How do the course themes and topics come together to inform you about becoming an effective 21st ...

How do the course themes and topics come together to inform you about becoming an effective 21st century educator? by James Thibaudeau

1. This order, delivered by Jeff Johnson, minister of education on May 6th of 2013 holds such values as:

1.1. students should be engaged learners and ethical thinkers with an entrepreneurial spirit.

1.2. students should "know how to learn" (Johnson, 2013)

1.3. students should " identify and apply career and life skills through personal growth and well-being"

2. Knowledge itself can be divided into many different areas:

3. The problem arises however, once the question arises "what if our students are not proficient in these basic skills?"

3.1. Luke, rather than dismissing these claims, is able to demonstrate, that in order for these kids to learn basic skills, they must be interested in their lessons, and engaged learners in the classroom.

3.2. If a student is able to become interested in their lessons, then other pieces should fall into place, rather than the conventional style in place today, in which the basics must be mastered before deeper study.

3.2.1. With this idea that learning should come from the outside world, it becomes even more important for a teacher to be knowledgeable and fully aware of their social environment, in order to fully express and translate it to both a curriculum and to the skill level of their students.

4. Education has always been influenced by the social environment surrounding it.

5. Knowledge

6. What does it take to become an effective 21st century educator?

7. Their students

8. The Administration

8.1. Perhaps, the largest role for a teacher, is to understand that they are the link between the curriculum handed to them by the administration, and the students, whom are to recieve the information

8.2. As such, they must be able to understand not only the curriculum, but how the administration works, and how they are expected to convey the knowledge to their students.

9. Allan Luke on leadership within the classroom (Luke,2009)

9.1. 1. As Allan Luke states, teaching is "like dancing" in which, one must always be willing to react and cooperate with a students skill level.

9.2. In order to properly work with ones skill level however, the teacher must first become familiar with his or her students first.

9.3. It is then this familiarity, this knowledge of one's students that a teacher can then be able to properly instruct a student, or group of students, to their strengths, while also strengthening their weaknesses.

9.4. This also means that knowledge of the curriculum and various methods of teaching in one's "repertoire" or one's "toolbox" is very important

9.5. As the school day, or year continues, one's method of teaching will continually have to change to match the mood, abilities or attentiveness of the student. By doing this, they keep their students engaged, creating a better environment for learnign and ensuring they aren't still dancing the "chacha" when times already passed to start the "Samba"

10. Social environment

11. Within the classroom: inclusion vs discrimination

12. Outside of the classroom: education reacts to change

12.1. For example, schooling was not compulsory for many centuries, instead only available to the privileged few, who weren't obligated to familial duties, who enjoyed "the good times" (Loerke,2012,pg. 1)

12.1.1. As such, it wasn't until industrial revolutions and world wars had occurred that schooling had become compulsory (Loerke, 2012, pg.2-3)

12.2. The ideas of modern education are a result of Friedrich Froebel, who believed that education should not be built simply be the "transmission of knowledge, but the development of character and motivation to learn" (Loerke, 2012, pg. 4)

12.3. In other words, school should be a place in which you learn how to learn. Developing curiosity in order to become life long learners in life.

13. Allan Luke:second wave teaching

13.1. As Allan Luke (2013) says in this video, once preliminary teaching has been accounted for, it becomes easier to teach contemporary sources to students

14. As was stated in Gerald Walton's article: " Bullying and Homophobia in Canadian Schools: The Politics of Policies, Programs, and Educational Leadership", "schools have never been a place for just learning" (2004, pg.4)

14.1. Schools have forever been as much a place for socializing as it has been a place of learning.

14.2. While these social interactions can, and will for the most part, be favorable and positive, there will of course still be some which are unfortunately negative. This would mostly categorize as discrimination.

15. Federal involvement

15.1. While there is no centralized federal educational body in Canada, there is still government involvement

15.1.1. The government body involved in Alberta Education is the provincial government, specifically the cabinet in government, in which one member is appointed as the minister of education for the province.

16. Minister of education

16.1. The minister of education, working alongside the provincial government will determine new curricula and areas of focus for schooling.

16.2. The minister of education also plays a vital role in determining the allocations of provincial fudns towards education.

16.3. Along with the deputy minister ( a civil servant on the cabinet) will oversee the work of the entire department.

17. school boards

17.1. The duties of the school boards are to run day-to-day operations of schools, including paying teacher salaries, and opening or closing schools as is deemed fit

18. The Alberta Teachers association (ATA)

18.1. Acts as a union and professional organization for Alberta teacher. Membership is mandatory for all permanent Alberta teachers.

18.2. The ATA will deal with cases on an individual basis, as well as hold workshops and democratic ideas in order to provide professional development of its members.

19. The Ministerial order

19.1. The mandate given by the minister of education to the teachers of Alberta demonstrating a clear understanding of the aims and values desired for all students (k-12) in the Alberta education system.

20. These values are important because:

20.1. The teacher must understand and interpret these values and instructions in ways that they can then teach their students in order to satisfy these goals.

20.2. Since the students themselves are typically unaware of these aims in the curriculum, particularly in younger grades. Therefore, it is the goal and duty of the teacher to manipulate their lesson and the curriculum in order to properly achieve these goals and still educate their students in the curriculum.

21. Perrenialism

21.1. Teacher's role: a dispenser of knowledge. The teacher is the most knowledgable and experienced in the classroom and can be designated a "taskmaster"(Loomis,Martin, 2007)

21.2. The curriculum is based upon an idea that there exists only one "universal truth". The basis of the curriculum then, are classic pieces of works, such as mozart or shakespeare (proven by longevity to have been part of the universal truth)

22. Dedication

23. How to be an educator

24. The Ultimate goal: A learning environment, free of discrimination.

24.1. This becomes the responsibility of the teacher, principal and other authority figures within education in order to recognize and rectify potentially discriminatory acts.

24.1.1. This can include solutions such as having a discussion with the involved parties, contacting proper authorities or other courses of actions.

24.2. As the closest authority figure to any given situation at the school, it then falls upon the teacher primarily in order to understand one's students and realize when something is affecting their moods or behavior.

24.3. As these problems have been gaining awareness, particularly the problems concerning the LGBT community, we are also seeing a rise in groups to provide support, such as TEACH, or rainbow youth talk ( Walton, 2004, pg.7)

25. Unfortunately there have been failures of this goal: (Walton, 2004, pg.2)

25.1. Columbine (1999)

25.2. Taber, Alberta school shooting (1999

25.3. the beating and murder of Reena Virk in B.C ( 1997)

26. The philosophies of teaching

26.1. The philosophies of teaching can be viewed as spectrum, with main differences being the role of the teacher, as well as who decides the curriculum.

27. Essentialism

27.1. In this philosophy, the teacher is once again the master of the classroom, being the most knowledgeable, particularly of the curriculum.

27.1.1. In essentialism, the main idea is that every student must master the skills needed in one particular level, before moving on to the next. The goal then, is to teach students the skills they will need to be successful members of society and the workforce. What skills and values these are, depends upon society as a whole. For example, society today would hold that reading and writing are indispensable skills for a citizen to work today, however in recent times, technology competence is becoming more important every day. Therefore this philosophy changes more often than the perrenialism philosophy.

28. progessivism

28.1. The teachers role begins to shift, as they are now seen as "guides, rather than taskmasters" according to John Dewey (Loomis,Martin, 2007) Teachers then must be able to understand their students and help them choose a path of education that will interest them.

28.2. The students begin to control the curriculum, as it is meant to be based off the interest of the student. This means that some old works are vital to this philosophy, as well ans contemporary sources, however it is up to the students themselves to decide which sources to study

29. Existentialism

29.1. The teacher is a facilitator, helping each student find the best methods and resources in order to study. (Loomis, Martin, 2007)

29.2. Existentialism is the focus on the individual. The curriculum is entirely based upon the individuals needs and interests. They will perform many tasks at once, while also achieving many learning goals simultaneously

30. Social recontruction

30.1. In this philosophy, the teacher can be seen as a peer with the students. They will still provide guidance and experience to the curriculum and in situations, but due to the curriculum, they leanr alongside the student.

30.2. The curriculum is based upon the modern world, and social problems arising. For example, lessons in this year would have focused on ebola outbreaks in Africa, and used as a gateway into discussion and assignments with other diseases, through this method. The ultimate goal of this philosophy is that every student becomes a lifelong learner, and as such the teacher himself is also learning alongside the students as social problems arise and resolve.

31. What is the ultimate goal in understanding how to be an educator?

31.1. The goal is then to read and react very well with one's classroom.

31.1.1. As Allan Luke (2009) said, teaching is like dancing, and what is right in one scenario ( the cha cha) may not be right when certain situations arise ( the samba). It is then the teachers job to recognize when a method, or philosophy isn't working, and quickly change to meet the needs of a student.

31.1.1.1. As one educator said (Loomis,Martin, 2007) her philosophy has changed throughout a long career. They are not a stagnant quality. They are constantly changing to reflect a particular classroom, or even individual students.

31.2. The educator must be able to understand one's students and correctly assess and help them in any given scenario, or handicap upon learning.

31.3. Perhaps then, the greatest thing an educator an understand is that their role is to be the motivators of students in order to encourage them to be life long learners and desire to learn how to learn

32. Reflective teaching

32.1. According to John Dewey, reflective action is the "active,persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or practice in light of the grounds that support it and the further consequences to which it leads." (Grant, Zeichner, 2000)

32.2. In other words, reflective action is a way to meet and respond to problems. Therefore a reflective teacher must meet and respond to problems within the classroom.

32.2.1. Once again, the teacher must be familiar with the classroom in order to perceive disturbances within it. Failure to recognize the problem will also result in a failure to solve the problem and a failure to meet the needs of the students in order to create a safe and inclusive learning environment.

33. Three qualities of a reflective teacher (Grant, Zeichner, 2000)

33.1. Openmindedness: the ability to listen ot both sides of the story

33.2. Responsibility: The acceptance of consequences one's actions may cause

33.3. Whole heartedness: The recognization that one's perception and ability to be responsible depends solely on one's dedication to continually grow as an educator. The more informed and trained an educator is, the more reflective they become, and the better equipped they are to deal with solutions.

34. Finding solutions to challenges

34.1. Many challenges arise in a classroom throughout the year. For example, an exchange student, unable to speak fluently in english, or read and write at all, may be introduced. Or another student may have a learning disability that prevents them from proficiently reading or writing. This is in addition to social problems that may arise during the school year as well

34.2. It is then the responsibility of the teacher, in order be able to recognize and provide solutions to problems that arise. It is only through experience and dedication to strive for solutions to sometimes highly problematic situations that teachers can help students reaching their full potential

35. Inclusion in schools

35.1. In this video, many challenges arise, including one young students inability to read and write at a grade level.

35.2. Rather than dismissing the student, the teacher was able to recognize the problem ( an inability to read at grade level due to learning disabilities) and provide a dedicated solution ( read the test into an ipod, allowing the student to understand the questions on tests) This allows the student to Demonstrate his learning to the best of his abilities, and demonstrates the traits of a dedicated reflective teacher.

36. technology in the classroom

36.1. In todays world, the ever-growing presence of technology is a challenge and solution to many teachers.

36.2. While technology does make research, writing and learning ( arguably) easier, it is also a new area of knowledge for most people, perhaps most importantly, teachers.

36.3. Technology then represents the perfect example for John Dewey's ( Grant, Zeichenr, 2000) ideas that the educator is responsible for educating themselves on how to be an educator.

36.4. As technology becomes more important in classrooms, in everyday education and solving problems that arise, it is vitally important that educators embrace technology in their lessons, and work hard in order to understand technology and learn it themselves.

37. Bias in the classroom

37.1. Growing in classrooms is also the idea that social justice rooted curricula will help students to learn how to be critical analysts of the world around them, helping them to be ethical citizens. (Reynolds, 2012)

37.2. The problem arises when a teacher's bias in a particular protest, for example the grade 4 protest of a western Canadian oil pipeline, creeps into the children's minds, meaning they don't form their own opinions, but accept the teachers instead. (Reynolds, 2012,)

38. Providing students the tools to make informed decisions

38.1. The dedicated teacher will find a way to provide social justice problems, in an appropriate, unbiased approach.

38.2. This would allow children their own views on opinions, and allow them to decide for themselves whether a social justice project is worthy based on their own merits, rather than their teachers.

38.3. This will of course sometimes mean that teachers are forced to teach students viewpoints other than their own, which is requires dedication to the task ahead of dedication to one's beliefs.

39. Persevering through the myths of teaching

39.1. Teaching is perhaps the lone profession in the world where every single student that every new member, has already had extensive experience within their environment (Pugach, 2006)

39.2. We grow up watching our teachers from k-12 and continue to do so today in university, however, our view is restricted. We can only view our teachers for the approximately seven hours of a day we are in school, not being able to see the behind-the-scenes work a teacher will do every day in order to properly educate their students.

39.3. In addition, teaching, like so many other professions, such as medical and law enforcement professions are at the mercy of sensationalization's by the media ( such as the movie freedom writers, a success story of saving dozens of inner city youth)

40. The dedication of time and resources

40.1. In Pugach's article "putting what you already know about teaching into perspective", she reveals "Christine's story" (Pugach,2012, pg.27) in which she describes her experience in her first years teaching

40.2. In Christine's story, she reveals how her work days to prepare for her classes would sometimes total 17 hours a day.

40.3. This included preparing lesson plans, and grading papers, along with general preparations for a class ahead.. This requires extreme dedication, and while it does tend to get easier as one gains experience in teachign and understands their students, it is still a fairly grueling profession, particularly in relation to the general consensus of societal opinion, in which teaching is considered a cushy job.

41. Prepare for the unexpected

41.1. In addition, while many teachers may feel as though they are preparing to teach in a given major, and for a particular grade of school, they may, or in fact , most likely will end up teaching outside of their majo, or even outside of their prefferred specialty ( in secondary or elementary school) for some, if careers.

41.2. One story (Pugach, 2006) was described of a teacher who had prepared for her first class throughout the summer, and 5 days prior to the start of class was informed she would be forced to switch form her expected grade 4 class, to a grade 2 class

41.3. Another story from a guest lecturer who was informed she would be attending her students on a trip to Europe in the summer, rather than spending time with her family.

41.4. For teaching in particular, which is perceived to be a less demanding profession, this can be a real culture shock to many new teachers. What separates a good from a great teacher than, is their ability to deal with these situations as they arise, and provide the dedication to their students that is needed in order for their students to be successful