Monthly Archives: January 2016

Current Issues in Teacher Education: A Video Series by Said Sidani

January 3, 2016a teacher's journey, academics, education, Teacher education, teacher educatorshiring practices of new teachers, induction of new teachers, occasional teaching, reflections on teacher education, reforming teacher education, Said Sidani, teacher educationsaidsidani

In my graduate course, Current Issues in Teacher Education, I (Clare) gave the students lots of choice for their final assignment. Said Sidani took an incredibly interesting approach – he created a series of videos. I was so impressed I asked him if I could post them on this blog. Some are specific to Ontario but the first one, perceptions of teacher education, was applicability beyond our context.

For my culminating project, I wanted to examine a
few topics that stood out to me throughout our course. As a recent graduate from a teacher education program and a beginning teacher, I wanted to focus on themes that resonated with me and that I wanted to learn more about. Instead of writing an academic paper, I decided to use a video series to present my findings.

This video series is divided into 4 parts that focus on: 1) Perceptions of Teacher Education, 2) Occasional Teaching, 3) Hiring Regulations, & 4) Teacher Induction. Each video consists of a narrated Prezi that presents relevant literature related to the topic. I draw on course readings, research in the field, and personal experience.

My intended audience is teacher candidates, teacher educators, professors, students, and anyone interested in the teaching profession. Since there is a large number of stakeholders in education, I believe that almost any viewer will be able to take something away from watching. My goal is not to deter anyone from joining the teaching profession, but rather to inform them of some of the issues that exist and the work that needs to be done.

The position I present is that teacher education is in need of reform. Instead of deregulating teaching, we must focus our efforts on improving people’s perceptions of teacher education programs. Also, occasional teaching and hiring regulations in Ontario are part of a broken system. They discourage new people from entering the profession which in turn impacts the quality of education that students receive. Finally, teacher induction programs that promote mentorship are essential to a beginning teacher’s journey. However, when they are delivered through the use of a transmission model instead of a transformative model, they are not nearly as effective.

The videos are available on YouTube and can be accessed via these links. For the best viewing experience, the video quality should be set to 480p (this is usually automatic). Thanks for watching.

1) Perceptions of Teacher Education:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWMtBGAoeZQ

2) Occasional Teaching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45caUBGrqRw

3) Hiring Regulations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unzh1QiWnVg

4) Teacher Induction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNxXqZSHGm8

This link will play all four videos in sequential order:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8SgF7ohrls&list=PLdOXV0MCo16GcNDd9DSy4DIuw_GgMAYWi

Happy New Year

January 1, 2016knowledge building, meaning of life, Reflectionsbeing nice and grateful, count your blessings, David Eddie, new year's resolutionsckosnik

I (Clare) always enjoy David Eddie’s column in the Globe and Mail. Today (New Year’s Day) he has a great article. I was so impressed with his final new year’s resolution – be grateful. Earlier on he talks about being nice. So for 2016 being nice and grateful will be my resolutions. Below are a few excepts from the article and here is the link to the entire article. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/seven-new-years-resolution-suggestions/article27967792/

To all of the readers of our blog best wishes for a happy and healthy year!

7. BE GRATEFUL

My main one. I started off this piece talking about self-loathing, but it doesn’t mean I don’t count my blessings. Be grateful for all the people and things in your life, however imperfect – because they could be taken away, and then you’d miss them. Every morning, after looking in the mirror and doing my daily de-affirmations (“You suck, you’re fat,” etc) I always follow up by counting my blessings: “God (who as I say I believe in) thank you for this, thank you for that, thank you for him and her and them – and P.S., nice day today! Those clouds are brushed in with a maestro’s touch!”

I’ve done that every day, year in, year out, but I’m updating it for 2016. We’ve always had refugees among us, but they’re more “top of mind,” lately, I think – and now, before I complain about something, I think: “How would my complaint seem to a refugee?” If I could imagine a refugee rolling his/her eyes at my “problem,” I inhale, exhale and let it go.

So, to sum up: Be nice, do you, quash self-doubt, go strong to the hoop, count your blessings, own up to your mistakes and when you’re tempted to complain about something, imagine a refugee rolling his eyes at you. Do all these things, and I have a feeling it’ll be a great year for you, friends. Rock it hard!

Celebrating Oshogatsu

January 1, 2016UncategorizedDr. Cathy Miyata

Our family celebrates the new year by following some of the traditional Japanese customs practiced on New Years Day. The celebration is called oshogatsu. In our oshogatsu the family gets together and feasts on special dishes. Every dish is symbolic of something we might wish to take with us into the new year (e.g., health, joy, prosperity). The trick is to eat a little bit of everything-then you’re covered!

I wish you a little bit of everything for the new year! Happy New Year to you.

Cathy