Exit Slip #3: Rope-Making and Poem

 

Exit Slip #2: Reflection on Sept. 16th Outdoor Class

We often lose sight of our senses in regards to mathematics, and we can get into the rhythm of looking at the subject through a narrow lens.  However, our outdoor class reminded me of the different ways of approaching mathematics and how to incorporate all our senses in a lesson to maximize learning and relational understanding.

I found that drawing natural, living things and human-made objects provided a unique, creative perspective on angles.  Reconnecting with the nature that sparked the inspiration and innovation of various math concepts keeps us mindful of what we are learning.  When we shared our ideas of when and where we see right angles in nature showed how diverse the students in our class think about/approach questions, which I thought was really cool to see in action rather than just read about in an article.  What I thought to be the greatest takeaway from the class was to let your students get out of the standard classroom setting and to give them autonomy to be curious, be imaginative, and be mindful that the way we learn mathematics has no creative limitations. 

Entrance Slip #2: Sharon Kallis & The Power of Choice and Reuniting with Ancient Skills

“We use our purchasing power to dictate the terms of consumerism we want.  That is a best-case scenario, but sometimes options are limited, and funds are scarce” (Kallis, 2014).

    I found this quote to be profound and provocative as it reminds us that we have the power to create remarkable changes in society yet calls attention to the social and physical obstacles that limit us from feeling in power.  I think about food deserts—places where residents don’t have access to nutritious, affordable food options.  Food industries have taken the power of choice away from the residents of food deserts; they identify these residents as low-income and then subsequently raise the prices of fruits, vegetables, and other healthy food options and then cheapen the price of foods that lack high-quality, nutritional content, making the latter choice the feasible choice.  Introducing ancestral knowledge and skills, like how to grow your own food or weave the fences that help to maintain your garden, is a way to give power back to these communities.  Of course, we have to acknowledge that economic and physical barriers are not the only factors preventing these people from thriving.  However, the importance and power of reconnecting and relearning ancient skills remains.

    This brings me to other point that Sharon Kallis mentions which highlights the “incredible emotional boost” that people can acquire by learning and creating.  While intently watching Susan’s instructions on how to make rope, I attempted to replicate the process using my hair.  Creating the Z twist from the angle I was holding my hair was a little hard because my hair was still attached to my head and my view of what I was doing wasn’t ideal.  But!  I managed to create a segment of rope using my hair!  I twisted my hair 360 degrees to create a single S twist, and the length of my hair could only achieve 16 S twists.  I don’t think I got the desired outcome of Z twists because, at this point, I wasn’t twisting my hair to the same degree each time.  I definitely feel proud of what I accomplished, though I don’t know if I would necessarily want or keep a piece of rope that I made from my hair.  Nonetheless, I had fun!

An attempt to make rope with human hair 😀

 

Entrance Slip #1: Grant & Zeichner on Becoming a Reflective Teacher

Despite being written in a different time and place, the article, “On Becoming a Reflective Teacher”, still has pertinent, thoughtful, and helpful information and more notably, mentioned ideas that I have personally thought about as a prospective teacher.  I have the privilege of being amazing friends with my older sister who also happens to be an outdoor, elementary school teacher.  She is my go-to source of information about teaching and teaching experiences.  And thinking back to the moments I’ve bombarded her with questions about how to approach a specific, hypothetical problem in the classroom, she always gave me a somewhat open-ended yet reassuring answer.  I asked my sister, “How is it physically and emotionally possible to teach twenty-five students of varying skill levels?  What do you do when a student finishes early, or if a student is working at a much slower pace than everyone else?”, and I thought that the intent of efficiently and effectively solving any problem was the incontestable goal.  I thought that finding a concrete solution was ideal and fathomable, but this attitude towards teaching might possibly lead me to burnout early and easily; I might unknowingly gravitate towards the approaches and methods of unreflective teaching, in the sense that I might be practicing this unideal approach, so much so, that I subconsciously concentrate my efforts on determining the most effective means to just achieve ends.  From the article and from my sister, I learned that I might have to face a multitude of teaching scenarios in which I feel so overwhelmed by and believe I have gone through all the solutions for, but this is normal.  And reflecting and discussing the realities of teaching, no matter the situation, is preparation—is a solution—in and of itself. 

Exit Slip #1: Frank McCourt, Inquiry-based Learning, and Recognizing Privileges

Greetings fellow teachers!

I hope that in this blogpost someone can relate to something, maybe be enlightened in some way, or have any opinion, for that matter.  And thank you to Bonyo and Marlaina for the great discussion we had at our table that helped me to write this.

Frank McCourt and My Thoughts on Inquiry-based Learning

Facing fears, biases, and other challenges are all part of our responsibility as educators.  Now, being an anxious human being whose heart races almost every time she has to public speak, I strongly resonated with Frank McCourt when he said he had to come out of a massive timidity and discover himself before his students.  I've worked as a tutor for an English language school and education company.  In both institutions, I met a diverse group of children and adolescents who always knew how to challenge me in different ways and brought me out of my comfort zone.  I had to learn a ton of math concepts that I had never seen in my early math education and it was incredibly intimidating.  However, with each interaction I made with a student, the easier and more comfortable a tutoring session felt.  In essence, learning more about my students and sharing a bit of who I am fostered a safe space for all of us; we could all be comfortably brought out of our comfort zones so that learning could really prosper.  I think that was a big takeaway from the discussions I had with my peers: one couldn't really teach effectively without constantly learning about their students and the world around them.  I believe that this captures part of what inquiry-based learning is--asking questions, thinking critically, actively listening, and soaking up as much knowledge as you can.  Learning and teaching are deeply intertwined, that to progress in one, you have to also being proceeding in the other.  And this also goes for students and teachers.

McCourt's Experiences from Another Lens

The experiences that McCourt shared were undoubtedly inspiring; however, I couldn't help but wonder how women and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color would fare if they were to pursue the same goals as he did during that time.  I thought of this when McCourt said he left White Horse Tavern and walked straight to NYU; this may sound like an easy, thoughtless task for some, but walking the streets of an American city as a southeast Asian woman during the 1950s sounds kind of terrifying to me.  Recognizing your privileges as an educator was another point I took away from the discussion with my peers.  We, as educators, should remember that everyone has their advantages and disadvantages in life.  If we can always implement empathy into our instructional designs, then hopefully, this empathy can breed respect and safety that'll allow for greater growth--both academically and emotionally.  The video about McCourt also made me feel grateful for the progress that's been made since his time.  His views were so clearly progressive and thoughtful; it makes me wonder what advancements in teaching will be made in the generations to come!

Hello World!

My name's Nicole, and I love pie!  I know this isn't a picture of pie, but it's a picture that brings me peace, just like pie does!

😊😊😊