Hi, I posted this on another blog, but I thought everyone else might be interested especially as we were talking about sharing our resources. Obviously nobody knows about this link except one lone person. Well, I found it, so I suppose there's two of us. Might be an alternative option to what we talked about in class, as we all are linked to Moodle anyway.
http://moodle.uvic.ca/mod/data/view.php?id=46322
Saturday, October 31, 2009
MORE Best Practices
Hi everyone!
Here's a short and sweet list of some great ideas we noted during our two week Observations at BC Secondary Schools.
Governance: Teachers who actually use positive reinforcement!! Who embrace organized chaos and encourage respect by letting everyone have a turn to speak/participate. Exciting!
Resources: A class decorated in Propaganda Posters. Engaging YouTube videos. Song Friday - every friday the class listened to a song and had a big discussion both generally about the song and specifically about the lyrics. Good songs too: Tom Waits, Brighteyes, Joni Mitchell.
Activities: A Stalin vs. Lenin seminar complete with a debate. Beginning each socials class with This Day in History. A/B partnering.
Our major worries: Burnt-out teachers. Textbook worship. Lessons that lack inspiration.
Hope your weekend is full of pumpkins, firecrackers, and mini chocolate bars!
Justine
CRITICAL SUMMARY OF MY CRITICAL REVIEW
Click on title for the article.
In his article, Waters encourages teachers to make more use of literature in their social studies classrooms and provides five rationales for doing so. He also examines how literature can be used and goes on to construct five elements to be considered when choosing a book. I couldn't possibly condense all his points into two pages, so I looked at what was his main focus: the five rationales for introducing literature to socials classes.
You might think he is stating the obvious, but in my experience, it was not until late in university that a teacher/instructor ever introduced literature outside of scholarly texts. And not once in my observation did I see a socials teacher use a text other than those given them by the Ministry. Waters argues that everything from poetry to biography should be incorporated, as literature 1) makes socials more relevant to the lives of students; 2) brings life to historical events, geographic locations, and peoples of different cultures and periods; 3) enhances critical thinking; 4) facilitates students’ understanding of abstract concepts; and 5) presents young people with role models.
His third rationale, and his examination of why and how, is his best; yet, as much as I agreed with Waters, I did find what I felt to be some serious flaws in his approach, particularly with his fourth and fifth points. Not that I disagree with his fourth rationale, but all the literature he emphasizes uses heroic and moral stereotypes and he completely ignores dystopian novels and the strategies used in those novels to reflect similar ideals. And as for using literature to introduce role models, such idealism and intent gives me shivers. I am not saying we ignore strong, heroic and moral characters based on stereotypes, there might be a time and a place, but we want to be careful with the intent with which we introduce the material.
On the whole, I enjoyed Waters’ article and appreciated his attempt to bridge an obvious gap. His ideas on how to use literature to enhance critical thinking were excellent, my only criticism, and it’s a serious one, is that Waters seems to imply teachers should have an agenda when they introduce literature, an agenda which slightly tarnishes his more valid points, though just.
In his article, Waters encourages teachers to make more use of literature in their social studies classrooms and provides five rationales for doing so. He also examines how literature can be used and goes on to construct five elements to be considered when choosing a book. I couldn't possibly condense all his points into two pages, so I looked at what was his main focus: the five rationales for introducing literature to socials classes.
You might think he is stating the obvious, but in my experience, it was not until late in university that a teacher/instructor ever introduced literature outside of scholarly texts. And not once in my observation did I see a socials teacher use a text other than those given them by the Ministry. Waters argues that everything from poetry to biography should be incorporated, as literature 1) makes socials more relevant to the lives of students; 2) brings life to historical events, geographic locations, and peoples of different cultures and periods; 3) enhances critical thinking; 4) facilitates students’ understanding of abstract concepts; and 5) presents young people with role models.
His third rationale, and his examination of why and how, is his best; yet, as much as I agreed with Waters, I did find what I felt to be some serious flaws in his approach, particularly with his fourth and fifth points. Not that I disagree with his fourth rationale, but all the literature he emphasizes uses heroic and moral stereotypes and he completely ignores dystopian novels and the strategies used in those novels to reflect similar ideals. And as for using literature to introduce role models, such idealism and intent gives me shivers. I am not saying we ignore strong, heroic and moral characters based on stereotypes, there might be a time and a place, but we want to be careful with the intent with which we introduce the material.
On the whole, I enjoyed Waters’ article and appreciated his attempt to bridge an obvious gap. His ideas on how to use literature to enhance critical thinking were excellent, my only criticism, and it’s a serious one, is that Waters seems to imply teachers should have an agenda when they introduce literature, an agenda which slightly tarnishes his more valid points, though just.
Just Wanted to Pump Up the Class's Tires
This is short and simple. Click on the link. I guarantee you its worthwhile. That is if your interested in what teachers make?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
OUR Best Practices
Thank you for letting the class describe some of the great things we learned during our observation. Here are some of the practices we talked about...
Governance: Seating plan can be a very effective form of governing a classroom. How you arrange the seats is telling of you as a teacher and what you expect from the students. The little diagram we showed in class was very effective for a social studies class. The class was split in have facing each other, so there is a big isle in the middle of the room. With a simple turn of the head the students could see the whiteboard or projector. This seating plan worked well because students all faced one another (for the most part) and it allowed the teacher to have a more dynamic role. It facilitated discussion and debate. One other key governance practice was egalitarianism. For example, if the student was late they would have the choice to sing a song, do push-ups, or write a short essay and if the teacher was late they would would suffer the same consequence. These two items help to elucidate the role of the educator as a facilitator and not as a dictator.
Materials: Well perhaps it is a little boring but we all found the whiteboard to be a very effective material in the classroom. Although these smartboards that everyone got to see but us sound pretty darn amazing. For a socials class, picking relevant news clips to share during current events was effective. Perhaps these stories are not the most important on a global scale but it once again brings relevance to the students.
Activity/Strategy: It has been a theme throughout our best practices: relatability. Activities that students feel disconnected with are not very engaging and effective. We also found that a using a plurality of activities and learning methods was an effective way of making sure all learning styles were satisfied. Breaking up the class into a pre-lecture, activity, then watch a short movie and finishing with an activity stimulates many different senses and learning styles.
Questions/Concerns: Firstly, the use of wikipedia as a source for papers was allowed at one of the schools visited. Is this something that secondary institutions are going to give the ok or is it merely a personal preference? Lastly, the issue of touching, specifically hugging students. Is this at anytime appropriate?
Enjoy,
Cody, Kate, and Natalie
Governance: Seating plan can be a very effective form of governing a classroom. How you arrange the seats is telling of you as a teacher and what you expect from the students. The little diagram we showed in class was very effective for a social studies class. The class was split in have facing each other, so there is a big isle in the middle of the room. With a simple turn of the head the students could see the whiteboard or projector. This seating plan worked well because students all faced one another (for the most part) and it allowed the teacher to have a more dynamic role. It facilitated discussion and debate. One other key governance practice was egalitarianism. For example, if the student was late they would have the choice to sing a song, do push-ups, or write a short essay and if the teacher was late they would would suffer the same consequence. These two items help to elucidate the role of the educator as a facilitator and not as a dictator.
Materials: Well perhaps it is a little boring but we all found the whiteboard to be a very effective material in the classroom. Although these smartboards that everyone got to see but us sound pretty darn amazing. For a socials class, picking relevant news clips to share during current events was effective. Perhaps these stories are not the most important on a global scale but it once again brings relevance to the students.
Activity/Strategy: It has been a theme throughout our best practices: relatability. Activities that students feel disconnected with are not very engaging and effective. We also found that a using a plurality of activities and learning methods was an effective way of making sure all learning styles were satisfied. Breaking up the class into a pre-lecture, activity, then watch a short movie and finishing with an activity stimulates many different senses and learning styles.
Questions/Concerns: Firstly, the use of wikipedia as a source for papers was allowed at one of the schools visited. Is this something that secondary institutions are going to give the ok or is it merely a personal preference? Lastly, the issue of touching, specifically hugging students. Is this at anytime appropriate?
Enjoy,
Cody, Kate, and Natalie
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Some more Best Practices
Best Practices
From our group we had a variety of schools to draw our experiences from. One student
teacher was in Kamloops, another in Duncan and two in the Greater Victoria area.
There were two public schools, a private Catholic school and an alternative
education school. I would like to share some of what we discussed in class on the
four topics.
1)Governance
-Keeping students busy will reduce the amount of interruptions and distractions.
-Use of a focus activity to start the class. A puzzle or question on the board to
get students in the mood for thinking or working.
-Calling attention to the student by name to bring their attention back to the
class instead of reprimanding them.
2) Resources/Materials
-Sony e-books were popular with students.
-Project work where students brought material from home and from family history.
- YouTube clips used in some classes to illustrate a point.
3) Activities/Teaching Strategies
- Building a 3-D model of a medieval village or town.
- A circle discussion about an article of an interview of a famous physicist as a lesson in a quantum physics class. Philosophical and personal to each student.
- Capitalizing on teacher’s personality.
4) Problems/Questions
- Staff complaints about under funding.
- One school was able to get a grant to purchase some smart boards but did not have the budget to pay the maintenance staff to install the boards. The maintenance workers union would not allow any none-union workers to do the instillation so the smart boards were left sitting in the school basement.
- One English teacher did every class in a computer lab. Students spent more time cruising the internet than working on the class assignment.
troy
From our group we had a variety of schools to draw our experiences from. One student
teacher was in Kamloops, another in Duncan and two in the Greater Victoria area.
There were two public schools, a private Catholic school and an alternative
education school. I would like to share some of what we discussed in class on the
four topics.
1)Governance
-Keeping students busy will reduce the amount of interruptions and distractions.
-Use of a focus activity to start the class. A puzzle or question on the board to
get students in the mood for thinking or working.
-Calling attention to the student by name to bring their attention back to the
class instead of reprimanding them.
2) Resources/Materials
-Sony e-books were popular with students.
-Project work where students brought material from home and from family history.
- YouTube clips used in some classes to illustrate a point.
3) Activities/Teaching Strategies
- Building a 3-D model of a medieval village or town.
- A circle discussion about an article of an interview of a famous physicist as a lesson in a quantum physics class. Philosophical and personal to each student.
- Capitalizing on teacher’s personality.
4) Problems/Questions
- Staff complaints about under funding.
- One school was able to get a grant to purchase some smart boards but did not have the budget to pay the maintenance staff to install the boards. The maintenance workers union would not allow any none-union workers to do the instillation so the smart boards were left sitting in the school basement.
- One English teacher did every class in a computer lab. Students spent more time cruising the internet than working on the class assignment.
troy
Sandwell, Ruth (2005). The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History: Using a
Web-based Archives to Teach History. Canadian Social Studies, Volume 39, (2). New
Approaches to Teaching History.
This article was relevant to me because I am familiar with the locations of the project’s stories. The lessons provided would be motivating and relevant to students who are learning about the history of Canada. Through the use of mystery the primary articles used through out the web-based site require students to be active participants in the learning process.
In the article, Ruth Sandwell outlines the web-based project for teaching Canadian History through the use of primary sources. A primary source is identified as evidence that is written during its time and they include, original documents (autobiography, diaries, e-mails etc.), creative works (art, drama, films, music), or relics and artifacts (buildings, clothing, jewelry). In collaboration, colleagues John Lutz (University of Victoria) and Dr. Peter Gossage encourage the use of primary documents, resulting in an award winning collection of sources called “The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History.” The article provides reasoning to the advantages of using a document-based approach, philosophical and pedagogical backgrounds to the sites, overviews of lesson plans, and examples from teacher guides. The article is written to explain how these theories translate into practical lessons; consequently, changing the way history is taught.
Similar to historians, the use of mystery demands research and the practical lessons are said to change the way teachers teach history. Historical knowledge that requires the student to analyze and interact with primary sources provides opportunities for student creativity and success in learning. Sandwell and Lutz provide primary sources that are easily interpreted and evidence-based; aspects of history are developed through the unfamiliar mysteries, such as “Who Killed William Robinson? Sandwell shows that by scaffolding a series of levels the students are challenged to a critical examination of history.
The lesson overview by Sandwell is clear, concise, and student engagement is expected to be high, changing the way history is taught. As a theme to capture the student’s attention, Sandwell uses a mystery that takes place on Saltspring Island-- “Who Killed William Robinson” There is seven lessons spanning over 15 classes. The mystery ends in a mock trial and this allows the students to deliberate and reflect on their conclusions. References to careful assessments of student learning are addressed in terms of how well students can select evidence and construct historical knowledge. That being said, teachers must be specific in terms of the criteria they are looking for in the theme- based unit.
In summary the web-based site allows for students to critically think about historical events by “doing history” not by the memorization of facts. Sandwell does a great job providing an overview that sparks interest to any Social Studies program, which improves student learning. I am seriously considering using this site in teaching all grades of a high school Social Studies class because the pedagogy is consistent with the theory that requires the student to critically think. Student engagement provides more opportunity for student success in learning. The site is must visit for all Social Studies teachers http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/mysteries/indexen.html.
Web-based Archives to Teach History. Canadian Social Studies, Volume 39, (2). New
Approaches to Teaching History.
This article was relevant to me because I am familiar with the locations of the project’s stories. The lessons provided would be motivating and relevant to students who are learning about the history of Canada. Through the use of mystery the primary articles used through out the web-based site require students to be active participants in the learning process.
In the article, Ruth Sandwell outlines the web-based project for teaching Canadian History through the use of primary sources. A primary source is identified as evidence that is written during its time and they include, original documents (autobiography, diaries, e-mails etc.), creative works (art, drama, films, music), or relics and artifacts (buildings, clothing, jewelry). In collaboration, colleagues John Lutz (University of Victoria) and Dr. Peter Gossage encourage the use of primary documents, resulting in an award winning collection of sources called “The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History.” The article provides reasoning to the advantages of using a document-based approach, philosophical and pedagogical backgrounds to the sites, overviews of lesson plans, and examples from teacher guides. The article is written to explain how these theories translate into practical lessons; consequently, changing the way history is taught.
Similar to historians, the use of mystery demands research and the practical lessons are said to change the way teachers teach history. Historical knowledge that requires the student to analyze and interact with primary sources provides opportunities for student creativity and success in learning. Sandwell and Lutz provide primary sources that are easily interpreted and evidence-based; aspects of history are developed through the unfamiliar mysteries, such as “Who Killed William Robinson? Sandwell shows that by scaffolding a series of levels the students are challenged to a critical examination of history.
The lesson overview by Sandwell is clear, concise, and student engagement is expected to be high, changing the way history is taught. As a theme to capture the student’s attention, Sandwell uses a mystery that takes place on Saltspring Island-- “Who Killed William Robinson” There is seven lessons spanning over 15 classes. The mystery ends in a mock trial and this allows the students to deliberate and reflect on their conclusions. References to careful assessments of student learning are addressed in terms of how well students can select evidence and construct historical knowledge. That being said, teachers must be specific in terms of the criteria they are looking for in the theme- based unit.
In summary the web-based site allows for students to critically think about historical events by “doing history” not by the memorization of facts. Sandwell does a great job providing an overview that sparks interest to any Social Studies program, which improves student learning. I am seriously considering using this site in teaching all grades of a high school Social Studies class because the pedagogy is consistent with the theory that requires the student to critically think. Student engagement provides more opportunity for student success in learning. The site is must visit for all Social Studies teachers http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/mysteries/indexen.html.
Best Practices
I just wanted to share some of the best practices that my group has come up with after intently observing REAL TEACHERS in action for two weeks.
Governance:
Several of our group members noted that teachers would implement active exercises to try and bring down the level of energy in a classroom and establish a focused work environment. One teacher turned on music and had the class dance and "groove" for a little while, while another did a class Tai Chi exercises. Both practices seemed to work well.
Another theme that was spotted in well governed classes was a well established set of expectations for the students. This sometimes was seen in the form of a well defined routine that students were aware of, and which focused their attention and energy on tasks that were effective for learning. Other times it was as simple as knowing how an assignment would be graded, or that students were expected to have read a certain piece of text so that it could be discussed. By clearly outlining expectations that the students felt were reasonable, teachers were able to get their students working with them to learn effectively.
A third theme that was really evident in well governed classes was the establishment of a personal and reciprocal relationship between students and teachers. Some examples were seen in classes where the teacher interacted with students outside of the class (at sports events for example), or in classes where the teacher knew more about the students than just their names.
Resource Materials:
Our group was lucky enough to see some really great resource materials being used. High tech gadgets such as "tablets" and "smart boards" allowed teachers to demonstrate editing techniques, make changes to computer generated material and were generally really conducive to attentive learning on the part of the students. However some low tech ideas, such as the use of local pond water for science experiments or a suitcase full of books and props as a teaching tool for a lesson on the Holocaust were just as effective at getting and keeping the students' attention. One of the teachers I had the pleasure to watch used maps extremely well, drawing his students' attention to them again and again, connecting stories about Vikings to places and ideas they were already familiar with in a way that was visual and concrete.
Teaching Strategies and Activities:
While several of us had seen some novel and interesting activities carried out by teachers during our observation period (from class Jeopardy as a study tool, to debates on complex ethical issues) one student teacher had the opportunity to watch an extremely effective teaching strategy in action. The teacher in this English class told a story, and when he was finished he asked his students to write down what the story was about in a few words. From there he asked them to identify the main characters, the various elements of plot, any literary devices they had noticed, and before the students knew it, they had the outline of an essay complete! By breaking down the larger topic (ESSAY WRITING) into small, manageable and guided steps, the students were able to achieve a very high level of success. This scaffolded learning technique was extremely effective.
Problems:
Our group noticed a lot of areas that caused us some concern, so without trying to dwell on them too much, I will highlight a few of the major ones. One of them was a lack of teachers challenging their students. Too often it seemed that teachers were giving up on their students, and simply accepting that getting them into the class was good enough. Our group also saw several instances where students with IEP's or different learning needs were not getting the help they needed, because of class size, number of students in a class with disabilities or special needs, or extreme variety of learning needs within a classroom.
In all our group has some really interesting observations to share. Hopefully you can find something in this summary that is useful to you, and either adopt it, or adapt it to make it work for you!
Paul
Governance:
Several of our group members noted that teachers would implement active exercises to try and bring down the level of energy in a classroom and establish a focused work environment. One teacher turned on music and had the class dance and "groove" for a little while, while another did a class Tai Chi exercises. Both practices seemed to work well.
Another theme that was spotted in well governed classes was a well established set of expectations for the students. This sometimes was seen in the form of a well defined routine that students were aware of, and which focused their attention and energy on tasks that were effective for learning. Other times it was as simple as knowing how an assignment would be graded, or that students were expected to have read a certain piece of text so that it could be discussed. By clearly outlining expectations that the students felt were reasonable, teachers were able to get their students working with them to learn effectively.
A third theme that was really evident in well governed classes was the establishment of a personal and reciprocal relationship between students and teachers. Some examples were seen in classes where the teacher interacted with students outside of the class (at sports events for example), or in classes where the teacher knew more about the students than just their names.
Resource Materials:
Our group was lucky enough to see some really great resource materials being used. High tech gadgets such as "tablets" and "smart boards" allowed teachers to demonstrate editing techniques, make changes to computer generated material and were generally really conducive to attentive learning on the part of the students. However some low tech ideas, such as the use of local pond water for science experiments or a suitcase full of books and props as a teaching tool for a lesson on the Holocaust were just as effective at getting and keeping the students' attention. One of the teachers I had the pleasure to watch used maps extremely well, drawing his students' attention to them again and again, connecting stories about Vikings to places and ideas they were already familiar with in a way that was visual and concrete.
Teaching Strategies and Activities:
While several of us had seen some novel and interesting activities carried out by teachers during our observation period (from class Jeopardy as a study tool, to debates on complex ethical issues) one student teacher had the opportunity to watch an extremely effective teaching strategy in action. The teacher in this English class told a story, and when he was finished he asked his students to write down what the story was about in a few words. From there he asked them to identify the main characters, the various elements of plot, any literary devices they had noticed, and before the students knew it, they had the outline of an essay complete! By breaking down the larger topic (ESSAY WRITING) into small, manageable and guided steps, the students were able to achieve a very high level of success. This scaffolded learning technique was extremely effective.
Problems:
Our group noticed a lot of areas that caused us some concern, so without trying to dwell on them too much, I will highlight a few of the major ones. One of them was a lack of teachers challenging their students. Too often it seemed that teachers were giving up on their students, and simply accepting that getting them into the class was good enough. Our group also saw several instances where students with IEP's or different learning needs were not getting the help they needed, because of class size, number of students in a class with disabilities or special needs, or extreme variety of learning needs within a classroom.
In all our group has some really interesting observations to share. Hopefully you can find something in this summary that is useful to you, and either adopt it, or adapt it to make it work for you!
Paul
Canadian Mysteries
www.canadianmysteries.ca
I looked through a lot of the posts from previous years and I may have missed this somewhere but since it was not immediatly present for me, I thought I should post this website. I have had to use it a few times in my undergrad but it has value to all social studies. The Canadian Mysteries website has a number of 'unsolved' historical events presented for students to research. The information needed is provided, background, secondary sources, primary documents are all used in order to allow students to draw their own conclusions about the events. I see it as a great way to teach both bias and primary documents to students. With the variety of mysteries and the face that all of the content is on one site, this can be a very simple yet engaging project to assign to students. It can be done safely (since kids have no reason to leave the site) and easily (because it's all there for you). I know a lot of people will know about this already but for those who don't, check it out!
I looked through a lot of the posts from previous years and I may have missed this somewhere but since it was not immediatly present for me, I thought I should post this website. I have had to use it a few times in my undergrad but it has value to all social studies. The Canadian Mysteries website has a number of 'unsolved' historical events presented for students to research. The information needed is provided, background, secondary sources, primary documents are all used in order to allow students to draw their own conclusions about the events. I see it as a great way to teach both bias and primary documents to students. With the variety of mysteries and the face that all of the content is on one site, this can be a very simple yet engaging project to assign to students. It can be done safely (since kids have no reason to leave the site) and easily (because it's all there for you). I know a lot of people will know about this already but for those who don't, check it out!
Free FLV converter
www.koyotesoft.com
This is a free flv convertor that my mentor teacher showed me on my observation. Don't worry, I had no idea what that meant either but basically it allows you to download youtube videos on to your hard drive. This is good because if you don't have internet in the class you can still watch the videos or if you want to edit the video for length or content you can do that pretty easily. A great tool for the daily beg borrow or steal mentality of us the teachers
This is a free flv convertor that my mentor teacher showed me on my observation. Don't worry, I had no idea what that meant either but basically it allows you to download youtube videos on to your hard drive. This is good because if you don't have internet in the class you can still watch the videos or if you want to edit the video for length or content you can do that pretty easily. A great tool for the daily beg borrow or steal mentality of us the teachers
relating current events
One of my mentor teachers was explaining how he incorporates current events into his classes (Social Studies, Civics, History, etc). He said that his "standard" was to
A. as Social Studies teachers we have to watch the news every night
B. bring in news clips only if the topic was something students could relate to
Basically, Mr. S found very early on in his career that while a car accident that killed 10 people in Country X was a devastating thing, students are more inclined to engage in debate/discussion and offer their opinions/concerns about world issues if they could see how it would affect their little worlds. So he would bring to the table things like H1N1 or 9/11 or most currently, the pending 2010 Olympics.
I was in the class when he brought the news about the proposed BC ban on cell phones in vehicles. Awesome.
We showed the class this news story (NOTE: globaltv.com = best resource because news stories are all available the next day and are individual clips. Therefore, there is no commericals/fastforward/rewind and are roughly 2.5 minutes long so student attention is maintained) and asked them if they agreed with the new law. They all thought it was an excellent idea until we said "Well, Jane, what if your boyfriend called you about a date that night and you hadn't talked to him in 3 hours? Can you honestly say you wouldn't answer the phone?"
After turning the light that way, Jane re thought her answer and thus a raging group discussion ensued about double standards (ie: can policeman and tax drivers use them?), subjectivity (ie: what if it was an emergency? Will the police not give me a ticket if I can prove that?), and discrimination (ie: I can't use an iPod or cell phone at all just because I have my 'N'. That's not fair... some people with 10 year driving experience are worse than I am...). It was fantastic, especially looking at double standards. Anyways, here is the clip we showed and I think it's a great way of both facilitating discussions and relating to our world.
Cell Phone Ban
A. as Social Studies teachers we have to watch the news every night
B. bring in news clips only if the topic was something students could relate to
Basically, Mr. S found very early on in his career that while a car accident that killed 10 people in Country X was a devastating thing, students are more inclined to engage in debate/discussion and offer their opinions/concerns about world issues if they could see how it would affect their little worlds. So he would bring to the table things like H1N1 or 9/11 or most currently, the pending 2010 Olympics.
I was in the class when he brought the news about the proposed BC ban on cell phones in vehicles. Awesome.
We showed the class this news story (NOTE: globaltv.com = best resource because news stories are all available the next day and are individual clips. Therefore, there is no commericals/fastforward/rewind and are roughly 2.5 minutes long so student attention is maintained) and asked them if they agreed with the new law. They all thought it was an excellent idea until we said "Well, Jane, what if your boyfriend called you about a date that night and you hadn't talked to him in 3 hours? Can you honestly say you wouldn't answer the phone?"
After turning the light that way, Jane re thought her answer and thus a raging group discussion ensued about double standards (ie: can policeman and tax drivers use them?), subjectivity (ie: what if it was an emergency? Will the police not give me a ticket if I can prove that?), and discrimination (ie: I can't use an iPod or cell phone at all just because I have my 'N'. That's not fair... some people with 10 year driving experience are worse than I am...). It was fantastic, especially looking at double standards. Anyways, here is the clip we showed and I think it's a great way of both facilitating discussions and relating to our world.
Cell Phone Ban
Monday, October 26, 2009
Camtasia
Hey guys...I thought I would share this link with you since not all of you are able to read my seminar blog site where I had originally posted this. While I was on my observation I noticed that tablets are being used more frequently in the classroom as well as blogs. But something new was brought to my attention. Something called Camtasia. Its a program that lets you record your lesson as a video so that if you are absent from class and have a TOC you can just have them play the video of your lesson. I thought it was interesting and one teacher swears by it. Anyway he is giving me a copy on my flash drive but there is a free download....http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp
This should help out when one day we are teachers unable to find a TOC...then you just need a babysitter who plays your lesson for the kids...haha! I haven't tested it out yet but it sounds interesting!
This should help out when one day we are teachers unable to find a TOC...then you just need a babysitter who plays your lesson for the kids...haha! I haven't tested it out yet but it sounds interesting!
h1n1 overdose
Anyone hear about the War lately? sorry but i dont buy into this h1n1 scare tactic. thousands of people die everyear of the flu and in 2002 it was estimated that 5900 canadians died due to our air quality in Canada. the lower island soccer has gone as far as asking the players not to shake hands. and i have seen the players shaking elbows. do they not tell us to cough into our elbows now? Call it the conspiricy theory and you may be right. maybe im going out on a limb, but i consistantly hear people talk about the goverment and it is always in opposition of what the goverment is doing. democracy my ass. seems i am more scared of our goverment than the h1n1 virus. so i wonder How is the war going? havent heard lately. that is my opionion. what is yours?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Great Resource for History Documentaries
http://www.cosmolearning.com/history/documentaries?sort=views
Since the history channel is preoccupied with the important and rewarding scholarly work of exploring both haunted houses and men who work on fishing boats, it has become increasingly hard to find a source of good, solid historical documentaries
This site has over 330 hours of history documentaries, roughly 90 films. This includes full mini-series like the BBC's World at War series and other similar documentaries
Not much pure Canadian historical stuff though, but the NFB is good for some of that - http://www.nfb.ca/explore-by/title/
Since the history channel is preoccupied with the important and rewarding scholarly work of exploring both haunted houses and men who work on fishing boats, it has become increasingly hard to find a source of good, solid historical documentaries
This site has over 330 hours of history documentaries, roughly 90 films. This includes full mini-series like the BBC's World at War series and other similar documentaries
Not much pure Canadian historical stuff though, but the NFB is good for some of that - http://www.nfb.ca/explore-by/title/
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Smart Boards
I just want to comment on this neat piece of technology that some of you have already mentioned on this blog. During my observation I sat in English 12 classes taught by the same teacher. She had a lot of fun with the Smart Board and admitted she was growing attached to it. It's a step up from an LCD projector (besides just text, she also used the Smart Board to show movies and You Tube clips). I saw it in action in her writing class. She was able to show a word document, "play" with the text like highlighting, erasing, moving words around and save all the changes. During lectures, she would write on the smart board and have an e-copy of those notes so she could email the notes to the class. This allowed the students to engage in the discussion when she's brainstorming for ideas rather than busily copying what she had written. During the school's 10-minute Tag sessions, the students could draw on the Smart Board without creating havoc to felt pens and white boards. This was particularly useful to the student with learning disabilities. It was a source of entertainment for him. Over all, Smart Boards can save a lot of paper, ink, precious time and missed learning opportunities for students who can't multitask.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Let's Share!
Hi all,
I just thought it might be useful to connect with individuals that will be teaching the same grades and subjects as us in order to share resources and ideas specific to those classes.
If you would like to connect, maybe you can add a comment stating which classes you will be teaching and we can try to connect.
To start us off, I'm doing SS 10 starting with a basic geography unit, a unit review from SS 9 (1756-1849) and then Confederation (1849-1867) for my third and final unit.
...you may need to also include if you are a PDPP or Concurrent Ed. student since as a Concurrent Ed. student I return to my school in January and I just learned the PDPP students go back in April?
At least it might be useful to try to share inspiring teaching methods - no need to reinvent the wheel!
Cheers.
I just thought it might be useful to connect with individuals that will be teaching the same grades and subjects as us in order to share resources and ideas specific to those classes.
If you would like to connect, maybe you can add a comment stating which classes you will be teaching and we can try to connect.
To start us off, I'm doing SS 10 starting with a basic geography unit, a unit review from SS 9 (1756-1849) and then Confederation (1849-1867) for my third and final unit.
...you may need to also include if you are a PDPP or Concurrent Ed. student since as a Concurrent Ed. student I return to my school in January and I just learned the PDPP students go back in April?
At least it might be useful to try to share inspiring teaching methods - no need to reinvent the wheel!
Cheers.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Cool Lesson Presentation
Hey gang,
My sponser teacher showed me this awesome website (www.animoto.com) for making powerpoint type presentations waaaaaay more interesting to watch. To make videos you load up a ton of pictures and a song and the website completely syncs the pictures to the song. It looks very professional and has really cool effects in it. You can add text slides as well however they are only about 50 characters in total so it requires some brevity. I was really impressed with the tool and am excited to try it out a bit more. There is a fee for the website normally, about $30/year but they give free memberships for education! There is an application process that is about as long as signing up for any internet website then you should be good to go. The website has an example video which shows what it would look like fairly accurately. (This could also be a cool tool to do personal stuff with!) Hope this helps
My sponser teacher showed me this awesome website (www.animoto.com) for making powerpoint type presentations waaaaaay more interesting to watch. To make videos you load up a ton of pictures and a song and the website completely syncs the pictures to the song. It looks very professional and has really cool effects in it. You can add text slides as well however they are only about 50 characters in total so it requires some brevity. I was really impressed with the tool and am excited to try it out a bit more. There is a fee for the website normally, about $30/year but they give free memberships for education! There is an application process that is about as long as signing up for any internet website then you should be good to go. The website has an example video which shows what it would look like fairly accurately. (This could also be a cool tool to do personal stuff with!) Hope this helps
Instantly indispensable
Instantly indispensable.
Google Reader was shown to me by a socials teacher during a socials department meeting during observation and I already don't know what I did with out it.
It basically allows you to subscribe to a huge number of news feeds from any number of resources.. basically everything from the globe and mail to TSN to more obscure topics. Included in this are feeds from Canadian historical pblications, jornals about geography, science, current events.. etc.
Beyond that, it catalogues and organizes the results into self selected categories and holds all the articles published until you have had a chance to go back and flip through them and mark them as read. It also allows you to save and store favorite articles for later, and sort them even further.
Great for everyday life if your too busy to sit down and read the news everyday, even better for future educators.
http://reader.google.com
Google Reader was shown to me by a socials teacher during a socials department meeting during observation and I already don't know what I did with out it.
It basically allows you to subscribe to a huge number of news feeds from any number of resources.. basically everything from the globe and mail to TSN to more obscure topics. Included in this are feeds from Canadian historical pblications, jornals about geography, science, current events.. etc.
Beyond that, it catalogues and organizes the results into self selected categories and holds all the articles published until you have had a chance to go back and flip through them and mark them as read. It also allows you to save and store favorite articles for later, and sort them even further.
Great for everyday life if your too busy to sit down and read the news everyday, even better for future educators.
http://reader.google.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
observations
Hey gang,
Wondering how you are all finding the observation period? In the Socials Department in particular I have observed many different teaching styles and personalities. One teacher in particular pays little attention to the textbook, and rather tries to engage the class in role-play, debates, discussions, and watching film. Another teacher is very structured, spending 30mins each day reading from the text and then doing a work sheet taken directly from the text. Others implement a bit from both styles, which i think to be most rewarding for the students. I am curious to know what its like with other teachers in other schools? Any alarming things to share? Or perhaps some beneficial classroom techniques?
Wondering how you are all finding the observation period? In the Socials Department in particular I have observed many different teaching styles and personalities. One teacher in particular pays little attention to the textbook, and rather tries to engage the class in role-play, debates, discussions, and watching film. Another teacher is very structured, spending 30mins each day reading from the text and then doing a work sheet taken directly from the text. Others implement a bit from both styles, which i think to be most rewarding for the students. I am curious to know what its like with other teachers in other schools? Any alarming things to share? Or perhaps some beneficial classroom techniques?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Re: A hot debate about head of state (Globe and Mail, Oct. 10)
On the same day The Globe published stories (on the cover and a whole page inside) about Obama’s controversial Nobel Peace Prize, it also covered this seemingly inane piece of Canadian politics: the debate about the governor-general’s role. Shouldn’t we, as Canadians, have more important things to talk about than the drawn-out squabble between our leaders? There we have the U.S. president achieving (unwarranted?) international fame and over here we’re still trying to figure out what to do with a Prime Minister and a GG. The article talks about the many faces of the GG: Crown representative, de facto head of state and some would even suggest, plain ‘head of state’ (as former GGs have apparently referred to themselves). There are apparently enough monarchists in this country who would take offense at the GG calling herself ‘head of state’ because she would be ‘usurping’ the monarch’s title. Didn’t we do away with the monarchy a while ago? Why is this colonial relic still a hot topic? The second article on the links talks about this ‘constitutional grey area.’ I still remember last December’s drama in the Parliament, and I wonder what would have happened if indeed the GG refused the PM’s request to dissolve parliament. And it IS a request. If I’m not mistaken, the GG still has the right to call the shots. So I’d like to know, Canadian Politics 101, who are the GG and PM? And what do you think can Canadians do to resolve this ‘grey’ area? Call for an amendment in the Constitution? How can we go about that?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-hot-debate-about-head-of-state/article1319683/
Canadian Geographic
Hi All,
I was just doing some research for a Socials 10 lesson plan for class. If any of you find yourself teaching that class, you will no doubt need to do a geography unit (often 1st to give the students some background about the physical regions of Canada). I found a great set of resources on this website and I recommend that people bookmark it! Just for fun I also took a teacher's guide out of the curric lab at Uvic to see what resources it offered for the "Horizons" text...dull stuff! I guess there might be some useful resources that we can use by adapting them, but make sure you make them your own and that they reflect what you truly want to see from your students!
Good Luck this week to all!
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/learningtools.aspx?lang=En
I was just doing some research for a Socials 10 lesson plan for class. If any of you find yourself teaching that class, you will no doubt need to do a geography unit (often 1st to give the students some background about the physical regions of Canada). I found a great set of resources on this website and I recommend that people bookmark it! Just for fun I also took a teacher's guide out of the curric lab at Uvic to see what resources it offered for the "Horizons" text...dull stuff! I guess there might be some useful resources that we can use by adapting them, but make sure you make them your own and that they reflect what you truly want to see from your students!
Good Luck this week to all!
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/learningtools.aspx?lang=En
Friday, October 16, 2009
History Initial Teacher Training
Hi everyone! I just came across this site while looking for my article to review. Although it's British and for those teaching student teachers, I think it can still be handy for us to look at too (even if the site itself doesn't think so). Take a look in particular at Unit 7 and Unit 10 - I think we can learn something from them even though we are not mentor teachers. Enjoy!
Just in case the above link didn't work, here it is again: http://www.historyitt.org.uk/
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail has a "FREE" online resource specifically for teachers. You can access it at http://www.classroomedition.ca/ It takes less than two minutes to sign up. Once inside you have the opportunity to pull from twenty new news articles each month that all have complete lesson plans provided. This month the topics are:
a. The Economy
b. Business and Entrepreneurship
c. Politics and International Affairs
d. Money, Financial Planning, and Investing
e. The Environment
f. Careers
That being said, I figured this would be a handy resource. Hopefully others find it helpful too. All the Best!!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
First Observation Day
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to quickly share something from my first day of observation that I found interesting. In the school that I was at, their English 8-9 and Social Studies 8-9 classes get combined into a class called Humanities 8 or 9. I have never heard of this before, so I was caught off guard a little. Apparently, at the school they have English and Socials for a whole year, but only every other day. So instead of having to change gears every other day, they just combine the two classes into one, although the students still get two separate grades - one for English and one for Socials. It seems I am going to be teaching a Humanities 8 class for my practicum.
At first I thought this was kind of weird; I had always thought of them as two separate subjects. The more I think about it though, the more excited I get. This gives me the opportunity to teach both the subjects that I love at the same time, and be able to work them off of each other. In effect, I can take the best from each subject. The only thing I am nervous about is the fact that I will have to incorporate two IRPs and PLOs in my lesson plans.
Any thoughts on this hybrid class?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Maintaining Important Boundaries
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I just wanted to fill everyone in on one of the important topics that was discussed on the last day of class. Mr. Price touched on the issue of teacher-student relations and how to maintain an appropriate boundary. Students will be intrigued by young teachers and may even feel attracted to them, but it is our responsibility to be aware of our professional responsibilities. Even if we want to share our wild party stories with our students to try and relate to them, our practicum is not the place to do this. I believe it is useful to consciously prepare yourself for any potential difficult situations and have "lines" prepared to help you safely remove yourself from a situation. One I've heard is you can tell the student, "I respect you, now you need to do the same and respect me."
Does anyone else have any other methods for deferring difficult situations or letting students down gently? Any other concerns or stories about how important it is to establish these boundaries to keep you and your students out of trouble?
Check out this link for more information from Ontario Elementary School teachers. http://www.etfo.ca/AdviceForMembers/PRSMattersBulletins/Pages/Professional%20Boundaries.aspx
I just wanted to fill everyone in on one of the important topics that was discussed on the last day of class. Mr. Price touched on the issue of teacher-student relations and how to maintain an appropriate boundary. Students will be intrigued by young teachers and may even feel attracted to them, but it is our responsibility to be aware of our professional responsibilities. Even if we want to share our wild party stories with our students to try and relate to them, our practicum is not the place to do this. I believe it is useful to consciously prepare yourself for any potential difficult situations and have "lines" prepared to help you safely remove yourself from a situation. One I've heard is you can tell the student, "I respect you, now you need to do the same and respect me."
Does anyone else have any other methods for deferring difficult situations or letting students down gently? Any other concerns or stories about how important it is to establish these boundaries to keep you and your students out of trouble?
Check out this link for more information from Ontario Elementary School teachers. http://www.etfo.ca/AdviceForMembers/PRSMattersBulletins/Pages/Professional%20Boundaries.aspx
Friday, October 9, 2009
Differentiated Learning: All learners are different but equal!
Please find some resources to help you respect the differences among your students...
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.html
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/di.htm
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.html
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/di.htm
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Differentiations in classrooms
greetings,
a classmate and i were talking with Jason in class today about what strategies one might used when faced with certain circumstances (students with different learning abilities) in the classroom. we came up with a few good ideas (looking into IEP's and working with school EA's). However i would like to hear what some of you might think about the types of differentiations we WILL be forced to practice as educators.
a classmate and i were talking with Jason in class today about what strategies one might used when faced with certain circumstances (students with different learning abilities) in the classroom. we came up with a few good ideas (looking into IEP's and working with school EA's). However i would like to hear what some of you might think about the types of differentiations we WILL be forced to practice as educators.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Relationships within the school!
Hello everyone,
I had to read yet another article for one of my classes and was reminded of the social studies methods class. Mr. Price gets very excited when discussing the importance of building relationships with our students and I thought that those of you who have not yet read the article would be interested. I found it very interesting that students would drop out of high school because they had not formed any relationships while being there....
Nos vemos pronto
Jenn
I had to read yet another article for one of my classes and was reminded of the social studies methods class. Mr. Price gets very excited when discussing the importance of building relationships with our students and I thought that those of you who have not yet read the article would be interested. I found it very interesting that students would drop out of high school because they had not formed any relationships while being there....
Nos vemos pronto
Jenn
mapping game
I received this link today from a friend. I was destroyed when I played mainly because my knowledge of United States' geography is pretty limited. Here is the link, see how you make out:
http://www.addictinggames.com/50states.html
http://www.addictinggames.com/50states.html
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