tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039217467781600172024-03-13T09:40:27.856-07:00Le's LearningSarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-40979362958665721762018-05-03T17:58:00.000-07:002018-05-03T17:58:45.999-07:00Using Portfolios in Grade 9 EnglishIn July, I began planning for Grade 9 English with my teaching partner. I was (am?) new to the school, and my teaching partner and I had instructions to make some changes the Grade 9 course.<br />
<br />
One of the key changes (and perhaps my favourite) was the introduction of the portfolio as the final exam. The portfolio counts for 10% of the overall grade.<br />
<br />
They are introduced at the beginning of the semester, and students are given class time to complete a "<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LgBpAWvlbtBkU1VWyIqC32isDdbRvXc9wLtU10gcZnQ/edit" target="_blank">Reflection of Learnin</a>g" on a variety of formative and summative tasks. (This, as <a href="https://connect2learning.com/members/sandra-herbst/" target="_blank">Sandra Herbst</a> says, gets rid of the question "does this count?") In the last week of the semester, students are given more class time organize their portfolios and decide what pieces of work they will discuss during their exam interview.<br />
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The portfolio assignment is available <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HDDnjQE3ZaaXY4qo6hJxX10xVr1HWx7JeitebUMyO5A/edit" target="_blank">here</a>, and it details the following:<br />
1. Course Goals<br />
2. Questions (these are the questions that students need to be able to answer during the exam interview)<br />
3. Audience<br />
4. Content (examples of what students can include)<br />
5. Rubric<br />
<br />
<b><u>STRENGTHS</u></b><br />
<br />
--<b>Real world</b>. Students are going to have to sit one-on-one with a person (potential employer, investor, etc.) and communicate their knowledge and understanding and discuss their strengths and areas of need.<br />
--<b>Triangulation</b>. Students use their products to engage in a conversation about their growth. Additionally, I am afforded the opportunity to observe the students prepare their portfolios.<br />
--<b>Metacognition</b>. All of our strands in English include an overall expectation about metacognition and the portfolio and interview are ways for students to engage.<br />
--<b>Student Feedback.</b> I was pleasantly surprised by the impromptu feedback that students provided. For example, I find the news report task less than engaging, but a couple of students said that they loved the opportunity to be creative. One student told me that she really liked the essay organizer. And another said that they really appreciated the choice in writing the series of paragraphs.<br />
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<b><u>AREAS OF NEED</u></b><br />
<br />
--<b>Listen more, write less.</b> I was so worried about not having "proof" to back up the grade that I spent so much time writing during the interview.<br />
--<b>Freedom.</b> I have been pretty prescriptive about what students should have in their portfolio. I need to give time to the students to make decisions about their class work and what they want to include in their portfolio.<br />
--<b>Reading. </b>I need to be more explicit in my discussion and teaching of reading strategies so that students can effectively discuss their growth in reading.<br />
--<b>Course Goals.</b> These are very writing heavy, which I think is the result of the focus on OSSLT-skill improvement. I think we should re-evaluate our course goals and have them reflect reading, oral communication, and media studies.<br />
--<b>Kill less trees.</b> Eventually I'd like to move to online portfolios using myBlueprint.<br />
<br />
Overall, I found the use of portfolios to be a powerful learning and reflective tool and would LOVE to talk to others about portfolios so that I can improve my use of them.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-35728047208182427852018-02-14T17:24:00.001-08:002018-02-14T17:25:24.598-08:00A new approachAfter Monday's disappointing lesson, I approached Tuesday's lesson a bit differently. I collected a variety of articles and videos for students to explore, and they had to come up with a verdict: not guilty, manslaughter, and second degree murder. Overwhelmingly, students believed that the correct verdict would have been manslaughter. I think they had an easier time with this, because it didn't involve the hard topic of race. That said, discussions of race and racism and the resulting injustices will never <b>not</b> be a part of my teaching.<br />
<br />
I'm still concerned that some* students don't see that racism is a real problem in Canada. I am trying to understand that it can be difficult for people to see the benefits that their race affords them. I am trying to understand that it can be difficult for people to see that our beloved Canada has numerous systemic and institutional problems. I am trying to understand that it can be difficult for people to believe that it's not just their hard work that they're successful, but rather the situation they were born into gave them a head start.<br />
<br />
It's much easier to believe the racism is a problem elsewhere (ie. the United States); it's much harder to believe that racism is a problem in your own country.<br />
<br />
As many people have encouraged me, it's important to make students aware of the hard truths, and trust that one day their perspectives will change.<br />
<br />
__________________________<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I had a student tell me today that he did some of his own exploration on Reddit, and he was shocked and disgusted by the comments about Indigenous people. He then connected back to our class on Monday, and shared that he couldn't believe that some students believed the comments were "just trolling" and didn't mean anything.</span><br />
<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-18417547292857979952018-02-12T16:48:00.001-08:002018-02-12T18:00:42.218-08:00When your lesson has too many errors for comfort...In light of the Gerald Stanley verdict and the fact that my grade 11 classes are learning about modern Indigenous issues in Canada via <i>The Outside Circle</i>, I decided that our "Article and/or Video of the Week" (AVoW) would be focussed on Colten Boushie's murder. Despite having a relatively natural entry point, I wasn't sure how to approach the subject. I knew that some of my students would believe that Stanley acted appropriately, as Boushie and his friends were trespassing and attempting to steal. Additionally, some of them, last week, told me that the only reasons stereotypes exist is because I (and others like me) talk about the stereotypes. They believe that if we just didn't talk about stereotypes, they wouldn't exist.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oNIOgJJ-hj0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oNIOgJJ-hj0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I spent a lot of time over the week-end figuring out how I was going to bring the topic into the classroom, reading articles and watching videos. I considered waiting to discuss the trial at the end of our unit on <i>The Outside Circle</i>, because then students would have a better understanding of the ongoing impacts of colonialism and racism in Canada. My first error was not going this route.<br />
<br />
Instead, I chose to show the clip "Racial tension front and centre at Colten Boushie Trial". I chose this clip because it predated the outcome of the trial and because it gave voice to both sides: the reporter spoke with Boushie's uncle and farmers from the area. I gave the students the following "look-fors": Colten's uncle's thoughts; fallout from the possible verdicts; Facebook comments; farmers' perspectives; role of communication.<br />
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After the video, I shared that Stanley was found not guilty of murder in the death of Boushie, and that the Stanley's defence did not focus on Stanley defending his property, but rather "hang fire". I also included that Boushie had been shot in the head. The discussion went smoothly until we got to the Facebook comments, which are racist. We unpacked what these comments meant, and I mentioned that there were many more comments of a similar vein on various websites. Here comes my second error; students asked if there were any racist comments against white people and I responded with something along the lines of "racism against white people isn't real". (This is an idea that deserves more unpacking and nuanced discussion, and I did it a disservice in my offhand comment.)<br />
<br />
Here comes my third error. A student asked if I had any proof of the multitude of racist comments being posted. Obviously there are, but I just used the first article that I found and all of the racist comments were from the same person, so my point fell apart. Then class was over. (I have since compiled a sampling of the racist comments, but I don't know if it is something to bring back up in class tomorrow.)<br />
<br />
Fortunately, I teach grade 11s the next period, so I had the insight from my errors to change the course of the class. We watched the videos with the same look-fors, but in the discussion, I spent a lot of time listening to the students and asking them questions to have them clarify and, hopefully, challenge their thinking. From what I understand, from the students who spoke, they don't think race had anything to do with either the shooting or the verdict. Nor do they think that racism or bullying is a problem.<br />
<br />
I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to address my classes tomorrow. We need to finish our writing for the AVoW video. After that, I'm not sure. Do I just move along with <i>The Outside Circle</i>? Do I need to apologize for my errors? Do I explain my errors? Do I have them read this post? Do I discuss bias, my bias, and that my goal is for them to be open to other ideas, even when the ideas are uncomfortable or outside their lived experience? Do I need to set a goal for myself to be open to various interpretations even if I believe they are racist? Should I try to address the trial once we're done <i>The Outside Circle</i>? Do I have them do some independent exploration of the trial?<br />
<br />
Edited:<br />
<br />
Here is a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RYhdiEzlePgq9w4xnfev26WRnSs-MBZLUeTh1mWXebA/edit" target="_blank">link</a> to my plan for tomorrow. (Still a work in progress.)Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-9112796316383381772018-01-22T08:34:00.002-08:002018-01-22T08:34:32.535-08:00Reflecting on Grade 9 English (ENG1D)This semester I taught Grade 9 English, and I was instructed to make some changes in the course. Unfortunately, our literacy test results went down, and there is concern that Grade 9 English wasn't sufficiently preparing students for the test. (And, no, I don't think the purpose of school to teach students to take a test. ) I had (have) reservations about "teaching to the test", but the reality is that students need to meet the literacy requirement in order to graduate. I do have fears about this, as my final marks (minus the portfolio interview) seem "high", and I wonder about my expectations. What if my expectations are out of line and my students fail the literacy test?<br />
<br />
Our first unit was "Literacy Bootcamp", and I dreaded it. Fortunately, it turned out to be fine. I didn't use any of the pre-packaged literacy prep, but rather looked for current texts. My co-teacher and I selected texts that focussed on technology and social media, and it was easy to keep my eye open for news reports, editorials, and videos that fit these topics. We did direct teaching of reading strategies, answering six-line responses, news reports, and series of paragraphs. Our summative task was a test where students had to read an editorial, answer some multiple choice questions and answer two six-line open responses. In addition, students had to write a news report similar to the literacy test. They also had to write a series of paragraphs. Overall, the summatives accomplished what I wanted them to. That said, I am contemplating changing the placement of the "Literacy Bootcamp". I think I want to do it as the last unit. My rationale for this is that I want to see how much direct teaching I will need to with regards to reading strategies, quotation integrations, paragraph organization, and their readiness to complete a full persuasive essay.<br />
<br />
Our second unit of study was short stories. It was fairly typical of English--learn some literary devices and analyze how authors use literacy devices to communicate their themes. We also focussed on turning our observations into ideas, and supporting their ideas in well-organized paragraphs. There were two summatives: a test that assessed their knowledge of short story terms, as well as the ability to write an analytical paragraph in response to a prompt. Additionally, students were given a sight short story to read and write an analytical paragraph based on their independent reading. In hindsight, this seems repetitive, and I think that reading the sight short story and writing an analytical paragraph would be sufficient.<br />
<br />
The third unit was the study of the novel <i>The Book Thief</i>. I have taught this novel four times, and I love it. The majority of my students enjoy reading the novel, but the length can be overwhelming. I am going to try a new novel this coming semester: <i>Flawed</i>. I really liked the topics that we explore in <i>The Book Thief</i>, and those topics map over well to <i>Flawed</i>. The summatives for the unit were literature circles and an extended paragraph. I really liked the extended paragraph, as students wrote three paragraphs over the unit, then selected their best paragraph and polished it for assessment. On the other hand, the literature circles were a FAIL. I need to do some more work on structuring the literature circles this coming semester. I am thinking that the circles will only be done twice-weekly, and I will assign specific roles in an attempt help students facilitate their discussions.<br />
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I have some thoughts on the exam, and I am betting on having some thoughts about the portfolio interviews, so I will reflect on those at a later date.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-68533935991544096932018-01-12T19:19:00.000-08:002018-01-12T19:26:01.238-08:00Thinking about Reading, Part 2Since returning after winter break, I'm pretty sure I said out loud, at least four times, "I've been doing some <a href="https://leslearning.blogspot.ca/2018/01/thinking-about-reading.html" target="_blank">thinking about reading</a>." And finally, people decided to talk about reading with me! Discussions with various people have helped to shape and clarify (and complicate) my thoughts, and I am hopeful that people will have additional ideas to share with me. (Hint.)<br />
<br />
I have been pondering various questions, in an attempt to clarify my thinking about reading.<br />
<br />
<b>What is my overall goal?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Students who read because they WANT to, not because they have to.<br />
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<div>
<b>Why do I want students to read for pleasure?</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Reading frequently improves reading skills.</li>
<li>Reading frequently improves writing skills.</li>
<li>Reading allows students an opportunity to escape into another world.</li>
<li>Reading allows students to build empathy for others' experiences.</li>
<li>Reading allows students to build community and connection with other readers.</li>
<li>Reading allows students to understand themselves.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>How can I <i>force</i> students to read for pleasure?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
This is tricky. It is hard to get some students to read for assignments or marks, so why would they read for pleasure? But I think that is part of the problem. There is pressure to <i>do something</i>, often artificial or contrived, with the book. Students have to prove that they read the book. It takes the joy out of reading. I know that we try to give students a choice in their reading, via the ISU, but students still often don't enjoy reading their chosen book, plus we put a bunch of parameters on what they are allowed to read. It is just a hoop they have to jump through..."get through these books then I never have to read again."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I know some schools have enforced reading time, such as STAR (Stop Talking and Read) or DEAR (Drop Everything and Read). In my limited experience, these programs haven't been very successful. But this also tells me that maybe my thoughts about enforcing (encouraging?) reading in my classroom are unrealistic. Except that <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/" target="_blank">Pernille Ripp</a>, a grade 7 teacher in the United States, has great success in rekindling reading in her students. (Obviously things would need to be adapted to fit the high school context.) Ripp <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/2017/06/09/does-reading-for-pleasure-in-schools-really-make-a-difference/" target="_blank">shares</a> that to get students to read for pleasure we need to give them time, we need to give them access to lots of books, we need to demonstrate ourselves as readers, we need to let them abandon books, and we need to let them book shop.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What am I envisioning?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
If I want students to read, I need to give them class time to read. If it is something I value, then it deserves to be part of my valuable class time. I want a <i>reading and talking about books classroom</i>. Additionally, I'm not going to force them to do something with their reading. The success comes from them reading. I will see them reading. I will have conversations with them about their reading or lack thereof. That's my proof.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>So how am I going to work towards creating a reading classroom?</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>15 minutes every day of reading</li>
<li>Discuss my journey as a reader</li>
<li>Allow book abandoning</li>
<li>Have tons* of books available in my classroom</li>
<li>Create <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/2018/01/06/small-ideas-for-creating-visible-book-buzz/" target="_blank">book buzz</a> </li>
<li>Have opportunities to <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/2016/09/17/a-few-ideas-for-better-book-shopping/" target="_blank">book shop</a></li>
<li>Do a <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/2017/09/09/the-7th-grade-book-challenge-revisited/" target="_blank">reading challenge</a> </li>
</ul>
<div>
Creating a reading class room is my new preoccupation, and to be honest, I am feeling a lot of discomfort about actually implementing this. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
___________________________</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
*To be honest, I'll probably only have 100 or so books...I'm relying on bringing in my own library and what I can scavenge from the book room. I know this is limiting...it's what Mrs. Le likes to read, but I'm going to work on expanding it. (I can be pretty resourceful.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-71535357288028199572018-01-05T15:30:00.003-08:002018-01-05T15:46:58.277-08:00Thinking about ReadingFull disclosure: I contribute to students not wanting to read. Hating to read even. I don't intend to do this, but I do. I do because I always make them <i>do something</i> (<a href="https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/stop-killing-reading/" target="_blank">Ripp</a>) with their reading. They never just get the opportunity to read.<br />
<br />
I want my students to read for pleasure. To enjoy reading. To read because they want to, not because they have to. I want them to read for the reasons beautifully expressed in the tweet below:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUWKXeFD1oN3UJBq_vo1-MsYDbjtpmgP8gIjjH9ycl-VYuFsj5fUvgZa0DtvdLgGCR8BoyJw4By3A7yk2jXPGuuwV-adPBYjH1_g-dVKWAq8tQH3x_VO8MOJYH1EEgkq_gG3AOhKLqyMh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+3.58.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1160" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUWKXeFD1oN3UJBq_vo1-MsYDbjtpmgP8gIjjH9ycl-VYuFsj5fUvgZa0DtvdLgGCR8BoyJw4By3A7yk2jXPGuuwV-adPBYjH1_g-dVKWAq8tQH3x_VO8MOJYH1EEgkq_gG3AOhKLqyMh/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+3.58.32+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But how do you get high school students back into reading?<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
___________________________</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
As an English teacher, I am always thinking about reading, but it hasn't been until recently that I have been thinking more deeply about reading. I think this is because my oldest two children are embarking on some independent reading. Ever since Marisa and Madeline were babies, my husband and I would read to them. Six years later, we still read to them (and now little Nora) every single day, with few exceptions.<br />
<br />
Towards the end of junior kindergarten, the girls started bringing home levelled readers. Those readers are painful and boring. We would plod through them. (And full confession, we would only do them once or twice a week.) It was the same in senior kindergarten, although Marisa was more enthusiastic, so she would read two or three times a week, and Maddy, maybe once or twice. My goal is to have my daughters LIKE reading, and I was afraid that this homework reading was turning them off. Fortunately, Marisa and Madeline had excellent kindergarten teachers, who were supportive of my refusal to do the levelled readers every night, especially when they weren't "feeling" it. This support was great, because they're experts in teaching reading, and another full confession, despite being an English teacher, I don't know how to teach the basics of learning how to read. As a high school teacher, I'm supposed (?) to get students who have already mastered reading.<br />
<br />
Now that the girls are in Grade 1, they are much more interested in reading, and often enjoy reading their levelled readers every night. More importantly, they are also interested in whatever I am reading and just words in general. When I am reading to them, they choose to read sentences here and there, and they like pointing out the words as we go along. My goal is for them to be like me: someone who likes reading, so much that as a child, my consequences for not doing my chores was having my books taken away.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
___________________________</div>
<br />
This brings me to reading in high school. When do students, who loved or at least liked, reading, stop reading? And I don't mean for school. I mean, for pleasure.<br />
<br />
How do I get high school students--those who don't see the point in, or pleasure of, reading--to read?<br />
<br />
I have been thinking about reading, especially in the context of the independent study unit, a lot lately. Many English courses have an ISU component, where students are required to read a book independently, then <i>do something</i> with it. (Often an essay or a presentation or both.) I'm not a huge fan of ISUs in the traditional sense. While I still did a traditional ISU with Grade 10 Academic English, in Grade 11 College-Preparation English (ENG3C), I did not do one, and in the Grade 11 University-Preparation English course, students did an independent blog. Next semester, I am teaching two classes of ENG3C at my new school, and I thought that I could do a traditional ISU with my classes. In fact, I said, "I'll do anything once." But I'm not so sure. In general, students in ENG3C do NOT read for school unless it is in the classroom and forced upon them. Reading for pleasure is not happening, for the most part. So what do I do?<br />
<br />
As I was pondering my questions about reading, I came across, "<a href="https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/stop-killing-reading/" target="_blank">How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading</a>" by Jennifer Gonzalez, based on her interview with Pernille Ripp, author of <i><a href="https://pernillesripp.com/my-book/" target="_blank">Passionate Readers</a></i>. This ignited a spark in me. It has made me more resistant to the traditional ISU and is forcing me to re-envision my daily teaching. I am currently reading Ripp's <a href="https://pernillesripp.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> to help me figure out how I can help students become readers. And this is where I will leave off. I'm working on finding answers to get me started for February, and I am thankful that I came across Matt Haig, Jennifer Gonzalez, and Pernille Ripp.Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-80886055734922523552017-02-09T17:04:00.000-08:002017-02-09T17:04:18.197-08:00Becoming a student...In the role of teacher, I often forget that learning new skills can be scary for students. I forget that it can be overwhelming to be introduced to new essay-writing styles, quotation integrations, and research methods. The human fear of appearing stupid is strong.<br />
<br />
Currently, I am on parental leave, and I have decided to learn how to skate. I am once again the student. Skating is a sport that scares me; terrifies might not be too strong of a word. My first lesson was three weeks ago, and I almost backed out. It would have been easy; my husband accidentally took both sets of car keys to work. It would have been the perfect excuse. I persisted. I finally made it to the arena, and my next opportunity to back out presented itself: I had difficulty getting my skates and helmet on. I persisted. My desire to challenge myself forced me forward, but my skating instructor smoothed the path. She reminded me of all the characteristics I want to embody as a teacher. For example:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>She welcomes. She greeted me at the entrance to the ice, and held my arm to guide me to the centre. Right away I felt physically and mentally safe.</li>
<li>She differentiates. Our small class has five skaters, at varying levels. She works with each of us individually to develop skills at our own pace.</li>
<li>She has high expectations. Apparently, I will be skating backwards by the end of my lessons.</li>
<li>She encourages. She lets us know how to improve in a positive manner, and she celebrates our successes, no matter how small.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Essentially, becoming a student has reminded "teacher me" to be sensitive to students' trepidations. For some students, showing up to learn the unfamiliar is a success in itself. I need to welcome, differentiate, set high (but achievable) expectations, encourage, and celebrate...both my students' successes and my own.</div>
Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-3305564332692231912015-09-30T16:19:00.002-07:002015-09-30T16:21:10.547-07:00Marking Wrongful Conviction Day at ODSS<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4f1Z1Tav-Ou2PRJmpUvgXZ02qCpnHQJ5JVzozKUIm5Eb9VoN9pAtL0nGuEl9H4tiTsysHmfoLWikGS1Z0T7Nmxl4SW75Y4M4s5Hn5Gzz0vKbrDbGgAujVAg7wMPDiaKZasS7ug0JdZa8T/s1600/FullSizeRender+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4f1Z1Tav-Ou2PRJmpUvgXZ02qCpnHQJ5JVzozKUIm5Eb9VoN9pAtL0nGuEl9H4tiTsysHmfoLWikGS1Z0T7Nmxl4SW75Y4M4s5Hn5Gzz0vKbrDbGgAujVAg7wMPDiaKZasS7ug0JdZa8T/s320/FullSizeRender+%25284%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the display upon entering the Learning<br />
Commons. The bright colours seem to contradict<br />
the gravity of the injustice, but there is also a<br />
level of happiness about being<br />
exonerated.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In Grade 11 College Preparation English (ENG3C), we do a unit about the wrongfully convicted. Traditionally, the viewing of the film <i><a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/cases-false-imprisonment/kenny-waters" target="_blank">Conviction</a></i> culminates in the writing of a letter to the <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/" target="_blank">Innocence Project</a> in the United States. Students are responsible for researching a person who was wrongfully convicted, and writing a letter of gratitude to the Innocence Project.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0Ol58_CEozgjLIyjURoGNH7gvsLHSsAz2sr-14O3VughU6Kb48i9cZGZ-tcG8kqOTlv7x1vJu5R8_EpmN1eCBKZMfHYJmefnLCTbHRLcsX8f3ynIdoEVDztU7Yqnm2Z1pvSlw3IDvgUs/s1600/FullSizeRender+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0Ol58_CEozgjLIyjURoGNH7gvsLHSsAz2sr-14O3VughU6Kb48i9cZGZ-tcG8kqOTlv7x1vJu5R8_EpmN1eCBKZMfHYJmefnLCTbHRLcsX8f3ynIdoEVDztU7Yqnm2Z1pvSlw3IDvgUs/s200/FullSizeRender+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor's poster</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Three semesters ago I did some research and discovered that there was a Canadian equivalent to the Innocence Project: <a href="http://www.aidwyc.org/" target="_blank">The Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted</a> (AIDWYC). I decided that students would learn about Canadians who were wrongfully convicted and AIDWYC helped to exonerate. Some of the exonerees include Steven Truscott, David Milgaard, and Guy Paul Morin.<br />
<br />
Students in both my classes last year wrote <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q_WcT0yDa-UMiVs3BQGdACs3JhoDBtOIAPZFpqcQlEw/edit" target="_blank">letters of gratitude</a> to AIDWYC. One of the best parts of this activity was AIDWYC's personalized response. I was pretty excited when AIDWYC wrote me a letter acknowledging my class's work.<br />
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Then things got weird.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAP5DdwhmcO4XnsiTXeOqx_cGBSVSxgjwx5gsUrgp5TYWx0QJqI4IMXn9bIcG8gQgg5px9zorvaTmFRpVjSyltZZiRCQxc-m6FNNP653mjys8gyUjtKnLFarsuZTegomEuS2Z8NHGDbQf/s1600/FullSizeRender+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAP5DdwhmcO4XnsiTXeOqx_cGBSVSxgjwx5gsUrgp5TYWx0QJqI4IMXn9bIcG8gQgg5px9zorvaTmFRpVjSyltZZiRCQxc-m6FNNP653mjys8gyUjtKnLFarsuZTegomEuS2Z8NHGDbQf/s320/FullSizeRender+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex's poster</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I noticed that my students were being called down to the office. I couldn't figure out why until one student informed me that they were getting letters from AIDWYC. The wonderful people at AIDWYC found the time to write PERSONALIZED letters to each of my students. They also shared my students' work with the exonerees. I was amazed.<br />
<br />
This year, instead of writing letters of gratitude, my class put together a display to mark <a href="http://www.aidwyc.org/wcd-2015/" target="_blank">Wrongful Conviction Day</a>, which is October 2, 2015. Students still completed research, but instead of writing a letter, they had to make a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wRSw1Q27GYkIOfpI94bUCyAAqHzmOI9_wHrhZj9ARAA/edit" target="_blank">poster</a> to educate the ODSS community about the exonerees and to raise awareness about the grave injustices that unfortunately occur in the Canadian legal system.<br />
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I am grateful that AIDWYC exists to protect the rights of Canadians and to play a role in bringing the outside world into the classroom.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-48492773978906981052015-09-18T19:18:00.000-07:002015-09-18T19:18:11.702-07:00The Importance of SharingOver the last few weeks, I have been thinking about the role of sharing in education, and how the act of sharing is important in developing better teachers and improving student learning.<br />
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To me, sharing is a mix of practical and emotional. There is the electronic and physical sharing of resources; the informal discussions of particular content and skills; the sharing, as appropriate, of pertinent student information; and the sharing of emotions.<br />
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In the last three semesters, I have benefited greatly from the ease of sharing resources via UGCloud. I have taught three new courses, and for all three courses I have had <u>EIGHT</u> colleagues share their folders with me. This helps to lessen the anxiety of teaching a new course and it prevents the need to "recreate the wheel". I especially benefit because I get to see what other people are doing in their courses and then shape the course to fit my teaching style and the needs of my students.<br />
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Additionally, sharing doesn't just take place on the cloud. Sharing also happens in informal ways as department members drink their morning coffees or eat lunch together. I have added excellent resources to my repertoire, such as handouts about effective presentations, deconstructing visual texts to make meaning, or using transitional words.<br />
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Sharing isn't just the electronic or physical exchange of course content and skills. It is important to share information about students on a "need-to-know" basis. This is especially true at the start of a new semester. It is nice to have students' former teachers tell me the techniques they used to best help a student or what warning signs to be aware of.<br />
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There is also the sharing of emotions. Oftentimes, teaching can seem like an individual job. It is possible to simply close the classroom door and teach. But I think that the sharing of our ups and downs about our experiences creates a realistic picture of what being a teacher means. It is buoying for me to hear teachers talk about their successes, and it is helpful to be able to share perceived and actual failures and challenges. This allows me to realize that I'm not alone and that all teachers have their wins and their losses.<br />
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Now this isn't to say that sharing is easy. I'm sure that there are many reasons why sharing is hard. For some, they may not share their resources. And I bet this isn't because they don't want to; it may because they lack confidence in what they're creating. I think this may also play a role in sharing emotions. No one wants to come across as a braggart when talking about the impact he or she has had on a student or recounting an awesome lesson. Additionally, it is hard to talk about the fact that all teachers fail. Some lessons flop. Some classroom management decisions backfire. But we need to share this and learn from each other.<br />
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Essentially, I am thankful that I have colleagues who are willing to share and are eager to support. I think this goes a long way in making me a better teacher, which in turns helps me improve learning for my students.<br />
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Thank you.Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-67626383885998960842015-09-07T15:25:00.001-07:002015-09-07T15:29:39.271-07:00The first day of school...the plans have changedThe Syrian refugee crisis has shaken me. I look at the faces of Syrians still in Syria, those who have made it to Europe, and those who have gotten to Canada. I can't imagine taking such risks, and this drives home the fact that, for Syrians fleeing their homes, the risks outweigh staying.<br />
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I want to do something, and the first thing I wanted to do was sponsor a Syrian family. This seems especially fitting for me, as my husband was one of the 68,000 Vietnamese refugees to make it to Canada as a result of the nation's sponsorship program. Obviously, this is a big step, and we're not quite ready to make a commitment. But I still want to do something. </div>
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This led me to make the decision to delay my first week plans for school. Instead of jumping right into short stories and plays, two of my classes are going to complete guided research about Syria and the Syrian refugee crisis. The ultimate goal is for students to write letters to Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) and MP David Tilson (our local representative). Fortunately, I am able to delay getting into the regularly scheduled program, which is already full, because I have a department head who encourages us to try new and different things, and a principal who is more interested in deep learning than content coverage.</div>
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I have struggled to figure out how I can bring this topic to my students. Fortunately, I am connected on Facebook and Twitter to a great number of educators who have been sharing articles and their experiences. My rough outline of what I think I am going to do is <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TeADXm_RURVxrAl8_YzJcFATDnqQf6Hxo23edki5QPk/edit" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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A colleague and I were talking about images, specifically the horrifying image of Alan Kurdi drowned on a beach in Greece. We also brainstormed some quotations, but the one that really stuck out to me was Joseph Stalin's quotation <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">“One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic”</span>. </span>I decided against using the image of Kurdi drowned, which has spurred the increased interest in helping Syrian refugees, as his aunt has requested that people remember her nephew as he was: smiling and happy. I decided that I am going to have students look at an <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14PRAtVHeyKJiwkkrzbdsdq7LNzokvlv4IDzovsuNiBs/edit#slide=id.p" target="_blank">image</a> of refugees in Germany and an image of Alan Kurdi in happier times.</div>
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I am hoping that these images and what they represent will bring encourage discussion and interest, before students are tasked with doing some research. Because it will only be the first day of school, I have found the research for the students. They will have access to <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V-lpYXpNPoLxf81bHrTZSgzTCnhCMAKioCCKHJa_Ohw/edit" target="_blank">a variety of articles, images, and videos</a> to help them (and me) understand the crisis and what Canada is (or isn't) doing.</div>
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<div>
To be honest, I am rather uncomfortable with my new first day plans, as I am taking three risks:</div>
<div>
1. students will engage and discuss on Day 1 (what if they don't?)</div>
<div>
2. my clear goal, but vague "travel map" will get us to the letter (what if the goal is only clear to me? what if we get lost?)</div>
<div>
3. the technology will work (please don't fail me!) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Hopefully, by the end of the week, the students and I have powerful letters to send and strengthened empathy for the Syrians forced from their home.</div>
Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-78935930351122479192015-05-08T11:05:00.001-07:002015-05-08T11:08:55.402-07:00Why I Love TeachingPeriodically, I will receive emails or cards from students to tell me about the impact I had them. Every so often, I will run into a parent who will thank me for my dedication to their child.<br />
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In the last two weeks, I have been reminded why teaching is a great profession. I don't know why so many things have come together to remind me of this. Perhaps it is the nicer weather that is allowing me not to be so negative and actually see the positive. Nonetheless, I appreciate the renewal.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Teaching is a great profession because... I get to run into former students. Just last night, I was out for supper with my family, and a former student came out of the kitchen to come see me. This was a student who I often worried about...things just didn't seem to be going well for her. Now in her early twenties, she is working three jobs, going to college, and planning on transferring to university to earn a degree to work with youth in the criminal justice system. She seems to have her life on track, and I am sincerely honoured that I got to be her teacher for two semesters.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Teaching is a great profession because...I get to send home positive progress reports. I have a student who is having some academic and personal issues. In these last two week, he has really taken to the unit we are working on and has seemed to dedicate himself to getting his work done. I showed him the positive note I was sending home, and I could see him trying to hide his look of pride.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Teaching is a great profession because...the small things make a difference. For example, students stopping to say "Hi" in the hall, students joking around, students who finally get how to write a beautiful paragraph with a topic sentence, an integrated quotation, and sophisticated analysis.</li>
</ul>
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These are people and situations I need to remember when the pressures of teaching becomes overwhelming. Teaching truly is a great profession.</div>
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Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-43073673415804474992015-05-08T10:31:00.001-07:002015-05-08T10:36:44.030-07:00Using Podcasts in ENG3C: An Alternative to the Traditional TextA colleague introduced me to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast" target="_blank">podcast</a> <a href="http://serialpodcast.org/" target="_blank"><i>Serial</i></a>. I was immediately hooked, and further recommended it to others. My colleague mentioned using it in the classroom, and the idea stuck. Last semester I taught ENG3C for the first time, and my unit on social issues and research did not go very well. I needed something that was different than the typical ¨abortion is bad" or ¨capital punishment should be brought back to Canada¨arguments. I decided that <i>Serial</i> could be used to meet curriculum expectations and the goal of writing a research report.<br />
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The goals of the unit were threefold:<br />
<ol>
<li>Work on active listening to understand text and complete notes</li>
<li>Complete secondary research to support interpretations of the primary source (the actual podcast)</li>
<li>Write a research report using proper APA formatting</li>
</ol>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGnWpv3wcyyxbTQPHWm7eZywABZkNIoROtEHJglgpb6JQqeVzCLfg_t3aMXu9VnEom7HOYC721Sdk5coJ61QaKwpw5_hvCOkKGbPr6LJLxvUw0n3o42WapENuC8_O5hI1EjqKUIv0p12X/s1600/Active+Listening.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGnWpv3wcyyxbTQPHWm7eZywABZkNIoROtEHJglgpb6JQqeVzCLfg_t3aMXu9VnEom7HOYC721Sdk5coJ61QaKwpw5_hvCOkKGbPr6LJLxvUw0n3o42WapENuC8_O5hI1EjqKUIv0p12X/s320/Active+Listening.png" width="233" /></a>To begin the unit, I used the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I6mc9qlWui7XaiiIwfWIgeTs0kqyXMGBunOuvhZWVJo/edit" target="_blank">hook</a> designed by <a href="http://www.mrgodsey.com/2014/11/im-replacing-shakespeare-with-serial.html" target="_blank">Michael Godsey</a>. Trying to get students to think back six weeks in their lives got them thinking, and they realized that their memories weren't what they thought they were. It also got them to connect to the challenges Adnan faced when asked to remember a specific day.</div>
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We then focused on what active listening looked like. You can see my students' ideas in the photo. I found brainstorming active listening as a class made it easy for me to keep them on task. I often just had to point to the list, and students would know that they couldn't fully engage if they were looking at their phone or weren't taking notes.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJmqN3QiSphfVKWnnDnVV7jySUn97D7obeRoae-yors3AvKTgIiiL3JoYC4rXZVNPk2B0oG3FqYZdw2sTEOGaUQ6gS2PYfawiwFo_fHVWF6ruiJwKpzQwm5QYXI-XqUSNtx7iGN53at6w/s1600/Guilty+or+Not+Guilty.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJmqN3QiSphfVKWnnDnVV7jySUn97D7obeRoae-yors3AvKTgIiiL3JoYC4rXZVNPk2B0oG3FqYZdw2sTEOGaUQ6gS2PYfawiwFo_fHVWF6ruiJwKpzQwm5QYXI-XqUSNtx7iGN53at6w/s320/Guilty+or+Not+Guilty.png" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the first episode most students thought<br />
that Adnan was "not guilty". For the most<br />
part that belief didn't change.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Students also had individual journals where they were responsible for tracking the information. Prior to listening, I would give the students people, ideas, or events to pay attention to. I also made use of Google maps to help students track and visualize Adnan's apparent actions on the day of Hae's disappearance. We alternated listening as a whole class and listening in small groups or independently. I found that this allowed the students some freedom in how they wanted to engage with the text. When we listened as a whole class, I would stop the podcast occasionally to model note taking and to give students an opportunity to discuss.<br />
<br />
We also kept track of our thoughts about Adnan's guilt as we worked through <i>Serial</i>. One of the most engaging, yet frustrating things, about the podcast was the constant uncertainty. After each episode students were responsible for moving their magnetic pin from "guilty" to "not guilty" or vice versa, as they saw fit.<br />
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Overall, it appeared that students were engaged in the podcast. There would occasionally be heated discussions in pockets of the classroom about the evidence presented.<br />
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For the most part, I was happy with the summative research report, but there are aspects that I need to improve upon. The large number of formative work we did focusing on point, proof, and explanation paid off in their reports. For next year, I need to work on bringing in secondary sources and helping students to incorporate them into their work. Additionally, students struggled with the format of a research report. I think they had difficulty with the template I created. I will need to be explicit in my teaching of it. They also need more guidance to complete their references page.<br />
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I think that the unit was a nice alternative to using traditional texts in the classroom. I have included my folder of resources below, and please don't hesitate to give me feedback to make the unit better for next year. The actual <i>Serial</i> website has great resources to use, and the <i>Serial</i> sub-reddit on Reddit was also very helpful, especially since people had typed up transcripts of each episode.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B2haRYZJn_3rd3d2UWw1WERXaVE&usp=sharing" target="_blank">Serial Teaching Folder</a><br />
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Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-74474725648684199802015-04-17T06:58:00.001-07:002015-04-18T17:56:13.514-07:00Demystifying University and CollegeYesterday morning I had the opportunity to attend an open table discussion with some of my colleagues and university and college professors from history and geography. The purpose of the discussion was for us to better understand the transition that high school students experience.<br />
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A few things stood out to me.<br />
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<b><u>Note</u></b>: After publishing this, I contacted some former students, and within hours, they had gotten back to me with their thoughts about this post. I have added their information and experiences in blue. Thanks to Teslyn who is at Queen's, Aiden (Waterloo), Kelsey (Laurentian), and Jason (Carleton).<br />
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1. <span style="color: red;">Professors are human and care</span>. A lot of teachers try to scare students into thinking that they will just be a number and that their instructors will be too busy to care about them. This just isn't true. The professors were clear that they know that students are coming to them younger, and that this is their first real taste of freedom. They also know that students have other struggles to deal with, personally. And professors WANT students to come for extra help. They are accessible.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Kelsey: "Overall profs definitely do care about their students' well-being and are accommodating for the most part."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Jason: "Professors do care about students. They are always wanting to get to know you through email or extra help."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
2. <span style="color: red;">Professors highlighted the skills students need, but they didn't blame high school teachers for the deficiencies</span>. They know that it is a work in progress. Some skills professors want students to be developing include:<br />
<ul>
<li>filtering the vast amounts of information coming at them</li>
<li>writing concisely</li>
<li>speaking assertively to other adults</li>
<li>managing their time</li>
</ul>
3. <span style="color: red;">Students hardly read in high school, and they don't read in university or college</span>. Just as we have trouble getting students to read (and hopefully read actively), professors are facing the same struggle. To compensate, in first year, professors are giving shorter readings and building in reading response assignments.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Teslyn: This is the "most inaccurate part....If I don't do my readings I will fail the course absolutely. And I find myself reading at least a chapter of a textbook each week per course in my science course".</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Jason: Readings are "crucial to success". Essentially, you are reading a chapter for every class (and there are two or three classes a day).</span><br />
<br />
4. <span style="color: red;">Professors want students to be successful</span>. Instructors work to make their courses engaging. To quote one professor, "Students are telling us how they want to be taught". And there has been a shift back to paper and pen notes! Additionally, students are not failing in high numbers in their first year of post-secondary. To explain, one professor brought us the statistics of his first year history course. Of 301 students, only about five failed and the average was in the low seventies! Another professor seems to offer some sort of credit recovery. Despite the fact that her marks were already submitted, she is still accepting assignments!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Aid<span style="font-family: inherit;">en: <span style="background-color: white;">"</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Kinda sad but I found my first year experience to kind of be the stigma ie the profs need to cut out the weak and class avgs were in the low 60s."</span></span><br />
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5. <span style="color: red;">Students need to be able to write concisely</span>. The professors were impressed that we are working on shorter writing pieces. As one professor said, "No boss wants to read an essay." Some of the professors are only requiring two page assignments (roughly 500 words). One university assignment that was shared with us required 1000-1200 words--so nothing too long!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Kelsey: The amount of writing depends on your subject, but the profs ease you in.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Teslyn: Students in first year are expected to write ten-page long essays depending on the discipline.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Jason: "In science I found I was writing 1-2 pages, which is great."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
6. <span style="color: red;">Citing is important and INTEGRAL to their work</span>. All of the professors agreed that students need to be working with a variety of sources, including academic journals, news reports, monographs, and even Wikipedia (but please use the sources cited at the bottom of the entry). But above all, they need to cite their work!! One professor didn't care what type of citation method was used, as long as one was used consistently. The college professors were adamant about the use of APA, and two other university professors want students to be using Chicago.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Kelsey: "Also totally right. The citing is CRUCIAL. Every assignment, every presentation, every lab, EVERYTHING needs to be cited."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Jason: "Citing was the one thing professors and teaching assistants always repeated doing correctly when doing assignments." </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
7. <span style="color: red;">Attendance is an issue</span>. Professors are coming up with incentives to get students to attend class.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Aiden: This sounds accurate.</span><br />
<a href="http://funny.timelinefan.com/images/2013/January/25/51021f6e938f5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://funny.timelinefan.com/images/2013/January/25/51021f6e938f5.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Kelsey: Attendance is an issue. Some professors have exit quizzes at the end of every class that are worth 10% of the final grade.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Jason: Professors give exam clues during lecture.</span><br />
<br />
8. <span style="color: red;">Professors are not a fan of multiple choice</span>. In fact, some of them have done away with the exam. As one professor pointed out, "Students have been demonstrating their knowledge and understanding all along the way, what's the point of cramming for a two-hour exam?"<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Kelsey: Most of her classes have final exams, but they usually aren't cumulative.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Teslyn: "I haven't had an exam yet that doesn't have multiple choice, actually multiple choice is usually a pretty big part of my exam."</span><br />
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9. <span style="color: red;">Overall, the professors are pleased with the students that are coming to them</span>. In fact, one professor told me that he finds Upper Grand students to be well-prepared for university. Another said, "We don't expect fully-formed academic stars in the first year."<br />
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Congratulations to us!<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-48718518833127605622015-03-08T10:29:00.001-07:002015-04-17T06:59:22.895-07:00Thinking about final assessmentsThis past Friday, I was issued a challenge regarding the format of final exams. Now, the email was to the entire English department, but I took it as an opportunity to challenge myself about the format of the exams in two courses that I thoroughly enjoy: ENG3C and ENG3U.<br />
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Both exams require students to use class time in the days leading up to the exam to outline an essay that responds to a prompt. Students are required to use the texts studied in class to answer the prompt. This requires that students understand the texts we studied because it is essential that they be able to make connections between the texts.<br />
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The email that spurred some new thinking made these suggestions:<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>"Consider adding a new poem/story/article/image on exam day and having them apply their understanding of the 'big ideas' to that text, OR use that text as an additional piece of evidence to support their overall thesis.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: magenta;"><b>The final exam should be a test of their ability to apply their understanding and skills to a new situation (which, for us, most often means a new text). "</b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><b><br /></b></span>
I think important points are made in this email, but I also think that having students use texts they are familiar with still tests their ability to understand and demonstrate their skills. Students are being required to "apply their understanding and skills to a new situation" because they are now being asked to make connections between the texts studied, something that they haven't been required to do. That said, making connections isn't new, but making connections in response to new prompts is a new situation.<br />
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There may be some level of "ease" because students are given the prompts ahead of time, and are allowed the time to prepare. But this accommodation is used, because in previous years, administration has suggested that students be given the final exam ahead of time; there should be "no surprises". Now this can be remedied by giving students a variety of prompts ahead of time to get students thinking, but there be a new prompt provided on exam day.<br />
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As I am a teacher that likes to experiment, I came up with some ways to alter the ENG3C and ENG3U exams so that there is a different level of "new". As I am not teaching ENG3U this semester, I haven't put much thought into how that exam could be changed. For ENG3C, my teaching partner and I have some decisions to make about how we want that final exam to look.<br />
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Overall, I don't think there is a RIGHT or WRONG or BETTER or WORSE answer to what the final exams look like. I think that as long as a final exam assesses student understanding of the course ideas and skills in a fair and reasonable way, then we are doing okay.Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-64433185049427147452014-12-11T07:23:00.002-08:002014-12-12T05:46:10.478-08:00Thinking Critically in the CHC2P Classroom<div style="text-align: left;">
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One of my favourite professional development experiences is getting to listen to and work with <a href="http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ctl/Faculty_Staff/Faculty_Profiles/387/Garfield_Gini-Newman.html" target="_blank">Garfield Gini-Newman</a>. One of Gini-Newman's areas of expertise is critical thinking, and I always leave his sessions with new ideas.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmElAM9rl4OchhvtGJDQB_EiAqWRHlP8FAFtGabEaC5xNq-EKTNjOaL_iYDMqh4rX78lZFazxYlNgiJLLKbLw9tQmLMSqAznoUa6UiW0O0Y2i68HDIr4KYvaCtOozZos7kpI4ntV7vHDH/s1600/Perfect+Society2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmElAM9rl4OchhvtGJDQB_EiAqWRHlP8FAFtGabEaC5xNq-EKTNjOaL_iYDMqh4rX78lZFazxYlNgiJLLKbLw9tQmLMSqAznoUa6UiW0O0Y2i68HDIr4KYvaCtOozZos7kpI4ntV7vHDH/s1600/Perfect+Society2.png" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our criteria for a perfect society.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In October 2013, I attended a workshop put on by Gini-Newman that focused on asking questions that make students dig deeper, as well as focused on coming up with criteria to best answer the questions. In our CHC2P class, the third unit looks at 1945-1982, and we focus on the creation of the perfect society. Last year, with my class, we brainstormed the elements of a "perfect" society, then created a<a href="https://docs.google.com/a/ugcloud.ca/document/d/1mhOnLUhiRpP0PqV9HJPzH1CxLrsFJtgRnznmSVLZekM/edit" target="_blank"> value line</a> on which to place examples from Canadian history. Each student had their own value line, and was responsible for researching various people and events from the time period. Students would then use the criteria they came up with and determine the person or events location on the value line.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQh4BWkir0Ba4edWofCLOKHOMztW_f9xg7TQAVjgU45ggLK1bjM55XPUey_23vDUFV_a87rp_28I6IsgIivCSOhBQ5VLQjc1MijOrFBN7UyCkpwCkqVfVCocG0oUev90L3Ld4pIJ_E7CS/s1600/IMG_2072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQh4BWkir0Ba4edWofCLOKHOMztW_f9xg7TQAVjgU45ggLK1bjM55XPUey_23vDUFV_a87rp_28I6IsgIivCSOhBQ5VLQjc1MijOrFBN7UyCkpwCkqVfVCocG0oUev90L3Ld4pIJ_E7CS/s1600/IMG_2072.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Full on image of the value line.</td></tr>
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It was a failure. Students didn't have adequate research skills to truly understand the various topics, and I think they just placated me by writing down their topics on their value lines. The students' final projects were terrible, to be blunt.<br />
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This semester, I decided to take a different approach. We still brainstormed a list of criteria that was necessary for a perfect society. Instead of students having their own value lines, we created a class value line along one wall in the classroom. After learning about new topics, we discussed where each topic belonged on the value line. To help students understand the chronology of the unit, the topics were categorized by prime minister, with the exception of Joe Clark (sorry Mr. Clark).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExUtBjSEVhWBGsABULg0Vopnla8_bOEsPND-B7ieke81wLlYCxk120J0akQ9qD_eJKiuZ46jzyUTqqOlLVTNYr0oH4XHjd3zkWwAgE_BaBbAvVK1IuE2DEngZ9KySi4FLSbKjDTTaSIvu/s1600/IMG_2071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExUtBjSEVhWBGsABULg0Vopnla8_bOEsPND-B7ieke81wLlYCxk120J0akQ9qD_eJKiuZ46jzyUTqqOlLVTNYr0oH4XHjd3zkWwAgE_BaBbAvVK1IuE2DEngZ9KySi4FLSbKjDTTaSIvu/s1600/IMG_2071.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the pink lined up with the green.<br />
The FLQ Crisis was moved up on the value line.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the best parts of the value line was the ability for students to change their minds about the location of a specific event. For example, as demonstrated in the images, students originally placed the Korean War and the FLQ Crisis as <i>-2 Moving Towards Imperfect</i>. After we did some more learning as a class, they decided that while war and terrorist attacks certainly don't make a country perfect, the two events needed to be moved up because some good came from them.<br />
<span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Additionally, not all students agreed the placement of certain topics, and in their </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d49uAthAb-VTN-NRZtcwpEOD2Yh28yLdURaup0GEzok/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">final paragraphs</a><span style="text-align: center;">, they are able to move topics to others location along the value line.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_gda8ojfNwoFjWEJ3jNGqsBme10Zluq12NQyM9_9a9w_HbnoSAgtclOzm7CeJYA0UR_r01Y-7sYr7cM2_h_yILDwf3tD4tgm1qCnngtRougQ3EMHVJgPUFLPathyphenhyphenFAEhJSfN2aPwGlJY/s1600/IMG_2073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_gda8ojfNwoFjWEJ3jNGqsBme10Zluq12NQyM9_9a9w_HbnoSAgtclOzm7CeJYA0UR_r01Y-7sYr7cM2_h_yILDwf3tD4tgm1qCnngtRougQ3EMHVJgPUFLPathyphenhyphenFAEhJSfN2aPwGlJY/s1600/IMG_2073.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the pink in the sea of purple. <br />
The Korean War was moved up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Another bonus to the value line is that it makes a counterargument much more visible, as one of my colleagues pointed out. Some of the students wanted their thesis to be "Canada became a perfect society during this time period." All I had to do was point to the value line, and remind them of the topics in -1 and -2. This visual helped them to rewrite their thesis so that it was accurate. I was able to add a layer to the assignment by having students address a counter argument since it was so visible to them.<br />
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We are still in the initial stages of writing our final paragraphs, but from their rough copies, students have selected good examples in support of their arguments, as well as a solid example to support their counter argument. I've had to give some explicit feedback around the explanation, as the students are not clearly explaining how their selected topics have moved Canada towards a perfect society or away from one.<br />
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Overall, I think this has been my best job in teaching this very long unit, and soon I'll find out how well the students learned.<br />
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Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-1189219845110313922014-12-09T11:29:00.001-08:002014-12-11T12:05:33.028-08:00Beaten Down and ExhaustedThis post comes after yesterday, where after my second period class, I went to a dear friend and colleague's classroom and broke down in tears. I told her that I hated my job. That I hated teaching. A profession that I had dreamed of joining since I was a young girl.<br />
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Do I really hate my job? Do I really hate teaching?<br />
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No, I don't.<br />
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Yesterday's words were those of a teacher who right now feels beaten down and exhausted. A teacher who feels powerless and undervalued. A teacher who feels like she is working so hard, but is never good enough. A teacher who thought that she would never by disillusioned by education, at least not so early on in her career. A teacher who is crying right now as she writes this because she is ashamed and scared of her feelings. A teacher who last week started a jar called "My Jar of Happiness". A jar where she places little notes about the good things that happen to her at school. A jar that operates (hopefully) as way to remind her that she doesn't actually hate teaching. A jar of stories to remind her that what she does is meaningful and useful for her students.<br />
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I sincerely hope that I am in the minority, and that these feelings are just a blip in my career. But right now, these feelings have been bogging me down for almost four months, and I feel alone, despite not actually being alone. These feelings make me think there is something wrong with me. That they're further proof of my failings as a teacher. I wonder where I went wrong. I wonder when these feelings will subside.<br />
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I am working on reframing my feelings. Reminding myself that as long as I am doing my best, as long as I am trying, as long as I am learning, that I can't ask any more of myself.<br />
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And while I hope that I am in the minority, I hope I am not alone. I hope that other teachers have felt this way, but that it passes. I hope that teachers with years of experience can tell me that there have been lows such as this in their careers, but it does indeed pass, and things get better. I sincerely hope so.<br />
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I don't hate my job. I don't hate teaching. I am doing my best. I am trying, and I am learning. I can't ask myself for more.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-11459148067831239842014-11-26T07:31:00.001-08:002014-11-26T07:31:41.910-08:00A Morning with Dr. KatzThis past Friday was a PD Day, and <a href="http://www.aporia.ca/katz.htm">Dr. Steven Katz</a> came to speak at my school about professional learning in order to improve student results. I've been in sort of a "funk", and I really was not looking forward to being "talked at" for an entire morning. I'm glad I went in with the mindset that I was going to make the most of my morning and take notes, because I felt motivated and challenged in a positive way by Dr. Katz.<br />
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Dr. Katz discussed how the path to improvement was "adding value to where you are". I felt this was powerful, because the message was hopeful. The goal isn't to go from okay to awesome, but rather, to make small improvements to eventually get to excellence. This also translates into the idea that "small wins have enormous power". Just as we should be celebrating the small successes of our students, we should celebrate the small successes in our own learning as teachers.<br />
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I also appreciated the message that "together is not always better" in terms of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). There are times where I am with my PLC, and we are being professional and a community, but learning isn't actually happening. This is probably because learning is the hardest part of a PLC. As Dr. Katz reminded us, cognitive dissonance is essential to new learning, and that is uncomfortable. The questions remain, how can PLCs be effective? How can PLCs be places where we have "focused learning conversations", not simply "great discussions"? I think one important factor is the necessity to check our egos and be vulnerable...two really difficult tasks. Another key to making PLCs successful, if I understand correctly, is to Plan, Act, Assess, and Reflect. I think we are working on the Plan and Act, but don't always see the Plan through to the end to what may be the most important part of the learning, Assessing and Reflecting.<br />
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Overall, the morning with Dr. Katz was worth my time, as I have new ideas to think about and I felt supported and challenged in my teaching.<br />
<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-54404288266608222002014-11-02T15:32:00.000-08:002014-11-02T15:32:58.480-08:00Marking essays: One of my least favourite weekend activitiesOne of my least favourite aspects of teaching is marking, especially the evaluation of essays. It is often time-consuming (one class set can take at least five hours), and nothing seems to come of it, except a mark. It can be frustrating to take all of that time for students to continue to make the same errors again and again. One reason for this is that students simply don't review and think about the feedback given. I am attempting to cut down on the time it takes to evaluate essays, as well as make the feedback worthwhile for the students.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzdtQGBnykc5OfLdOWL0PLE_b2o7reEVZlzsCX__asXX6d0jeF4xWAz8Hn2u8SeFSIIELfqH13WohcLBCb2C6cJW7Szk0ni-EfzK1K80kJZ__8BOuUWRsFhRHGob1oduQNfSaVzw2YMb-/s1600/Comments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzdtQGBnykc5OfLdOWL0PLE_b2o7reEVZlzsCX__asXX6d0jeF4xWAz8Hn2u8SeFSIIELfqH13WohcLBCb2C6cJW7Szk0ni-EfzK1K80kJZ__8BOuUWRsFhRHGob1oduQNfSaVzw2YMb-/s1600/Comments.jpg" height="400" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">You can see the comments alongside the student's essay.<br />Notice that the comments aren't all "stock", but there are times<br />that individualized feedback is required.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With the goal of reducing my time spent marking, I developed a <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/ugcloud.ca/document/d/12QwEs9f1HjqfEZmWCJTQveHSQl4vGyUoGVprxfYtavc/edit">feedback document</a> where I have compiled a list of the comments I find myself using frequently. I have organized them by areas of assessment for easier reference. As I evaluate a student's essay, I simply copy and paste the appropriate document into the commenting section of a student's submission.<br />
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There was one glaring negative I noticed about feedback: it is overwhelmingly critical. It is focused on things that students need to improve on. As a student, it would be really disappointing to see all of my hard work so critically looked at, even though the criticism is constructive. I need to be conscious of commenting on the positives of the student's work.<br />
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In addition to cutting down marking time, I want to ensure that students are actually reading and using the provided feedback. For the first essay, I dedicated approximately 40 minutes to returning essays. Students were provided with a sheet entitled "Next Steps to Improved Writing", developed by my colleague, Scott Jordan. Students were required to review my comments and highlight the areas (from Scott's handout) they needed to improve on for next time. This was great, because students actually had to go over the feedback and many took the opportunity to ask for clarification. For the upcoming essay, I will return each student's "Next Steps to Improved Writing", so that they can ensure they aren't making the same errors.<br />
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Overall, I am hopeful that as I become familiar with my own feedback document, time spent marking will be reduced. Additionally, I am hoping that by providing the necessary tools and time, the feedback will actually be used by students.Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-32552016308637996762014-09-28T17:31:00.000-07:002014-09-28T17:31:21.836-07:00Thinking about what a good course looks likeAt the end of last school year, I reread Grant Wiggins' post <a href="http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/critically-examining-what-you-teach/">"Critically Examining What You Teach"</a>. His words resonate with me as I work on teaching a history course with a slightly new big idea and an English course I'm teaching for the first time. It also made me reflect on past courses that I have taught.<br />
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I think one of the struggles that I face(d) in teaching history is content coverage. There are so many people, places, and events that help create the story, and therefore, are valuable for students to learn. Wiggins forces me to think beyond just the "valued stuff", when he writes, <span style="color: red;">"I am claiming that to be a valid course, there has to be more than just a list of valued stuff that we cover-even if that list seems valuable to me, the teacher." </span>When I began teaching the Grade 10 history course, there was a list of "valued stuff" that had to be taught in each unit for students to be able to write the final exam. About six years ago, the department struggled with deleting some of the "valuable stuff", because in light of big ideas and essential questions, the "stuff" was valuable, but not necessarily needed or useful for students to know in order to understand the big idea.<br />
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Wiggins also challenges the idea of using the textbook as the driving force for a course, as he notes, <span style="color: red;">"the textbook does not know your personal or school priorities; the textbook does not know your students; the textbook doesn't identify any priorities or through lines that unite all the chapters, etc."</span> Since I'm at a school that values big ideas and essential questions, a textbook can't know what our specific priorities are, nor what my students necessarily want to learn in order to understand. A textbook is a useful way to transmit knowledge, but as the teacher, I need to create questions that allow students to make meaning of the content they will consume. And the end goal isn't to simply consume content, but to use the content in meaningful ways.<br />
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Arguably the most valuable excerpt from Wiggins' article are the prompts below:<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.9939994812012px; margin-bottom: 1.25em;">
<strong><span style="color: red;">7 Prompts That Every Teacher Of A Well-Designed Course Should Be Able To Answer</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Here are some simple prompts that a teacher who has really thought through the course <em>as</em> a course should be able to answer:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; list-style-position: outside; margin: 1.5em 2.2em 1.5em 1.4em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">By the end of the year students should be able to…. and grasp that…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">The course builds toward…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">The recurring big ideas about which we will go into depth are…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">The following chapters and sequence support my goal of…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">Given my long-term priority goals, the assessments need to determine if students can…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">Given my goals, the following activities need to build insight and incentive…</span></em></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal;"><em><span style="color: red;">If I have been successful, students will be able to transfer their learning to… and avoid such common misconceptions and habits as…</span></em></li>
</ol>
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Over a year ago, one of my department heads shared this with the department and asked us to think about it. I began completing it for <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/ugcloud.ca/document/d/1OMxR036DYGlLbrhRM3X66QBCAxSVhdQbIVcVCJXeLA8/edit">ENG3U</a>. The questions helped me get a clearer direction for myself, and I would benefit from carving out some time to go over the prompts for ENG3U again, as well as my other courses. I challenge everyone to consider these prompts when thinking about their courses.</div>
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Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-58169619964348786072014-05-28T07:53:00.000-07:002014-06-03T20:12:02.853-07:00Get over teaching content! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzYtDGZTAQ2gJM3aGW3tLKmSh7xiyE8eJcVEj-MivJEnB2rpOMazBEnV8YwGCJR-4HlHaXxHEcACQUKhRkKxopmu9Lq5ZyxlszEfyIKj26rde_XVS619_utFhvYst3wdHrVUBt4CjPIAn/s1600/Model+Society.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzYtDGZTAQ2gJM3aGW3tLKmSh7xiyE8eJcVEj-MivJEnB2rpOMazBEnV8YwGCJR-4HlHaXxHEcACQUKhRkKxopmu9Lq5ZyxlszEfyIKj26rde_XVS619_utFhvYst3wdHrVUBt4CjPIAn/s1600/Model+Society.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Characteristics of a model society, <br />
as determined by students on the first day of the course.</td></tr>
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I am currently teaching Grade 10 History for the ninth time in my short teaching career. I have always struggled with teaching the third unit, which covers over three decades of Canadian history (1945-1982). It is an area of Canadian history where my own knowledge lacked, and I used to focus too much on content coverage. I needed to make sure the students knew all about the mega projects, the ins and outs of the Cold War, the minute details of the issues with Quebec, etc. Over the years, I have realized that this is NOT an effective way to teach. Just because I say it or because the students read it doesn't mean they have actually learned it.<br />
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I really have found the essential question for the unit (What is the perfect society for Canada?) to be helpful. On the first day of the course (way back in February), the students and I brainstormed possible answers to all of the unit essential <span style="text-align: center;">questions on chart paper. I began Unit 3 by referring the students to what we came up with as characteristics of the model society and gave them a chance to add some new characteristics.</span><br />
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I did some direct teaching of the immediate postwar era and Louis St. Laurent's leadership. We focused on key people, events, and issues that helped determine what Canadian society looked like during this time. Afterwards, students got into small groups and were responsible for creating a slideshow about the final three Prime Ministers of the unit: Diefenbaker, Pearson and Trudeau. The slideshow requirements are below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTT-qoz0AHCDWahw-8zVrq8w8ENIChXDY90tfrUWA8X6bl0gWDa1s_iNsa9fPe0uk-OcxK4Z8RhBsldHrhisugaQETxLR3wvBfdAendeo51wW5vjv7qLJMu6eohr00voNiFxW0fngMUkx/s1600/Perfect+Society.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTT-qoz0AHCDWahw-8zVrq8w8ENIChXDY90tfrUWA8X6bl0gWDa1s_iNsa9fPe0uk-OcxK4Z8RhBsldHrhisugaQETxLR3wvBfdAendeo51wW5vjv7qLJMu6eohr00voNiFxW0fngMUkx/s1600/Perfect+Society.png" height="230" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was very impressed with my students' work. I did not directly teach any of them what any of the three </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I used to feel when teaching the post-war period.<br />
(www.compendian.com)</td></tr>
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prime ministers' visions were--they discovered the visions themselves. They were able to sift through information and draw connections between what they found and a vision. Additionally, students had the choice to focus on ideas and events that were of most interest to them. Another positive was the small group feedback I was able to give the students. I actually had the opportunity to talk to each student and discuss their learning. No student was able to "hide".<br />
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Obviously, nothing is perfect. There are certainly things I will change the next time I teach. For example, many students skipped, or skimmed over, discussing French-English relations. I'm not entirely sure how I will approach this omission. My first thought was to directly teach the tenuous relationship during this time period. Upon further refection, I could also add French-English relations specifically to the task outline.<br />
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I feel that this independent task prepared students to transfer their learning from the unit to the <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/ugcloud.ca/document/d/1H659NWfZLBqgm7baGl8bU-pLLa4iBJwbVu746DK4h5Q/edit">summative task</a>. When I reviewed the assignment, I was concerned because I had trouble seeing a connection between the assignment question ("what was the most dominant value in Canada during this time period?") and the unit essential question. After listening to the students' slideshows, the summative assignment made complete sense. It demands that students now synthesize the visions of the Prime Ministers during this time period and find an overall similarity and defend it.</div>
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Overall, I feel like this was the best job I have done teaching the post-war era, despite some concerns. I am unfortunately not teaching CHC2D next year, but I really think that I can easily adapt this learning strategy for my CHC2P class.</div>
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Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-75884479402066663602014-03-26T17:34:00.002-07:002014-03-26T17:34:23.389-07:00Is it possible to make English class relevant?One of the goals of our English department is to:<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Make English class relevant to students' lives now.</b></span><br />
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This is a lofty, but I think, incredibly important goal. Yesterday, I had a brief conversation with Susie, a colleague, regarding this goal. I mentioned that I thought we had to ensure the texts we selected for students to read were relevant to their current lives. She countered that it was the writing that had to be relevant. This forced me to think about my original position and question the texts my students read. How is <i>The Kite Runner</i> significant in the lives of students in mostly white, Canada-born Orangeville? What about <i>The Rez Sisters</i>? What possible connections can my teenage students make between their lives and the lives of middle-aged First Nations women living on a reserve?<br />
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In PLC today, Andrea, Scott, and I discussed this goal briefly, and now I am of the opinion that the writing is how we can make seemingly irrelevant texts relevant to our students' lives <b>now</b>. Scott highlighted the fact that guilt is a driving force in <i>The Kite Runner</i>. Perhaps the specific events and experiences of Amir aren't directly relevant to the lives of our students, but the concepts of guilt, or parental battles, or love, are in fact relevant to students. We need to give them the opportunity to make these links. Andrea pointed out that within <i>The Kite Runner</i> unit, we already encourage students to make connections via their defining moment speech. This is a good point, and I think I am going to begin encouraging students to begin making and sharing personal meaning during our chapter seminars.<br />
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Now I think that many of the texts we study--even the Shakespeare we chopped from the course--can be relevant to our students, but as teachers, we need to encourage and welcome the personal connections via writing and speaking opportunities.Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-10686686341092766132014-03-26T17:08:00.002-07:002014-03-26T17:08:17.303-07:00...but common assessment is foggyI love how when some things, such as big ideas, become clearer, other ideas just become foggy. Over the course of the semester, I have been doing some thinking about the drive for common assessments. I always thought that common assessment meant that in all common courses all students do the exact same summative and culminating tasks. This ensures that all students are meeting the same expectations and have similar experiences (despite having different teachers with different teaching styles).<br />
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At a recent staff meeting, I left with the message that common assessment didn't actually mean the EXACT same summative. I breathed a sigh of relief, and I really hope that I didn't misinterpret the message. What I <br />
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understand common assessment to mean includes:<br />
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<li>Teachers assess the same big ideas, enduring understandings, and essential questions.</li>
<li>Teachers assess the same skills.</li>
<li>Teachers have flexibility in designing their specific assignments, as well as the content they use, as long as they fulfill 1. and 2. above. For example, tests can have different questions, essays can have different topics, English teachers can choose different texts.</li>
<li>The culminating task is the exact same TYPE of assessment, such as an interview or an exam, but the content used may be different. For example, two different English teachers can use two different short stories, as long as their students are all writing an essay.</li>
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I'm really curious how others interpret "common assessment" and what it looks like in their schools and/or departments.</div>
Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-63133642301312217802014-03-26T16:37:00.000-07:002014-03-26T17:36:21.721-07:00Big ideas are becoming clearer...About this time last year, I wrote about <a href="http://leslearning.blogspot.ca/2013/06/thinking-about-big-ideas.html">big ideas</a> in the history and English courses I was teaching. <br />
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I felt that in history the overall big idea was really vague, but that the enduring understandings of each unit were the driving forces. Lisa Unger, one of my colleagues, has done a lot of thinking about the big idea for CHC2D1, and has come up with some important questions that connect the enduring understandings to the big idea. This has been incredibly helpful for me. The big idea for CHC2D1 is <span style="color: red;">"The Canadian identity is shaped by its past." </span> Instead of focusing on content-driven questions, such as "how did Vimy Ridge shape Canada's identity?", the focus has moved to broader questions, such as "how has participation in overseas shaped Canada's identity?" Or "how have contributions to the war effort on the home front shaped the Canadian identity?" This can also lead into a compare and contrast question, such as, "what has a greater effect on a nation's identity: the role overseas or the war at home?" <br />
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I feel that these types of questions move the focus from covering content to using content in a way to answer significant questions. This makes the big idea flexible in that teachers (and students) can choose what areas of content to focus on, but it ensures that students leave the course learning how to answer the same questions, perhaps just a bit differently.<br />
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Additionally, in my post from last year, I was rather critical of the fourth big ideas in each of our English courses. The first three, that are common to all courses, have a built in flexibility and are easily applicable to the study of English. As I previously wrote, the fourth big idea can be rather "strangling" to quote a colleague. For example, the fourth big idea for ENG3U1 focuses on understanding the world around us. At this time last year, the big idea in the course seemed to always be a stretch for me to explicitly teach. It felt forced and the connections weak. <br />
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This semester, in collaboration with Andrea, we have fleshed out three key ideas that tie all of our texts together: identity, struggle and relationships. I think this clearer direction also brings to life the big idea. By studying these key ideas, students naturally begin to better understand the world they live in. They can begin to see the connections between the experiences of others and hopefully draw parallels to their own lives.<br />
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The process of creating big ideas, and the freedom to play with them and challenge them, allows teachers to truly see their role in designing meaningful (hopefully) experiences for students.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-29671462885551601052014-01-29T17:25:00.000-08:002014-01-29T17:25:21.818-08:00Failure Hurts...But It's OkayIt's been just over a week since I got the disappointing news that I wasn't selected to be the next department head of Canada and World Studies at my school. I have been processing the information since I found out--Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at roughly 5:30pm. I pondered writing a blog post about the experience, but because it feels so fresh and so personal, I decided against it. Then I remembered: one of the largest reasons I blog is to reflect on my experiences, so it only makes sense for me to write about my failed attempt to become a department head.<br />
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After the tears, the incredible feeling of failure set in. I began to question my abilities as a teacher; the ways I carved leadership opportunities for myself or acted upon opportunities to show leadership; my reputation at school. I felt worthless: maybe I wasn't as great a teacher as I thought and had been led to believe, maybe my leadership skills were undeveloped, maybe I was THAT person, the one nobody wants to work with. <br />
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Fortunately, the debrief with my principal helped to put my mind at ease. It wasn't that I'm horrible that I didn't get the job; the successful candidate was simply better. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reasons I keep trying. Photo courtesy Ravens Ridge Photo.</td></tr>
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The experience made me realize that I work with some top notch teachers and students. The number of people who asked how I was, or who shared similar experiences, comforted me. It's nice to know that people didn't see me as a failure. One student, who was working on an essay while a colleague shared his experiences with me, said later, "I'm sorry. I think you're doing a great job". Cue tears! <br />
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The experience also made me consider how to want to role model failure for my daughters. I want them to take risks, to put themselves out there, to be vulnerable. I want them to be okay with failing, and realize that there is a difference between failing and being a failure. I don't want failure to prevent them from going for what they want or to make them question their self-worth. And I can't let failure do the same to me.<br />
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<br />Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503921746778160017.post-63307861995002740612014-01-14T18:19:00.001-08:002014-01-14T18:19:38.700-08:00I Make Students Do Assignments That I Don't Want To Do Myself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been doing some thinking about assignments that students are required to complete in order to earn their credits. This is especially timely, since we're nearly at the end of first semester. This afternoon, the tweet below captured my attention and really made me think about what I require my students to do and if I would want to do the same tasks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nNhlgwf2ItF2uzdvVWSuM5M5JRFoX3ozqflbIEYU1NgHSCpMSO72DlS2vosdzEnPMmZZ4pLsWAFkoUcZOnbGX0FsqoZAkMh3ucG5L7cJq-8DUy6C2McPGXUWpfCW7hfgJjAVvNsLD7MA/s1600/Tarte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nNhlgwf2ItF2uzdvVWSuM5M5JRFoX3ozqflbIEYU1NgHSCpMSO72DlS2vosdzEnPMmZZ4pLsWAFkoUcZOnbGX0FsqoZAkMh3ucG5L7cJq-8DUy6C2McPGXUWpfCW7hfgJjAVvNsLD7MA/s1600/Tarte.jpg" height="160" width="400" /></a></div>
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In my mind, I went through the assignments that my three classes have worked on over the course of the semester, and I'm not too happy. My findings are below.<br />
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I'm not sure what this says about me or about my teaching. Am I a lazy person, who just doesn't want to do anything that requires formalized writing and really close analysis? Am I a sub par teacher, who just has students do assignments because they have always been assigned and why change?<br />
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What are the purposes of the assignments I make students do, but would never do myself, unless required to pass a course? In looking at the English course, I notice that I don't want to do any of the tasks that require essay writing. What type of English teacher would I be if I didn't require students to write an essay? Is it possible for students to learn the appropriate skills without doing the essay?<br />
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Most dismal is the Grade 10 history course. I make them do literacy assignments in an half-hearted attempt to get them ready for the OSSLT: a test I am glad I did not have to pass to earn my high school diploma. The purpose of the weekly quizzes is horrible: a way to force students to write down their notes. What on earth am I thinking? The other assignments are just blah...they measure (hopefully) the students' understanding, but they aren't particularly engaging. No wonder my history class hates my history class.<br />
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The silver lining in all of this is the Grade 12 history class. There are only two assignments that I would not do...and I already had plans to make those changes. The pirate photo album will be changed back to the pirate cartoon, which students did the first time I taught the class. The Vietnam War letter will be changed, because I intend on removing the unit and replacing it with a unit about the War on Terror and a discussion about "enhanced interrogation techniques".<br />
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I am left with one significant question: just because I don't want to do the assignment (and believe that students probably don't either) does that mean there isn't value in it?Sarah Lehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888625789568300137noreply@blogger.com5