Personal inquiry reflections PDF

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Personal Inquiry – Reflection on History 1) Concerns, Worries, and Affirmation This is a previous journal entry I made about a history practicum: “I’m concerned that the topics of history that intrigue me won’t takeover and guide my focus in the classroom, forcing the students to learn about what I’m interested in. Consciously I will avoid doing that, obviously, as that is what murders any chance of retaining all the students’ interest and attention. However, I’m more worried about defaulting to, for example, primal skills or the connection to nature that cultures and societies had, and how that may have shaped dominant ideals and ways of life for them, if I feel I’ve run out of fun and creative lessons for the students. Of course, when a teacher is passionate about a subject, that excitement can positively influence the students. But it can potentially have an adverse effect. So how might I reconcile this? Thankfully, I don’t necessarily plan to be a teacher, especially one in a formal setting like a classroom – at least for quite some time. So, I suppose this concern is directly for practicum. I’m sure some more intentional thought and attention provided for this concern will resolve my worries.” After my placement, and after this journal entry was composed, I feel was I affirmed in my concerns. Since my knowledge in history is quite lackluster and does not breach any real depth, I focused on what I only superficially knew. This, in turn, did not translate well in the classroom. Thankfully, as I mentioned in that entry, I will not be continuing my path as a teacher not just for a short while, but indefinitely. 2) “Big Poster Activity” and Conscription For the activity presentation, my group decided to focus on historical perspectives and evidence during WWI conscription. We thought this aspect of WWI is often glossed over as

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merely pro and anti groups contesting conscription. Instead, we discovered each of the stakeholders, or perspectives, effected by conscription and elucidated it for our peers. I thought the presentation aspect, where we provided basic background information as a model package for the prior knowledge students may know before doing our “big poster activity”, was quite thorough and enlightening for even our peers. It was more than satisfactory on our end. The big poster activity went over remarkably well and was perfectly suitable for our focus. By doing this activity, any teacher can fit in as many perspectives or pieces of evidence as they desire. I think that is where this activity succeeds, and more specifically, is even more effective for events and themes that deal with multiplicity in such emphasis and detail. Even though while making this presentation with my group members I felt it was a good idea and would work well albeit some downfalls, I was pleasantly surprised and reaffirmed that it was indeed quite effective. I have yet to feel proud of any work I have produced for Teacher’s College, but this one is the closest by far. 3) “Good Education” In one reading from the Education Letter, there was a section devoted to “good education” by Biesta and contrasting what this “good education” entails to what is currently maintained as “effective education”. Out of any other reading done so far for Teacher’s College, this one section seemed to resonate most with me. I am still unsure as to why exactly, but I believe it has to do with my own philosophies and notions formed about education and the degree to which that parallels Biesta’s contentions. “Good education” maintains that the point is for students to “learn something, that they learn this from someone and that they learn it for particular reasons” (8). Good education then,

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according to Biesta, “always raises questions of questions of content, relationships and purpose” (8). So at its base, it must engage in self-reflexivity in order to give “educational depth and meaning to otherwise vacuous attempts to make education more effective” (10). Now, behind some of this tightly packed language is the idea that good education challenges the material and the purpose of it, because content is forever changing depending on the societal climate. I think this is where education goes wrong, and part of the reason I do not want to be a teacher. Going into teaching, I would rather not feel restricted and my desires and intentions to change education effectively futile. My view of education does not coincide with what the standardized education has historically been established as. Thus, I find solace in the distinct separation Biesta makes in this letter. 4) “The Sales Pitch” and Technology Presentation Today, a group of my peers conducted a presentation on WWI and the technology involved and utilized in the war. Their presentation began with a brief intro to the activity the class would be doing and quickly lead into the activity. I found this, as the participating study, to be a tad stressful. I know they stated students would have had prior knowledge on the topics; however, for this presentation, the anticipation of having to do a creative presentation with no prior knowledge beyond the blurb provided to us felt stressful, and not in a motivating way. The activity on its own, though, was quite strong and I believe a fun way to tie up a unit on WWI or theme on technology during a particular period in history. As technology is often a difficult yet consistent item to market and sell, the activity of providing a creative sales pitch is quite fitting. I would use this idea in the same format, though ensuring students have all the resources and knowledge to their comfort in order to make an effective sales pitch. I could see

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doing this type of activity as a recurring exercise for students in groups throughout a variety of topics in history as well. It helps students condense and consolidate their information and be selective on the information they wish to present as well as the audience their targeting. Overall, it was enjoyable, and I did learn a new activity! 5) Social Media Obsessions as a Teaching Tool If Teacher’s College has taught me anything, its that social media and Web 2.0 are the way to progress in digital literacy and engaging the students with “innovative” assignments. While only partially true, in that technology seems to be engaging in traditional classrooms because there are no other stimuli available, this obsession in using social media as a new medium to accomplish the same assignments is absurd and misses the point in digital literacy. While educators and administration believe this enhances the students’ knowledge, skills, and overall literacy with technology, it fails to envelope the real fundamental part of contemporary technology and the internet. This is precisely what I see my peers falling into, and what they have unfortunately demonstrated throughout their presentations. What teachers should aim to do is not use technology for the sake of using technology, to simply use social media to complete an assignment or project because it might be engaging or relatable for students. Instead, teachers ought to be focusing discussions in history such as freedom of speech, various liberations, oppression, subcultures, etc. by likening it to, and contrasting it with, the realm of internet. Digital literacy as it stands now only stops at “how to use technology” and be “technologically savvy”. It needs to, evermore so in today’s disinformation, surveillance, and privacy breaches, teaching kids the effects and the interworking of the internet, privacy, and protecting oneself in what is otherwise the last place for authentic freedom of speech and ungoverned behaviour.

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6) Placement: Feeling Out of Place My winter placement was not in a history classroom, but I was in three English classrooms. Once, however, during the third week of placement when I was feeling fairly confident in my environment, I decided to observe a history classroom on one of my prep periods – simply out of curiosity since I have never been in a history class as a teacher. I was invited to observe a grade ten history classroom. The first third of the class was about normal without much glaring difference between a history and English classroom. Same introductory strategies, some reading. However, the following two-thirds of the class were much different than I anticipated. The teacher began going into quite the detail about WWII, and detail that ranged from all aspects of the war. Now, this was not overwhelming for students, or at least appeared that way. However, it did make me quite self-conscious about my own knowledge of WWII, and really, any topic in history. My depth of knowledge is lacking quite a bit. I know I can mitigate this issue by conducting my own studies and research on the various topics I would be teaching. Yet, this is still quite a disconcerting realization I became aware of. Moreover, it seems a bit unfair to the students I would be teaching as well – they deserve someone who not only is knowledgeable about these topics, but who is more importantly passionate for these subjects....