Walking for Polar Bears, Part 2: The Big Day

With the fundraising well underway and a developing knowledge of climate change, it was time to plan the actual event. We had decided at the project's inception that the walk would take place at Brandon University, as I really wanted to expose my young learners to university at an early age. Also, it made more sense to bus our students to Brandon than make my big kids from BU drive out in separate vehicles. However, no project is without some bumps in the road...

Mrs. Obach and I had a big discussion about whether or not it was reasonable to bus kids to Brandon in a project designed to raise awareness about climate change. Did it make sense to put more vehicles on the road when that was the very thing we were trying to stop? We thought the best way to handle this issue was to take it to our students. Leah's Grade 1 class had an excellent debate using the "tug of war" strategy  and raised many valid points about why we should travel to Brandon. In the end, we decided it was better to take two buses than multiple cars, and the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.

Early in the project, I had asked Dr. Duncan about using the walking track at BU's Healthy Living Centre. However, the director of the centre felt that 21 big kids, 21 kindergarten kids, and 23 Grade 1 students was just too many to accommodate. What to do? With unpredictable Manitoba weather in a busy city, was walking outside a wise or safe idea? My kindergarten class brainstormed alternative locations, and we called Shoppers Mall Brandon and Keystone Centre. However, it didn't seem like a good use of time to walk in one location then travel to BU for learning activities after. This problem was solved by my big kids at university. They proposed walking around campus, going in and out of buildings to keep warm. This also gave our students a great overview of the entire campus. Problem solved!

In the days leading up to the actual walk, the JKs partnered with my big kids to create a green screen movie using the app Do Ink. My junior kindergarten class had taken a special interest in climate change and developed the understanding that by helping the earth, we also help polar bears. This movie showcased what we can do to slow climate change.

We also participated in a fantastic video call with Mr. Andy McKiel and the Hamiota Grade 1 class. Andy had travelled to Churchill a few years ago with a Discovery Education team to get up close and personal with polar bears. His amazing pictures and interesting information about polar bears absolutely captivated our young learners. Thank you so much for sharing!

Perhaps what was most exciting was the work my big kids did at BU. I wanted these future teachers to gain first-hand knowledge of project-based learning as it is so well-suited to multi-age/multi-level classrooms. They followed the project through all its stages, and then they stepped up to plan the events at BU. We made a list of what tasks needed to be accomplished, and the students worked in groups to complete them. We looked at each task and discussed what curricular outcomes would be met and how students of diverse abilities could be accommodated. I felt it was a real "a ha" moment for a lot of my students as they realized how interdisciplinary and inclusive project-based learning is!

One group was in charge of mapping the route we would take for our polar bear walk. A PDF of the campus and a Microsoft Surface pen was a fantastic tool!

 Another group of big kids developed a schedule for the day.

 Another group was in charge of advertising and contacting the media.

 One group had the brilliant idea that we needed a photo booth! And we also decided that a polar bear mascot for the walk would be amazing!

And finally our big day arrived! It was an amazing day that couldn't have gone better--take a look at our video!

This was one of my all-time favourite projects as it was such a unique collaboration among two classrooms, Brandon University, and World Wildlife Fund Canada. Together we raised $243 for polar bears. Everyone involved saw what a difference we can make when we work together. My young students built knowledge about polar bears and climate change as well as strengthened their early literacy and numeracy skills, and my big kids developed their abilities in a project-based learning approach. 

Little Miss Kindergarten Goes to University

Well it's been two months since my last post, and a LOT has happened. My best friend and #1 collaborative partner, Leah Obach, and I worked with our K and Grade 2 classes to host a a fantastic Kids Who Code Code-a-thon for Hour of Code on Friday, December 12. Watch our movie here and visit Leah's classroom blog for the full report (she's definitely been the star blogger lately).

So what has been keeping me so busy lately? Well, an exciting new challenge came my way at the end of November when I was offered a position as a sessional instructor at my alma mater, Brandon University. Since completing my Master of Education degree in 2009 and hosting a number of student teachers, it's always been in the back of my mind that I would love to teach pre-service teachers at the university level. I was surprised and thrilled when I was asked to teach The Multi-Level Classroom (early years) in the Faculty of Education for the winter term! It works perfectly with my schedule, as the course is offered after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. My school staff was so supportive and presented me with these beautiful flowers (sadly the florist couldn't spell professor...)

Online research, reading potential textbooks, professional literature, and Manitoba Education documents consumed my Christmas holidays, leading to "first day of university" nightmares that rivaled my worst bad dreams before returning to kindergarten every fall! A few tools helped me to develop my course outline: Survey Monkey to assess my students' prior knowledge and prioritize their needs and Google Forms to collect their contact/social media information. After consultation with Leah and three former student teachers, I finally had a workable course outline!

And the transition to university has gone pretty smoothly (and I have an office. So excited.). Although I've done a lot of work with teachers in collaborative projects and professional learning sessions, I've never worked with a consistent group over a period of time and I definitely felt a bit nervous as my first class was about to begin. So here's what I've learned and the tools that have made a big difference in my first two weeks!

I've been surprised and happy to discover that...
-my kindergarten kids are fascinated by the fact that I teach "big kids" two days a week after school. They insisted on seeing their pictures on the SMART Board and learning all about them.
-in turn, my "big kids" always listen eagerly (or at least patiently) to my tales from kindergarten each day. I think my course has more authenticity as everything has been road-tested in a real classroom already.
-kindergarten and university complement each other nicely. My kindergarten kids actually planned the discovery learning activities for my university class on the topic (see picture below), based on their favourite ones. They expected feedback and photographs (via Twitter and Instagram) the next day to see how it went with the big kids. I'm also excited that I can open my classroom door to my university students so they can try their activities and strategies with my kindergarten learners.

-good teaching is good teaching, regardless of the age of the learner. Enthusiasm, age-appropriate humour, well-planned learning activities that incorporate student interest and real-world connections, and showing that you value every learner in your classroom are best practices across the board. Being available to your students outside of class (or their parents in a K setting) and providing timely feedback go a long way too!

Tools that make a difference:
Wikispaces for Education: I just couldn't deal with Moodle, passwords, and the fact that the information would not be available to students after the course, so a wiki seemed like a good choice.
Microsoft Educator Network: it's always my one-stop shop for great tools, connections, and professional learning. I'm strongly encouraging all my students to create accounts and access the monthly EduCast webinar series. Several already have and I was so proud of them!
Microsoft One Drive: perfect for storing all my course materials for convenient access regardless of where I am, and easily sharing and posting them online.
Skype: as I said to my university students, it's that one tool I just can't get over. It's perfect for bringing the expertise of my colleagues from around the world into my university classroom. And our first Skype call with Connie Lowe (kindergarten teacher from Winnipeg) on discovery learning was a huge success!

Today's Meet: it's a simple back channel that's super easy to use and provides a transcript at the end. For our first Skype call, we ran a back channel. Two students followed the back channel and asked everyone's questions (positioned in front of the SMART Board in the picture above) while another two students sent tweets.
Twitter: and where would we be without Twitter? I was surprised that my students weren't confident Twitter users yet--in fact, some were outright skeptics. But after participating in classroom Twitter chats, submitting and sharing assignments, and tweeting during and after the Skype call, I think the tide is turning! We have our own class hashtag #BUmlc that is really fun to follow and encourages a larger conversation with my colleagues who follow it. I've also made participation in a real Twitter chat such as #kinderchat or #mbedchat a choice asssignment; I'm a strong believer in teachers taking responsibility for their own professional learning.
Wordle: it's an oldie but a goodie, and allowed my students to present their understandings of multi-level education in an attractive visual
Remind: this app lets me send one text that reaches all my students. I sometimes worry that I'm overusing it, but it's great for sending reminders and updates about classes and guest speakers!
Haiku Deck: I used Haiku Deck to create a slide deck to introduce myself to the students. Their first assignment was to use this tool to develop a presentation all about themselves for their upcoming student teaching placement--great for building community and establishing rapport!
QR Code Scanner: my favourite apps are Qrafter and i-nigma. We use QR codes for different purposes, but on the first day of class, it allowed students to scan a QR code and easily add me to their contacts.
SMART Notebook software: I've used this software on a daily basis since 2008, and I still rely on it heavily. My students are eager to learn how I create learning experiences, so I try to show them step by step so they can replicate it in their future classrooms.

With careful preparation, leveraging some wonderful human resources (you know who you are), and terrific ICT tools to support learning, teaching university has been an energizing and exciting new experience. So stay tuned for my continuing adventures in kindergarten and the faculty of education...with my little kids AND my big ones too!