Author: Kylie (Page 2 of 8)

Hello! I am Kylie Scott. I am a student at the University of Victoria. I am studying Elementary Education and am currently in my second year of university. I was born and raised in Port Alberni, BC before moving to Victoria last year. I love to play sports of all kind and hangout with friends when I get the chance outside of my hectic homework schedule. I am very excited to work towards the completion of my degree and make lots of new friends along the way. I am currently placed in a grade four class at Tillicum Elementary School and I am so far loving every second of it. I hope you enjoy following me on my journey through education here at UVic.

Community Contributions 3

Hi Kirby! Your post on inclusive design was very informative. First of all, I absolutely love the quote that you included! I think it is something that is very important to remember as future educators. The points you made about equality and equity are ones that I also struggle with as an educator. We want all students to have our equal attention, but sometimes we have to value equity over equality in those moments and support the students who need it more. But then how do we define who needs the support more? It is an ongoing internal battle that I am sure other educators face as well. I agree with you when you state that we must not design with only one type of learner in mind or what works best for us. Ultimately, we created this resource for all different kinds of people and must do our best to accommodate and adapt for anybody who may need it.

Hi Sam! I loved your reflections throughout your post on inclusive design. You raise an excellent point about the design of our resource. Having it fully online allows working professionals, who do not have much extra time, the opportunity to complete the course at their own pace. You do, however, raise a good point about how this could possibly limit access to some people. If a person does not have easy access to technology then they may not be able to complete our resource. I would then suggest possibly going to a public library, but this still creates barriers as libraries are only open for certain hours and also in the case of a pandemic may be fully closed. Overall, I thought your post was very well written and included important reflections on our resource that would be good to consider in the future.

Inclusive Design

Our interactive learning resource was designed with a variety of people in mind. We decided to make our resource in a Google Slides format. This was to ensure that people did not necessarily have to be in-person to complete the module. It was designed for teachers who are looking to develop their learning on brain breaks. This was so that teachers can utilize the concept in their own classroom. Since teachers work all day, they are not able to attend sessions either in-person or online during the day. By the end of the day, most teachers are tired and do not want to do a whole seminar on something else related to their job. With this design, teachers can either do it self-paced in the evenings/weekends or during a professional development day. We designed our learning resource with a single parent who is working full-time and has 2 kids in elementary school in mind, as well as a person with a loss of hearing. Similar to teachers, our learning resource is easily accessible for a parent working full-time with 2 kids, as it is self-directed and they are able to work through it as they wish. For a person with a loss of hearing, our resource is all written out on slides and any videos shown in the slideshow have subtitles available.

We have designed this resource to be a self-directed learning experience where professional adults can work at their own pace. Working through the slides and completing the related content does not need to be completed during 9-5 work hours or in a certain amount of time. This flexibility would allow a single parent with young children to complete their learning during a time that would work well with their schedule.

Overall, we tried to make our learning resource as accessible as possible for people of all abilities.

Community Contributions 2

Hi Josh! Your post on direct instruction was very informative. I completely agree with you on how direct instruction should only be utilized in times where it best serves the students. For example, if there are safety concerns or something else that needs to be addressed to everyone. My teaching style is very similar to yours in which I only like to use direct instruction within a lesson if I am teaching specific new information. Otherwise, I believe it benefits the students more to practice and apply this new knowledge than for me to continuously provide students with information over and over again. I agree with you that direct instruction only has a limited role within our learning resource. By utilizing videos, activities, and opportunities for reflection, we are enabling our learners to practice and apply knowledge and make it meaningful to themselves. Something to reflect on would be how have you seen direct instruction utilized in a positive way but also negatively and what made them positive or negative?

Hi Sam! I loved your post on cooperative learning. I totally agree with you on how cooperative learning and brain breaks could be intertwined. Whether students are working individually or cooperatively, the need for a break is still very relevant. Students need to be able to take a break during any kind of learning to allow their brains to recharge and get ready to continue the task at hand. I love your point about how cooperative learning benefits students in a variety of ways. Students are not only learning or applying new information, they are helping guide others and enhance each other’s learning. If our interactive learning resource was intended for group learning, I think that the principles that go along with cooperative learning would be great to consider. Something to reflect on would be how you have utilized or plan to utilize cooperative learning in your past or future classrooms?

Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning is not a new concept but is definitely one that is growing throughout the world. Inquiry is all about learning something new and is a “learning and teaching method that prioritizes student questions, ideas, and analyses” (Guido, 2017). Inquiry is about investigating an open question or problem and this can be done through case studies, group projects, research projects, fieldwork, or whatever other kind of activity you think would work.

There are 4 types of inquiry:

  • Confirmation Inquiry
    • The teacher gives the students a question, its answer and the method of reaching this answer.
    • The students build investigation and critical-thinking skills and learn how the method works.
  • Structured Inquiry
    • The teacher gives the students an open question and an investigation method.
    • The students use the method to craft an evidence-backed conclusion.
  • Guided Inquiry
    • The teacher gives the students an open question.
    • The student’s design investigation methods to reach a conclusion.
  • Open Inquiry
    • The teacher gives time and support.
    • The students create original questions that they investigate through their own methods and eventually present their results to discuss and expand.

5 characteristics of Inquiry-Based learning/teaching include (UTA Online, 2017):

  • Process focus
    • The main point of the project is to learn through the process and is not necessarily all about the product.
  • Investigation
    • Students learn how to investigate a variety of sources to find an answer.
  • Group learning
    • The students can work in pairs or small groups to find an answer.
    • The students will also share their ideas and answers with the class at the end of their project.
  • Discussion monitoring
    • The teacher’s main role is to help students find answers to their question and also provide input/feedback on their progress throughout the project.
  • Real-life application
    • The students will think about how this solution can be utilized in their everyday life.

Some notes for teachers about inquiry-based learning (Isik-Ercan, 2020, p. 345):

  • Building up to an open inquiry is crucial. By starting with something like a structured inquiry, the students are able to see the process that an inquiry should go through and they will be less overwhelmed than if you just asked them to do it all on their own for the first time.
  • Preparing resources to support the students is also crucial. Have worksheets or guides they can use as they go along to help guide their learning and make sure they are finding all of the necessary information.
  • Make sure that you are helping to guide the students with their inquiry to help sustain the quality of it.

This is a video that summarizes what inquiry-based learning is:

Another great resource that I encourage you to check out is Inquiry Mindset by Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt (2018). In this book, they talk about how we can ensure all of our students experience a meaningful school experience. You will learn how to “empower your learners, increase engagement, and accelerate achievement. Harness the wonderings and curiosities of your students and leverage them into powerful learning opportunities. Adopt an inquiry approach that results in the most authentic and inspiring learning you’ve ever experienced” (MacKenzie & Bathurst-Hunt, 2018). They include a plethora of diagrams to help you visualize what he is explaining, which you can also use to show your students throughout the process. Trevor MacKenzie has also written Dive Into Inquiry (2016) and Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition (2021), which are both worth reading as well.

How Inquiry-Based Learning does not align with our chosen topic of brain breaks

Inquiry-based learning is about what is done during the learning process. Brain breaks are what is done to take a break from the learning process, in order to allow our brains to reset and get ready to focus on the task at hand again. Even though inquiry-based learning is supposed to be more engaging and easier for the students to find motivation in, that does not mean they will not need a break throughout the project. Brain breaks can be incorporated throughout the project, but are not necessarily aligned with inquiry-based learning specifically.

How Inquiry-Based Learning does or does not have a place within our learning resource

Does:

Inquiry-based learning is all about researching what you would like to learn more about. Within our learning resource, we are going to give the learners time to do their own research, as well as use the resources we have given them. They may have time to research a certain part of the topic and create their own conclusions in doing so.

Does not:

Within this project, the learners will only have approximately one to two hours to go through the resource. This does not allow enough time to complete a full inquiry, as they can take days or even months. Our learners will be encouraged to continue their learning and to continue asking questions and finding answers, but we will only be able to cover so much within our two-hour timeframe.

Overall, inquiry-based learning is a great tool for educators to use and should be used more. Unfortunately, we are not able to fully implement it into our learning resource, but we hope that our learners will still engage in some form of inquiry-based learning on their own.

References:

Guido, M. (2017, January 19). What is inquiry-based learning: 7 benefits & strategies you need to know. Prodigy Education. Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/inquiry-based-learning-definition-benefits-strategies/ 

Isik-Ercan, Z. (2020). ‘you have 25 kids playing around!’: Learning to implement inquiry-based science learning in an urban second-grade classroom. International Journal of Science Education, 42(3), 329-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2019.1710874

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders, and curiosities of our youngest learners. Elevate Books Edu. 

Spencer, John (2017, December 5). What is inquiry-based learning? . YouTube. https://youtu.be/QlwkerwaV2E

UTA Online. (2017, September 8). How inquiry-based learning can work in a math classroom. UTA Online. Retrieved from https://academicpartnerships.uta.edu/articles/education/inquiry-based-learning-math-classroom.aspx 

Community Contributions 1

Hi Kirby! I loved your post on learning, theory, and motivation. I think you raised some excellent questions on why we use learning theories. I agree with you when you discuss how organizing people into categories “so bluntly” does not make sense. If each person is so individual and unique then how can we simply put them into one category or the other? Furthermore, how can we be expected to effectively teach students who are put into such categories with strict definitions of who is in each one? Teaching should be about individualizing the curriculum so that it fits who they are as a person. This does not mean teaching them a certain way or teaching them certain subjects just because they fall within a category. In my opinion, this means teaching them material that engages them, as well as teaching them in a way that allows for them to learn and be successful. Overall, I think you raised some excellent points and I cannot wait to see what you write about later in the course.

Hi Josh! I loved your post on behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism. I agree with you on your point about how each learning theory should be valued. If we put students into one category of any of the learning theories then we cannot effectively teach them. Each learning theory must be considered depending on what your learning objectives are and who your students are. Learning is definitely not solely based on behaviour. You raise an excellent point when you talk about how learning is a range of different skills and not just how it changes behaviour. As you mention, it is important to remember the age group that you are teaching. You mention K-12 education, but it could also be taken even further into adult education. It is also important to take into consideration what subject is being taught and what their prior knowledge is. Overall, I loved reading your post and I am excited to read more as we move throughout this course!

Learning, Motivation, and Theory

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism are three different learning theories. As a graduate of the Bachelor of Education in Elementary Curriculum program at UVic, I have heard of all three of these types of learning theories. To explain them simply, I am going to use the example of a teacher planning a new unit.

If the teacher was following the behaviourism theory of learning then they might design their lesson to include some of the following:

  • Completing weekly quizzes that the teacher provides feedback on
  • Having a system where if the students improve on their scores throughout the week they get a prize at the end
  • Having students listen to direct instruction from the teacher, then do questions about the information in pairs, and demonstrate their learning to another pair or the teacher to obtain feedback

If the teacher was following the cognitivism theory of learning then they might design their lesson to include some of the following:

  • Having whole-class discussions about new information and how it is relevant to their everyday lives or where they may have seen/heard the information before
  • Use an inquiry or project-based model where students can learn about things that interest them within a certain topic or complete a project about that topic (they get to choose the mode of presentation and have to make connections to the real world)
  • Have students justify their reasoning to a partner or the teacher (after being asked a question have them state their answer and then justify why they think that)

If the teacher was following the constructivism theory of learning then they might design their lesson to include some of the following:

  • Use an inquiry or project-based model where students can learn about topics in their own way and the teacher facilitates where their learning is going or provides support and resources
  • Have stations where the children are able to learn through play (each station can have a different way to learn… examples include using technology or play blocks or being given a prompt and talking to other students)
  • Students do a project and then “state their case” to the teacher about what they learned, why it is important, and how they got to this understanding

Overall, I feel as though throughout my life I have had some teachers that stuck to one learning theory and some teachers use a variety. Overall, I have to say that I think I learned best from the teachers that used a variety of learning theories. This is because they provided multiple means of engagement and also appealed to all learning types in the classroom at that time. In my own teaching practice, I believe that I use a combination of learning theories, as not every student learns the same way nor do they always understand information using the same methods consistently.

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Choice Board Activities

Optional Activities Summary and Connection to Course Learning Outcomes

  1.  Webinar (Dr. Brown): Overall, what I learned from this webinar is that teachers need to make sure that they have a meaningful relationship with their students through both online learning and in-person. By having teachers invested in their students then the students are more likely to be engaged in the material and learn more. Learning Outcome: “Develop an awareness of the potential of human-centred learning in online and open learning contexts”.
  2.  Webinar (Dr. LaBonte & Dr. Barbour): Overall, what I learned from this webinar is that there are quite a few differences between open and online learning, but that they can be intertwined with each other quite well. The main difference that I noted is that online learning is reliable, expected, and everyone has similar experiences whereas open learning is spontaneous, innovative, and can be risky. Learning Outcomes: “Critically reflect on and articulate concepts around modality, pedagogy, and access, including distributed and open learning theory, online and open learning history, privacy laws, online learning communities, open research, and open data”,  “Examine and reflect upon the potential for equitable access for all learners in online and open learning contexts”, and “Conduct research into and critically reflect upon emerging and future educational technologies”.
  3. Shelley Moore: Before taking this course I did not know that these kinds of book clubs and online groups existed to learn and ask questions about the topics that she covers. I really like the platform that she has for the book clubs by utilizing an Instagram chat to connect with others. Learning Outcomes: “Explore and engage with current literature on the distributed and open education movement” and “Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about distributed and open learning”.
  4. Building a PLN (Twitter): I have had a Twitter account for a long time (@kyliedscott), but I just recently started using it again for this course. I recreated my profile and followed new accounts. This process was very easy and I have already learned so much through following various teachers and school districts and cannot wait to learn more as I continue to use this platform. Learning outcome: “Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about distributed and open learning”.

Updated & Revised Blog Post

Updated and Revised Blog Post

Below I have put a copy of my third blog post on Equity and Access. I have expanded on this topic by looking at the feedback from my peers and considering this into my expanded post, as well as found a book in the University of Victoria online library titled “Universal design for learning in the classroom: practical applications” (Hall, T. E., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H., 2012) to further my learning. I have bolded what I have added to my post.

The Universal Design for Learning is something that was mentioned quite a few times in my second year of the elementary education program, so it is something that I am quite familiar with and passionate about. Overall, in Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) I learned that there are many more companies who are investing in the content and delivery systems of classrooms utilizing online learning and UDL and that the opportunities for students to participate in blended and full-time virtual schools are also increasing greatly. One thing that surprised me in this reading was that for some students with disabilities, ELL’s, or who are living in poverty online learning is not as beneficial as one might hope. This is a topic that I am interested in looking further into, as you often do not hear of the negative effects of online  learning, just the positives. One way for teachers to effectively use the UDL guidelines is by incorporating technology into the classroom (Hall, T. E., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H., 2012, p.11). I have included a link here to my pod’s assignment #2 where we talk about how we can use technology to enable a student with dyslexia and anxiety to learn effectively. By having a classroom that is UDL friendly students who require technology on a day-to-day basis are able to learn alongside those who do not require technology, which can create a sense of belonging within the classroom. (p. 12) By having technology in the classroom, students are able to follow the UDL guidelines with many ways to provide multiple means of representation (audio, text, visual, etc.), action and expression (handwritten work, PowerPoint, presentation, etc.), and engagement (create a sense of ownership/authenticity, allow for collaboration/regulation, etc.). (p.12-19) Incorporating the UDL guidelines into the classroom is very important and can be done both in the classroom and online during times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Selwyn. N. (2020) I was not surprised to learn that during COVID-19 teachers soon realized that they would need to allow for asynchronous and flexible “classrooms”, as well as stretching out pre-determined schedules and offer alternate options for working offline. As a student I also soon realized the exhaustion of synchronous online meetings and can empathize with teachers having to adjust their entire schedule and create new lessons plans to fit the students needs online. COVID-19 has taught not only teachers, but students the importance of having social, emotional, and affective aspects when it comes to using technology-based education. Overall, COVID-19 has not only given me, but I am sure millions of other people in the world a new appreciation for relationships between both peers and teachers.

Lastly, in Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012) there are 8 design principles discussed. I have heard of a lot of these design principles in a direct way through either talking to teachers or indigenous education representatives. As someone who grew up in a community with a large indigenous presence I have also seen these design principles put into action without even knowing it. I saw these principles not only in classrooms, but at other events in the community that I have attended. One design principle that I saw a lot of is principle 5: a space to practice oral and written language. I saw this happening a lot in my high school, indigenous students would often speak at events for their culture and could often be found in the auditorium practicing. Another time when this practice would occur was at our annual basketball tournament, Totem. At the opening ceremonies for this event there was always an elder who would greet everyone and acknowledge the land, as well as a student (often one male and one female who played on the teams) that would say some words in both English and their respective language in front of everyone. Overall, after reading this article I will definitely notice more often when these principles are being implemented, as well as incorporate them into my future classroom.

URL’s to Original Blog Posts:

Blog Post #1: https://kscott.opened.ca/2020/07/08/blog-post-1/

Blog Post#2: https://kscott.opened.ca/2020/07/15/blog-post-2/

Blog Post #3: https://kscott.opened.ca/2020/07/18/blog-post-3/

References:

Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Hall, T. E., Meyer, A., 1947, & Rose, D. H. (2012;2015;). Universal design for learning in the classroom: Practical applications. New York: Guilford Press.

Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from:   http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf

Selwyn. N. (2020). Online learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19.[Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2020/04/30/1380217/online-learning-rethinking-teachers-digital-competence-in-light-of-covid-19

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