Rohler Writes

An Open Letter to Albertans on Grade 3 Provincial Achievement Tests To: Premier Jason Kenney, Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, UCP members of the legislature, and all Albertans, In recent weeks news outlets have published stories about a letter sent to Alberta superintendents that stated provincial standardized testing is coming back for Grade 3 students in the coming years (French, 2019; Wong, 2019; Konguavi, 2019). This concerns me as an educator, parent, and a second-year Masters of education student at the Werklund School of Education. Data is incredibly important in decision making, and that knowing where a student “is” in their learning journey is valuable to parents, educators and government, yet the standardized testing model does not meet the needs of our learners, parents, and future workforce.   In order to “keep up” to the current ever-changing world of technology, and the expectations of a future workforce, the traditional education mod...

Where to go from here? Figure 1. Screenshot from a video of 300 students welcoming Mr. Riley's daughter to the world. Personal Photograph Ohler R. (April 4, 2019)  Who am I? Who are you? For you have now impacted on me and therefore I am no longer me, but me impacted by your impact on me. Riley Ohler   Writing this short poem for our design based assessment class has really stuck with me. We as humans are always changing, every moment we are impacted and changed by the environment we are in. I am different from when I started writing this blog: I have had snacks and water, I have had multiple attempts at writing this, conversations with my wife, kids and friends, I have moved and interacted with the space around me…the list is endless.   As I dissect the readings most innovative theories are centred around the idea of the individual and where that individual is situated in the culture (Sawyer, 2014). Sawyer (2014) calls it situati...

Why is art so hard? Figure 1. Grade 6/7 Bansky reproduction set pieces for Day-In The Life design collaboration with grade 6/7 students and Carl White (2016)          Art and creative work is an incredibly contentious and hard thing for people who consider themselves non-artists to assess, teach and engage with. Whenever art is brought up most often educators are quick to point out “oh I am not an artist, I can’t do that.” Although I heard this in class on Wednesday, I often hear these statements from educators and it always makes me ponder. These statements seem to come from a place of fear or inadequacy, where teachers are actually afraid of engaging with art. There is this strange mythos around art and creativity in that some people have it or they don’t. Most people see art and creativity as a “magical gift bestowed only by the gods” (Bayles & Orland, 2014, p. 3). What is interesting is that art has to be made by ordinary people, because...

The old Grain truck continues on… The Old Grain Truck My reflection on Mindstorms (Papert, 1980) Open the squeaky door until it clicks *click* Get in sit down, watch for the wire in the seat don’t want to scratch yourself *squeak* Feel the steering wheel smooth with age and wear bumpy on the back from generations of drivers. Touch the key wait and prepare pump the gas 5 times (4 not enough, 6 will flood) talk to it nicely   “c’mon old girl” turn the key pump the gas slowly almost lovingly as you wake it up This truck is more human than most robots who work a nine to five. Moaning awake she comes alive.   As she has done for 50 years. Time to move to the field down the road. Shifting is a science thanks to Eaton and his axle: Start 2, 2 high 3 low 3 high, 4 low 5 low 4 high 5 high. The old truck shakes down the road. The first time you take i...

Design-Based Assessments in our Culture In 1967 McCluhan, Fiore and Agel (1996) wrote: “Our ‘Age of Anxiety’ is, in great part the result of trying to do today’s job with yesterday’s tools-with yesterday’s concepts” (p. 8-9). McCluhan and Fiore continue to speak of the educational process as being associated with the glum, and serious student, and that “our time presents a unique opportunity for learning by means of humor - a perceptive or incisive joke can be more meaningful than platitudes lying between two covers” (p. 10). It seems like much would have changed since the first publication of this book yet, our educational system still values many of the traditional ways of teaching, learning, and assessing our students. Figure 1. Cover page for the 1996 edition of: The Medium is the Massage , (Fiore, McLuhan, & Agel, 1996) Thomas and Seely Brown (2011) speak of the modern learning culture stating that when a classroom moves from a teaching-based approach to a lea...

I have always found perspectives in learning interesting even long before I knew the word situative. It likely stemmed from my work in theatre and playing the roles of characters, and adapting those roles with my own unique sensibilities. One of the most impactful projects that I did with my students was the “Mr. Riley fell off the stage” assignment. Figure 1.  Shutterstock falling images, Retrieved from: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/falling The grade 3/4 class, which was situated on a classic school gym stage, started with each student receiving a pencil, and a piece of paper. From there I started instructing them on the use of a stage light. I started walking backwards and suddenly fell off the stage (onto a large matt below). I quickly stood up after falling and asked the students to write about their experience in detail. Only one response was the same between all 105 students who participated. Two students wrote: “Mr. Riley fell off the stage...

Being Normal is Abnormal, Abnormal is the Norm Our world is an infinite number of completely unique experiences, that each human can experience in their own way. Even two individuals experiencing the same moment will have a unique experience to it, a moment that is seen completely through their own eyes, through their own mind, and their own individual perspectives. “In a species made up of unique beings, a truly normal individual would be truly abnormal (p. 161)“ (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kaplar, 2015). Yet the traditional models of our school system are devised so that the best predictors of success for students is the extent of their parent's education (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kaplar, 2015) and not necessarily on the ability of the individual. Davis, Sumara, and Luce Kaplar (2015) state that this situative view of learning is “distributed in your physical, social, and cultural environments” (p. 142).   There are many ways in which teachers can create an enviro...

Planning Authentic Learning  Opportunities in a Busy School Year In working with a partner in class today I was reminded by some of the struggles of creating effective plans that can sustain a teacher throughout a year. Time is an incredible struggle and it can be hard to be constantly creating new activities for students. Of course, many teachers take the time at the start of the year to create a detailed plan it is often too hard to stick to the plan once enacted. Arts immersion learning follows multiple projects throughout the year, these projects vary in art form and curricular points covered. Each project gives the staff an outline of the themes that are required during certain times. For example, if students are doing an art show, the daily tasks, or curricular teaching can all revolve around the theme of the art show.   Figure 1. Curricular Tiles. Calgary Arts Academy (2015) Facilitators from Calgary Arts Academy collaborate to create original year plans ...