Hello World,
In each edition of this newsletter, I will share five inspiring web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. I also hope to share some lessons from the classroom in these upcoming editions of the newsletter.
I am at the end of my first year of teaching. I learned a lot this year and also faced several challenges along the way. Here are some things that I have learned in the past few months that I would like to share with all of you.
1) Discuss Curriculum Expectations and Goals with Students
In Ontario, the Language Arts Curriculum from Grade 1 to Grade 8 is broken down into the four major areas of Reading, Writing, Oral Communication and Media Literacy. Similarly in Ontario, the Mathematics Curriculum from Grade 1 to Grade 8 is broken down into five major areas of Number Sense, Data Management & Probability, Algebra, Spatial Sense and Financial Literacy. At the end of the year we spent two weeks revising and discussing what we learned in each of the above areas in Grade 5. We also reflected on what they learned in previous grades (Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 4) and what they would learn in future grades (Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8). You can see some pictures of our board notes from these class discussion sessions attached below. This repeated revision and class discussion was very helpful to help students develop mental models on what they need to learn and work on for Language and Math each year. In the coming year, I would try to help them create this mental model at the start of the year itself. This makes learning more visible for each one of them and helps them take more control and ownership over their own learning.
2) Writing Handwritten End of Year Letters
I wrote a letter to each student in my class. This made a difference to them. It showed them that they matter. In the teacher letter, I included notes about some fond memories related to them in the classroom. Surprisingly, this small gesture encouraged them to share their thoughts about their year with me as well. These handwritten letters from the students included academic and social targets and insights. They spoke about areas they wanted to work on over the summer and in Grade 6 as well. These academic goals included challenges like reading more, working on mathematical operation skills, conducting science experiments, writing stories and learning how to code. They also reflected on how they want to communicate better, learn about their parent’s profession, build projects with their friends, become financially literate and become more active over the summer. I think writing handwritten letters to each other helps build a sense of community between teachers and students. I feel that it is an effective practice I would want to continue implementing in my classrooms in the future as well.
3) Teach students how to learn what they want to learn
Each student in my class is interested in a bunch of different things. I curated a set of online resources for each child and shared the same with them. I had a 5-10 minute conversation with each child in my class discussing some of these resources. For instance one child in my class was really passionate about coding and math. I setup an account on Scratch and Khan Academy for him to enable him to develop his skills and learn about those area on his own time. Another child in my class loved dinosaurs and all kinds of animals. We reviewed resources on National Geographic Kids and this Dino Directory (that has information on over 300 different dinosaurs). Finally I also introduced another child in my class to Google Arts and Culture that enabled her to explore art collections and artists from various museums and collections around the world. Eventually you want your students to learn how to teach themselves about different topics and become critical and thoughtful independent learners. This practice of learning and growing together will help achieve that objective in the long run.
4) Write and share about what you observe and notice as a teacher in the classroom
Maintaining this newsletter and sharing my stories as a practicing teacher has been one of the best forms of professional development for me as a teacher. It allows me to connect with other educators around the world. I was able to build relationships with teachers in public schools across Ontario and in IB schools across the world through this newsletters, Instagram and my Twitter handle. I am as excited about teaching as I was at the start of the year and hope to carry this enthusiasm for the profession into the coming year as well. I also hope to continue conducting independent research on important issues in Education over the summer and to share my opinion and thoughts on these developments through this newsletter. Here is a picture of my classroom at the end of the year. I am going to miss my classroom and my students a lot.
5) Learning Stories Episode 12 - Kritika David
I started a YouTube Channel called ‘Learning Stories’. This is a show where we interview a diverse set of learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable skills and knowledge in a creative and innovative manner. In the process, we hope to uncover a new understanding of learning as conceptualized, imagined, and narrated in these learning stories. These conversations have given me so many insights on the learning process within and beyond the classroom.
On Episode 12 of #LearningStories we chat with Kritika David. Kritika David is an abstract artist and aviation engineer with over five years of experience in the facilities management and engineering consulting sectors. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management and Engineering from Coventry University in the United Kingdom. She then acquired valuable work experience with organisations like the National Health Service Supply Chain, ISS Facility Services U.K and Coventry University. She grew up in Bahrain and India and can reportedly speak over ten languages. Kritika is also a mental health advocate and youth worker. She uses art to express some of her deepest emotions and believes in the concept of art as therapy. You can follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kritikadavidarts/.
Some show notes from this episode include:
Be you everyone else is taken.
Find a side hustle that makes you happy. Eventually this side hustle can become a business.
Mistakes are opportunities to learn.
Always be learning. Sign up for new courses and certification programs that will help you develop new skills and knowledge.
Understand how your work is connected to a larger eco-system. Support your peers and supervisors to achieve those larger goals.
Find a positive outlet to express your emotions that can include art, sports, faith, films and community.
Use your skillset to support and build the people in your community in any way possible.
Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com or on twitter @AbhishekShetty_. I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms.
Abhishek
16/06/2022