Recent Changes

Reflecting on JUSTICE
Grade 10 students at Western International School of Shanghai studied a unit on "Peace and Conflict" as a part of their final year in MYP Humanities.
Part of their inquiry into the question "How can we make and keep peace" looked to the history of South Africa with a specific focus on the truth and reconciliation commission convened to transition the country out of its apartheid era.
As a final reflective exercise, students visited
http://www.bepartofthemiracle.com/ and recorded their thoughts:
What amazed me about this is that there are so many talented young people there are. Such as the voting machine and the light to save the lions and live stock. If SA young people are given opportunities, they can go very far and help the future of South Africa.
The lesson I learned here is that we are very fortunate to live in a peaceful (no wars) country, where everyday we can go to school safely unlike some of the unprivileged kids in SA. Some had to walk barefooted to school no matter the weather. we need to remember to appreciate and be grateful of what we have. Nicholas
What has amazed me about this miracle that south Africa (SA) is experiencing. Is how much one country can change, with the help of a few (Nelson Mandela). As well how forgiving the “low class citizens” can forgive the whites, even dough the whites have been harassing them; after having been discriminated, beaten up and other human cruelties. The coloured, the blacks (in a nice way) and other races, have given immunity to the whites that hosted human terrors, just for them to tell them the truth of their “devil personality”. Oriol
The lesson I've learned here is that there has been a lot of injustice happening in south Africa and that in order to grow out of this injustice and into a "whole" nation a lot of forgiveness and understanding has to be brought up by the people who have been deeply hurt and treated unfairly during the apartheid regime. It is amazing how through forgiveness time can slowly heal the wounds which have been so deeply cut into the souls of the nations citizens. Its amazing how much will the south Africans have to make a change and improve there life. They do so many amazing things to bring the balance back into their life which shows their strength and will to over come the past. Chiara
The change that South Africa is going through is the perfect example of restorative justice in a community that was separated by apartheid. I found it amazing that even though they had been discriminated for so long and held so much hate and resentment towards the white people, they were still able to forgive them for the sake of the future generations and the peace of their country. Ignacio
South Africa is undergoing a change from a society divided by racial restorative justice is a perfect example of. I find it amazing that they long so much discrimination and hatred and anger towards whites was held, even with the benefit of future generations, they still own them for the peace of the country was able to find forgiveness. Tae Jun
I find it incredible that South Africa was able to manage to agree with and use restorative justice. The apartheid was very strong and segregation was such a huge factor of life, so it is amazing that the way of peaceful forgiveness was chosen over a bitter grudge. Andrew
It is amazing how South Africa developed in a few decades. Their progress is unlike any ever recorded in human history; in fact history demonstrates that the events tend to worsen. What is uniquely spectacular is that nobody (of any ethinicity and country) could picture in their minds a future where the crimes are brought to light and forgiven and everyone starts a new chapter of their history. Jose

Welcome to the Junior Teaching E-Portfolio
This wikispace offers some insight into my experiences with the Additional Basic Qualification course in teaching in Ontario at the junior level.
Use the page links on the right to guide your visit - I suggest you begin with the introduction and work your way through until the final reflection...
Best regards,
Andrew

Introductions
Would be very much interested in starting a running list of favourite online resources on teaching and learning...
Feel welcome to contribute!

Welcome to your Classroom
Thank you for taking the time to visit this space on Teaching Junior Students...
I hope you are both informed and inspired by the material here - feel free to share your feedback on any of the topics!

With an Electronic Portfolio organized along the lines of the OCT's 5 Standards of Practice, it only seems fitting to use the same framework to structure my final reflection on this ABQ course...
Commitment to Students and Student Learning
their students. Here's the Social Studies / Drama unit if you're interested: {Perspectives on Reserve System Unit Plan.doc}
Professional Knowledge
how refreshing it has been to revisit the leading theorists in education and to reflect on the how my own initial training and the assumptions challenged then have changed over time, and still so often resulting from what I think I know to be based on relevant research and what is actually based on accepted practice.
one of the most interesting elements of this ABQ course has been the readings and assignments addressing the physical, social, and cognitive growth of the junior learner. I have two children approaches this stage of their lives, and I certainly feel better equipped to understand their needs and to nurture their growth. Besides being a father, I am also presently a curriculum coordinator for students in Grades 6-10, so having a better understanding the students we are receiving from the primary school has been a powerful theme for me throughout this course.
Professional Practice
I am quite happy with my use of technology in my classroom, and so this dimension of the course didn't necessitate much stretching of my imagination, but when it came to some of the fundamentals of the junior classroom, from creating a plan for the space to the multitude of ways to create a junior learning environment using artifacts, word walls, anchor charts, and so on - to say the least I was a captive audience. So many of the strategies from this ABQ are now appearing on my walls today - even though I teach grades 10 and 11!
Leadership in Learning Communities
Leadership as members in Professional Learning Communities has been an understated theme of this ABQ, and it implies itself in the coverage of the EQAO testing and the creation of Student and Class Profiles, both of which I found to be informative and engaging exercises within the modules. I suppose the final sessions on reporting student evaluation could find itself in this category as well, particularly when it comes to reporting the learning strengths and weaknesses of the student, for this would be a collaborative effort between the teachers involved in the teaching of each student. I feel as a result of this course much more well-suited to carrying out my present duties as curriculum coordinator, for this involves classroom observations and teacher appraisals - and my feedback and reporting can now be better grounded in the theories and developmental stages of our younger students.
The discussion forum of this ABQ offers another perspective on the power of the Learning Community. It has been a pleasure to have shared in the many number of superb conversations taking place in the online environment supported by this course.
Ongoing Professional Learning
Allow me to conclude my reflection on the course with some thoughts on future professional learning:
this course has exposed me to a number of online education platforms that I would wish to visit more often for inspiration and resources. From graphic organizers to assessment strategies, it appears that the sky is the limit - and I hope to become more involved in the advantages offered via these sites.
this ABQ, my first online course in Ontario, has been a very rewarding experience and I will consider, without reservation, selecting another online adventure. I see the Math AQs are being offered at a discount...
though I am not presently teaching in Ontario, I plan on consulting the Ministry documents more often as a resource - something I would have been less likely to consider before taking this course.

ReflectionWith an Electronic Portfolio organized along the lines of the OCT's 5 Standards of Practice, it only seems fitting to use the same framework to structure my final reflection on this ABQ course...
Commitment to Students and Student Learning
I can't say enough how much I've been informed by the session dealing with the cultural education of our students. The 'cultural responsiveness' of my classroom is an area that I would like to even develop further. In the interdisciplinary unit I designed for this ABQ, I chose to work with the Social Studies curriculum and how in a unit the development of a Canadian identity by investigating student cultures and the cultures of the past, including First Nations peoples, can be a conduit by which we understand ourselves and our community in a deeper fashion. Furthermore I was very impressed with the extent to which First Nations were represented in the curriculum (and in this ABQ) - and this led me to consider how international schools address the cultural needs of their students.
Professional Knowledge
how refreshing it has been to revisit the leading theorists in education and to reflect on the how my own initial training and the assumptions challenged then have changed over time, and still so often resulting from what I think I know to be based on relevant research and what is actually based on accepted practice.
one of the most interesting elements of this ABQ course has been the readings and assignments addressing the physical, social, and cognitive growth of the junior learner. I have two children approaches this stage of their lives, and I certainly feel better equipped to understand their needs and to nurture their growth. Besides being a father, I am also presently a curriculum coordinator for students in Grades 6-10, so having a better understanding the students we are receiving from the primary school has been a powerful theme for me throughout this course.
Professional Practice
Leadership in Learning Communities
Ongoing Professional Learning