Author: emmakailyn (Page 2 of 4)

07/11/25

Today, I explored the BC curriculum with the goal of finding where identity, collaboration, and communication meet within Grade 4 science. These three stand out immediately as core competencies across the entire curriculum (communication, personal and social). To dig deeper, I looked into the Grade 4 Big Ideas in science. The concept that “all living things sense and respond to their environment” provides a strong link to identity and collaboration, opening up opportunities for students to explore their identities in relation to place. This idea extends into Indigenous worldviews and First People’s Principles like “Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).”

Looking further into the BC curriculum, the curricular competencies mention “express[ing] and reflect[ing] on personal or shared experiences of place” which is a strong link to both identity and communication. When looking for ties to collaboration, I found “contribute to care for self, others, school, and neighbourhood through individual or collaborative approaches” and “co-operatively design projects.” Students are encourages to ask questions, work together, reflect on their past experiences, and share their findings in meaningful ways: all tying to identity, collaboration, and communication.

I’m definitely leaning toward creating a Grade 4 Science unit for my end project. The curriculum holds so much potential to explore ecosystems and cultural identity.

07/10/25

Today, I further explored the idea of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL gives learners equal opportunities to succeed by planning for variability at the very beginning (A woman ill-prepared is a woman set up to fail!). After watching the video below, what stood out to me most was the idea that we cannot design learning for the “average student,” because that student doesn’t exist.

The Cast UDL guidelines create a framework for this practice. UDL is built around three principles: Representation, Action & Expression, and Engagement. The strength of the content you teach is not as important as HOW you are presenting that content and engaging students with it. The guidelines give specific suggestions for providing choices, reducing barriers, and building independence over time.

Shelley Moore’s video was powerful. Her bowling analogy, how you aim for not only the middle pins, but for the corners too, make the abstract concept of inclusion feel not only tangible, but essential too. It’s not about making individual plans for each student (knocking each pin over one at a time), but about creating a differentiated lesson where everyone feels included (hitting all the pins/as many as you can in one fell swoop).

In sum, today made me think deeper about how to bring UDL into practice. This means planning lessons that are grounded in UDL principles by anticipating diversity, giving meaningful options, and encouraging students to take control of their own learning. UDL supports equity, not by treating everyone the same, but by ensuring everyone has what they need to thrive.

07/09/25

When looking at the history of teaching, there are two places where teaching had to change and adapt completely: 1998 and 2023. 1998 marked the birth of Google, which meant that learning was no longer centred around learning through teaching. Classrooms and libraries were not the only place to learn now, you could find any information you wanted through the internet. Access to knowledge was free and it was everywhere. Rote memorization was abandoned, replaced with critical thinking and personalized learning. A new tool, originally frowned upon, was embraced in education, forever changing the way we think, learn, and teach.

A similar change began in 2023 with the introduction of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) chat bots, like ChatGPT. AI swept the world like a plague, getting faster and more accurate with each new user feeding it information on how to better replicate human scholars. Most notably, ChatGPT found its way into schooling, learning how to forge essays, plagiarize art, and answer an entire math test in approximately 5-10 seconds.

Believe it or not, I’m pro-AI. Well, pro-in-small-amounts. Like candy.

I believe that AI is tool, valuable for everyone, but notably for my future profession as an elementary teacher. It is a tool that can be taken advantage of, for sure, but when used correctly, AI is helpful. It is your own personal assistant, happy to do boring, tedious tasks, lowering workload and decreasing burnout. AI is a tool to be embraced, for it is here now, and it cannot be squished down and put out.

New technology faces backlash and skepticism, no matter what. The calculator was originally seen as a replacement for learning, wiping out teachers and mathematicians. People believed that calculators would lead to future students with no basic math skills… and look at schools now. Calculators are a tool, embraced in school, embraced in society.

AI can write essays and make “art” and answer 100 math questions in 10 seconds, sure. The rate it is advancing and growing is scary, yes. But we were scared of the calculator too. AI is a tool and once it is accepted as one, it will benefit everyone and every profession enormously.

07/04/25

Today we looked at a “concept carousel” of a collection of images, quotes, and media revolving around themes of literacy and technology. What stood out most for me was the image, a robot introducing a human to all things digital. At first, it seemed to be about how technology is an important tool to help people, but the more I looked, the more it seemed to be a comment on capitalism. It made me realize how visuals can have hidden messages, and how important it is to look beyond the surface.

Today I learned that literacy goes far beyond just the ability to read. It’s about UNDERSTANDING, and specifically understanding images, data, and other digital information. AI is completely reshaping education, and as a future teacher, it is so critical to think about how to appropriately use and teach technology in the classroom.

I’m now thinking about the gap in reading scores globally. Why is Singapore so far ahead, so out of reach? What do we, as Canadian educators, need to do to bridge this gap?

Of course, this is my very first day of EDCI 410. I expect my thinking to change over the span of this course as I am exposed to more information and methods. Today, already, I am already challenged to think about how we teach literacy and how that can be better adapted. Being an educator means constantly re-evaluating how you teach and I expect I will keep questioning more as this course goes on.