What is Learning?

Learning

I have been contemplating learning. What do I really believe? This is such a complex question, that I want to try to answer. I have so many thoughts, and for me the acquisition of language has been the most difficult. According to Gardner, I am quite confident to say that I would rate my linguistic ability in the bottom half of my abilities of the intelligences. My definite strengths are mathematical-logical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial and naturalistic. My ability to comprehend language is fairly strong, but to me my expressive language is lacking. There is so much I have to say and want to say, but it seems like I have only ever been able to communicate about 10% of what I have mulling around inside of me.

I believe that knowledge is constructed, and that there are certain truths. The amount of knowledge is vast and unfathomable. These truths are created by our society, but nonetheless they comprise standard knowledge. Knowledge is situated and constructed differently by each individual. My daughter knows how to sing and play the piano. She has learned piano by listening and memory; her teacher says she has an “ear” for music. She can’t be bothered to read the notes. She has learned through one type of situation, a cognitive apprenticeship if you like. My son is a very good math student; I believe this is genetic. My father and my three brothers were exceptional math students. One of his strengths is math-logic. He has also become a very good golfer; this he has learned from his family, mainly his father and grandfather (definitely not me). He has learned through a community of learners, repetition and guidance. One area of future interest for him is archeology, and I am quite certain that this came from watching the Learning and History channel, playing computer games like Civilization. He also reads historical novels – the same ones several times. I’m not sure where this love for history came from, but I do know that his love of reading came from my modeling.

Some things that my children know have been self-taught. For example my son can draw and fade his golf ball. His father likes to think that he taught him this, but he didn't. He watches the golf channel for hours. My daughter is very interested in creative writing. She has been writing stories, and magazines on her own for many years. At this very moment, she is working on her magazine (and it isn't for school).

I can honestly say that I recall very little from high school. I did well in most of my subjects, but nothing really mattered to me, other than leaving my family home. Going to school was very difficult. I never felt safe, secure, normal or accepted.

The point I am leading to is that I truly believe that learning can only occur in nurturing, safe and caring environments, and this is what is holding many of our students back from learning, and becoming all that they can be. I think that we have vastly and ignorantly ignored this vital component - this hierarchy of needs for both students and educators. When I was in elementary and high school, I felt very isolated. I hope that as educators, we try to have the understanding and compassion about what many kids are going through each and every day at school. My experiences have shaped me into the educator and person that I am today, and each and every day that I go to school I want to help everyone be all they can be. I want them to feel safe and important. My own children have “learned” the most from these teachers. I believe the thing that matters the most to our students is that they are accepted, nurtured and encouraged. This has to come first; this has to be the foundation. If people feel secure, then they can be guided and coached to learn and thrive. Everyone wants to feel like they truly belong, to a community.

Learning: once we are safe, secure and encouraged to learn, we learn within a situation. Sometimes these situations are forced upon, and sometimes these situations are created by choice, but there has to be a connection to a situation before the learner can begin to construct his/her lown knowledge. Because I feel that motivation is key, I think the learner retains more in a situation of his/her own choosing. The other key indgredient is inate intelligence.

Just a few thoughts…

Tag

What’s working well? Well, I think that there are several things that are going well. I think that my journey into blogging is going well. I enjoyed reading Jeff Boulton’s discussion on connectivism – how this peripheral medium facilitates this new learning theory. After perusing a few sites, I realize that this theory seems to be a combination of theories including behaviorism and constructivism. Bloggin allows us to create a community of learners. My next step is to begin the filtering process – creating those connections that I find fit into my situated context of learning.

What brings you great pride and joy? I enjoy watching people learn. Yesterday when I was on a road trip for my son’s midget hockey team I spent some time chatting with my sister-in-law, which we often do, but it isn’t always about learning. She was talking about her community college class, how much she loves the technology and what she is learning. She was so excited talking about PowerPoint and Access. When people are learning and loving to learn, you can see so much pride and fulfillment in their eyes. This makes me happy.

How have you made a difference for good in the lives of those you serve? I can never know for sure; I just hope I have helped a few along the way…

What brings you quiet satisfaction? I really appreciate when other colleagues discuss the important issues. I don’t want to hear the negatives, unless I have to… I want to hear ideas, collaboration and excitement. For too long, (the first ten years of my career) it seemed almost taboo to ask others for help and ideas. This absolutely and completely confused me. I just could not understand the point of this – we weren’t in a race, (I like to win those), there were no big prizes at the end of the day.

What have you learned over the last few months? That is a big question for me today! I have learned so much over the past few months! I have learned more about blogging, podcasts, assessment from Stiggins, connectivism, and much more! I have been reflecting on my journey as a teacher, for my EC & I paper which I am working on. I have learned about problem based learning from our curriculum consultant…. No wonder I’m exhausted!

How can you use this information (above) to move your organization forward? This is the golden question. I feel very strongly that PD needs to be mandated. Teachers are too busy, and I know that many of you are thinking, we’re all busy, it’s just an excuse… Most individuals, professional or not, do not know exactly what professional development will do for them until someone guides and/or pushes them to the starting line… I am going to continue to share my knowledge with my staff and students, and hopefully some of my excitement will rub off on them!

I think that Jeff and Steve should try..... answering.... with very profound answers.

Convention and Sports

I attended our annual teachers’ convention yesterday, which turned out to be only one day because of the new family holiday. For the past (almost twenty) several years, convention has had the same structure: two days, keynote motivational speaker, several greetings, and break-out sessions. Two earlier conventions stand out in my mind: Minot and our own staff retreat to Fort San. These two were fantastic. Minot was a great opportunity for staff bonding. In addition, I was young and we stayed up most of the night singing and visiting. The other convention was a staff retreat which my principal concocted, which turned out to be a success. Not only did we bond, but we had some great PD! We collaboratively developed a vision and we really took some time to understand and appreciate one another.

Anyway, I found this years’ convention to be quite enjoyable, and I think one of the main reasons is because it was a little different. It was one day, and I attended a lunch meeting. I like change and I think so did the majority of the teachers. I’m not sure what I would mandate for convention if I had to decide for the entire school division, but I do think that a little change is important. Convention used to be the only opportunity for PD, but I think that the perhaps the goals need to be readdressed. Are we getting together to socialize with our colleagues? If this is so, then we need structured activities to foster this. Are we getting together for information dissemination? For motivation? For professional development? A combination of purposes? If we need to focus on professional development, then perhaps the one-day shot is not enough.

I have been thinking about the lunch meeting regarding outdoor pursuits, and I was impressed by the passion that I saw from some of my colleagues. I can relate: my kids are actively involved in athletics: hockey, ball, curling, badminton, volleyball and golf. My husband played Junior A Hockey and he loved and lived it, so I understand the passion. I think that some of our school coaches who are passionate about their work could take it to the next level – this is just encouragement. Too often, in my rural setting there are too many kids that can’t compete, especially when it comes to golf. This saddens me because I know how much pleasure my son has obtained from this sport. Some sports are very expensive – golf – equipment, shoes, fees, rain gear… This stuff really is needed, and many kids cannot participate. Other kids can see that they can’t get any better if their parents can’t get them a membership or lessons. Perhaps we can spend more of our money on really developing more of these life-long sports like golf, biking, hiking and curling.

Just a few thoughts…

Teacher Supervision

Another interesting thought came to me today when I was conducting a teacher supervision… related to professional development. I feel that this experience is one of the best types of pd, and the sad part of this is that only administrators get to benefit from this process. I have observed many competent teachers, and during this process I have reflected on my own practices. I think to myself, “Do I do that? Should I try this?” Today, I thought that why couldn’t we ask teachers to select/partner up with one other staff member and ask them to do a “supervision” of each other. They would not have to submit their evaluations to anyone, just perhaps a record-taking process. That process should include observations followed with discourse, and I think that if they could select their partner(s) they could gain a tremendous amount of insight, ideas and support. This could be a way to build a staff as a team….
Just an idea, perhaps a crazy one…

Trying To Encourage PD and Change...

After having a few more discussions with colleagues regarding changing teacher practice and philosophy over the past week, I really think that professional development must be required to maintain professional status and the time for this need to be incorporated into the regular school day. Educators are busy and most of them will not create the time to develop and reflect. I think that they feel this may be important, but they probably don’t feel that they have the time and the energy “at this point in their in their life’.

The school day could be structured differently: the school could commence at 8:00 am – students at school from 8:30 – 4:30 or 5:00; teachers could work until 5:00 with 3 hours working time built into their day. Some of this time should be devoted to professional development, perhaps 5hours/week and the rest of the time – 10 hours for preparation… The younger students 5 – 14 could be at school for the entire time if needed/wanted by families, because many of the older students are roaming the streets until parents get off of work. Time for structured play, educational movies, reading time (hour at a time for 10-14 year olds) exercise, and homework… could be built into this day. Teachers would be encouraged to only work at school, so that they can have more “normal” working lives. I have often felt that one of the reasons that teachers do not want to add PD to their lives is because they are so used to working at home. The thought of adding more work to their home lives is just not appealing, regardless of how important it might be.
Just a few thoughts…

And... thanks Dean.

Tentative

I'm feeling a bit unsure of this entire blogging process... I was slightly alarmed to read a new post which referenced my blog... Thank you, but I feel the sudden need to proofread everything that I have written for fear that there may be too many idications of my lack of intellect and insight. I'm trying... I have never really enjoyed this writing thing; I would much rather talk, do Calculus or read - almost anything else...

Now that my nauseousness has passed, I really would like to share my thoughts and ideas about problem based learning. I need some quick, relevant and practical literature to help me understand how to implement. I understand the basic components and its constructivist foundation, but I have been searching for practical ideas. For example, my grade ten math class is working on rational and irrational numbers, solving equations and polynomials. We were doing a review today on all of the basic operations involving fractions. I want them to create a visual to represent what it means to divide and multiply fractions - illustrate 5/6 divided by 1/2. They thought I was crazy. We discussed this for awhile, and I think that perhaps tomorrow they could do this in small groups, even with a few variables! We'll see! I think this may be a good practical example of pbl, but I would appreciate any thoughts and directions...

A Girl Like Me

I was perusing a couple of blogs when I watched a short video:
http://missprofe.wordpress.com

Perhaps I've had a rough weedend and day, with many troubling issues, including a tragic event in a neighbouring community. Other issues include community sports and approaching deadlines for my Univserity class. In addition, I've been feeling sick, along with my daughter. While I was groaning and trying to sleep last night, my husband was tending her while she was vomiting much of the night.

Anyway, this particular short video, caused me to recall my intense feelings towards acceptance. I have always been passionate about human rights. One issue that I have come across over and over in my experience is the intolerance and abuse towards people who are of an alternate sexual orientation.

I think my human rights' soap box was built as a result of one of my relatives who kept her brother's existence a secret from me for about thirty years. I learned of his existence when he died; he had been institutionalized his entire life because he was mentally challenged. I was shocked. I thought we were past that; this was about five years ago. While teaching, I have contiunally heard many slanderous comments towards students with differences, including slow learning and sexual orientation. My sister has Down's Syndrome and she is a beautiful young lady who seems to be accepted by society. Of course, this would not have been true fifty years ago, or in my relative's case, at all. I believe that we are learning; it's just a very slow process.

Anyway, back the the video. It angers me when I hear young people who are so sad because of what society expects from them, regardless of what it is: skin color, sexual orientation, intelligence, or body image. To me, this is key issue when we are standing in front of our classes each and every day.

Wikis

Wikis
Last week I started a wiki for my colleagues, and I just sent out invitations to join this past Thursday night. I think that I invited about twelve people. I have posed the question/topic for contributions for our next staff meeting, and two staff members have contributed. On Monday, I am planning to ask the staff who I missed for invitations, and I am going to ask a couple of them for feedback. I'm not sure how this will work; hopefully they will use this venue to bring up items and try to collaboratively solve them. Time will tell.

Protecting Children From Technology?

Educators and parents spend a tremondous amount of time tyring to protect their children from evils, including the Internet. Should we continually and completely block and protect kids from the Internet?

Children need to be exposed to technology and not protected from it. Last week I was discussing the use of blogs with my grade seven computer info class. I was explaining to them that I was contemplating incorporating the use of blogs into our class, but that I was a little concerned about privacy and purpose. Later when the students had some free time to check their student email and Blackboard, one of the students showed me his friend’s blog. At the same time a student beside me, showed me his piczo website. Both of these sites were filled with pictures, names, comments… I was pleased and concerned at the same time. I spend a tremendous amount of time checking our media/Internet forms to ensure that kids have permission to have their pics on our school website. After viewing these two student sites, I noticed one particular picture of a student. This particular student’s parents have emphatically stated on their Internet form that they do not want any pictures of their child on the Net. Is it my responsibility to ensure that our students are not violating the privacy of other people? What should I do now? Most teachers have no understanding of blogs, piczos,.. I can’t possible police what kids are putting on the Net at home. I did spend quite some time talking to both students and then the entire class about placing things on the Internet. I think that now, I should get the kids to create blogs and/or sites and teach them about privacy and permission, even though there are no hard fast rules. It is crucial for us to take the lead. If most educators don’t understand what kids can do on the net, I can assume that there are just as many, or more parents, who are unaware.

Hiltz Blog

Check out my School Blog:

http://hiltz3catherine.edublogs.org

The Art of Podcasting

To date, I have created two blogs, one wiki, two podcasts and several post contributions. The first time that I created a podcast was very easy, of couse this was after spending a few hours downloading software, Audacity and Lame... I recorded the story "The White Canoe" for my grade 9 ELA class; they seemed to enjoy this. The second time I created a podcast, another story for my grade 9 ELA class, "How Nanbush Created the World". A couple of students listened to this story today, but most of them will listen to it tomorrow. This podcast took a very long time to create. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I tried 3-4 times before it would upload. I don't believe that I did anything different, but I'm not sure. The entire process took about two hours, which is that technical issue. I will create a few more over the next week. I have been contemplating other podcast uses, and I think that I might try a few different things.

I created a wiki, in which I have asked my staff to contribute ideas/issues for staff meetings. I haven't asked them this yet, and I am a bit hesitant. Some staff members seem to be a little impatient, and OK, perhaps slightly annoyed with my excitement when it comes to technology and the vast opportunities I imagine... Who can blame them? I don't understand them, but they should try to appreciate my efforts and enthusiasm, the same way that I appreciate and try to understand their excitement over drawing, basketball or a new mig welder. In case, you haven't interpreted my voice, I am trying to be funny, which I know I'm really not. In all honesty, I really don't "get" the importance of a mig welder or a lathe or whatever else is in the shop. What I do understand is the love that my shop teacher has for his students and teaching; he truly is inspiring, just like the rest of my staff. Anyway, I do plan on asking them to provide some input into my wiki to try it out. I just have to wait for the right time:)

Pocasting in Schools

I have been contemplating the use of the podcasts in the educational setting. I feel that there may be some useful applications, including support for Learning Disabled students and for English Language Arts classes. With the disappearance of cassettes and simple recording devices, we have struggled over the past few years with creating voice recordings. I recall many teachers creating recordings of stories and novels for absent and LD students to enhance instruction. Students often find it unnecessary and a waste of time to reread stories and novel selections. By providing audio recordings, students are exposed to another method of revisiting a story for further reflection and study purposes. The podcast would allow for simple rewinding, and a much easier way to tag and find certain sections of an audio recording. Over the past 5-10 years, we have purchased several types of software for our students who are non-readers including Dragon Naturally Speaking, Wynn reader and writer, and other cheaper types of software. The Wynn Program works very well, but it is very expensive for individual students and families. Because it comes with only one site, this makes access difficult. One of the main issues with these types of software is the quality and unfamiliarity with the voices. With the podcast, the students’ teachers can record their voices which I believe would be much more user friendly and welcoming for the student.

I think that because listening and speaking is integral to the ELA curriculum, podcasts could/should be a natural and necessary strategy for educators. I have always felt as an educator and as a parent, that the most influential and necessary component of creating literate children and adolescents is listening and learning to love literature, and there is nothing more compelling than listening to a good story and storyteller. With even the most difficult middle years’ classes, I have been able to captivate students with a good story. Currently I am reading a story called Daughters of the Wind to my grade nine ELA class as part of a unit called Indigenous and Norse narratives, and the kids love it even though they didn’t at the beginning. Initially the language was new and difficult for them, and they needed to reread and revisit the initial parts of the story. By using a podcast of the story, perhaps sections or chapters at a time, the students could do listen to the story at their leisure.

As an in-school administrator, there could be some uses for podcasting, but I’m not too sure that with our current hardware there would be huge benefits. This is the first school year, that our teachers have a computer and Internet access in their classrooms, so many of them are still in the early stages of tech applications. Many are still struggling with email, so I don’t think I’m ready to spend too much time creating podcasts for them.

I have thought of a few other ideas for the use of podcasts in the educational setting, and perhaps if there is something that is current and relevant to all students they would be useful. For example, if we plan to change the attendance policy, I could have it on our website in both printed and podcast version to make it more accessible to all students.

Just a few thoughts.

Technology as a Tool

Technology: Does the use of technology aid students with their learning and teachers with their teaching? Is the use of technology occurring naturally in the classroom? Can technology direct instruction? My grad class colleagues have been discussing the possible uses of Webtrain, which is a tool for web conferencing. I first learned about Webtrain last year, when one of my colleague's son was taking Math 10 by correspondence. He could log onto Webtrain in the evening (I believe once a week.) for math assistance. To the best of my knowledge this software tool worked very well.

EC & I 832

Welcome classmates!

I began this blog last fall, but I was not too sure what direction I wanted to go with it. I had several thoughts. Some of my ideas included creating a blog as a place to discuss my school classes for my students: what we have done, what we will do and what homework was being assigned. My dilema began with the conflict with my use in Blackboard. Should I try to maintain both? Should I use Blackboard just for grades? Other ideas for my blog included sharing my work as an Aministrator, but now some of my tech time is spent updated our new school webpage using Joomla. I also thought that perhaps I would create a personal blog to share with my friends and family.... But my main reason for creating a blog was to just try it out, and determine my direction later.

Grade Nine Breadwinner

Writing Assignments From the Grade Nine Class: How is your life different from Parvana's?

Mrs. C. Hiltz

Current Work

Grade 7 Students - Computer Literacy - We are finishing up Power Point presentations and we will begin using spreadsheets next week.

Grade 9 - We are working in Indigenous and Norse Narratives.

Grade 10 - Career and Work Students are finishing their work experiences. Students must complete their work logs and follow-up reports. We are completed our section on WHMIS.

Master of Education

Currently, I am finishing up my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and at one of my more recent classes, my professor was discussing the current "Course Route" grad degrees. She stated that our University is discussing the possibility of changing the name of these types of programs to "Master of Teaching" to indicate that these degrees may be "terminal". In other words, many Universitites will not accept this type of degree as a prerequisite for further studies. This is interesting because there are many educators out there who simply want to further his/her learning for various reasons: love of learning, advancement, and increase in pay. This may deter students from further education if they know that there is a limit to their ability to further their education simply because they aren't interested in the research process. I realize that many academics feel that you have to be "published"... but I'm not completely convinced of this.

Learning Excellence

This is my first attempt at blogging, and I am hoping to use this site for my teaching and learning. Perhaps I may write editorials and share other types of information; we'll see where this leads me. I welcome suggestions, comments and questions to guide us on this quest.