Program - learning, development, and growth throughout the course

At the beginning of this course, I was not sure what to expect. I knew I was going to learn about creating positive learning communities, but I was curious to see how much I could learn about this topic through a format that is fully online. I was very pleasantly surprised by this class as I enjoyed it so much. I got to know my peer interaction group well despite never meeting them in person and I learned a lot of valuable information that I can apply in many aspects of my life.

Week 4: Peer Editing Task

In Week 4, we were required to post a short story along with two lesson plans - one for sensing students and one for intuitive students. We then posted it to our peer editing group so that we could give and receive feedback on our lessons to make it a better experience for these students. Here is a photo of my initial lessons:

This is the feedback I received from my peers about my lessons:

Here are the new lessons that I created after receiving feedback from my peers:

Intuitive students:

1. Read The Lady or The Tiger

2. Students will work in groups of 2-3 and discuss what they would do if they were put in the princess’ situation.

3. They will then have the option to come up with an alternate ending, an extension to the story, write the story from the perspective of another character, or summarize the story if they were the main character.

4. The students will also write a reflection about how their addition to the story changes the theme, character development, which characters changed, which stayed the same and why, etc. If they chose to summarize the story with themselves as the main character, they can instead write about what decision they would make as the main character, and how they came to that decision.

  

Sensing students:

1. Read The Lady or The Tiger

2. May work individually or in groups of 2-3. 

3. Frank Stockton asks us to study the human heart. From the story, make 2 lists: A list of reasons of the implications that the princess’ choice would have for either options, and a list of moral dilemmas that the group has faced.

4. Using this information, write a paragraph about what they would do if they were in the princess’ situation or in another moral dilemma.

 

 

After the students create their written pieces, they will get into groups of 5-6. All students will share their work with their group 

 

Sensing students will share what implications came from each option and how they navigate moral dilemmas such as this one or which option they would choose if they were in the princess’ shoes.

 

Intuitive students will share what additions they made to the story and share their reflections.

The feedback I received from my peers was very helpful to me. I was very focused on the fact that this was supposed to be an English lesson, and I was trying hard to think of units that are taught in Grade 10 English classrooms. My peers reminded me that the work should be meaningful to the sensing students. Instead of focusing on a topic in English, I incorporated ways of making the lesson more purposeful for the students. For sensing students, rather than writing a paragraph on which option they think princess chose, I made it more meaningful by having the students think about themselves and what they would do in that same situation or in moral dilemmas that they may face or have already faced. I also gave the intuitive students the option of making their writing assignment more personal and creative.

Peer Interaction Progress

The first photo is of my discussion post from Week 3 and the second photo is of my discussion post from Week 10. I was very proud of my Week 3 post at the time because I felt like I wrote so much and provided lots of material for my group members to have a discussion on. Now that I compare the two, I think it is funny that I thought this way, and also interesting to see the progress and growth I made in seven weeks. 

In my Week 10 discussion post, I talked about my personal experiences much as opposed to Week 3, where I mainly discussed some facts about my type difference that could have been googled! I was much more personal and vulnerable in my Week 10 discussion as I began to grow with my group members.

I also wanted to include this response that one of my group members commented on my discussion post in Week 11. I started thinking deeper about the peer interaction tasks and bringing my own personal knowledge from life experiences. I am very glad I did so and was able to be a part of one of my peers' learning. If she decides to be a teacher in the future, I hope she will be able to incorporate some of the ideas that resonated with her and that they will benefit future children!

. . .

Before I took this course, I thought of positive learning environments very broadly. I believed that creating a positive learning environment and community meant making the classroom feel safe and friendly. Everyone should be friends, have fun, and learn together as a big, happy family.

Now I realize that it is much more complex than this. Safety is an essential part of creating a positive learning community, but making the environment safe has many layers. Students need to feel physically comfortable, but also mentally and emotionally comfortable. Learning about type theory has showed me that I need to provide many options for students to complete lessons as having just one option will not reach every student and make them feel safe and comfortable in the learning process. Humans beings are all so different and these differences affect how we learn. 

I am a firm believer in the idea that we never stop learning, growing and improving and this course is no different. I believe that I still have much to learn about creating positive learning communities, but I think that I have a really great foundation to keep learning and exploring what I can do to be a better teacher.