Bernadett Askey Magazine Case 7

BERNI Magazine Grade 7

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BERNADETT ASKEY

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ducation is a way of life. Connecting education and design is Bernadett’s mission. Her role as a designer and educator is to inspire. She teaches based on learning outcomes and the individual learner’s abilities. Education should also be a community-driven project. As such, she is also a member the board of a the Mount Pleasant Family Centre in East Vancouver. There, she handles its mission mandate, fund raising and personnel.

It all started in Budapest, Hungary where she habitually rearranged her furniture as a child. As a young adult she found employment in the printing and reprographics industry. Upon moving to Vancouver, BC., she began taking Interior Design. She completed her diploma at NKBA- and FIDER-accredited Lakeland College in Alberta. There she earned several student design awards.

Her career in education began with tutoring fellow students at Lakeland. Back in Vancouver, she worked as the Education assistant for the Canadian Craft and Design Museum. Bernadett worked for several years as an independent designer and for local design firms.

She started teaching at LaSalle College Vancouver and Vancouver Community College in 2002. She joined the Interior Design Department of the Art Institute of Vancouver in 2005.

She completed her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design through the Art Institute of Pittsburg in 2009. In 2015, Bernadett earned her Master’s Degree in Adult Education from Argosy University.

Now she lives and works in Vancouver with her husband and two young children.

Her teaching philosophy is based on inspiring and supporting her students, faculty and colleagues. She provides a respectful environment for students to feel comfortable constructing knowledge.

Her curriculum design is based on industry standards. She designs classroom projects to carry students from a novice level to expertise. Student’s learning styles, cultural backgrounds and personal skills guide curriculum design.

Case 7: Subject/Content Area Explorations

(Jan. 21 – Feb. 1 2019) You teach Grade 7 in a large, suburban school. Most of the students in your class were born in Canada, although almost all of them speak a language other than English in their homes. When you started working at this school, some of your colleagues warned you that this was a conservative community with conservative parents. While you’ve taught here since September, you still aren’t sure what that means or what it means for your teaching.

You heard one of your student’s mutter “Why do I need to learn French?” You wonder whether exploring and sharing information about Francophone communities across Canada and around the world will both motivate your students to learn French and deepen their understanding of the extraordinary diversity of Francophone communities including Canada.

You are very happy with the way your Science unit on electricity has been going.

The students have been asking such good questions and seem really excited about the experiments. You know that hands-on learning in Science is important and wonder how you might create more active and experiential learning opportunities. You’ve also been reading through the new BC Science curriculum and are wondering how to integrate the increased emphasis on First Peoples perspectives and knowledge.

The students are increasingly expected to get information from Science textbooks, however, you’ve noticed many students seem to be struggling with taking information from these texts. You wonder, how you might use the interesting pictures and diagrams from the textbook as a way to help the students better comprehend the difficult reading and how to help them understand how ideas are organized in non-fiction texts.

Building on your students’ enthusiasm for science, you are planning your next Grade 7 science unit, which focuses on evolution and the Big Idea “Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.” However, one of your colleagues has warned you that last year significant tensions arose around the topic of evolution with some of your parents.

As part of your HOPE program this year, you had planned a gymnastics unit.

Your original thought was to divide the class into boys and girls and arrange for partners but after hearing someone mutter, “That’s so gay” you wonder how issues of sexuality and gender could be explored through movement and other ways of knowing, such as introducing literature, music, or art. And what about the focus on different understandings of human rights in the social studies

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HEALTH AND OUTDOOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION (HOPE)

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he application of Health and Outdoor Physical Education(HOPE) in Case 7, can help the teacher create a healthy classroom community. When teachers and students experience the joyful benefits of physical education and understand the values of nutrition, students are most likely to apply these benefits throughout their lives. Coherence within the class can be supported by valuing and different notions of IDENTITY. By making sure that all students’ cultural beliefs and attitudes are considered and that discussions around the different perspectives of wellness are discussed. A goal of HOPE is to encourage students to take responsibility for their own holistic health, and to maintain healthy habits throughout their lives. School can help form students internal attitudes, beliefs, choices, and loyalties, and can also be considered as part of many external social and cultural experiences. The teacher and the school community can help students shape every student’s sense of identity. The school’s task therefore is enormous in terms of assuring that a positive attitude toward HOPE will be formed in all students.

The success of Physical Literacy

It is important to make sure that in a classroom community, everyone, develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to enable them to participate in a wide variety of activities. Each child should be given opportunities to participate, try and be informed by different sports. Creating a focus on the underlying connections between individuals and the sport, movement skills, or any type of mindfulness activities will have the power to join the children in understanding the reasons and benefits behind Physical Literacy.

INSPIRATIONS

Introducing Outdoor Education in Case 7 will enable the teacher to make connections for students with perspectives of wellness that differ across cultures, as well as will provide students with practical connections to their environment. Activities that can engage students with being outside as well as can support Indigenous Perspectives. Being alive well is inseparable from community, identity and historical contexts and defined by different social and political understanding.

Physical well-being used to manifest identity of a Nation, such as how Cree positions their identity within their historical accountings, relationship to land and the “production and interpretation of traditional activities” (Andelson, 1998).

HOLISTIC CURRICULUM

The music educator C. Orff based his music and movement method on the interrelationships amongst music, movement, and speech with rhythm as common concept”(Mandigo,Francis, & Lodewyk, 2007).

Carl Orff published the importance of the connection of physical education with music, and highlighted that speech, movement and drama complete each other in education. He urged educators to capitalize on children’s play instinct in educational practice. Walking, skipping, running, hopping, and jumping can all be expressed through specific rhythmic motives. Children can match their movements to the rhythms produced by the teacher through a tambourine. The teacher might also ask children to move and then match the rhythm of a tambourine to their movement.

Other curricular integrations can help children connect with art. Coodin suggests 4 strategies in combining these two disciplines • Physical activities using pre made art • Physical activity to create art • Artistic activities about sports • Activities using both sports and art equally.

NUTRITION

The Government of Canada released a new Food Guide in January, 2019. The new Food Guide removes the four food groups (grain products, vegetables and fruit, milk products, and meat and alternatives) that were promoted in the 1942 Food Guide, for a focus on healthy food choices and eating habits.

The new Food Guide has a distinct focus on plant-based foods and mindfulness, and suggests the following: • be mindful of your eating habits • cook more often • enjoy your food • eat meals with others • use food labels • limit foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat • be aware of food marketing.

Curricular connection to nutrition can be made by incorporating The ‘Food for Thought Taste-Off ’ and Project CHEF programs into the school calendar.

Photo by Annie Spratt

“The outdoors provides a means of bringing curricula alive, it helps students understand our environment and related issues of sustainable development, and it encourages physical activity. A growing body of evidence strongly also indicates that time spent in green spaces brings health and well-being benefits, and provides opportunities for children to learn how to evaluate and manage risks” - Beames, Higgins & Nicol, 2012

https://vashonnaturecenter.org/salish-sea-islandsummit/

HOPE IN PRACTICE

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ardening connects with ways of relating to the environment, respecting where food comes from and engaging with food preparation. Children learn seasons, plant life, community spirit and skills of caring.

Children will also be more inclined to eat vegetables that they grow in the garden, and will understand the value of their work.

“A gardening program could provide opportunities for connection with both land and community – from growing to preparing food” (Aboriginal Worldviews…, 2015) Mindfulness also extends to outdoors, and can be an incorporated practice throughout the school days. When children are outside, they get more fresh air, and are able to learn to focus on care for the Earth, for community, and for their mind, body and emotions. Gardening also teaches children to be in touch with nature, connection to land, and be able to expressions of gratitude and giving thanks. Children’s social-emotional well being can be improved in the class community when children are taken out of the classroom to the garden. Outdoor education Reduces stress, and supports mental wellness. The teacher’s goal in Case 7 is to instill a feeling of reward,

http://www.thegardenprojectswcolorado.org/blog?page=4

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OUTDOOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Children benefit from any time they spend outdoors. Physical Education does not need to happen in the GYM! Being outdoors, boosts children’s your immune system, and decreases their levels of stress and anxiety. When teachers provide students with the tools and models to accomplish physical sports, such as hiking, canoing, swimming, racket and ball sports and numerous other physical activities, children can see the variety of choices for enjoyable exercise. Their experience and confidence will lead to their choice to keep physically active and motivated throughout their lives.

Through outdoor play teachers can help children develop an emotional skill called executive function, which is the ability to self-regulate and monitor impulse through outdoor play.

Outdoor education also lends itself to great opportunities for integration of cross-curricular learning, such as gardening, science: natural selection, climate change; math, social studies: geographic challenges and opportunities, FPPL).

RELATIONSHIP TO PLACE-BASED EDUCATION “Place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum. Emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students’ appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens.”

— David Sobel Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and

http://sk.sagepub.com/books/place-based-science-teaching-and-learn-

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The Benefits of Placed Based Science

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JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952)

Dewey introduced place-based learning through raising animals, examining machines, gardening and cooking and focused on integrating locally relevant scientific knowledge and the experiences of students.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1974) shows that learning is an integrated process, where each stage supports and feeds into the next stage.

Effective learning occurs when a learner has executed all four stages of the model - no one stage is effective on it’s own.dent performance.

FIRST PEOPLE’S PRINCIPLES

Western, Eurocentric Science Education focuses on the importance of the intellectual tradition, with a strong focus on individual thinking, reasoning, and understanding Indigenous Knowledge focuses on practical wisdom, with emphasis on ways of being in a group-oriented practice.

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In Case 7, the teacher should be able to create interest for science in the classroom, by providing students with activities that allows them to create transferable knowledge to their lives. Place based learning can increase enthusiasm for scientific investigation within schools and communities.

Through collaborative inquiry projects should have developmentally appropriate materials, inquiry focused instruction, present content relevant to students and build on prior knowledge.

When students participate in group work in varied groupings, they have a chance to better contribute. In Case 7, the teacher can make sure to assign roles for meaningful contribution and the chance for ELLs to display their own skills. Hands on Science with the use of multi sensory approaches (props, visuals, sounds) can help to aid students in their understanding.

Different learning styles should be accommodated for all learners through a variety of projects, and differentiated assignments, activities and assessment modes.

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Example Activity: Plant Life Cycle, Plants and Trees in our Community SUB-TOPIC: Chlorophyll and Photosynthesis

The influence of Social environment, educational experiences, basic cognitive processes and its affect on student learning. Student’s learning style is expressed based on a “Processing Continuum”, which means how students approach a task. Learning also expressed on the “ Perception Continuum”, which is related to their emotional response to a task.

LEARNING TRAITS:

• Diverging: Emotional, strong in arts, prefer group work, open-minded • Assimilating: interested in ideas, abstract concepts, logical theories, strong in science • Converging: practical solutions, strong in technical tasks, experiment, simulate, try new applications • Accommodating: hands-on, intuitive, like new challenges/experiences, implement plans (most prevalent)

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

• Ask a question. For the first step, help your child form a question, hopefully one that can be answered! ...

• Do background research. ...

• Construct a hypothesis. ...

• Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment. ...

• Analyze the data and draw a conclusion. ...

• Share your results.

Inquiry based education can be organized in the classroom, by setting up “Input Stations” where students explore, research, observe and read while thinking about a research topic or science question. Students can rotate through hands-on experiences to explore scientific concepts. The “Output Station” could incorporate their writing, organizing, assessing and illustrating tasks.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives of place.

Place is any environment, locality, or context with which people interact to learn, create memory, reflect on history, connect with culture, and establish identity. The connection between people and place is foundational to First Peoples perspectives of the world.

Key questions about place: How does place inform your questions and inquiries? How does place influence your ability to plan and conduct an inquiry and make predictions about outcome does your understanding of place affect the ways in which you collect evidence and evaluate it? How can you show different ways of knowing? How can your understanding of place influence project designs? How do the place-based experiences and stories of others affect the ways in which you communicate and collaborate?

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KOLB’S LEARNING STYLES

Inquiry Question: Why do leaves change color?

1.

Experiment:

a.

On a community walk, students identify various leaves of trees (previous sub-unit), and collect leaves of different varieties.

b.

In the classroom, students cut the leaves into tiny pieces, arranged by each variety

c.

The teacher then places the leaves into separate beakers, and adds just enough rubbing alcohol to cover the leaves. The beaker is then placed in a pan of hot water.

d.

Place a coffee filter (folded up into a cone shape) into the beaker. Let stand for 20 minutes.

2.

What happens:

a.

The different coloured pigments in the leaves start to separate, and the water starts to turn green (this is the chlorophyll).

b.

The coffee filter starts to pick-up the different coloured pigments (red, orange, yellow), and form a circular pattern.

3.

Answer to the inquiry question:

a.

As chlorophyll stops being produced, the green colour from the chlorophyll fades, exposing the hidden pigments in the leaves.

How are ideas are organized in non-fiction texts?

WHY TEACH SCIENCE LITERACY?

Teachers need to make sure to explicitly explain non-fiction text features to children. Students need to be literate in science, for example, and need to be able to acquire information from non-fiction textx. Once they are familiar with text and organizational features, and specific vocabulary, they will be able to understand the material, apply what they learned, communicate their understanding using academic language, and transfer their nowledge to other forms of textx and to other subjects and problems.

Modeled instructions, guided and independent practice follows an appropriate teaching sequence that is framed by the gradual release method for Scientific Literacy.

Adrienne Gear recommends teaching students to be able to LOCATE and INTERPRET non-fition text features. Teachers should encourage students to become ACTIVE READERS, and ask questions while reading. Through explicit instruction. children can learn to find the main ideas and eliminate non-important information in non-fiction texts. Students should also be encouraged to make connections to prior knowledge. Once students are able to connect new information with prior knowledge, meaning-making takes place, and they may be able to see other perspectives than their own.

TEACHING TIPS

Use meaning based aproach and apply thoughtful and reflective reading by breaking down the text to its features, vocabulary and ways of selecting important information. Students who are struggling with getting sufficient information from science texts can accomplish better results if the teacher is able to use multimodal presentations, art, movement and technology.

Because the language of science is a new concept to grade 6-7 students, it can be taught in the style of a foreign language. Science language uses polysyllabic scientific words, that are based in Latin and Greek. Explicit instruction on word structure could

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include talking about the morphemic structure of complex terms. Discussion about the roots of the words, typical suffixes and prefixes can ease student’s confusion around long, and complex words.

HOW TO USE TEXT FEATURES

Students need to know what information is communicated from text features, such as titles, table of contents, indexes, glossaries, headings and subheadings, pictures and captions, labeled diagrams, carts, graphs, maps, illustrations, sidebars, photos, cross sections, bolded or italic text and many more.

Text Feature walk can be used to introduce students to the text prior to expecting them to read it. In cCase 7, the teacher could choose a type of topic in which students have a lot of prior knowledge. The teacher can name and describe the function of each text feature to all the students, and ask them to point at the features while they are talking about them. Group discussions based on the text features can help orient all students (especially ELL students) finding the main purpose, ideas, and clues to the important details in the text. Once students know how to navigate the text the teacher can ask the students to recall and locate information that pertains to a particular type of detail, feature or element in text that may help answer specific questions. Scaffolding new vocabulary prior to reading a new non0fiction text helps students to gain confidence in recognizing the main points, specific words, and will allow them proper pronunciation of these words in discussions.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Scientific Literacy belongs to the Cognitively Demanding language category, therefore, ELLs need extra scaffolding in order to move from their Basic Academic Language use to a more context-reduced, cognitively demanding

academic language use. Because CALP involves not only understanding content and vocabulary but also demands skills in comparing, evaluating, classifying. Teachers need to be aware of the student’s existing linguistic resources. Teachers should be are able to scaffold students’ learning in a way that can move students from orality to academic language use, and to academic writing.

Some teaching techniques that can aid this process are: Inquiry-based learning Collaborative group work Making predictions and observations Reflecting of science concepts Discussions Creating perspective-based writings Examining different genre and perspectives Designing experiments Multi-modal representations of material Making inferences Sharing ideas and findings verbally

RESOURCES

Science Literacy Week: September 16-22, 2019.

Intermediate: “Tai Asks Why?” Tai models how to ask inquiry questions from people in his community. (Produced by CBC) Primary: “Imagine This”. Questions asked by children and scientists answer. (Produced by ABC).

Photo by Alex Zamora Photo by Annie Spratt

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How to address Controversial Issues in the classroom? .

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iscussion publicly sensitive issues of which reasonable people may disagree is an important educational task. The goal of educators is to prepare students for life in a democratic and pluralistic society. Therefore introducing students to many existing perspectives will equip them to make sound judgements in the future, and be able to remain open-minded and respect their than their own values as well.

Children may come from families with existing political ideologies, as well as cultural understanding.

It is important that the teacher models respect to he student’s beliefs, traditions and customs, while informing them of other perspectives. In Social Studies students should be guided to understand the

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principles of the underlying democratic society, and to practice individual as well as collective rights. With teacher guidance students should be able to validate and accept differences, and value these differences that contribute to the pluralistic Canadian society. Students should strive for respecting the dignity of all people, and be able to support the equality of all human beings.

TEACHING EVOLUTION

“Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity of survival of living things” (BC Curriculum).

Science involves different social factors and non-scientific considerations and many views by different groups. Science should not be used to relate to religion or to use to reject religion. The classroom is a perfect forum and safe place, where teachers and students can discuss world-views involving science and religion, and understand that they both serve different and legitimate functions. Similarly important is to understand Aboriginal World-views, and that Aboriginal identity is linked to a specific place, routed in specific traditions. Indigenous way of knowing can aid student’s to widen their perspectives and be able to understand how their cultural and political ideologies shape their identity. By discussing these underlying frameworks, students can see diversity from many viewpoints and can link this notion to science education, such as learning about evolution.

When teachers model respecting self-esteem and identity, students will feel comfortable learning and sharing their heritage as well. Discussions about Indigenous, or Francophone perspectives are essential in collecting evidence of diversity on a larger scale.

The focus is on student’s understanding of evolution, not accepting it if they wish not to.

INCLUSION • SOGI

In Case 7, the teacher should feel confident, talking about gender, and should be able to discuss discrimination and values that shape children’s lives through lived experiences. The teacher needs to guide the students to accept and understand the existence of different gender and family models. Classroom communities should confidently be able to represent and accept the lives of lesbian, gay, trans-gender and bisexual people.

The classroom and school community should provide support for students to speak out against injustice, discrimination and violence.

The ten key components of SOGI Policies provide support for all teachers and administrators, as well as to students. Inclass literature, inclusive language, freedom to self-identify, confidentiality, non-judgemental dress guidelines, gender-integrated inclusive activities are just some tools that will provide a safe and welcoming community to all children.

TEACHING TECHNIQUES

When teaching evolution, talking about Nature Science is a way to introduce engaging inquiries about biology through the process and sequence of scientific approach. Students will understand the diversity of life, examine the similarities in cells in different organisms, and can investigate the time-line when diversity happened. Once students have acquired the understanding of diversity in organisms, they can learn about classifications by which they will be able to explain the diversity. The Hominid skull comparisons will provide students with further inquiry ideas. Teachers can introduce evolution as a possible solution to these inquiries.

RELIGION

Discussing creationism and religion with students in a safe environment can be a useful critical thinking tool, especially when students can understand that there is a difference between science and what is not science. Grade 7 Social Studies also requires students to be able to think about different origins, various core beliefs systems. Discussions of beliefs should center around understanding not compelling the different beliefs.

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French Communities

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etis culture is unique and is a blend of many European cultures and Indigenous cultures. The word Metis came from the Latin verb miscēre, and means “to mix”. Metis people are recognized under Canada’s Constitution, and many Metis people live in Ontario. Louis Riel is considered a hero and was a father of Confederation and fought to bring Manitoba an integral part of Canada.

Metis people are strongly connected with their European ancestry as well as with their Indigenous ancestry. The famous Red River Jig dance showcases the amalgamation of all these cultures music and movement.

Photo by Leonard Cotte

plays and comic strips could be included in the classroom literature at any grade. Dual language books could also intrigue children to learn French. It is recommended to put the emphasis on dialogue and orality and not to focus too much on spelling at first. Making French Pen Pals, or cooking using French recipes can make the language come alive!

TEACHING CORE FRENCH WITH FRENCH CULTURE

The teacher in Case 7 can incorporate the many local events, festivals, and radio station, as well as the Francophone community resources into their curriculum. The 30th Annual Festival du Bois (March 22 to 24, 2019 at Mackin Park).

French language used daily in the class from Kindergarten will ease students into the language a lot better than starting to teach French in Grade 5. Some practical ideas could include daily classroom phrases that they already routinely use. French songs, French rhymes, poetry, Photo by Bruno Abatti

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Photo by Ben White

Photo by Albyn Davis

The introduction of French Language can show students ways they can find links to French culture around the globe. French can be linked to the Indigenous communities in Canada, and to the Metis communities.

French language can unite students with French speaking African countries, European countries, and North America. Because French is the official language in 29 countries, and is widely spoken in many other, it is a perfect language example to be used as a connection peace within a school community.

Canadian French communities include the Metis French (Michif), Acadian French and Quebec French. Over 7 million people consider French their Mother tongue in Canada, and about 3oo million people speak French world wide. Acadian French is spoken in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI, and it has derived from the 1700’s when French communities lived in the Maritimes and Gaspe Bay areas. In 1755

French speaking people were dispersed from this region as a result of not swearing allegiance to Britain. Many Acadians settled near the Isle Saint-Jean (PEI).

Quebec’s French language has changed over the centuries and amalgamated Indigenous expressions, and Canadian terms to serve the local conditions, activities and lifestyle. Canada celebrates Louis Riel (February 3rd), Heritage Day in Nova Scotia, National Patriot Day in Quebec on the 25th of May, and Saint Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec, Newfoundland, and Yukon Territory on the 24th of June.

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Inclusive learning involves every part of the education system.

When successfully integrated, inclusive operations, language, and practices create positive and welcoming environments for all students. https://bc.sogieducation.org/sogi2/

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Thank you!