Perspectives (This is connected to Advanced Study of the Learning Sciences- Blog Post 1)


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.” 103 responses were all completely unique, some with incredible details, others went into a deeper background, and all were excellent creative writing stories.

I was aware that it had some impact on the students as a fun assignment. It wasn’t until I was working with those students five years later that the impact of this moment came through. In our briefings about some social issues going on at school, we were speaking about perspectives and how each person sees things differently. One student spoke up saying that it was the “Mr. Riley fell off the stage” assignment where they learned about perspectives and that they should remember that project to help see that each person sees things from their own point of view.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Design Based Assessment Blog 1

Image
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 ...
Read more

Design Based Assessments Blog 2

Image
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...
Read more

Grief in the classroom: So much in the first few months of school

Image
My son's formal education journey started this month, although an exciting time it is also an interesting time to reflect on practice and experiences that I have had. I am always impressed at the work of a kindergarten teacher and the daily battle to complete the most basic of tasks always overwhelmed me! I have to commend our kindergarten teacher in the amazing work she does with our son and the other students, and the approach she has taken has been impressive, even when we brought up a touchy grief subject she worked to create a positive change in her classroom. We are very lucky to have her and her experience. Terry Fox Airlifted from Thunder Bay, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/terry-fox As the year started I realized some of the impressive challenges of teaching that I had never thought of before. In the first two and half months of school, there are some pretty heavy and challenging social topics/issues: Terry Fox, Orange shirt day, Halloween,...
Read more