March 1, 2024 – Do things that fill your cup

Where did February go? I have no idea. The month came and went. I spent the last week enjoying my time and recalibrating my heart, spirit, and mind. I really need to harness the idea of going outside. I was totally spooked by the bears, then warm weather (aka., no hibernation), and now sub-zero temperatures. I’ll figure this out but I am grateful for the teachers who have opted to recruit and mentor a teacher candidate for the EDUC 391, 3-week, experiential practicum. I thought last term was full and frantic. The winter term took a different pace, but equally fulsome.

I am still reflecting on my last lecture with the elementary cohort in EDUC 421 (assessment and motivation). The course was designed for student to experience the value of assessment and motivation in their own learning of the course and then the content of the course discussed how design and implement assessment and motivation in their own classrooms as future teachers. We had 4-weeks at Harwin Elementary with “in situ” learning, we referred to several assessment authors to consider, and we talked about the importance of lesson planning.

During the course, I offered some tools for assessment and ask the students to try them out in context with the students at Harwin. We also discussed the value of learning more about the students and how to plan with the student at the centre of the learning while keeping attuned to the OECD 7 Principles of Learning, BC’s Curriculum, and clear learning targets and assessment methods. If anything, we discussed more about PRINCIPLES versus classroom management and tools. The course focussed on assessment and motivation principles to use and reason with.

We ended the course looking at the BC Performance Standards the week prior and then the BC Learning Pathways during our last class together. The class were grouped into TRIADS and investigating the grade level they were interested in. When the class reported out, they EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS. They could see the alignment of the Learning Pathways with BC’s Curriculum, new reporting order, and focus on learning as well as the “old focus” of student achievement and lack of flexibility of the “old curriculum,” yet saw the value of both documents.

Not that they are in the 3-week practicum, I am curious about how the approach I took with EDUC 421 would surmount to. I won’t find out until the summative journal and electronic closing circle on the LMS, if they decide to connect their practicum experience to their understanding of assessment and motivation. If anything, I was astounded by how the class concluded and I feel confident that the students will find opportunities to apply what they have learned and notice that it was in the design of our course that led to their motivation and assessment too.

I love the photo that I’ve included above for this blog post. What I love about blogging is that the writing process takes you where you need to go with your thinking. Writing is thinking. The image is a beading project that I have recently completed. I finished the beading and it will be attached to a leather bag soon. I think about the learning that was embedded in that flower. There are a tonne of mistakes made and I stabbed myself many times with the needle when I was not paying attention. In the end, what you see is the flower and that’s what matters.

Keep learning. Engage in deliberate practice. Ask and accept the help from others. These are the few lessons I have learned from beading. I also love beading with friends and in good company. I love the learning environment. And, I love beading. Do what you love. That’s another key lesson to learn. Assessment and motivation are deeply tied to and interconnected with your values and beliefs. So, returning back to Parker Palmer and self-knowledge is key, in addition to know the subject matter and the students too. Wishing the students all the best in practicum. 🙂