Freedom of Learning

I found the learning and facilitation activities extremely helpful for preparing prospective teachers for their future careers. Stephanie and Michela's structure building activity reminded me of:

- The fun of freedom
- Collaboration vs competition

I will discuss each of these points in relation to the activity and discuss how I would apply them as a teacher.

1. Fun from freedom

A relaxed structure allowed for my group to make important decisions, influencing the end result. 
After explaining the goal of this activity, creating a structure that can withstand the weight of a few textbooks, Stephanie and Michela set an alarm for fifteen minutes, leaving us to create. They did not tell us to brainstorm for x amount of time or prompt us to answer preliminary questions. There is beauty in just allowing minds to work together and find common ground based on the goal. Of course school-aged children need more structure, but because all group members began with the knowledge of triangles being the most structurally sound shape, we could start from there. I found this freedom exciting because during the moments of taping huge rolls of magazines together, we became a unit.  

Implementation - "What Actions Might I Pursue"
I sort of forgot the purpose of the activity for a few minutes so the reflection at the end of the activity proved to be very education. As a teacher I will reinforce the idea that though the activity was fun, this is an educational experience with a purpose of learning math, science, etc., through different modes of delivery.

Adaptation -- adding new elements to satisfy student curiosity.
We, as a group, expressed interest in testing how much weight our structure can take. The textbooks did not challenge our structure enough, which is when a few of my group members joked about a person sitting on the structure. Since this wasn't our activity, we weren't going to actually test this out. Stephanie and Michela have limited time to show their activity and us getting side-tracked may not have fit within the time constraints. Surprisingly, both facilitators engaged us with our question and asked if anyone would like to try. Even though this activity is meant for elementary school-aged children, all group members displayed excitement towards discovery. I really enjoyed the encouragement Stephanie and Michela enacted. 
Implementation - "What Actions Might I Pursue"
As a teacher, I want to explore students' creativity and enable curiosity. I want my students to feel comfortable in engaging because the purpose of learning is to built their knowledge. I will have already learned the concepts needed to teach, so I want to focus my energy on student exploration within and outside of the activity's parameters, when appropriate. 

2. Collaboration versus competition

I often stress when activities require competition. I much rather work with people to complete an agreed upon goal because this way, the learning environment is much healthier. My teammates were cheering me on when I got into the groove of taping magazines together, making me feel like my contribution was needed. 
Implementation - "What Actions Might I Pursue"
Because I'm in the Intermediate/Senior stream, I have the opportunity to teach grade nine. This is such an important time in students' lives because of the integration of multiple elementary schools into one high school. Competing against their new classmates, rather than collaborating with them, can lead to feelings of mistrust, causing an unhealthy environment. My job is important in ensuring students are engaging in positive peer relationships and a way that I can do this is through collaboration-centred activities. 

This activity reminded me about the excitement students feel when participating in unconventional learning styles (unconventional learning happens when students aren't at their desks as their teacher lectures). I want to enact all that I've learned to encourage freedom, agency, adaptation, and collaboration.