Weekly Reflection #8
Photo credits: Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
This week we were given the opportunity to take part in one of five different EdCamp sessions hosted by ourselves. Before attending this EdCamp, I had never experienced an “unconference” before. Unlike traditional professional development sessions where a presenter delivers prepared material to a passive audience, an unconference is driven entirely by the participants. This is a relatively unique format that was a cool experience to be a part of. I definitely do see the benefit of an unconference after participating in one as it allowed us participants to shape the agenda, lead the session ourselves instead of listen to someone else, and share our own unique expertise.
Concierge Club offers 5 rules of a successful Unconference:
- Anyone can attend.
- Attendees decide on the agenda.
- Participants can move between sessions freely.
- Sessions are informal and discussion-based.
- Be a safe space.
Our sessions today followed those same rules and was centred on fostering student skills in the classroom. One of the first skills that came up in discussion was public speaking. Many of us noted that classrooms can easily become teacher-centred, with instruction dominated by lectures. Integrating more opportunities for students to present their ideas helps break up that dynamic while also building confidence and communication skills. Teachers can foster these skills through informal sharing, short presentations, or group explanations and aid students in being more confutable in front of their peers.
Another key focus was social skills. Several of us discussed how the presence of cell phones has severely limited meaningful interaction between students. When devices are removed or limited, we’ve noticed that students are more likely to talk with one another, collaborate, and engage in authentic discussion. Teachers can foster the building of social skills through structured discussions, partner work, and group activities. These interpersonal skills are essential in both academic and professional environments.
The conversation also talked about writing, spelling, and grammar. These areas where many of us had noticed a major decline in student proficiency. One participant shared a story of visiting a local secondary school and observing that many Grade 12 students struggled with basic printing and handwriting. This observation resonated with many of us in the chat room. We then went into ways in which these skills can be fostered. Writing, spelling, and grammar can be fostered through regular writing activities (short reflections, in-class responses, exit tickets, etc.). Activities like these give students opportunities to develop clarity, structure, and attention to detail in their writing instead of just relying on spell check on their laptops. We also noted that in a world where digital tools and AI can generate text instantly, it may be more important than ever to continue emphasizing writing practice.
Finally, we discussed the importance of listening and attention skills. Almost all of us in the chat room have observed that student attention spans have declined. We all agreed that cell-phones were the likely culprit. Rather than simply accepting this shift, we discussed intentionally practicing listening skills in the classroom. I told my story just this week about how a teacher in a classroom we visited in a local secondary told me about how her students don’t really listen all that well. With that, she doesn’t make them listen at all, but instead just gives them assignments to work on. While we agreed that teachers shouldn’t talk all of the time, we also agreed that fully abandoning listening altogether isn’t the answer and serves to just enable the issue. We all agreed that students should practice listening skills from time to time. In terms of strategies, we discussed providing fill-in-the-blank notes, guided note-taking sheets, or structured listening tasks.
Sources:
Gomez, M. (2024 December 12). What is an unconference and how to run one. The Concierge Club. https://www.theconciergeclub.com/blog/what-is-an-unconference