Application of Knowledge and Solving Problems

To continue working on my second question and keeping myself fresh, I wanted to focus on some of my beliefs as an educator this week. One of my classmates drew my attention to this article, There are Nowadays Professors of Philosophy, but not Philosophers, and it just so happens to lean perfectly into some of my ideas about teaching and learning.

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, [...] but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically." (Thoreau, 1971 as cited in Hadot, Simmons & Marshall, 2005, p. 229)

I want to draw your attention to the last two parts of this quote.

“Not only theoretically, but practically”

I am a very strong believer that learning and understanding only truly occur when I student is able to apply or connect the knowledge they have learnt in a different context. The things students are learning in class should have some sort of practical application or connections that can be made. Checking in with what you’re teaching and recognizing the connections and allowing students opportunities to apply it helps answer the question “Why are we learning this?”.

“Solve some of the problems of life”. For this one I am actually going to borrow a quote from an assignment in one of my other classes.

"Conflict is the primary engine of creativity and innovation" -Ronald Heifetz

I think recognizing simple problems and trying to solve them is a very important aspect of teaching and learning. When you allow students to solve problems as they come up or give them problems to solve you are not only allowing, they to be innovative but also to use their critical and creative thinking skills. I know I have probably already bored you all with talking about the BC curriculum but I am just so strongly invested in the idea of teaching and learning 21^st century skills through the Core Competencies.

(http://nvsd44curriculumhub.ca/core-competencies/posters/)

For more info on the Core Competencies: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

References:

Hadot, P., Simmons, J. A., & Marshall, M. (2005). There Are Nowadays Professors of Philosophy, but not Philosophers. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 19(3), 229–237. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsp.2005.0021

Quotefancy. (n.d.). Ronald A. Heifetz quotes. Quotefancy. https://quotefancy.com/ronald-a heifetz-quotes 

Mindfulness

 

My last few posts have focused on my first question, so I would like to write this post on my second question “What can I do to "stay fresh" while taking a short break from teaching?” As I read one of my colleagues responses this week I was drawn to an article they read called Teaching as Contemplative Professional Practice. In this article Falkenberg (2012) teaches us how to become more mindful and describes the benefits to doing this, especially as an educator.

According to Falkenberg (2012), teaching as a contemplative professional Practice requires 3 elements, an ethical element, a noticing element and a mindfulness element.

The ethical element breaks down the idea that teaching is “moral endeavour for the betterment of all living beings embedded within a holistic view of human living” (p. 30).

The noticing element consists of recognizing teaching situations that may trigger you, develop an alternative way to react, notice the warning signs when these reactions are present and changing how we react.

The mindfulness element is when the educator is “in a state of non-judgmental, pre-conceptual conscious awareness of the inner-life experiences in the moment while being engaged in her teaching” (p.30). Mindfulness helps you become more aware of the person you are while you are teaching.

For me the conclusion I’ve drawn from this article is that in order to be truly reflective and a contemplative educator you must get in touch with your inner life. One way to do this is to practice mindfulness on a regular basis.

Seated meditation “is a tool to develop better attentional capacity” (Falkenberg, 2012, p. 27). Bringing awareness to everything around you and inside you during a meditation helps you become aware of these same things in your everyday life. For my own professional and personal development, I am committing to 1 month of 5-minute mindfulness practice per day (seated meditation, mindful eating or walking). Anyone want to join me?

 

Reference:

Thomas Falkenberg. (2012). Teaching as Contemplative Professional Practice. Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 20(2), 25–35. https://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie/article/view/283

Innovation in Alternative Learning Environments

Head in the celling by Liv French

As I worked through creating definitions for teaching, learning, innovation and creativity this past week I stumbled upon an alternative school in my area that has taken an innovative approach to the curriculum. The school is called Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII-https://learningstorm.org/) .

 

“Learning is not something that comes from the outside, it’s something that is inside of us and needs to be nurtured” (Hopkins,2014, 0:33).

This is a quote from Jeff Hopkins, an educator and founder of PSII. Jeff believes that adolescents need inquiry and emergent learning opportunities to be successful. He says that in education now, we are not giving students the opportunity to learn in this way and that we must change the way we are teaching (Hopkins, 2014). Jeff has taken the steps needed to innovate his teaching and in doing so he has opened an alternative learning school, here on Vancouver Island.

In the article Enhancing Creativity and Innovation in Engineering Education it states “In entrepreneurship and technopreneurship..., innovation and creativity are highly associated with ‘the process of uncovering and developing an opportunity to create value through innovation” (Badran, 2007, p. 575). I think this can be said for education as well. I believe what Jeff has done is innovated his practice thus creating a valuable learning opportunity for students.

With the world constantly changing, as teacher’s, we “are expected to innovate the theory and practice of teaching and learning, as well as all other aspects of this complex organization to ensure quality preparation of all students to life and work” (Serdykov, 2017). No pressure! Haha. But seriously, how are we suppose to keep up? There are many reasons that there are teacher shortages in Canada, one of them being teacher burn out. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the contributing factors leading to burn out is the sheer amount of professional development and extra learning, we are all doing to try and keep up with the pace of the world.

So, with all that being said, is there a way to innovate your own practice without overwhelming yourself? I think the answer is yes. Don’t stress about making some crazy changes in your class, make a small change that hold value to you and/or your class, and let it grow. Here is a great resource I discovered if you’d like to learn more: https://www.innovationunit.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/10-Ideas-for-21st-Century-Education.pdf

 References:

Badran, I (2007), "Enhancing creativity and innovation in engineering education", European Journal of Engineering Education, 32:5, 573-585, DOI: 10.1080/03043790701433061

Hopkins, J. (2014) Education as if people mattered. TEDxVictoria. [video] https://youtu.be/5O5PK6LsymM

Serdyukov, P. (2017), "Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it?", Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 4-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-10-2016-0007

Creativity in an alternative learning environment

 

In the article Social influences on creativity: Evaluation, coaction, and surveillance by Amabile & Brackfield (1990) they mention that creativity seems to be withdrawn when there is the presence of others or an expectation/evaluation from others. This makes me wonder about the benefits of play-based learning in alternative learning environments.

One of the alternative learning schools I have learned about are “forest schools”. Forest schools vary in the way they are run. The one in my local area is a full outdoor education school. It is a BC independent school so they use the BC curriculum, however all classes are conducted outside. According to the research mentioned in Amabile, & Brackfield(1990) “There is evidence that evaluation expectation can by itself undermine intrinsic motivation and creativity.” (p. 10). I wonder with a more open style of learning if the evaluations are less obvious to the students and therefore create an environment more favorable to creativity. On the Cowichan Valley School District’s website(2022), it says “At Mill Bay Nature School, learning is intentionally embedded in everything we do” (para 3). This statement makes me think of an ideal learning environment where students are constantly being observed and evaluated but they are not aware of it, which makes them feel more comfortable and generally allows them to be more creative and learn authentically and naturally.

In my own practice I have seen evidence of this. Last year in June my K/1 teacher and I took her class on several walking field trips into the forest behind our school. Myself being the music teacher took this opportunity to ask the students prompting questions about sounds in our environment in a low-pressure environment. I was 100% evaluating their creative abilities to use their surroundings to create sounds or musical instruments but the questions flowed naturally, were not forced and the students seem to respond more authentically and naturally. For example, one of my students got really excited and started making sounds with everything he could find around him. He snapped a twig and said “Ms. Lucas, listen!” and he snapped another. He grabbed a pinecone and a stick and started replicating the sound we make with the rhythm sticks in class. He even crumbled some leaves and had me listen. This particular student had a really hard time learning in the classroom. I personally believe that inside the four walls he felt pressure and once he was out of them, he felt freedom. It was a really magical day for me and I am glad to have the opportunity to relive it and share it with you all.

 

Showing his friend the sound he can make by snapping twigs 

Reference:
Amabile, & Brackfield, S. (1990). Social influences on creativity: Evaluation, coaction, and       surveillance. Creativity Research Journal, 3(1), 6–21.                                   https://resolver   scholarsportal-  info.proxy.queensu.ca/resolve/10400419/v03i0001/6_siocecas.xml

School District 79. (2022). Mill Bay Nature School. Cowichan Valley School District. https://sd79.bc.ca/programs/mbns/

Questions to consider this term

 Well reflecting over the past week on some burning questions, I found it difficult to choose just one. I am curious about so many things and have a thirst to learn more. I have decided to target 2 questions, one personal and one more surrounding some educational ideas.

1. What type of alternative learning schools are available in my local area? What curriculum do they follow and how do they integrate their curriculum into the alternative environment?

2. What can I do to "stay fresh" while taking a short break from teaching? What should I do to prepare myself before returning to a teaching position?