PME 831 - Innovative Curriculum Planning

Although I’ve been teaching grade ⅘ for over half of my twenty-year teaching career, each September still has me scrambling! Along with a personal desire to always improve my students’ experiences, a recent re-working of BC’s curriculum to emphasize competencies over content means that I’m constantly revisiting my material and approach. Typically, I begin with a ‘backwards mapping’ approach, by reading through the BC curriculum website to ensure I understand the overarching ‘Big Ideas’, along with their connection to the Core Competencies and suggested content. From there, I centre my planning around a major concepts, activities or projects.

I work at a school with a diverse range of learners and needs, so my number one goal when planning is to make sure I’m making the content relevant, accessible, and engaging. That means interspersing sections of text with video clips, writing assignments with hands-on activities, using humour and music whenever possible, and endeavouring to establish real-world connections with whatever we’re learning about. I have found it useful to reflect on the lessons and units as I’m teaching, and I leave myself notes (yep, literal stick notes :) for future years - what worked, what didn’t, students’ feedback, suggestions for enhancing student learning for next year.

When I first started teaching, I didn’t fully appreciate the power of ‘teachable moments’ - incidental learning. However, now I know that some of the most powerful and memorable learning in my classroom takes place when questions arise and provoke spontaneous discussion. Although I think it’s still important to have a framework and direction for whatever I’m teaching, I’m not so worried now if a lesson is ‘derailed’ by a spontaneous foray in a different direction. Smith notes that “innovation is most likely to flourish in environments that are flexible, responsive and allow for coalition formation and connectedness” (Smith, 2011, p. 428).

This module’s exercise (see attached jpg) was useful in helping crystalize my strengths and weaknesses in the context of innovation. In reflecting on the results, I noticed that while I consider myself a creative and engaging teacher, I definitely have room to grow. One major area I struggle with is the gradual release of responsiblity in my classroom. I definitely do not include enough student choice; inquiry-based learning is notably limited; I tend toward more of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach; and I often focus more on mastery that I probably should. I think this is due to a few things:

1. My students typically have poor self-regulation skills, so I’m afraid to let go of the reins for fear of the chaos that will inevitably ensue;

2. Individualizing learning can be exhausting in a classroom with such a wide range of abilities;

3. I really do love interacting with the students and want to be right there in the middle!

For much of my career, one of the driving forces of my instruction was the pursuit of mastery and excellence - and by that, I meant the highest scores on tests… As such, I believe my approach aligned with the ‘Looking Only at the Top’ approach described by Sternberg (2008). I now realize, to my shame, that my standard of measuring excellence ignored the valiant efforts and often amazing growth of my lower-achieving students, who deserved just as much credit as the students with the highest marks.

Innovating my practice will involve ensuring that my planning provides opportunities for all students to demonstrate excellence.

References:

Smith, K. (2011). Cultivating innovative learning and teaching cultures: A question of garden design. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(4), 427—438.

Sternberg, B. (2008). Excellence for all. Educational Leadership, 66(2), 14—19.

For over a decade now, Albert Einstein’s famous words have been featured on a poster hanging above my classroom desk: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” (Einstein & Calaprice, 2011). Too often, the constant rush and pressure to check off standards and plough through curriculum sucks all the joy out of learning, and curiosity can become a second casualty. This module’s resources

Three Stretches: Inquiry, Self-Regulation and Indigenization

Although Edutopia’s video on inquiry and developing questions was inspiring, the students featured in the video demonstrated much stronger academic and self-regulation skills othan the typical students I teach at my high needs school. In order for my students to be able to engage in meaningful inquiry, I need to be proactive and include self-regulated learning in my framework. The readings demonstrated how the First Peoples Principles of Learning and Indigenous ways of knowing might be helpful in achieving these goals.

Self-Regulated Learning

According to Zimmerman, “self-regulation refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals.” (Zimmerman, 2000, p.14, in Chung, 2011) Many of my students struggle with self-regulation skills such as emotion regulation, resilience, time management, goal-setting, self-monitoring an overal impulse-control. Shanker (2011) says that students with poor self regulation skills are often exerting so much energy trying to cope with stressors (biological and social) that they don’t have enough energy to pay attention to the teacher or resist impulses. In order for children to master more complex skills and concepts, they need to learn how to self-regulate, and this often needs to be explicitly taught. Therefore, providing students with vocabulary and practice with self-regulation skills will set them up for success in the classroom, particularly when it comes to independent work and inquiry-based learning.

Inquiry & Indigenizing the Curriculum

I’ll be honest - letting go of the reins is difficult for me. However, I found Brokenleg’s discourse on the First Peoples’ principle of independence and discipline very impactful. When speaking of the four elements of his circle of courage (which he describes as a ‘resiliency code’), Brokenleg identifies belonging, mastery, independence and generosity as four foundation Indigenous principles. When speaking of independence (through the teaching of (self-)discipline), Brokenleg notes that the goal of parents (and by proxy, teachers) is to empower young people so they don’t need us anymore (Brokenleg, 2015). This reminds me of the concept of the gradual release of responsibility - something I’m often too gradual about - which is so important in inquiry learning. First Peoples’ principles of learning might be where self-regulation and inquiry find a home base.

The Importance of Dialogue, Reflection and ‘Fun’

Many forms of the informal learning discussed by Moore and Klein (2020), such as talking with others, collaboration, observing, reflecting, mentoring, and problem-solving with others, connect directly to first peoples’ principles of learning. For example, the FNESC notes that “learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational”, and Brokenleg notes that learning is founded in story, is reflective, is based on connections, and speaks to the heart (Brokenleg, 2015). Battise believes that “Decolonizing Indigenous education first and foremost must be framed within concepts of dialogue, respect for educational pluralities, multiplicities, and diversities (Battiste, 2013, p.107). I grew excited when reading this because all of these principles align with the ‘new’ BC curriculum’s core competencies of communication, self and social responsibility, and critical and creative thinking. Strengthening these core competencies is “a metacognitive process facilitated and supported by teacher and peer dialogue, an opportunity for reflection on learning activities, and a chance to focus on evidence of growth over time” (BCTF Education Change Bulletin, Feb 2017).

I need to keep these stretches in mind as I work through my innovative planning framework. My design stage needs to focus as much on skills as content, and seeking resources that provide an Indigenous perspective. Am I allowing room for flexibility and spontaneity - both for myself and my students? My classroom environment needs to promote curiosity and care both implicitly and explicitly, explicitly teaching self-regulation skills (goal-setting, growth mindset, and other vocabulary). As students learn and practice, I need to make sure content and skills are relevant I (beyond just factual, or ‘fun’ (Tews & Noe, 2019), problem-based and involve collaboration. It will be important for me to be personally reflective in order to adjust where necessary, as well as to offer interventions and extensions for struggling students. And when it comes to assessment, the students and I will be looking for process over product, through check-ins, feedback, and celebration.

References:

Battiste, M. (2013). Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning spirit. Purich Publishing Limited.

Brokenleg, M. (2015, October 26). First Nations principles of learning. YouTube. Retrieved July 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PgrfCVCt_A

Chung, Y. B. & Yeun, M. (2011). The Role of Feedback in Enhancing Students’ Self-regulation in Inviting Schools. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, (2), 22-27.

Edutopia. (2015, August 24). Inquiry-Based Learning: Developing student-driven questions. YouTube. Retrieved July 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdYev6MXTOA

Einstein, Albert, and Alice Calaprice. The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2011, pages 99-101

FNESC. (n.d.). First peoples principles of learning. First Nations Education Steering Committee FNESC. Retrieved July 16, 2022, from http://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

Roessger, K. M. (2020). Assessment Strategies for Reflective Learning in the Workplace: A Pragmatic Approach. Adult Learning, 31(4), 175–184.

Shankar, S. (2011, December 7). TEDxYMCAAcademy- dr. Stuart shanker- self regulation and learning. YouTube. Retrieved July 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTbAFmOdImY

Smith, D. J., Kassan, A. usha, Mudry, T. E., Mukred, R., & Goopy, S. (2021). Supporting Newcomer Youth Through the Process of School Integration in Canada: A Brief Report Highlighting Student Voices. Canadian Journal of Counselling & Psychotherapy / Revue Canadienne de Counseling et de Psychothérapie, 55(4), 484–496.

Tews, & Noe, R. A. (2019). Does training have to be fun? A review and conceptual model of the role of fun in workplace training. Human Resource Management Review, 29(2), 226–238.

Villarroel, V., Benavente, M., Chuecas, M. J., & Bruna, D. (2020). Experiential learning in higher education. A student-centered teaching method that improves perceived learning. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17(5), 1–14.