Caveat:
I have been having a bit more difficulty planning this week's post. In thinking about the projected content for this Rationale focus, I have plenty of ideas about the Why of my final vision project on Place-Based Education—after all, those are the issues I've been concerned with for several months throughout this LIBE 477 course. But, I've already written extensively about the Why, so to do so again here seems redundant—especially since the Why will be the "main course" in whatever format I choose to present the project in very soon.
But, I think the real issue causing more writing/thinking blocks this week is the consideration of the Rationale around the Who question. Who is this final vision project for, or who could it potentially be useful for? Beyond the because-I-have-to-as-a-requirement-of-this-course reason, why am I going to make this final vision project? And since that is the area of discomfort, that is the area I'm going to force myself to focus on for this blog post.
So, without further ado and caveats, I show now finally truly begin.
The Rationale questions to I have asked myself this week are as follows:
1) WHY do I think it is necessary or desirable to deliberately incorporate Placed-Based Education (PBE) into teaching?
2) WHY do I feel the scope for increasing PBE must include my three priorities of A) art and design instruction, B) field (literally) trips out into local nature, or to local community resources, and C) the use of technology tools to record, present, and share student learning?
And,
3) WHO is this final vision project really for? Who is the audience? What is the intended reach?
As alluded to in the caveats at the top of the post, I will focus an awful lot on the answers to the why questions, numbers 1 and 2, when I construct the final project. WHO? is the question that matters right now.
I suppose I am doing this project, naturally, for myself first and foremost. When teaching, or being a Teacher-Librarian, it is best if you have thought about, and researched, and practised, and evaluated what you believe to be the main goals of education. I have really come to believe that Place-Based Ed is vital to making learning more relevant to students. I have come to believe that connecting them more to the place in which they live is a way to make them truly notice what we have around us locally so that they are willing to protect what is worth it, and fight to change what is wrong. I have a strong belief that incorporating art into all subjects, into every lesson possible, is a way to keep students self-regulated, while increasing creative thinking. I believe that teaching them about page layout and design allows students to think more flexibly and gets them to present learning in more striking ways by encouraging self-expression. I believe that using various technology tools to research and record learning, and then to present it and share it out, taps into vital 21st century literacy skills. And, I believe that using technology tools, such as iPad apps, to make presentations about what has been learned, is a way to extend the pencil/paint/etc-and-paper art and design skills into the technology realm—blending "analog" and digital art.
So, the project is for me: a way of solidifying my tenets and future directions.
And, of course, it is for my course requirements, and for my instructor. But, really, the value of the course is lies in the belief statements made above.
Another WHO that this project will be for is the small Personal Learning Network of my classmates in this online course. Hopefully, it will be of some interest or use to some of you out there (I know that I look forward to seeing what so many of you come up with).
However, it is thinking about WHO beyond the reach of this course could my final vision project be for that is the problem.... We are encouraged by the very design and the stated goals of the course to share widely, to put ourselves and our ideas out there into the ether for all to see and hear/read...(or to ignore—ha!). It still feels weird. But, I suppose I will tweet out links to the final project and see what happens. It could be interesting to receive feedback from other educators (if anyone sees it at all).
Posting things far and wide still seems like an act of ego to me, even though I respect that it really is more about an act of sharing and generosity and connection for most ICT users. I do like, though, the idea that it could be the ultimate act of humble pie to post far and wide and hear nothing back—that has a dark humour that I like!
Closer to home, I suppose that I could create a final vision project that could be used as a presentation to my staff at a staff meeting. That makes me uncomfortable. I don't really lack confidence in front of an audience...but, I do feel discomfort about being/acting like some sort of education proselytizer. Maybe I just need to get over myself. I prefer having one-on-one discussions about my education beliefs over lunch in the staff room, or when sitting down to plan team-teaching units. Maybe I should push my self further. I will, at least, make my final project available to my colleagues via a link or attachment in a staff email so that they can access it if they choose.
Another possible way to share my final vision project would be with my local Chilliwack Teacher Librarians' Association. I would somehow feel a little less like a proselytizer in one of those meetings, I think.
Could it ever be something that would be developed into a Pro-D workshop? My first instinct is to say, "No, definitely not interested in that." Probably due to a magnification of the who-am-I-to-be-proselytizing-to-all-of-you worries already mentioned. Within a course like this, it seems fine to work through your thought process "aloud" to an audience, because that's part of its purpose; it seems a different matter to formally present those thoughts as a pro-d workshop. But, I have talked to other people who have presented for the first time on a topic they are passionate about, and they felt the same way initially, but pushed through it and gave great workshops. So, perhaps, if I can manage to create something I'm happy with, I should not discount taking it that route (even though I am discounting that possibility even as I type that self-advice—ha!)
So ends my ramblings this week.
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