PME 811

 Innovation in Teaching & Learning

Reflections as a Way of Life

Blog Post #10: Inquiry Mindset (Part 4)- Unit Plan

Before I share this rough copy of a unit plan, I need to start out by prefacing that inquiry can be somewhat unpredictable. Inquiry is student-centered and driven which means this entire plan will most likely take unexpected turns and twists. MacKenzie and Bathurst-Hunt (2018) confirm “they [inquiry teachers] view their learners as collaborators they can learn from to better move forward”, (p. 5). As much as I understand this, it is in my nature to plan and prepare what I can as this calms a lot of my teaching anxieties. It is my hope that this first unit will build feelings of confidence, while also teaching me a lot about the adaptations and modifications that can occur during the process.

Lesson 1: Introducing Inquiry and Accessing Prior Knowledge

Materials: SMART Board, bartering picture, Quesnel Museum website link, Engineering Design Process handouts, student inquiry folders

Hook: 

-zoom in on a picture of bartering between Indigenous groups and Europeans 

-have the students discuss what they think is happening here?

Connect: 

-can you think of a time when you saw bartering? (in class at lunch)

Do: 

-go to Quesnel Museum website to discuss some Indigenous histories of bartering (pre and post contact). 

Task:

-explain the inquiry unit

“From now until Winter break, you will be learning how to create a business that sells a product/service for our Maker’s Market. You will be selling your products to our class and Ms. R’s as well.”

-the question we will be exploring is “Why are some products more attractive to buyers than others?” 

-by exploring this, we hope you will learn how to create and build your business based on successes you experience and even failures

-“We will be using the Engineering Design Process to help us build our businesses and ready us for the Maker’s Market”.

Lesson 2 and 3: Brainstorming and Collecting Data

Materials: SMART Board, Biz Kids video and article, survey templates, Wordle website, Engineering Design Process handouts, student inquiry folders, brainstorming handouts, maker bins

Hook: 

-watch a video and read an article

-the video is about kids starting a businesses during Covid, and 

-the article is about a teen who comes up with business idea based on his passion

Question: 

-how could we find out what grade three students are interested in buying from a Maker’s Market? (survey)

Do: create a survey

-interview classmates and write down what they would be interested in buying at the Maker’s Market.

-add a tally beside each repeating idea

-after the data has been collected, use this information to inform you of the popular wants and needs of grade threes

Do: review survey from last session

-as a group, brainstorm products or services of you could make and sell at school based on buyers’ wants and needs 

-build a Wordle to show all the brainstormed products and services 

Task: 

-look at Maker bins to inspire product creation

-spend time brainstorming a business venture either individually, with a partner, or a small group

-decide on product/service to sell

-create a business name and logo

Lesson 4 and 5: Marketing 

Materials: SMART Board, iPads, bristol boards, lined paper, student inquiry folders

Hook: look at ways to market your product (poster, video, demonstration). 

*marketing examples will be created by Bancks and Yu

Marketing Criteria: includes...

-a business name

-product/services

-pricing

-slogan (you’ll never find a cuter bookmark, made with love and quality products, etc.)

Task: 

-decide on a marketing medium and split into teacher led groups (Bancks or Yu) where students will start to create their marketing pitches. 

Lesson 6 and 7: Create Your Product

Materials: maker bins, student inquiry folders, Engineering Design Process handouts, 

Hook: 

-view an example of what a Maker Market shop looks like (as designed by Bancks and Yu)

-“What do you notice about this business’s presentation?” (signage is clear, pricing apparent, products displayed neatly, place for ticket collection, etc.)

Task: 

-“Today you and your group will create a sign for your business, a pricing sheet, along with creating stock for your products.”

Do:

-build stock and shop essentials

Lesson 8 and 9: Maker’s Market 

Materials: shop supplies and stock, tickets for buyers, bins for ticket collection, student inquiry folder, Engineering Design Process handouts, chart paper for class graph

Task: 

-set up shops for a practice run of the Maker’s Market

-once set up, group A will go around and buy products while group B sells

-switch buyers and sellers

Reflect: 

-what went well?

-what would you change next time?

Task: 

-setup shop for Ms. R’s  group

-advertise and market business

-collect tickets as buyers shop

Closure:

-close up shop 

-graph results

Lesson 10: Evaluate and Reflect

Materials: student inquiry folder, class graph

Task: today you will reflect on our guiding question: Why are some products more attractive to buyers than others?

-in your group, please discuss…

-if you felt successful selling your product/service?

-what makes a product attractive to buyers? 

-what made your product sell or what could have made the selling of your product more successful?

-what improvements would you make next time?

-Yu and Bancks will interview and film each business

-we will ask the above questions to each group to determine how well they met the learning objectives. 

References:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: nurturing the dreams, wonders, and curiosities of our youngest learners. Elevate Books Edu.

Blog Post #9: Inquiry Mindset (Part 3)- Mapping Your Inquiry

Throughout this blog post, I wanted to take the time to map out my plans for this upcoming inquiry unit and explain what I have learned from the Inquiry Mindset process along the way. When planning an inquiry, there are a few suggestions provided by MacKenzie and Bathurst-Hunt (2018) that I am finding useful:

-begin each year with a structured inquiry

-use a topic or theme you are comfortable teaching and have experience with

-start small and build up throughout the year

-plan with the end in mind

Considering this truly is the first inquiry I have done with any class of mine, I find these recommendations to be helpful as I plan and map out this inquiry unit. Seeing as this is our first inquiry, Amy and I decided it was important to use the structured form for walking the students throughout the inquiry process, as none of them have formally been involved in an inquiry. We haven’t previously taught a Maker’s Market, as MacKenzie and Bathurst-Hunt suggested, but considered this topic for learning because it is one that is currently resonating with our learners. Amy and I have started mapping out what this unit is going to look like and plan to keep it small and manageable as we would like to end before the Winter break. 

This next section highlights the basic structure for Amy and my Maker's Market Inquiry Unit:

Level and Subject: Primary Social Studies

PLOs (BC curriculum):

-ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and evidence (reflecting on their learning throughout their Maker Market journey based on the evidence provided and content explored).

-make value judgements about events, decisions, or actions, and suggest lessons that can be learned (ex. evaluating and self-assessing their success at the Maker Market, and reflecting on how they could make improvements in the future).  

-know aspects of life shared by and common to peoples and cultures (ex. comparing and contrasting Indigenous ways of life for bartering/trading and how this looks now). 

Essential Question: Why are some products more attractive to buyers than others?

Resources, Artifacts, and Experiences:

-pictures depicting bartering systems (cross-curricular Indigenous ties)

-videos of kids forming businesses (CBC kids)

-Maker bins (pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom poms, other loose parts, etc.)

-Wordle brainstorm

-BIZ Kids videos for creating and marketing your business

-using the Engineering Design Process to create your business idea and product

-building an advertisement and sign for their shop

-students sell their products at the Maker Market

-students reflect on the experience

Learning Evidence: Through content delivery, data analysis, and experience selling their product at the Maker’s Market, students will evaluate if their product was attractive to buyers and provide justification for this and reflect on their experience. 

Performance Task: Students will… 

-use aspects of data analysis to explore their peers wants and needs for products

-create a product to sell at the Maker’s Market using the Engineering Design Process

-market their product for the Maker’s Market using a variety of mediums to choose from: poster, video, brochure, demonstration, etc. 

-use aspects of data analysis to collect, display, and interpret their selling results

-demonstrate their learning through a written reflection or interview. 

-Lauren

References:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: nurturing the dreams, wonders, and curiosities of our youngest learners. Elevate Books Edu.

Blog Post #8: Inquiry Mindset (Part 2)- Setting a Focus

Today, Amy and I spent time collaborating on our vision for this inquiry project. We utilized Trevor MacKenzie’s process from his book, Inquiry Mindset, to sort out many of the logistical details within our plan. The two of us decided it would be best to start the students with a structured inquiry unit. A structured inquiry is one where the teacher has the most control over in terms of the guiding question, resources, performance task, and assessment. Trevor MacKenzie (2019) suggests starting with a structured inquiry as it allows the students to feel confident in this new learning model as it is highly scaffolded, and also allows the educators planning the unit to reflect on the process and repeat the cycle with growing certainty throughout the year. 

Based on the recommendations from Inquiry Mindset, we identified a pillar to help focus our inquiry along with an essential question. Like mentioned in my previous blog post, my students have been interested in bartering crafts in exchange for tickets. Tickets are a part of our classroom economy and are earned daily through work ethic and behaviour. This observation helped solidify the focus of our inquiry- allowing students to delve into their curiosities. Seeing as the students were informally creating businesses, Amy and I wanted to provide them with the opportunity to officially explore this interest. We wanted the end task to be a Maker Market, where the students could set up a shop and sell their handmade creations. Using concrete data, based on their sales, the students could then reflect on the success of their experience and evaluate how they did.

Our essential question for this inquiry unit would revolve around one of these ideas:-why are some products more successfully sold than others?

-how can you make a product that is attractive to buyers?

The learning outcomes and skills we want our students to demonstrate are derived from the grade three, BC Social Studies curriculum. The outcomes/skills are as follows:

-ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and evidence (reflecting on their learning throughout their Maker Market journey based on the evidence provided).

-make value judgements about events, decisions, or actions, and suggest lessons that can be learned (ex. evaluating and self-assessing their success at the Maker Market, and reflecting on how they could make improvements in the future).  

-know aspects of life shared by and common to peoples and cultures (ex. comparing and contrasting Indigenous ways of life for bartering/trading and how this looks now). 

This is where we left off as of today, but we hope to create a rough draft for our plan in the days to come. 

-Lauren

References:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: nurturing the dreams, wonders, and curiosities of our youngest learners. Elevate Books Edu.

Blog Post #7: Inquiry Mindset (Part 1)

I was excited to write this particular blog post due to a recent collaboration taking place between my school’s teacher librarian, Amy, and myself. A few years ago, Amy and I became interested in inquiry-based learning through the discovery of a book called Inquiry Mindset. It was written by a fellow BC teacher/author Trevor MacKenzie, in collaboration with a kindergarten teacher, Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt. I was always a little timid at the thought of creating an effective inquiry unit on my own; however, after Amy reached out to me about collaboratively creating an inquiry-based unit, I felt more confident in pursuing this endeavour. 

Inquiry Mindset is a tool that guides its readers through a simple inquiry-based process, whilst exploring real classroom scenarios and outcomes. It provides a plethora of research driven and experiential justifications regarding why it is important to teach inquiry. Inquiry is an innovative approach because it teaches students to be curious and passionate about the world around them, while learning how to utilize problem solving skills and techniques in their daily lives. Inquiry-based learning allows students to practice and transfer 21st century skills, while learning about content that is relevant and highly motivating. 

I plan on using this framework as soon as Amy and I can create a foundational unit for introducing inquiry to my students. My students earn tickets for our classroom economy, and as of lately they have been creating small businesses during lunch time to earn extra tickets from selling handmade products to their classmates. They have been crafting bookmarks and portraits, which is how I came up with the idea to do an inquiry unit regarding that. Not only is this the perfect opportunity because it could fit into a multitude of curricular standards, but it is also something they are genuinely interested in exploring. 

In my next few blog posts I will be sharing more details on this specific inquiry process, along with our plans to implement it into my classroom.

-Lauren

Blog Post #6: Is There a Difference Between Maker Education and STEAM Education?

In my last blog post, I spoke about Maker Education and the benefits of implementing it into your teaching practice. As I continued my search for additional innovative frameworks, I came across STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts, and Mathematics. The purpose of my blog is to discover and share information regarding a variety of innovative frameworks which makes me wonder if STEAM and Maker Education are really the same thing? This post looks to examine this question further. 

Defining Maker Education and STEAM Education

“Maker education is fundamentally about approaches, mindsets, and community – not about stuff – and Maker Ed’s focus on educators and the institutions they work in emerges from our core belief that maker education is about people”, (Maker Education Initiative, n.d.). 

“STEAM Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking”, (The Institute of Arts Integration and STEAM, n.d.). 

Notable Similarities and Differentiating Features of Maker Education and STEAM

In conducting my own miniature inquiry, I discovered some interesting distinguishers and similarities regarding the two frameworks. If Maker Education were a house, its structure would be composed of several innovative frameworks such as STEAM, project-based learning, inquiry, etc. Therefore, STEAM is just one educational approach that “makes up” a maker space. Please have a look at the infographic for more information below. 

“...maker-centered learning develops that awareness through interactive, open-ended, student-driven, multi-disciplinary experiences that allow for the time and space needed to develop diverse skills, knowledge, and ways of thinking. In maker-centered learning environments, students imagine, design, and create projects that align the content of learning with hands-on application”, (Maker Education Initiative, n.d.). STEAM also follows a similar theory and approach to learning that has been noted on The Institute of Arts Integration and STEAM website. “STEAM’s foundations lie in inquiry, critical thinking, and process-based learning. Inquiry, curiosity, being able to find solutions to a problem, and being creative in the finding of the solutions is at the heart of this approach”, (The Institute of Arts Integration and STEAM, n.d.). 

In Maker Education and STEAM, the journey and learning you uncover on your way to your end product is more important than the end product itself. “STEAM is not about what, where or when – it’s about why and how. STEAM is a process of application”, (The Institute of Arts Integration and STEAM, n.d.). 

In summary, Maker Education is a framework that is made up of a multitude of approaches that promotes tinkering and the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics to solve real world problems. STEAM is an approach that focuses on a specific cyclical process to encourage creative problem solving and memorable learning along the way. 

-Lauren

References:

Maker Education Initiative. (n.d.). What is Maker Education? https://makered.org/about/what-is-maker-education/

The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM. (n.d.). What is STEAM Education? https://artsintegration.com/what-is-steam-education-in-k-12-schools/

Blog Post #5: Maker Education

Maker Education has always been an interest of mine because its principles are based on:

-building real-world connections and community

-developing 21st century skills and mindset

-following a student-centered approach

Maker Education, as described by the Maker Education Initiative (n.d.), focuses on providing kinesthetic learning opportunities that allow students to imagine, ideate, design, and create solutions to engaging problems and prompts. 

The development of a variety of skills at once, both cognitive and social emotional, can be achieved through thoughtful planning and engaging activities. Makerspaces are environments that provide the direction and space for engagement in project-based learning, which has been shown to increase motivation and cognitive growth (Edutopia, 2018). This is why I believe Maker Education to be an innovative education framework worth investigating. 

I could see myself implementing Maker Education in my classroom, especially with the group I have this year. My classroom consists of 13 boys and 6 girls who are busy bodies and naturally very curious! With guidance and direction from Maker Education, I would love to give my students the opportunity to explore their curiosities through project-based and hands-on learning. The first project I have in mind is using our knowledge of landforms to build a zoo exhibit. I will encourage my students to build an exhibit for an animal of their choice, using what they already know about their favourite animal’s habitats, along with landforms and water features. 

Certain constraints to Maker Education that are worth noting are having access to supplies and funds. I currently do not have a budget for purchasing materials for Makerspace projects, but do have the freedom to use what is available in our school’s arts and craft room. A solution to this that I came across on Edutopia, is creating a makerspace cart to rent out to classrooms. “Schools don’t need a lot of money or a dedicated space to try maker education- a cart with some basic materials will suffice”, (Hashem & Lefroy, 2020, para. 1). Hashem and Lefroy also mentioned they funded their makerspace carts through grant funds, which schools can easily apply for. We have a parent advisory committee that could potentially fund the start up costs of this project, which is another source worth contacting. For Hashem and Lefroy, it was reasonably inexpensive (a couple hundred dollars) to set up several supply carts at their school and only cost the school a couple hundred dollars to replenish the supplies each year. 

As always, it is recommended to ease into implementing a new idea or framework into your practice. I would like to start by introducing a project each month through “Tinkering Tuesday”. This would allow me to slowly build confidence in introducing makerspaces using a stress-free approach. I will be happy to write a follow up post on our classroom zoo exhibits, once we get started with our project. 

-Lauren

References:

Edutopia. (2018, November 16). Learning Problem Solving and Growth Mindset in a Makerspace.         https://www.edutopia.org/video/learning-problem-solving-and-growth-mindset-makerspace

Hashem, D. & Lefroy, R. (2020, April 15). Starting Small With Maker Education.     https://www.edutopia.org/article/starting-small-maker-education

Maker Education Initiative. (n.d.). What is Maker Education? https://makered.org/about/what-is-maker-    education/

Blog Post #4: Forest and Nature Schools

When I first heard of Forest and Nature Schools, I was hooked! Growing up in a rural community has helped shape who I am as a person, all while teaching me the value and power of nature. This is why I was drawn to the idea of a Forest and Nature School. 

Forest and Nature Schools (FNS) specialize in getting children outside from half a day to a full day explorations. Children are encouraged to explore and wonder through play-based and place-based philosophies. “The activities that happen in Forest and Nature School vary, and can depend on the following circumstances: the season, the community context, climate, landscape...and most importantly—what interests the child(ren)”, (Carruthers Den Hoed, 2014, p. 12-13). Facilitators often document the lessons after they occur, as they believe in a student-centered/led structure. They are knowledgeable of their curriculum and constantly observe the children throughout their time outside. 

In my opinion, FNS are innovative because they push the boundaries of a traditional classroom and are highly engaging and educational. Many outdoor educators argue that what you do inside the classroom, could also be done outside. Kuo, Browning and Penner (2018) suggest that students who learn in nature experience benefits such as improved focus and engagement, connection to the environment, improved mental and physical health, along with the development of critical and creative thinking. 

Although the idea of a FNS seems wholesome, there are certainly some constraints to this framework. To be an official Forest and Nature School, one would need to become certified, which isn’t always realistic. You would also need to have access to some sort of a green space, which could be challenging to find in urban areas, not to mention Canadian weather can be especially harsh during the Winter months. 

There are some modifications I would make for this framework to fit my current teaching context. I am not a certified FNS facilitator, but I wouldn’t let that deter me from using this manual’s guiding principles. Being outside for a full and half day wouldn’t work in certain weather conditions (heavy rain and severe negative temperatures); instead, I would choose to take my students outside for a few days a week, for roughly one hour each session. I also wouldn’t be opposed to letting my students have some unstructured play time (as FNS suggests), but would also incorporate structured lessons into our outdoor sessions (ex. Identifying locals plants and animals, collecting natural manipulatives to use outside for math, reading a book outside, etc.). Forest and Nature Schools seems idyllic for fostering student learning, yet despite not being able to completely adhere to its guidelines, I still believe doing what you can is the best formula for student growth and development. 

-Lauren

References:

Carruthers Den Hoed, R. (2014). Forest and nature school in Canada: A head, heart, hands approach to outdoor learning. Forest Schools Canada.

Kuo, M., Browning, M. H., & Penner, M. L. (2018). Do lessons in nature boost subsequent classroom engagement? Refueling students in flight. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 2253.

Blog Post #3: Define Innovation

Throughout this week, we were asked to create working definitions of four terms, along with justifications. The terms included: teaching, learning, creativity, and innovation. After some reflection I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what was meant by the word innovation. Beforehand I associated innovation with creativity, but after the task I was able to recognize a major difference between the two. Innovation is the act of adapting and restructuring previous ideas to create a reinvented idea or product. 

It was also intriguing to note that something deemed innovative, could in fact produce the opposite effect. When speaking in regards to curriculum frameworks, not all innovative frameworks equate to improvement and success; it is my belief that you need to consider your learners and their preferred methods of learning to appropriately match them to the appropriate innovative framework. I believe it is perfectly fine to take an innovative idea and modify it to fit your class composition; as we all can attest, there never is a “one size fits all” approach, let alone, two classes that are the same. 

My goal throughout the rest of this course is to explore innovative frameworks that would best fit with my current context and learner profiles/preferences. Some of the frameworks I am eager to learn more about are: Forest and Nature Schools, Maker Spaces, STEAM, etc. 

This blog post was initially intended to dive deep into an innovative curriculum framework; however, I thought it was crucial to first address my thoughts on innovation- especially after the discussions and reflections this week. The next blog will take a closer look at an innovative framework, along with any adaptations or modifications I plan to make to suit my classroom of learners. 

-Lauren

Blog Post #2: Narrowing Down a Focus

In my first blog post I discussed my history as an educator, along with my current context and educational “aha” moment uncovered during the first few months of the pandemic. This moment turned out to be one of the most innovative actions I would implement as a teacher. It felt as though I was finally doing the right thing for my students, especially during the heavy times we are living in. The epiphany I had was to take my students outside more. It was well-received by students, staff, administrators, and parents. This moment has sparked further wonder and curiosity, which leads me to an area of focus for this blog.

I am interested in taking the time to explore innovative frameworks, while also adapting them to suit my teaching context and current students. My question of focus is: “what innovative frameworks are useful within my teaching context and how can they be adapted to adhere with the new Covid-19 health and safety protocols?” Some of the education styles I would be interested in pursuing and researching further are place-based learning, experiential learning, play-based learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and more. Throughout my Professional Masters of Education journey I have come to realize I am my best source of professional development, which is why I am excited to learn more about how these approaches can fit into my style of teaching and my group of learners. 

-Lauren

Blog Post #1: Innovation In The Era of Covid-19

When I first started teaching I remember sitting down in my classroom at the end of the day and opening a folder on my laptop titled "professional growth". How I dreaded this September survey. There was nothing more uninspiring than having to make a rash decision on how I would plan to grow as a professional. At these early stages of my career all I could think about was how to teach every prescribed learning outcome to my students without failing miserably. I had no idea what it meant to grow as a professional, nor did I find that document useful or impactful. Regardless, I wrote down something simple, and returned to the mountain of work I had left to finish before feeling satisfied enough to leave for the day. After years of teaching, and finding my stride, I can finally say I feel more confident in my practice and how I view myself as an educator.

As I look at my current teaching context and the year 2020, I found I have had to disregard many things I knew about teaching and relied upon. Based on the world’s current situation, I think it is safe to assume we are all back in “survival mode”. With so much change and uncertainty, it’s difficult to see the positive aspects of our professional context. However, Covid-19 has forced educators to look at our roles more critically and innovatively. We have been granted permission to think outside of our old realities, which is daunting and exciting all at the same time. 

When teachers in BC were mandated back to "in-person instruction" in June, things had to change whether we were ready to accept that or not. Among the challenges I experienced with teaching during the lockdown, something appeared that would have once been overlooked by my younger and significantly more overwhelmed version- outdoor learning. I finally had this “aha” moment where the dots began to connect. Not only did teaching and learning feel safer outside, but the students were more genuinely engaged in their learning. We started small by taking a book outside to read. Next, we found “sit spots” and observed and recorded what we experienced in nature. We continued to build our stamina, and connected our outdoor experiences to areas such as literacy and numeracy (ex. writing what a day in the life of a squirrel would be like). 

Recently, an email appeared in my mailbox titled “professional growth”. Considering what I have learned throughout these past few months, and my vision for this year, I have uncovered the confidence and desire to carefully respond. It is my goal for professional development to take my students outside every second day for learning- whether it is a lesson focused on outdoor education, integrating curriculum, or spending time outside with a book or journal. In a testing time like the current, it is vital to be innovative and try new things- baby steps recommended! There’s no better time to take a risk in education than now, you just need to decide what your first step going to be? 

-Lauren

one’s personal and biaphical narrative. The

modules in this course seek to prepar