Month: November 2020

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Weekly Reflection #5

Episode 5: Inquiry for Inquiry’s Sake

This week in class we had the opportunity to hear from Jeff Hopkins of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII). His school focuses on giving students the ability to expand their learning through less structured education.  Students have overarching inquiry projects that require them to expand their knowledge in some capacity. The students can achieve this through access to various resources with the aim of having the learners take charge of their learning and develop their knowledge in the areas that support their inquiry projects.

This style of institution, and teaching practice as a whole, has direct relevance to the inquiry project I am doing at Belmont School. The inquiry question I initially developed was: “How can didactic and inquiry based modes be balanced effectively in a science classroom?” While I initially though PSII  neatly sidestepped this question altogether by responding with “let the learners decide when they want to go attend specific classes,” I have since revised that belief. While PSII uses inquiry as its guiding teaching principle this doesn’t necessarily extend to the form that their classes may take. Without experiencing their classes firsthand I cannot make any assumptions about their classes, but I can imagine that even in the most innovative institutions some undesirable teaching practices may be seen (most notably boring lectures).

Looking at how Inquiry was implemented on an institutional level led me to reassess my views of what it means to use inquiry in schools. Previously I had only imagined using it on a classroom scale, within my class (because I felt that that is the area I would be most likely to influence). I also thought that inquiry was diametric opposite to didactic. However, over the course of the semester is have found this thinking to be incorrect. This led me to shift my question to “what methods can we use to engage students in science within the classroom.” This change was due in part to my observation that while PSII uses inquiry on a large scale, that does not mean that it must be seen within the classes to a large degree, and that isnt necessarily a bad thing.

Here is a meme I made for this occasion:

 

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Weekly Reflection #3

Episode 3: Pacifying our Charges with Technology

With the integration of technology in most facets of our daily lives we obviously see a rise in reliance on it to manage energy consuming tasks. As educators, many of the strategies that we use to manage our classrooms mirror those that most parents would use to interact with their children. Just like in a caring home, teachers strive to create a place to learn where students feel safe and empowered. But it is becoming far more common for parents to resort to using technology as a distracting tool so that they can have a “break” from parenting. It is hard to argue the result of putting Paw Patrol on for a kindergartener.  And it’s only ONE episode, right? Ok, maybe two… but if I just leave it on I can get a few things done around the house…

Read: Technology as a Distraction: Raising Kids in the Digital Age

Due to the introduction of technology as a distracting tool at an early age, children (and myself) are far more susceptible to it as a constant distraction at older ages. Being able to balance recreational use of technology with completion of daily tasks is a skill that many are deficient in. It would behoove us to start empowering our students to make choices where they can consciously divest themselves of technology for brief periods, or at least introduce them to tools that help mitigate the distractions inherent in those technologies.

One tool that I am in favor of is a chrome plugin called “Leech Block” which is able to block access to predefined website at predetermined time blocks. This follows the methodology of intermittent fasting; you can use Facebook from 5pm to 6pm, if you miss the window you are out of luck for today.

These may not be tools that are used every day, but rather when distractions are causing the workload to pile up. They may also be used to develop time management patterns so that there isn’t the desire to access those distractions throughout the day.

The same tools that parents use get reflected in teaching. Suddenly we have students plugged in to computers and all of their knowledge is implanted on little chips. Ok, I hyperbolize, but there is evidence that the increase in computer based learning does not have the same weight as true interaction with a teacher (Why Online Education Is Less Effective Than In-Person Learning). There is simply no replacing the connection to the material that is gained by having an engaged and aware instructor. This doesn’t mean the technology should be shunned in a classroom, it just means that passive technological learning should be used sparingly. Don’t leave the toddler parked in front of the TV and think twice before showing Finding Nemo to your class for the third time this year.