Sarah's Adventures in Inquiry

Inquiry project (the beginning) Social Emotional Learning strategies in secondary schools!!! 

  I LOVE THE MATH GURU! Oh how I love the Math Guru!!! I came across Vanessa's page a year ago while searching for some friendly math content for my students. There are few things that she focuses on that truly resonate with me and the reasons why I wanted to be a math teacher.  "Can we let you in on a little secret? There's no such thing as a 'math person'. 'Math people' don't exist".  YES! The Math Guru says it, Jo Boaler says it, who else needs for us to say it to finally believe it! I remember from a young age being told that I was a "math person", and I was embarrassed because I knew I wasn't. I felt like a phoney.  She uses the word "super cool".  I love this because I think it is so important that we break down barriers with our language as much as our attitudes. Using relatable language helps students relate to us, even when it comes to learning mathematics.  Vanessa is a healthy reminder that we can be whomever we w...

Tact of Teaching “...developing certain qualities or traits of character such as open-mindedness or sincerity, whole-hearted or absorbed interests, responsibility, as well as the need for a habit of thinking in a reflective way...” I think this quote resonates strongly with my belief that teacher development and reflective teaching goes hand in hand with personal development. I think if the focus of our professional development programs and teacher education programs focus on mentoring and encouraging the development of good character traits, we have a better chance at creating good teachers.  “...instead of improving my reaching it worsens... Sometimes the result is that I grow more self-conscious and I become aware of the students looking at me and judging me.” This resonates with my current feelings towards the practicum. After all of the knowledge we have acquired about teaching, I am more nervous than ever before to step in front of a classroom. I have to keep reminding myself...

What kind of people do we hope our students will become because of their schooling? I think the answer to this question, is one that is difficult because it is dynamic - the answer is constantly changing. We want our students to be the kind of people our world needs, and the kind of people our world needs changes as our world changes. However, I think there are some attributes that remain static. Regardless of where the world is, there are always going to be certain personal attributes that will serve not only the individual, but society as a whole. Personally, I want my students to be kind, empathetic, passionate, and critical-thinking individuals.  Kind: Kind to themselves, and to others. Self care first, so that you are able to be the best version of yourself always.  Empathetic: Being able to put themselves in another shoes. Recognizing where someone is coming from. Recognizing that their path may have been harder. Passionate: Care. Caring about what we are doing. Caring ...

Grades are such an interesting discussion because I feel as though they are not as simple as they seem. The student in me thinks... Everything in high school was about grades, and pleasing my teachers. I didn't learn for me, and I didn't find enjoyment in learning. I enjoyed doing well in school because it pleased my teachers, and my family, and making people happy brought me joy. I really dislike this about myself, however, it does make up who I am. As I have grown up, I have had to learn and discover a passion for learning on my own, and I love that I get to have a unique and personal relationship with learning that belongs to me and me only.  Teacher bird Sarah... I do not want to grade my students - I do not want to constrict them into categories based on percentages. Grades do not make you who you are, and they are not going to determine who you will be.  Instead of pointing our fingers to elementary and secondary schools, I would rather us focus and start with post-seco...

Embodied Sensory Learning I haven’t been in a high school math class for 6 years now. However, I am quite confident that it is not “normal” for a math or technology teacher to be using movement, sensory experiences, gestures, and embodies ways of learning in the classroom. To me, I think of movement in a math classroom as playing, such as playing card games. Although these games can work well in terms of learning, I think they are simply scratching the surface of what we can accomplish with embodied learning.  It’s funny because this topic makes me think of a tv show I used to watch growing up called “Hannah Montana”. In the episode, she was struggling to learn the bones of the body for a biology test. To remember them all, she created a song and dance, because it was a strategy that she knew she could harness to remember. I embedded the video of her below.  Although different, bark biting, music, and dancing, are all ways in which we can further connect with knowledge and lea...

"Creating a map of understanding that comes from particular concepts may develop over different timescales which allows for "a-ha moments" when those different components come together". - Adam, Conor, Julia, Kelsea I think this reflects one of the important aspects of embodied learning. "A-ha moments" are one of the important moments in mathematics, and in learning. They are those moments that the lightbulb goes on, and we've achieve understanding. I think this is part of why mathematics can be such a barrier for many students, because achieving those "a-ha moments" can be really difficult, especially in the way in which we deliver mathematics. However, when we are engaging in embodied learning, we're allowing for additional opportunities to achieve those a-ha moments. We provide students with a way to physically engage and understand mathematics, rather than just looking at equations. 

 Something that Tyler said today in our discussion that really stuck out to me. We were talking about interdisciplinary subjects with math & sustainability and how in integrating the two we were really bringing and leaning into emotion in our classrooms. At first, many of us were unsure at what grade level it would be suitable to introduce this - some felt that at younger ages the ability to “feel large numbers” wasn’t possible, but Tyler disagreed. He talked about how we need to change the numbers to something they know, something they can feel, something they can relate to. For example, when talking about 50 tonnes, think about how many of our classmates that would be equivalent to, or how many pairs of shoes that would be. I am so glad he brought this point up because I think it is so important that we don’t not address certain topics just because our students “are too young”. I think we would be surprised at how critically 13 year olds can think, if they are given the oppor...