Reflective Case Study 1

September 28 2015

BOAT BUILDING
The video exemplified how engagement of learning is through the students by
allowing them to develop their own skills and learning from their mistakes. The Program
of Studies give a specific outcome and expectation for the students to learn and by means
of engagement each individual student comes to cross that bridge at their own pace.
Meaningful engagement allows the students to make connections and build a foundation
for the further learning. They are able to develop a necessary skill set which in turn would
translate into other subject areas and in the near future for their years to come.

Assessment is used to enrich the learning process by means of a formative

assessment for this given example. It is an integrated act of teaching and allows students
to analyze their mistakes as well as the teacher can reassess their means/methods of
communication to the students. This type of assessment provides constructive feedback to
students to focus on a particular skill set on a day-by-day basis. Both parties of the
teacher and student benefit from a formative assessment thus enriching the learning
process. Students are able to amend their mistakes without the consequence of a final
mark. Within the context of boat building, students understand the importance of
improvement at their own pace and were able to make positive changes to their project.
This feeds into a healthier and happier learning environment for students thus motivating
them further to learn and engage in the future. By creating a safe and positive learning
place for students and providing this beneficial feedback the assessment process is more
efficient and useful for both sides.

For language to be used there is an expectation of verbal and written

communication skills for the project. If a student is not proficient at one of the above
communication methods they are able to rely more heavier on their strong suit. Giving
students differing means for communication allows them to show their strengths. It also
allows teachers to focus in on weaker areas and expand a student's knowledge in that
given area. The means of communication through an iPad movie also allows students
who may not be as comfortable with verbal communication to still convey their ideas in a
more suitable fashion. Students might be more able to illustrate their ideas - again feeding
into a positive and healthy learning environment where students are more content. These
classroom allow for students to express their identity and for teachers to open up further
options for methods of communication. From student to student as well as student to
teacher communication and language is an essential piece of teaching. Students who are
able to communicate with their peers further benefit by means of understanding the
material and teaching others through a transfer of knowledge. In the video, students
seems to have a firm grasp of the terminology for the project and are able to explain their
planning process as well as the challenges they faced whilst building their boats. To
further a child's skill set in language; differing the means of how they communicate and
therefore learn will enhance the learning process.

Technology in the classroom provides further mediums for students to learn and
enrich their learning and understanding process. Technology allows for students to
expand on their projects and convey the information through the means of a video for this

specific case study. IPad movies provides a platform for students to share their learning to
external members of the community such as their parents. This facilitates a parent's role
in their child's learning because they able to experience what and how their child is
learning. Too often students return home from the end of a long school day and share
little with their parents/guardians - thus leaving them in the dark. Students who are
proficient at technology are able to share their skills with other students - increasing and
enforcing their understand while feeding back into a positive learning environment. This
bonding of students by a means of teaching allows for the development of relationships in
the classroom which is beneficial to the overall atmosphere. The teacher in the video
explains that because students are helping each other "the classroom is no longer
circulating around [her] but rather it is circling around each other" Students were asked
to create a documentation of the process and then post it to the class blog. They were
thoughtful and understanding in the reflections - the effect of a video method of
communication being more powerful than a written document. The students in their
videos sound passionate and eager to explain their own personal journey by means of
using technology. It was also interesting to observe how students knew the effect of
positive and negative feedback towards their peers. The teacher touches on the challenges
of using technology - however despite the time constraint and the expected volume of a
workload; the use of technology in this case study is a positive and constructive learning
experience for the students.

Child development theory as claimed by Piaget explains that humans make sense
of the world by collecting and organizing information. For this lesson the students are

required to use prior knowledge and the collected information that they already have to
first plan the project. As the process continues the students organize this information and
use it to better the design of their boat. The concrete operational stage of Piaget's theory
explains that children at this stage of learning are able to logically think about concrete
problems and can "reverse thinking to mentally "undo" actions." (p 39). By means of this
students understood what went wrong with their engineering and were able to amend
their actions and make superior choices. For Piaget, the schemes - structures of the mind
lend itself well to explain how the student's thought process is moving along during their
project. They are able to assimilate the new information by testing their boats into the
situation and accommodate by enhancing their project. Vygotsky's perspective a
sociocultural approach to learning. He claimed that humans understand things through
activities and in their cultural settings. The culture and atmosphere of the classroom holds
such an importance that students are able to understand their project through the
environment and from their peers. The teacher holds a significant role in teaching but also
the experiences by the students enhances and enriches their learning process. Vygosky's
perception of language and the importance of an adult figure fits well into this case study
as well as peer-to-peer interactions weaves a strong support system within the learning
environment.

Instructions for prior to the activity need to be concise and concrete. They need to
articulate the purpose of the project and develop a basic understanding for students as to
why they are learning about this. It would be beneficial for students to relate this back
into real life examples; that is using the idea of being an engineer for the day whilst this

project is occurring. This motivate would further drive students to engage in the preplanning process because they understand contextually why this is important. Instructions
by the teacher also need to be step-by-step and communicated using several methods - ie:
verbally, written and even one-on-one for students who require that. Planning of time for
a teacher in an activity like this is also a large factor to consider. How much over-time is
this going to take outside of the classroom for both the students and the teacher? Will
there be parent involvement before, during and or after the project? Other considerations
include: "What if a student finishes too quickly? What if a student does not complete the
project in the allotted time? How can you make this easier or more difficult depending on
the student's needs?"

During the activity there needs to be supervision by the teacher as well as

assistance by students who are more proficient and can assist others. The considerations
for the activity also include an observation piece by the teacher to see who is engaging in
the activity and how their learning process is thriving. The flip side of that however is to
also observe the students who are disengaged and not fulfilling the objective for the
project and why. The why component is the most crucial - do they not understand the
project? Are they bored? Is there is a more productive way for them to learn the material?

The considerations for after the activity include - how each student did
individually as well as a collective (if they were a participant in helping other students
learn), how each project turned out and why. There also needs to be planning and
consideration for an incorporation for parents and the external community to be

incorporated into the learning for the project (although planned prior to the activity this
needs to be executed during and after the project).

The ideas previously mentioned articulate how much teaching as really changed
since being in primary school myself. There are so many different facets to teaching that
were not incorporated when my parents as well as myself were in elementary. There was
no need or want to differentiate learning for students and teachers were significantly less
understanding to the needs and wants of the classroom. There was an expectation to fall
into the norm of standardized tests and learning from a textbook rather than the
incorporation of technology, understanding child development, communication methods,
and the evaluation process. So far PS1 has further shaped my personal teaching
philosophy to understand each individual student and how to enrich their learning
experience.