2. “classroom” image from Microsoft images
“group project” image from Microsoft images
These two photos represent the reversal of how I imagine myself teaching one month into the
program, as opposed to when I imagined the career option years ago. The photo on the left is
the traditional school as factory look with the teacher lecturing from her position front and
center. The photo on the right, I interpret as a small group of peers structuring their own
deeper understanding through inquiry based learning. The teacher is not visible in this photo
but he or she is calmly circulating offering assistance to any of the groups that may be stuck
or unclear on an aspect of their understanding.
3. (c) Chris Hanson
Children today more than ever need to remember the importance of living an
active life to stay healthy. Aside from this notion team sports taught me as a youth
responsibility to your teammates, commitment, perseverance and the intrinsic value
of finding a passion. From a teaching perspective coaching hockey has shown me the
value of lessons learnt on the ice, and how they translate off the ice. Values such as
responsibility, drive and the will to not quit, values that extend beyond the arena and
help create an empathetic and caring community for all.
4. Digital Literacy – using technology in the classroom [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ySocUyI7I
This video displays the promise and the worry
regarding digital literacy. Youth today are
overwhelmed with technology around them from an
incredibly young age, but with limited direction.
YouTube provides one example of how technology
can be used in the classroom to supplement active
teaching. On the other hand however, it represents
a burden to teaching if students are not kept on
appropriate web pages. Furthermore, if students do
not understand different perspectives and reliable
online resources they may be duped into false
information from websites such as Wikipedia.
5. Khan Academy
Salman Khan at Ted Talk 2011 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/attribution?v=gM95HHI4gLk
The Khan Academy uses YouTube to publicly and affordably
broadcast tutorial videos in a wide range of subject material. The video
technology represents a glimpse of what future digital literacy could look
like inside, and outside the classroom. However presently, it can not be
guaranteed that every student has access to a computer on a consistent
basis. I believe the YouTube videos made by Salman Khan are an incredible
supplementary resource, and I have first hand experience that can credit
the Khan Academy videos with assisting in my calculus studies. Despite the
obvious benefits of such an online resource, I disagree with the notions
presented in the video that students who excel in particular areas can assist
others, as well as the idea portrayed that a leader board could be created in
the future. The leader board obviously goes against the notion that
students can work at their own pace, as does the peer to peer tutoring idea,
which would result in the more advanced student being delayed as they
spent their time assisting other students who may be struggling in that
particular area.
6. “challenge” image from Microsoft images
“The zone of proximal development is the teaching space between the boring
and the impossible.”
Woolfolk A., Winne P., Perry N., “Educational Psychology” (Pearson Canada Inc., CAN 2012)
Vygotsky wrote about the zone of proximal development, an absolutely essential area to learning
according to his sociocultural theory. Also an area that as a learner I felt deprived of, often slipping away into
boredom and occasionally even deviance. As a prospective teacher I believe keeping a firm hold of all your
students in this zone will be my biggest challenge, and also my most important duty as an educator. I chose the
image of a staircase to represent the idea of scaffolding and how when applied properly it will help excel the
learner to higher achievement levels via the zone of proximal development.
7. “pile” image from Microsoft images
“pile” image from Microsoft images
I was unfamiliar with the learning theory constructivism until starting this program, and still one
month in I am no master. However the hallmarks of the theory, including inquiry and project based learning for the
ultimate objective of obtaining deeper understanding of knowledge have completely shifted my self constructed idea
of what good teaching should look like. The picture on the right represents traditional learning theory, full of rote
memorization and abstract ideas that seem distant from reality outside school. Through active teaching to the
individual learner whole knowledge and understanding of a topic can be achieved and leave students excited about
learning, rather than overwhelmed.
8. Project based learning at HTH, uploaded Oct 2, 2009 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfP53Alnbhk
“Everybody knows that education is the one intervention that can most elevate you
above social disadvantage more than anything else, and yet it’s the least changed
public institution in America and society.” – Larry Rosenstock
The inquiry and project based learning technique
presented in the video by CEO Larry Rosenstock
represents what I hope to see in future classrooms
that I am a part of. His integration of art with the
heavily emphasised math and science curriculum
shows that there are alternatives to the factory style
of teaching featuring rote memorization until exam
day with minimal knowledge actually being retained.
Students of High Tech High enjoy the benefit of
inquiry and project based learning, as well as the
pride and confidence that comes with presenting
their completed work to their peers.
9. “diversity” image
on Microsoft
images
“The teacher’s goal is to enable students of diverse backgrounds to use literacy successfully in
mainstream social contexts, as well as in the contexts of their homes and communities by modifying the
social context of instruction so that lessons can be more effective for students of diverse backgrounds.”
Callins T., “Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction” (Arizona State University, USA 2006)
Diversity in the classroom is a growing concern for teachers everywhere, particularly in a
booming city such as Calgary that attracts numerous immigrants of various descent annually.
Teaching to ELL students requires skill, knowledge and acceptance in the diversity that can and likely
will exist in the classroom I begin my practicum experience in. Techniques such as dual language
books may be extremely useful in attempting to reach ELL students on a deep and meaningful level
that will assist their comprehension of their own deeper understanding within the context of both
their home culture as well as the school culture that surround them.
10. Big Bang Theory – Operant Conditioning [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI
In this popular TV show the characters
demonstrate a psychological principle of operant
conditioning, using chocolate as a reward for good
behaviour and a water bottle as a punishment for
what the character Sheldon deems to be bad
behaviour. I particularly love this clip as my entire
family enjoys the TV show, and I was able to use it to
teach my thirteen year old brother about the concepts
of classical and operant conditioning. Furthermore, I
have seen the clip played in two separate psychology
courses I have taken at the university level. I believe
that more popular culture references should be
adapted to teaching and learning, as it is something
that most students intrinsically enjoy in the first
place, and would help erase the stereotype that
learning has to be boring and abstract.
