which mathematics pedagogy is implicated, both culturally and ethically, in issues of social justice, such as racism, equity, gender, and democracy"
This reminds me of what we have been learning in EDST 401. We don't teach in a vacuum. However "pure" your content and subject may be we are not clean slates. In EDST 401 we drew a diagram of concentric circles similar to a target. While your content may be in the middle, we can never escape the fact that everything we do in encompassed in our community, our neighborhood, our province, our country. Everything, science and math included, is being taught within the framework that we have established and must be cognizant of.
"But humans' inability to feel large numbers is very problematic in our dealings with ecology and the environment"
I could not agree more with this statement. It's true, it is extremely hard to even begin to conceptualize the type of numbers we are talking about. And at the same time we think of ourselves as individuals occupying our own little portion of the planet. What does it matter if I recycle, it's only one plastic bottle right? This type of mindset becomes problematic if it is held by 7,000,000,000 people on the Earth. This type of number is incomprehensible for us.
"Even though sustainable mathematics education is motivated by urgent issues of survival, it need not adopt the pessimistic tone of many writings on ecology"
I like that Renert included this idea. I agree with what was said about the value of hope and optimism. Pessimism or cynicism when discussing this types of topics is "neither helpful nor constructive".
Based on the reading, and these quotes specifically, I have already learned a little about how I would like to address the climate crisis with my students. In order to make it meaningful we must help them to understand the numbers that we are dealing with and teach them that their actions are meaningful. We must be optimistic and hopeful. We must not shy aware from difficult topics and societal issues just to maintain peace of mind.
We wrote a sit spot poem. I sat in the field looking toward the totem park buildings and wrote about what my senses detected.
Afterwards, we learned some rope making techniques. I enjoyed working with my hands, feeling the tension in the leaves as I turned and wrapped them. It was a very different experience than the poem. At first it required my full attention. Twisting the leaves I had to focus on every turn and carefully move my hands so as not to ruin the work I had done. My hands were able to quickly learn the pattern and I could let them work on their own. After some time I looked down to see a length of rope, brought into existence by my own effort, using only the leaves of a corn husk. The ability to create something, from something we might assume is waste, is a powerful tool. The ropes we made were strong, stronger than I expected from being made of corn husks, and much stronger than any individual corn husk by itself. I never did quite figure out how to splice in a new husk properly to continue my rope so in the end I just tied the ends together to make a loop.
The article by Sharon Kallis rang true for me. I often like to think about where the things we have came from. To go to the grocery store and find a piece of produce and imagine the journey that it has been through to arrive at a super market is an amazing and terrifying thought experiment. The society we have constructed allows us to enjoy many blessings we would otherwise not have access to, but you have to wonder at what cost? I have often encouraged my parents to cultivate a garden on our property but there simply isn't enough room. I had never even considered that we could create more complex things for ourselves. Even having done things such as pottery, knitting, woodworking etc. I still never would even consider doing one of those things over the convenience of simply paying for it. Kallis encourages us to think of what we would be gaining from backsourcing over what we would be losing. This change of perspective is essential for understanding the value of what she is trying to encourage.
As for the videos, I enjoyed viewing the different techniques and look forward to trying them in class tomorrow. I have seen the process of yarn making before. And the "simple" Turkish lace seems like a similar technique to knitting. The last video, the multi strand braid is new to me. I have seen braiding done before but not that specific braid (7 strand double braid).
I thoroughly enjoyed our outdoor experience in class yesterday. I liked both the drawing and physical activities with the sun. I think the outdoor class setting possesses unique attributes that can’t be found in any indoor classrooms. The outdoor classroom facilitated conversation between people. In a classroom you are usually stuck next to a few people who you can interact with, whereas outdoors we were able to walk around and interact with different groups while being able to speak and listen at a reasonable volume. In high school, going outside in physics usually meant a fun demo, which I will definitely repeat with my students. Additionally, after yesterday’s drawing experience I am beginning to think about more activities (other than demos) that can be conducted outside that involve physics content.
The ideas presented in this article are relevant and applicable even though it was written in a different time and place. The article urges teachers to be reflective as opposed to unreflective. This means we must be open-minded, responsible, and whole hearted: open-minded enough to hear all sides and viewpoints, responsible enough to consider the impact of our actions on students, and wholehearted enough to take ownership of what we are doing. The authors urge us to question our existing beliefs, similar to what is described in “Teacher as Stranger” by Maxine Greene. This particular idea rings true to me. Even as a student I always hated to hear that we were doing something “because that’s the way it has always been done”. It has always been my opinion that the answer should be that we are doing something in a way “because it's the best way we know how to do it”. In order to find the best way we must constantly reassess and revisit, we must experiment and try new things. These ideas and concepts will be invaluable to teacher inquiries. We must be able to look at ourselves as a stranger, to analyze our methods without our biases. We must be able to put ourselves into the shoes of our students and understand their perspectives. As teachers we need to be constantly critical of ourselves and each other as well as the education system as a whole if we are to continue improving. Nothing must be taken for granted.
The video and subsequent group discussion about Frank McCourt were very inspiring to an aspiring teacher. The thing that struck me most is Frank's ability to connect with his students on a personal level. In the video Frank describes how he got students to talk about subjects they didn't like by encouraging them to list the reasons why they hated them. Rather then encouraging them to like the book they were reading or describing the good parts of the books to try and convince them otherwise, he engages them by supporting the feelings that they have. Through this method he was actually able to discuss a subject (that they had no interest in discussing) and probably forced them to think deeply about the material, even if that thinking was thinking of reasons they dislike it. Another instance of this method is Susan's anecdote about the late slips and obituaries. Again, Frank changes his curriculum to suit his students' desires and was able to teach the things he wants to teach (likely spelling, grammar, etc.) but in a way that was more accessible to the students. Frank is only able to make these connections with his students by being open and honest with them. This connection is likely a hard one to make, but achieving a deeper relationship will almost always improve the quality of the education provided. He describes how his accent often provoked conversation about his past which he would happily share with his students. By sharing about his past he further nurtures the relationship that he is building. He mentions that being a teacher can sometimes feel similar to being an actor, that you enter a room and play a role, an authoritative commanding figure. He says that this style is not sustainable. You cannot maintain a role or an act for 30 years. In order to connect with students in a deeper way you have to be yourself and share some part of yourself with the students. The final thing that I wanted to mention was the scale of the impact that Frank had. In the video he mentions that he taught 11,000 students over the course of his career. While we often reiterate that teaching is an important profession because we are in charge of educating the future generations, hearing that number really puts that into perspective. Thinking about how much of an impact my best teachers had on me, it is clear to me that Frank McCourt, and other great teachers, can undoubtedly change the future.
