https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-dc/latest/circuit-construction-kit-dc_en.html

Annotated bibliography ( Jashan and KK)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i0ZejXJ_oYAiuMVmK74CK7brtvU400pBoclkUmiDlqw/edit?ts=5ddedc3d

Permitting creativity in science( Entrance slip)

While reading the article " Permitting creativity in science" by Janet Beavin Bavelas my first stop was at "if no one followed up on original ideas, we would be buried in fresh starts going nowhere." I think it is important to consider the former works of the researchers as it helps us to know what has already been experimented and about its outcomes. Moreover, if anyone is new to their field of interest then reading the prior works will help them build up a foundational context and hence they can start researching from their onwards. I remember in masters, the professors asked us to read the research papers of the scientists related to the new experiment to be done in the lab which helped us to have some prior knowledge and know what has been already experimented and what needs to be.

The other thing that speaks to me is "unfortunately, having seen something interesting, too often we shake our heads and say it didn't happen". I remember in my graduate studies we used to do experiments in physics and chemistry. During that time the teaching and learning were not inquiry-based but it was just following the cookbook instructions and reaching the already known result. Therefore, such learning practices reinforce the idea of ignoring the unobvious results which the students might get during their experimentation. Therefore, I believe that teachers should encourage the open end inquiry in the areas of their interest provided they have some foundational knowledge about that subject.

The third stop was at" when we go to investigate it, we should not pre-decide it ". It is important not to have a firm prediction of what is going to happen because such an attitude will constraint us to think out of the box. Instead when we come across something unusual or " what everyone does not know", we should believe in ourselves, need not awe from society, explore more and double-check our work, because this might lead to the insight of new discovery.

My key takeaway from this reading as a teacher is to encourage my students to explore new things, research their areas of interests, provide them enough resources to develop their creativity, and do open and structured inquiry teaching. Such practices can prompt them to go beyond the texts and books and which might help them to become more curious and find science and math in every aspect of life.

Inquiry Project

Are Marks Accurate? ( Exit slip)

I believe that the accuracy of the marks depends upon the type of tests or the assignments teachers hand into their students. If the tests are good enough to evaluate the curricular and core competencies of the student then the marks can be accurate. But I feel that assessing the students' knowledge in the set time constraint is not fair. In those cases, the marks are not accurate. The student might be under pressure, going through anxiety and may not be able to perform well in the awe of constrained time.

Marks can be made accurate if the students are assessed on the willingness they show to learn new things, their passion for their interests, giving respect to others. Therefore, the students should not be graded solely on the basis of their performance in academic subjects but grading should be in such a way that reflects their consistent understanding of the subject(maybe through inquiry projects), their efforts to be a good human being who respect others viewpoint and strives for the growth of the class as a whole. Hence, in such cases, the marks can be accurate.

Entrance slip : A shift from grading to learning

 Before coming to this program and reading this article I never thought about alternatives of gradings and percentages, and I always thought it to be a norm that every child has to go through. I remember how happily I used to do the subjects that were not graded. For instance,  physical education, dance was not graded in my school in India. This article really resonates with me and to every student in the educational system. I remember my learning was steered by what is going to be on the test. Learning was mere instrumental than relational. Therefore, the student who was able to memorize lots of facts and then jot it down on the exam was considered to be more intellectual. This does not depict their creativity and deep understanding of the subject. Another thing that I think is important to mention and relates to me is peer pressure. I remember how the parents, teachers and peer pressure stresses the student to study day and night to attain high grades. This adds to anxiety and other mental and behavioral issues in the children.

On the contrary, there are some positive effects of grading as well. This acts as self-motivator and the child at least urges to study something. While studying students might find what interests them the most and then pursue their careers in that field. I believe that if we entirely remove the grading culture then the students would be too relaxed and they might take advantage of this culture and chose not to study. Hence, they might follow such paths which are detrimental to them.

 I believe that there should some kind of assessment that the students are accountable to. Some of those can be based on the number of times the child shows up to ask a problem, formative assessments during the class, assessing their engagement in the activities, assigning them group projects and then assessing how well they coordinated and performed as a group, this helps them to build relationships, providing  them feedback by comments rather than percentages. I think such practices if followed would not only make them accountable for themselves but also gives them the freedom to have a deep understanding of the subjects they like.

Exit Slip: Orchard Garden( Part 2) Embodied ways of learning math

I am so blissful to have a chance to be more close to nature during this program. I feel like I was missing the beautiful insights of beauty around me in the fast-paced life. Today, our class was in the orchard garden amongst the lap of nature. We started our class by spending some alone time with ourselves and nature. In addition to this, we also drew the manmade and the natural things around us. While drawing various things, I realized very closely that drawing is not everyone's job. Although it is a very good way of expressing feelings and imagination. I was comfortable drawing the linear and 2-dimensional shapes, but it was hard for me to visualize 3-D shapes on paper. This whole process made my heart and mind to cease and feel the present moment. Learning the embodied ways of showing the path of the sun during the summer and winter solstice was very interesting and we enjoyed the nice body stretches through learning as well. I will also incorporate these strategies of embodied learning in my classrooms since it makes the class environment very engaging and active. In addition to this, we also predicted the present time and also time in future months with the help of sundial. I never did that before and seek to have more knowledge about that.

Entrance Slip( for Oct 10) : Experiencing meanings in geometry

The article "Experiencing Meaning in Geometry" by David W. Henderson and Daina  Taimina inspired me to think that how beautifully and aesthetically the abstract concepts of maths and physics can be explained. Ever since I came to Canada, I have been closer to nature than before and become more thoughtful about making connections between math and science education to the nature. In my past school visits, I have seen the inclination of the teachers to more inquiry-based student’s learning. For instance, yesterday, in biology 11 class the students were dissecting the crab fish and grasshopper and trying to recognize whether they have a male or a female sample. And In another science for citizens class, students were calculating how high did their hot air balloons go and making use of angles and trigonometry to calculate the height. But from my past experience in India, math for most of the students was nothing but following certain rules and set algorithms and getting the right answer. I would not say it was their fault. It is just because of the culture of competition and assessments and labeling the students with the marks have encouraged them not to think more than just what is given in the books. And the teachers and the parents backed up this culture owing to their unawareness about the embodied ways of learning and its excellent outcomes.

I believe that good understanding of the concepts plays an important role in education. Therefore, it is essential for teachers to impart meaningful understanding to their students. The teachers and guardians should be aware enough to make the right choices, demonstrate, exemplify the abstract concepts of math and science with the use of gestures, expressions, body movement, spatial words. The use of head, heart, and hands can do wonders to experience the true meanings of the difficult concepts. Such as mentioned in the reading that the aesthetic of the hyperbolic plane can be realized by making crochets. It was interesting to see that the polyhedron hyperbolic surface is nothing but the “hyperbolic soccer ball”. Therefore, such models can help us understand the inherent nature of the shapes that are difficult to visualize. For instance, for the high school students the concept of the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms, triangular prism, pyramids, etc. can be well explained with the use of models and manipulatives. In addition to this, I believe that the use of body movements, gestures in the context of education adds the spark, liveliness and the fun element in the classrooms and makes the teaching and learning more enthusiastic.

Exit slip: Rope and braid making

Today’s class was really fun. We made ropes from the dried leaves and with the fabric. I realized that such handmade art activities involve the efficient use of hands in coordination with the head (the use of the motor and the sensory skills) and the outcome of this is the expression of the inner feelings and the emotions during the process of making. It was quite fascinating to see that the ropes made were very strong.  In addition to this, the strength of the ropes is the metaphor for the dedication and the patience required to make it so strong. I really enjoyed working collaboratively, learning new art, giving suggestions to each other to make a better piece of art.

Making 7 stranded braid was very satisfactory for me. It gave me immense relaxation and I felt like to keep going on and on. Now, I can imagine, how my grandma could knit all day long. Therefore, the head, heart, and hands can be efficiently used for the more embodied and transformative learning of the students. I will inculcate such activities in my classroom to make connections between the subject content and the surroundings such that students can experience the true meaning of learning.

Entrance Slip : Orchard garden( Sept 3)

The name of the article” Common threads “by Sharon Kallis itself is so engaging that it urged me to read to know about the possible ways to build a strong community by doing the things together and how can I play an active role in it.

I was impressed by the thought of thinking critically where did the things come from? and then reflecting on the idea of making or growing the things which, we can, instead of going in the market to buy. This practice will support our production and consumption. I come from a family that has an agricultural background and the main source of earning of my grandparents was farming. I remember, how happy and healthy I use to feel after eating freshly picked fruits and vegetables. Therefore, I support the argument of consuming locally grown or handmade products which will encourage our people to make the best use of their talents to tailor their own needs and also the needs of the community.

I am also encouraged by the idea of relearning, inventing our lost ancestral techniques. In my childhood I was very fascinated by the art of knitting and cross-stitch, I learned it from my grandmother and also made a short stall which is kept safely with my mother. I still feel the sense of contentment and happiness which I use to feel after gazing at my hand made things. I feel that one should not wait for something big that will make them happy but try to find happiness in doing little things I realize that by making and growing one's own things and sharing the techniques with the other people will not only strengthen our community and encourage open-mindedness but also it will be an effective step towards mitigating consumerism.

In video of making rope and yarn, it was surprising for me to know that the geometrical property of the ropes does not depend on the material. Therefore, the identical-looking ropes have the same structure despite the material used. In addition to this, it is important is to know the underlying math behind the rope twisting to create the zero twisted structure such that it does not untwists. In my childhood, I used to make yarns along with my grandma with the help of “Charkha” (the type of spinner, but comparatively bigger than shown in video). The videos and the article took me back to my village and made me realized to practice such little joyful things to break the monotonicity of the fast-paced life.

Exit Slip: Orchard garden

With every passing day in this university, I feel so blessed to be part of this program and to have a lifelong learning experience. Today our inquiry class was in UBC orchard garden.  It was very relaxing and gave us an academic break to enjoy the beauty around, which we usually do not realize since we are all busy with our own lives. I found that there are tremendous ways in which gardens can teach us and we as teachers can inculcate gardens in our pedagogies and work around the curriculum to make the students feel more connected to nature. The research scholar Diana guided us in the orchard garden and I fascinated to see the sunflowers all wrapped up, maybe for some research purposes and the wild sunflowers were being pollinated manually to interbreed the two species.  There was wide range of organic fruits and vegetables grown in the garden (Asian pears, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, different herbs like basil, mint) which can not only be used for eating purposes but also making inquiries and learning. We all enjoyed eating fresh organic fruits and vegetables together. I feel that the taste of anything increases many folds if we share and eat together.

One thing I noticed in all of us was that everybody inquired about the thing they were unaware of and made predictions. This is an important exercise for us to follow and then pass on to our students. There were few trees that I was unsure of what they were but still tried to inquire them by sensing and tasting.

The sound activity introduced by the Ph.D. Scholar who is researching how does sound of the nature impacts the children’s learning. She asked us to close our eyes and experience different sounds in nature. The activity of drawing images of sound was very new. I was wondering how can we shape a certain sound but this activity opened the path to my imagination and limitless sky. We also played the orchestra of all kinds of sound heard by the group mates. It was really fun and we all were so engaged in it. This further strengthens the power of working together, sharing views with each other makes us more emotionally happy and gives us a sense of happiness and brotherhood. I will definitely incorporate such activities in my classroom to build better relationships amongst the students.

 I look forward to our next Thursdays class in orchard garden to learn more from nature and from each other.

Entrance slip: UBC orchard Garden and Cultivating Learning network

This article” UBC Orchard Garden and Cultivating Learning Network” by Susan “Gerofsky” (our dearest prof) reinforces the importance of sustenance of the environment. We as teachers can be the crucial part of the multidisciplinary, integrate with the intellectuals of other study areas to build school gardens in our schools and make this as central importance of school such that it is not only beneficial for providing the organic food for our school but also from teaching and learning perspectives.

Things that made me stop:

“In the outdoor, the living world teaches and inspires us”.

Treat the gardens as your co-teachers and treat the soil, plants, forests as our learning resource. This will build empathetic relations with the environment, and I believe that we do not harm the ones with whom we have a loving relationship. So, it is very important to build the connections between students and nature such that our new generation knows the values of preserving the environment. I remember from my childhood; we had a beautiful garden in the center of the school but the sad part was we were only allowed to see at a distance but were not allowed to go inside and enjoy the serenity. We did not have any chance of having an outdoor education but one of my biology teachers, took us to field trip at CIPHET (Central institute of post-harvest engineering and technology), we explored the different types of plants grown and fruits and vegetables processed to use in different items. We also had a healthy lunch made out of fresh organic foods. That experience is still instilled in my memories.

I was fascinated by the thought of forming an embodied way to track the course of the sun throughout the garden year. It is so beneficial for the young learners, new teachers to realize that everything in nature is so interrelated and we can increase our awareness and knowledge by sharing with each other, which is really rewarding in itself.

Although, it was not astonishing for me when the land is viewed as commercial real estate for personal interests and I have come across such incidents in India, where the big farmlands were acquired for the urbanization and commercialization, but no steps were taken to connect the people with nature. But I really feel fortunate that I am here on this beautiful land and will put in efforts to enhance and sustain its beauty.

As a science and math teacher, I can help them to understand the projectile motion while playing with a ball in the garden, newtons laws, forces due to gravity, how will the force of gravity affect the two free fall bodies (one leaf and another one fruit) of different masses. I can also introduce the concept of waves by asking them what will they notice if they throw a pebble in the pond, and then extend the conversation to the different types of waves longitudinal and transverse. There cannot be a better place other than the garden to teach the students the different parts of the plants and the flower. I can also help them to understand the adequate amount of sunlight, water, nutrients required for the proper growth of plants by growing the plants in different settings and let the students figure out the different results if any. Students can be prompted to inquire about the different patterns they notice in the garden. For instance, Sunflower forms a Fibonacci spiral, branches of many trees are in the Fibonacci sequence. Moreover, one finds peace, calmness and feels relaxed in the beautiful atmosphere of the gardens hence, students can get relieved from stress by speaking their hearts out to their friends and teachers. This furthers strengthens the bond between the students and also with the teachers.

I am very inspired by the collective effort of various educational bodies, students from different study areas, faculty members and seek to be a part of such an organization and participate actively for the betterment of our ecosystem.

Exit Slip: Climate change strike

Today's lecture was dedicated to the global climate change strike.We discussed the various ways in which the new awareness about climate change and mass extinction can affect the role of a teacher or mentor, how can the teacher approach to curriculum, how can the teachers approach differently to our teachable subject  As a group, we found that teacher or mentor can be a  role model for their students, they can inspire their students by taking effective measures such as use of  electric gadgets instead of paper, recycling and reusing,refusing to use plastic, using public transit, consuming seasonal and local groceries, reducing the influence of capitalism by leading a simple life, reducing overpopulation by mentioning its consequences to people, switching to energy-efficient sources, banning the burning of fossil fuels. We can teach our students in the open, outside of four walls so that they can connect more to the environment, invite guest speakers, skype a scientist who can educate the students more through data visualizations. As a teacher, we have to realize that it is our individual's responsibility to step forward to make the change, act and inspire the community to make our planet a better place.

I was quite fascinated to watch the TED talk of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden who has taken the initiative to start an international movement of climate strike and demand the actions from the government for the prevention of global warming and mass extinction. I was personally very engrossed by her talk and it made me reflect on what can I do to save my environment for the upcoming generations.  The rate at which climate is changing will ruin the prosperity, mental health, happy life of the future generation and they will not be resilient enough to undo all the damage. She argues that climate change is a crisis and each one of us knows the consequences of not taking any action. In spite of that, no one is acting owing to their own selfish means and wants others to take initiative. It is high time now and we must feel the pain of having a merely existing environment.

My key takeaway from this lesson is how important is to take care of our environment. I will start making little efforts by finding out energy-efficient alternatives in my daily life, planting trees, spread awareness among students by incorporating the environment into the other academic subjects.

Entrance Slip ( Sept 19): Sustainable mathematics

The article by Moshe Renert on "Mathematics for life: Sustainable Mathematics Education" inspired me to contribute more towards the prevention of climate change and mass extinctition which is increasing at an alarming rate.  I honestly never thought about the connection between math and sustainability. Usually, I associated sustainability with environmental sciences and ecology.

 

While reading the article, the two things that surprised me: One of them is how our eating habits can have a tremendous amount of effect on the ecology of our planet. The article ponders on the fact that eating beef deprives the agricultural resources more in comparison to eating chicken. Therefore, one can reduce the pollution caused by protein production by switching to a vegetarian diet and herbivorous fish.

Another thing that impressed me is the analogy of emitting a pound of carbon with throwing a pound of garbage out the windows of the cars at every mile. This is a very effective analogy to have critical discussions between the students and making them realize that increasing the rate of carbon emmisions can eventually cause discomfort like that of discomfort caused by garbage on the roads.

It also made me curious to know the different ways to implement the two models ( Sterlings and Edwards) in math education to contribute to the sustainability of the planet. The math teaching can be steered to promote the student's creativity by incorporating the new conservation-based real-life word problems which have not even been attempted by the teacher. Hence, the teacher and the students can approach the problem collectively and work together to get the answer. Therefore, the student will not have the restriction to get to the final right answer and explore different ways to do the problem.

  

This can be exemplified as exploring the variation in climate over the time  with the help of graphs, examining the dietary choices to calculate the carbon emissions, in addition to this one can ask their students to find  out the cost of their daily commute vs the alternative eco-friendly ways of commute(carpooling, using public transit, cycling)., Moreover they can also calculate the carbon emissions corresponding to the different vehicles used where one  can be more energy efficient than the other. I really liked how the author connects emotions with math, so one cannot understand the underlying physical idea vividly until one does not feel those numbers. Such as students can feel how big is one hectare by standing in the middle of the big playground.

As a prospective teacher, I will connect math with the environment conservation and sustainability context so that me and my students can realize their responsibility towards preserving their home planet.

Exit Slip: Jo Boaler on student inquiry.

Today we spent the first half of the class exploring the different ways we can manage our classroom time. We found that on average, the teacher spends roughly 125 hours of classroom time with their students, and how to efficiently make use of this time is an important question to reflect on. Here are a few of the many ways by which one can manage to have a multidimensional classroom.

11. Starting the class with a reviewing of the previous class content and also bridging their gaps in knowledge by making analogies based on their common experiences.

22. Hands-on demonstrations wherever possible, so that students can have a better understanding by experimenting on their own.

33.  Peer group discussions to encourage their core competencies of communication, critical thinking and building up social and emotional relationships by helping each other.

44.  Incorporating learning activities through the use of technology, gaming, coding, visual manipulatives.

Although, I am thinking, how pragmatic it will be for me to actually apply all of these in my classroom considering time and curricular constraints.

Video by Jo Boaler was very informative and prompted me to inquire more about the various researches done on math and science education in order to understand the mindset of the students. Moreover, it was interesting to know how essential it is to track the student's approaches to different questions. For instance, children with fixed mindsets think that math is gifted and asks for help without even trying and students with a growth mindset approach the questions more conceptually and urge to learn more with a positive attitude. Now the big question arises is how to change the fixed mindset of the students and make them realize that no one is born smart and anyone can be good at math by practicing more and having an optimistic approach towards problems. As a prospective teacher, I will make my best efforts to create a multidimensional active learning environment in my classrooms rather than direct teaching.

In addition to this, Video by Alfie Kohn motivates me to be an affectionate parent in my future life. It inspires me to listen and reflect whatever my child says, which will help me in making decisions more meaningfully.

Entrance Slip: "On becoming a reflective teacher"

 The article “On becoming a reflective teacher" written by Carl A. Grant and Kenneth M. Zeichner. made me ponder upon the various ways that I can inculcate in my pedagogy to become a reflective teacher. Although it is written in different time and place but I believe the process of self-reflection and critical inquiry to become a great teacher is still the same. I found that the three attitudes (open-minded, responsible, wholeheartedness) presented by John Dewey will reinforce my inquiry process of becoming a great teacher. According to Dewey, in order to become a critical thinker and reflective teacher, one must think outside of the box and do not emulate the “routine actions “and become introspective in all aspects such as educational, social, political wherever teaching is involved.

 As a prospective teacher, I will assimilate open-mindedness in my personality so that I can be aware of the other alternatives of following the methods and procedures in the classroom and be able to decipher the problems by all possibilities thought by the people around (students, colleagues, myself etc.). In addition to this, thinking cognitively, being aware of the consequences of the actions taken in the classroom, working wholeheartedly for the wellbeing of the each and every student and experimenting different activities without the awe of making errors are few of the many ways I will incorporate into my life to become an effective teacher.

I assume that according to the new BC curriculum, teachers are not constrained by the curricular content than before. I am intrigued when the writer makes the general notion that “habits of reflectiveness developed during the preservice training will be washed out” since the teachers have to follow the standardized set of rules regulated by the school authority. This prompted me to inquire about the degree of freedom given to the teachers to work around their own methods. I strongly agree when he talks about the condensed schedule which allows less time available in the class for self-reflection. But it is always possible to allocate separate time to look back and make inquiries about developing better pedagogical skills. I look forward to my practicum and seek the maximum knowledge by making critical inquiries about the curriculum, content, students and school practices.

Exit Slip: Frank McCourt

Frank Mccourt was an Irish American English teacher and a writer. He is known for his unconventional style of teaching and even won Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela Ashes, which narrates the tragedies and hardships he faced in his childhood. After watching his two interviews, I am really inspired by the fact that poverty, adverse circumstances did not pose any hindrance in his path of becoming educated and attaining success in his life. His attitude of "keep going " helped him to survive in his early years of teaching. It is fascinating even without having any experience of being a high school student, he turned out to be a successful high school teacher. I believe this is because he did not have to overcome the apprenticeship of observation as a student and he experimented with his own methods of teaching. On the other hand, novice teachers usually teach the way they have been taught. Therefore, the big Idea which I think is to critically inquire and reflect upon one's pedagogy and cater to the academic and emotional needs of every student. 

In addition to this, I found it very influencing when he says " If you are teaching and not learning, it means you are not teaching". Therefore, teaching is a never-ending learning process and one learns new insights of teaching while working with a diverse group of students who have different abilities and learning styles. I can personally relate to him since I grew up and graduated in India which have different cultures and societies from Canada but his experiences really inspired me to remain confident, honest and true to oneself and also towards the students. Another interesting strategy that I learned from him is to understand the stress, emotions, frustrations they are going through and not to take them personally when they are venting out. This practice will build a compassionate and comfortable relationship with adolescents. Frank Mccourt was very flexible and humble, he goes by his students and would reject the books which his students hated and planned the lessons according to his student's interests. Hence, I believe that it is very essential to adapt to student's requirements by consistently inquiring one's teaching methods and make learning more student-centered so that they start taking ownership and become more responsible. 

Introduction

Hello everyone,
This is Jashan Bajwa. I am a teacher candidate with teachable  physics and math. It is pleasure meeting you all. I am looking forward to have a great year ahead.