How to Cultivate Creativity

This week as I was searching for a topic to write about, I found a TED-Ed video that really interested me and captivated my attention. The talk by Ramsey Musallam focused on three rules that teachers should consider to help cultivate curiosity in the classroom. The rules for teaching curiosity education are: (1) curiosity comes first, (2) embrace the mess, and (3) practice reflection.

In previous blogs, I have discussed the idea about using inquiry education and passion based education to help foster students’ drive to learn. I think that various instructional approaches such as wonder walls and passion based learning can help students grow and develop their critical thinking skills. These two approaches incorporate students’ learning while integrating the curriculum with what they enjoy learning. I think that Musallam’s perspective on curiosity education can be synthesized into these approaches, extending my knowledge about about inquiry learning.

          

Musallam used a metaphor for teachers in the classroom to be like a surgeon. Surgeons are knowledgeable, and we trust our life with them to repair our bodies. Like surgeons who learn from each different case, teachers also need to consider each child and their differences. This is an important consideration for all teachers when they are working to cultivate curiosity in their students. Teachers need to think outside the ‘box’ of purely accomplishing the curriculum, they need to think about what would bring meaning to each student during their day at school.

This is where Musallam’s three rules of teaching play a role. The first rule, curiosity comes first, is driven by the student’s questions. Student’s questions drive where great instruction can lead, but great instruction cannot lead to questions of curiosity. This rule really hits home for me because it shows that by having the student’s interest, they will learn, understand, and be able to think critically. The second rule, embrace the mess, is forcing the teacher to accept that that learning does not happen in a linear fashion. Musallam describes that trial and error is what has to occur for students to learn fully. The third goal, practice reflection, is the only way that teachers will be able to improve and customize their instruction methods to fit students and their learning ability.

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The TED talk by Musallam concluded by stating that student’s questions of curiosity are the greatest tools for our classrooms. This statement is very impactful for my teaching philosophy that has grown over my four years of undergraduate study at Brock. Since first year, learning about John Dewey and his philosophy of hands on learning, I have taken a real passion towards integrating hands-on learning into my classroom. Last semester I took a class where we learned about higher level thinking in math and science. We discussed inquiry based learning and how to encourage students to think critically while participating in fun and engaging activities. Recently my learning has progressed further, understanding how to use inquiry-based knowledge using 21st century literacies. During my 21st century literacy class, we discussed various literacies to incorporate into our classroom to help acknowledge the diversity of student learning.

I think that curiosity learning allows the teacher to have more freedom to incorporate so many more aspects than just the curriculum. It allows the students to drive the lesson. It also allows the teacher to stretch the student’s learning and scaffold their learning beyond what they thought was possible. I think the only way to accomplish an effective curiosity driven classroom is by incorporating 21st century literacies that will help drive their thinking and questioning further beyond what is right in front of them. I hope to implement this teaching method in my classroom!

Passion Based Learning

Using the 21st century literacies in the classroom, there are multiple opportunities for teachers to intrigue students by using an integrated curriculum and passion based learning. As discussed in my 21st century literacies education class, an integrated curriculum connects various disciplines together. By doing this, associations are made with regards to content, the curriculum is brought to life, and boundaries are broken down. This allows students to see the larger picture and understand multiple perspectives, which is what 21st century literacies strive to achieve.

Passion based learning is an instructional approach that is under the umbrella of inquiry education. It allows students’ interests to drive how the curriculum will be integrated into the classroom. Drake, Reid, and Kolohon (2014) outline that passion based learning has only become more possible recently due to the increased use of technology in education. Technology has allowed teachers to extend their lessons on specific topics by allowing students to explore a wide variety of online research.

Creating a classroom that captures students’ attention involves more than just integrating the curriculum with the 21st century literacies. It entails creating an atmosphere where the student’s interests are accounted for, and the teacher adjusts the tools that are used. Technology is one strategy that teachers can use to create such a classroom. But the first step to creating a classroom that can incorporate technology involves teachers instructing their students to think critically about the information that is read. Once students are able to think critically about the content, then tying the curriculum with their interests can occur.

In my previous blog, I outlined how I would integrate weekly journals in my classroom to incorporate global literacy. I also stated that these journals would allow my students to research different issues that are happening around the world. This approach includes both the passion based learning concept, and provides opportunities for cross-curricular integration. What I find the most beneficial about implementing this into my classroom is that there are so many opportunities for me, as a teacher, to create very teachable moments for my students. There will also be opportunities for my future students to guide the direction of what is being learned in the classroom.

Saga Briggs outlines 25 ways to institute passion-based learning in the classroom. Her blog illustrates important points such as allowing students’ passion to develop and change. I think this is crucial for allowing any student to grow and develop as an individual in such an inquiry based type classroom. If freedom is given to the students, but we as teachers still limit where their curiosity can be explored, it does not allow for students to learn what interests them on a deeper level. A quote that I think summarizes all of this accurately is by W.B Yeats; “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire”.

Resources:

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Global Literacy In the Classroom

Over the past 6 weeks of EDUC 4P27, as a class we have unpacked the meaning of 21^st century literacies. In a number of classes, we examined 9 different literacies in depth using the jigsaw method. First we researched what these literacies actually mean, then we shared our learning with the other groups, and finally using this knowledge we found articles that showed how classrooms are using these literacies.

From this experience, I have gained a deeper understanding of how the literacies can appear in the classroom. As a result, my understanding of the 21^st century literacies has grown. I have previously stated that literacy is defined as the various techniques that individuals use to grasp and understand content. Now, I recognize that it is the teacher’s obligation to create an inclusive atmosphere for all their students that allow them to link personal experience with the social world around them (Berger, Die & Forgette-Giroux, 2009).   

The literacy that I examined in depth was global literacy. Global literacy covers topics including the ecosystem, the economy, and world history (Mundy & Manion, 2014; Niens & Reilly, 2012). In this literacy, teachers are expected to educate their students to be aware of how their decisions make an impact on the world around them, as well as having the students acknowledge and respond to the diversity within their classroom (Guo, 2014).

As a teacher candidate I believe to accomplish global literacy requires me to challenge my students to think critically and go beyond what they see and read. An idea that I think would really help my students to develop global literacy is a social justice journal. Each week a question, article, or a quote from the news would be provided. Depending on the grade, I would also have my students help me to research about what topics they would like to discover in the news. Then in the journals, the students would be required throughout the week to respond in their journals with their initial reactions and thoughts. The students could respond in a variety of ways to allow freedom of expression. Using the social justice journals can also be used as a metaphorical ‘spring board’ to connect to other curriculum strands such as geography, social studies, language arts, science and math. The various other curriculum strands explored would depend on the news topic, but there is an opportunity to connect the topics together.

By incorporating multiple strands of the curriculum together creates an integrated curriculum classroom. As discussed in the EDUC 4P27 course, integrated curriculum is when concepts from different disciplines are integrated as a whole. As examined, the advantage of incorporating this pedagogy into the classroom allows contextualization that is relevant to the learners while still accomplishing the Ministry of Education requirements. It also allows the teacher to tailor the classroom to the specific needs to each student, creating an atmosphere suitable for all students’ learning. Recently the B.C. Ministry of Education has decided to change their curriculum similar to what I have just described.

References:

Berger, M. J., Die, G. S., & Forgette-Giroux, R. (2009). Literacy, diversity and education: Meeting the contemporary challenge. Canadian and International Education. 28(1). 1-16

Guo, L. (2014). Preparing teachers to educate for 21^st century global citizenship: envisioning and enacting. Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education. 4(1). 1-23.

Mundy, K. & Manion, C. (2008). Global education in canadian elementary schools: An exploratory study. Canadian Journal of Education. 31(4). 941-974.

Niens, U. & Reilly, J. (2012). Education for global citizenship in a divided society? Young people’s views and experiences. Comparative Education. 48(1). 103-118.

21st Century Literacy in Education

As a fourth year primary/ junior concurrent education student, my course plan has required me to take various courses about education. Many of the courses have focused on the history of education, philosophers that have influenced western education, and forms of education such as inquiry based education. My current education course discusses the topic of literacy, focusing on 21^st century literacy.

To be honest, before the class started the title of ‘21^st Century Literacies: an Introduction’ did not thrill me. I had a preconceived notion that the course was going to reiterate our discussions about assessment and how to integrate it into our classroom. I also thought we were going to discuss the various standardized tests in Ontario such as EQAO. I was pleasantly surprised when the class started off breaking ‘21^st century and literacy’ into two big ideas.

From this one lecture I learned that literacy is not simply the act of being able to read words on a page. Literacy is defined as the various techniques that individuals use to grasp and understand content. From these understandings, conclusions are made allowing an understanding of their world. The 21^st century is more than just this current century, and more than the technology which is often associated with this time period. The 21^st century in education refers to the acknowledgement of diversity of student learning, the need to be able to communicate effectively, and being critically literate. Expanding further, critically literate requires the synthesis of information, making informed decisions, and effective communication in a changing environment.  

As a teacher candidate, I understand that it is my duty to teach students to use tools and skills to accomplish critical literacy. I feel there is still a lot to learn about how I am going to implement this into my classroom. For now, I have been able to conceptualize that there are no right answers because everyone has a different view of the world, and the content needs to be taught reflecting the students’ contexts. I am excited to learn more in-depth about the new literacies (media literacy, moral literacy, character education, environmental literacy, financial literacy, global literacy, multicultural literacy, technology literacy, mental health literacy, and discipline-based literacy) that can be incorporated into the classroom, that will allow me to teach my students to function and work in today’s evolving society.

Wonder Wonder on the Wall

When I think back about my education experience, all I can remember is being assigned worksheet after worksheet, sitting in rows, and not working with peers to figure out our work together. My education was my problem and no one else’s. Even in university, we sit and act as a sponge to soak up knowledge from the teacher. When I learned about inquiry based teaching methods for the first time, I knew right away that I wanted to use this method when I became a teacher.

Inquiry teaching is an instruction method adopted in the 20th century that was brought to attention by the philosopher John Dewey, that allows students to investigate, solve problems, issues, and come to terms with learning in a creative manner (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014; Özdemir & Isik, 2015). The students use the world around them to form questions and gather evidence to comprehend their environment (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). Bosse et al. (2009) states that young children have a natural curiosity driving them to question, explore, investigate and hypothesize.

Jennifer Brokofsky (2011) outlines in her blog that since children are all born with a sense of wonderment, it is the teacher’s duty to provide opportunities everyday to allow for their wonderment to take place. Letting the students know that their questions are valued and important allows inquiry based education to take place. Brokofsky builds a culture of wonder in her classroom by implementing ideas such as a Wonder Wall, Wonder of the Week, and a wonder center.

A wonder center is an area in the classroom that allows the students to write down their questions during center time or writing workshops during the school day (Heard & McDonough, 2009). The students write their questions on a sticky note and post it to the center. Later in the week, the teacher goes through the questions with the class and forms a discussion. In the discussion, the teacher encourages the students to explore and research their questions. An example from Heard and McDonough (2009) on how to incorporate these questions into daily curriculum is to have the students write a nonfiction-writing piece. This will allow the students to incorporate their language arts skills from the curriculum and allows the students to discover and unpack a topic they are interested in learning about.

Latham, E. [Erin]. (2011). Wonder center [Pintrest post]. Retrieved November 2, 2015, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/265149496780945606/

Wonder of the Week is a center in the classroom that Heard and McDonough (2009) describe as an area for students to think and respond to a posted question during free time that week. These questions are taken from the wonder center questions that are posed by the students themselves. Students write their answer on the chart paper provided. For effective practice, it is the teacher’s duty to provide pondering time allowing the class to research, discuss, and write together about the question. Class research includes reading and looking in books, looking into television programs, reading and looking in magazines, and various computer pages (Heard & McDonough, 2009). I think this is beneficial for all students because it forces them to work in groups, learn research strategies, and use higher order thinking about the various topics that they are interested in and can relate to.

Finally, Brokofsky’s wonder culture also incorporates a wonder wall.  A wonder wall is a place in the classroom where groups of questions are recorded, and shared. As students discover the answers to the questions, they can be crossed off and more can be added (J Brokofsky, 2011). I think this would be most beneficial to use at the beginning of a unit for any subject. Ask the students what they know, and what they want to know. This will also allow the teacher to gauge where to focus their attention in the curriculum, and how to make the unit more exciting for the students.

C Anderson. (2013, July 10). Wonder wall. [Web long comment]. Retrieved from http://welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.ca/2013/07/wonder-wall.html

For the past three years, I have worked at a science and engineering camp based at the University of Waterloo, where their philosophy is to foster the camper’s natural curiosity and interest through hands-on experiences. While working at this camp, I have learned first hand about the diversity that every child possess and how to incorporate their diverse learning to meet camp requirements. Last summer, I watched another camp implement a ‘wonder wall’ into their room. Over the summer I witnessed the success and triumphs that occurred in that camp room compared to others. They promoted and encouraged their campers to think critically about the topic they were going to learn. I found the students to be happier and more excited to come to camp because the students began to believe in themselves and that they could exceed the leader’s expectations.

This is similar to the TEDX talk by Shelly Write. In her talk, she discusses the importance of having the student’s guide where the learning is going (Write, 2013). The teacher does not have to be the ‘all and powerful’ knowledge-filled person in the room. In fact, she stated that she was only there to help remove obstacles that prevented the students from meeting their goals. It is the teacher’s responsibility to allow school to be a place to set fire to all children’s hearts, toward curiosity and to allow them to find their passion in the world (Write, 2013). This is why I think that a using an inquiry based teaching method, and in particular wonderment, should be a key aspect in all classrooms.

References

Bosse, S., Jacobs, G., & Anderson, T. L. (2009). Science in the air. Young Children. 64(6). 10-15.

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Heard, G., & McDonough, J. (2009). A place for wonder: Reading and Writing nonfiction in the primary grades. Georgia, ATL: Stenhouse Publishers

J Brokofsky. (2011, June 19). Building a culture of wonder: Inquiry in primary education. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://jenniferbrokofsky.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/building-a-culture-of-wonder-inquiry-in-primary-education/

Ozdemir, O. & Isik, H. (2015). Effect of inquiry-based science activities on prospective elementary teachers’ us of science process skills and inquiry strategies. Journal of Turkish Science Education. 12(1). 43-56.

Write, S. (2013). The power of student-driven learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fMC-z7K0r4