Sep 24 Exit Slip

 As we prepare for the weather to begin turning this fall, I feel like this most recent class got to the core of why we're using the garden as a co-teacher. The natural world provides us with many tools as teachers, and education through the garden can instil values far beyond the curriculum material alone. 

Specifically in this class, our discussion around creative ways to measure objects prompted me to reflect on my time working in the trades, and actually caused me to reflect upon the significance of generational knowledge, passed on orally. In the trades, apprenticeships are about inheritance of knowledge. It is accepted in the trades that work experience is more important than schooling. I believe this is due to the emphasis of passing down knowledge through a journeyperson/apprentice relationship. Most of these lessons are oral, and in this way I see a real parallel with how not only oral traditions need to be upheld through their continued use. Not only are oral traditions powerful, but their lessons are often treasured. They feel like some special information has been given to you, and it's your responsibility to retain them and maybe pass them on one day.

I'm wondering if teaching in the garden could create a similar experience for students? While learning mathematics, student's could also come away with "practical wisdom". They could come away with awareness and skills that allows them to connect with nature and the land, as well as pass this knowledge on in the future. 

Finally, measurement isn't as simple as using a tape measure or a ruler. Practical implementation of measurement calls on students to think outside of the box. If we're building something, planting something, or assessing a physical object, there's practical application in knowing the approximate distance of the space between thumb and pinky, or how long a step or stride is.

Sep 24 Entrance Slip

 

    My first "stop" was when the alter global movement was mentioned - a term I was not familiar with. I took a few minutes to read up a little bit on google and am fascinated with some of the ideas presented. I resonate with the idea that economic globalization is not the longterm solution. My basic understanding is that it seems to rely on the exploitation of some group, somewhere in the world. Not only is this wrong, and has been the foundation for the development of western capitalism, it doesn't feel like a sustainable economic model. As the global south develops, the increase in wealth and education will mean that either the cost of manufacturing will rise, or we'll need to find new regions to exploit. Eventually we won't be able to continue this model. A continued focus on local economics could be a reasonable path forward to transition to a more sustainable economic future. Furthermore, in the case of the garden, I believe that local agriculture's immediate presence will maintain he conscience of consumers (It's easier to wreck an ecosystem if we don't need to see it everyday).

    Okay back to maths.

    I have a few ideas for lesson plans using the garden as a co-teacher, mostly involving some modelling with math. One, is for a longer term project, whee a student might study growth rate of a plant and try to use math to describe the ways in which the environment affects its growth. Another, might be to study competition between plants. For geometry, we could look at the shapes found in the garden. This could range from understanding basic geometric shapes, to modelling the way a branch hangs with calculus. Topics such as fractals can be taught through bifurcation etc. Finally, I've been thinking a bit about the way that nature seeks to optimize things. Feeling for things in this direction could be grounds for a range of interesting topics and projects.

Verdon Gorge, France

A tree in the most unlikely place!

Notice the way limestone seepage creates tufas in this cave.
Certainly some cool maths there...

Class 2 Exit Slip

Using the garden as a tool in mathematics education would be a great way to combine outdoor ed, knowledge of local ecology and basic agriculture, and real world math applications. If I had the opportunity to teach in and garden, I would like to keep an emphasis on developing an appreciation for the space in which we are learning together. There would be a few ways which come to mind in terms of using the garden to learn math. First, for younger grades perhaps, counting, classifying sets and categories, and studying basic geometry (ie. parallel rows, angles at which plants grow). For a more advanced class, ie. calculus, the first thing that comes to mind would be studying the growth rate of plants over the years to do some basic mathematical modelling. This would push the students to learn a little bit of calculus and experiment with population dynamics. I think the benefit of an open ended question like that is it pushes to the students to explore new areas of math which they can approach from the perspective of curiosity and exploration.

The obvious difficulty with teaching in and with the garden is that we need to try to fit a certain number of topics into the year, and there will be a bit of a time sink when it comes to heading out to the garden, having a less streamlined seating arrangement, use of technology etc. One way I imagine managing this is through the use of a flipped classroom model. Having the students prepare a little bit before class will allow us to use our time to focus on the key bits of understanding which may be missing, rather than try to cover all the material during that period.

Sep 17 Entrance Slip: Reflective Teaching

    Grant and Zeichner's use of John Dewey's ideas around reflective thinking versus routine thinking, and the formers extension on the three principles, lay a foundation for a pedagogy which can adapt to teaching at all levels with all demographics. The three principles outlined are open-mindedness, wholeheartedness, and responsibility. 

    The first thing that resonated with me in the reading was the mention of conflicting interests from teacher educators. There are conflicting methodologies and practices desired for a teacher candidate to adopt from the university, the "teacher mentor", and the surrounding community. I have already experienced this in my volunteering, where the teacher I was working with had a practice I still fully don't agree with. The university's alternative, however, doesn't feel to fit correctly with the kind of teacher I wasn't to be. I realize that finding a balance requires teaching reflectively, in which case I hope to find some guidance through the three principles of reflective teaching.

    On page 111, the authors note that teacher candidates have been socialized with their twelve or more years of being students.  In EDST 401, we discussed a "Teacher ed in the present" by David F. Labaree, which called this the "apprenticeship of observation". In Grant and Zeichner and Labaree, the idea of divorcing oneself from the predispositions which come naturally from the apprenticeship of observation is necessary to become a reflective teacher. Without doing so, the teacher candidate carries with them unconsciously all the years of exposure to teaching styles which demand to be reexamined so that the good can be kept and some can be left behind.

Running in the mountains
For me, time and space to reflect

             1. Labaree, D.F. (2004). Teacher ed in the present: The peculiar problems of preparing Teachers. In Labaree, The trouble with ed schools (Read pp. 39-61). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.            

Class 1 Exit Slip

The "Teacher Man" short video was an interesting interview. Frank McCourt used is unique background from outside the traditional world of education to bring a unique-for-the-time pedagogy to some of the most difficult classrooms in New York. 

I particularly was interested in how he demanded students to develop their own sense of critical inquiry, in the same way he was in university. I also thought his take on honesty was interesting. In the video, he says, "drop the act". Teaching forces you to tell the truth, and integrity, honestly, and vulnerability with your students allows them to see you for who you are, and connect with you. Finally, he says: "If teenagers will listen to you, the world will listen to you". Not only does he mean that if you can communicate with teenagers who don't want to be at school you'll be able to communicate with everyone else, but that teenagers are the future of the world. If you connect with them, you connect with the world.

This discussion prompted me to reflect on how I'd like to be honest with my students about my experiences learning math. In high school I often struggled to pay attention, and found that my comprehension was never properly reflected in my grades. I'd like to connect with my students in that I understand that they might be struggling too. It's normal, and we'll work together to get there!

Hello World!

 Bonjour!