Life in Schools

Life in Schools
Wendy Smith
EDUC 440- Fall 2014
Assignment 1

Life in Schools

LifeinSchools
Twoweeks.Forme,twoweekswasallIneededtoconfirmteachingistherightcareer
pathforme.Bybeingsurroundedbythechildren,embracedintheschoolsculture,andexposed
tomultipledifferentteachingphilosophies,Ihadtheabilitytograspontoandaddseveral
teachablestomydatabase.IattemptedtotrulytakeouteverythingformthetwoschoolsIvisited
thisweek;IvisitedQueenElizabethElementary(QE)andWestmountCharterAcademy
(WMCA).ThetwovaryinginsightsIreceivedfromtheschoolsincreasedbyknowledgebaseof
what21stcenturyschoolsaremovinginto.QEandWMCAhavebothembracedthenewage
collaborativelearningthatpostmodernschoolsarefollowing;groupbasedlearninghastaken
overalmostallbutaglimpseofstandardizededucation.Bothschools,whilesimilarintheir
practicesofinquiryandcollaborativebasedlearning,differgreatlyintheissueoftechnology.
Digitalliteracy,anongoingdebate,polarizesQEandWMCAwithoneschoolstillattemptingto
adjusttonewagepractices,andtheotherevidentlyusingitasalearningtoolintheirclassrooms.
Inmyextensivetwoweekobservation,manykeyteachingpracticeswerehighlightedandthe
changesschoolshavemadeisobvious.Whilebothschoolsrepresentedcollaborativebased
learningstyles,thedeliberationoftheirstylesdiffered,QEshoweditinaninquirybasedsetting,
whereasWMCAdelivereditinachoicebasedfashion.BothQEandWMCAusedtechnology
butthelevelofcommitmentwithtechnologywasweretheydiffered.
Technology
DigitallyConnectedWMCA

Life in Schools

TechnologyatWMCAwasevidentthroughouttheirclassroomswithsmartboardsin
manyoftherooms,aschoolwidedatabasetoinputtinginmarksandhandingoutassignments,as
well,technology,suchasiPhones,iPods,andlaptopswereallowedintheclassroom.The
computertostudentratioatWCMAwasa11,withlaptopsandcomputersbeingavailablefor
eachandeverystudent.Gonearethedaysofreportcardsandphotocopying;WMCAusedasite
calledEdmodalfortheirmarkingpurposes,toputupcopiesofassignments,andtohandout
extraproblems.Studentsandparentsbothhaveaccesstothissite,soparentsalwaysknowtheir
childrensprogress.AcaseexamplefromWMCAwasthewayMr.D1usedseveraldifferent
Internettools.InsteadofEdmodal,Mr.DpaysforGoogleclassroomstouseasahomebasefor
hisclasses;hepostswhatthestudentshavetocompleteeachdayonthecalendar,all
assignmentsarehandedindigitally,andtherearediscussionsthreadsforeachclassforthe
studentstoanswerandaskquestions.HeadditionallyusesSocrative,whichisanonlinequiz
bank,insteadofmarkingbeginningtests,Mr.Dallowsthiswebsitestodothebunkofhispre
markingandthereforefreesupmoretimeforhimselftobeinvolvedinplanninghisother
lessons.Healsohasawebsiteforhimself,whichparentsandstudentshaveaccesstoo;allof
thesetoolsmaketohavehisclassroomrunsmoothlyandforstudentsaliketohavethepotential
forthegreatesteducation.Thestudentsinhisclassroommustbeabletousetechnology,asitis
atoolthathehasintertwinedintohisteachingphilosophy.AnarticlebyKurt(2012)agrees,
Teachersbelievethatchildrenshouldbeabletofunctionnaturallyinthistechnologicalsociety.
Teachersalsobelievedthatschoolsplayedanimportantroleinpreparingchildrenforthis
society(Kurt,2012,p.226).
QueenElizabethandComparing
1 Name changed.

Life in Schools

QueenElizabethElementarySchooldidnotembracetechnologytothedegreethatWMCAdid.
While,QEhadsmartboardsineachclassroomandutilizedthemtothesamedegreethatWMCA
did,theuseoftechnologyinclassroomsbytheindividualstudentwasnotasintegratedas
WCMA.Theschoolwasjustinthebeginningofintroducingapolicytousetechnologyinthe
classrooms.Notalltheteacherswereonboard,soduringthestaffmeetingitwasobviousthat
theschoolhadtorevampexactlywhattheywantedtopresenttotheirstudents.Someofthe
argumentsagainsttechnologyintheclassroomsincludedthefairnessinequalityforstudents,
notallschooldistrictscanprovide21stcenturytechnologiestotheirstudents.Somesimplydo
nothavetheresourcesforcomputers,videogames,andhightechsoftware(Collier,2007,p.6).
Italsoplacesadditionalresponsibilityplacedontheteacherstoensurethattheirstudents
followedthepolicy.Inordertoensurethattechnologyisusedasapositiveaid,QEwasalso
implantingadigitalcitizenshipformabouttheacceptableuseoftechnologyintheclassroomand
whatrulesthestudentswouldneedtoabide.Someargumentsfortechnologyincludearticles
likeWatching,creatingandachieving:Creativetechnologiesasaconduitforlearninginthe
earlyyearsbySusanMcDonaldandJenniferHowell(2012),supporttheuseoftechnologyasan
aidtotheadvancementoflearning;ItwouldbelogicaltoconcludethatEarlyYearslearners
whoengagewithtechnologydevelopbetterlearningoutcomes,inparticular,literacyand
numeracyskills,thantheirpeerswhodonot(McDonald&Howell,p.643).Thiscanbelinked
tolearnersatanyage,withtheuseoftechnology,inoneofthediscussionswithMs.G2,she
stressedhowtechnologyaidedstronglytothelearnersdevelopment,andhelpedstudentstogain
aknowledgebasequickerthaniftheywereunabletoaccessthesearchenginesasWMCAcould
(personalcommunication,October27,2014).Technologyusesintheclassroomsdonotalways
2 Name has been changed.

Life in Schools

justmeanstudentsbringingintheirowndevices,thekindergartenteacheratQEinsteadusesthe
internetinordertocommunicateeffectivelytoherparentsbecausenotallthingssheexpressed
toherstudentsgetsbacktoherparents.Ms.L3writesinablogaboutwhatthekidsarelearning
andincludespicturesandlittlebitsofinformation.Shethinksthathavingthefamiliesmore
involvedthroughtheuseoftechnologyallowsforanenrichedlearningenvironmentforthe
students.Additionally,Ms.LmakesuseofPinteresttoaddtoherstudentsdatabaseof
knowledgeandfollowsKinderChatonTwitter.Itisimportantfortheteacherstocontinueto
stayuptodateonStudentsneedtolearnfromushowtoengageinonlinespacesandstill
haveacademicdiscourse,todoitforpurposeful,functionalneeds(Collier,2007,p.5).
Technology,whetherembracedornot,isevidentinboththeschoolsIvisitedwithWMCAusing
technologytoagreaterextent.
CollaborativeBasedLearners
InquiryBasedLearning
Asschoolsbecomeincreasingfuturistic,thestyleoflearningevolvesaswell.Boththeschools
showedvastchangesfromevenwhenIwasinelementaryandsecondaryschoolsnottoolong
ago.Teachersprovidetheirstudentsendlessopportunitiestoenrichandfurthertheirlearning.
AtQE,theschoolculturethrivedoninquirybasedlearning,throughtheuseofquestionsand
analysistypegroupassignments.Questionspromotestudentslearningandcausesthemtowork
onthewhynotjustthehow.Questionsareintendedtoengagestudentsincognitive
processingandconstructionofknowledgeTheteacherpressesstudentstoclarifyorjustify
theirassertions,ratherthanjustacceptingthemindiscriminately(Brophy,2001,p.20).Evenat
theyoungestlevel,thelearningcanbeinquirybased;thekindergartensdidaladybugunit
3 Name has been changed.

Life in Schools

entirelyfocusedoninquiry.Thisstyleoflearninghelpsthestudentstonotjustmemorizebut
insteadtofullygrasptheconceptsthatthecurriculumoutlines.Eventhedesklayoutpromotes
collaborativelearning,withbothQEandWMCAsettingtheirdeskupingroupsoffourtofive
insteadofthetraditionalrowbyrowseating.Thiscreatedanatmospherethatpromotedthe
growthoflearnerstoworkwithoneanotherbyallowingthestudentstoaskquestionsandbuild
offofeachothersknowledge,studentsoftenbenefitfromworkinginpairsorsmallgroupsto
constructunderstandingsorhelponeanothermasterskills(Brophy,2001,p.27).
ChoiceLearners
WMCAshowedachoicebaselearningstyle,differentfromthetraditionallearningstyle
inthepastschoolshaveshown.Thestudentshadtheresponsiblyoftheirownlearning,andthey
couldshowtheymetthelearningobjectivesinmultipleways.Thewaytheylearnedthe
objectiveswaspartiallyuptothem.Oneexampleinparticular,wasinMr.Csclass,whereone
ofhismorehighlygiftedstudentsdidaprojectthatincorporatedenoughaspectsofchemistry30
atahighenoughlevelthatMr.Cwasnotmakinghimtaketheunittest.Thestudentshowedthat
hehadtheskillstoincorporatewhathehadlearnedinclassintoreallifeexamplesandtherefore
Mr.Cdidnotseetheneedtomakehimtakeatestthatwasnotneeded.Othersteachersallowed
studentstochoosehowtheywishedtoshowthattheyaccomplishedadeliverableinthecourse;
exampleofthisbeingastudentinEnglish10coulddoanoralpresentation,aPowerPoint,ora
writtenarticleaboutsomeaspectofEnglish10theyneedtoaccomplish.Theresponsibilityof
learningissharedbetweenthestudentandtheteacherandthereforestudentswanttoworkharder
tosupportthedecisionthattheymadeinchoosinghowtheyweregoingtolearnthatcertain
topicorsubject.Studentsfeelthatwhentheyhavethepowertodecidetheirlearning,theyhave

Life in Schools

moreofaearnesttofulfillthatcertainrequirementofthecourseandtheyactuallyfeelworse
lettingtheirownlearningdown,comparedtowhenthelearningisalldecidedforthemby
teachersasstandardizationhasdoneinthepast(Mr.C,personalcommunications,October30,
2014).WMCAallowedtheirstudentstohaveagreatamountofpersonalchooseintheir
learning.Bothschoolsalthoughshowcasedaparallellevelofcollaborativelearningintheir
classrooms.Insteadoffocusingonindividuallearning,thegroupsettingallowsforlearningto
befurtheredasmindscollaborativelyworktogetherandfocusonagoal.Thesettingand
situationofthishasincreasedtheamountoflearningandknowledgethatstudentsnowadayare
getting.
Conclusion
Similarinschoolcultureandtheirgroupbasedlearningtechniques,QEandWMCAboth
createdphilosophiesintheirschoolsofonethatallowedforenrichmentofschoolslearning.
Studentshavetheaccesstoadditionallearningtoolstofosterastrongerlearningenvironment.
ThetogethernessandcollaborationofQEsteachersandlearnersallowedthoselearnersto
propelfurther.Incomparison,WMCAfocusedonthestrengthofpowerofpersonalchoiceand
technologytopropeltheirstudents.WMCAuseoftechnologyismorefuturisticthanmost
schools,especiallyQE,butthelevelofsuccesstheyarehavingwithit,issomethingforfuture
schoolstotakenoteof.Overall,thetwoweekperiodofobservingandlisteningtotheteachers
andstudents,IhavereworkedandreworkedwhatandwhomIwanttomodelmyteaching
philosophyfrom.Theteachersatbothschoolsworkhardtogivetheirstudentsthebestchanceat
aneducation,IthinkthatitthemostimportantthingItookoutofthisweek;itisallaboutthe

Life in Schools

students.Doyourbest,beyourbest,foryourstudents,andtheywillfollowsuit.Donotgive
themanythingless.

References
Brophy,J.(2001).Genericaspectsofeffectiveteaching.InM.C.WangandH.J.Walberg(Eds.),
Tomorrowsteachers(pp.345)Richmond,CA:McCutchan.
st
Collier,L.(2007).Theshiftto21 centuryliteracies.CouncilChronicle,NCTE.
http://lornacollier.com/The+Shift+to+21st+ Century+Literacies.pdf
Kurt,S.(2012).Howdoteachersprioritizetheadoptionoftechnologyintheclassroom?
TeachersandTeaching:theoryandpractice,18(2),217231.doi:
10.1080/13540602.2012.532271
McDonald,S.,&Howell,J.(2012).Watching,creatingandachieving:Creativetechnologiesas
aconduitforlearningintheearlyyears.BritishJournalofEducationalTechnology,
43(4),641651.doi:10.1111/j.14678535.2011.01231.