Recently, I have been doing EQAO practice work with students in a grade six classroom at my "basecamp school" (the school where I am considered staff). I have been set to work with a group of 9-12 students every other week. This time it was a group of nine students, all students I had worked with prior to today and were very familiar with me and with working on these booklets together.
While watching them all hold their heads up with their hands as they worked away at these Math questions, I got curious about their opinions towards the standardized testing of our Ontario government. I decided to interrupt them.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just raise your hand if you agree and if you have an opinion to share, keep it up when I ask 'why?'. I'm not doing this on behalf of your teacher, this isn't part of the work we are supposed to be doing this morning, but I am curious and I want to hear what you guys have to say."
They gave one another some side ways glances as if their opinion was something they've never been asked to share and then put their pencils down to listen attentively (something that is otherwise a struggle with a group of pre-teens).
Me: Who gets nervous about EQAO?
Result: 4 out of 9 students put their hands up.
Me: Why?
Student (female): Because it will stay on our permanent record, people will look at it for the rest of our lives, maybe even colleges or jobs, we can't re-do it like we might be able to do with other tests if we fail because it's more than just a test, it's like the "ultimate test" and it will always stick around you.
Heartbreaking and not accurate. Can you imagine the stress that could cause a child if this is what they believe about standardize testing?
Me: Who thinks EQAO is a waste of time?
Result: 5 out of 9 students raise their hands.
Me: Why?
Student (male): Why would you get a grade three to write a test that colleges don't even check? This is elementary school. It shouldn't be so important.
Me: Who thinks that EQAO is a fair testing system?
Result: 4 out of 9 students, the same who said they get nervous about it, put their hands up.
Me: Why?
Student (male): Because you should be prepared for it, you're taught everything throughout the year, you should know the answers.
And for those who don't? Are they unprepared? Are they less smart? If they cannot retain information (that is usually not even used in later years of their life - does anyone still use long division daily?) does that mean they have not succeeded at their "goal" in that grade? So is the goal for grade three and six simply retention? Not creativity, not expression, not worldly knowledge, but retention of facts, figures and the like?
Me: Who has a suggestion for another way you could be tested?
Result: There were no suggestions.
Me: What do you think the purpose of EQAO is?
Student (female): To see how much information you remember from the year, how much you picked up and listened to.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Urban Art
This is another long art lesson I compiled for grades 6 and up. This one I will be teaching come June, to my grade six class where I had my second placement. Let me know what you think!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Lino Art Lesson
When I had my placement at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre, I learned how to do lino printing. While this is likely not available in many schools, I had to compose an art lesson for a job interview I have later this week so this is what I created.
Enjoy! Please comment if you use/find it useful. I'd really appreciate it :).
Enjoy! Please comment if you use/find it useful. I'd really appreciate it :).
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
My IGNITE Presentation
Well, here it is, uploaded thanks to @zbpipe ... my IGNITE presentation:
Comments are appreciated!
Comments are appreciated!
Monday, January 31, 2011
My Philosophy of Education Project
Ever heard of blurb.com ? It's a website I've known about for a few years now and one I always wanted to use to put together a book of aphorisms I write on my spare time. I never got around to that. But now I've used Blurb for a different cause: using a book creating software downloaded from the site, I created a book for my Philosophy of Education project, sent it in to the website to be published and just had it delivered to my house, today:
Here it is! (excuse the poor BB photos)
I've always wanted to have work of mine published and, although this was for a Teacher's College project, to see myself on the cover flap of a book and to see my own writing on the pages made me giggle with excitement. This is something I guess I can cross of my bucket-list. Next step will be to actually sell my work when I put something together a little more professionally and ready for the outside world.
Another cool thing about blurb.com is that they allow you to have virtual versions of your book to share with other people. If you wish to quickly flip through my book or read what the pages hold, this will make it easy for you (click 'view fullscreen' - bottom right hand corner of widget - for easier viewing):
I am so thrilled with how beautiful this project turned out. I am even more excited to actually hand it in and see what my Methods teacher says about it. I'd also like to hear your comments whether they be positive or negative, either on the text, the project as a whole, or just tips on how I can improve any projects like these in the future.
I think it's a great resource for putting together class books on just about anything, though it can get pretty expensive; my book cost just around $26.00 with shipping. They do get cheaper when you buy them in bulk.
Once again, comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading about the Philosophy of Education project that I've been going on about for a long while now! Did I pump it up too much?
I've always wanted to have work of mine published and, although this was for a Teacher's College project, to see myself on the cover flap of a book and to see my own writing on the pages made me giggle with excitement. This is something I guess I can cross of my bucket-list. Next step will be to actually sell my work when I put something together a little more professionally and ready for the outside world.
Another cool thing about blurb.com is that they allow you to have virtual versions of your book to share with other people. If you wish to quickly flip through my book or read what the pages hold, this will make it easy for you (click 'view fullscreen' - bottom right hand corner of widget - for easier viewing):
I am so thrilled with how beautiful this project turned out. I am even more excited to actually hand it in and see what my Methods teacher says about it. I'd also like to hear your comments whether they be positive or negative, either on the text, the project as a whole, or just tips on how I can improve any projects like these in the future.
I think it's a great resource for putting together class books on just about anything, though it can get pretty expensive; my book cost just around $26.00 with shipping. They do get cheaper when you buy them in bulk.
Once again, comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading about the Philosophy of Education project that I've been going on about for a long while now! Did I pump it up too much?
Tech Showcase Review
Tech showcase was on January 28th and it was an interesting experience. This is the first time I saw workshops filled with really eager and excited individuals and it's for a good reason.
The first workshop I took part in was a Gaming Workshop. This workshop showed us a handful of history and civics games that can be used in the classroom (they can be found here) and how they apply to curriculum. My reason for selecting this workshop was obvious: I am a gamer and I want to see intelligent ways to bring gaming into the classroom which won't be shunned by administrators. Students are obviously playing games and to ignore or shun this medium when it can be turned around and taught to teach would be simply absurd. Gaming was a part of my youth and I learned a lot of literacy skills, science skills and history skills from certain games I played as a kid. Education and learning was made much more fun with games involved. Disappointingly, this workshop didn't disclose that the workshop was geared for more senior and intermediate grades which, being a primary/junior pre-service teacher, would have been useful information. The majority of the workshop was spent browsing the links we were given and what grades would benefit from them. Sadly, this was of no use to me, but I do like seeing workshops promoting gaming in classrooms.
The second workshop I took part in was the Hyperstudio workshop. I took this workshop because I read that we'd be getting a copy of the product and learn how to use it, hands on; the copy was a trial and we didn't get any hands-on trial at all. In my opinion, this was the least beneficial of the three workshops I took. Hyperstudio is simply an animation creating program that children can use to make art projects, moving pictures based on stories being read or projects in social studies, etc. The entire presentation involved the two presenters clicking tools and using them in the program. I, personally, find it impossible to learn a program by watching someone do it in a 1.5 hr session but by getting my hands dirty and experiencing it first hand. You can't learn a program like Hyperstudio by watching them use it; there is no way someone can memorize what to click and when to click it. I can see the benefit of a program like this in getting students to create interactive images and projects, but I don't know that Hyperstudio, in particular, is necessary for this task. I am sure there are plenty of other programs that do a similar thing.
My third workshop was Epson BrightLink workshop. I took this workshop because I had researched the product and had some interest in it. Also, the other workshops that were available was nothing I haven't already had experience with. The Epson Brightlink is advertised as being "new technology" (while the 1991 Smartboard is rather old). The Epson doesn't require a special board; cast it onto any surface and it can be used. I really recommend looking up videos of the product as I don't think I'll be able to describe it well, but it is pretty impressive. One thing I really liked about the Epson Brightlink is the ability to select and add widgets. The widgets appear at the bottom of the screen and by selecting them, they immediately add themselves to the project. The widgets can include interactive maps, interactive graphs where you can add data, time widgets, etc. Another bonus to this product is that you can search directly in the program for multimedia additions and they add themselves to the display immediately as well. And while this is something people don't often think of, the projection uses rear project which means that the product does not cause shadows of the presenters to be cast and there is never a bright light shining in the teacher's eyes. Overall, the product is definitely a useful tool for classrooms, a different experience from the outdated Smartboards, but nothing too innovative and life changing. @MindShareLearn also concluded this presentation discussing technology in classrooms and innovative teaching and I had a photo taken with him:
Ignite Presentation:
I had the pleasure of getting an invitation to present at the IGNITE presentation that @zbpipe decided to start. My topic was "Where it all started (and where it's taking me)" which was a 5 minute presentation about when I first got into all things nerd and where I'm at today. I also spoke about where it will take me in teaching and what kinds of things I can bring to the classroom with these "nerd skills". Despite having insulted Apple users in front of ~100 people, the crowd giggled and seemed receptive. I am happy with how it went. Everyone's Ignite presentation was engaging and fun to listen to!
Tech Showcase was definitely the best Professional Development day I've attended, and if this much tech was incorporated into our other PD days as well as having such passionate and engaging presenters, I imagine students would be much more excited to attend Brock's Professional Development Days.
The first workshop I took part in was a Gaming Workshop. This workshop showed us a handful of history and civics games that can be used in the classroom (they can be found here) and how they apply to curriculum. My reason for selecting this workshop was obvious: I am a gamer and I want to see intelligent ways to bring gaming into the classroom which won't be shunned by administrators. Students are obviously playing games and to ignore or shun this medium when it can be turned around and taught to teach would be simply absurd. Gaming was a part of my youth and I learned a lot of literacy skills, science skills and history skills from certain games I played as a kid. Education and learning was made much more fun with games involved. Disappointingly, this workshop didn't disclose that the workshop was geared for more senior and intermediate grades which, being a primary/junior pre-service teacher, would have been useful information. The majority of the workshop was spent browsing the links we were given and what grades would benefit from them. Sadly, this was of no use to me, but I do like seeing workshops promoting gaming in classrooms.
The second workshop I took part in was the Hyperstudio workshop. I took this workshop because I read that we'd be getting a copy of the product and learn how to use it, hands on; the copy was a trial and we didn't get any hands-on trial at all. In my opinion, this was the least beneficial of the three workshops I took. Hyperstudio is simply an animation creating program that children can use to make art projects, moving pictures based on stories being read or projects in social studies, etc. The entire presentation involved the two presenters clicking tools and using them in the program. I, personally, find it impossible to learn a program by watching someone do it in a 1.5 hr session but by getting my hands dirty and experiencing it first hand. You can't learn a program like Hyperstudio by watching them use it; there is no way someone can memorize what to click and when to click it. I can see the benefit of a program like this in getting students to create interactive images and projects, but I don't know that Hyperstudio, in particular, is necessary for this task. I am sure there are plenty of other programs that do a similar thing.
My third workshop was Epson BrightLink workshop. I took this workshop because I had researched the product and had some interest in it. Also, the other workshops that were available was nothing I haven't already had experience with. The Epson Brightlink is advertised as being "new technology" (while the 1991 Smartboard is rather old). The Epson doesn't require a special board; cast it onto any surface and it can be used. I really recommend looking up videos of the product as I don't think I'll be able to describe it well, but it is pretty impressive. One thing I really liked about the Epson Brightlink is the ability to select and add widgets. The widgets appear at the bottom of the screen and by selecting them, they immediately add themselves to the project. The widgets can include interactive maps, interactive graphs where you can add data, time widgets, etc. Another bonus to this product is that you can search directly in the program for multimedia additions and they add themselves to the display immediately as well. And while this is something people don't often think of, the projection uses rear project which means that the product does not cause shadows of the presenters to be cast and there is never a bright light shining in the teacher's eyes. Overall, the product is definitely a useful tool for classrooms, a different experience from the outdated Smartboards, but nothing too innovative and life changing. @MindShareLearn also concluded this presentation discussing technology in classrooms and innovative teaching and I had a photo taken with him:
Ignite Presentation:
I had the pleasure of getting an invitation to present at the IGNITE presentation that @zbpipe decided to start. My topic was "Where it all started (and where it's taking me)" which was a 5 minute presentation about when I first got into all things nerd and where I'm at today. I also spoke about where it will take me in teaching and what kinds of things I can bring to the classroom with these "nerd skills". Despite having insulted Apple users in front of ~100 people, the crowd giggled and seemed receptive. I am happy with how it went. Everyone's Ignite presentation was engaging and fun to listen to!
Tech Showcase was definitely the best Professional Development day I've attended, and if this much tech was incorporated into our other PD days as well as having such passionate and engaging presenters, I imagine students would be much more excited to attend Brock's Professional Development Days.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Music Lesson for Sixth Grade Class Using FL STUDIO
At the beginning of the school year, my Music Class required to make and present something that can be used to teach music and I had to come up with three lessons to accompany this music device. It was pretty obvious that I would choose something technological as my "music device" (and strangely, I was the only one to do so in that class) and this is the awkward five minute presentation that was created:
To view the lessons, you can access them by visiting a Google Document I have created here.
Thank you to @ianborges who was kind enough to lend me his personal music studio and who tolerated my many filming retakes due to laughing or forgetting what to say.
Enjoy the lessons!
Music Lesson: Grade 6, Creating Music from Claudia Amendola on Vimeo.
To view the lessons, you can access them by visiting a Google Document I have created here.
Thank you to @ianborges who was kind enough to lend me his personal music studio and who tolerated my many filming retakes due to laughing or forgetting what to say.
Enjoy the lessons!
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