Exit slip: September 25, 2019

Amidst Nature:

Clouds, Wind, Rain nothing stopped us today from having a ecstatic experience in the lap of mother nature.  The melodious tune played by Prof. Susan with flute in the heart of nature not only surprised us all but also laid-back all my stress(due to assignments, projects, family life). She also made us sing along the lyrics of " I like to Rise (Country life)" which was a cherry on the top. That reminded me about my childhood spent in a village in India. We all sang along together and it was fun. Susan introduced us to Diana (apologies if spelled incorrectly), a PHD scholar at UBC whose area of research is "Relationship between sounds of nature and students Learning". She guided us and walked us through the Orchard Garden. I found it interesting and logical after we finish an activity of observing sounds of nature and things around with all our eyes closed and were asked to interpret our observations and shape them. We worked in groups and presented our observations in the form of orchestra. It was very entertaining and I think we all enjoyed it. This activity not only promoted Group collaboration, but also made us to ponder that how humans/ technology is interfering with the natural beauty and with growing urbanization, we are loosing the sight of true nature. I will definitely try to do that with my students in school garden. We also picked some natural fruit (Asian apples, apple pear) and vegetables(cucumber, tomatoes, garlic) and then shared them together. I in particular went to get some herbs(Rosemary, basil leaves, mint leaves, fennel seeds) as I was totally absorbed by their fragrance in the Garden. The salad was fresh and delicious. I liked the way we thanked nature and everyone before starting/ ending our class. We discussed about different activities related to our subject area that could be done in the school gardens with the students.  I am looking forward to our next class where we will be actually doing more stuff; The art and geometry of rope-making and yarn plying, Simple Turkish lace/ netting/ string bag, making multi strand braid.   I feel thankful to God for letting me be a part of everyday great experiences with great people around.

Entrance  Slip: September 26,2019

  

Gardens of Hope!

The idea of having a school garden may not be new in Canada, but for me, in person, this sounds interesting. We use to have a big garden/ lawn in the centre of our school premises in India, around which were structured four walls of learning, The garden had beautiful flowers (no crops/vegetables), which we were allowed to see from far because of strict discipline rules. Going through the article, "The UBC Orchard Garden and Cultivating Learning Network" by Susan Gerofsky, I realised the significant role a garden can play in cultivating ethical and moral values in the students.

        I wonder, we(our generation of the 90s) have also been taught in schools about cultural, economic and environmental sustainability, awareness(missing activism) about global climate changes, energy conservation and renewable sources, physical health(mental health misinterpreted with mental illness), the goals that these gardens work on, yet no significant revision can be found in climate changes. Instead, it has been worse than ever before. I may be wrong in stating this so straight forward, but now I know that teaching about environmental sustainability without incorporating the environment physically into schooling can do no good.

     We often talk/hear that schools should provide students with the latest tech designed classrooms and laboratories, planting a garden is equally important as having a well-equipped infrastructure. Children spend a lot of their day time in schools and teaching inside classrooms only can sometimes become monotonous and unexciting for them. Also, health issues like diabetes, obesity are now more common among young children because of unhealthy lifestyles. In such a phase, having a garden in school and consolidating it into the timetable as a part of enforcing curriculum could be helpful. 

      Students can walk around in the garden(nature walk), feel fresh and relax their minds which can promote better physical and mental health. They can learn to grow vegetables and develop healthy eating habits while developing respect for food. Additionally, they can learn to share the food with others, fostering social-emotional bonding. This can also be useful in advertising the notion of "GO GREEN".

   There are many ways to include environmental education in the curriculum. I think using gardens to teach Science can be a good approach. Composting, planting seeds and watching trees grow, inquiring effects of water and sunlight on certain plants to study photosynthesis, looking for opportunistic plants, the study of matter around us, coding activities with microbits to test soil moisture, ripples in the water to study waves,  slot for rainwater harvesting, etc can be some of the activities that would enhance active learning in the lap of nature. Students may also have their work shared with other classes through an exhibition in the garden. Different subject teachers can collaborate for integrated learning.

     All this may sound easy and beautiful, but there can be few challenges like the ones mentioned in the article. Profits from real estate developments, safety concerns related to allergies associated with the vegetation, flexibility in the schedule so that all teachers can manage to share/access school garden for their subject, etc. The pros of having a school garden definitely supersede the difficulties, which I believe can be tackled together with administration, community and government support. Let's all work together towards these gardens of hope as Audrey Hepburn rightly states, "To Plant, a garden is to believe in tommorow".

   I am looking forward to this Thursday's class as it will be a new experience of learning out in nature for me.

      

Exit Slip : September 19, 2019

The topic of discussion for today's class was based on climate crisis. We, started with discussion on Renert's article, about our role as a teacher, approach towards curriculum, teaching and learning, teachable subject(s) in correspondence to environment education. It seemed from everyone's ideas that we are kind of on a same page, and are willing to incorporate environmental education into our teaching practices. Some of the things that I personally learnt from the discussion are, asking students to examine their daily life, encourage them to notice/observe the impact of emissions on our environment by comparing public vs private transport, emphasize place based learning, include education in, for and about environment by including examples related to environmental concerns into context, being a role mode for our students, introducing concept of Skype scientist in classrooms.
    Interestingly, Greta Thunberg, a 16 year old environment activist's speech on Ted talk, brought quite a turnover from lively discussion to a thoughtful silence in our class today. I was surprised/ shocked to see that how such a young child can be so considerate about the climate crisis. Not only this, she is all out on her way to prompt her audience, mostly of educators, climate scientists, politicians, people with power to make a change towards environmental sustainability by taking initiatives to save the world. Greta,insisted in her speech on the need to change the rules, reducing emissions, to feel panic as if our own house is on fire, to be more careful for the future of our future generations. Its time to take time out of our vague lives and look around and feel/think about extinction, population explosion, interplanetary colonization,mental health, industrialization etc. What our selfish/ mean ways of living,survival would cost future generations. I was left spell bound by the impact of Greta's powerful words and forced to think, what if every student in my class starts feeling the same and questions me about my contribution towards this environment change. I am struck in my own thoughts, what if every student feel like going on a climate strike and not to study as knowing about negligent implication of education in real life.
     Its time not to think and discover ways to act, but act. I am hopeful that together we can definitely bring a change.

Entrance slip : September 19

#FridaysForFuture#ClimateStrike#StrikeWithUs  (copied)

The Climate change(Global warming) has always been a defining issue of our times, but its high time now as it transverses an alarming stage. Despite the fact that we all are busy in our own lives, the concern for this climate change, consideration of its impact on us and our future generations stays somewhere in our minds. Honestly, any time I read or hear anything about growing environmental issues, I feel concerned and involved, but the next moment, I begin to feel uncertain about my role or my contribution towards this global situation. With worldwide Climate Strike demanding actions and support for our future, starting Friday, September20th,I think, there could not have been a better opportunity for me to read this article "Mathematics for life: Sustainable Mathematics Education" by Moshe Renert.
   The author's approach towards sustainable education in respect to mathematics education is quite provoking. Accounting broader aspects of mathematics education in particular, the article has projected my perspectives about mathematics education beyond mathematical formulae and equations towards responsive thinking and innovative environment friendly teaching practices. Though, the article addresses transformative role of mathematics education to meet the need of ecological sustainability at every point, but the two things that surprised/ impressed me in expression are:

• Damasio's(1994) statement that emotions play a crucial role in decision making and human action, acknowledges Barrow's(1992) "the notion of counting and the notion of quantity". If we cannot relate large numbers to their larger impact, then our understanding of their correlation with any physical phenomenon is negligent.
• The metaphor of 'butterfly' is actually very capacitating. It signifies the importance of each one of our roles and social-environmental responsibilities to be aware of our actions and their consequences. It conveys the power of each water drop that contributes to the bigger ocean.

I believe, educational institutions, schools play an important role in shaping our society by laying foundations and moral values in life of young generation. It is time for us to realize the potential of our roles as educators and the impact of our words/teachings/ lessons that could motivate many, students, parents for a better framework of society. Regarding accommodation, reformation, transformation while addressing present situation of climate crisis and endangers awaiting humanity, could help in fostering a sense of care and respect among students for our environment It is our duty to orient ourselves and our teaching methodologies/practices by adopting skills to inculcate examples/models such as ones described in the text, into our teaching philosophies could initiate a change in favour of sustainable education.

Exit Slip: September 12, 2019

Today's class started with the most common inquiry,I believe all the prospective teachers might have, that is how much time we actually have with students and how to use that time efficiently to meet the needs of BC's new challenging curriculum. It was fun to work in groups and discuss different views and ideas on the best ways to use classroom time. Some of which included, working in class for resources, promoting inquiry based learning through use of technologies, visual aid for mental health, hands on activities to engage students, incorporating student's interests based strategies in teaching, etc. I think all of us are learning from different perspectives that will be helpful to deal with the diverse learners in our future classrooms.
      Following that we watched, the Mathematics professor, Jo Boaler's video on student inquiry which is an eyeopener for all who are not only studying mathematics but also teaching mathematics. The video throws light on traditional, one dimensional and multidimensional mathematics, covering various myths and beliefs that goes around learning mathematics. I feel, the message that Math is not a gift and every child can excel in mathematics;provided persistence, learning from mistakes and encouragement, needs to be spread among our students. Carol Dweck's idea of fixed and growth mindset is also interesting.
     Earlier I used to have no approach towards the research and surveys done on Student's different styles of learning, but now after getting more familiar with the role of curriculum in student's overall development motivates me to inquire more in the field, as why it is important to know that how students tackle different (math) problems and how multi dimensional strategies in teaching can be more stimulating and engaging. It is important to know for us as prospective teachers that the research also shows that students with inquiry based ( thinking about the big ideas) and reflective skills (making real world connections) are high achievers than others involved in narrow version of learning. Therefore, its our responsibility to nurture these skills in our own classrooms. Conrad Wolfram, the CEO of "Wolfram Alpha" also inspires everyone to look for broader perspectives in respect to math learning by stating that math is not just a calculation, but much greater than that.
      All in all, it is essential to adapt different teaching styles for active learning which will be favorable with the needs of  present day world.

Entrance slip: September 11, 2019

On Becoming a Reflective Teacher - Carl A. Grant and Kenneth M. Zeichner

I found the article enlightening for the prospective teachers as it can work as a guideline for us as a teacher candidates right now to have a broader picture of our careers as a teacher in the future.  It talks about different attributes, reflection in particular, a teacher should have that can maintain a healthy relationship between the educational institutions and the society.In general, imparting relative over absolute knowledge, balancing situational and rational knowledge can help in overall social-emotional development of our students.  The article is from mid 1980s, I believe it is relevant as it emphasizes the importance and the need of reflection in a teacher's life in the present, yet the idea of discrimination in classrooms based on students' ability or strengths is outdated. Evidently, BC's new curriculum does incorporates the program adaptations, modifications to support diverse learners and hence promotes an inclusive education system.
         After reading the article , I actually started thinking about the kind of teacher I want to become and the strategies I will be using for effecting teaching and class management and how this will be different from my teachers in the past. It arouse a sense of responsibility in me towards the society as the students I am going to teach are going to shape it. The questions about what to teach, how to teach and why to teach will always agitate until a teacher carefully reflects upon them. The article inclined me to inquire what is meant to be reflective, how and how much reflection is needed and more significantly, if reflection hinders performance. Also, I realized that how important the inquiry and critical skills can be for a teacher, to discriminate between assumptions and beliefs and how these inquiries can be executed in a classroom for providing an active learning environment to the students.

Exit Slip - September 5, 2019

Today's class was a real platform for all of us to interact for the first time through our views and perceptions about different topics, proving that each individual can have unique ideas about anything and everything. Such lively and open analysis helps in understanding, how different arguments can be discussed without arguing; respecting difference of opinion in all circumstances and how different ideologies collaborate towards unified theory that can illuminate one's path of learning.

    Six controversial statements about (math) education:    Things are constantly changing, so are the young minds. Studying and exchanging thoughts on the six statements taken from Borasi's article made me think that how people develop these and many other myths about education and what is its impact on people in general, but students in particular. I strongly feel it is our role as a teacher to inquire if certain notions obstructs active learning for a student in any way.
   
   Frank McCourt: From slums to students heart, from ashes to 'Angela's Ashes', from an ordinary teacher to the 'Teacher Man', Frank McCourt's valuable experiences inculcates a sense of never giving up in all his students and now in us, as we proceed in this thrilling adventure of learning and following his footsteps towards miraculous journey of discovering ourselves as teachers. There is lot to learn from Frank's inquiry skills and teaching practices, few of which can be summarized as;

• Developing a sense of responsibility towards your students and yourself:  I now feel that a Teacher needs to study their students (emotionally and psychologically) before making them study their subject. Teachers can use their skills to discover student's competence, cooperating it into meaningful learning.
• Practicing and cultivating Power of Thinking: A Teacher should be able to motivate students to think, wonder and inquire about and beyond text.
• Stimulating Critical Inquiry: Encouraging critical thinking by analyzing text through different perspectives, research findings, data and facts. 
• Open to new Learning: Frank's statement," If you are teaching and you're are not learning, you're not teaching" emphasizes the fact that learning is life long process and there is lot to learn form everyday experiences with students. A balance between learning(lessons and unit plans) and practicing( actual teaching through experiences and story-telling) in class can inspire students to put all their efforts to produce best results.

    I feel motivated after watching both the videos as I am also a immigrant like Mr. McCourt and sometimes feel different about my accent. I am strengthened from his struggle(first as hardships in childhood and second as a foreigner) to represent myself and utilize the skills learnt so far and more on the way to grow as a successful teacher and drive my students to be fruitful not only in their careers, but in their life.

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