Balanced "full-time" course work through University of Calgary and teaching full-time. Sounds impressive but if you read some of the course outlines you wouldn't think so. Halfway to a Master's Degree!
First year as Grade 9 Team Leader (attending extra meetings, liaising between Grade 9 Team and administration, ordering supplies [the bane of my existence!], occasionally being teacher-in-charge of the building [not as exciting as it sounds], MCing showcase assemblies). This wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. Watch me next year as I actually get the hang of it.
Got to read with small groups of kids and see them progress exponentially. Watching their confidence skyrocket was pretty cool. There were way more giggles than tears. By the way, did you know that Eric Walters' books are more formulaic than Shakespeare or Stephen King? Maybe I could write some levelled adolescent novels.
Coached basketball without Randall. Did you know that Grade 9 boys often fart during practice, especially morning practice? I made them run laps based on how bad the gas smelled. We still lost every game, but it's nice to give that opportunity to kids. Next year, Grade 7/8 Girls. I hope they have better control of their bodily functions.
GRADE 9 FAREWELL: Working with parents and principal to take 120 kids to an amazing dinner and dance? That was pretty amazing. Yesterday we started preparations for next year so I guess it's here to stay. I'm good with that.
Finally overcame fear of Provincial Achievement Testing. If our province wants to spent millions on a 2-part three hour test, have at 'er. I'm going to keep doing Writer's Workshop, reading conferences, Credos, film and recording opportunities, cross-curricular connections and having fun.
Friday 29 June 2012
Sunday 24 June 2012
Going Paperless: A Teaching Post
I kill a lot of trees in June. I probably photocopy more in the last three teaching weeks of the year than in the other nine months combined. In all seriousness, I often go in on the weekend because I feel like a criminal for using the amount of paper my June lessons require. Throughout the normal school months, I espouse eco-friendly paper reduction: class sets of short stories or plays, showing notes on my SMART Board and posting them to our distributed learning environment online (D2L), and, of course, double-siding everything. Students are encouraged to use the dropbox function of D2L to hand in assignments instead of printing them off.
However, when it comes time to review reading comprehension strategies, I revert back to highlighters and paper copies for each of my 109 students. I find old exam questions and go through in minutia various strategies that might help my Grade 9s be more successful on the reading comprehension test that Alberta Education delivers to us to administer each June. Why? Well, this test is kind of a big deal. It arrives weeks ahead of time and is locked up in a bullet-proof vault. In September when I come back to work, I will be tasked with applying statistical analysis (stop laughing. the math teachers help me!) to the types of questions my students answered incorrectly, report this information to my principal and subsequently charged with adjusting my lesson plans to better address these deficits and writing goals for our School Development Plan that include student achievement on this particular test. If I'm really lucky I'll be offered AISI support to make progress towards these goals. AISI support has to be saved for anotherrant post.
Students with very specific needs (reading disabilities, English Language Learners and the mentally ill) can be provided with accommodations or in rare circumstances, exemptions. Otherwise, everyone in Grade 9 in the province gets out a HB pencil on the morning of June 26th and answers 55 multiple choice questions on seven to nine readings.
This year I used a blended approach that made me take a few beginning steps away from my serial June tree homicide. I still photocopied the stories, poems, articles and cartoons and modelled how highlighters can be effectively used. Together, students practiced elimination strategies, using logic to find the "most correct" answer and began to recognize the different types of questions (inferencing, vocabulary in context, synthesizing information). Students are generally pretty cooperative with this because of the looming exam.
I had heard from one of my classmates at the University of Calgary that the SMARTboard clickers had become far less cumbersome to use. The easiest way to explain what this device does is to refer to the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". When the contestant polls the audience as one of their lifelines - that's what a clicker does. Each student holds a small electronic tool that interacts with the SMARTboard through a receiver that is plugged into a USB port. The question is displayed on the SMARTboard and students are able to respond with A, B, C, or D. Can you see how this might be engaging and useful to fourteen-year-olds in 2012? Once the question is "closed" (you click a button that says, "close this question") the responses from the class are displayed in a pie chart or bar graph. It's anonymous (at least the way I set it up). It's formative because it gives the class a chance to debate two responses. It would be hugely effective with the shorter pieces that students are tested on (poems and cartoons) because the SMARTboard is big enough to display a two-page spread (the text and the question could be up at the same time). Unfortunately, longer pieces (short stories and articles) still need to be in front of students as they search for evidence in the text to answer the question. If students had reliable and equitable access to netbooks or iPads, I would argue that I could do these June lessons almost paperlessly. That's not likely to happen, but at least this is an option for shorter texts.
Maybe trees will be a little safer next June.
However, when it comes time to review reading comprehension strategies, I revert back to highlighters and paper copies for each of my 109 students. I find old exam questions and go through in minutia various strategies that might help my Grade 9s be more successful on the reading comprehension test that Alberta Education delivers to us to administer each June. Why? Well, this test is kind of a big deal. It arrives weeks ahead of time and is locked up in a bullet-proof vault. In September when I come back to work, I will be tasked with applying statistical analysis (stop laughing. the math teachers help me!) to the types of questions my students answered incorrectly, report this information to my principal and subsequently charged with adjusting my lesson plans to better address these deficits and writing goals for our School Development Plan that include student achievement on this particular test. If I'm really lucky I'll be offered AISI support to make progress towards these goals. AISI support has to be saved for another
Students with very specific needs (reading disabilities, English Language Learners and the mentally ill) can be provided with accommodations or in rare circumstances, exemptions. Otherwise, everyone in Grade 9 in the province gets out a HB pencil on the morning of June 26th and answers 55 multiple choice questions on seven to nine readings.
This year I used a blended approach that made me take a few beginning steps away from my serial June tree homicide. I still photocopied the stories, poems, articles and cartoons and modelled how highlighters can be effectively used. Together, students practiced elimination strategies, using logic to find the "most correct" answer and began to recognize the different types of questions (inferencing, vocabulary in context, synthesizing information). Students are generally pretty cooperative with this because of the looming exam.
I had heard from one of my classmates at the University of Calgary that the SMARTboard clickers had become far less cumbersome to use. The easiest way to explain what this device does is to refer to the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". When the contestant polls the audience as one of their lifelines - that's what a clicker does. Each student holds a small electronic tool that interacts with the SMARTboard through a receiver that is plugged into a USB port. The question is displayed on the SMARTboard and students are able to respond with A, B, C, or D. Can you see how this might be engaging and useful to fourteen-year-olds in 2012? Once the question is "closed" (you click a button that says, "close this question") the responses from the class are displayed in a pie chart or bar graph. It's anonymous (at least the way I set it up). It's formative because it gives the class a chance to debate two responses. It would be hugely effective with the shorter pieces that students are tested on (poems and cartoons) because the SMARTboard is big enough to display a two-page spread (the text and the question could be up at the same time). Unfortunately, longer pieces (short stories and articles) still need to be in front of students as they search for evidence in the text to answer the question. If students had reliable and equitable access to netbooks or iPads, I would argue that I could do these June lessons almost paperlessly. That's not likely to happen, but at least this is an option for shorter texts.
Maybe trees will be a little safer next June.
Thursday 14 June 2012
First Teaching Post - SMART Clickers
Okay, so last year I went to a series of workshops on SMART software and tools. At that time, the SMART clickers were demonstrated in a few ways. Most were cumbersome for someone who agonizes over setting up presentations (me) and who runs flat-out for ten months then sleeps for two (me). I was reviewing some notes that I had taken at the workshops this week (okay, I couldn't sleep...) and remembered that I had jotted down "instant feedback". Since I was working on Multiple Choice strategies and was out of ideas of how to keep kids engaged, I dug out our school's set of the clickers and copied my questions into a SMART document.
It worked! The kids were intrigued. I was able to gauge not only how many students actually got the correct answer by using the pie chart feature, but also was able to engage some in debating why two answers were in contention for being correct.
For mine I really didn't need the keyboard style clicker but was still able to use the primitive ABCD function just fine. Some kids would have liked to enter their own names to participate to see who answered what, but I think the anonymity of it allowed more to participate enthusiastically.
All in all, not bad for a lesson taught on the fifth last day of classes.
It worked! The kids were intrigued. I was able to gauge not only how many students actually got the correct answer by using the pie chart feature, but also was able to engage some in debating why two answers were in contention for being correct.
For mine I really didn't need the keyboard style clicker but was still able to use the primitive ABCD function just fine. Some kids would have liked to enter their own names to participate to see who answered what, but I think the anonymity of it allowed more to participate enthusiastically.
All in all, not bad for a lesson taught on the fifth last day of classes.
Monday 11 June 2012
First Teaching Post
June in a junior high.
Maybe I will have more positive things to say after I have had a chance to sleep and recuperate.
Maybe I will have more positive things to say after I have had a chance to sleep and recuperate.
Sunday 10 June 2012
First Cooking Post - Risotto and Salmon
Tonight I made risotto and broiled salmon for supper. I always make this risotto recipe with the splash of white wine that it claims it doesn't need.
I am a big fan of making something complicated (the risotto) with something easy (the salmon). There are a few reasons for this.
1) flavours. If I dusted my salmon with some complicated spice mixture then it might be weird with the cheesy and smokey risotto
2) time management. Yes, today is Sunday and I could make something complicated. Inevitably that would create more dishes and draw out the drama of the cooking.
3) calories. Yes, salmon is delicious with aioli and if I was having it with a salad, I probably would do some kind of sauce. But I'm not. I'm having it with carbs, bacon and cheese.
I also decided that after making risotto many times, I could improvise. I added some celery to the chopped onion and garlic.
Mise en Place
If you have ever made risotto you know how important this is. This is what mine looked like.
Cooking Photos
Special risotto spoon. I am pretty sure this is why my risotto is amazing.
Toasting the rice with the onion and celery.
Salmon with salt, pepper and olive oil.
Risotto with broth.
Final Presentation
I realize it is just before 5pm and this is a grandparent time to eat. But I am hungry... all I ate today was breakfast at the Lazy Loaf and Kettle and some cherries. So it is time!
I am a big fan of making something complicated (the risotto) with something easy (the salmon). There are a few reasons for this.
1) flavours. If I dusted my salmon with some complicated spice mixture then it might be weird with the cheesy and smokey risotto
2) time management. Yes, today is Sunday and I could make something complicated. Inevitably that would create more dishes and draw out the drama of the cooking.
3) calories. Yes, salmon is delicious with aioli and if I was having it with a salad, I probably would do some kind of sauce. But I'm not. I'm having it with carbs, bacon and cheese.
I also decided that after making risotto many times, I could improvise. I added some celery to the chopped onion and garlic.
Mise en Place
If you have ever made risotto you know how important this is. This is what mine looked like.
Cooking Photos
Special risotto spoon. I am pretty sure this is why my risotto is amazing.
Toasting the rice with the onion and celery.
Salmon with salt, pepper and olive oil.
Risotto with broth.
Final Presentation
I realize it is just before 5pm and this is a grandparent time to eat. But I am hungry... all I ate today was breakfast at the Lazy Loaf and Kettle and some cherries. So it is time!
Types of Writing I do
Being a classroom teacher I sometimes try to model the different writing techniques I encourage my students to do. I outline essays, structure paragraphs, develop characters and settings. The problem is once this instruction is over my efforts are pushed aside and I find myself cheerleading my reluctant writers. If I could just get them to realize that paragraph minimums don't necessarily allow the full idea to be presented, I'd be happy.
When I come home at night I am a student through the University of Calgary. I am enrolled in an M. Ed. program (almost done the first year!). To be honest, when I signed up for the "Integral Curriculum" cohort I did not realize that my advisor would be leading my class through guided meditation during an online lecture (yes... that actually happened). Integral Theory is a little more than I bargained for - if you're interested look up Ken Wilber. However, one recurring theme is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - which I subscribe to. I am trying to remind myself that this is half over and it has made me think more deeply about teaching practice. Both of those things are positive. Anyway - the types of writing that I do as a student are discussion forums, summarizing, connections and every so often longer expository pieces.
What I like to write is narrative but there is just not very much reason for me to do this type of work. I would do the work for the joy of it but right now my time and energy is dedicated to surviving teaching full time, keeping up with the readings for my graduate studies, completing assignments and having some kind of balance doing two things that I don't consider work - cooking and reading.
That's why I think a blog is a good compromise. Manageable lengths in response to manageable subjects. Let's see if I can keep up with it.
When I come home at night I am a student through the University of Calgary. I am enrolled in an M. Ed. program (almost done the first year!). To be honest, when I signed up for the "Integral Curriculum" cohort I did not realize that my advisor would be leading my class through guided meditation during an online lecture (yes... that actually happened). Integral Theory is a little more than I bargained for - if you're interested look up Ken Wilber. However, one recurring theme is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - which I subscribe to. I am trying to remind myself that this is half over and it has made me think more deeply about teaching practice. Both of those things are positive. Anyway - the types of writing that I do as a student are discussion forums, summarizing, connections and every so often longer expository pieces.
What I like to write is narrative but there is just not very much reason for me to do this type of work. I would do the work for the joy of it but right now my time and energy is dedicated to surviving teaching full time, keeping up with the readings for my graduate studies, completing assignments and having some kind of balance doing two things that I don't consider work - cooking and reading.
That's why I think a blog is a good compromise. Manageable lengths in response to manageable subjects. Let's see if I can keep up with it.
Potential Topics
- recipes
- creativity
- teaching philosophy
- favourite novels
- favourite kid lit
- favourite picture books
- restaurants?
- movies?
- TV chefs
- themes
Jumping on the blog bandwagon
After discovering how much I enjoy reading my sister-in-law's personal blog, watching Jenna Marbles' weekly vlog, and my rediscovery of Tucker Max's website, I decided to give it a go.
When I started to think about what I enjoy I decided to name this blog Teaching, Cooking & Reading. Those are the things I spend most of my time thinking about so it makes sense to write about them too, right?
Going to post this now and then start a list of potential blog topics...
When I started to think about what I enjoy I decided to name this blog Teaching, Cooking & Reading. Those are the things I spend most of my time thinking about so it makes sense to write about them too, right?
Going to post this now and then start a list of potential blog topics...
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