Course Reflection -- Changing the Education System

So here were are at the final blog of the EDUC 4P19 .  Coming into this class I wasn't too sure what to expect.  Up to this point in my University career each EDUC and CHYS class that I have taken have all had different expectations and objectives.  Looking at the title of this class Foundations of Curriculum and Assessment I thought "this will be one of those boring required classes that I need to take to help get my degreee".  I was prepared to be memorizing and remembering curriculum documents for 4 months straight and writing a long 5000-word essay on course themes.  But this wasn't the case at all for this course.  This course taught that education is more than memorizing facts and writing exams it is about truly learning and understanding the subject.  Why can't education be fun? why does it have to be about essays, deadlines and tests?  These were all questions that we expanded on in this course.  One major theme that we learned was the transitioning of education from the old story to the new story.  The old story is a traditional model in which a teacher stands at the front of the class while students mindlessly copy notes from the board.  At the end of every month or so there would be a test or a quiz on memorized facts learned throughout that unit.  Only a select few students who know how to beat the education system succeed with this environment while others lose interest and become discouraged and frustrated.  While hearing about this, I thought about myself a once student in highschool who disliked going to school and quote on quote "learning" about subjects that I felt would have no relevance to my future or life.  I still remember grade 10 English class in which I recieved a 55% in the course because my final essay didn't follow the "hamburger method".  Since I've gotten to University I have not once heard of or discussed the "hamburger method" when it comes to writing essays because it is an outdated method.  The new story is one that involves performace assessments not marks, group research projects, genius hour, technology use building upon 21st century skills it makes learning not something dreaded but something that is cherished because knowledge is a wonderful tool if it is used correctly.  In this class we were exposed to a new story education style in which we made genius hour presentations, group RPATs and shared knowledge with one another.  I actually enjoyed this class because I knew that I could go and just learn and not be stressed with copying pages and pages of notes for an exam that tests memory. This class also changed my perspective on education, as why would I as a future teacher want to be someone who teaches in a style that I disliked in my educational path.  We as prospective teachers should take the themes learned in this class and become the change. We need to change education to the new story; use technology, assess performance, be humorous , make education exciting so students want to wake up every day and want to be in your classroom to learn.  And of course make it a welcoming environment for everyone and be the teacher who you want to be.  I know we all have it in us we as young perspective teachers can be the difference in changing education

Integrating the Curriculum

After working on the curriculum assignment over the last two weeks, I have been able to gain a greater appreciation of the complexities of designing an integrated curriculum.  So far we as a group have completed both the vertical and horizontal scan and have completed the Know, Do and Be chart for our grade levels.  We as a group are focusing on grades 9-10 and the subjects are mathematics and geography.  Before we started this assignment we were a bit apprehensive with these two subjects as well felt that they were on two different ends of the spectrum.  It wasn't until we dug deep into the Ontario curriculum that we found some similarities between the two subjects.  For example, since grade 9 geography has been changing over the years, there are many science and mathematical applications that students need to "Know" for the class.  In the grade 9 geography there is an analysis of graphs portion specifically looking at demographic trends of Canada.  This is similar to that of grade 9 and 10 math as a large portion of the curriculum deals with graphical analysis (specifically linear and quadratic functions).  Next, there are a lot of 21st century skills (Do) that cross between both subjects.  For example, in geography it was found that students learn 21st century GIS skills such as simple use of google earth and QGIS.  In terms of Mathematics, there is a computational skills component that students learn in grade 9 and 10 such as use of graphing calculators and possibly other graphical software.  Finally, in terms of BE, students in geography will be a lot more geographically spatially aware, creative and educated with the curriculum and overall think with a geographical mindset.  Similarly, in math, students become creative analytical thinkers in which they look at the real world problems with a mathematical mindset.  Overall, this project has opened up my eyes to the curriculum designing process and I am looking forward to working on our proposed RPAT idea and presenting our findings.