Reflective Journal for Module 3:

Junior ABQ
Lakehead University
Written by: Tianna Barnes

As our world is changing, the way we learn changes. This has a great effect on the

way that we must also teach. Students in today’s classroom have been exposed to

technology and a different way of accessing figures. The demands and necessities of being

a citizen in the 21st century are completely different. Students are expected to have global

competencies. EduGAINS sys that these competencies include morals, skills and attitudes.

They also say that these competencies have always been a drive in education, but “what’s

new… is the call for education systems to explicitly emphasize and integrate competencies

in teaching and assessment practices” (EduGAINS). This means that teachers now not only

have to cover curriculum expectations, but also to prepare students to be able to succeed

after school. This seems to double the teaching content, but in fact only places an emphasis

on the need to change and improve the methods that we choose to teach with.

Technology seems to be everyone’s first thought when needing to teach a 21st

century learner. While technology seems to be a great fix, I feel that it needs to be used

sparingly. Technology needs to be used as a specific tool that improves the content being

taught. Unfortunately with the push to include technology, many teachers just add

technology for the sake of adding technology with no pedagogical reason that the technology

improves student success. While games like Kahoot can be a useful tool for diagnostic

assessment or review before a test, I feel that such games are overused. These games are

great to engage students who are not interested in a topic, but they in no way improve the

ability for a student to be able to communicate their understanding of a topic. Additionally,

with a multiple choice format, the questions can be too simple and not actually challenge

students or give the teacher any specific data of student understanding. Multiple choice

questions and answers need to be chosen carefully so that teachers can clearly see what
misconceptions the students have. A single, well-constructed hinge question can tell

teachers much more about student understanding than a poorly created Kahoot game.

Hinge questions may take more time and effort, but are useful. They should be quick

answers and even quicker assessments. To be able to assess quickly, Harry Fletcher-Wood

says that students should only be able to “reach an answer using one thought process (not

have two answers which the same thought process might lead to)” (Fletcher-Woods, 2013).

This is key to getting an accurate snapshot of student understanding. Technology can also

be used in conjunction with hinge questions, but would be more in the way of response tools

such as PollEverywhere. I honestly prefer ABC cards where students just hold up the card

that their answer matches. Having colours for each letter makes it easy to see which answer

shows up more. I may be preferential to this method because my school has a ban on

cellphones. I can see how response tools could be beneficial because students can not see

the answer of other students and the results will show a more accurate snapshot of

classroom understanding. There are many other useful technology tools such as language

translators, subject specific programs (eg. Geogebra for visualizing geometry topics) and

much more. Each teacher should use what suits them best, but also not overuse technology

just for the sake of using it.

Other teaching methods are useful for preparing students for their lives after school.

Students learn in many different ways and have many different strengths. By implementing

differentiated instruction into the junior classroom we “maximize the growth of all students by

meeting them where they are”(Tomlinson, 2011).​ ​ I also feel that this better reflects the real

world. In most instances in life, people have the choice to complete tasks in the way that

best suits them. There is not often only one way to complete a task. There are many ways

to differentiate, but I will choose to focus on two general ideas that I think have the greatest

impact. Flexible grouping is a tool that can be used to improve “interaction and feedback

that is essential for the development of effective communicators and literacy learners”
(Ontario Education, 2004, pp. 40). Communication is a tool that many students struggle

with, in my experience. I am not sure if it is just the language barrier in my classroom, but I

think that communication is something that everyone, even adults, could improve on. When

groups are kept static, students become comfortable and static in their communication and

then reject change. I have seen it in my classroom this year. The grade five classes that I

teach had behaviour struggles in the past and teachers would give in to their wants. This led

to students refusing to work with anyone other than their friends this year. It has taken an

entire year to change the thinking of this group of students. They finally came to me with the

idea of having to work with everyone because it will be the same when they have a job.

They will not always choose who they get to work with. I specifically did not tell them this

because I wanted them to determine this on their own. We did a brainstorming activity one

day as to why it is important to work with everyone and it was the most satisfying moment to

see them give me those responses. Since then, flexible groups have been easier, but it is

still a struggle some days. If we as educators give in to student wants, they will not develop

some important global competencies and through communicating with other students, they

may learn another way of completing a task that they prefer. While giving in to student

wants can be negative for learning, it is also important to give students choice in some

aspects of their learning. This can come in the form of students choosing which order to

complete tasks, choosing the method in which they present their knowledge (written, oral,

artistic, electronic, etc.). By allowing this choice, it can help students feel more empowered

in their learning.

What I have witnessed to be one of the most important tools for 21st century learners

is inquiry. Inquiry takes a base in student interest. By using a guiding question, educators

can ​“spark interest and to provide students with a goal of what they will be able to answer at

the end of the lesson or unit” (Goertz, 2015). When teachers implement inquiry, they start

with the Big Ideas of a topic and through the process, students will often reach all of the
specific expectations and more. Students are engaged throughout the entire process and

learn much more because they are guiding pieces of their own learning. When combined

with differentiated instruction, students gain curriculum and global competencies in the most

effective ways.

Math seems to be the subject that students struggle to connect with the most. This

leads to lack of understanding of math knowledge. Inquiry and differentiation can be used in

mathematics can be useful as well, but is more difficult. By creating rich tasks based in real

world contexts, students become more engaged. It is important that these rich tasks reflect

the class that you are teaching in terms of their interests and backgrounds. It is also

important to foster positive attitudes towards mathematics in students. This starts by the

teacher showing excitement towards math and the usefulness of math for the students. It

may also be important for teachers to work with parents to improve their attitudes as well

because parent attitudes affect the students as well. When all members of the learning team

communicate about math, they all become more excited and build better attitudes together.

References

EduGAINS. (n.d.) ​About Innovation in Learning in Ontario​. Retrieved from

http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/21stCenturyLearning/about_learning_in_ontario.html

Fletcher-Woods, H. (2013). ​Do they understand this well enough to move on? Introducing
hinge questions.​ ​Retrieved from
https://improvingteaching.co.uk/2013/08/17/do-they-understand-this-well-enough-to-move-on
-introducing-hinge-questions/

Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). ​What Is Differentiated Instruction and Why Differentiate?​ Retrieved

from
https://pdo.ascd.org/LMSCourses/PD11OC115M/media/DI-Intro_M1_Reading_What_Is_DI.
pdf

Ontario Education. (2004). ​Literacy For Learning​. Retrieved from

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacy/panel/literacy.pdf

Goertz, P. (2015). ​What Does a 21st Century Classroom Look Like: Inquiry​. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/what-does-21st-century-classroom-look-inquiry