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Due: June 5, 2012 (Class 8)

Readings:
1. "Inquiry Curriculum and Standards: A Conversation with Kathy Short" by Yvonne Siu-Runyan
2. "Misconceptions about a Curriculum-as-Inquiry Framework" by Jann Pattaray-Ching and Mary Roberson
3. "Examining Our Beliefs and Practices Through Inquiry" by Kathy Short and Carolyn Burke

>>>>>Inquiry Video<<<<<

     In this nine minute video you will find a school that focuses on inquiry methods with their students.  The kindergarten classes that are shown in the video learn through their own adventures and projects.  They explain that the children take on long term projects as a class which evolve from their own natural curiosity.  In this the teachers guide the process and help with research.  They also take the children on field trips which help the children learn first hand.  I really enjoyed this video because it showed the students interactively learning and engaged in their projects.  You can see that they are getting several parts of the curriculum covered through the children's own personal ideas.  They are getting everything in through an authentic purpose of learning.  The children are very inquisitive and collaborating with their classmates.  The teacher says that they tell their own personal stories to the class and the rest of the class get a chance to ask questions.  They learn how to socialize and communicate for everyday life through these activities.  This video really opened my eyes as to how much learning students can actually do when you let them take on their own projects through their natural curiosity.  I enjoyed this structure and hope to be able to keep this strategy in mind when teaching my own classroom someday!

Comparisons

Due: May 29, 2012 (Class 7)

Compare the 'authoring cycle model of curriculum as described in Short and Burke to one of the curricular structures described in Chapter 7 of Gregory.

Readings:

1. Excerpts from Chapter 7 of Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gregory and Chapman
2. "An Authoring Cycle Model of Learning" From Creating Curriculum by Burke and Short

Sketch To Stretch

Due: May 22, 2012 (Class 5)

"These engagements help language users realize that we can create meaning in many sign systems.  By taking what we know in one sign system and recasting it in terms of another system--language, art, movement, mathematics, music, and so forth--- new signs and new forms of expression are created, and new knowledge generated.  This process of recasting is called 'transmediation' and is a fundamental process of what it means to be literate." [Harste, 1996]

"An Authoring Cycle Model of Learning" From Creating Curriculum by Burke and Short

 I chose to do my "Sketch to Stretch" from the article "The Author's Cycle" on the section of 'collaborative others.'  While I was reading this section I felt that I could relate to it.  I felt that I would love to adapt my teaching style towards collaboration.  The section talked about collaboration through the means of "literature circles, author circles, mathematical circles, and paired books."

      I have seen literature circles and taken part in them in a grade three classroom.  I felt that literature circles worked very well in this type of setting and there were great extension activities for students to do with books that they have individually chosen or selected by the teachers.  Students are then put into groups in which they discuss their individual roles and activities they did.  I like this type of collaboration because it gives the students the opportunity to share and discuss their work and learn from one another.  It gives students more freedom and less instructional time from the teachers.

      Author's circles are where students get together to review written works that they have created independently.  They then get together, peer review and collaborate.  In mathematical circles students try to solve problems on their own then they get into a group and collaborate with their reponses and help one another come to a conclusion.  Paired books is where two students get together with a reading selection they have read.  They then tell one another about their stories and make comparisons between their books.

    In my poster I drew myself with four thought bubbles coming from my head with each collaboration strategy demonstrated.  It is mean't to symbolize myself thinking about the strategies in depth and how I could make collaboration a bigger part of my teaching strategies and practices in my own classroom.

Learning as a Social Process

Group Presentation: "Learning as a Social Process" 
Due: May 15, 2012 (Class 3)

Presentation Slide Show

Learning as a Social Process

(Megan Carey, Jessica Ropson, Jenna Madore, Brittany Higdon, Jaclyn Jacobs, Carla Maybury, Meghan Kelly, & Jennifer Bailey)

The Natural Learner (Slide 1)

-Learning is a part of life, not something that we are taught to do 

“Uncontrollable”

-Our brains are naturally wired to take meaning out of every situation.  
-“It does this unobtrusively, intuitively and non-stop.”
-Three characteristics of natural learners: 
-curiosity
-intentionality
-sociability 

Curiosity (Slide 2)

-Observe and connect

-“yet to be understood”

-Children and adults lose attention when finding a solution to a book, game, puzzle, problem, etc. 

-Only when a new solution is presented do we draw our attention back to the situation. 

-“To be a natural learner is to be in a state of constant growth as one question leads to another.”

Intentionality (Slide 3)

       -The connections we make between ideas impact what we think and do 
       -We design our own personal worlds
       -We are intentional learners 
       -We make choices about which questions and ideas we will think more about 
       -Choices are based on the larger perspective of how our present choice is tied to the past and future 

Sociability (Slide 4)

-As learners, we borrow others’ experiences to better understand the world 
-We retain ownership of our learning by remaining in charge of the borrowing 
-The ways in which we talk and interact with others become internalized and change how we think 
-We need classrooms where students can see others actively learning and and can engage in collaborations about their ideas and experiences 

A Community of Learners (Slide 5)

Community of Learners:-Negative learning experiences deter people from seeking expanded learning experiences.
-A Community of Learners is Characterized by:
•Risk taking
•Reflection
•Collaboration

Risk Taking (Slide 6)

-Risk is an immediate result of a learners curiosity.

-To be a risk taker is to be willing to deal with consequences .

-There will not be right or wrong answers in many situations; only possible answers.

-Exploration leads to choice, choice leads to the potential to be wrong.

Risk Taking as Learners (Slide 7)

-Avoiding risk means putting limits on our curiosity as learners. 
-Factors that learners consider in risks:
  -The result of what they already know
  -Outcomes of alternative situations
  -Risk takers in numbers
  -Trying different predictions for solutions

The Result of What They Already Know (Slide 8)

-Many people stay with what they already know and do not consider other possibilities 

-Adults and children using technology

-Learning needs to connect with what we already know and go beyond

Outcomes of Alternate Situations (Slide 9)

-Learners decide on the kind of risk based on the particular situation. 

-When the decision is taken away from us, our learning is inhibited. 

“In literature circles, we support each other. Like if they cannot think of anything to say and they think it’s hard for that person they will not push that person, they will just try to help that person by asking other questions.”

-Nicole, Grade 3

Risk Taking in Numbers (Slide 10)

-In a group, learners are ready to receive others’ thoughts and to share their own. 

-Each individual is taking a risk by sharing however, they are supported by their group members and they realise that others are taking risks also. 

Ex. Teacher support groups. 

Trying Different Predictions for Solutions (Slide 11)

-We will have more confidence as curriculum developers if we can test out our teaching ideas with more than one group. 

-This will determine whether or not they will work as we predicted. 

-Knowing we have the opportunity to make changes in our ideas increases our willingness to take risks. 

Reflection (Slide 12)

-Ability to be in two places at once
-Your own perspective
-Someone else’s perspective
 -Reflection can be inhibited by:
-being forced to accept a single view
-By not being in social learning situations

-Benefits of reflection

“ When we are unable to interact with others we are limited to an insider’s perspective.”

Collaboration (Slide 13 & 14)

-Encouraged to develop our social nature into formal relationships

-People are naturally social

-Collaboratives are characterized by ways in which members think and work together

-Valuing of diversity

-Two-way process to become unique individuals

-People are not “type cast”

-Collaborative group to support risktaking

-Inquiry NOT final solutions

-Exploring diverse perspectives

-Community of learners will create knowledge

Collaboration Video

The Collected Learner (Slide 15)

-The collected learner  has a working hypothesis. 

-It is the basis to which they will operate and build upon as they explore new ambiguities.  

-Collecting one’s self is a part of the  cycle we call learning. 

Tension (Slide 16)

-Tensions are ever present in learning.  

-Tension is what keeps us, as learners:

-Alert

-Monitoring possibilities

-Taking risks

-Stretching ourselves and our capabilities

-Tension is a positive force!

-Young children are continuously driven by tension. 

Reflexivity (Slide 17)

-“Encourages us to take a reflexive, long distance stance in regard to our knowing.”

-Reflecting on the past for the future

-Different perspectives arise

-“Our knowledge becomes more formalized and abstracted from the immediate circumstances and thus more available for general use.” 

Connected Knowing (Slide 18)

-“ Creating a story out of our experience”

-Constructing stories of your experience as you dialogue with others and make connections between aspects of your current experience and stories you already have constructed from earlier experiences.

-Combining what we already know and what we are currently experiencing  in order to construct our own understanding of stories.

-Pursing our own questions and answers with the support of other learners to find the connections that make our world meaningful and our thinking productive. 

Reflection

       A key issue that I took away from our group presentation on the article "Learning as a Social Process" is that the learning process is very complex, especially when looking at it from a social prospective.  It is clear that the main focus of the article is on how students learn better through interaction and communication, however I took a lot more from the article then just that concept.  It is an in depth process that encompasses many different stages that you as a teacher must recognize.

     Through a few articles we have already in this course the main focus has been on how students learn better when they can draw their own connections and relate to the material that is being taught in the class.  This article actually explains how students actually learn through the social process.  It talks about three different learners.  The natural learner, A community of learners, and the collected learner.  The issue that stood out the most to me was in "A community of learners" section where it discussed the learner as a risk taker.  I liked this characterization because it made me realize that risk taking is a very important part in education and it can help the learner gain knowledge through their own curiosity.  Risk taking in the classroom is something that we as teachers should promote because it is important for students to ask questions and give input, even if they are not sure of the answers.  Students should not feel restricted or uneducated, the reason they are there is to learn and when they ask questions or take part in discussion in the classroom it is helping them gain knowledge.  It is all a learning experience.  I think that risk taking is something that all students should feel comfortable doing.  As a teacher I would not want my students to keep their natural curiosity to themselves, I would want them to outwardly express it so they can gain the knowledge through their own inquiries.  You want to make sure that students feel that regardless of their inquiries there are no right or wrong answers.  This can help them feel more comfortable in the classroom with the rest of their peers when they all feel like they are not competing.  When learners take risks they are more likely to learn from the experience whether it be positive or negative.
      I have taken a lot away from this presentation and I am very happy that I was able to be part of it.  I fully believe that learning is a social process and it is evident when I look back at my own schooling that there are many truths to the characteristics of the different learners.

Postcards of the Mind

Due: May 10, 2012 (Class 2)

Readings: 


1. "Forward and Introduction" from Creating Curriculum by Short and Burke
2. "Curriculum as Conversation" by Manning
3. "My Pedagogic Creed" by John Dewey

"Because reading is an active process and readers ask different questions of text based upon their purpose for reading and their prior experience, each reader will engage with different issues and ideas in a text.  This [activity] is intended to have the reader focus on specific issues that linger in their minds as a result of reading the text."  (Manning 2010)

Jot Notes

1. "Forward and Introduction" from Creating Curriculum by Short and Burke

• it is important that teachers help students make connections through the curriculum
• key source of curriculum is that we know about "learning as a social process"
• social collectives: beliefs, ideas, and ways of thinking that we bring into literacy
• see the teacher as learner and recognize that all the resources we need to change are already available
• change in classrooms come from within, not without
• only when learners support each other from the inside can powerful curricular changes be made
• a sense of curriculum was at the heart of our lives as educators, researchers, and learners
• how can teachers teach curriculum so that it is a shared process between them and the students
• curriculum involves us as teachers putting into action our own set of belief

2. "Curriculum as Conversation" by Manning

• real curriculum is what goes on in the mind of the student
• choose to use curriculum as a text or as a conversation
• education and curriculum are constituted through discourse
• three problems cited : a decline in test scores, indiscipline in the schools, and progressive teachers
• curriculum and the expectation levels is in bad shape without the influence of National curriculum levels
• curriculum as conversation means that meaning is maintained through the mind of the learner
• everything is developed through the flow of conversation
• conversation  acknowledges the social nature of knowledge and builds off what we know about the role of language in learning
• learning is neither cumulative nor linear
• making sense of new experiences and making connections through what we already know

3. "My Pedagogic Creed" by John Dewey

• learning  comes from the stimulation of child's abilities through the social situations that he/she may find  themselves in
• child's own instincts and powers provide a starting point for all education
• an individual who is to be educated is a social individual and that society is an organic union of individuals
• education is a social process
• education is a process of living and not a preparation for future living
• social life should incorporate activities to child and reproduce them so that child gradually learns meaning of them
• home is in the form of social life where child receives moral training and becomes nurtured
• moral education: school as a mode of social life
• "social life gives the unconscious unity and the background of all his efforts and of all his attainments"

POSTCARDS OF THE MIND

"Forward and Introduction" from Creating Curriculum by Short and Burke

Issue: Shared Process

Paraphrase: Students and teacher’s need to work together through negotiation

In my words: I agree with this issue, it is important to have a common ground with students and teachers in the implementation of curriculum in the classroom.  The curriculum guide is not run simply by the administrators, they are just part of the writing, not the process.

“Curriculum as Conversation” by Manning

Issue: Curriculum goes beyond a guide

Paraphrase: “learning involved social, personal, and cultural construction”

In my words: learning is developed mainly through social interaction and personal construction depending on the type of learner.  Much of our knowledge arrives from conversations that we have with educators and peers.  It is drawn mainly from our own personal experiences.  This is a part of the hidden curriculum that teachers should be promoting in classrooms.

“My Pedagogic Creed” by John Dewey

Issue: Students become unmotivated with no relation

Paraphrase: students are unable to make connections and learn material that teachers teach directly from curriculum guides

In my words:  It is important for us as teachers to draw on other resources such as the curriculum guides and find different ways to relate to your students.  Without taking the time to get to know your students, they will have less motivation and not feel like an important part of the class.  Personalizing your lessons can help make your teaching more authentic and knowledgeable for your audience.

Introduction

Class 1: What is Curriculum?

In my words:  Curriculum is what you decide as a teacher is important to teach to your students whether it be through a social means and development to your own students.  It will vary from year to year.  It should be adapted and developed through communication and understanding of your own students means.

How do I make my own curriculum decisions?

Have an overall understanding at what developmental standpoint your students should you be at the end of the year.  Adapt curriculum to their particular needs.  Get to know your students.