Final Reflection

The topic of inquiry is something that was quite new to me when I first started the course. This course helped me learn that teaching was not all about content. These little things that we can do in the classroom can have a big effect on the student's futures. For example, my inquiry project topic about classroom layout has a huge relationship with how the teacher controls a classroom. We also talked a bit about grades and assessment and how to be more open to standard based grading. This is a subject that I'm still on the fence with because I find grades to be more concrete and it was the way I was taught. That being said, it is still important to understand the pros and cons of each side and consider both opinions. This inquiry class definitely helped myself open up to different perspectives and to see the other sides. Even the visits to the Orchard Gardens was something new to me. I didn't think I would enjoy it, but it was actually a fun learning experience.

Inquiry Project Reflection

At first I thought that my inquiry question may have been a subject that was already studied many times. To be honest, I think it is quite a common topic, but there were still new things that I learned. For example, I didn't even think of how we should accommodate to students with physical or learning disabilities. It was something that seems obvious but often forgotten. Another thing that I learned while researching this topic was how much of an effect the teacher can have on student's peer relationships.

When preparing my activity for the class, I was kind of lost on what I should do. I ended up deciding on having the class in 2 different layouts, and asking general 'inquiry' questions. I had a bit of conflict with myself on whether or not I wanted to include questions related to our subject matter, or just some silly questions that I found. I ended up going with the silly questions, and it worked out great. It generated a ton of discussion across tables that I almost didn't want to interrupt. I'm glad that our class has people with such strong opinions because it definitely helped.

I still have more to learn and research about this topic. There was a subtopic that I didn't delve into too much, which was if gender of the teacher matters in the layout. Although this topic of class layout has been researched quite well, it has a strong value for our knowledge as teachers.

Inquiry Project Slides

Slides

The slides are almost prepared fully, just finishing up the small details!

Annotated Bibliography

1. Peer status and classroom seating arrangements: A social relations analysis
Author links open overlay panel

Yvonne H.M.van den BergAntonius H.N.Cillessen
Author links open overlay panelvan den Berg, Y. H., & Cillessen, A. H. (2015). Peer status and classroom seating arrangements: A social relations analysis. Journal of experimental child psychology, 130, 19-34.

Research study based on how physical distance relates to peer relationships (popularity).

2. Considerations for classroom seating arrangements and the role of teacher characteristics and beliefs
Gremmen, M.C., van den Berg, Y.H.M., Segers, E. et al. Soc Psychol Educ (2016) 19: 749.

This study surveys 50 teachers and asks them questions of why they have a certain seating arrangement. What were their reasons or beliefs? They consider an interesting topic of whether or not gender of teacher matters.

3. Effects of Classroom Seating Arrangements on Children's question-asking
Marx, A., Fuhrer, U. & Hartig, T. Learning Environments Research (1999) 2: 249.

This study focuses more on how seating arrangements may affect student's questions-asking in class.

4. The Impact of Seating Location and Seating Type on Student Performance
Meeks, M., Knotts, T., James, K., Williams, F., Vassar, J., & Wren, A. (2013). The impact of seating location and seating type on student performance. Education Sciences, 3(4), 375-386.

10 year study based on whether sitting at the front of class or back of class matters, they found that it does not matter.

5. Classroom segregation: where do students sit and how is this related to group relations?
McKeown, S., Stringer, M., & Cairns, E. (2016). Classroom segregation: where do students sit and how is this related to group relations?. British Educational Research Journal, 42(1), 40-55.

This article focuses on classroom dynamics, specifically ethnic/racial backgrounds. Speaks about how seating plans might hinder natural friendship forming.

6. Does Where A Student Sits Really Matter? - The Impact of Seating Locations on Student Classroom Learning
Fernandes, A. C., Huang, J., & Rinaldo, V. (2011). Does Where A Student Sits Really Matter?-The Impact of Seating Locations on Student Classroom Learning. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 10(1).

This article delves deep into how seating locations may affect student-student relationships, and also student-teacher relationships. They also touch on back/front aspects of class. They explore how different cultures/countries may have different views on seating arrangements.

7. https://helpfulprofessor.com/classroom-layouts/

Website with a list of 12 different classroom layouts. Provides pros and cons of each, and ideal situations/activities for each layout.

8. https://qz.com/1349508/the-psychology-behind-why-you-always-want-to-sit-in-the-same-seat/

Does sitting in the same seat through the semester/year matter? Is it more helpful? This article explores whether or not this is true. Investigates whether this is a territorial psychological aspect of human nature.

These articles/websites helped give me a wide perspective and the many reasons behind seating plans. They helped me consider reasons that teachers had, but they also opened my mind to how this might affect students on a deeper level. Should we let students be more independent and let them form their own relationships? Should teachers be 'playing god'? Does sitting at the front of the class REALLY matter? Overall, I'm glad that there is so much out there that I have not thought about, very interesting!

Creativity in Science

"If no one followed up on original ideas, we would be buried in fresh starts going nowhere." Often in many cases during our studies here at UBC or from personal experience in practicum, we are told that we "don't need to reinvent the wheel". I do understand that we should utilize resources that are already well known, but in order to learn and adapt, we have to think outside the box sometimes. But that makes me think, if everyone is always striving for uniqueness or creativity, are they doing it to learn? Or just for the sake of finding something new that nobody else has?

"When you do not know anything about bird songs, you seldom hear them. But once you begin to learn about them, you suddenly hear birds where there was silence before." Just a personal anecdote that I have that's kind of unrelated to inquiry, I noticed this 'phenomena' when I was shopping for cars. I was looking for a specific car on craigslist and I started to see them on the road a lot more. Was it because I didn't notice before, or was it because I was now actively looking for them? This happens quite a lot in science when people are making observations. During their observations, they are ONLY looking to prove their hypothesis or see a specific result, and ignore anything else that may occur, a bit like selection bias.

"If I take my fledgling idea to an expert, he or she will explain that this is an instance of X, where X is an already established category." This quote from the article is something that I don't quite agree with. I may be interpreting it wrong, but it seems like Bavelas is saying talking to an expert is a negative thing regarding creativity. I feel that talking to an expert can really help give you a different perspective. They would be able to tell you if you're searching in the right direction. If you don't quite believe them and you feel strongly about your topic, then by all means continue your research. Personally I highly value the opinion of an expert, but I do understand how this could be a bad thing regarding creativity. 

Inquiry Project

The way that teachers have different classroom layouts always piqued my interest. I always wondered if there was a specific reasoning why they chose a particular layout, or if it was unintentional. In many of my courses we have talked about how to make group work effective. Topics such as Zone of Proximal Development have come up of how we should pair students based on their skills. Initially I was on board with this idea of pairing stronger students with weaker students, but after a particular school visit my opinion has shifted to undecided. The teacher had a completely randomized seating plan for each class. He labelled the tables and when students came in, we would tell them which table they were assigned to. His reasoning behind this was so that students would not judge each other based on their skill level. I do believe in the ZPD, but I don't feel like students should feel superior/inferior to others. Hopefully this topic will not be too broad and I will be able to find specific research.

"Class layout, do seating plans really matter?"

Exit Slip for Oct 17th

I think percentages may be better and more accurate than assigning letter grades. The stress that comes from the difference between a B+ and A- is much worse compared to an 83 to 86 percent. The problem with this is that we can't assign a percentage to everything. Students may vary in different areas of knowledge. For example, one student may be better at solving questions on paper, but another student may be better at explaining it in words. Both students could be very knowledgeable, but it would be easier to assign a percentage for the first student. Percentages may not be the best and most accurate, but it is somewhat an acceptable baseline of measure for knowledge.

Entrance Slip for Oct 17th

As a student, I feel that getting a letter grade or percentage can let me know how well I am doing. But on the other hand, a better way for feedback would just be a direct comment on my work instead of a grade. I feel like a lot of students tend to compare themselves to each other. The comparing of grades helped me because I did not want to fall behind my peers. Throughout most of my post secondary I spent less time comparing myself to others because I was just struggling to keep up with my own work. As a teacher, we are always learning about assessment and ways to implement it. Grades seem like the only realistic option that works for this educational society because of the inherit nature to stick a number to everything.

Getting good grades is for sure a stressful part of a student's education. I do believe that if the grading system was phased out it would prove less stressful for students, but I'm not sure how society would cope. Like the article mentioned about competition and comparison, for me as a student it motivated me, but I can see it being stressful for a lot of people. I strongly believe that if you do not wish to compare your grades to others it should be confidential. This is crucial because students who did poorly would obviously not want to be outed to the class.

Grades for a lot of students are just a means to get into post secondary. I'm not too sure if there is a way around this because post secondaries kind of need a concrete way to assess your academics. As a science/math teacher maybe we could not have grades on a homework assignment. Instead of assigning grades we can provide comments and feedback. The negative part of this though as stated during the article is that students might not be motivated to do homework. During my school visits I met a teacher who let students know that their education was also part of their own responsibility. If we have to constantly remind them to do homework or pay attention, then it's not really fair for us. We as teachers are here to guide them in education but students also have to take responsibility. So I think if we were to phase out this grading system, students will also have to do their part and take responsibility in their own education. Overall this is a very tough topic to talk about as both sides have such strong arguments. For me personally if I had to pick a side, I would stick with the grading system. As I said before maybe the homework assignments could not have grades assigned, but students will need to take responsibility!

Entrance Slip for Oct 10th

One of the lesson plans that I just made for physics involved the students getting up and walking around. We could teach students just by the book definitions of displacement/distance, or we could actually have them walk around and see the distinctions between the two. This definitely helps the students understand the concepts more and also makes it more memorable!

Reflecting back to my high school math class, I do not remember learning too much about geometry, only really about circles and triangles. I had no idea that these complex shapes such as hyperboloids existed. I feel applying a bodily movement to relate to the hyperboloid would be particularly challenging and I'm not too sure how I would approach it.

I feel like using gestures as when we are teaching almost comes naturally. People tend to move/wave their arms around when they talk. For example in physics or math when we are talking about waves, it's helpful for students when we use gestures because they can get an idea of what the wave looks like.

Exit Slip for Oct 3rd

Today I learned that making rope was actually simpler than I thought! The process was easy and I thought I would be bad at it because I'm usually not great at crafts. This helped me learn and appreciate the historic craft of rope making. The rope was very strong even though I felt I was not twisting it as tight as I could have. This reminds me of a concept in physics called mechanical advantage (levers, ramps, pulleys, etc.), we could use a simple 'technique' to make something very strong or useful.

The Da Vinci Bridge was interesting because all we needed was a couple of sticks with notches in them to make a bridge that was quite sturdy. It helped me understand how we could use geometry to craft these strong constructions. It also helped me see that this could be done on a bigger scale of logs to make a bridge across a river.

Entrance Slip for Oct 3rd

In the reading when Sharon Kallis was speaking about how consumers are able to dictate the terms using their purchasing power, it reminded me of the saying that "the people should vote with their wallets". It makes sense but it really only takes affect if a large majority of the consumers boycott a product. If a product or brand is not meeting expectations, the consumers need to 'vote' with their wallets, by not buying the product and not supporting the company. A lot of times, this is easier said than done.

Another thought I could relate to was about that self-made creations give a better emotional 'feeling'. Something this reminds me about is when cooking a home meal. Cooking something at home compared to eating out is a better feeling of achievement. Although there is a bit of a nitpick with this issue because in order to get the ingredients to cook a recipe, we often just fall into the convenience of going to a supermarket for groceries.

From the 3 videos I found that the last one about multi strand braid looked most interesting and simple for me. I'm not a person who is very good with my hands at building/constructing things so that's why the braid was most interesting because it was just repeated steps.

I would like to do activities A1, A2, and A4.

Entrance Slip for Sept 26th (Orchard Gardens)

The first thing I thought of when reading this article about school gardens is the sense of independence but also collaboration. For the Roots on the Roof program, students who run these gardens probably learn a lot about organization and planning. They can learn skills that help their future if they want to make their own home garden to grow fruits/vegetables. I think it's definitely an  important skill to learn now in our age of processed and pre-packaged foods. Despite these conveniences in society, it's still important to not forget our 'roots'.

A way to incorporate a learning garden in math seems a bit tricky, but easy to carry out some science experiments. Some thoughts that came to mind were that maybe we could get students to analyze the growth rate of some plants (ex.linear,exponential,etc?). I could have students figure out the differences between growth rates depending on different factors (soil,sunlight,water). Another thing could be cost-benefit analysis, is the amount of money and time spent growing this vegetable going to make a profit?

I think the most difficult part of learning gardens would be getting sufficient funding from the school. The school would probably not want to spend money on learning gardens because they may perceive it as something that is not useful. Schools may want to spend their limited funding elsewhere where they deem necessary, and the hard part will be convincing them to fund a learning garden.

Exit Slip #2

This class helped me reinforce my idea that we as teachers are one of the most important role-models in a student's life. After hearing Greta's talk, it made me realize that as teachers we have to spread awareness of the issue on global warming. There needs to be a change in the usage of our emissions, and teachers can help this movement. We are teaching around 200 students a day that we can influence and inform them of these issues. These 200 students can tell their friends and family which will spread the word even more. In order to make a big change, we have to start small. We as teachers are in a position to help start this change and support the movement.

Entrance Slip #2: Moshe Renert

The first thing that made me stop was when Moshe Renert was talking about large numbers, and how its hard for students to even imagine or picture it in their heads. This is also true for very small numbers, it's hard to relate small/large numbers to things in every day life. For subjects such as science, its important that when teaching the magnitude of these small or large numbers that we relate them to real life examples. For example, we can relate the amount of bacteria in a mouth to the population of the world.

Another thing that made me stop and think is when Renert says, "Like most other information about the environment, the statement relies on mathematical reasoning and numbers. Making sense of it requires some sophistication in proportional reasoning." Basic proportional reasoning is something that everybody understands, "the more I buy the more I pay". But to apply it to a larger scale is something that can be an effective tool to get students to start thinking about global issues. People tend to be more engaged when the topics are related to their personal everyday lives.

As teachers, it's important for us to incorporate topics climate/pollution in the curriculum whenever possible. This will help engage students in their own learning of math/science and consider their own carbon footprint. For topics such as proportional/exponential growth we can talk about examples of how methane or CO2 affects the Earth. Our obligation is to educate youth, and at this moment climate crisis is a major issue for the upcoming generation. We have to do our best to spread awareness of this real problem, and to equip students with at least a basic understanding of what they can do to help.

Entrance Slip #1 Grant & Zeichner

Many of the points in this article are still relevant to this day. There are still debates over what the curriculum should include and how it should be taught. Although there is some wiggle room within the methods of teaching the curriculum, there is much discussed about the 'best' method. Some things that 'spoke' to me was when they were talking about the teacher practicum. They spoke about how our supervisors and professors have a big influence on us as prospective teachers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's important to learn from a variety of people with varying views on education. They gave advice that during our practicum, we should ask questions. Experienced teachers may be doing something that they feel is an every day routine. We should ask questions about why the teachers do things a particular way.

Grant and Zeichner speak about the qualities of a reflective teacher; openmindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness. Being open minded is one of the qualities that I value the greatest. It's important not only in debates and discussions, but as well in teaching. It's crucial for teachers to see different point of views and consider the pros and cons of various perspectives. There is no joy in debates if neither party tries to see the other's side.

They mention responsibility as a factor in becoming a reflective teacher. Of course as teachers, we are tasked with a main role of leadership, most classroom decisions are up to us. Essentially all of our actions as teachers have consequences that can be long lasting in the student's life. This bears an immense amount of pressure, to be in charge of the education of the next generation. We have to think critically as teachers about what is the 'right' way to teach a curriculum. Teachers should always be inquiring and reflecting on things they can improve.

Exit Slip #2

We started off the day talking about the best ways to use classroom time. One of the main ideas that every group had was that group/peer collaboration is very important. Another positive of group work is that, if a student does not understand a concept that the teacher is explaining, sometimes a different perspective from fellow peers will help them. I believe that doing a check-up at the beginning of classes is crucial. It's important to ask students what they understood easily and what they struggled with. With this knowledge, we can divide class time accordingly to make the most efficient use of class time. Learning to be adaptable is a great quality for all teachers.

In the video with Jo Boaler, she speaks about how students who only memorize material performed poorly on exams. Strict memorization can lead to bad habits in students. If they only remember a specific way of doing things, they may not know how to apply the concept to different ideas that are similar. Memorization is important but it must be applied properly, not blindly. Memorization can come from learning the application of such formulas. For example, the Pythagorean formula is easy to remember because students can learn to apply it to real life. It is easy to show them a hands on example using diagrams/models.

Exit Slip #1 (Frank McCourt)

Frank McCourt grew up in Ireland in poverty and non-ideal living conditions. Despite the fact of not having completed a formal high school education, McCourt was able to become an amazing teacher when he immigrated to America. He used his background and upbringings to his advantage in order to connect with his students. His Irish accent was one of the many things that piqued the student's curiosity. I believe that curiosity is an important aspect of learning and 'teacher inquiry'. McCourt used this sense of curiosity from his students understand them on a deep and personal level.

One of the things that McCourt said in the interview was that it was important to take off the 'teacher mask'. He believed that it was important to be honest with the students and not to put up a facade. For teachers its commonly expected that they are all knowing, but I find this is wrong. Teachers are people as well, and sometimes we don't have an answer for everything. For my future classes, if I encounter this situation, I hope to remember to take off the 'teacher mask'. Being honest with students and working together to find a solution is a great way to connect with them.

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