Entrance slip for our October 7 class: Moshe Renert on math and climate change

 A number of quotes stood out to me for various reasons:

1. "Occasional references to the environment can also be found in past and present curriculum documents. But by and large, ecology has played only a negligible role in mathematics pedagogy"
   
   I chose to highlight this quote because it prompted me to investigate. Firstly, I took a look at the year of publication of this paper. It was published in 2011, ten years ago. I know that our curriculums update slowly so I was wondering if in 10 years the mathematics curriculum has been appended to include any mention of ecology. My investigation overwhelmingly supported the idea that this article's claims are relevant even ten years later. This is unacceptable. The only redeeming factor is that the mathematics education curriculum mentions in each grade level incorporating the FNESC which does incorporate cross curricular elements with ecology, including a few small activates on sustainability... (more on this later).
   
   
2. "But humans' inability to feel large numbers is very problematic in our dealings with ecology and the environment. If we do not feel numbers, then our emotional access to the physical phenomena they represent is much diminished"
   
   This one prompted me to reflect on my own high school education and recall where I was and was not encourage to elevate my intuition for big numbers. I would say that largely in the Math curriculum I was not. In the science curriculum, specifically in senior Chemistry, I recall some attempt to teach big numbers intuition. One example was in gaining an intuition for Avogadro's number (E23). it is interesting that I actually have a lingering memory from Chemistry 11 of the teacher's use of baseballs to teach this concept.
   
   
   

   

   
   In reflection it is interesting to me that this particular connection remained with me for so many years. Perhaps a similar conceptual understanding should be taught in the mathematics classroom as math is subject that reaches more students than Chemistry might be. Moreover, taking a cross-curricular approach with ecology would make a great teachable moment for our students.
   (source: https://slideplayer.com/slide/17298273/)
   
   
3. " A paradigm shift of mathematics education/ would recognize that the mathematics class itself is a living complex system, integrally embedded and open to exchanges with its environment."

This one stood out to me for very specific reason. The article calls it a 'paradigm shift' and in fact it might be but it would be a shift that is would not be entirely difficult to draft or make. Namely because a curriculum which recognizes the  closeness of mathematics principles and the environment already exists in the form of the FNESC curriculum in BC. I have long felt as though the FNESC curriculum should be a resource more largely utilized in the BC public school system and this article gives me yet another reason to advocate for it. 

A chapter in the FNESC curriculum is dedicating to land and water sustainability including activities which point to both climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. 

(Source: http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PUBLICATION-Math-FP-TRG-2020-09-04.pdf)

 

• Finally, I intend to address the climate crises in my physics classes by teaching students about natural climate change drivers such as Milankovitch cycles and showing how these are used to justify changes in climate by climate deniers when in fact they are not sufficient to explain the phenomena observed. Moreover, I intend to teach my students how to read and respond to climate change myths, make concessions about scientific fact which points to natural drivers of climate, but think and respond critically by adding that only anthropogenic sources of carbon can explain the wide gaps between what can be explain by natural sources and what is observed. This way my students can feel confident having meaningful, respectful, and academically honest conversations about the climate with people from multiple perspectives and worldviews. The following resource has helped me greatly with this goal:
  
  https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/

I strongly encourage all to take a look.

Exit Slip: Sharing My Sit Spot and rope making experiences

 My reflections from the sit spot:

I feel the sharp prick of the needles on my hands

I smell the sweet sticky syrup running down the side of the trees and it reminds me of Christmas morning

I hear the rustling of leaves by my friends in the distance and it reminds me of playing in the creek near my house as a child.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1InUvbwkpjr8QTphO5qBXIL4D3YolWIE2/view?usp=sharing

I taste the moist autumn air, which contrasts with the dry panting after a run in the heat that characterized my summer not too long ago. There is a constant change, an unstoppable yet inevitable cycle as seasons fade into one another. In many ways the seasons are an example of a constant and predictable change.

I see the rows of tall green trees that remind me of the trips my family takes to the tree farm each Christmas. Many of the trees around me turn orange, red, or yellow these ones will stay green long into the winter. I remember the snap, crackle and pop these leaves would make when a branch with a few left on was thrown into the fires my friends and family would gather around while camping.

One thing that surprised me from the rope activity was the strength of the rope. I tried with both Marlaina and Mike and we tugged on the sides of cornhusk rope but could not break it.

Additionally, I connected with these patterns on the leaves... Are they eggs? Seeds? Who knows? 

Entrance slip for Thurs Sept 23

     Immediately from reading the article one thing that stood out to me was how disarming, relaxed, and peaceful the tone the author set was despite the article essentially being about affecting monumental systemic change. As the reader of this blog post I want you to take yourself back to reading the article, looking at the author's choice of images and language and contrast it with the statement I made about "monumental systemic change." I hope that the contrast in feeling, in connotative meaning you experience is dramatically different when you read my words and the words of Kallis. In reality, the denotative meaning of what we are saying is similar. Both talk about big changes. I hope to emulate the tone and mood that the author sets in this article in my day to day life. I want to be a change maker and what better way to affect change than to do so in a way that makes everyone feel very united, wielding a sense of togetherness. From the title and introductory sentences the reader immediately gathers a sense of community in the types of changes she purposes. She opens by discussing the fact that each member of a community has so much to offer. I think this is synonymous with a workplace, a classroom, or any other environment. Everyone has strengths and weakness and each occupy a niche role in their own way. This is important to remember when dealing with students, for example. Each one has a purpose and they have strengths and weaknesses that need to be tapped into in order to create the best system for everyone.

    Additionally, I enjoyed Kallis' decision to discuss sustainability. Often we as scientists who want to make change toward a sustainable future take the "doomsday" approach. It is important for us to remember that people don't respond well to this sort of change making. In fact, often we are quick to call out this tactic in our critics, but employ it ourselves. I think that this can be generalized to many difficult topics in science education. Discussing issues with the mindset of establishing community, locality, and togetherness. Big change can start in our own homes. 

    I think this idea of tone in context can be carried over to the craft activities. The one that stood out to me the most was the rope making craft. It surprised me when the presenter noted how the twists in the rope had so much energy. Energy is a curricular concept for a physics teacher. Often we think of types of energies being strict and categorical but the energy in the twist is so natural and intuitive. Anyone who has held a twist is aware of the object's tendency to return to its untwisted state. This is an intuitive perception of energy, and intuition for energy is something many teachers struggle to instill in students but its also something that nature likely has already instilled in everyone. In this situation I think of the metaphor of a bridge to represent a teacher. One of the metaphors that I see for myself as a teacher is a bridge, connecting the intuition that many have for the subject with the outcomes that are prescribed by the curriculum. It is clear from the craft videos that connecting with the indigenous elements of our environment can be powerful ways of creating unexpected teachable moments. I wonder where I will find the next hidden teacher in nature?

Food for thought: How many out there have ever twisted a swing and spun around in a spiral? Where does the energy for this spinning come from?

September 16: Exit Slip

 

The activities today helped me to reflect on garden learning further and this week I was able to consider how garden learning could be relevant to mathematics and physics learning.

Firstly, we listened to Susan play the “country life” song on the accordion. Using music to set the tone for the lesson helps to disarm the student and to create an environment for collaboration and discussion. I remember singing along with Marlaina beside me and we both were smiling throughout. Next, we did the drawing activity. I identified so many different types of angles in both nature and in man made structures. Without being asked I was compelled to label the angles on my drawings and to notice how something like scaling an image has no affect on angle measurement. Something like scale is difficult to convey on a 2D textbook and the 3D nature with its infinite heights and distances allowed me to see the nuances in the angles and consider concepts in a broader context. I can see myself designing activities with my future classes, particularly regarding scale and angles and other geometric concepts, that involve an outdoor lesson component. One of the observations I made in the class was how man-made structures often have straight lines and 90-degree angles, however, this was challenged on my walk back to Scarfe. Nicole and I noticed a playground where many of the lines were curved and the angles were not right or straight. I immediately snapped a picture, realizing that Susan would likely encourage me to add it to the blog if she was present. I would not have been in the headspace of making these types of observations if it wasn’t for learning outside this morning. Taking the classroom outdoors makes the outdoors something that students become accustomed to exploring in a curricular context. It means that students are more ready for learning from their environment and the concepts covered in class become an integrated part of the student’s life whether it be a walk to the park or a camping trip.

Finally, we looked at the sundial and astronomy body lab. One thing that jumped out to me was how quick everyone was able to calibrate their fist length into degrees. I had been struggling to encourage students in my math summer camp to understand calibration and an activity like this would have served them well in that lesson. Seeing Dion get the time almost correct on the sun dial gave me a sense of awe. Lessons with a “wow factor” are difficult to achieve in the classroom. There was something about seeing the scale of the clock, the size of experiment that immediately grasped and held the audience’s attention. The movement of our bodies meant that we were never falling asleep and the use of nature as a teaching tool served to be not only a teaching experience but an unforgettable experience. It makes me wonder what other tools, toys, or parts of our vast world can be used in the physics classroom. Take a look at some pictures of my stick bugs what angles do their little legs make? Can you think of ways of using them in the geometry classroom?

Grant & Zeichner: On becoming a reflective teacher: Entrance Slip for Sept 16

Does this article 'speak to you' as a new teacher candidate in Vancouver in 2021, even though it was written in a different time and place? What in this article reaches or touches your life and ideas as a teacher candidate, and why? What seems dated or irrelevant, and why?

 Despite being authored in both a different time and place the article On Becoming a Reflective Teacher by Grant and Zeichner speaks to me in 2021 Vancouver. The idea of being a reflecting, questioning and inquiring teacher is a concept I feel is timeless. The idea of constantly seeking to elevate oneself in their profession, refusing to accept falling into mundane routines or functioning through intuition alone stretches through time, place and even across numerous facets of life. No more important is it, however, than in teaching. In observing teachers, whether as students or as teacher candidates, it remains important never to assume that anything came without effort. In another course this year we sought to refute the idea that being a student is equivalent to being a teacher apprentice. For this reason, I would argue that when Grant and Ziechner cite the “thousands of hours” students have spent assessing teachers this figure is somewhat irrelevant (p. 111). The student is not inquiring into the multifaceted approach, the additional elements that go on behind the scenes making the class possible. I concede, however, that as teacher candidates it is possible to apprentice a teacher through observation provided there is an appropriate level of inquiry. This is something that I must make myself aware of as I enter my practicum (p. 113). Moreover, many of the problems that teachers and teacher candidates faced at the time of the publication of this article remain relevant challenges today. As a student in the teacher education program, I could see how it is possible to concern myself too much with seeking to “secure a favorable evaluation” from an instructor rather than achieve the most valuable learning (p. 105). Additionally, the issue of high pupil-teacher ratios, pressure to cover set curricula, and teacher growth being hurdled by the dominant institutional norms all remain challenges in the modern school (p. 108, 109). For this reason the approach to becoming a reflective teacher prescribed by authors Grant and Zeichner remain relevant and can help to inform my teaching decades later. 

 In what ways does this article help you develop your ideas about teacher inquiry and critical thinking -- both through points you agree with and those you may disagree with?

 In the article On Becoming a Reflective Teacher authors Grant and Zeichner explain how and why one should become a reflective teacher rather than one who is routine. The author’s spent a great deal of time discussing what it means to be “reflective” as a teacher, something that helped me better understand what teacher inquiry is. In summary a reflective teacher is one who thinks about the context of the classroom, its place, and considers the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to addressing issues and situations that arise in the classroom. The authors reference Dewey who defines reflective action as the “active, persistent, and careful consideration” (p. 105) of both the processes and outcomes in the classroom. In many ways this seems to parallel a scientific methodology, something that I can relate to. It involves making observations, drafting methods of solving problems, testing ideas, and considering the results of actions taken. The article further informs my thinking on inquiry and critical thought by explaining that a reflective (or inquiring) teacher should be openminded, responsible for the consequences of their actions, and exercise wholeheartedness (pp. 105-107). The authors provide a sort of roadmap for beginning as an inquiring teacher. As a teacher on practicum, I must be mindful not to assume that the many layers of the classroom such as student routine, classroom management or student expectations came out of thin air. I must acknowledge that I am walking into an environment that has been put together by an experienced teacher, I must understand that the classroom functions because of the actions taken by the teacher before I arrived in the classroom. To truly understand how this classroom came to be I must inquire with the teacher about how the classroom environment was achieved and ensure I understand what tactics went into producing the classroom environment I am walking into. As I enter the profession of teaching, I must remember to remain curious about how I can improve in my profession, I must actively criticize and question when I am falling into routines whether there are ways to improve, to take my classroom to the next level and ensure that I am always pushing my teaching to become better.

Our First Class: Exit Slip

From the words of Frank McCourt and the discussion with my peers I gained several insights into how to level with my students, and how to not only deal with behavioral challenges but moreover how to turn them into teaching tools and use them in the classroom. One of the challenges that Dr. McCourt recalled from his experience teaching English was that the students often wanted to “vent” about the novels. Dr. McCourt labelled the venting as venting and I think, in a sense, that served a multifold purpose. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I have often used a strategy called thought labelling where we learn not to suppress thoughts but rather just to gently move them into categories such as thoughts or feelings. This helps to create distance from the thought or feeling. I wonder if labelling the venting as venting helped to separate the student from the emotion? Moreover, Dr. McCourt went a step further, he learned to channel the elements of valid criticism from his students and have them turn that into learning. I wonder if creating the distance between the student and the emotion allowed this tool to be accepted by the students. Another way that he met the students where they were was with the example of late slips, he had students use their experience faking late slips as a tool for learning. For me this provokes the question of how this can be transferred into teaching physics. While it might translate directly in English, how can I take relevant experiences in the students’ lives and apply them to a subject such as physics? In discussion with peers at the garden we drafted the examples of sport, amusement park rides, or even architecture as examples of potential, “bridges” between physics and the everyday lives of students. From the class as whole, what struck me was the strategies of bringing myself to the level of students, meeting them where they are at any moment in time and being authentic to who I am. Balancing authenticity with meeting any student where they are, I expect, is likely to be the key to successfully educating students.

Hello World!

Today is September 9, 2021. This is my first post