Week 7
Questioning Questions:
1. In your own schooling experiences (grade school to now), recall an experience where your teacher stimulated or inspired your thinking about a topic using thoughtful questioning techniques (e.g., A Socratic circle with questions, debate questions, etc.). Describe and share the impact it had on your learning.
I will say that the nuns who taught me in highschool were well versed in higher-order questioning because of their background in theology and despite them having an uncomfortable obsession with the Romantic Era; Lord Byron, Shelley, Blake and the like, they did put great effort into questioning. The student body generally disagreed with their narrow interpretation, which was usually reduced to virtue, sex and sin, but they certainly tried. I would agree that their higher order questioning did improve comprehension and start to develop critical thinking skills as Buchanan Hill would expect from this practice. Lines of inquiry were thought provoking; analysis and synthesis; prediction and problem-solving; and comparison and evaluation (Buchanan, 2016).
The other form of higher order thinking that I engaged in was debating. In both elementary and high school I did a fair bit of mediocre debating, but the intention was to introduce the idea of dialectic argumentation, and rhetoric which ironically helped develop critical thinking skills, which then led to projects like my ill-fated, but hilarious, video “Leave it to Jesus.” These questions in my early years no doubt influenced my future undergraduate degree: Environmental Studies (informed by critical theory), and a minor in philosophy.
2. As you see it now (remember, this is a snapshot of your thinking that will likely evolve), how would you organize your questioning techniques to inspire thinking during a lesson? Consider Bloom's, as well as videos and readings from this week and last. Consider how you will ensure all students have an opportunity to engage.
If 80% of questions happening in the classroom are lower order then we have a lot of thoughtful work to do to elevate the educational value of the classroom environment! (Foundations video, 2024) I plan to use Bloom’s Taxonomy, along with the re-imagined framework by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001), to guide my questioning techniques thoughtfully. Integrating insights from Buchanan Hill (2016), I’ll structure questions to progressively deepen student engagement, moving from foundational knowledge to higher-order thinking.
I would start by organizing questioning techniques (for me I would probably use a T chart or some other tool to chart the scaffolding) and use a scaffolded approach based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to progressively deepen students' thinking, ensuring every student can engage and participate meaningfully. I loved in the video “Scaffolding Discussion Skills With a Socratic Circle,” narrated by Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, the students participating in the Socratic circle each had articles that were accessible to them in terms of length and complexity and for those who were not comfortable with the debate they could still participate by tracking the conversation and sharing at the end their findings. It was a very well run class and beautifully showed the art of scaffolding, because it was artfully done, and Linda’s explanation was wonderfully concise as well.
I would start by activating prior knowledge with straightforward questions, ensuring students feel comfortable and confident in sharing answers. Transition to questions about understanding that allow students to apply what they know, which helps make content relatable and by using real-life connections it also supports students in seeing relevance and prepares them for more analytical thinking. I would try to be specific, hopefully drawing from what I know about my students, then scaffold further into analyzing questions. For younger students, depending on the complexity of the content, the educator would be asking most all questions, but as students progress and mature I could see asking students to formulate their own analyzing, evaluating and creative questions elevating the learning further. We did something similar in seminar where we discussed a topic, wrote a question about the article on a note and passed the question on for further discussion. It was very effective.
Getting everyone involved in classroom discussions is tricky, and I can even see it in our classes, the same people are called upon because of the time restraints in this program. I understand the instructors are looking to move the class along, but I’m finding that some instructors are more guilty of it than others and in groups I’m constantly trying to mitigate that. When it’s our group's turn to speak, I often will turn to the person who was comfortable speaking in the smaller group and encourage them to speak to the larger group. As a group member I think it’s also my job to be cognizant of everyone’s voice. I would like to teach my students to be active listeners, active participants and to practice self-efficacy so we collectively create a supportive classroom. The way I will try to do that is through modeling that behaviour, and through the use of pauses and if the pauses get awkward that’s ok, I hope to have an arsenal of prompting questions that will draw people out of their shell.
Buchanan Hill, J. (2016). Questioning techniques: A study of instructional practice Download Questioning techniques: A study of instructional practice. Peabody Journal of Education, 91(5), 660-671.
Ornstein, A. C. (1988). Questioning: The essence of good teaching, Part II. NASSP Bulletin, 75(505), 72–80.
Week 6
Planning reflection
1. What has helped you as a learner as you have progressed through the Lesson Plan Assignment thus far? Why?
When I start a new project I am usually very motivated and have a hard time moving beyond that initial excitement of creative brainstorming, so unsurprisingly this process has been quite similar except that when I am stuck I can look to different sections of the lesson plan to get inspiration and guidance. Moving around the plan works beautifully for my brain. At first the idea of breaking the assignment in 2, focusing on different sections at different times, was a bit counter-intuitive, but as the process continued it made perfect sense and I see the value in the experiential application of backward design. The detailed reminders were crucial, in every section the considerations really did make me focus and touch base. In one of my copies I even put my learning goals (LG) and success criteria (SC) in that explanatory section of Part 9: Organizing the Learning Experience: Minds On, Action, Consolidation, so I was diligent about referring back to them constantly.
2. What has hindered your learning as you have progressed through this assignment thus far? Why? How might you address this moving forward?
I mostly struggled to match the best activity to support the learning goals and success criteria. It was mentioned a few times that backward design is not picking a cool Pinterest activity and then figuring out where you can squeeze curriculum into it, it’s actually the opposite - the activity needs to embody the LG and SC. It was a good point to make early in the program because when you search for activities online the majority have that Pinterest sheen to them and are really not related to curriculum. Luckily courses are quick to address that, especially in Digital Literacies and Foundations. Moving forward I am going to use the OTU template, but once I do more lesson plans I would like to create my own that works with how my brain works and reflects my informing pedagogy.
Week 5
Assessment FOR | AS | OF
1. Compare assessment "for" "as" and "of" learning. How are they similar? Different? How can these forms of assessment benefit both teacher and learner?
Assessment for Learning
This type of assessment is all about guiding students toward improvement as they’re learning. It’s diagnostic and formative, meaning it happens throughout the learning process and helps teachers see where students are in their understanding and skills. Teachers gather information early on to plan the right type of instruction, then continue checking in along the way. The feedback here is specific and immediate, so students know what’s working, what isn’t, and what steps to take next.
Assessment as Learning
This one shifts the responsibility to students, helping them become active, reflective participants in their own learning. It’s a formative process, happening continuously during instruction. Here, students learn to set personal goals, monitor their progress, and engage in self-assessment and peer feedback. Teachers provide structure and support but encourage students to develop independence and take ownership of their learning. An enriched way to integrate assessment.
Assessment of Learning
This is the traditional summative assessment that comes at the end of a learning period, like an exam, project, or final report (what I experienced most in my education). It measures what students have learned and is used to evaluate their performance against set standards. The results here are often shared with students and parents. It’s a snapshot of knowledge, and hopefully more of a photo book than a single snapshot.
Similarities:
Each type of assessment serves the goal of understanding and supporting student learning (student-centred), whether during the process (assessment for and as) or at the end (assessment of). All three types rely on collecting evidence and interpreting it, though the purpose and timing differ. Plus, each type can benefit students by giving them insight into their strengths, areas for improvement, and overall progress.
Differences:
Aside from the why, we can see the difference is in who’s actively involved in the assessment. While teachers drive assessment for and of learning, assessment as learning is more student-centered, encouraging self-assessment and peer feedback. A SEL skill that is applicable to many fields and future learnings.
Benefits for TCs:
For teacher candidates, using a mix of these assessments will help us get a well-rounded understanding of student progress. I think as new teachers we will be really focused probably on assessment for learning until we are more intuitive about teaching. It will allow us to tailor teaching strategies, give us effective feedback, and ensure students stay on track. For students, these assessments support growth, not just in academic skills but also in learning how to reflect, self-regulate, and set goals. When students become active participants (through as learning), they’re more likely to feel empowered and motivated.
2. Consider your own K-12 experiences. How was assessment "as learning" integrated into your experience?
Unsurprisingly, my answer to this question is all going to be similar as previous posts - we did not use any of the principles of assessment as learning from K-12 in any of my schools, but at York University we used this a lot. The backbone of the Environmental Studies program was critical thinking, so self-reflections, peer-reflections and self-reflexive practices were common. They were extensive and a little exhausting! It did force us to analyze our work with higher order inquiries, which has served me in many other capacities over my working career.
Week 4
The "Big Three"
Consider the 'big three' questions for your lesson plan and use this time to develop them. For reference, use the image below from the lecture. Remember, these three questions help to guide and illustrate the bigger picture of the lesson. When you have finished, in a few sentences, reflect on how well you feel the responses to the questions have addressed: assessment, instructional activities and learning outcomes (one paragraph).
Below are the revised questions:
- What will students learn and be able to do?
The students will learn about Coast Salish cultural practices pre-1500
CE, and be able to connect those practices to the environment/biome
they lived. This fits into the unit lesson plan in social Studies about
pre-1500 CE Canada.
- How will you know that they learned or are able to do “it”?
They will have filled out their graphic organizers successfully with
drawings connected to the material from the video and book.
- How will you guide them through the process to get them to “it”?
I will guide students through a discovery activity, read a book out
loud with clarifying questions, watch a video with strategic pauses to
answer questions in a graphic organizer.
After many revisions the questions above are the ones for my Foundations assignment and I can say confidently that they’re not bad! I went from too broad, to too narrow, to unrelated to curriculum, to alright, to obsessed with unrelated activities, to these - which I believe are pretty good. The process has definitely emphasized that it is indeed a process and that I need time from them, so that when I come back with fresh eyes I can more easily see the issues. On paper they seem a little simple, but the combination of a fun minds-on, book, video, and graphic organizers will engage students. Thoughts specific to:
- Assessment: there are 2 graphic organizers, I made them myself so they are specific to the book and video. There is also a very cute colouring sheet on the back, so if everyone is done early and have coloured the back I know there was not enough material. I believe that will not be the case, but timing is hard to estimate without much of a frame of reference.
- Instructional activities: The minds-on is a tactile activity, sensorial based, so between the minds-on, a book (age appropriate & published by an indigenous author and publisher), a video (created by the shíshálh Nation), and work with graphic organizers that I created based on the material, should clearly scaffold the learning and repeat some elements for further retention. Many ways of understanding, hopefully creating many in-roads to knowledge.
- Learning outcomes: I am clear on what they will be I believe. The first question in this series will inform my Learning Goals and Success Criteria later in the process. The other thing I need to consider more is to achievement charts for the subject. The more I use it the more confident I will be!
Week 3
Using your understanding of backward design AND the Ontario Tech lesson plan template as a tool to guide your planning, where would you feel you want to start the planning process? Why? Remember, this isn't a linear process, and there is no one way. Consider the manner in which you would work through the template
What seems strategic in my brain is applying backward design starting with Section 7: Learning Goals and Success Criteria, and working backwards from there. By beginning with a clear understanding of what we want students to achieve, we establish the "end goals" that will guide every decision in the lesson planning process. From my experience at OTU and in my placement, I've observed how knowing the curriculum deeply allows for creative flexibility and fluidity within this structure. Backward design is particularly valuable here because it ensures that each lesson plan is anchored in purposeful, student-centered outcomes.
Once the goals and success criteria are defined, moving to Section 1: Lesson Overview / Summary is logical. Section 1 brings us to the refinement of what the students will learn, how, and what the “big idea” of the lesson will be. I think as well, within this section starting with the “big idea” might also help inform the a) b) c) of this section. As we continue to assess students’ needs (Section 3), we can refine these goals further, ensuring they remain responsive and realistic. At this stage, we begin to hone the applicable curriculum expectations and focus on developing learning skills (Section 2), so that each lesson component directly supports achieving the end goals and positive work habits. Once I have a clear idea of our goals, success criteria, and assessment methods, we can focus on planning the "how" - the content and instructional methods. Here, backward design shifts from focusing on activities alone to prioritizing activities that lead to deeper understanding. Then when we’re picking materials and resources we’re hyper mindful of what, how and why of our student-centred lesson.
To bring it all together, I plan to use the “Minds-on,” “Action,” and “Consolidation” framework emphasized by Alison, Cathy, Janine, and others at OTU. This structure not only ensures that each lesson has a clear beginning, middle, and end, but will support the scaffolding of learning by guiding students through initial engagement, active learning, and reflection. Within this framework, I can be cognizant of learning goals in a way that’s engaging and builds upon their prior knowledge and needs.
Week 2
How does a learning community contribute to the learning process?
Using the "Learning to Teach" framework set out by Hammond & Baratz-Snowden (2007) a teaching “vision,” becomes integral to the development of your teaching. Giving your intentions a path to inform your content or “knowledge,” helps to understand your “disposition,” which could also be used as a way to self-assess and inform your favoured pedagogy, use the tools available to you to enrich your teaching, and then the synthesize process to build out your “repertoire” of successful instruction. Together they form a community of learning, applicable to oneself as well as your peer community.
Why must learning environments be student-centred?
If we think of the space we create for students “as an environment conducive to social, emotional, and academic learning” (Garrett, 2012), then it stands to reason that we need to reflect our students’ needs, interests, culture, and identity so they can see themselves reflected in the space. This is a space they will spend a great deal of time in, engage in a variety of educational practices in, and will need to be comfortable enough to be uncomfortable in. It is not our space, it is theirs. It should reflect the learning goals for the year, articulated in a way that speaks to the student and is still beneficial to the teacher and conducive to learning.
Why must learning environments be assessment-centred?
Having a framework to integrate feedback into your lesson plans can increase retention of information, and hone students’ ability to self-assess. It gives students a chance to reflect, revise, and revisit ideas to help strengthen recall and retention. It can help guide a student’s future educational inquiries as well. Hammond and Snowden (2020) suggest using tools such as graphic organizers can also increase recall, cognition, and mental mapping - all of which can be applied to an assessment-centred learning environment. Alison Mann (Mann, Foundations slides, Ontario Tech University, 2024) also mentioned the importance of pre-assessment and using tools such as the K-W-L (what you know, what you want to know, what you learned) model. I think an assessment-centred space can allow for natural consequences, and allow for experiential learning. You only forget once not putting butter in cookies - which my daughter did recently. She will not forget again, they were a flop!
Describe one particular learning environment from your K-12 experiences.
Describe the degree to which the setting or situation was student-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centred. How did this setting influence your learning? Why? How might others in that particular setting respond to this question? Why?
How might others in that particular setting respond to this question? Why?
I went to a Catholic school in BC, which is a private Catholic board like most other Catholic boards across Canada except Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories, but the private education model supports a system less beholden to public funding and the responsibilities associated with them. My education from K-12 was in a very traditional system and I don’t believe any of my education was what we would consider student centred. It was religious, value based education and many of the teachers were nuns. Legitimately nuns, not many people can say that anymore!
There was a rigour in the “three Rs" - Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, and when I went to a public school in grade 11 and 12, I was ahead in those subjects. However, because they were private, they did not have to follow the same rules, though technically they were still supposed to. This influenced my learning in many ways, it had the opposite intended effect and I became a very strong critical thinker. I was almost expelled for making a video about Jesus, called “Leave it to Jesus,” a situational drama about Jesus in his pre-thirties grappling with the loss of a friend who was gay and stoned to death. Sister Cecelia was not impressed. I am still friends with many of the people I went to “Little Flower Academy” with and we are all atheists, anecdotally questioning the belief that an education steeped in ideology, and religious community-centred is advantageous. I never thrived and it shaped my opinion of education for many years to come.
I always hearken back to the Foucauldian conundrum of “disciplinary and punishment,” and “power and knowledge,” each concept very applicable to how and when knowledge is transmitted and who is administering it. Furthering these ideas about power and knowledge in the context of education was philosopher Pierre Bourdieu. Bourdieu expanded on Foucault’s theory by introducing concepts like “cultural capital” and “habitus,” examining how social power is reproduced and legitimized through educational systems. He argued that schools play a significant role in maintaining social structures by privileging certain forms of knowledge (like the three “R”s) and cultural practices (like Eurocentric religious norms), which he viewed as forms of symbolic power that reinforce existing social hierarchies. While Foucault emphasized how power and knowledge created social norms and institutions, Bourdieu applied these ideas specifically to education. Exploring how power operates through cultural and social capital within the school system. My husband studies this, I have studied this, and raising children not affected by this pervasive power dynamic has been a challenge!
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