Finding a voice

UFV Program Values - Critical Mindedness. TEP believes that educators must understand the complexity, subtlety, and difficulty of contemporary educational questions and issues. In an attempt to solve problems, educators must show a high degree of flexibility in comparing various perspectives and alternative solutions.

During my practicum I continued teaching a unit on Inuit peoples. While I was teaching I noticed that my students were quite fixated on the right or wrong answer. This troubled me as I know that in life there are rarely right and wrong, or black and white answers. This focus on right and wrong also worried me as my students were rarely sharing their opinion due to it. My focus then was on how I could change my class and make my activities flexible when comparing various perspectives and alternative solutions. I had found some activities from the Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum and used them in class. These worksheets provided my students with a challenge where they had to choose which animal was most important to the Inuit people. I had explained to them the concept of a critical challenge but they were still struggling to write down what they thought and support their beliefs. I had found that when we discussed the critical challenge my students were all engaged but when it came time to write it down there was a disconnect. So I thought to myself let's try a debate. I wasn't sure if they would respond well to the freedom of expression or if my students would be active participants but there was only one way to find out. So I set up the classroom and wrote up all the rules for a respectful debate and the question they needed to answer. The result was outstanding, my students were all engaged and they were all relying on the knowledge that they had learnt in class to support their beliefs. They were finally speaking and expressing their opinions. They were given the chance to find their own voice and they took it. They were respectful to their class mates and their opinions and I was glowing with pride. This activity then became a favorite for my class and something they requested to do often and how could I say no?

Seen above it the set up for a debate on explorers and technology