My Learning Journey-->

Author: Brittany (Page 10 of 10)

Inquiry Project Idea

So I have been brainstorming ideas around my interests related to an inquiry project.

Inquiry is important as it  allows students to be the centre of their education. As such it empowers students to connect their learnings and share with others based off their curiosities. This provides students with the opportunity to be autonomous and engaged in their studies as they make it what they want it to be. For example, for my inquiry project last semester, I looked into the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM) program as I was curious to know more about it after observing it in more than one classroom. This project allowed me to explore and learn based off of a subject of interest and I will get to share this information at our gallery walk.

Moving forward, I think it would be very interesting to evaluate the need for gymnastics and dance in schools and how this helps children learn and grow. This subject is intriguing to me as I have done dance and gymnastics since a very young age. I also believe that the performing arts play a huge role related to learning and as such value the importance of these in schools. This connects to some of our current classes notably EPHE 311 and EDCI 306A as they touch on the relationship of music, dance and gymnastics to education.

My inquiry question for my free Inquiry project will not only related to dance and gymnastics directly but more generally the performing arts and their importance in learning and healthy development.

Visit this link to understand some of the benefits of dance in schools!

https://blog.ed.ted.com/2018/04/02/why-dance-is-just-as-important-as-math-in-school/

 

Learning Plan and Lesson Planning

Just an update on learning and lesson planning in relation to inquiry!

Today in Technology we had the opportunity to learn how to set up Trello! Trello is interesting because it creates a list of boards with links to your research and learning journey. As someone who is beginning their inquiry project (stay tuned for more on this subject!), this software can benefit my learning because it allows me to sort and group various sources in one place while creating a checklist of my progress.  In relation to both lesson planning and a learning plan, there are significant distinctions. A learning plan can be more personalized and inquiry based, whereas a lesson plan is more to do with the whole classroom and tends to be more structured and teacher driven. Both of which, have strengths and weaknesses in various settings. An inquiry based approach allows students to feel empowered as they have the opportunity to explore and learn at their own pace and within their own interests. In the video Most Likely to Succeed, students were involved in an inquiry based approach to learning by presenting their discoveries through an exhibit based model. However, some challenges that may arise in younger classrooms (K and 1) is that, yes, we can provide students with choice,  but, it may be difficult to fully meet the curriculum by following each individuals learning plans as children may still need to learn how to regulate and work consistently through a specific plan. As such, I think it is important to find a balance and support children with choices and allowing them to experience both styles of learning (learning plans: inquiry based model and lesson plans: curriculum focused). Therefore, cross connecting these two approaches can be beneficial in the classroom.

 

Education Technology Day 1

Hi everyone!

Welcome to Day 1 of my journey to becoming a Elementary school teacher through blogging about my learning journey.  Today is the first day of technology class and we learned how to make a website, what a learning journey that was. Though I have never blogged or made a website before, this was lots of fun and I learned so many new things. I cannot wait to bring these to my future classroom and learn from others. Looking forward to a blogging journey were you can share and follow my learning journey and ever evolving experiences as an emerging teacher in the education program.

Anyways to give you a little context and a little bit about me! I am in my second year of the elementary education program. I enjoy gymnastics and dance and would like to incorporate these elements in my future classroom!

Learning to make a website and blog today was a little challenging but I think these can be useful tools that may provide students with the opportunity to communicate various aspects in a modern format, which can be shared to others worldwide if so desired. Something in an elementary classroom that may be challenging is that not all students may have access to internet and a computer as well as they or their family members may not feel comfortable with the idea of an online and public blog. Therefore as an educator, I believe that it is important to evaluate the needs and respect your students and their families and work around the idea that not everyone will be open to this idea. As a result, providing various options for families and students can be beneficial to putting the child at the centre of their education and valuing their ideas and opinions in all aspects of their learning. This idea of having students be the centre of their learning can be paired with the idea of an inquiry based focus on education and as described below in the video by Jeff Hopkins.

Today was a new step into the online world of blogging, stay tuned for my future blogs!!

Text erasing "Im" from "Impossible"

flicker@morbergCCBYNC2.0

P.S Learning to blog!! Nothing is impossible, it’s the learning journey that makes things possible, you just have to try!

Check out this video which talks about an inquiry based to education!

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