Category: EDCI 336

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Today we had the pleasure of working with guest speaker Trevor MacKenzie. Trevor is a teacher in Victoria who is known for his passion and work with inquiry-based learning. It was kind of a coincidence that Trevor was our guest speaker this week as I just followed him on Instagram a few days ago and was telling my partner about his great work. I did not realize at the time that he was going to be out guest speaker for today so I was pleasantly surprised when I got to class.  I really enjoyed todays session and felt like there was so much valuable information.

One thing that Trevor said that really stood out to me is that engagement matters. Student engagement is key and you should constantly be scanning the classroom to check for student engagement and interest. Trevor also stated that the power of the visual is a really great way to capture this engagement. He said that provocations, which can be videos, pictures, gifs, field trips, compelling text etc., are a critical way of grabbing student interest, stirring curiosity, sparking wonder in a particular topic, and getting people thinking. He showed us some great examples of provocations such as the one that reflected dictatorship. After the introduction to provocations, we talked about thinking routines and the questions you can ask students about provocations. Trevor’s model consisted of these questions: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you know? I think this is a really great way to get everyone involved and actively engaged in the process of wondering before introducing prior knowledge. It allows all students the chance to think, question, and marvel at something before accessing prior knowledge from the class, and it gets everyone engaged and participating.

A question that was posed by a fellow classmate also really caught my attention. They asked how inquiry-based learning affects students who have learning disabilities. I thought that this was a very interesting question and I had not thought about it. Trevor had a really cool answer, he said that in inquiry-based learning it allows us to sit down with individuals and get that one-on-one time with them. We are actually better able to cater to individuals specific needs as inquiry-based learning in conducive to individualized learning and open to working through projects in different ways. An even cooler note that he mentioned was that inquiry often helps “dull” disabilities. Through this type of learning, students learn how to be independent and how to cope with their personal struggles. It allows them to figure out how to work around, or with, their disabilities so that they can succeed despite these struggles. I thought this was so cool as classrooms are full of diverse learners and it is important that we do our best to support all of them.

Trevor provided us with some great resources today and one that I really liked was the “Characteristics of the Inquiry Classroom” poster. I found this poster to be a great tool for personal reflection as well as a great source of inspiration. It helps us think critically about what some of our strengths may be and what we can improve on and work towards. It is also a great way to easily see some of the benefits that come out of inquiry-based learning. This poster really promotes a growth mindset for me personally which I think is so important as a future teacher! As future teachers, we want to model having a growth mindset and constantly work towards bettering ourselves and expanding our knowledge. This poster does exactly that for me! I also really appreciated the break out room for this section and being able to talk with fellow students about what they feel some of our strengths are and where we would like to improve. After returning from these breakout rooms, Trevor also mentioned how these characteristics are used to develop 7 specific competencies in students: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, curiosity, creativity, self-control, and empathy. These competencies really stuck out to me and I can see myself really utilizing them in the future. I envision posters of these around my classroom as well as projects that work to develop these competencies in my students. This resource really struck a chord with me and inspired me.

“Enable students to take ownership over their own learning and to reach their goals.”

– Trevor MacKenzie & Sylvia Duckworth

The last thing I want to touch on in this blog post is some resources either by Trevor himself, or that he suggested. I will briefly list them here for future reference and for any others who may want to find/use them!

Photo Credits: Header photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

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Leaping Legs

Today we are talking about leg day!! I personally have a love/hate relationship with leg day. It is hard work but it is so worth it. Leg day is extremely important for volleyball players in order to avoid injuries, improve explosiveness and speed, and to increase your vertical. All these aspects are key to being a good volleyball player. In order to optimize your leg strength training, professionals say it is important to focus on explosive leg movements/exercises as these translate specifically to the sport. After mulling through the resources I posted in my earlier blog, and talking to some trusted mentors (volleyball coaches and personal trainers), I put together a workout that will aim to improve and optimize my leg strength.

The Warm-Up:

  • 5-7 minutes of biking
  • Full body foam rolling (back, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, quads, IT band, calves)
  • Thoracic spine rotations
  • Leg swings and straight leg kicks

This warmup should take around 15 minutes and is critical for getting the muscles warmed up and ready to lift heavy weight. If a proper warm up is not executed, there is a very good chance you will injure yourself. In addition, it is proven that you get better results from your workouts when you are properly warmed up. Sources say that when you warmup, your muscles work more efficiently, it improves the load distribution in your joints, lowers viscous resistance in muscles, results in faster muscles contraction and relaxation in muscles, and more.

The Workout:

  • Squats – 2 warmup sets, 3 sets of 8 reps
  • Romain deadlifts – 3 sets of 8 reps
  • Hip thrusts – 4 sets of 8 reps
  • Lunges – 4 sets of 6 reps/leg
  • Kettlebell swings superset with jump squats – 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Side lunges (8 reps/leg) superset with lateral jumps (10 jumps/leg) – 3 sets
  • Box jumps – 3 sets of 5 reps

The Cool Down:

  • Standing quad stretch
  • Crossover hamstring stretch
  • Figure 4 stretch
  • Butterfly pose
  • Seated twist stretch
  • Pretzel stretch
  • Inner thigh side lunge stretch
  • Pigeon stretch

Stretching after a workout is extremely important in order to promote recovery, reduce muscle tightness, eliminate lactic acid, improve blood circulation, and more. In addition to all these benefits, it also improves your flexibility and range of motion which can help you be more efficient in future workouts and can help further your athleticism. In order for stretches to be effective you need to hold them for 15-20 seconds. This means that your cool down should take approximately 5 minutes.

I did this workout on Monday at it was killer. I am so sore and probably won’t be able to walk properly till next Monday; however, it is clearly working. I can’t wait to see the results in a few weeks!

Photo Credits: Header photo by Meghan Holmes

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Todays class was lead by guest speaker Jesse Miller who discussed the cautionary tale of social media. Although I was not in class today due to illness, I was still able to gather plenty of useful information after reviewing Jesse’s slides about the use of social media. After viewing and reflecting on the slides, I think it is very important to realize boundaries when it comes to social media. First, there is the importance of realizing that the things we post on social media are often visible to the public. It is crucial that we make sure the things we are sharing online are appropriate and professional. It is a good idea to keep your personal and professional social media platforms separate and make sure your privacy settings are set to adequate levels. Another boundary worth considering is adding students on social media. This is not something to consider but a boundary that should be followed for the safety and integrity of you and your students.

Although it is important to be cautious when using social media, social media does have many benefits. For example, some teachers use their platforms to share activities, ideas, educational resources, and more. In addition, social media can be a way to easily access information and knowledge. When used right, social media, and media in general, have its place in the classroom and as a tool for individuals to use responsibility.

Lastly is the idea of our personal social media footprint. For the most part what I expected to see was what I saw however there was one or two things that surprised me that I plan on looking into. One of these being a LinkedIn account of me that I never created. Overall, I think social media is a tool that should be used carefully and that means ensuring your privacy setting are set and that you are promoting yourself appropriately.

Photo credits: Header photo by Merakist on Unsplash

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This week, instead of talking about workouts I wanted to switch it up and talk about nutrition. I had a meeting with a specialist this week where we talked about what my specific nutrition needs are in order to be able to gain lean muscle mass, build strength, and play optimally and efficiently. This includes what food I eat, how much I eat, and how much water I drink each day.

At the beginning of our session, Krystal had me do a bioscan on the Evolt 360 machine. This machine uses electrical currents to measure the difference between muscle mass, fat mass, water, and minerals in your body. It also takes into account height, weight, age, and other factors as well. The science and research behind the Evolt 360 machine is extensive and well respected. I have linked the website here in case you are interested at looking into it more. After a quick scan, you are provided with over 40 measurement that include, but are not limited to, lean body mass, body fat mass, visceral fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, total body water, and BMR which stands for basil metabolic rate. BMR is one of the most important factors on this list. It tells us the number of calories you body needs to function when you are not doing any activity at all. With this number you can then go on to calculate how many calories you need with your particular activity level in mind.

Me with my holistic nutritionist, Krystal

Once I had my scan done, Krystal calculated my numbers to figure out how many calories I need to eat in a day and what my macros are. Macros refer to specific nutrients that your body requires to function and perform – proteins, carbs, and fats. After calculating my number we determined that I need to eat 2,700 calories. Of these calories 40% need to be proteins, and 30% for both carbs and fats. After finding these numbers, we talked in depth about each of the macronutrients and what I could eat to accomplish these goals. I could go into very specific details about this but instead I am just going to list a few of the suggested foods. These food include, eggs (specifically egg whites), meat such as chicken, beef, and fish, oats and/or oatmeal, greek yogurt, nuts, vegetables and fruits, and protein powder.

This session was critical to my inquiry as nutrition plays major role in muscle recovery, injury prevention, reduced tiredness, increased focus and alertness, building muscle, and ultimately, reaching peak performance. I look forward to taking this knowledge and implementing it into my everyday life!

Photo Credits: Header photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

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Week 3 Reflection

In this weeks class we talked about multimedia and how its use can aid in the learning process. Media, if used correctly and efficiently, can spark individuals interest in a topic and further their understanding and comprehension on topics. Some of the tools that were discussed for creating media were Prisma, Mirror Lab, 8Bit Photo, Photoshop, and PowerPoint. We talked about things how to crop images, resize them, add in shapes and other images to existing photos, create various charts etc.

After discussing some of these platforms we got to go into breakout rooms and play around with them. We were put in breakout rooms where we got to experiment with PowerPoint. I attempted creating a cover photo where I edited in some text and experiments with the shape of it, I created a small graphic chart using SmartArt, and I attempted to edit Bernie Sander into a game of wizards chess with Ron Weasley. Here are the outcomes!

Overall, this class was highly entertaining, extremely fun, and very useful. It was nice to have the chance to clarify some questions I’ve had for years about how to do accomplish certain aspects of editing such as how to save images you’ve created off of PowerPoint. I think this will be really useful in my other classes as well as in my future work as an educator!

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JUMPING INTO THE

WEIGHT ROOM

To kick off my inquiry project I am jumping right into the weight room and looking at volleyball specific exercises! Over the next couple of posts I will be laying out a chest/tricep workout, back/bicep workout, shoulder workout, and leg workout that caters to volleyball and the specific skills and movements patterns that take place in this sport. In order to do this efficiently, I have spent time looking into resources and talking with some professionals about what exercises are effective and why.

Some of the resources I used when researching volleyball strength training were:

  • The Art of Coaching Volleyball – this is a very well-known and respected community of high level volleyball coaches and players who post tips for everything from strength training to drills to mental preparation to strategy and more. Some the people who are active in this community include Karch Kirlay (Mens USA National Team coach), Russ Rose (the coach of Penn State), John Dunning (coach of Stanford and 5 time national champion), and more.
  • Volleyball Training 101 – Contains many articles with overall health and performance tips but also specific volleyball related articles written by kinesiology graduates that special in strength and performance training.
  • Reid’s Workouts – Reid Hall is a former national player and now dedicates his time to training elite university level teams and individual athletes. He has an honours degree in kinesiology and health sciences from York University and is a 4 time winner of the Sports Excellence Award. He is well respected and very knowledgable in volleyball and strength training.

After diving into some of these resources I put together a workout plan with my coach that I then performed at the gym. My workout plan for “chest/tricep day” consisted of:

  • Dumbbell chest press – 4 sets of 8 reps
  • Dumbbell pullovers – 4 sets of 8 reps
  • Incline dumbbell chest press – 4 sets of 8 reps
  • Chest flys – 4 sets of 8 reps
  • Pushups – 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Dips – 3 sets of 8 reps
  • Tricep rope extensions – 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Skull crushers – 3 sets of 12 reps

Training chest is vital for volleyball players. There is many benefits to training chest such as strengthened back muscles, stability and injury prevention, and the ability to perform swinging movements harder and faster. Overall this workout went really well for me and I am excited to see the benefits that come from it!

Photo Credits: Header photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash

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Week 2 Reflection

When thinking back on this weeks class and tasks there are a couple of things I think are worth reflecting on. The first thing I want to reflect on was the discussion and resources we were provided with on copyright. Personally, I have always known what copyright is and have been conscious of it but I have never really had specific resources and tools for working around this. For example, something I have always struggled with is finding photos that I can use. I really valued the research we did as a class as well as the plethora of resources we were provided. Some of the resources that stand out to me that I will definitely make use of in the future include Unsplash, Smithsonian Learning Lab, and Pexels. I think after this week I have a better idea of what copyright is, the rules surrounding it, and the different resources that are made available for people.

The second thing I want to reflect on from this week is documentary “Most Likely to Succeed” which was directed by Greg Whiteley. I was actually very moved by this film. The film stirred something inside me that got me thinking for days after I watched it. I noticed myself mentioning it to those around me which is a clear sign of a great learning experience! There were many things that stood out to me in the film but I am going to list a few of the main points that I took away from it:

  • I love the idea of an exhibition night. I think an exhibition night would really motivate students. Having to show your work to your parents, peers, and colleagues is a great way to cultivate motivation and pride in your work.
  • I liked the idea that was brought forth about how creating the right environment for students will result in the ability for them to grow and prosper on their own. “It’s like a garden. You don’t paint the petals and attach the leaves to a flower, you create the right environment and conditions for it to grow.”
  • Sometimes letting kids fail will help them learn and grow – making mistakes is not a bad thing!
  • Soft skills! Ex: Teamwork, independence, communication, creativity, planning, leadership, grit/perseverance 

To end this blog entry, I want to leave everyone with some questions that I have been thinking about:

  • What kind of jobs do you think this learning is catered to/will create? It doesn’t seem like we currently have any jobs that this learning theory is catered for.
  • Do you guys agree with the statement that “creating something that wasn’t there before” is one of the greatest feelings of satisfaction and that its transformative?
  • How do we learn how to teach like this? These are very elaborate projects that connect so many aspects of learning and cross-curricular competencies.

Photo Credits: First photo from Unsplash, Second photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

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Free Inquiry: Initial Spark and Questions

When choosing a topic for my inquiry project, it wasn’t a difficult choice. I was instantly drawn towards a health and fitness inspired blog as it is something that has always sparked my interest and can always be improved upon. When beginning this project I looked at the diagram below to help me figure out what to consider and how to go about the project. In this first post I will be exploring the “I Wonder” block by going over my initial thoughts and questions.

For this inquiry I am hoping to explore health and fitness in the sense of being an athlete. I want to dive into the question of how can focussing on my health and fitness make me the best volleyball player possible. With this topic I will be considering things like:

  • What exercises are best for volleyball players?
  • How often should you work out?
  • What role does cardio and jump training play in making me better?
  • How important is recovery? What does recovery consist of?
  • How does eating affect my performance? What foods should I be eating? How much should I be eating?
  • How does watching game play help improve your skills?
  • What affect does sleep have on performance?
  • What volleyball specific drills will help me become the best player I can be?

Now that my questions are laid out, it is important that I consider how I will go about the rest of the project. With these questions in mind, I plan on exploring the investigate, record, discover, think, and try blocks of the diagram above. For the investigate and record blocks, I will do research on my different questions and begin formulating ideas. For the discover block, I will observe and examine different volleyball players, game play, ways of training etc. For the I think and I try blocks, I will relate my findings to myself and put them into practice (as much as possible). Finally, the reflect block will be my blog posts where I post my own journey and experiences and reflect on the outcomes. These posts will include pictures/videos of me taking on exercises, looking into nutrition, dealing with recovery techniques and more. It will also include some of the research I have gathered and links to sources that have guided my journey. The blog posts will also be a place for me to consider how I can change and improve things and ask any further questions that may come up. Overall, with this blog my ultimate hope is to figure out something new about myself and further my health, fitness, and volleyball journey!

Photo Credits: Cover photo by Victor Freitas & Diagram photo by Brynn Courtney

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Week 1 Reflection

The first EDCI 336 class went surprisingly well. I am really looking forward to the inquiry project as we get to explore an individualized topic that interests us. I have decided to look at health and fitness for my project and am super excited to dive in and get started with my journey. In terms of learning, this week has required me to become acquainted with quite a few new learning platforms including WordPress, Mattermost, and our edtechuvic website. There is a learning curve but overall all these platforms are relatively easily to navigate. Mattermost and our class website were a breeze; however, WordPress required a bit more time. Dr. Paskevicius provided us with some good information to help us begin navigating these platforms; however, I also googled some additional sources that could be used to assist me (and others) in getting acquainted with these platforms. One specific thing I struggled with was figuring out how to have multiple blogs going on my website. I was able to find a really short and easy to follow video that helps explain how to set this up. I have attached this link, as well as a few other links, below in order to have them for future reference and to provide to others who may find them useful!

VIDEO RESOURCES:

LINKS:

How to Customize WordPress (101)