Jon McAfee

The final step in the Spiral playbook is “the check”: “The purpose of your inquiry is to make a difference in outcomes that matter for learners. The checking questions ask: Are we making enough of a difference? How do we know” (Spiral-Playbook.pdf (c21canada.org)). This was the most important step for me, because it showed if what I was doing was actually working.

I felt that my differentiation in Math was successful because my top students were being challenged, and I felt that my low students were being met where they were at, and still were able to learn at a pace that was suitable for them.

In Literacy, I applied a similar strategy to the one I used in Math. My top students had extra work that they could challenge themselves with, but at the same time, it did not feel like they were being punished for getting their work done early with more work. They just different work that was specifically suited to their educational needs. For my low students, I again tried to meet them where they were at. This could mean many things from using scribes, having certain texts read aloud to them, or even one-on-one work from myself, an EA or a Resource teacher.

I know my teaching wasn’t perfect, and I know that it never will be. I am always a learner first, and a teacher second. Differentiation is my greatest challenge as a teacher, and also my greatest reward. I will always strive to meet students were they are at, and try to help them learn in the best way that they can.

“The hunch phase asks the inquiry team to probe for evidence that will clarify what is leading to the present situation and, just as important, how we—the professionals—are contributing to that situation” (Spiral-Playbook.pdf (c21canada.org)).

Because I had a wide range of different learning needs in my classroom, my hunches were also varied between different learners. I really tried to meet the students where they were at. This was important because if a certain lesson or topic was too difficult, then the students would give up and lose self-confidence. At the same time, if the lessons or topics were too easy, then the students would finish early, be bored and not really learn anything.

Another phase in the inquiry is the take action step: “… it’s time to put new ideas into informed, focused and team-led action. The action phase is about real change, not just talk. It is a deep dive into the new learning” (Spiral-Playbook.pdf (c21canada.org)).

There were many different ways that I took action in the various subjects that I attempted to differentiate in. In Math, I had some students work on completely different programs than the rest of the class. These students had IEPs and would not be going into the main stream of high school the following year. I did this with the help from EAs, my coaching teacher, as well as the Resource Teacher. These students would still principate the same lessons as their peers, however when it came down to individual work time, they would break off and work with other support teams.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also had students that were gifted and required additional challenges. These students participated in the same work as the rest of their classmates, however when they finished early, they had their own advanced independent work that they could work on when they completed the work that the rest of the class was working on.

The spiral of inquiry involves six phases:

• scanning

• focusing

• developing a hunch

• engaging in new professional learning

• taking new professional action

• checking that you’ve made a big enough difference

Scanning the first phase of the spiral of inquiry. For myself, I had to decide what my learners needed. The spiral playbook says that “Everyone is likely to have opinions about what is going on for learners. In the scanning phase, the inquiry team collects a variety of rich evidence about what is really happening” (Spiral-Playbook.pdf (c21canada.org)).

I would gather this evidence from a number of different sources depending on the subject I was teaching. For Math, my coaching teacher had done a base line assessment at the start of the year to see where each student was at, and if they were at grade level. I also used daily math drills and formative assessments that I adjusted as the term went on. The students also participated in the SNAP Math assessment. Some students had IEPs (individual education plans) that I could also reference to better understand where some students were at.

For Literacy, the students all took part in the BAS reading assessment. This data was also used to understand where students were at. I also had the students write in daily journal books to assess writing and fine motor skills.

“In the focusing phase, the inquiry team asks: Where will we concentrate our energies in order to make a big and lasting difference for our learners” (Spiral-Playbook.pdf (c21canada.org)).

Differentiation was the main focus of my ongoing teacher inquiry question. The two main subject areas that I used the focus phase in was for Literacy and Numeracy. Once I had my base levels of competency from the scanning phase, I developed specific strategies in each subject that would best support the differentiation needed for my learners.  

During my final practicum, one of the last things that I did was to take my class and our “Little Buddy” class on a field trip to the Exploration place. This was the culmination of a unit our class had been doing in Science about the Nechako white sturgeon.

During the unit, the students learned about the Nechako white sturgeon. By the end of the unit, the students knew:

• What a sturgeon is and why it is important

• The biology and ecology of sturgeon

• About endangered status

• Where the Nechako River watershed is

• What a riparian zone is and why it is so important

• What you can do to help the Nechako white Sturgeon

For the unit, I got all of my resources from:

 www.nechakowhitesturgeon.org

and I also read them the book:

“The Tale of the Great White Fish” by Maggie Devries.

This field trip was an excellent learning experience for me because I got to learn how to plan a field trip, all of the necessary forms that needed to be sent out and returned signed. The amount of money that needed to be raised. The scheduling of the buses that we would need. The number of adults to children that would be needed to chaperone. As well as scheduling with the Exploration place a time when both of our classes could come and visit the museum.   

In my second practicum, my coaching teacher had a Big Buddy class that he cotaught with another teacher, however, I did not interact with the lessons during that practicum. In my final practicum, however it was my responsibility to coteach a Little Buddy/Big Buddy class. This was an amazing experience for me because I got to learn from another experienced teacher that wasn’t just my coaching teacher.

Together with this class, we would meet every Monday to do various activities and lessons. I used this time primarily to incorporate ADST lessons from the curriculum into my practice. This was of course done with the support and guidance from the other Buddy teacher. One of the things I found interesting was the difference between communication from a grade 1 class to a grade 6/7 class. We had decided to do the “It’s not a Box” lesson, based off of the children’s book. This is where students would bring in various boxes and bottlecaps, and other materials, and together both classes would make different creations that were “Not a Box”.

I found this activity very interesting because not only did the students all love doing it, but the various creations that the students made were so varied. The little buddies also got to keep the creations, and the big buddies were very enthusiastic about helping the little buddies make things that they were interested in. This was just one example of different ADST lessons that both classes participated in, and I used these relationships that the two classes had with each other to decide to make a plan to go on a field trip with both classes.

When I think about my ongoing teacher inquiry question, I think about the hardest (and possibly the most important) challenge I had in the classroom, and that is differentiation. In any classroom, you can find a vast range of learners, with many different exceptionalities and special needs. I taught a grade 2/3 class for a time, and in that class, there were students that were at a pre-K, and up to even a grade 4 level. The biggest challenge is teaching lessons that are accessible to all your students. If your lessons are too difficult for your lower learners, then they will not be able to learn, and even if your lessons are too easy for your higher students, then you are disadvantaging them as well. In both of these situations, the students that you are “leaving behind” will not only be unable to learn, but they can also affect the learning of the students that could actually benefit from the lesson. I have taught in numerous classrooms that have had exceptional learners, and the one thing that I noticed was how important it was to challenge these students. When these students are challenged, they can excel, however if they are bored, they can be a disruption to the whole class. Ignorance would suggest that these students are “bad kids”, or “troublemakers”, but they really aren’t, they just need to be challenged. The first resources into this inquiry I have found is the book “One Without the Other: Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion”, by Shelley Moore. I do not own this book yet, but it is on my list to buy soon! This inquiry into differentiation will be for my entire teaching career. There are no easy answers to this question, but the continued journey for knowledge will only help my students more along the way.    

When I first started to think about my personal pedagogy, and what kind of teacher I wanted to be, I didn’t really know. I knew what kind of teacher I didn’t want to be. I’m not like the other teacher candidates; I didn’t have any inspirational or role model type teachers growing up. There wasn’t any one teacher that made me want to become a teacher. On the other hand, I did have quite a few bad teachers, that gave me enough negative experiences to draw upon. So far in this course almost everything that I have learned has been the opposite of what I experienced as a child/youth. But even with those negative experiences, I still always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I can remember one of the first times I realized that I was meant to be a teacher. When I was in grade twelve, I attended a recruiting seminar for the RCMP. I remember the recruiter saying that to be in the RCMP was a calling, that you would know if you were meant to be one. Luckily, I knew I was not meant to become an RCMP. I did however, always know that I was meant to become a teacher. I found out that I had teachers (two of my great aunts) in my family, and my mother told me that I came by it naturally.

I always had an enate ability when it came to teaching. One of the main struggles that I encountered as a learner, was being taught by people that only communicated one way. This was very frustrating for me, because I leaned in a different way than most people. In my teaching I always tried to show multiple ways of instruction, so that no matter who I was teaching, I would give them a chance to learn in their in own way. I discovered that there was three basic ways of learning: hands-on, visual, and cognitive. Every person learns in one of these ways, or a combination of each. I found that by being attentive to this principle, I could be more successful in my instruction.

Neil Fleming also believed in this assessment; however, he added a fourth learning style: reading. “Fleming’s Visual, Auditory, Reading, Kinaesthetic (VARK) model of learning styles has become one of the most widely used assessments of learning styles.”  Fleming believed “that an over-reliance on any one style and an unwillingness to adopt another style…might hinder learning”. (Bates, 2019, p. 120) David Kolb, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford also adhere to this belief.

Kolb’s Learning Style Model expands on this idea by adding that people take in information through concrete experience (doing) or abstract conceptualization (thinking) and that people internalize information through active experimentation (testing) or reflective observation (watching). (Bates, 2019, p. 122) Kolb believed that you should try to avoid catering to one learning preference, but rather try to develop other styles of learning. I agree with Kolb that instruction should contain various styles, but I also believe that you have to adapt to your learner’s strengths before you can introduce new methods.

Peter Honey and Alan Mumford have a similar diagnostic tool to Kolb’s Learning Style Model, with Activists, Theorists, Pragmatists or Reflectors as the four main learning types. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford also believed that you should encourage your “learners to come out of their comfort zones and try different styles of learning” (Bates, 2019, pp. 124-125) I agree with this theory, and I think that positivity is one of the key strategies to successful teaching.

I want to create a positive environment, where students feel free to express themselves and try new things. I also believe that good teaching requires good relationships with students. You can form these relationships by having a genuine care for your learners and their education. The best tools to accomplish this goal are communication and having a positive attitude. I don’t think I ever learned anything when I didn’t want to be somewhere. I want my classroom to be an inclusive place where all children feel welcome, and excited to learn. I believe that by modeling positive behaviors, and creating a sense of community, you can form meaningful relationships.

When I think about what grade/age range I want to teach it has always been kindergarten. I love the positivity that children have at this age. They aren’t tainted by the negative influences that will eventually lead to teenage angst. I also think it is important for children to have a strong, positive male role model at these early ages. Of course, my main pedagogical influence and muse is Friedrich Froebel.

Froebel created the main programme that would become kindergarten. He believed that there should be close links between home and school. (Bates, 2019, p. 208) I also believe this, and plan to have as much communication with my students’ parents as possible. Another interesting fact is that Frobel believed in a holistic approach to education, similar to the First People’s Principles of Learning, which I also adhere to. One of the things that I love about kindergarten is the focus on artistic creativity and musical expression. I consider myself a skilled artist, and I love the idea of blossoming that talent in my students. I also am very musical and I love to sing and dance. Kindergartener’s love singing and dancing.

From a philosophical standpoint I believe in a combination of perspectivism and existentialism. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche’s philosophy that learning should be a collaboration and not a competition, is in line with what I believe as well. (Bates, 2019, p. 19) Positivity and encouragement are the keys to successful learning.

Similarly, Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of existentialism is also inline with what I believe is paramount for success in education. I want to encourage learners to interact with each other and to be respectful of each other’s ideas. I also want to “foster an environment where creativity is allowed to flourish.” (Bates, 2019, p. 23) I can’t foresee myself straying from this fundamental pedagogical base, as it is akin to my character; I do however look forward to seeing what principles and philosophies I add to my list as I learn and grow in this program and my career.