Community of Pracice

            Working in a Community of Practice (C.o.P.) was an interesting experience for me. I have worked in a C.o.P. before, by participating in group work in other classes and work environments. A C.o.P. is described as “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2004, p. 4).

            It was a wonderful experience working with my C.o.P. As we worked together I gained greater insights with regards to the articles and their real-life application in my future teaching career. Our C.o.P. worked very well together and I appreciated all of their thoughts. From the beginning of our group work we made a contract that we remained committed to throughout our working experiences. We made sure that there was always a great deal of communication between group members.

This communication was most fully shown throughout our discussions and group meetings. First and foremost, as a group we would communicate when the best time for everyone to meet, before we made a decision about times. Secondly, if a member was unable to meet on a particular day (ie. they were sick), they would email and text all members of the group to make sure that everyone knew they would not be there. This allowed our group to trust and rely on one another. Finally, when we did meet, we made sure that every member of the group had their voice heard.Working with Artesian Water was great. I learned a lot about how a group can be successful when all opinions are given and there is a positive climate. 
The reason behind our success as a C.o.P. is due to the fact that we became very comfortable with one another. We provided a positive climate and culture that made us feel as though our thoughts could be shared and received with respect. Once all thoughts were given, we discussed upon a couple that the majority of the members thought to be the best. We then added upon these ideas with bits and pieces of all the given ideas to create one group idea as opposed to one individual’s idea. Artesian Water has developed my communication skills. This development will allow me to be a more successful group member in the variety of Community of Practices that I will encounter in the future.

References

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School

Adult Learning

      Throughout my experience in Professional Development and Lifelong Learning I have attained a much greater understanding of what it means to be an adult learner. I have examined many of these discoveries, in depth, throughout my "Individual Reflection" assignment. I would like to highlight some of the discoveries that I have made throughout my learning journey in EDUC 455. 

1. Adult learning does not necessarily mean that I taken time off from school and come back as an adult to be educated. I have not left school since I began pre-school when I was three years of age. However, adult learning means being a lifelong learner. Rather than learning purely from lectures, I will be learning from personal and work experiences, discussions with others, etc.  Throughout my time in this course I have learned a great deal about myself and am now able to classify myself as an adult learner.

(Spencers13, 2013)

I chose this image to represent my discovery of adult learning due to the fact that earlier in my learning journey I resembled the child on her father's shoulders. She relies on her mother's and father's guidance to learn the fundamental skills required for success in education. However, as I have aged I have moved towards the parents. The parents no longer require assistance to learn the fundamentals of knowledge. They rely on their own knowledge and learn through the experiences they have through interactions with each other, their child and work life. As an adult learner, I will never stop learning, however, my form of learning will change. 

2. As an adult learner I consider myself an "autonomous individual capable of identify[ing my] own learning needs" (MacKeracher, 2004, p. 26). Adult learners need to rely on themselves to develop their knowledge more fully. As adults age, they will have less teachers around them that tell them how to learn and what to learn. To prevent stagnation, I as an adult learner, must take my learning into my own hands in order to progress my understanding and knowledge. Being an autonomous learner is significant for me as a lifelong learner as it demonstrates to myself that I have the motivation and drive to better myself throughout my learning journey.

3. I am a very goal-oriented adult learner. Every class I take in my education career has been specifically chosen to improve myself as an individual and contributes to my goal of becoming a teacher. As I accomplish each class I know that I am taking a step closer to reaching my goal of becoming a teacher. This provides me with a greater intrinsic drive to continue on my school learning journey to reach my goals. Outside of my career goals, I am also working on personal and health goals. These goals keep me focused. I choose to learn more about activities that will improve myself to be able to reach my personal and health goals, along with my career goals. Goal-oriented lifelong learning allows me to be a more well-rounded individual through expanding my knowledge in a variety of areas.

This is my ten year vision and incremental goals that I have made for myself. Although some of my goals require a sanctioned education in order to complete them, many of my goals require other forms of knowledge and education to make them a success. As an adult learner, I will be a lifelong learner in areas that are relevant and interesting to me.

4. As an adult learner, I connect knowledge to real life examples. This allows me to take the information that is relevant and make it more meaningful for myself. For example, whilst in EDUC 425: Educational Psychology I found most of the theories to be very dry and irrelevant. However, when I studied how the theories could be applied in my classroom, I was able to develop a much greater appreciation for psychology. I also received a hunger to learn more about the topics presented to assist me in my future teaching endeavours.

5. As an adult learner I must be open to new experiences. By allowing myself to be open to diverse thoughts and experiences I am able to attain a much greater amount of knowledge. These experiences will allow me to understand more fully what is important to me and what my self-concept truly is. When I am open to my self-concept and other diverse experiences I will be a much more effective teacher. This effectiveness will result from knowing who I am, my strengths and weaknesses, etc. Students do not learn from teachers that "distance themselves from the subject [and the students] they are teaching" (Palmer, 1997, p. 16). When I am a teacher, I will more fully understand my desires and knowledge to better assist my future students.

6. Finally, as an adult learner I must constantly attempt to deconstruct and decolonize my knowledge (Smith, 2012). Smith (2012) explains that history is written by the victor. As a result, a great deal of the 'knowledge' I have attained thus far in my life may be biased towards Western winners. I must decolonize this knowledge to develop a strong understanding of the truth about history. This will allow me to be a more knowledgable individual by questioning what I believe to be true. As a teacher, I must allow my students to question and ponder what they are learning in order to develop a fuller understanding of the world around them.

Since my involvement in the "Individual Reflection" assignment, many of my discoveries have remained the same. However, my knowledge and growth has developed substantially even in this short period of time. Throughout my readings and experiences with my C.o.P., I have become a more professional individual that is very accepting of the idea of being an adult learner. New knowledge can, and will, always be attained. This new knowledge will not only better me as an individual, but also my future students.

References

MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning. (2nd ed., pp. 26-52). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.

Palmer, P. J. (1997). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity in teaching. Change, 29(6), 14-21.

Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. (2nd ed., pp. 61-80). New York, NY: Zed Books Ltd.

Spencers13. (Artist). (2013, Nov 18). Loving, Learning Family [Web Drawing]. Retrieved from http://spencers13.deviantart.com/art/Loving-Learning-Family-414397565

Everyone is Different

           Every individual is different, and everyone has their own story. As a teacher I must include the diversity of my students into the classroom to allow all students to feel welcome and included. A quote from Maxine Greene (1993) that I love is,

(Greene, 1993, p. 211)

 (Hargreave, 2009)

When individuals are made to feel as though they are unimportant and insignificant, as if physically placed in the margins of a piece of paper through the treatment of others, a rift will develop between the community of practice. In instances of marginalization, anger and hatred can develop.

          As a teacher, one of my biggest worries is how to include all of my students and have them feel important. I do not want to be the teacher that unintentionally pushes a student to the side. The pain and damage that I could cause to a student is terrifying to me. However, what I need to do is make a conscious effort to include all. An activity that I have planned for my students will occur during the first week of class. I will cut a giant piece of paper into puzzle pieces. I will then have the students put pictures and words that describe themself onto their puzzle piece. At the end of the class, I will put all the puzzle pieces together and place them on the wall. We will then have a class discussion about how every individual is unique on their own, however, when all the uniqueness is put together we become a whole beautiful masterpiece. I will strive to include all students in the group discussion. My goal as a teacher is to provide all students with the feelings of importance and inclusion.

References

Greene, M. (1993). Diversity and inclusion: Toward a curriculum for human beings. Teachers College Record, 2(95), 211-221.

Hargreave, E. (Photographer). (2009, July 13). Lined paper [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/17041261@N08/3716751899/in/photolist-6ErjRi-8W1vUf-cfoXcL-eEW23e-8hGjKL-aYUynK-cAuCH3-fz63vE-fyQK4z-fyQJX8-fyQJLK-fz63iq-7JFfwr-6uwxAC-9282Ax-bmyB8q-97oHC-6b72yA-dfE2MN-88T62N-bqUGm6-bmzwPs-bsYc7d-epxyi6-eqsDaU-9t2eLE-dtoneg-dtonme-dtonsM-dtonHp-5HGQzF-5HGPhZ-5HM9Bh-5HMadC-5HJ5cc-5HM8r7-b4aijn-6z4trZ-7G4VEg-7k7J9Q-bpx3ni-bkgwi2-bmsSpa-bmsPBk-bmsVN8-bmsQMZ-bmsRLF-bmsS7K-biP97k-7L7uw3-tYDac

Climate Crisis

My favourite ‘Ted Talks’ speaker is Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson is an author, educator and overall fantastic speaker that draws on extremely relevant topics with regards to education. I have provided my three favourite videos from him that I believe are the most helpful in my understanding of how education must be changed in order to better suit the students in society at this time. He has truly inspired me to be the best teacher that I can be.

The first video that I wish to discuss is entitled, Bring on the Learning Revolution!, which discusses how schools are not doing the best job that they can. Robinson makes a profound statement when he says that there does not need to be a reform to the school system, as the system is in fact broken. However, there needs to be a revolution in order to allow for students to have adequate success (Robinson, 2010). 

(Robinson, 2010)

Many students do not enjoy school because they are not interested in the topics being delivered to them. I also believe that the teachers are not properly engaging the students. Teachers must look at what interests their students, how their students learn, etc. in order to have the students enjoy school. This could be achieved through different teaching methods, such as group discussion, interactive assignments, allowing students to do projects that interest them (ie. Performing a dance or song, creating a sculpture with rationale, etc.) instead of the basic essay or written tests that many teachers have their students complete. In Stolp and Smith’s (1995) book, Transforming School Culture, they mention just that when they state

(Stolp & Smith, 1995, p.15)

Students need to enjoy what they are doing in order to be engaged. Teachers must focus on their students’ needs and desires in order to allow for the success of their students. I truly believe this statement to be true. I had a number of teachers throughout my schooling career that did not make the projects or activities enjoyable. There was one teacher in particular that on a number of occasions stated that she disliked her students and her job.  She did not allow for fun to occur in the classroom, and therefore I learned very little. This is the only class in my schooling career that I do not remember a single thing I learned, other than that my teacher did not like teaching. I believe that had she taught with more “enthusiasm and imagination” (Stolp & Smith, 1995, p. 15) I would have learned a considerable amount more.

            The next video that I would like to mention is entitled, How Schools Kill Creativity. I found that this video is extremely similar to the previous one, just with some added crucial points. I love that Robinson discussed that the education system was built for a time of industrialism (Robinson, 2006). The times have changed, and there are many more options for students. Robinson mentions that “intelligence is diverse” (Robinson, 2006, 13:00). As a human race we need diversity. If every person was exactly the same, we would be able to fill one job position (ie. A lawyer), however, that would leave many areas with no individuals available to fill them (ie. Police officers, firefighters, entertainers, fitness consultants, engineers, chemists, etc.). We must encourage diversity in the subjects that we teach in order to allow for the students and the human race to flourish.

(Robinson, 2006)

            The final video, presented by Sir Ken Robinson, that I would like to discuss is entitled, How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. Robinson again states that there are millions of students being left behind in the current school system. The current system is “based on not on diversity, but conformity” (Robinson, 2013, 4:22). Teachers must encourage diversity and allow students to excel in their personal strengths and talents in order for the students to succeed. It seems somewhat of a daunting task, however, it is important to teach teachers how to encourage and include diverse students with different learning styles in order for the public school system to succeed.

(Robinson, 2013)

References

Robinson, K. (Performer) (2006). Ken Robinson: How schools kill creativity [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Robinson, K. (Performer) (2010). Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Robinson, K. (Performer) (2013). Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley.html

Stolp, S., & Smith, S. C. (1995). Transforming school culture. (p. 15). University of Oregon: Clearinghouse on Educational Management.