Week 9: Case Study Presentations

All of the case studies that were presented in class this week were fantastic. The one that really stood out for me though was the case study regarding the integration of blended learning in a college. I am teaching grade 12 college chemistry next semester, and this case study has made me critically look at how I plan to teach this course. If my students need to be prepared for a blended learning model, then I want to ensure that I'm preparing them as much as possible while they are still in high school. I know that most colleges use an LMS (Learning Management System) so I'm wondering if I should use an LMS (Brightspace by D2L is used by most Ontario school boards) instead of Google classroom?

The Bigger Picture

I have noticed that all of the case studies so far are focused around one major topic: change and resistance to that change. Leadership is really all about relationships and cultivating those relationships to break down the barriers and fears around change. In my current leadership role, I've also noticed that building and maintaining relationships with your team members MUST be a priority in order to build an environment where people are willing to take risks and try something new. I think this really speaks to how profound the Diffusion of Innovations theory by Rogers is to leadership. It is also intertwined with communities of practice, and Bransford's "How People Learn". I suspect that these themes will continue in the case studies that will be presented in class next week; I'll be interested to see if this hypothesis is correct.

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Week 4: Theory Presentations

This week in class, we reviewed several leadership theories through presentations that were facilitated by groups of three or four. It was really interesting how Lorayne set up this assignment and the presentations; we had to post our more "dry" content, in the form of an infographic or video, the weekend prior to class. The presentations were then focused on discussions around those leadership theories. I really appreciated this format as it was more student-centred and involved active rather than passive learning. I think I would have screamed if I had to sit through almost two hours of presentations! All of the groups did a really great job and I was engaged and eager to participate for the entire class. It's great timing that this topic has come up as one of my goals in my annual learning plan is to focus on creating a more student-centred learning environment in my classroom. It's so easy to fall into the typical "chalk and talk" mode, espe...

Week 5 - Tired From The Fight

I felt a very deep personal connection to class this week, given that our discussions and readings focused on student-centred learning. Learner-centred approaches go hand-in-hand with 21st century skills and developing and focusing on ICT integration into pedagogical practices is important in today's classrooms. My main goal this year is to focus on developing a more learner-centred classroom in my science classes, while also encouraging and supporting the staff in my department to take similar risks. For example, project-based learning (PBL) is being integrated in some of our junior and senior science courses. I've personally experienced some backlash from both parents and students; their perspective is that a teacher is not teaching if he/she is not standing and lecturing at the front of the room. While I know this is not true, it is challenging to continue on this path when there is so much negativity and questioning of my professional judgement....

Week 7: Is an M.Ed. project right for me?

I really appreciated the guest speaker, Lisa Tsumura, that Lorayne had arranged to have in class this week. Her talk echoed every thought that I have had about whether I want to pursue a project in my Masters program or if I only want to do the course only option. I've already done the thesis route as I have my Ph.D. in Biochemistry so I really don't want to go through that again (it was a fantastic experience but I know the amount of time and effort that needs to go into it). I am quite intrigued about the project idea though and Lisa (and this course) has given me a lot to think about. Exploring Ideas As I've been changing my approach to my teaching practices this year, I'm beginning to identify various issues within my subject area. Chemistry, or any science for that matter, is traditionally taught in a very teacher-directed manner, likely because there is a lot of content to learn in such a short period of time. As I've been moving awa...

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