Module 2.1, as per course,
"What is an Adolescent?
Since this is an intermediate AQ, as a teacher you may not have encountered a classroom full of adolescent learners. This is a very exciting and impressionable age group to teach. No two adolescents are alike, physically, socially, emotionally, and they are all struggling with their identity. They will challenge any adult but have incredible insights and look at the world with unjaded eyes. They are eager to learn, and need judicious guidance from the adults around them.
Read Stepping Stones, A Resource on Youth Development, pp.15 – 29.
Write your definition of an adolescent. How has being an adolescent changed from when you were one? (Think about society, technology, communication, and social media) What aspect of adolescence do you see as being your greatest challenge as a teacher?
- Post for your colleagues to read. Comment on two other postings.
How do Family Studies and Adolescent Engagement fit together?
View the following Ted Talk Video, Every Kid Needs a Champion.
- https://mrabney.weebly.com/uploads/8/6/6/3/8663046/rita_pierson-_every_kid_needs_a_champion_%7C_talk_subtitles_and_transcript_%7C_ted.com.pdf
Read the following article on Rita Pierson.
- TED Talks Education Special Blog posting
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rita-f-pierson/student-teacher-relationships_b_3203159.html
Post your response:
- Based on what you have seen and read, outline how Family Studies courses increase student engagement in grades 7-10.
- Read and respond to 2 other postings."
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As per discussion,
"Through the reading Stepping Stones as orchestrated by The Youth Development Committee, it is identified that students are developing cognitively, emotionally, physically and socially (2022). This is a common fact of life, these developments, however perdictable they may seem, are unequally experienced by youth though. That being said, Family Studies is a course wherein students are challenged to look introspectively at their core values and abilities on a level-to a degree and determine what it is that they feel suited for, or in more progressive pedagogies, how they can tailor their opportunities to provide what they need to feel satisfied and operational in life. Pierson describes the ideal situation of how a teacher inspires and champions on behalf of students but not "for" students wherein the students are free of pressure, but are challenged to adhere to the calls to action and emobdy resilience (2013). With the ideas of a family studies course/class/content syllabus, students can feel that they may not be adaquately suited for this situation or skill, but may want to continue to work towards it and develop further study to achieve their goal. That being said, at the high school level in the grade 9 and 10 courses, the HIF2O course is a an "open" course, without going too much into details about the connotation of an "open" may look to students, the ideal understanding (that I hold) is that it is open to everyone to participate in and open for interpretation of the audience/pupil/teacher/student. This being said, I love open courses, not because they are relatively less stressful with regards to student demand to teach than University Prep. courses, but because the students are not entirely invested in the mark of the course itself, they are invested in what the teacher is presenting to them (ideally), I would like to think that in this course, there is something for everyone, regardless of a student being so misfortunate wherein they may have responsibilities that disallow them from fully engaging in the course, that if for nothing else, that student has the opportunity to come to class and reflect on an engaging piece of literature/video or personal experience that they may want to explore with the teacher. Likewise, for students who are invested in their grades regardless of what it means to have an A+ in this course or a D-, they can make connections and delve into interdisciplinary application of course material where applicable. This curriculum (in general) calls for students to be reflecting on what it means to be a part of society, not apart from society, while sttill maintaing their identity.
Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2012). Stepping stones: A resource on youth development. Toronto: Author.
Pierson, R. (n.d.). Every kid needs a champion [Video]. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion/transcript?language=en
"
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Module 2.2 as per course,
"Ontario curriculum documents are K-8 or 9-12. This AQ course straddles elementary and secondary curriculum documents. There are differences in course delivery from the elementary to the secondary panel. In grades 7 and 8 depending on the school, there is much more opportunity for integration of subject areas. This does not formally occur at the secondary level. For our purposes, we will discuss the fact that every course is made up of strands, which include the overall and specific expectations that outline what must be taught. Generally a strand is a unit. In each strand the overall expectations must be assessed as the students demonstrate their learning through authentic culminating activities. In order for the students to be able to complete the performance task, the teacher must decide what the students need to learn. These become the various teaching-learning activities that make up the unit. Each unit usually has 3-5 teaching-learning activities.
Family Studies is a multi-disciplinary subject area that encompasses four areas: Fashion and Housing; Food and Nutrition; General Family Studies; and Raising and Caring for Children. (Social Sciences and Humanities, Revised, 2013. p.103)
Download the Social Science and Humanities Revised 2013 document from www.edu.gov.on.ca
You may want to search (Google) "social sciences and humanities curriculum Ontario".
Read the front matter, pages 4-53, and page 103. Consider the similarities between the History of Family Studies (from Module 1) and the front matter of the curriculum document. List ten of these similarities that strike you as significant.
Post this list of ten items on the discussion board and comment on one of your colleagues’ postings. In what ways is your list similar to the list your colleague has posted?
Write a reflective journal on the similarities you have found in the History of Family Studies and the curriculum document readings.
Upload your reflective journal to the assignment tab for your instructor for assessment as learning."
As per discussion,
"I have read the items from Module 1 previously and after reading the Preface from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities wherein the goals of the curriculum are reflecting the attitudes and beliefs of the Stepping Stones document as they promote healthy emotion, social, physical and cognitive success/well-being for youth/student development (2013).
Specifically, ten similarities that are striking to me between Module 1's readings in general and this curriculum document are,
1. Student's identity taken into consideration of the content/curriculum, like the original plan by Hughes and Massey, the curriculum is built to adhere to the need of the students in the way that they are being introduced to the criteria needed to succeed/live in life, rather than a formula to apply accordingly.
2. Student's needs are taken into consideration with regards to the way content in the curriculum is taught, meaning the content has more open applicability based on the context of the learning environment and the learner themselves.
3. The curriculum addresses needs/developments of the society in general as well, wherein the content studied is applicable to the tools/environments that students will be living in/dealing with as they progress through the course/life/curriculum.
4. Base skills of students acquired through practical application of instruction.
5. Interest points considered in the interest of multiple stakeholder groups.
6. Modelling of parents/guardians within the society understood to be as much a part of the learning as base content introduced by the instructor/teacher.
7. This curriculum has academic application wherein it is connected to an accredited field of study at the post-secondary level.
8. Both programs are highly sought out programs by students at the University of Toronto (university in general); Both are/were taught in Toronto-hypothetically.
9. Gender and Equity studies are topical areas of study very much in a similar manner to that of how the courses were structured (in a way) by Massey and Hughes originally.
10. Lastly, both of the programs are offered at a transitional point of development in a youth's lifespan. "
Ministry of Education (Ontario) (2013) The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/ssciences9to122013.pdf
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Journal for this module:
Evolution of Culture, Society and Education: A Review of Literature
Students studying Families in Canada are coming to a point wherein, many are seemingly pondering the value of family, as well as their own future in this bleak economy post-the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with ponders of where one may fit, the need to address one’s own humanity sits at the forefront of issues. Identity and recognition of one’s uniqueness drives forward exploration into personal interests and all this can be done and studied through the Social Science and Humanities curriculum presented by the Ministry of Education in Ontario as introduced to educators through the The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities (2013). This idea of student development through youth under instruction of the teacher comes from a history that holds many questions of what it had originally presented, but among the history, this opportunity has come around for educators to provide a study of the humanities in this topical sense wherein students are at the forefront of the content in the curriculum. This coming from the initial development of Massey’s program as introduced through Canadian Home Economics association’s Home Economics/Family Studies Education in Canadian Schools: A Position Paper, wherein the students welcomed into the program are being basic home economics, has evolved into the incorporation of studies that fundamentally develop an understanding of the humanities and foster critical thought regarding the way students introspectively understand themselves as well as the world around them (1985).
Areas of Development
Given the background knowledge of the education system and lived practice, areas of development of the curriculum are related to the following, Student's Identity; Considerations of Students Needs; Acknowledgment of Society’s Development; Type of Skills-Based Training of Students; Perspectives of Stakeholders; Inclusion of Parents/Guardians; The Environment it is Studied in; The Learning Environments the Curriculum can be Applied to thereafter Study; The Applicability of its Location as Taught; Applicability to Gender(s); as well as the manner in which the youth are supported in this transitional year.
Student's Identity
Student's identity is taken into consideration of the content/curriculum, this much like the original plan by Hughes and Massey as introduced in the Lakehead University EDUC 4827’s course text, (adaptation of L. Tryssenaar) History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario (Featherstone, 2024), is built-in to adhere to the need of the students in the way that they are being introduced to the criteria needed to succeed/live in life, rather than a formula to apply accordingly. In Appendix 1.3, Featherstone places emphasis on change and the myth of continuity in society (2011). She expressed well here wherein actually best reflect a constructive criticism with regards to the lack of recognition towards all groups of people within Canada’s borders.
Considerations of Students Needs;
Laura Featherstone, a leading supervisor of the way Social Sciences are introduced to students, describes the fundamental need for the Family Studies curriculum, “These goals are equally important. They can be achieved simultaneously through learning activities that combine the acquisition of knowledge with both inquiry and design processes in a concrete, experiential context. At the same time, these learning activities must enable students to develop the communication and relationship skills that are an essential component of Family Studies.”(Featherstone, 2011) this affirming, the way students are benefiting from the curriculum on a level of need to their own context, rather than simply interest or general applicability alone.
Acknowledgment of Society’s Development
From an internal communication between a curriculum leader to education system stakeholders, it is evident that the on-going development of not just education curriculum, but societies normative narratives are ever changing. “These goals are equally important. They can be achieved simultaneously through learning activities that combine the acquisition of knowledge with both inquiry and design processes in a concrete, experiential context. At the same time, these learning activities must enable students to develop the communication and relationship skills that are an essential component of Family Studies.”(Featherstone, 2011) These changes in society reflect the coming expectations that students will be faced with and thus the content of the curriculum is expected to be built to prepare students for the context in which they will need to apply the learned skills.
Type of Skills-Based Training of Students
When teaching one will incorporate skills through the context of the available resources for student training occur, this can look like many things, but traditionally and in the same modern context, this can be through sewing, and woodworking (among other things). In the 21st century, students can find themselves
Perspectives of Stakeholders
The narrative tone of Appendix 1.1 is something one can appreciate, wherein even with limited English, students have the ability to access the curriculum success criteria. In Appendix 1.3, Featherstone places emphasis on change and the myth of continuity in society (2011). She expressed well here wherein actually best reflect a constructive criticism with regards to the lack of recognition towards all groups of people within Canada’s borders, two years here after the release of the revised curriculum document depicts accessibility of the curriculum to multicultural populations.
Inclusion of Parents/Guardians
The original curriculum calls up pupils to navigate through the material as members of a household, however not explicitly involving parents hypothetically, pupils would be engaging with parents one some form or another through the duration of their study through the original layout of the curriculum. With the expectations of parents/guardians and laws of the nation with regards to being a caregiver, the curriculum seeks to more fully integrate the parent/guardian mutual learning experience and feedback loop to better adhere to the needs of the students.
The Environment it is Studied in
When teaching one will incorporate skills to prepare/learn/develop through the context of the learning environment, in situations wherein schools can operate and facilitate wood-working classes, students are invited to participate regardless of gender because it is a curricular expectation and it is available, granted if there is another trade made available and operational by the educational body, the idea would be that the environment for learning is reflecting the needs or resources to which students can access and develop around, given that the educational body has incorporated this learning environment for the appropriate reasons/purposes.
With the expansive technology, students can now even study various degrees of family studies through virtual learning and as well to specifically reflect the local epistemology of the population.
The Learning Environments the Curriculum can be Applied to thereafter Study
After the studying that takes place through the curriculum, the students initially are expected to allow themselves to practice these skills in the working world, thereafter schools continued to adapt and develop Family Studies as a curricular strand/curriculum document on its own, the application of it has since spanned into topical academic university programs/courses of study.
The Applicability of its Location as Taught
Initially conceived in Toronto under the supervision of Massey, the family studies curriculum evolves into what it is today. Its physical location of applicable teaching long since expanded and exported to a range of communities across the country, while still being taught in its original site to a degree, it has become more accessible beyond the barriers of physical location.
Applicability to Gender(s)
According to History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario the success in organizing humans through the use of curriculum expectations was so profound that there later needed to be change made in order to best accommodate the new issues that had become so detrimental to the society by Mike Harris (Feathersone, 2024). With the detrimental division of labour based on gender came along with it, the acknowledgement for the need of being attentive to the appropriate representation of student populations based on identity, some of which are gender, this being demonstrated as a topical area of study by students should they pursue a deeper study of the social sciences even.
Transition Period of Students Taken into Consideration
The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities cites Stepping Stones (2012) document is directly referenced to demonstrate the need for appreciation towards the transition and development of youth (2013). This being one of the key reasons why family studies was initiated originally, meaning the core value and belief of this curriculum is unchanged, it is still very much to seek the betterment and enrichment of individuals on a practical level wherein the pupils can better immerse themselves into society having the ability to distinguish their needs and well-being from what society may seemingly impose on them as a consumer, particular gender, or race.
Conclusion
It goes without saying, the Family Studies curriculum is a crucial document that leads people not into society, but into the understanding of what society means to them. Without the individual’s take on society, democratically speaking, people won’t have a society, but a fictional two-dimensional existence that goes unchanged. It is through the experience and development of the individual that drives the collective forward and from there, this curriculum drives change through introspective realization-as I understand it-however profoundly it may sound.
References
Canadian Home Economics Association (1985). Home Economics/Family Studies Education in Canadian Schools: A Position Paper. Ottawa, ON: Author.
Featherstone, L., OCT. (2011). Family Studies in Elementary Schools in Ontario [Press release]. https://mycourselink.lakeheadu.ca/d2l/le/content/135706/viewContent/1785085/View
History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario Adapted from the work of Dr. Laura Tryssenaar. (n.a.) (2024). History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario [html]. Thunder Bay, ON: Lakehead University
Ministry of Education (Ontario) (2013) The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Social Sciences and Humanities. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/ssciences9to122013.pdf
Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2012). Stepping stones: A resource on youth development. Toronto: Author.
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