Author: kstewart Page 1 of 2

At the end of Block 3, our cohort had the exciting opportunity of taking our learning to Barkerville in central BC, where we engaged in place responsive learning activities.

Art Start

Our first stop of our learning journey was at Stanley Cemetery, which was previously a small settlement during the time of the gold rush in the 19th and early 20th century. Although the only remaining building of the town is an abandoned structure that used to operate as a hotel, we engaged in an activity to help us connect with the place and the history that took place here. Our class began with an Art Start, where we each found an area or object to sketch from our own perspectives while included an element of challenge to deepen our perspective and connection with the place. I chose a wooden gravestone that was overgrown with branches that had new buds growing. To me, this displayed both the past and present represented simultaneously in a single moment. It reminded me that nature has existed long before we explored this area, and will prevail afterwards. I found this activity to be a grounding experience and good way to connect with the sense of place before furthering our learning. I believe this would be an excellent activity to engage students learning through different perspectives, and allow them the time to focus on the small details. Here is my sample from the Art Start activity!

Panning for gold!

After our Art Start activity, we made our way to the river where we learned how to pan for gold. I had so much fun learning the techniques useful in sifting through the rocks and exploring the land for gold. It was an interesting experience and providing insight into the hardwork and patience necessary for the goldmines who once settled in the area during the gold rush. Reflecting on this, I learned the value and importance of providing experiential learning opportunities for students to further connect with the content. These learning moments foster memories that students can carry with them to deepen their understanding. Here are some pictures of us panning for gold 🙂

Walking Tour

When we arrived at Barkerville, our cohort engaged in a walking tour of China Town. This informative tour provided further insight to what life was like during the 19th century in the China Town community of Barkerville. The tour guide discussed what life was like on the long journey to the remote central region of BC and what daily life looked like during this time. It was interesting to listen to the tour guide as we walked among the buildings where these events took place and were frozen in time. Here are some moments captured during our walking tour of Barkerville.

Sound Walk

The following day, we engaged in a Sound Walk activity where we explored the town either individually or in small groups. I found this activity to be very grounding and helped me to connect with the present moment in our Barkerville journey. I was able to hear the present sounds that made Barkerville come to life today, such as the tour guides, children and families exploring, horses pulling carriage tours, etc. I was also able to hear the rushing of the water down the river where gold miners struck rich with gold many years ago. I could hear the wind rustling the leaves and the birds chirping, sounds that would have been present in the 1860’s when the town was first established. The sounds connected both the history and the present moment of Barkerville. I believe a sound walk is an excellent learning activity for students to engage in many cross-curricular areas, as it connects their five sense to further connect their learning with the present moment. It also engages the core competencies, allowing students to practice critical and reflective thinking to examine their own thinking and that of others. Here are some moments I captured during my sound walk at Barkerville.

It’s all about relationships and connection.

Dr. Jody carrington

Reflecting on both of my practicum experiences, my biggest takeaway from both was connections. I was in awe of the connections and relationship built with students in such a short time. Throughout my practicums, I learned that building relationships as the foundation of the classroom culture embedded in respect and kindness is essential. I discovered how important it is to share about myself in the beginning, while simultaneously asking students to share about themselves with me so connections and relationships can grow. Once these connections and relationships were established, I found that the ease of classroom routines and expectations followed naturally, creating a safe environment for all to learn in. Below is one of my favourite quotes by child psychologist and author, Dr. Jody Carrington.

A relationship with the one you are trying to teach, lead, or love is where all the power lies

Dr. Jody carrington

I also feel so fortunate to have connected with my Coaching Teachers and school community, which all played an integral part of my learning journey in both of my practicums. Fostering these connections and engaging in regular communication and collaboration created a space for sharing of knowledge and resources. I am so grateful for the connections made with students and teachers throughout my practicums, something I will never forget! Here are some momentos from my students 🙂

During my Educ 490 practicum, I taught a Grade 2 English Language Arts unit focused on poetry. I had so much fun teaching this unit and was so inspired with how creative students were in their writing! Following Adriene Gear’s “Powerful Poetry” as a guide, I began the sharing the elements of poetry and how ultimately poetry provides the reader with a feeling. This unit connected to the ELA curriculum content “literary elements and devices: language, poetic language, figurative language, sound, play, images, symbols.” It also connected to the following core competencies:

Communicating

• I communicate purposefully, using forms and strategies I have practiced.
• I can consider my purpose when I am choosing a form and content.
• I can communicate clearly about topics I know and understand well, using forms and strategies I have practiced.

Creative Thinking

• I can get new ideas or build on or combine other people’s ideas to create new things within the constraints of a form or materials.
• I can use my imagination to get new ideas of my own, or build on other’s ideas, or combine other people’s ideas in new ways.
• I can usually make my ideas work within the constraints of a given form if I keep playing with them.

Social Awareness & Responsibility

•  In familiar settings, I can interact with others and my surroundings respectfully.

To celebrate all of the students hard work throughout the poetry unit, we ended with a sharing circle where students selected their favourite poem and shared it with the class in the circle (if they were comfortable). To observe how much they had learned about different poetic devices and structures, in connection with how proud they were to share their poems with the class was amazing! Below are some examples of Grade 2 poetry.

During my Educ 490 practicum, I had the opportunity of teaching a unit on water conservation, where the objective was for the class to gain an understanding that fresh water is a limited resource and is not being replaced at the same rate as it is being used. Students had just completed a science unit on the water cycle, and had a good understanding of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. Through these lessons, students continued their learning about water and its importance to communities and the environment. I enjoyed teaching this unit, as students had the opportunity to engage in hands-on, experiential activities of building their own rain catchers and measuring the rainfall over a period of time. Below are some of the students learning during this unit, enjoy!

Although I never got the chance to snap a picture of the students rain catchers before they brought them home to share with families, here is an example of a similar model that students made to gauge the rainfall over a period of time. They loved applying their measurement skills learned in math through this cross-curricular activity in tracking the rain measurements on their models.

In my second practicum, I taught a Grade 2 Mathematics unit focused on 2D and 3D shapes. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this unit, as it provided students with foundational math skills through positive, fun, and interactive learning opportunities. It also created enriching learning moments focused on hands-on and experiential activities that engaged students of multiple learning intelligences alike. This unit connected with the mathematics curriculum content focused on learning multiple attributes of 2D shapes and 3D objects, including counting the number of faces, vertices, and edges of the shapes to differentiate the attributes. The following core competencies were embedded throughout this unit.

Communication:

• I can listen and respond to others.
• I can consider my purpose when I am choosing a form and content.
• I can communicate clearly about topics I know and understand well, using forms and strategies I have practiced.

Critical Thinking:

• I can use evidence to make simple judgments.
• I can ask questions, make predictions, and use my senses to gather information.
• I can explore with a purpose in mind and use what I learn.

Social Awareness & Responsibility:

• In familiar settings, I can interact with others and my surroundings respectfully. I use materials respectfully.

Here are some examples of students creation of 2D and 3D shapes throughout the unit 🙂

During my Educ 490 practicum, I taught a Grade 2 Mathematics unit focused on measurement. I had so much fun teaching this unit as there were so many possibilities to incorporate hands-on and real-life learning topics throughout the unit. We also were fortunate to take our learning outdoors and measure natural objects around the forest and school playground. This unit connected to the mathematics curriculum content “direct linear measurement, introducing standard metric units”. It also connected to the following core competencies:

Critical and Reflective Thinking

• I can explore with a purpose in mind and use what I learn. 
• I can tell or show others something about my thinking. 
• I can contribute to and use simple criteria. 
• I can reflect on my experiences and tell others about something I learned.

Throughout the measurement unit, we engaged in cross-curricular learning moments by incorporating measurement into other subject areas, such as art, mapping, and science. Here are some student examples on Grade 2 Measurement.

During my Educ 490 practicum, I taught a small unit focused on the elements of art to my Grade 2 class. This unit connected with the Arts Education curriculum content, focused on elements design, including: line, shape, texture, and colour. Students also explored the different processes, materials, tools, and techniques used to support different art activities. The following core competencies were embedded throughout this unit:

Collaborating

• I take on different roles and tasks in the group and work respectfully and safely in our shared space.
• I express my ideas and help others feel comfortable to share theirs so that all voices are included.

Creative Thinking

• I can get new ideas or build on or combine other people’s ideas to create new things within the constraints of a form, a problem, or materials.
• I can use my imagination to get new ideas of my own, or build on other’s ideas.

Positive and Cultural Identity

• I can identify objects or images that represent things that are important to me and explain what I like and dislike.

Below are some examples of students artwork created featuring the elements of design: line, shape, colour, and texture. In the first art lesson, students created ladybugs inspired by Eric Carle’s “The Grouchy Ladybug” and the following was inspired by a spring lesson on butterflies. Enjoy!

In our blended practicum and assessment class, we had the opportunity of learning in situ at Harwin Elementary. I was grateful for the learning opportunity to engage with students in a grade 5 class and teach lessons for Arts Education, ADST, and Health Education. In this fantastic learning experience, I was so inspired by what students created and the connections made given a short period of time! Here are some examples of the lessons and the products that students created, enjoy 🙂

Fine Arts and Health Education

During our learning in situ at Harwin Elementary, I created a lesson for grade 5’s focused on kindness in anticipation of February 23rd’s Pink Shirt Day. Through this lesson, students inquired about how they can integrate acts of kindness into their daily lives and gained an understanding of the importance of kindness to self and to others to support positive mental well-being. Students demonstrated their learning through visual art forms (shapes, lines, texture, and colour) using oil pastels and watercolour paints to express their learning of kindness and positive mental well-being. Here are some samples!

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ADST and Social Studies

During this time of learning in situ, I also had the opportunity to create a cross curricular lesson for ADST and Social Studies. In this lesson, students were able to apply their skills through a hands-on activity to expand their sense of belonging and connection to place. This lesson integrated a Social Studies component by embedded stories and content of the importance of rivers to the local community and the Lheidli T’enneh territory. Students applied this learning in their creations of a canoe model made out of popsicle sticks. Here are some samples of what the students made!

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A metaphor for assessment: climbing a mountain

When asked what is my metaphor for assessment, I reflected on my experiences climbing mountains during the summer. I realized that climbing a mountain represents both formative and summative assessment. The journey up the mountain represents formative assessment. The hiker represents the teacher, with a backpack full of tools and supplies in preparation for the journey – just as a teacher plans and prepares with lesson plans and resources in anticipation for their students’ learning benefit. However, along the journey, the hiker may come across unforeseen obstacles, like a fallen tree or a stream, and they may have to redirect their path. This represents the daily formative assessments that take place in the classroom, teachers may need to redirect or differentiate instruction as they connect with their students to meet each individual student’s learning needs. The peak of the mountain represents summative assessment, which is the final destination of the learning journey and represents the intended learning outcomes. Often the hiker uses the peak of the mountain as a time for reflection on the journey they have just accomplished, just as the summative assessment reflection on the learning journey. 

I chose this metaphor because I really enjoy hiking and spending time in the mountains. It’s a very useful way for me to reflect and find a different perspective on things, which I believe is an important part of assessment. As teachers, we will continuously gather information and will need to respond to this information as we decide the best way to proceed in a way that will benefit our students’ learning. This reminded me of my experiences hiking, practicing reflection and assessing the best way to proceed. As I learn more about assessment, this metaphor may adapt and grow, just as my learning is 🙂