Journal on the Foundations and Principles in the Context of Practice

June 25,2018




I selected the professional community  http://booklovefoundation.org/story created by Penny Kittle. I was interested in the Summer Book Club however when I went to access it, the campaign had ended.  I feel like this would be a wonderful resource for connecting with like minded individuals who share in my passion for reading and getting students to get joy from it as well. 


There were many benefits and items of interest for me as a book lover, as shown below. 
Book Club member-only content:

• Live discussions for each book hosted by Book Love Foundation president and author / speaker, Penny Kittle.   We will have a chance to hear from Penny about her successes and failures in classroom planning and working with her students on each of the different genres in this year's selections.  
• Private Facebook and Goodreads groups that will permit members to share their thoughts and experiences with each other
• Book Club specific discussion topics and writing prompts that will allow you to experience these books on a whole new level 
• Book Love Foundation Swag!  Includes a tote, writing journal, aluminum water bottle, wristband and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the summer sun!

July 26,2018
Professional Growth:




The professional contributions that I hoped to make in the professional space (not necessarily the website but through other communication methods linked to this)  is to share what books have sparked a passion of reading for some of my students and how we as teachers should continue to provide meaningful, culturally diverse and varied reading material in our classrooms.  These professional spaces can contribute to my growth as a professional as I can utilize the shared resources, get ideas, success stories and  integrate some of the teaching methods into my own practise. 


Its a space that I hope to share my leadership and love for reading as we all have a common interest and shared goal.  Inspire students to read! 








July 28, 2018
Communication:
The modes of communication that best suits this space are...


Sharing Tweets https://twitter.com/pennykittle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5E349278217959510016&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooklovefoundation.org%2Fhome


Listening to her podcasts http://www.pennykittle.net/index.php?page=podcasts


Donating http://booklovefoundation.org/donate


Watching her You Tube videos and engaging in conversations about the importance of Student Based Learning in terms of choosing their books.  https://youtu.be/KHKvtSPysog




August 1
Curricular Design:


The type of curricular design/ philosopies commonly guiding her practise and the ideology of Penny's Book Love Foundation is Inquiry/Student Based design.  I would say this is easily apparent as she points out in some of her youtube videos, podcasts and statements ""Penny believes every child in America needs access to books that will keep them turning pages, racing to the end, discovering new ideas and learning to understand the diversity in our world. She believes all children deserve books they can and will want to read and teachers that will guide them to improve as readers". 


It is evident she supports the practise of making the learning relevant to the students.  They should be able to choose books that spark their interests and are meaningful to them personally. 


Here is wrote I wrote on her youtube link posted above




How many of you dreaded the novels your English teachers made you read in highschool?  You know the same ones they have been using for ten years?  Did you skip pages, not read it at all or borrow someone elses book report?  How would have this experience been different if you were given the opportunity to choose the book yourself?  Would the same curriculum outcomes and expectations been less dreaded, more empowering, enjoyable to you? 


August 2
Challenges:
I found that there was no challenges in getting accepted to the group as there is no sign in required to navigate the webpage.  However it is more of a webpage than a group unless you are involved in the Book Club.


Analysis:
I didn't find the group to be supportive, and would have benefited from a facebook  group based around Book Love Foundation so that we could share ideas, messages, and articles.  I did not receive any response to my message on the youtube video.  She seems to be active on twitter (which I don't have) but would benefit from more relevant posts on her webpage or youtube channel.  I believe the page can benefit teachers and educators and those passionate about literacy. Penny connects to my philosophy of education in that she believes the students should decide what they are reading to motivate and engage them.  Personally I think that I would suggest others to join if they were an English teacher, librarian or looking for ideas on how to integrate the student lead teaching within their language program. 






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Planning, Instruction, and Assessment Approaches in Different Curricular Designs

Visual Presentation

Philosophical Foundations link to our visual presentation https://prezi.com/view/wQyd44xzVw0cduKxuHA5/

Partner- Natasha Tsang

Theme 1, Module 1

Assignment expectations explain, in writing or through other modes of communication, why some conceptions of curriculum continue to be used over time or are considered to be mainstream approaches, while others are not. In addition, explain your interpretation of conceptions of curriculum and how you can use them as tools or frameworks to analyze planning, instruction, and assessment within your specific context of practice.

After completing the required readings I now have a better understanding of various conceptions of curriculum.  I was introduced to concepts I had never heard of before and was reminded of some ideals that Im fully on board with.   

I believe that some conceptions continue to be used over time or are considered mainstream approaches because there is little effort for curriculum change. Whether this is steming from a political or funding stand point I cant say, but I think  that some things in the public school system needs to change.   As a Montessori school teacher I valued that the students could learn about their interests and were not told that they needed to wait until that subject was taught in Grade 4 Science or Grade 3 Social studies.  By dismissing this interest as an educator you are missing a window of opportunity, a teachable moment where the students are motivated and curious and this should be celebrated, acknowledged and explored.  Sadly in a large class size with a strict curriculum to uncover at each grade level this is not an attainable method. 

One conception of curriculum I was introduced to by J McNeil in the article

Contemporary Curriculum: In Thought and Action was the Humainist approach.   A humanistic curriculum is seen by students as important in helping them be what they want to be; it is a curriculum where learning is high in personal relevance, feeling, and probable success. I think that this approach to curriculum would be hugely  beneficial for the children of today.  I can recall in my undergrad I would excel in any of the courses that were about my focus (Child Studies) but lost all interest and motivation (and my grades suffered in these courses) when I was forced to take Statistics, and some Science credits.  I just wanted to learn about Child Development, Children's Literature, Child Rights and anything pertaining to my future career field. Imagine if the Ontario full day kindergarten programs expectations continued into the Grade 1 and so on.  Fully embracing a student lead and inquiry based program has many benefits for the students and allows them to become active learners. 

 

One example of a school that takes a similar approach to learning and teaching is Summerhill. “The humanistic curriculum supports the American ideal of individualism, helping students discover who they are, not just shaping them into a form that has been designated in advance”.  Many theorists will agree that much of what is taught is not learned and much of what is presented and tested is not assimilated. Critics who think that greater learning is achieved by pouring more facts into children's minds are mistaken.  If you havent heard of Summerhill here is the link for more information  http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/ it was founded in 1921, it continues to be an influential model for progressive, democratic education around the world. Summerhill is the oldest children's democracy in the world. It is probably the most famous alternative or 'free' school.  To humanists, the goals of ed


ucation are related to the ideals of personal growth
integrity, and autonomy. Healthier attitudes toward self, peers, and learning are among their expectations.

My own interpretations based on the readings in terms of using curriculum conceptions  as tools or frameworks to analyze planning, instruction, and assessment within my teaching is to do self reflection.  What curriculum factors have I seen work, what do I feel is important to integrated in my planning, instruction and assessment?  For me its looking at how I can integrate the importantce of moral education, life skills and using the students self lead learning to create lessons, facilitate discussions and provide various assessments that place value on the progress and not product, learning styles and character traits. 

"Taking a closer look at schools means reflecting on the difference between seeing schools as an agent for moral uplift and seeing the school as a purely functional means of providing the survival skills necessary for the maintenance of civilization.” – Eiser & Vallance (1974).  This begs me to ask the question what are the necessary skills for maintenance in civilization. Algebra and Computer Literacy arent the first thing that come to mind but more so; self regulation, work ethic, and social skills. With so much emphasis in schools about anti bullying I have always taken a keen focus on positive relationships in a classroom.  To create a positive culture of care in a classroom and school it takes consistency and effort but when its role modelled, celebrated and appreciated friendships and respect for each other can flourish.  I personally would much rather have my daughters report card come home that reads “she plays well with others, she is kind and respectful” than “she is meeting all the math expectations and can write all the letters of the alphabet”.  So how can we as educators ensure that all the curriculum expectations are being met across all subjects and ensure that students are given necessary life skills that aren’t on the standardized tests?  When each student feels heard, valued and that they belong they demonstrate success in both academics and their actions.

 

As highlighted in the article by Gavin Brown (2006) most teachers are not just delivery mechanisms or conduits for curriculum; but rather they are creators or makers of curriculum (Clandinin & Connelly, 1992).  Teachers are responsible on finding the content and create a method of presenting the material that is meaningful to the students.  This gives me alot of flexibility in my planning, implementation and assessment of the curriculum.   For example, if I was preparing to teach the subject of fractions to a Grade 4 class I could integrate a humanistic approach by hosting a number talk at the beginning of the lesson.  My lesson would enable the students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways such as a picnic art, chalk hopscotch, creating family fraction stories and movement with fraction dancing.  My assessment would be using my observation skills was the students are in small and large group activities, through peer and self assessments and from actively listening to their understanding during the number talks.  This integrates the conception of self actualization in asking what they know and what they still want to learn going forward. 

Digital About Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmD5guqz_bE&feature=youtu.be