My name is Jessica Pires and I am a second-year MEDL student here at VIU. I am also a Middle School teacher in SD #63.
Attached is a short video explaining my project-driven thesis. Below you will find the link to my website (this is still a work in progress). My project is based on the research of growth mindset and competency-based learning. Essentially, I created a workbook for students that is rooted in the research behind a growth mindset and is a practical area for students to acknowledge, reflect and understand the core competencies. Along with this is a website that has teacher resources suggesting lesson plans for how this could be used in the classroom.
Thank you so much for viewing this! I hope you enjoy it!
The adult in me would like to tell you that recess is no longer my favorite subject. That wouldn’t be true. If you ask any kid in my class they will give you the same answer: their chance to go outside is their favorite part of every school day. Recognizing this in my students and myself played a big part in my commitment to providing consistent outdoor education opportunities for my students and eventually, my entire school. I realized that this love of the outdoors was a platform that I, as an educator, should leverage in my students and not resist. As a result, I decided to focus on getting the students outside of the school building and into an outdoor classroom as often as possible. I began by using my five-acre property as a starting point for students to explore, learn and awaken their senses through nature.
My project is a handbook that teachers can use as a resource to help in their outdoor endeavors. The original focus was a site specific handbook for the staff at my school to use that focused on our largely Indigenous population. However, I realized that this project would benefit all teachers who are interested in pursuing outdoor education in any school. Many educators see value in outdoor education and yet often lack the confidence to bring their class outdoors and instruct them. I was able to research the benefits of doing this and now through this handbook, I intend to equip teachers with tools to lead their classes in outdoor learning with confidence. In so doing I hope to encourage my colleagues that time spent in nature is time very well spent for children.
Research shows that many children are living a sedentary lifestyle that is accompanied with poor eating and sleeping patterns. Numerous screen options, gaming consoles and social media platforms are stimulating young minds instead of the smells and sounds of nature that soothe and energize. Providing outdoor education to students of all ages can bring balance into their educational experience, removing them from traditional sedentary learning spaces and placing them into an active space. There are numerous benefits to outdoor education including growth and development, improved self-esteem, as well as mental and physical well-being. With this in mind the question simply becomes, “Why not Outdoor Education?” Start simple, explore nature with your class and help create a healthy lifestyle for the students we teach.
The video below presents a picture book for emotional regulation. This picture book is written in Spanish and has English audio. Besides, the infographic summarizes the main concepts depicted in the story. Through this applied project, I developed this story to reinforce emotional skills like identifying feelings and communicating them. Whit this learning tool, readers can practice acceptance and understanding of feelings using curiosity and kindness. Emotional abilities can reinforce other skills, like boosting self-confidence, improving performance, developing decision-making skills, supporting independence, and enhancing sociability. The earlier we start this learning process, the better children can master these abilities and improve wellness.
References:
Domitrovich, C., Durlak, J. A., Stanley K. C., & Weisberg, R. P. (2017). Social-Emotional competence: An essential factor for promoting positive adjustment and reducing risk in school children. Child Development, 88(2). https:/doi.org/408-416. 10.1111/cdev.12739 Cambridge University Press (2021). What is dialogic reading? https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2019/04/18/dialogic-reading/
Breugelmans, S., Ambadar, Z., Vaca, J., Poortinga, Y., Setiandi, B., Widiyanto, P., & Philipot, P. (2005). Body sensations associated with emotions in Raramuri Indians, rural Javanese, and three student samples. American Psychology Association, 5(2), 166-174. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.166
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E., Hari, R., & Hietanen, J. (2013). Bodily maps of emotions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 111(2), 646-651. https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
Hi! And welcome to my asynchronous presentation for the 2021 VIU Research Conference. On this post you will find a link to my blog, as well as a video summarizing my research question and method. Please start with the video first, then move to the blog for a bit more detailed information on my research.
As a new early-primary educator, I am interested to know how I can become the most effective literacy educator for my grade 1/2 students, with effective teaching strategies proven by research.
Please feel free to ask me anything, in regards to my research focus, the process, and/or my time in the MEDL program. I would love to provide any support that I can for 4th year students and individuals interested in similar topics.
Click the video below to hear a summary on my research focus and a brief introduction to my blog.
This was taken with an actual camera – which also illustrates how old this photo must be…
Technology has been rapidly changing throughout the 21st Century. While teachers have adapted to 21st century learning, the onslaught of constantly emerging technology has created a divide in how certain technologies should or shouldn’t be implemented in the classroom. Nowhere is this more prevalent than the issue of smart phones; devices that are more powerful and accessible than what is found in school computer labs across the country. My research question is, “Do teachers feel that smartphones and personal devices belong in the classroom?” This leads to more sub questions such as: what are teachers’ experiences with implementing technology through personal devices, what are advantages and disadvantages of personal devices? how frequent should their use be? etc. The purpose of this research is to illustrate teacher’s preconceived notions and opinions about personal devices, as well as the impact of these devices. The research examines how Campbell River teachers choose to incorporate smart phones into day-to-day teaching and how many choose to not incorporate them at all due to a variety of complex reasons. Parents, teachers, and students need up-to-the date information on how, why, and if smartphones should be integrated in and outside of school.
After a grueling grudge match with Survey Planet and how their survey software formats survey’s without paying for it, which can impede young academics trying to cheaply pass the Research Ethics Board (REB), I received the go ahead to survey as many teachers as were willing to find out their thoughts on smart phones/personal devices in the classroom. Armed with an e-mail, a dream, and the innate ability to get people to do me favours by constantly pestering them until they agreed to write the survey, I had 100+ filled out survey’s by Campbell River teachers to go through.
I am currently in the process of interviewing survey takers who indicated they would like to answer further questions. The interview process has been slow, due to the fact that transcribing interviews might be the actual worst thing ever employed in academics. Of course, I have all the hot tips for transcribing – chief among them? Type quickly!
I’m ready for all types of questions. Want to know the quickest way to get something done? Want to know how to write brief, hilarious e-mails in order to get surveys done? Or did you sign up for this seminar as a placeholder, hoping the reading strategies group would open up some more spots? In any case, feel free to ask me anything!
Many teachers in learning support roles face the challenge of managing a wide array of tasks that fall outside of the expectations of a typical classroom teaching position while also carrying the expectation that their time is best spent in direct teaching. Conflict arises when spending time on indirect and administrative tasks, which is important and time consuming, is de-valued and the fact that these tasks are key components to providing services for students is overlooked. This leaves teachers in learning support roles with conflicting expectations and assumptions of what is important and how this is to be acted out, often leading to job attrition. This research explores the question: Could a planning tool be used to more clearly and effectively utilize LST time and, by extension, improve the working environment and job satisfaction of the LST? Using the methodology of design-based research, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through survey, interview and focus group meetings to explore discrepancies in the perceptions of the roles LSTs fulfill related to the needs of the students they work with from the perspectives of elementary classroom teachers, school administrators and LSTs. The data collected indicated that all three groups exhibited incongruencies between what specific activities they saw as valuable and how they felt LSTs should spend their time. Having specific jobs outlined, as in a planning tool, clarified perceptions of how time would be best spent, enabling team members to plan with a unified vision.
Please click the link to watch my 3-minute thesis:
Throughout my personal life, I have seen the benefits of having physical activity and movement intertwined in my day to day living and teaching. There is more motivation and focus, a better positive mindset and attitude, a willingness to take on challenges, problem solving and prompt wholesome feelings of wellness.
In my journey as an educator, I have seen an increase in sedentary time for children. As a result, children today can face increased physical and emotional health concerns. A potential approach to address these concerns is an accessible content website created to encourage and support teachers to facilitate opportunities for regular physical activity into their curriculum. Another theme of this project thesis was to address the challenging teacher task of improving student attentiveness in sedentary learning environments. The primary literature for time-on-task research substantiates the importance of physical activity to enhance student focus and responsiveness across the curriculum.
To these complementary ends, I designed a website with the aim to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity in the classroom, as well as mitigate some barriers or challenges faced in implementing daily physical activity. It is hoped that Fit Stops (fitstops.weebly.com) will act as a resource guide for teachers to implement physical activity in the classroom by offering easy to access web-based resources that will help overcome these barriers and time-on-task challenges.
My thesis has gone from being a research study looking into the effectiveness and enjoyment of the Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) to now being a project creating a handbook suggesting an integrated approach to teaching the BC Spanish curriculum. I have completed the Research Ethics Board application despite now not requiring it. I can also speak to the differences in approach to conducting a research study and a project. I have conducted an extensive literature review for my project looking into second language teaching methods such as communicative approach, grammar-translation approach, task-based language teaching and tprs. I am happy to answer questions related directly to areas of second language teaching, the BC Spanish curriculum, or more generally about the process of conducting a research study or a project and the REB application process.
