Final Presentation Slides

The link to the Canva Slides can be accessed here

Exit Slip (November 20) - Inquiry Project Progress

Over the next week, I plan to talk to some math teachers at my practicum school to collect (anonymous) data on their perceptions on the use of teacher resources for their classrooms. Some articles I researched explains specific reasons why teachers use resources and why the (personal) design of resources matter, hence these could form the basis of the types of questions I could ask. 

For my class activity, I plan to bring in various modes of resources - digital/online resources, textbooks, pre-made activities, worksheets - and the class will take some time to modify one of the activities. With the same of time, I may only stick to one digital activity worksheet that the class can complete in groups so they have more ideas to brainstorm. I will have two or three prompts that specify what type of class you are trying to modify your resources for (but these are still some of the options I can go with). I will continue to research and work on the presentation, so I have a solid goal I want to achieve with this topic. I'm hoping that this should help with my activity design as well.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Use of Web Resources

https://doi.org/10.1564/tme_v25.3.02 

This article gives insights on the benefits of implementing quality resources into the math curriculum taught by student-teachers. It focuses on lesson planning and various modes of work that teachers do in the classroom, such as using specific websites and online resources.

2. Didactical Materials Customizable to Suit Classroom Needs: A Valuable Resource for Teachers

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050449 

This article points out the complexity of integration of appropriate materials that can be used as teaching resources. It reinforces my stance on this inquiry topic, since they mention how customization and modification can happen depending on class context, student skills, needs, and interests.

3. Using Textbooks and Teachers' Guides: A Dilemma for Beginning Teachers and Teacher Educators

https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1988.11076050 

This article indicates how there are dilemmas to using textbooks as a starting point for beginner teachers to build their curriculum for teaching. This idea can support my argument on the need to use resources in certain situations, as well as some stigma that can be present in teacher resource use. 

4. Textbook Use and Teacher Professionalism

https://doi.org/10.1177/016146819009100514 

This article covers the relationship between the quality of resources to the quality of schooling, because teachers may heavily rely on resources. It is an old article, hence it gives me ideas on how things may have changed (and stayed the same) within the last 30~40 years of education (such as the quality of textbooks).

5. Approaching Curriculum Resources

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:739821/FULLTEXT02.pdf 

This article studies the behaviour of teachers wanting to use teaching guides and resources that connect theory and practice in math. However, it specifically explains the lack of study in the participatory relationship between teachers and (teaching) tools (i.e., how teachers interact with math resources), which is the topic I am interested in. 

6. AI in Lesson Planning: Improving Teacher Efficiency and Instructional Design

https://doi.org/10.55606/jurripen.v4i2.5560 

This article talks about the complexity of the job as teachers, introducing AI tools as a way to help with the creativity and development of personalized learning resources to enhance student learning. It covers the topic of burden and increased pressure of teachers to need to deliver quality, personalized, curriculum-aligned instructions while working under time constraints, which I view as one of the reasons why teachers benefit from using resources. 

7. Documentation Work, Design Capacity, and Teachers’ Expertise in Designing Instruction

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20393-1_11 

This article highlights how teacher resources should be used, what their decisions should depend on, and connects to the Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD). These topics will guide me through specific questions to ask current teachers, and their perception of these analyses on how they consider teaching resources in mathematics. 

8. Teaching by design: Understanding the intersection between teacher practice and the design of curricular innovations

https://www.proquest.com/openview/6c10d62eefbd79d0239c6ac8579cc1c7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y 

This published essay studies the pedagogical design capacity of teachers in various contexts, which, beyond the research, points out the strategies of crafting designs that can support the process of curriculum material implementations. They also highlight the relation between design capacities of materials and the knowledge and skills of the teacher, which could be present in the interviews I will have with current math teachers.

Exit Slip (November 13th)

 Today's Focus: Research for relevant articles on my Inquiry Project topic

While researching for literary articles, I came across a term called Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD) which is a theory in math education which studies how math teachers professionally develop through interactions with resources they use for teaching (i.e., teaching materials). I will continue to look into this new theory since this encompasses the idea of teacher's work as a documentational work where people adapt and integrate 'documents' such as textbooks, online resources, etc., which is closely related to my interest. 

Exit Slip (November 6)

I have slightly shifted my topic from solely AI tools/resources to all educational resources (websites, videos, textbooks, pre-made lesson plans of your own in the past and from other teachers).

I've started off my Literary Search with key words such as "math education teaching resource usage", which gave me many articles that I actually thought were relevant to my topic and interest. I made sure to take some notes about the articles I looked through so I know what it is about when I go back to the list. Through the search on Google Scholar, I noticed that many recent articles focus on digital and computer-based resources reflecting the technological advancements in many schools. From now until the Annotated Bibliography due date, I would love to look more into articles on paper resources like textbook-use in developing homework problems and lesson notes!

In-class Inquiry Topic Write-up

Topic: 

Teacher professionalism and the degree of customization on the use of resources in a Math Classroom

Current Ideas:

• Collect data/opinions from teachers, parents, students, student-teachers on their views of how customized a teaching resource should be (in certain situations)
• 'Certain Situations' => is it a short 5 minute class activity idea? or are you designing a unit test? making homework questions?

• 
  

Extra Ideas:

(If i can talk to other subject teachers:) How would this "limit/degree" differ in subjects? => Math compared to English, Science, Language Courses, etc.

Exit Slip (October 2nd)

When I think of geometric shapes and functions, I probably visualize them in their simplest math form. If said a "circle", then I would picture it as the simple 2D circle, rather than picturing the form of a clock or a hula hoop. However, this class was interesting since we all had a chance to brainstorm where we see these shapes, as well as how the concept of shapes arise in the world as a verb rather than a noun.

Action words like circling words with a pen are commonly heard, but there are other things like ellipsing, which could be a way we can say to omit words/phrases, or hyperboling, which could explain the unique movement of cars merging to a lane and back out, or a crowd of people exiting though one door and spreading out after (This last idea is from Danielle's group). My group brainstormed a variety of examples where we see these shapes, like an ice cream cone, hourglass, race track, etc, and had lots of fun discussing while drawing them out on the white board! Drawing is always fun!

Entrance Slip (October 2nd)

    This article made me realize an important aspect in language and in our perceptions. I can't quite remember how I was taught to use specific pronouns like "it", "he", "she", and "they" a long time ago, but I feel like our current world is more open to diverse perspectives (and teaching methods!) where there's a possibility that educators or parents teach the young ones about various pronouns and how important it is when addressing non-living and living things with correct pronouns. 

    Trying to remember what it was like in a math classroom, I couldn't recall (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention) times when teachers were NOT objectifying variables. They would usually use "it" as a way to refer to xs and ys in an equation. When I tutor younger grade students, I try to say things like "this guy right here" when pointing out something specific or want the student to pay attention to a certain thing. Now, what about the concept of "Feeding the Chicken", when we want to multiply into an expression in brackets? Are those methods of explanation an evidence on how we might be trying to look at mathematical ideas in a non-objectifying way?

    To indigenize my own classroom and the math curriculum, I think I can start by noticing what is around me to not just learn about but also learn with and from my surroundings. I've always loved to think that learning doesn't just happen in the classroom, at your desk, and how there are many significant ideas outside of what you normally see. Anything can be a tool to communicate new knowledge and can hold specific meaning to nourish our learning experience. Learning about something is interesting in terms of gaining that knowledge, but I think there's so much more to gain by learning through something. For example, I currently have a chopsticks stand on the side of my screen. I can definitely learn something new if I make a quick search on the history of cutlery stands and how they may be produced. However, I can learn more and gain more critical thinking and reflective skills if I come up with questions like "what's so significant of this cutlery stand being a dark brown colour and not something like neon yellow?" or "how do they make our daily lives better (or worse)?".

Exit Slip (September 25th)

    In this class, I had so much fun attempting to make ropes with different materials. On my first try, it was hard to deal with the small parts to stick out when I wove in a new piece, but learned that I can twist it into the other strand to prevent this from happening. While I learned through practice, I noticed that the dandelion and the thin strips were easier to turn into a rope, compared to the corn husk that was thicker and shorter. 

    Through our activity with the colour palettes, I slowly realized how natural things (ex. the sky, plants, etc.) don't have a single colour that fit its true colour, while man-made objects (ex. wagon, tent, clothes, etc.) have uniform colour. Even though I took a grey-toned sky blue colour, expecting that it will match with the sky, it didn't match well because a large area of the sky was more grey than blue. However, objects like the wagon and the tent seemed to fit with the colour palette very well due to their uniformity in colour. I enjoyed seeing everyone's snapshots after class, and it was a great method to make ourselves observe our environment closely with detail.

Entrance Slip (September 25th)

Reading Response:

    Kallis introduces a quote by Martin Borden, which explains the difference in your views as a consumer in contrast to the producer in this world. Additionally, Kallis points out the significance of needing to show the world how much there is to recognize what we are missing as humans today. These ideas tie closely together, and it brought me to realize that what Borden speaks of is similar to when I bake at home. 

       I used to purchase dessert from different stores, but once I started baking dessert myself, I noticed how delicious it is, without having to rely on stores. It came to the point where I would start baking for others, bring some to my work, and share my food with many people. They would always love the food and give me an appreciation (they're all very sweet!), and sometimes ask for the recipe I used. I'm always happy that I get to share something with others, and they also value the food I share, which is a feeling of worthiness that I wouldn't have noticed if I was solely the consumer. 

Video Reflection:

    When watching the video, I was slightly surprised by how the material of the rope didn't matter, but rather the geometrical properties of the helical structure of the rope. I originally assumed there was some kind of relation to the material of the rope (ex. texture, strength, thickness, etc.) that made certain ropes stronger than the other. However, the tight twists and correct rope-making techniques would be the important aspects to producing a sturdy, stable rope from any material. 

On a very side note, the hair style that used the rope-making technique is good to know for future hair-styling options:)

Exit Slip (September 18th)

    This class really makes me think outside of the box. Unlike the previous class, I was more focused on the sounds that we hear, rather than the visual component. Back when we were drawing what we saw from our sit spots, I was concentrating on drawing nicely and didn’t pay any attention to the sounds of cars, birds, wind, and foot steps. However, once I was told to focus on the sounds, I noticed that there was a dominant wind sound that overlap with other man-made sounds like construction and cars. There was no time during the 20 minutes where there were no sound at all.

    We all described and pictured the same sounds in different ways. Some drew the object that was making the sound, while others used shapes and streaks (eg. sharp shapes = unpleasant or harsh sounds). I remember Elsa using bold arrows to describe car sounds, which I thought was creative because it can show the direction of the sound/car, had sharp points that can express the roughness of the engine sound, and looked like streaks that can represent the rapid movement of cars.

Entrance Slip (September 18th)

 “Do the central work of your institution with the garden, so that the garden is a valued element of university (or other institutional) programs, rather than a decorative (and dispensable) add-on.”

    I think this is a key element to building and maintaining the school garden, as an important part of our institution. I was one of those students who thought school gardens were decorative elements. Although this doesn’t mean it’s devalued or insignificant, the fact I wasn’t able to consider it as an important component to learning is why the above point must be addressed and taught. I remember having lots of fun in my elementary school garden, planting, taking care, and harvesting, as part of a class activity or with the Green Team. This was during grade 3, since our grade 3 teacher was in charge of the school garden, and we would learn simple plant science/biology like photosynthesis!

    Although math and the school garden might not seem related, they share similar concepts in the art and design of nature and the garden. Patterns, measurements, angles, geometry can be seen within the plants but also tie in into ideas like the angle of the sun or letting students explore what they can extract from a picture of the garden/plants to find math in the nature. This opens up creativity, and removes the limit on what the students can do with math concepts.

    With the exploration activity, it benefits students to engage in hands-on learning while connecting abstract math concepts that they can go beyond what is taught in class (i.e., they can research too). However, some challenges could be time management in assigning a project while having to cover the curriculum, even though we are still relating concepts to units within the curriculum. As a teacher, I will have to make backup plans and schedules to accommodate for different situations, while making sure the students have enough time outside to explore their options during class time. 

Exit Slip (September 11th)

    Our second inquiry class of the term was full of valuable experiences and reflective activities that were made possible by learning in the Orchard Garden.

    I personally had a fun and relaxing time drawing with charcoal on actual paper, staying outdoors, and doing a little show-and-tell of what we discovered, what we were thinking, and our artwork. I can't remember the last time I went outdoors for an art activity, but this class let me sit down in a quiet place surrounded by nature, and enjoy the moment in the outdoor classroom. I love flowers and sunshine (but I don't want to get tanned), so it was a pleasure to share the refreshing moments with the class on a sunny morning.

    Through our reflective activity on both the drawings (about the relation between lines and angles to living/non-living things) and the assigned reading on Skemp's article, I took in various point of view from my classmates that I hadn't realized or that offered another way of analyzing. Not just in this class, but in all BEd courses, I'm super happy to learn from my peers around me, because we all cherish different things and understand differently, making it a fun community to share and learn!!

Entrance Slip (September 11th)

    One big idea that I took time to reflect on was the importance of openmindedness as a teacher. Extending from what was mentioned by Grant and Zeichner, I believe being openminded gets harder and harder as we age, learn, and experience more things in life. We may hold a view that what we know and learned is correct, and makes it difficult to say or think “maybe I need to be flexible to adapt to the new trends and information” and admit that we are narrowing our views. Growing older can bring you to a higher position within a system of power relations. However, no matter where we are and who we become, it’s important to keep an openminded approach to things we learn from the younger generation, adapt to new environments, and recognize what we can do to become such a person (and teacher). 

    This article helped me develop the foundation of understanding the importance of reflective practices to grow and learn as a teacher. We will be facing countless issues and frustrations, but if we can incorporate reflective teaching into our teaching style (or best to say our “learning” style as teachers), I think I can develop a positive classroom atmosphere where student learning is valued. I am going to be learning as a teacher candidate and soon as a new teacher, and I learned that I must carefully consider many things happening inside and outside the classroom to become the best teacher I aim to be.

Exit Slip (September 4th)

    As a teacher, we shouldn’t just be throwing information to our students. Frank McCourt points out the significance of working along with the students to guide them with empathy in classrooms, just like how he did in his English class. By thinking in the students’ shoes, we can try to create an experience where students are able to connect to the learning material. In the context of math, we frequently hear negative voices of students on how math is scary and too hard. If we as teachers can try to understand and resonate with their fear and struggles, maybe that could lead to a positive classroom where students are motivated to try multiple times and not scared to make mistakes.

Hello World

Hi everyone!

Here's a photo from the jellyfish aquarium↓