PSIII Reflection #2

Sept. 24/21

Over the past two weeks I have been focusing on TQS 4 – Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments.
The shop is a very different setting than a typical classroom and it is very apparent who does and who
does not feel comfortable using the tools, working with their hands and creating something out of
nothing. Students are beginning to separate themselves as we are finishing the tool certification process
and students can work at their own pace. One main focus I have been pushing is for students to always
feel like they can ask for help. Safety is the number one goal of the class, I want students to feel
comfortable asking another student first for help and then coming to me if needed. Since I have really
started to push for students to ask those around them first before coming to me I have noticed three
key points:

1) Students tend to gravitate towards those who show themselves to be competent in the shop
2) This has sped up the project timeline because other slower students are trying to keep up with
the faster students
3) I am more free to observe the class and make adjustments and corrections as needed, rather
than constantly having students coming up to me asking for help

Classroom management is extremely critical in the shop. It is important to always be aware of every
student and what they are doing, that is why point #3 has particularly stood out to me. Rather than
constantly helping those who are slower and not having time to help those who are further along in the
process I am able to move around the shop between groups of students and help as needed while still
being able to observe the rest of the students in the shop.

Before students are allowed to work with the tools in the shop they have to complete a tool safety quiz.
Students must get at least 80% on the quiz. It is not counted towards their mark in the class, but a
passing grade is needed in order to show that students have read through the safety and tool use
material. In all of my classes there has been a group of students who have struggled with passing the
test. I have allowed these students to work together to talk through the questions on the quiz in order
to have a better chance on the quiz. This worked well for some students but not all. For those students
that were still struggling on the quiz I had them bring their quiz into the shop with me and we did visual
walkthroughs on the tools they were having problems answering the quiz questions for. This worked
extremely well and I would consider changing me teaching approach to the first few classes to
accommodate this. I did do a shop tour and show the tools, but I did not do any demonstration with the
tools, so it ended up being a lot of talking. If I were to re-teach the first couple of classes, I would have
students bring their device (phone/laptop) into the shop and I would do a tool walkthrough and demo
for each tool related question on the quiz. I am sure this help prepare all students more for tool use than
the verbal tutorial I gave.

Another strategy I have used in the shop is creating example steps to completion for the different
projects. One of my PGP goals is to create exemplar projects for students to have a visual to model their
project after. As I have been creating these exemplar projects I have also been recording each of the
steps I have taken to complete the project. Once finished, I put the steps to completion into a word doc
and utilize the new TV on the wall in the shop by putting the steps to completion on the screen for
everyone to see. I open the steps to completion for all of the different projects students are working on
in the class and students are free to use the mouse to scroll through the steps as needed, or to switch
tabs to a different project and work ahead without coming to me asking “what’s next?” Utilizing the TV
has been a very useful tool. I have found students are able to go to it whenever they need help, or if
there is a lineup of students waiting for help from me they can skip the line so to speak and go to the
steps to completion and get the answers they need. I have also heard one student say to another “go
look at the steps on the TV rather than always asking”.