Critical
Reflection
|
Education
469H
|
Darcie Pike-Wilkie
|
12/10/2012
|
Education has often been described as “investing in
our future”. In most cases, people would generally take that to mean that we
are investing in our children. Some may overlook the idea of investing in our
future as investing in our educators. As kindergarten made the transition to
the public school system on Prince Edward Island during the last few years, it
has become increasingly apparent to me that I, an Early Childhood Educator
teaching kindergarten, have made investments and have been invested in. Where
I am now as a teacher is a product of where I have been, whom I have been
with, what I have experienced, and where I am going as an educator. As I
recently planned and implemented an integrated unit of study titled
“Restaurant” in my kindergarten class, I realized that the success of the unit
was dependent upon one key element- INVESTMENT!
When investing, it is imperative to consider “who”
is involved. As the restaurant theme emerged, it was evident that there were
many involved participants, whether they were actually aware of their impact
on the unit or not. First of all, I knew what I needed to invest as the person
planning the unit. I was cognizant of the children in my class, their needs
and strengths, and the critical nature of their participation and interest in
the unit. I also depended on the families of the children in my class. One
child’s grandmother owns a local bakery and allowed us to visit her bakery to
ask questions, have a tour, and observe the restaurant environment. I felt the
investment that my family had made on the unit, albeit perhaps unintentional,
yet necessary nonetheless. My family would often comment on the time I spent
on planning and preparing, sometimes begrudging the time I was away from them.
I became increasingly aware of the investment others had in shaping the
educator I was today- my parents, friends, teachers, families of the children
in my class, professors, co-workers, administrative staff, school board
officials, department staff- all whom had invested in me as a person and/or an
educator. Who would have thought that there were so many participants that
contributed to the success of this one month unit of study?
Next, I considered “what” was invested as this unit
was carried out. Immediately, I realize how much time I invested in the
project. At times, I feel like I am addicted to my work, always trying to
improve, and sacrificing other important things in order to have a great
lesson. I do not look for, or expect, outward recognition; in fact I prefer to
not be recognized at all. (Well, except from perhaps my own family members…) I
“feel” the recognition through the reactions, comments, and gestures of the
students in my class. I think that being raised in a home where hard work,
motivation, and determination was modelled and taught has shaped this attitude
that I have. I also am aware of the money that has been invested in carrying
out a unit of study like this. I do not believe that the unit would have been
as successful, without the personal financial investment I was willing to
make. It makes me think about how other educators invest money into their
classrooms, with little to no recognition. But then again, most do not do it
for recognition, they do it because they want to and they see the value in
it. I pondered whether I would have
invested the same amount of time, energy, and money into this unit of study
even had it not been a requirement of this course and am certain that I indeed
would have. It is like an intrinsic, innate behavior that I cannot control-
it is what makes me, me!
There were many stages to “how” I invested in the
restaurant theme. The initial stage of planning I found challenging. We were
required to submit a “rough draft” of our unit in a previous course. I had not
felt completely comfortable with the suggested layout or structure for the
unit. Once we began this course, I felt much more clarity regarding the
expectations and then felt compelled to make many necessary changes.
Originally, I was planning for possibilities. Now, I was planning for reality.
I needed to be more specific in the activities I chose and narrow down the
curriculum outcomes. I created a table very similar to the suggested lesson
plan elements sheet that was posted on Moodle for this course and then began
choosing activities. The end result is that my initial draft copy looks very
little like my actual unit plan, and I am much more pleased with result.
Typically, I am a very literacy based teacher- I
find many lessons through the books we share. The restaurant theme was a bit
challenging as there was a limited amount of books available. The public
library proved to be very beneficial in helping me find some literature I
could share with the children. I was able to collect about 15 books, many of
which were related to pizza…Yum! I also made up my own sentence strip charts-
one called At The Restaurant where the children read sentences using the sight
words “like” and “and”, and another one called Build A Burger using the sight
words “on” and “it”.
Planning for assessment tended to be a bit
repetitive. I tend to take a lot of anecdotal notes to either attach to their
“work” sample (for their portfolio) or to place in the assessment binder. Much
of my assessment was done this way. I usually would draft up a chart or table
and fill in the blanks with comments as the children participated in the
activity. For my lesson where the children were to create a picture menu on
the computer using Tux Paint, I had made an individual assessment sheet for
each child. This proved to be very cumbersome, and after discussing it with my
faculty advisor, realize that a one-pager checklist would be much more
beneficial. I felt that once I had completed the one pager, I could transfer
the information to the individual assessment sheets. Even though this activity
was done, I did go back and create the one-pager assessment sheet, so it would
be available the next time I do this activity. I also took photographs of the
children as they participated in the various activities…I like the old phrase,
“a picture is worth a thousand words.” As I looked over the assessment sheet
for the game “Syllable Burgers”, I realized that speech delays were affecting
the phonological skills of some of the children in my class. If a child was
struggling to say a word correctly, it impacted the number of syllables they
would hear as they said a word. This connected back to their performance on
the PAST assessment I had done in October- An “a-ha” moment for me…
When
planning, I try to remain aware of the multiple intelligences. I was grateful
during our mind-map that someone had mentioned the Alberton Bakery as a
restaurant. I knew that some of my students would benefit from visiting the
bakery as a learning experience, just as some would benefit from reading about
restaurants. We sang songs about food in restaurants- some children, I’m
thinking of one boy in particular, enjoy singing, dancing and acting out. Many
would ask me to play a video I had found on You Tube called I Am a Pizza by
Charlotte Diamond. I found it extremely beneficial to post many of my unit
ideas on Pinterest. I was able to bring songs, lessons, and stories up on the
LCD projector for the class to see. Of course, most of the lesson activities
were hands-on for the children. It has taken years of experience for me to
make certain that I consider the multiple intelligences as I plan and teach. I
am reminded of a few “catch phrases”…‘as educators, we should not be asking
how smart are you? We should be asking, how are you smart?’ And ‘if a child
cannot learn the way that we teach, then we should teach the way that they
learn.’
Following the researching and planning was the
implementing of the unit. Implementing the unit went relatively smooth,
although there were changes or “tweaks” here and there. Most changes were made
“on the fly” and I realized that sometimes what seems to be logical and
practical in my head is not always in reality. For example, when we played
Spaghetti and Meatballs, I had originally planned to have all ten meatballs on
the plate for the children. Quickly, I realized that I should only place a few
meatballs on the spaghetti at a time, so that I could differentiate the
meatballs based on their strengths and needs of the child as we played the
game. Most of the activities for this unit were new and with anything, the
more you do something the more comfortable you become with it. I think that
the changes I made will likely benefit any future use of the activities.
I was hopeful that the children would remain
interested in the unit and felt that in all likelihood they would be, based on
my observations, but there was still a small seed of doubt in my mind. I was also wondering if the unit would
capture their attention for a full month, particularly with Christmas on the way.
I think it was helpful that I did not place all of the restaurant materials
out at once. I gradually added items, letting the children “find” them as they
explored. Their excitement usually fuelled one another. As I noticed the
classroom restaurant not as popular as it originally was, I added Christmas props
to the area and immediately saw the hustle and bustle again. It is amazing
that the simplest things (like a Christmas apron, a Christmas tablecloth, and
Christmas decorations) can extend the life of a unit!
Throughout
the unit, I tried to consider gender bias and social issues (roles of workers
in a restaurant), the 21st century learner (technology), and
cultural issues. My “hook” for the unit was when I hid behind the easel and
changed in to large chef hat, apron, and thick mustache, wielding a spatula.
The children giggled and quickly realized… “that’s you, Mrs.Wilkie.” I made
certain that I had the discussion with them that not all chefs were males with
mustaches. I also made sure that when we discussed and wrote about the
various roles of people that work in restaurants, that both males and females
were included for all roles. I had created a vocabulary chart with pictures
and words for the various roles depicting both males and females. We read a
story “Dim Sum for Everyone”, a book that celebrates a Chinese cultural custom
and a universal favorite activity- eating! I also tried to ensure that I met
the needs of the 21st Century learner by using technology when
possible. After completing the Tux Paint menu and using the LCD screen for
videos and songs, I realized how capable of and receptive to technology the
children are. (Maybe it is some
teachers that need to become more comfortable as 21st century
learners…)
Lastly, but most importantly, I asked myself “why”
investment was required for the unit to be successful. Well, the obvious
reason for me was the children! To see them actively engaged, curious, and
willing to take risks as they learned, made all my efforts worthwhile. I particularly enjoyed observing the
children in their play environment- they re-enact life to learn about life. I
witnessed problem-solving, cooperation, and creativity. As I reflected on their development, it was
apparent that every child had made progress. Perhaps it is evident in the
“work” samples stored in their portfolios, perhaps it is recorded in an
anecdotal note in the assessment binder, or perhaps a new social skill has
been learned through the activities. Perhaps it was an intended outcome or
perhaps it has incidental.
Why else did I invest in this unit as did? Personal and professional growth! Knowing I was being observed and critiqued,
made me feel vulnerable, but at the same time, I realized the opportunity
afforded to me through this experience. I love a challenge. I somehow enjoy
pushing myself further and further, attempting to reach my full potential.
Isn’t that what we want for our students- for them to reach their full
potential? Why then would I expect any less for myself? As I continue on with
my educational journey, I am reminded that investing in myself as a life-long
learner, is an investment in my family and my students. Ththings that are most
important in life are worth investing in!
No comments:
Post a Comment