Students with Learning Disabilities in Math

Getting to know your students...

Brainhighways (August 28, 2015). Dear Teachers [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTMLzXzgB_s&t=23s

When working with any student, especially those with learning disabilities, it is very important to get to know them. By getting to know your students you can learn what their strengths and weaknesses are to better inform your teaching. In my own lessons I would gear them towards focusing on what the students strengths are to build their confidence in math. It can also be beneficial to learn about your students interests as well. In my own experiences when students seem to be struggling I always found it to be a great strategy to include things that they are interested in to further engage them. Lastly, it is important to gain information about students prior knowledge. By learning about what their prior knowledge is it can help inform how to teach students with disabilities. 

Dr. Marian Small

Rubicon Publishing. (May 29, 2015). Marian Small [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.rubiconpublishing.com/marian-small-launches-open-questions-at-oame/

Marian Small is a great source of information on how to teach students in math, especially differentiation. Small talks about not labeling students as simply "struggling", but instead actually figuring out what it is they are struggling with. She also makes a great point of being very careful with how you respond to student answers. Instead of expecting certain answers listen to the students thinking and allow them to explain themselves before you put it down as wrong. As a teacher I want to be able to allow all students, especially those with LD, to explore their own thinking and be agents in their learning. I don't want to simply think they are struggling, but instead help them find confidence in math. 

Parallel Tasks

One element that Marian Small talks about that I really liked was the idea of using parallel tasks. I think that parallel tasks would be a great way to help students with learning disabilities in math without singling them out or making them feel less capable than other students. Parallel tasks are tasks that are similar with the same big ideas, but slightly different difficulty in tasks. That way students can all talk as a group because they are still learning the same ideas, just in different tasks. If you click on the link it will take you to a website that has different lesson plans based on different grades and units in math with parallel and open question math problems you could use! In my own classroom I want to be able to make students with LD feel confident and apart of the class. I never want them to feel as though they are doing "easy work" compared to their classmates. Therefore, I love the concept of parallel tasks that allows all students to feel included, but still able to complete the math problem and participate in class discussions. 

Maths Tuition. (2015). Happy Math Student [Image]. Retrieved from http://mathstuition.net/courses/primary-2-maths-tuition/

Inclusion

Along with everything I have said so far about working with students with LD in a math classroom they all tie into inclusion. Inclusion is so important in any classroom, with all types of students. Whether you have students with LD or not, all students are unique and learn differently. They all have their own backgrounds and interests that play a part in how they learn in your class. This is why having an inclusive classroom is so essential. With students with LD it is important to make sure you have an inclusive classroom that they feel apart of. I want my own classroom to feel like a little family or community were students are comfortable expressing themselves and want to participate. If you have inclusion in your class students will find their confidence in math regardless of any LD they may have. In my own experiences growing up I struggled with reading. It wasn't until I had a great teacher that made me feel included and helped me find my confidence that I began to overcome my weaknesses in reading. It can do a lot for a student to have a classroom that celebrates all students and allows them to have a voice and be agents in their own learning. 

In Conclusion... 

To wrap this up I want to talk a little bit about how I want to teach with students who have learning disabilities, specifically in math. I want to have a classroom where students feel comfortable and confident in their own abilities. I want to build a community in my classroom where I am able to really get to know my students so that I can better teach them to their strengths. In addition, I want to use the constructivist approach to teaching and allow students to guide their own learning. I believe that if students are given an active role in their education they will be able to find their strengths and build their own strategies in math that work best for them. Students with LD need to be able to explore their own strategies and be given the chance to explain their thinking. I want to always be open to the answers that students give me and give them the chance to explain their thinking instead of expecting certain answers. I also want to use parallel tasks so that students with LD can work on skills and ideas with the whole class and feel included, but can complete the task successfully. It is important to find a good balance of students being successful in math, but also challenging them. Students with LD need to have this balance to build their perseverance and confidence not to give up when a math problem seems difficult. Overall, I want my classroom to be a place that allows all types of learners to feel important and capable. 

The Educator's PLN. (January 18, 2018). Motivate Students in Math [Image]. Retrieved from https://edupln.ning.com/profiles/blogs/7-ways-to-motivate-students-to-learn-math

Passion-Based Projects

When I was in grade 6 I specifically remember a project that some what resembles a passion-based project. For a presentation to the rest of my peers I got the opportunity to choose what I wanted to present on. Since my parents had recently taken me to an Aboriginal museum with a recreated village I decided to present on Aboriginal spiritual ceremonies and actually made a peace pipe to show my classmates. This project had such an impact on me and I am still able to remember it to this day simply because it was something that I was very interested in at the time. I was able to explore a topic that I was intrigued by and because of this I enjoyed it much more. I remember having a sense of pride when presenting my presentation and peace pipe because it was something I was passionate about. From this experience I can see the great benefits of using passion-based projects or "genius hour" to help motivate students and allow them to explore their own interests. Is it not the goal of a teacher to motivate students to want to learn? Well I believe that passion-based projects are a great way to do this.

A great method of implementing passion-based learning into classrooms is through genius hour. Genius hour was originally used with Google to allow their employees to take 20% of their work time to work on their own projects, and as a result many great advancements have come from this (L. Lane, Personal Communication. March 16, 2016). Genius our has since been incorporated by many teachers into classrooms to allow students to have student-cantered inquiry (L. Lane, Personal Communication. March 16, 2016). I believe that students would really shine when given this time to research this own passions and interests. Schools too often force certain topics that society values as important in education, but students deserve a time to truly embrace their own learning into what they want to know about.

Below is a short clip just to explain in more detail about what genius hour is.

Chris Kesler [Video]. (2013). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMFQUtHsWhc

Within this video it makes a great point that often students are unmotivated by the traditional classroom. This is extremely true because teacher and curriculum often tell students what is important for them to know. However, isn't it just as important to allow students to research their own interests to truly find things that they love? Or find out that they don't really like some things that they thought they would love after researching it? Genius hour allows students to explore this and really find their passions. 

As a teacher I would definitely use genius hour within my classroom. I believe it is such an awesome way to get students engaged and motivated to learn. Even students that may not always excel could be given the opportunity to show something that they are good at. Students would feel proud to be given the chance to show off their talents and interests to the rest of the class. 

Genius Hour [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.theprimaryprofessor.com/genius-hour-success/

The photo above simply shows some steps that I thought were great for when I implement genius hour into my classroom to give me guidance about how to go about doing it.

From a personal experience while helping out in a grade 2 classroom I was able to see a kind of genius hour that the teacher called "I Wonder". For one hour a day the students were able to research a topic that they had chosen on their school I Pads. After a certain amount of time the students would present what they found to the rest of their classmates. While seeing this activity happen I saw the students extremely engaged and focused on researching their topic. Even before when the teacher told the students it was time to do "I Wonder" they were extremely excited! I could clearly see how motivated the students were through this activity. From seeing a kind of genius hour in action it makes me want to use it in my own practice as a future educator even more. 

Additionally, within the textbook it talks about a teacher, Gallit Zvi, that teaches 6 and 7 and uses genius hour with her students (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). Avi states that her students really enjoy genius hour and that it develops their inquiry. Through genius hour she has had students create their own websites, learn about other countries, and created their own movies (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). Clearly genius hour can produce very impressive work that students wouldn't normally be given the opportunity to do. I think many people would be surprised with the incredible things that students can produce when they are given the chance to do something they choose and are interested in. 

Genius Hour Examples [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.averybunch.com/2013/03/12/genius/

The above photo shows some examples of amazing things that students are able to create during genius hour! 

In conclusion, I truly believe that passion-based projects and genius hour are a great tool for teachers to motivate their students and allow them to research their interests. Even writing this now I am really passionate about this topic and it is much easier to write this blog since I am so interested int the topic. Although I was given a similar project in grade 6 I really wish that I was given more opportunities to do things like genius hour. I struggled a lot in elementary school since I was behind in reading, and I really think that more passion-based projects or having genius hour would have improved my confidence in school because I'd be able to show off my talents and things that I am interested in. As a future teacher I want to give that opportunity to my students. Instead of deciding everything that is important for them to learn I want to give them a chance to have student-cantered inquiry that focuses on what they are passionate about. Students will truly be more motivated and engaged when doing things like genius hour because they are given agency and choice in their education. 

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and assessment: Engaging 21st Century Learners. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press. 

Media Literacy in the Classroom

Living today in the 21st century it is evident that media literacy is more essential than ever because the media is all around us. It is unlikely that you can go a day without seeing some form of media and because of this it is important to give students the tools in order to critically think and ask questions about them. Media literacy is the ability to analyze, interpret, and create meanings from media such as television, advertisements, video games, books, etc (L. Lane, Personal Communication. March 4, 2016). Students need to be able to interpret these different forms of media and deconstruct the underlying meanings behind them.

From my own personal experience a project that I can vividly remember from a high school english class was when we were asked to critically think about different forms of media and present them to the class. The reason I can remember this project so well is because I choose to look at sexism and how media portrayed women, and I was shocked at what I saw. The ketchup ad below was one of the ads that I critiqued for this project and it is evident when seeing this image how blatantly they mocking females and making them seem unintelligent in the ad.

Ketchup Ad[Imagine]. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.contagious.com/blogs/news-and-views/14026621-advertising-why-so-many-men

Clearly this ad is offensive and it is a reason I can still remember my project from english class to this day. From this project I personally think that media literacy is so essential to teach students so that they can critically think about media images that they view daily. Students need to be able to think deeply and ask questions about the media that they see so that they can break down the hidden meanings and understand how it effects our society. 

Do we really want students passively viewing these types of ads in their daily lives, or do we want then to critically analyze them and break down the demeaning messages that it is sending? 

Aside from my own experience with media literacy within an english class setting, in lecture it was discussed that media literacy can be incorporated into almost all of the curriculums in different ways. Media literacy can be used in a math class by counting the amount of ads seen on television in a day and graphing them into categories such as television ads, newspaper ads, radio ads, etc (L. Lane, Personal Communication, March 4, 2016). By doing this it is a simple way of incorporating media literacy into everyday lessons in subjects that you otherwise wouldn't think that you could teach media literacy in. Media literacy involves the skills of analysis and production by being able to analyze the media and gain an understanding of the underlying message, but also through production to think of ways the message could be portrayed effectively (L. Lane, Personal Communication, March 4, 2016). In the video below it shows a Ted Talks with a teacher that uses media literacy within her own classroom. She says that she tried to get her students to understand the subtext of media, or the underlying messages, as well as understand the target audience and how the media might impact our general society. 

TEDx Talks [Video]. (2013). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAApvHZ6XE

In addition, after watching the video you can see that she actually teaches media literacy by having students break down the meanings of media and recreating the ads to show the real message they are portraying. By not only having students express a underlying meaning to a form of media, but also having them change the media to show what it is really saying allows students to use both analysis and production skills. I think this is a great way to show and teach media literacy in classrooms to get students critically thinking about the different media they see everyday. 

As a future teacher I would definitely want to incorporate this idea of having students  recreating the ads to show the real message that it is sending. The example that I used earlier from my own experience in an english class may be too advanced for some younger grades looking into how females may be represented in media, however I would want to do something similar. Maybe looking at toy ads as a class and having students ask questions like "Who is this ad directed towards?" or "Is there anything misleading about the ad?". By doing this students might begin to understand media literacy and see different underlying meanings in media content, such as gender bias within toy ads. In addition, instead of just having the students analyze media or recreate them to show their real meanings, I would also want students to use their production skills to recreate the ad in a way that doesn't have problematic messages. For example, talking with my class about how a toy ad can be changed so that it is not directed at one particular gender and the photo below gives and vision to this idea and something I would potentially show to a class. That way students can be imaginative and actively think of ways that media can be changed to send better messages. As a teacher I not only want my students to critically think about media, but I want them to take an active role in trying to change the problematic messages that some forms of media may have. 

Toy Ad [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from: http://saptk.ee/naited/

Although the textbook does not talk specifically about media literacy, it does give an example of a teacher using digital literacy in their class. Digital literacy is similar to media literacy since it is both about technology, although digital literacy can be seen as more of how you utilize digital technologies. David Truss created a digital literacy course where he has students about their digital footprint and responsible usage of social networks (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). I think this is relevant to talking about media literacy because it is important that we not only teach students how media messages you view online can impact society, but also the way you individually use technology can have an impact on yourself. Students need to be aware that what they themselves post or how they use technology can impact others and themselves. 

We must ask ourselves as teachers, do students really know the ramifications of what they post online? To be it is essential that students not only are able to break down the messages of media, but also understand their role with technology and how the things that they post online can have consequences. 

As a future teacher I would want to bring in lessons on cyber bullying and how hurtful comments online can be harmful to others, and have consequences for the bullies. I think this would be important because cyber bullying is so prevalent today and students often do not understand the implications of their actions when they bully others over the internet. 

Overall, as a future teacher I definitely see the importance in educating students on media and digital literacy. Both are essential to how students not only view media, but how they use technology. Through my own experience with learning about media literacy through my english project, it showed by how essential it is that we give students the tools to be able to break down messages in media and ask questions about them. 

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and assessment: Engaging 21st Century Learners. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press. 

Incorporating Critical Literacy In the Classroom

After learning about the different literacies in class I was happy to have a lecture that somewhat went into examples of how you could actually teach critical literacy in a classroom. Throughout the beginning of our class while learning what the different 21st literacies were I consistently wondered how exactly they are taught in a classroom.

Critical Literacy [Image]. (2009). Retrieved from: http://partners.hpedsb.on.ca/bagfullofbooks/?paged=2

In lecture on Februrary 3rd it was discussed that critical literacy can be taught in four simple strategies that can be incorporated in a number of different lessons.
First we learned about Problem Posing, which involved asking students questions to get them critically thinking about the topics they were learning about. Questions like "How might someone else view this differently?" allows students to think from different perspectives that are opposite of their own. I like this strategy because it seems like a simple way that in any lesson on any given day this can be used to help create critically literate students.

The second strategy was Juxtaposing, which is when you compare two similar topics to one another to gain different perspectives and views on the topic. This strategy was my favourite from all of them because I think it would be very powerful, even for young students. It maybe difficult even when using problem posing to get younger children to really see different perspectives, but when you are showing two similar topics they can see the different views more clearly. An example that this strategy made me think of in class was the movie Maleficent compared to the original Sleeping Beauty. In Maleficent it gives you the perspective of the "evil witch" from Sleeping Beauty and teaches you that she is not all that evil after all. In the end I think it teaches viewers that there is always another side of every story, and that everything is not so black and white, or good and evil.

Maleficent [Image]. (2014). Retrieved from: http://pop.inquirer.net/2014/04/sleeping-beauty-fable-comes-full-circle-with-maleficent/

The third strategy explained in class was Reimagining, which is when you have a class rethink the ending of a story. By allowing students to think of alternate endings it allows them to think more in depth about the story and consider how it might have gone differently from a different perspective. I think this strategy is a good way for students to not just accept what happens in stories and to participate in changing them to solve issues or problems they see while reading.

Lastly, a strategy covered in class was Making Connections, which involves having students make connection from texts to other texts, themselves, and to the world. Again by having students do this I think it helps think deeper and critically about what they are learning. I have seen this done in classes during placements and to me it seemed like it benefited students to make connections and see what the writer is really saying by possibly making connections to the world. Also, it allows them to explore what the texts make readers feel when they connect it to themselves.

Making Connections [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from: http://wardswayofteaching.blogspot.ca/2011/11/text-connections.html

Furthermore, beyond lecture in the textbook by Drake, Reid, and Kolohon (2014) it gives examples of actual teachers implementing critical literacy in their classrooms. One teacher named Cara Zurzolo taught critical literacy in her Grade 8 and 9 classes by participating in the Holocaust and Human Rights Education (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). The students learned about the Holocaust and by doing this students got to critically think about important issues. Zurzolo also taught about First Nations people in her classes to teach critical literacy to have students see the perspective of a group of people that are often overshadowed and not heard (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). This teacher is able to teach her classes about important social justice issues that have happened, and are still happening to get her students to critically think and see issues with power. By doing this her students are gaining critical literacy and will be more active in trying to challenge these power imbalances in the world. The way this teacher is able to teach her students critical literacy is a great example for future educators to use in their own classes. By bringing in important social justice issues it engages students in critical thinking and gets them to view things from the perspective of others.

In addition, this is a link that further gives some ideas on how to use critical literacy in the classroom through text and viewing things from a marginalized perspective.

All of these many different strategies of teaching critical literacy in the classroom are extremely beneficial to me as a future educator. I am glad to have this new knowledge that I will actually be able to incorporate in my classes to help engage students in critical thinking. As a student in teaching it is sometimes difficult to really see how you will be able to use the things we learn in actual practice. However, after this lecture and reading I can say that I would feel more confident in actually incorporating critical literacy into my classes. The strategies I have learned seem like they are all very easily done to help encourage critical literacy in any given lesson at any grade level.

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and assessment: Engaging 21st Century Learners. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press. 

21st Century Literacy

In my Education 4P27 class we will be learning about different types of literacies that are important in the new education of the 21st century. Some examples of these literacies are media literacy, environmental literacy, and mental health literacy, to name a few that I am interested to learn more about. The class is aiming to show us as future educators that traditional forms of literacy are no longer the only essential element to education. Instead as children grow up in a fast changing global and technological world they also need to become critically literate in many aspects. This is very interesting to me and I am excited to learn more because I agree that the lessons we teach students need to connect to their real life and engage them in new ways that interest them. Education is not only about teaching content, but it is about teaching students how to strive in the new 21st century world and to do this they need to learn these new literacies.

21st Century Education [Video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA1Aqp0sPQo

The video above was shown in class and sparked my interest because it really explains how fast pace new students lives are. It explains that there are new and interesting ways to engage students through technology and that education needs to change along with the world around it. Students are connected online through technology and I think this is essential to use in education to help enhance education. Children today have grown up surrounded by technology and as educators we need to realize that technology can be a powerful tool to teach in the 21st century.

I believe that this class will be useful for me to gain new insight into the new education in the 21st century so that I am better able to teach my students based on the world that they are living in. I hope to learn more about the different types of literacies and how they can be useful to my students to learn. Also, I want to learn more about how we can get students more engaged in school by making it be connected to their own lives. By teaching students to be critically literate they will become better citizens and will be able to connect what they learn in school to a larger importance in the real world that surrounds them.

21st Century Learning [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from: http://springmd.rockyview.ab.ca/our-school/21st-century-learning

The Importance of Knowing our Students

As a teacher we have a huge responsibility in educating students to the best of our ability. I believe that an essential tool to give students the best opportunities to learn is to personally get to know them all. Education is very much based on individual attributes from students and it’s important to develop learner-centered curriculum (Cherif, 2011). As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog I had an awesome grade 6 teacher. She got to know all of us students and it made us feel special and like she cares. Since she got to know us I felt more engaged in school because I wanted to learn and she wanted to teach us based on what she knew worked best for us. Each year teachers get new students that are vastly different from the group before. In order to teach each student to the best of our ability us as teachers must take the time to get to know them so we know their personal strengths, weaknesses, and needs (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). Not just one format of teaching will work for every student. We shouldn't be teaching students the way we were taught, but how they want to be taught (Cherif, 2011). In addition, we want to be able to make the content we are teaching interesting and relevant to the students’ lives so they want to learn (Drake et al., 2014). Teachers can better use the strengths of students to overcome their weaknesses when we take the time to get to know them (Cherif, 2011).

OdysseyInitiative: Know Your Students [Video] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1FC1ZPN7cw

In the above video it is an interesting demonstration of teachers expressing how important it is to get to know your students. One teacher mentions that she never does the same thing each year because she always has different students with different sets of needs. It is clear in the video that teachers see the importance of getting to know their students and making lessons that accommodate them.

There are many ways we can get to know our students, even before they enter our classroom. Teachers can look into old report cards, have meetings with parents, or send out questionnaires to students (Drake et al., 2014). This website is a great resource for more ideas on how to get to know your students in unique ways. Also This link will take you to the survey website that Drake et al. mentions in the text that could be useful as well (2014).

All About Me [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.djinkers.com

Some things that are essential for teachers to know about students are thinks like their social, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds that effect how they learn (Drake et al., 2014). Being aware of these different attributes can help teachers identify unusual behaviours in their students and why they are acting this way (Drake et al., 2014). From my own experience as a camp counsellor we had a child who would constantly act out. After getting to know the child they told me that they didn't get much time to spend with their parents, who were always busy working. The child was acting out as a way to gain attention he wasn't getting at home. Since I was able to get to know the child I could understand his behaviour and better manage it because I knew were it stemmed from. There are so many different aspects of a student’s life that can cause them to act out from motivational issues, home life, or media (Levin et al., 2016). We would be failing our students if we weren’t taking the time to get to know them and what causes their behaviour or affects their learning. This is why getting to know our students and creating a comfortable bond with them is so important for learning (Levin et al., 2016).

Causes of Student Misbehaviour [Image]. (2014). Retrieved from: http://behaviourmanagement.weebly.com

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Cherif, A. H. (2011). How well do you know your students? Guest Editorial, 73(1), 6-7.

Levin, J., Nolan, J., Kerr, J., & Elliott, A., Bajovic, M. (2016). Principles of Classroom

            Management: Fourth Canadian edition.  Toronto, ON: Pearson.

"Involve me and I will Understand" A Blog on Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry Based Learning Method [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from http://iblinstitute.com 

Inquiry-based learning or discipline-based inquiry really caught my attention when looking through the textbook Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment by Drake, Reid, and Kolohon. It caught my attention because it talks about how these methods of inquiry-based learning can promote creativity within students and help problem solving (Drake et al., 2014). I loved this idea of allowing students to ask questions and be active in their own learning rather than teachers simply relaying information to the students.

Here is a short video explaining inquiry-based learning to start off my post so that you have a clear understanding of the topic:

 Scott Crombie: What is Inquiry [Video]. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84ZsS6niPc  

This time of learning often incorporates discipline-based inquiry projects that engage students in exploring topics that they want to learn more about with an added level of authenticity and accountability (Drake et al., 2014).  I have realized through many classes that inquiry-based learning and learning through projects can help with critical thinking. In my own experiences I find myself having more trouble critically thinking, most likely due to a more fixed mindset instead of growth, because I never experienced lessons where I was given an active role. It is important that we instil the ability to think critically in our students and I believe inquiry-based learning is a great tool to do so as it allows for deeper and richer learning (Drake et al., 2014).

           In an article by Server and Guven (2014) they explored how inquiry-based learning can help students who are disengaged in science courses. I found this very interesting to me personally because I often found myself disengaged in science class because I was never able to understand the concepts. Server and Guven (2014) were able to conduct research that showed inquiry-based learning to help lessen resistant behaviour in science classes because students were engaged in the subject matter. Studnets in the study were allowed to be creative, ask questions and do their own research, which made the topics more relatable (Server & Guven, 2014). In a similar article by Walan and Chang Rundgren (2015) they found that there was an effective three step model that helped increase interest in science among students. The researchers explain that by contextualisation, de-contextualisation, and re-contextualisation students are able to first learn about a topic, inquire and ask questions about it, and then reconstruct their ideas of that topic (Walan & Chang Rundgren, 2015). By doing these steps students are not just taking the new information for its surface meaning, but inquiring about it to understand what the topic means in their own terms. The purpose of inquiry-based learning in science is to fill the gaps of what students learn in school and their real life (Walan & Chang Rundgren, 2015). I feel like this is important because often in science I was confused because the concepts were just being told to me, but if I had the chance to relate it to real life and reconstruct meanings for myself I believe I would have been more engaged and understood much more.

David Scott: Introduction to Discipline-based Inquiry [Video]. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVhKTMFCgq0

In the video above it shows a grade 2 teacher in Alberta named Amy Park who instilled discipline-based inquiry into her own classroom with a project on Inuit peoples. Park explains how before she would use traditional methods of teaching by simply lecturing to her class, but she found them to be disengaged. To change this she began incorporating discipline-based inquiry as a way to actively involve her students in their own learning. I love how Park explains discipline-based inquiry because she really embraces it in her own classroom and shows that even if we as teachers don't fully understand something we can learn from our students. She explains that she didn't know much about the technology she wanted to use for the Inuit project, but the children were innovative enough to take it farther then she had ever imagined. This shows that any teacher can incorporate discipline-based inquiry and it allows students to explore subject matter for themselves.

This video on Amy Park reminded me of a grade 1, 2 split that I had the opportunity to observe last year. The class had individual I Pad’s for the students and the teaching incorporated an easy and interesting inquiry-based learning activity. The teacher would have a project called “I wonder” where the students would pick any topic they want and would research it on their I Pad’s and then later present what they had learned to the rest of the class. By doing this I could see how involved and interested the students were to learn. It allowed me to see how powerful it can be in a classroom to give students a little bit of agency in their learning because they become much more engaged and passionate.

Diette Courrege: Pilot Project with IPads [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20110406/PC1602/304069905

As a future teacher I hope to instil this same inquiry-based learning approaches in my own class because I see it as a way to allow students to build on their own knowledge and to actively learn. It also allows students to show their intelligence in multiple ways as well as creatively by having these projects instead of just having tests or presentations. Not all students will achieve in tests or presentations and by using inquiry-based learning it allows them to express themselves in different ways. A quote about inquiry-based learning is “involve me and I will understand” and I think that perfectly describes how these methods help children actively learn.

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Sever, D., & Guven, M. (2014). Effect of inquiry-based learning approach on student resistance in a science and technology course. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 14(4), 1601-1605.

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