Sept/26/19 Exit slip: A few hours in the garden

Spending a few hours in the garden today made me realize how out of touch I am from nature. To remember that humans at once were hunter and gatherers and see how far humanity also made me realize how the essentials to life are still the same. However, technology and increasing populations will continue to change how humanity meets its needs. I believe this need is fine, but as technology advances we must consider how we effect our environments as we require more from nature, as nature doesn't know to make enough for everyone.

The beehive was a great wake up call for me as I am terrified of wasps, bees, bumble bees or any sort of the kind. It was so interesting how busy the hive was and how there were always bees coming back to a place they knew as home, and to think how many bees were out collecting nectar. To observe insects to have an absolute purpose was kind of relieving. I was always afraid of them, but I admire their contribution and dedication towards their hive. As long as their home stays and doesn't move anywhere, a bee has a goal and a purpose towards its colony.

The soundscape was an interesting activity. It was a really effective way to decipher the layers in our environment by our senses. This felt very similar to the layers on a digital art program like Photoshop or Illustrator. There are sounds that are identifiable if you listen carefully enough, and then you can categorize these sounds into categories as we did. Similarly, this inspired the idea of how I could approach a classroom and the teaching perspective. For example, to find students that are excellent at reading, interpreting graphics or pictures, great note takers, and students that can articulate ideas well. Form students into diverse study groups where they can share different perspectives of in-class interpretations of a lecture and experiences with the other students.

The Orchard Garden

In primary school, we started a naturalization project where a group of students were able to plant trees and maintain part of the garden. But as went by and the students graduated, the garden began to lose its initial purpose. Trees stopped being planted and taken care of, and a lot of them were removed. Over the years later I went to check on the project and all that was left was the brick amphitheater. This is where “how many seats we needed for a concrete amphitheater,” really reflected onto me. After the project disappeared the only thing that remained was the concrete and brick from the amphitheater. Its not that the amphitheater was a bad idea, but it shows that humanity can leave footprints. If the amphitheater is not taken care of, the erosional processes needed to remove the amphitheater could be thousands of years and still the concrete would become apart of the rock record in that area. It would be hundreds of thousands or even millions of years now engraved into the geological rock history of that area! That possibly some man-made materials that take up space will need, and could be there, for years. Far into the future where some future generations will need to repair and maintain the structural integrity or maybe must deal with the damage done by landfills or chemical spills. Society doesn’t always think about what happens in 100 years or 1000 years and how the geological landscape can chance around houses and buildings.

Teaching physics in a garden would be tricky. I would love to do light and optics and what you could do with mirrors to reflect sunlight onto plants in places where light would be tricky to reach. I think it would be an awesome challenge to apply light and optics (do, di, focal length, mirrors and lenses) unit to help plants get sunlight. Some problems that could happen are that the plans may receive too much light, or maybe the sun may not rise at all (but could apply some artificial lights). There are lots of problems that could happen but in this case these problems can become learning opportunities. Setting a plant at the focal length of a concave mirror might set it ablaze, so it may be better to find a spot further away but close enough to the focal length, so it still gets a strong amount of light.

Gravity has a very interesting effect on plants. For example, tomato plants love to grow tall and have very deep roots, so installing trusses helps the integrity of the tomato plant so it has something to wrap itself around while growing. Introducing the idea of gravitropism, the plants growth response as gravity acts onto it.  Possible have a group work on plants that require a truss and students may wonder why their plants are slouched over and is it harmful towards plants? Is it possible that the plants are simply supposed to grow this way? Or maybe is gravity causing damage to the plants? Another possibility is if the tomatoes (or any other heavy fruits) that are growing on the plant causing the plant to droop to the side? Is it the weight of the tomato? What is pulling on it? These kinds of questions can be associated with open inquiry, a student spots a problem and begins to wonder what is causing this and what kind of solution is viable?

Sept 19 19, Exit slip

Reflection of the day

I find it truly motivating that for climate change to happen, then the solution must be black and white. It also brings into question that how is the bare minimum a person could use and is there enough people in the world that if we were to reduce these emissions, how long would the recovery take? Climate change is no simple topic and requires a full global participation and I wonder how much harm would have to be done before others would recognize that this is a serious problem. I don't believe that there are enough people convinced or even educated enough to make these kinds of choices, or not willing to sacrifice the economical aspect and take on the consequence in order to reduce their environmental footprints. It must be a global effort, and a lot of people will have to shoulder the inconveniences, but it would be better then living on a inhabitable planet. There is geological history that mass extinctions can happen, the earth wont disappear, but humans definitely can.

Selecting a Word

I believe (from the white board), I have two words, and I would like to think that they would go hand in hand. I believe Democracy and Capitalism, in this case, are very appealing to me. Capitalism seems to be such a "ends to a mean" for a majority and I feel that most people are unaware of the circumstance and consequence that comes from only believing capitalism. So what does this mean? Having a democracy and having people choose capitalism may lead to the idea that perhaps people are not as educated as we believe they are about environmental impacts, carbon footprints, carbon emissions, and so on. I may be entering the responsibility of a teacher too late to make a difference, but it doesn't mean that the responsibility of teaching about awareness and how our actions effect the environment should be ignored.

"The metaphor of butterfly power is very empowering. It suggests that each of us individually can make a difference, and that the consequences of our actions may be more profound that we expect"

There were a few moments within Moshes paper that I found inspiring, however I picked this quote specifically because I like to remind myself how often I forget things that I should already know. The quote I chose was specifically a reminder of why many of us are choosing the road to become educators in the first place. It encapsulates potential students have, and puts their knowledge at the ready and waits for opportunity. We, the teachers, are here to nurture the growth and ensure that the students are aware of their actions will have a reaction and those around us are also impacted by the decisions we make. Anyone can make a difference, and everyone gets a chance to.  

"Imagine you are driving in your car and every mile you drive you throw a pound of trash out your window. And every one else on the freeway in their cars and trucks is doing the exact same thing, and people driving Hummers are throwing two bags out at a time."

This quote I enjoyed because of the application of the question. I have a similar example where I bring in a large log and I ask kids what they think it is made out of. Most of the time they just reply with "... well... wood?" and that leads to the question "well, what exactly is wood?". Then reviewing the system of photosynthesis, the pesky carbon dioxide gets taken in and exchanged for oxygen! But where does the carbon go? Carbon doesn't seem to leave the system, it becomes apart of the tree. Then what happens when we burn wood? It requires heat energy, lots of oxygen, and as a result we get is a warm slow burning wood, some ash, and that missing carbon dioxide. So all the carbon from the original carbon dioxide gets trapped in the wood in a solid form, and that heavy log we just burned into ash just turned all that solid carbon into a gaseous state and now back into the environment. A 20 pound log is easily reduced to ashes where majority of the 20 pounds is now in a different physical state. These are opportunities where we can encourage students to think and apply their knowledge to the natural world around them. It can begin anywhere and any time, but it requires the right environment to encourage the right kind of thinking. 


2) I believe the right step is to address the climate issues as honestly as possible. I agree that teachers have the responsibilities to fulfill all the requirements in the curriculum, but it is up to educators to assist in the process of developing critical thinking. Moshe does a great example of this by using classroom problems and exercising their "number sense" by quantifying an amount. Number sense can be applied to the garbage example so a student will understand that 20 pounds of trash is difficult to ignore if the trash were to be piled on the side of highways.

I would avoid forcing the idea, but encourage them to do some thinking about what every day activities they do and how does it impact the environment? Questioning where any kind of materialistic good comes from, and where does it go afterwards. For example, plastic has a multitude of uses and has quite a presence on our planet. The one good thing about plastic is that it lasts forever, and one bad thing about plastic is that well, it lasts forever. When we think of used engine oils, where can we place these once refined goods that were harnessed from a different environment? Are there any kind of processes that exist that can return it back in the environment? Is that even possible? Why is no one developing these kinds of technologies? And I like to think that most of the questions students have in this case can be solved by diving deeper into science. By exploring different disciplines of science and providing different 

Exit Slip Sept 12, 2019

The ideas that have resonated with me mostly are the ideas of students having a "Growth Mindset", versus having a "Fixed Mindset". Lessons should promote the idea of having a growth mindset, where students get out of the idea of having to linger on the idea of school being so results based, though society will judge based on this aspect. Conrad spoke on that classrooms have a performance aspect to them, and teachers spend much more time teaching with a performance aspect to their lessons. Having this in mind, making a lesson plan should have a learning aspect first, and then a performance aspect for reflection and evaluation with a group setting to help students not feel left out as there are many students in a classroom likely struggling with the same content.

There are ideas that I don't believe enough people are aware of that Dr. Boaler went over such as how much parents affect the mindset of  the child, how math is not a gift but something that is better nurtured, and my favorite point of asking how kids would define math. Of course professors or anyone that has a passion for mathematics would find math beautiful, and students think of it as a subject that just needed to be learned. The goal then is to help students find a way to appreciate the beauty others find in the topics they have passion in. Parents should be aware that learning is a process for both school and home can help out with. It is the mindset teachers and parents support that will resonate with children.

Entrance Slip (September 12), Reflective teaching

On Becoming a Reflective Teacher

As a future teacher I believe it is important to be reflective. To do action, and then reflect on the intent and the consequence of our actions helps us understand the classroom dynamics and how every classroom will be different. Not only me, but students too need to be reflective about their day to day lives since change can happen quickly and quietly. To be able to catch our own biases, prejudices, and being aware of what we take for granted are life lessons outside of classrooms that can better prepare students for life. It is difficult to teach what we do not do, so the process of learning how to ask ourselves the right questions when reflect can help us address something we may have lost and taken for granted. 

Though it was written at a different time, I believe it still applies and if anything the expectation for teachers have become greater. Living in Canada and addressing the many cultures creates a complex environment that strives to be a fair learning environment for all students. To want to see a classroom full of students improve and harness their maximum potential is what, I believe, "Wholeheartedness" the article speaks about. 

The article did help me think deeper on how to approach the practicum aspect. I believe each teacher will foster curiosity differently due to classroom size, learning abilities, and level of knowledge. I agree with the article as it states that teachers who have taught for a long time have a routine, and with routine there are things taken for grated. As a TC, I believe I must look for how teachers look for opportunities for boosting curiosity in the classroom, and what do they do on a daily basis to provide a learning environment that is engaging. What are successful teachers doing "subconsciously", and what are they doing "consciously". 

Exit Slip Sept 5

Take Away Thoughts and Reflection

The six controversial statements about math education were statements are topics I would have thought to be true while taking math in Secondary. I was frustrated at problems and always thought finding my own solutions would be a waste of time. I believed that asking others for their solutions and remembering their reasoning was the fastest way to learn, but when coming to exams and not knowing how to approach problems I have never attempted always left me confused and upset with my grades. Why take the extra time to struggle through problems and waste all of the time when a internet search could just provide a answer and a method? I always felt as if my teachers, my family, and my friends only looked at the result. If the result was right then the approach shouldn't matter. Society bases a persons success through the grade which does not sound too bad, or at least I would now only agree with to an extent.

After tutoring and teaching smaller groups, fostering a students work ethic was more important than helping them finish their homework. Not just to fulfill the academic side of the student, but to provide other opportunities for learning as an educator. The realization that I would have agreed with this in my past and how strongly I disagree with it now was largely helpful and I believe it can help me empathize better with struggling students.

Frank McCourt, Teacher Man

"You cant get away with it. If you have a bunch of kids every day, they know when you're putting on an act. They don't like it. We all do it, its alright, we brag and so on. When you go out with a girl for the first time you put on a bit of an act until it doesn't work on anymore and then you have to take off the mask and sooner or later you have to take off the teacher mask" (9:22)

Honesty plays an important role in the student(s) teacher relationship. During the interview Frank presents himself like an open book and is unafraid to share his struggle. He admittedly stole to get the fare to move to America, which is seen to be something a teacher should not share with their students. However, this was his reality and he lived in constant struggle. Frank is not ashamed to share where he came from or the problems he endured. I believe students learn better with teachers they trust and will work more willingly with teachers that want them to succeed. Trust and honesty helps bridge the comfort zone in a relationship like it does with friends and family. Likewise, students that struggle look for people that share similar experiences just to have that comfort. In my experiences, honesty is what helped me see eye to eye with my students. I struggled with the same questions, the same tests, the same school experiences, and the overloading responsibilities while growing up. Practice with patience is so important to remember.

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