Consultation: proximal goal #5

In meeting with my colleague, I was able to address some worries and uncertainties of mine about implementing this unit and get some advice for how to go about it. My colleague reminded me of the importance of not putting pressure on myself since it affects the kids process as well if we feel rushed or are trying to push the learning in a certain direction. I had to me reminded of the need for flexibility in inquiry-based learning.
He also helped me adjust some of my activities to make them as practical and realistic as possible. He also gave me an idea to include a bird sound activity in my 5th lesson of the unit on bird communication.
It was also very motivating and reassuring to be able to connect with a teacher than understands the exact process and was able to give me meaningful feedback.

Inquiry introduction - Proximal goal #4

In the inquiry introduction, I introduced the topic of the magic of seasons to my students. We talked about our wonders about the seasons and listed some questions we had. We went outside into our school garden to make some observations about things that were changing and what was staying the same.
To my surprise, the kids were intrigued with the birds that kept flying around us. We get lots of seagulls and crows on our school grounds this time of year. I had one student make a comment on bird migration for the Winter. This really surprised me!
I wasn't prepared to have our unit take this turn, but I was so impressed by my students engagement with the idea of birds as a part of seasonal changes that I was inspired to allow the unit to flow in this direction. When we went back inside, we decided as a class that we wanted to learn more about the birds that fly around our school. And so the inquiry process begins!

Assessment - Proximal goal #3

In my assessment of my students, I noticed that there is a range of language proficiency. Comprehension of course is at a much higher level than output. Although they are able to remember vocabulary and some sentence structure, they need modelling of language before they will be able to use the language.
I plan to give my students vocabulary that they will use after the inquiry process begins to prepare them to be able to use the language if they can. Some of them will be able to but I won't pressure any students to speak in French to ensure full participation and no filter of ideas. Once we have progressed into our inquiry process and have proceeded into exploration, I will begin to encourage use of learned vocabulary.
I realize that it's early in the year and putting pressure on the kids to speak French won't be beneficial. I have to be mindful of their process and know that they are all working at a different pace. As we progress, they will begin to pick up the vocabulary and begin to use it. Creating a meaningful, engaging learning experience will enhance their learning process in picking up the language as the vocabulary becomes meaningful to them in their inquiry process.

Collaboration - Proximal Goal #2

Today, I met with a colleague at my school that also teaches French Immersion Kindergarten to collaborate and seek some advice. He is a much more experienced teacher than me and is someone who's passion and dedication to teaching I admire.
I ran some of my ideas by him and he gave me some advice on the initial inquiry process. We discussed the importance of creating a low-pressure, comfortable environment for the kids to be able to engage in inquiry and express their thoughts and questions to the class. He told me that he's had experiences of students not wanted to engage because of their lack of language. It has to be clear that there is no pressure or expectation in being able to express their inquiry in French. Once the direction of inquiry is established, we can develop useful French vocabulary and begin to use it in discussion with the teacher modelling language, but also not putting pressure on the kids to be able to use it accurately right away. As we know, teacher patience is key! Keeping the kids motivated and engaged is a top priority. Making sure the discussion is student-led and all students have the opportunity to contribute is also key, however that might look like.
He gave me some ideas of exploration centres in looking at leaf textures and patterns. We predicted some directions the inquiry could potentially go in asking about the change of colour in leaves and the loss of chlorophyll.

Research - Proximal Goal #1

For the research aspect of my unit planning for my unit, I've been compiling lesson plan ideas and ensuring I have clear intentions for the unit. I've been referring back to the curriculum as I look at different ideas and directions I could take for this unit.

I've come up with a Science unit called "the magic of the seasons".  I want to have the kids look at signs of the change of the season and allow them to explore the world outside and have them ask relevant questions. I know that this is going to take some guidance in being able to use new vocabulary, but my goal is to not have the limited language affect the value of inquiry and the excitement of following our curiosity. I'm going to be covering the Big Idea from the BC curriculum: Plants and animals have observable features. 

My plan is to have us begin outside looking for signs of fall. We will collect some evidence to bring back inside to take a look at. Since the kids are familiar with the concept of "wonders", we will begin by discussing what our wonders are about the season changing. For this part of the inquiry process, I will have the kids ask whatever questions they'd like with any language that comes to them. They are encouraged to use French words that they know, but I won't be correcting them or modelling any language yet. I will also be using an KWL chart to document what we know, want to know, and what we learned after that first trip outside. These were some ideas inspired by an article I've been reading called "Using an Inquiry-Based Approach in Early Childhood French Immersion" (Fortier & Hamon, 2014). 

I realize that I have to be open to what will come from this initial stage of inquiry. I know the kids will go in different directions and I am here to guide them towards meaningful inquiry that follows their sense of wonder. I have some ideas of different discovery centres that the kids can explore, but will have to wait to see what direction we will be going in. A key aspect of inquiry will be documentation. I plan on taking lots of pictures of my students investigating and displaying them throughout our process. The kids will also be keeping a discovery journal to record their observations and discoveries. 


Fortier, P. & Hamon, M. (2014). Using an Inquiry-Based Approach

in Early Childhood French Immersion, Teaching and Learning Research Exchange, McDowell Foundation. 

Goal monitoring document

The following is the document I plan on using to monitor my progress with assigned dates for each proximal goal.

Goal Monitoring Document: Dema Asad

Distal Goal: To plan and implement an inquiry-based unit for new language learners in a language immersion program by December 1st

Research - October 14th -        Compile lesson plan ideas from credited sources -        Develop clear intention for the unit -        Plan strategies and resources to be used supported by credited research in education

Collaboration – October 16th -        Meet with experienced colleague teaching same grade level to collaborate and share opinions, receive advice, guidance, reflect on past experiences

Assessment – October 18th -        Assess my students learning styles and current levels of language proficiency

Develop unit draft – October 28th -        Develop unit structure with clear intention and learning outcomes in mind -        Make connections based in the curriculum -        Draft the general idea and learning outcome of each lesson in the unit -        Plan introduction lesson to gage student interest

Consultation – October 30th -        Consult with experienced colleague before implementation to review need for adjustments

Inquiry introduction – November 4th -        Plan an introduction lesson  that introduces the topic and assesses where the students interests/engagement is -        Assess whether the style of teaching is working for this group of students -        Gather list of inquiry questions and assess areas of interest

Reflection – November 5th -        Write a reflection on how the introduction lesson went and determine the general direction of the unit -        Review assessment of students engagement in their learning and where their interests were focused to help shape the rest of the unit planning

Plan detailed lessons 1-3 – November 11th -        Using information from intro lesson, plan first three lessons of unit following unit plan general structure and referring back to learning objectives

Implementation – Week of November 12th-15th -        Implement first three lessons throughout the week making adjustments where necessary

Reflection – November 16th -        Write a reflection on progress of learning, student engagement, progress of planning, whether or not to implement different techniques

Plan detailed lessons 4-6 – November 20th -        Based on the first three lessons and where the students inquiry has progressed, plan lessons 4-6

Consultation – November 21st -        Consult with colleague and discuss progress of inquiry -        Make connections to both of our past experiences and what has come up in this experience -        Assess successes and where things could have been done differently

Assessment – November 22nd -        Assess students’ learning through small group discussion -        Have students reflect on their opinions of the unit and give feedback

Plan wrap-up lesson – November 25th -        Plan a cumulative lesson that allows students to use newly learned skills and summarizes main concepts

Celebration of learning – November 27th -        Take time to appreciate demonstrated learning and acknowledge our learning and the work we put into it

Reflection of success – December 1st -        Write reflection on overall success and necessary revisions of unit. Include examples of student learning. -        Make adjustments needed to have a well-revised, ready unit for next time it is to be taught

Distal goal

My distal goal is to develop a plan in an inquiry-based unit for new language learners in a language immersion program. 

For me, this goal stems from the question of how to go about teaching language in a meaningful, engaging way when the instruction relies on being very teacher-led to provide modelled language. I think about the structured teaching required to teach language and how it makes me reluctant to incorporate more inquiry-based learning that can be more student-led, especially since I am one teacher with 20 students. I know that I am successful in teaching my students language as they have picked up conversational French by the end of the year, but I am looking to expand my program into one that can incorporate inquiry-based learning as efficiently as you could in a classroom where students are already fully communicating in the language of instruction. I know that achieving this goal will progress my program in the direction of the innovation of education and will better prepare my students for their futures in education. It's important to me to have a program where learning language doesn't hinder other integral aspects of learning.