Category Archives: education

Teacher Image in the U.K.

classroom teachers, education, ,

uk

Gillian Harvey from The Telegraph argues for a shift in how teachers are viewed in the U.K. She argues:“[r]ather than heaping initiative upon initiative or effecting more change on a curriculum that is altered almost before it can be implemented, it would be better to take measures to improve the image of the profession as a whole.”

Harvey claims teachers fall victim to a culture of blame in education. Teachers are blamed for many things ranging from unprepared youth for the work force to a failure to raise standards. However, Harvey points out that the government officials often receive credit for perceived successes in education. She comments: “[y]ou can rest assured that the moment improvements happen, the praise will be placed at the doors of Nicky Morgan and David Cameron.”

In an era of educational reform driven by data, teachers are feeling pressure to do what it takes to have the data reflect their “effective” teaching. However, as result, pupils in the classroom may be suffering. Harvey says, “teachers are spending more and more time on meaningless bureaucracy and less on teaching and learning or interacting with pupils.”

An interesting read! To read the entire article click here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11645808/Does-teaching-have-an-image-problem.html

Feedback: To Help the Author or Show Off What the Reviewer Knows?

academics, communicating ideas and research, education, , , , ,

checkmark imagesAll of us in academia are subject to the peer-review process. I (Clare) was revising a book chapter this past weekend and although rewriting is not pleasant, this time it was not a hard slog. The two reviewers provided sensible advice – give an example to clarify this point; please round out the point in this paragraph; connect the two tables … Their feedback was to improve the piece. This has been a good experience because the chapter is definitely clearer and more compelling. But this experience is not typical of the “peer review” feedback process. Far too many times I have had feedback that left me shaking my head. We submitted a paper to a journal and the feedback was a 3 page rant on the limits of a grounded theory method (which was appropriate for a study of literacy teacher educators’ experiences). What was the point of the feedback from someone who was clearly a quantitative researcher? Another time the feedback on a grant proposal which was studying teachers’ use of a digital technology – how their pedagogy and identity changed (or did not change) — was so off-base. The reviewer wanted us to include data on the children’s (student’s) use of technology in their personal lives. That is a different study. So why do reviewers provide comments that are not relevant or connected to the actual piece in hand? Did they not actually read it? Are they trying to show off what they know? (The latter is a bit ironic since the review is anonymous!)

I do not have answers to these questions. I would like to thank the reviewers who take the time (and park their ego at the door) to provide useful advice.

Exploring Toronto Through Poetry

art as a form of communication, arts, digital technology, education, literacy, , ,

To mark National Poetry Month (April), the Toronto Public Library launched the poetry map, an interactive map that allows users to explore Toronto through a collection of poems associated with the city’s neighborhoods and landmarks. The project was the result of a collaboration between the Toronto Public Library and the city’s poet laureate George Elliott Clarke. Clarke suggested, the “map brings the city alive in terms of it being a living, pulsing, breathing organism that gives creative people – poets – inspiration. It reminds us that Toronto is a great city for the arts.” The Library hopes to expand the project by encouraging the public to submit their favorite poems related to Toronto.

Link: http://www.torontopoetry.ca/

Intrigued by “The Farmerettes”

classroom teachers, education, literacy, Literacy teacher educators, , , , , , , ,

I (Cathy) attended a very interesting book launch recently at the Different Drummer Book Store in Burlington, Ontario.   Author, Gisela Tobien Sherman, (top left in photo) released her new book The Farmerettes.  The book was inspired by storyteller, poet, Sonja Dunn (bottom right of photo) who was a Farmerette.  At the book launch, the story of the inspiration for the book was shared.  Gisela, Sonja and a few other members of the  Canadian Society for Childrens’ Authors, Illustrators, and Performers (CANSCAIP) were having lunch together.  Sonja, now 84, (yeah, doesn’t look it!) shared one of her experiences as a Canadian Farmerette during the Second World War. Apparently during the war, with all the young men away fighting, there was not enough labor to work the farms, so teenage girls were rounded up and sent off to live on farms throughout the province.   Sonja, was one of these young women, boarded in a barn with five others.  They were taught and expected to carry out all  the heavy farm work on a daily basis.  Sonja talked about how the experience changed them.  Sonja’s story struck a chord with Gisela and she began to research this fascinating part of our history.

sonja dunn

At the book launch were three other Farmerettes (all in their 80’s), who looked quite pleased to have their stories told.  Plus, a fascinating collection of photographs,  depicting their lives during this era of Canadian history were displayed.  I was intrigued by the stories shared at the launch and deeply touched by the pride of the Farmerettes.  I bought several copies of the book to give away, and of course, one copy for myself.  Today, I will lay on my chaise lounge and treat myself to reading The Farmerettes, Second Story Press, by Gisela Tobien Sherman.  Can’t wait.

Revisiting Mysteries in Canadian History

Curriculum Resources, curriculum; teachers, education, research, Teacher education, teachers, ,

A project entitled Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History, engages inquiry-based pedagogy to encourage students’ critical thinking and research skills. The project, based at the University of Victoria, the Université de Sherbrooke and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, has developed a collection of websites, which invite high school and university students to examine primary source documents, photographic evidence, archival material and historical interpretations, in an effort to solve a historical puzzle (e.g. the mystery of the doomed Franklin expedition; the mysterious death of artist Tom Thomson). John Lutz, University of Victoria history professor and one of the founders of the project noted, “history is too important to be boring, and these mysteries are too intriguing to be left to historians alone.”  All the materials and teachers’ guides are free. Link to project site: http://canadianmysteries.ca/en/index.php Link to the CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/how-franklin-expedition-mystery-could-be-solved-by-high-school-students-1.3086927

Why teaching Shakespeare is Important

education, literacy,

Who out there remembers reading Shakespeare in school? I (Yiola) remember starting Shakespeare in 9th Grade, Advanced English. I will be honest and share that I did not find reading Shakespeare plays enjoyable… the plays were hard to read… I could not understand the text let alone the sub-text… and quite frankly, reciting lines I could hardly read was humiliating and boring. Then… in 11th grade I had a teacher who took us to Stratford to watch the plays… but before she did that she talked to us about Shakespeare and his plays. She gave insights to the story and allowed us to explore the narratives in a variety of ways. Once I understood the story I could play with the script, recite sections and imagine the story unfolding on stage. Once I had access to Shakespeare I grew to love his work and more importantly I gain a deeper level of access to language.

There are many reasons to teach Shakespeare. One reason is for access. To have access to language is to have power. Knowledge is power – Language is power. Shakespeare’s work, apart from brilliant, has provided the English language incredible context for thinking, speaking, acting, and being. To know this and to have access to this language is powerful. This does not suggest that one must embrace Shakespeare, but to know it is to own a significant piece of the English language.

I have observed 2nd graders explore Shakespeare comedies. The Laboratory School in Toronto has developed an incredibly colourful and creative approach to teaching Shakespeare that includes graphic organizers, visual arts, storytelling, drama, reading, writing, and a number or language based activities that empower students. Students explore, read, listen, act, and play with Shakespeare’s work and they develop a sense of ownership. All students deserve that sense of ownership…its about owning language”.

shakespeare

Then and now

academics, education, research, , ,

I (Clare) found this post so interesting and relevant. In my university dissemination of research is strongly encouraged so I have tried to make better use of social media — this blog! With 26,000+ hits and counting our website has certainly helped us disseminate our research in ways we could not do with traditional print (e.g., peer reviewed journals).

Tseen Khoo's avatarThe Research Whisperer

Photo by Jeff Sheldon | unsplash.com Photo by Jeff Sheldon | unsplash.com

In the last five years or so, I’ve completely changed my attitude to communicating research.

Guess how much I used to do before?

None.

I published in journals and scholarly books. I presented at academic conferences and ran a research network. I dutifully applied for research funding. I thought of myself as a good, productive academic.

And that was it. I wasn’t really on Twitter and I blogged about our network activities – but only really for our members. I didn’t do community forums or write for other non-academic publication outlets.

Don’t believe me? Read on!

View original post 744 more words

More on Incremental Change in Education

education, , , , ,

In January, I (Clive) wrote about Mary Kennedy and her stress on incremental change in education – as opposed to “bold” innovation. Since then, I’ve come across an excellent book that takes a similar stance: Enlightenment 2.0 (HarperCollins, 2014) by Joseph Heath, a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto. Though decidedly progressive himself, Heath writes in support of Edmund Burke’s advocacy of cumulative improvement, the rationale for which he paraphrases as follows:

“If everyone insists on reinventing everything, we’ll never get anywhere, simply because no one is smart enough to understand all the variables and grasp all of the reasons that things are done exactly the way they are.” (p. 88)

Hence the title of his book: this is a second take on an “enlightenment” approach to social reform, one that builds on past practice in just the manner Kennedy recommends. But Heath raises a crucial question:

“[O]nce we acknowledge this, is the only alternative to fall back into an uncritical acceptance of tradition? Or is it possible to use this insight as the basis for a more successful form of progressive politics?” (p. 83)

I’ll continue to read the book and let you know about Heath’s alternative (that’s a promise!). Meanwhile, one solution that occurs to me in the education field is to give teachers more voice, so they can share their practices and fine-tune them. More opportunities for teacher dialogue are needed: in school settings, during PD events, in university classes, etc. In this way, teachers can help each other tinker with how they do things, rather than having some “expert” come in and tell them they’ve got it all wrong. There’s a place for outside input, but it should be used critically – and incrementally.

Teaching, teacher education, incremental change, Joseph Heath, Enlightenment 2.0.

Trends in YAL

critical literacy, curriculum; teachers, education, literacy, Teacher education

I try to stay connected with current trends in Young Adult (YA) Literature so I can have thoughtful conversations about these texts with the student teachers in our literacy courses. An article by Publishers Weekly highlighted some of complex topics currently being explored in YAL. Some of the themes YA publishers are prompting include texts “that look thoughtfully at mental illness and suicide” as well as “books that tell sophisticated stories about gender identity across the LGBTQIA spectrum”. To find out about specific YA titles exploring these topics see the following link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/childrens-announcements/article/66587-what-to-expect-when-you-re-expecting-ya.html