Week One Reflection

As the first week of Spring classes come to an end, I am already feeling the reality of being in six courses. Although I am having a hard time keeping up with when each of my six million assignments is due, I am proud to say I have been putting my health first. Last year, like most first-year students, I put my schoolwork before my physical and mental health and really felt the negative effects of it. Every day I make it my goal to get outside for a breath of fresh air, even if it is just to stretch my legs. I found that this has really been improving my overall mood and motivation to do schoolwork.

To reflect on this EDCI 336 class, I have so far really enjoyed it. I have never been in a class that allows for so much freedom, which is really appreciated during these odd times. I am really excited about my free inquiry topic and the learning process of that. As far as the class readings/viewings go, I think the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) reading was a really important piece to read. I have a personal experience with a senior science teacher showing images of me and my work in her TED Talk without my permission. So, I understand how integral it is that we as future teachers read it. Although FIPPA is mainly focused on protecting personal online privacy, I think it still draws parallels with protecting my future students. I really enjoyed the film Most Likely To Succeed. In grade nine, I remember our humanities teacher showed us a website called Will Robots Take My Job?  I typed my future job in (teacher) and felt pretty safe after seeing that it was “highly unlikely” that robots would be able to become teachers. Since discovering that site, I have remained interested in this epidemic that we’re facing. So, I was super intrigued by this film and how it broke down technology and education. It did an amazing job of showing the problem that not only the American school system is facing, but also the Canadian. I also made a connection to this film in its relation to my inquiry topic on inquiry-based learning. This film outlined the benefits of personalized learning. For me, the connection reiterated the fact that inquiry teaching is likely the most realistic future of our education system.

 

Inquiry on Inquiry?

For my inquiry in this class, I want to learn about inquiry teaching. At the beginning of this school year, I followed a bunch of educators on Instagram that teach in the Victoria area. One account stuck out to me in particular; “@inquiryteacher”. I have always known that I want to teach early primary grades because of the wonder and fun that children at this age have. I started to scroll through Rebecca’s posts and found more and more educators that have started their journey to becoming an inquiry teacher. So, I ordered the “Inquiry Mindset” book by Trevor Mackenzie and Rebecca Bathurst Hunt. I’ve read the first ten pages and have already decided that I want to do everything I can to become an inquiry teacher.

I have three big questions that I hope to answer from this inquiry:

  1. What are the first steps to take to become an inquiry teacher?
  2. How does an inquiry teacher cover the curriculum? Is it difficult?
  3. How can inquiry be used in every school subject?

My goals for this semester are:

  1. Finish the “Inquiry Mindset” book
  2. Further my understanding of constructivism as it is the foundation of inquiry-based learning
  3. Learn how I can start to become an inquiry teacher as a teacher candidate

I believe that the fact that I am so drawn to the younger grades is proof that something needs to change in regards to the method of learning for intermediate and high school students. I believe that if all classrooms were inquiry-based, the curiosity and excitement in children wouldn’t fade with age.