Learners, Learning, and Curriculum

Welcome

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and autumn is finally here. As I look out my window I can see brown crunchy leaves littering the sidewalks and chestnuts shimmering in their midst like wooden gems. The recent cold snap has reminded me of my childhood growing up in Ontario. Autumn there is a dance of a million colours-crimson, rust, chocolate, gold. There can be such a variety in the hues that fall from one tree alone, which in some ways serves as metaphor for the variety in our classrooms. This leads me to the focus of this post. Today I have been asked to reflect on three questions, and all require deep thought. The following responses reflect my current understanding. There are no right answers here, only reflections.

Who are today’s ELA students?

Like the leaves of my childhood, today’s English Language Arts (ELA) students are a symphony of diversity. Each student is a unique combination of qualities and experiences. Canadian students are increasingly multicultural and diverse including a broad range of ethnicities, languages, economic statuses, genders, abilities, interests, and learning styles. For example, close to one million Canadians identify themselves as aboriginal, 40% of Canadians have a first language other than English, and in 2005 Canada accepted 262,236 new permanent residents (Bainbridge, Heydon, Malicky, 2009, p.15). British Columbia’s Integrated Resource Package (IRP) for English Language Arts (ELA) supports this viewpoint by stating, “this document recognizes that British Columbia’s schools include young people of varied backgrounds, interests, abilities, and needs” (“English Language Arts,”2006, p.3).

How do they learn?

Considering that our classrooms have changed from a more monoculture environment into a more diverse setting, it only makes sense that our understanding of how students learn should also become more multifaceted. British Columbia’s IRP for ELA notes, “Today’s classrooms are enriched by diverse groups of students. As teachers teach the curriculum, they aim to include all students, working toward common expectations with different amounts of support, different texts, different strategies, and a variety of class organizational patterns. One size does not fit all” (“English Language Arts,” 2006, p.25). Students have individual needs and interests. Individual learning styles such as auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic are a good place to start. But considerations should also include the relevance of the subject material to the individuals within the classroom. Teachers need to have flexible lessons that can be tailored to individuals. We also need to draw on a variety of resources to stimulate learning. Our lessons need to include fiction, non-fiction, multimedia, audio, and the visual arts to assist student interest.

Another important discovery for me in the last couple of weeks was revealed through the work of Robert Probst. In his chapter titled “Tom Sawyer, Teaching, and Talking” Probst discussed how children need to learn communication skills as a foundation for other areas of learning (Beers, Probst, Rief, 2007, p.45). What struck me was how a skill such as talking might often get overlooked due to the fact students can already talk when they enter school. Yet, Probst notes how the skills to discuss difficult topics and situations are often lacking in students. The key point I got from this reading was that our students are not only learning facts and academic skills, but they are learning how to engage with the world around them. Our students are learning how to express themselves and interact with new information and viewpoints. How exciting it is to be able to support this exploration, and provide opportunities for meaningful growth.

How does the IRP help and/ or hinder me as a beginning teacher?

The IRP for ELA is the province of British Columbia’s Ministry of Education’s legal curriculum document for grades kindergarten to seven. The document is a vast 625 pages and discusses the theory and principles of ELA education as well as providing Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLO) for each grade level. So how does this document assist new teachers? For me the introduction and program delivery sections were an overview of best practices in ELA. These sections state the benefits of the six focuses of ELA (reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing) with flowing prose. Overall I found the document inspiring and an apt description of the learning environment that I strive to create.

The main problem with the IRP document is that it gives very little implementation advice. For example, the kindergarten PLO B1 requires students to, “demonstrate awareness of the connection between reading, writing, and oral language. (“English Language Arts,” 2006, p.49). This sounds great and makes sense as a goal for kindergarten students, but how is the teacher supposed to teach this PLO? One area in the document under the student achievement section provides a list of activities that are age appropriate. But it provides little to no description on how to teach them or how they link to the PLO’s. The freedom and flexibility this provides experienced teachers is admirable. It allows teachers, who have a strong understanding of the PLO’s, the freedom to innovate new lesson plans and tailor lessons to local needs. Yet, for new teachers this document is more of a theoretical exercise. It describes in great detail what we want for our students, yet provides little concrete advice for achieving it. A government sponsored website that teachers could share best practices and lesson plans tailored to specific PLO’s and grades would be an invaluable compliment to the ELA IRP for new teachers. I think the IRP provides a strong framework for all of British Columbia’s teachers, but new teachers need support in order to create implementation strategies.

After pondering this week’s questions I find myself inspired by all of the veteran teachers who can seamlessly integrate the PLO’s into meaningful lessons designed for a diverse set of individual learners. I aspire to follow in their footsteps, and in my own way make a positive contribution to my students’ exploration of themselves and the world around them.

References

Bainbridge, J., Heydon, R., & Malicky, G. (2009). Constructing meaning. Toronto Canada: Harcourt.

Beers, G. K., Probst, R. E., & Rief, L. (2007). Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

English language arts integrated resource package. (2006). Province of British Columbia: Ministry of Education.