The Needy Traveler

I have a trying week up ahead: A full day of teaching on Sunday, a short day on Monday because of Parent-Teacher Interviews, a full day of teaching on Tuesday, and then a five-day weekend. (The government declared that the Prophet’s Birthday would be on Wednesday, but students, teachers, and researchers had already made plans for the holiday to be on Thursday, so there is no school that day, then comes the Friday-Saturday weekend, and Sunday is Easter!) Whew! It is going to be strenuous!

As I considered my traveling options for the weekend the other evening, I discovered that I am a bit of a needy traveler! I am perfectly willing to actually go from A to B on my own, but I am less than keen to spend a night in a hotel without a friend to talk about the day and the sights that I have seen. You may think that I am a sissy for not hoping to find another English-speaker with whom I can hang out in the hotel bar, but I simply feel like I need a daily shred of normalcy in a context that is completely different for me! This weekend might be a wonderful opportunity to visit Palmyra, but I am going to hold out until later in the month when I can find a travel buddy. (Most of the other teachers are going sightseeing in other countries, but as I have seen little of Syria itself yet, I would really prefer to stay in one country while I am here!) Instead, I plan on visiting Aleppo’s famous souqs, its Citadel, the many mosques and bathhouses that are more than a thousand years old, and nearby Apamea. I will be making my way through the twisty streets of Aleppo by myself, but at least I will be familiar with the area in which I am wandering. I should even be able to attend Catholic and Armenian Easter services with my new buddy Berdj. Yes, they will be in Arabic, and therefore no, I probably will not understand much of what is going on in the service.

Although I know I should be pushing myself out of my comfort zone, it is also incredibly important for me to be in a positive frame of mind in order to get the most out of my little adventures. (I will definitely be breaking new ground when I have to do my own grocery shopping with Arabic-speaking vendors this weekend!) I imagine that my students also want to have something familiar, even vaguely familiar, to hold onto when learning new material. Stepping into a new classroom, meeting a new teacher, or beginning a challenging new topic can be intimidating for some students, so I suppose that it is my responsibility to frame something brand new in a way that is somewhat familiar to these individuals.

So how do I ask in Arabic “What time does this bus return to the city?”

Motivation in Leadership

I hope to someday serialize and post an essay I wrote for my Public History course regarding motivation and Grade 10 History students in Ontario, but time flies and I have still more ideas to write about. I am continuing to examine the motivations of students during my practicum, and in particular I am looking at the level of commitment that some students show towards leadership camps, which I have referred to in other posts. At these camps, students learn about the essentials of communication, group dynamics, problem solving, goal-setting, leadership styles, stress relief among other topics. Whether these participants in these camps actually develop into effective leaders is an entirely different question, but the organizers of the weekend have a high intrinsic motivation to make their camp a success. There is a high emotional attachment to the camp, many students feel that they change as a result of this camp and want to make a difference in the lives of others, and there is also some pride or status attached to being a part of this camp, which is of course an extrinsic motivation. I am not sure that educators are ready or really want students so interested in a particular course that they put off other school work, become almost obsessively focused on the work, and ignore even bodily needs of sleep when preparing for large activities, but it is interesting to look at how such motivation might be directed and harnessed for the purposes of education. While I suspect that one of the reasons that students devote so much effort to leadership camps might be because it is not a school activity, I think that this potential should nevertheless be investigated.

Lesson Planning 2.0

When I am pulling together resources for a lesson plan, I usually read through the text assigned to students, read the pertinent sections from whatever books are a part of my secret syllabus for that course, and then start searching the internet for images, primary sources, black line masters, and activity ideas that can enhance my students’ learning experience. I always rely on my own resources first because I am familiar with my own books and notes, but I usually look to internet sources to avoid having to re-invent too many wheels.

At the beginning of the year, I decided that carrying a binder of photocopies and lesson plans through my career was not for me. I wanted to get with the times and keep my resources digital; consequently, I am always hopeful that the internet will provide me with helpful teaching tools. Sadly, I am frequently disappointed with the quality or availability of teaching resources, and I am sure that many of my colleagues often feel the same way. I imagine that they do what I do – lift the general concept and transform it into something that is actually engaging for students and will last more than fifteen minutes. (Because let’s be serious some of the online lessons promising to last for a whole period would not play for even half that time in the real world!) Unless the resource or lesson idea is superb, we really do not want to directly copy the resource; however, it is incredibly helpful to have digital activity plans and worksheets that can be adapted, changed, chopped into little bits, and made our own. In short, we need Lesson Planning 2.0 where lessons, skill practice, and content are collected together but in discreet packages that can be universally accessed and infinitely hacked. Lesson Planning 2.0 would challenge some educators to move beyond simply printing a worksheet off the internet and instead plan for their specific group of students, and our learners would benefit by receiving lessons that had been thoughtfully tailored to their own interests and learning needs.

The internet can provide teachers with ready access to the tools necessary for enhancing students’ learning experiences. Until we start advocating for dynamic databases that encourage users to continually add value to these applications, educators will limit the professional collaborative opportunities presented by the internet and Web 2.0.

The Smooth Lesson

When I led Music & Drama sessions and Leader-In-Training sessions at Camp Kintail, it was always important for me to have quick, smooth transitions between activities in order to hold campers’ interest and attention. I also remember being told as an undergraduate student to work on smooth transitions between paragraphs in the essays that I wrote.

While observing my associate teachers and reflecting on my own practice, it occurred to me that leading a seamless lesson is every bit as important as creating smooth camp activities or essays. Students are given opportunities to lose focus when there are unexpected breaks between a mini-lecture and an activity or when certain lab materials still need to be pulled out. If I am mentally prepared for my lesson and have all my handouts and materials organized before the class, I think that I will be more successful in sustaining student focus on both teacher-centered and student-centered activities. Some students might be more motivated to engage in class work and activities if they feel that I am organized and not wasting their time trying to get my own act together. Other students who have trouble staying on task throughout an entire period might simply benefit from having a constant and consistent focus for the full seventy minutes.

The ability to lead a smooth, seamless lesson is thus not only a classroom management technique but also a pathway to success for students who experience difficulties learning in a classroom setting.

Motivating Students Through Extracurricular Involvement

With this revival of Humility in Education, I thought it would be best to start off with some posts that are fresh in my mind rather than bringing up concepts or challenges I encountered in the fall. Reflections on the fall will come with time, but let us examine the present for now.

As I returned to a school at which I have already spent two months teaching, I experienced a secret delight at being remembered by students I worked with or taught in October and December; however, it has been particularly fascinating to observe how excited the students I knew from a school leadership camp I helped to supervise were to discover that I would be their teacher for the month. It will be interesting to observe how their excitement is sustained over the course of this practicum as they get to know me as a teacher rather than as a supervisor for an extracurricular activity about which they are particularly passionate. In any case, their reaction to my presence suggests that building a professional relationship with students outside of the classroom can have an impact, at least initially, on student engagement in class activities. It is really affirming to know that participation in extracurricular activities, which can be a real joy for both students and educators, also has benefits that come into the classroom; consequently, I will need to make sure I get involved in the activities of whatever school I find myself at in the coming fall.