Sunday, November 08, 2020

The Photoshoot

A while back, I attended a reunion for Governor General history teaching award winners in Ottawa.  They asked if anyone wanted to be interviewed about anything new they were working on.  I volunteered and talked about this new project I am part of called Landscapes of Injustice.  The project is a massive 7 year multidisciplinary research project through UVic that is investigating the dispossession of Japanese Canadians during the 1940s, and they wanted some teaching resources for elementary and secondary schools.  I am in charge of the elementary part.  I chatted with the journalist who was doing the interviews, and we talked for about 20 minutes. 

I didn't think much about what was going to happen to the interview; I just thought it would go on Canada's History website somewhere.  The history society who sponsored the conference/reunion contacted me and told me that they were interested in running some of the interviews in their magazine.  They asked me to send them some recent photos.  I didn't have any so I got my mom to take a few, but they must not have been any good because the society rejected them.  Alternatively, they arranged for a professional photographer to take some shots of me on Powell Street because the work I am doing focuses on this area.

photo by Rebecca Blissett

I met the photographer outside the washrooms in Oppenheimer Park deep in the heart of the DTES.  Of course that day there was a massive soup line, so it was kind of hard to maintain a low profile.  The photographer was Rebecca Blissett.  I checked her out online before we met and she did some great portrait and photojournalism work, but I was really impressed with her rock concert work.  (She has this great shot of Bono splashing around a water bottle during a show).  We chatted for about ten minutes about what kind of work I was doing, and she picked up the context quickly.  We decided to take some pictures outside of some of the buildings that the students were working with in the dispossession activity.  

photo by Rebecca Blissett

We worked for about 40 minutes in the 300 block of Powell Street.  It was really cool that day so I slipped on a jean jacket I had in my trunk.  I was going to take it off, but Rebecca like the way it photographed.  She'd get me to do different poses outside some of the key buildings, and she'd stand out in the street to get the best angle.  Or she'd pull out a collapsible flash tree and umbrella, and we'd have to wait for people or traffic to go by.  It was interesting to watch her work.  When she was finished, we shook hands, and she hopped on her little gas scooter and scooted away.  Cool.

A bit later, she sent me some sample shots and told me to only use the shots for personal (not professional nor promotional) uses, but I haven't done much with them.  I posted one on Facebook, and Canada's History published them with a brief article in a pull out supplement to the magazine, (excerpted here with Canada's History's permission). 

We teachers don't get treated like rock stars very often, so it was a fun experience.


Sunday, November 01, 2020

"Counter" Intuitive: Design and Coffee Makers


Hey Teacher Friends, 

I don't know about you, but one thing that is helping me with getting through the teaching in this unusual COVID context is coffee. If you know me, you probably know that I have to be really careful about how much caffeine I ingest. Too much or too late, and I don't sleep. (I still keep chocolate and tea to a minimum, and I haven't had a cola in years.) 

The Quest for Caffeine 
For a little bit, I was having a small shot of espresso from my sad little Braun espesso machine. It didn't taste great, but it got me through the day. I did it for fuel not taste, and it did the trick. I kind of knew I was missing out on true espresso, and I wasn't keen on the aluminum leeching through the Braun basket or the boiler.

Fast forward to the time we stayed at a nice hotel downtown for my daughter's birthday. The rooms came equipped not with the weird, ubiquitous pillow packs of hotel coffee, but with Nespresso. Fast, easy, delicious.  Later, when the Nespresso machines went on sale, I jumped.  With the Aeroccino milk frother, I was having a delicious latte every morning.  BUT, it was kind of expensive for each of the capsules, and those little capsules were made of aluminum, that same stuff I was trying to avoid with the Braun.  The deciding event for when I started looking for alternatives to the Nespresso was when I found some important papers I misplaced four months earlier; those important papers were in the paper feed of my seldom-used printer.

After a little research, I went with a trusty old system.  My sister gave me a gift card and I bought a stylish looking Moka Pot-style stainless steel stove-top brewer.  With fresh beans from a local roaster, I was able to make a delicious coffee shot in the morning cheaply and quickly.  Sooo good, so stylish, no memory-robbing aluminum leeching.  This had the makings of the perfect coffee maker relationship.  We are talking love for life.

And yet...
I recently picked up an Aeropress, and it makes the yummiest, smoothest cup of coffee I've ever had.  You're probably asking why I jumped ship from my Moka Pot if I loved it so much and it checked the boxes of: taste, ease, time, and cost?  The answer lies with the real love of my life, my wife.  During the Nespresso phase, I started making my wife coffee in the morning.  She likes a HOT Americano while I like a latte, so by the time I got both of our coffees made using two different systems, I was starting to be late for work.  (Did I mention the caffeine helps my morning brain function?)  The solution: 2 Aeropresses!  The whole process can be done in a matter of minutes once the kettle boils (essential for the HOT Americano).  So the Aeropress saved my job and my morning brain, and was a tasty bonus to my marriage.

Looks Count (in coffee makers)
Okay, Greg, you've sort of connected this to education (caffeine as jet fuel), but what does this have to do with design?  As much as I love my Aeropress, once I wash it, I do put it away in the cupboard.  (In fact, today I bought a basket to store all the materials away quickly).  Why?  Because it is so ugly.  I still have the Nespresso sitting on my counter, even though I don't use it.  The Nespresso has a high-design James Bond quality to it.  It is no coincidence that George Clooney is the spokesperson for Nespresso: cool, smooth, modern, expensive-looking.  Similarly, I proudly displayed my Moka Pot on the counter between uses.  My more modern version Moka Pot, like the Nespresso, was sleek, shiny, and high design.  Think good looking Italian barista.  

The Aeropress is really the ugly cousin.  It does the job better, faster, and cheaper than any of my previous coffee makers, but it looks like it was designed by a scientist.  Which in fact, it was.  The same aeronautics engineer who designed the Aerobie flying disc also designed the Aeropress.  The guy is a  genius but not an artist.  The Aeropress looks like it belongs in a science lab.  

If the Nespresso is the George Clooney of coffee makers, the Aeropress is the Breaking Bad of coffee makers.  Think what kind of coffee maker Walter White would endorse.

The Clooney (Nespresso)

 The Paolo (Moka Pot)

Walter (Aeropress)


   
In my classroom, I will probably have something in the open if I am going to use it often (function over form), but there is a lot to be said for having something in the open or on display that is going to do the job but not be a distracting eye-sore.  I still don't think the job of classroom design is just to "make things pretty," but function and design are important factors of how the odd collection of materials in learning environments work to help students learn best.  Otherwise, really effective and accessible storage is going to be crucial to managing the multitude of things we use in classrooms.  

Tuesday, September 01, 2020

"Is Classroom Design (Still) a Thing?" Classrooms in a COVID context.

It's hard to believe, but I started my Classroom Design journey 10 years ago.  From the beginning of my teaching career, from my first portable 30 years ago, I always thought about the way classrooms affect learning.  It wasn't until I started this blog though that I actually began to act on this idea.  I started blogging here for a few reasons:

    1. I wanted to document my journey and my thinking.

    2. Writing is a creative outlet for me, but it is also a way for me to process and reflect.

    3. I wanted to share and reach out to anyone else who was thinking about Classroom Design for feedback, support, and for more ideas.  

At the time, not a lot of people were thinking about how the way classrooms are set up affects learning.  I remember working on this blog at the beginning, and my father in-law asked me, "Is Classroom Design a thing?"  It was a foreign idea for him, thinking back to the classrooms he was in as a boy.  

I haven't blogged much lately, other things taking up my time, but I have been thinking a lot about classroom design lately, and not by choice.   In case you are from another planet or you are reading this many years in the future, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, schools were closed in the spring.  In my jurisdiction (Vancouver-area, British Columbia, Canada), we shut down in March and returned to school with limited amounts of students in class in June.  We were one of the few provinces to return in June.


What did June look like in my classroom?

  • On Monday and Tuesday, I had 7 students in class.  On Thursday and Friday, I had 4 students.  (The rest of my 12 students I taught through home-based assignments and video conferences on Wednesdays).  
  • For the in-class students, every morning, I met them outside (I wore gloves and a face shield) and took them back to the classroom to wash their hands.  They waited in line around the perimeter of my classroom which was marked with a vinyl tape line.  
  • Every day, we reviewed the safety and hygiene procedures.
  • I rolled up the carpet, pushed the risers to the back, and brought in some desks.  Each student was able to have their own desk and chair.  It was their spot and they were 2 m away from each other.
  • Each student had their own bin of materials, and their own individual work.
2 m spaced desks



What did I think of teaching like this in June?  
The in-class teaching was scary at first.  It felt really weird and we were all afraid of infecting each other after being isolated for three months.  The students did an excellent job of following the safety protocols and keeping their distance.  This was all doable because there were less than 10 students.  

In class learning went very well, however, trying to maintain online learning and staying connected to the 12 home students while seeing them once per week, was very, very challenging.   When we went for summer break, I was burned out.  I felt like pond scum.  I felt so bad that I thought I had contracted COVID (I tested negative).   It took me until late July to start feeling okay again.  


What does this have to do with Classroom Design, Greg? or "Is Classroom Design Still a Thing?"

Classroom design is impacted by COVID in these different learning conditions:

1. At home learning and Classroom Design
2. Return to class in June and Classroom Design
3. Starting new in September and Classroom Design


1. At Home Learning and Classroom Design

The feedback I received from parents was that though at home learning was not the same was classroom learning, they thought the transition (to home learning) went better than they thought it would.  They cited as a reason that we had built a good working and supportive community within the class.  At school, this class really liked being with each other and the design of the class (with the risers for whole class, the tables for collaboration, the tall stools looking out at the beautiful view for inspiration, the rug spaces for play or for stretching out on the ground, etc.) made it possible for different kinds of choices, learning, and interactions.  

(A few photos of the classroom before COVID, below).





Similarly or possibly conversely, the students' home environment had a massive effect on their learning.  Because our on-line learning began after a three week gap (two weeks of Spring Break plus time for us to cobble together a remote learning system), understandably, many students had a tough time getting themselves back in "school" mode while at home.  Some were in their pajamas, eating snacks or were passive or unresponsive during on-line lessons because watching me do a lesson on a screen did not seem that different from watching a video which is what they were used to doing from the comfort of their homes.  After adjustments along the way (worthy of a separate blog post), the learning situation improved. But it was noticeable that whether at home or in school, the environment played a large roll in students frame of mind for learning.   


2. Return to class in June and Classroom Design

When I heard we were going to return to in-class learning in June, I went in to school as soon as I could and started re-designing the space.   I already described what I did above.  Usually, when I am arranging my class, I focus on things like community, curiosity, comfort and flow.  But in redesigning my space for June, I focused on one main question, "How can I keep everyone as safe as possible?"  This utilitarian thinking drove everything: access to the sink, 2 m spacing, individual work spaces and supplies, getting rid of the carpet, reducing multi-touch areas, etc.  

3. Starting new in September and Classroom Design

Starting September with a new batch of 22 kids and some different conditions (full time attendance of the entire class with 2 m spacing an impossibility) will be a (design) challenge.  
  • Seating and desks
    • I have 10 desks left from June and 9 student chairs.
    • I re-assembled 3 tables, but they might only allow for 6 students with minimal spacing. 
    • I will probably dismantle the risers because they are great for community, but not so good for avoiding contact and shared spaces. 
  • Access to the sink 
    • In June, we washed our hands about 10 times a day.  We had a clear line while we were waiting in line that allowed safe spacing.  In September, we will probably have to go in groups to line up for hand washing. 
  • Again, safety will be important, but in this case equally important will be the affective domain. 
    • Last time, one of the biggest "benefits" to going to home learning in partway through the year was we already had a pre-established community and some norms and routines in place.   In September, I will probably have a new batch of students so I will have to find ways of bringing everyone together as a community. 
    • Beyond this, I want to focus on the emotional well-being of the students, and to decrease the fear and anxiety of coming to school in these unusual conditions, so I will work on using the classroom environment to create a sense of calm and comfort while still maintaining safety.  I'll try things such as:
      • warm, medium intensity lighting, not too bright, not too dull.
      • a neutral, natural colour palette as much as possible in the students' main frame of sight.
      • reducing the reverberation from the floor as much as possible.  Taking the carpet out in June was okay with 7 students, chairs, and desks, but multiplying that number by 3 is going to create a lot more noise and amplified echo from the hard slick floor.  I will continue to use my cobbled together mini-PA so every student can hear me without me having to shout.
      • having lots of fresh air circulating through the classroom and including live plants.   

 

I went into school today (since I began writing this).  Here is what my classroom looks like so far:


10 desks at the front, spaced about 1.5 m. 

3 tables in the back.

I made a prototype transparent vinyl barrier between students at the tables.
The green tape shows where the barrier would go for 3 students (preferable).

For 4 students.



So, yes, Classroom Design is still a thing, especially in the time of COVID.




Monday, March 23, 2020

The Purge

Prologue
This is a blog post that I wrote last year, 2019, and then for some reason forgot to post it.


The Challenge


My friend Lori challenged me during the Christmas break with this idea she got from some minimalist organization.  The idea was to get rid of one thing on the first day of January, two things on the second, three things on the third, and so on until on the 30th day you are getting rid of 30 things.  Usually I hate stuff like this.  I deleted the stupid ice bucket challenge that people sent me or the photo challenge or the Nigerian financial aid challenge, etc.  I see them as a waste of time that don't actually accomplish that much.


But the purge started to grow on me.  I thought my existence could use a great de-cluttering.  As I started to do the math though, I realized that in the last four days of the challenge, I would be trying to get rid of over 100 things!  Lori had said I could chuck them, gift them or donate them.  The idea was to get them out of your life or household.  I KNEW I wasn't going to have enough time to hunt down 100 things at the end of the month, so I kind of did the challenge backwards. I did the math and figured that over 30 days I would be deleting 465 things in total.  I figured that as long as I got rid of 465 things over the course of the month, that would achieve the same aim and be way less stressful.

The Purge

Here are some of the over 465 things I ejected:
-shampoo
-owners manuals of things I still have and no longer have
-toiletries
-toys and knicknacks (mine, not Beth's.  Yeah, I know).
-shirts and pants
-a couple of old jackets and sweaters
-pieces of wood I was saving for ?
-7 old toothbrushes
-36 pairs of underwear or socks
-clothes pins.  
-over 50 CDs and CD cases
-books and magazines
-glasses
-stereo equipment

I was able to get rid of 465 things in weeks.  At first, it was kind of hard, but after a while, I got on a roll and it was really liberating.  Do I really need that bottle of 2 in 1 shampoo that has been sitting in the shower for two years?  Clothes pins?  Clothes pins?!   When is the last time I put washing on the line?  I can actually explain the 7 toothbrushes.  I was saving them for my (ex)brother in-law who used them to clean his bike chain, but I guess I didn't need to save them anymore because sister did some purging of her own.  

I put some stuff in the garbage.  I gave some things away at school.  I put a lot in donation bins.  I don't miss any of it, and my life seems less cluttered, but the biggest thing is my attitude toward new stuff: Do I really need this new thing?  I plan to repeat the exercise every year, so when this thing in my hand at the store, is this just something I am going to end up dumping on some January?  I plan to purge more, and more often.  I also plan to apply this to my classroom.  If I don't see myself using this thing any time soon, out it goes?  Hmmm, the minimalist classroom?

Epilogue

At the end of January, I checked with Lori to see how she did with the challenge.  She kind of shrugged and said, "That?  I gave up on that weeks ago.  I realized that by the end, I was going to spend hours trying to find over a hundred things in the last week......"

Note from 2020

Did I do the Purge again?  Yes, but not in January as I said.  I did it last week while I was self-isolating.  I don't know if I hit 465, but I was able to unload this weird pink chair that had been looking at me funny for months.  -GM