Artifact #3

Artifact #3 - Gallery Walk - Integration of Knowledge and Practice 

TEP supports the seamless connection between knowledge (academic disciplines), educational theory, and practice (method for achieving educational ends).  Educators must constantly engage in the recursive interplay of knowledge, educational theory and practice throughout their professional lives. 

One of the final activities I completed with my students was a Gallery walk.  I had my Grade 5 students create posters, with a partner, about various natural resources we could find in BC.  After this process I took them into the Multipurpose room for a Gallery walk activity.  My students had never completed a Gallery walk activity and I knew that they needed a lot of structure in order to succeed.  I knew that time was not their strength and being able to wander the room and look at everyone’s posters would not be an affective learning strategy for them.

      Knowing this I was able to alter the strategy so it worked for them and met their needs at learners.  Instead of having students mill about the room I lined them up in a row with one partner holding the poster and the other standing in front of them.  The partner standing in front of them then moved over one person to the right so they were now standing in front of a new poster, different from their own.  I then timed my students, telling them that they had one minute and thirty seconds to explain their poster to their classmate and their classmate had to fill out on their chart what the poster was about, which resource was used, if it was renewable or non renewable and what they learned that was new to them. They continued this, moving around the room, until they were back at their original partner; the partners then changed spots so whoever was holding the poster now had a chance to explore and the one who was exploring was now holding and explaining the poster to his or her classmates.

  Having such a sort time period to complete all of this my students did not have the opportunity to goof off or get off task and I was pleasantly surprised by their work ethic.  Another thing that I noticed throughout this task was how my students, having to explain, in detail about their resource to classmate after classmate (14 different mini presentations) they began to learn the material on their poster really well.  I also know that many of them get nervous with presentations but because this was a one-on-one situation they were able to thrive and did not have the chance to be nervous at all.  I integrated my knowledge and practice by knowing what my students needed and offering it in a structured way that I knew they could succeed in.  I also made observations and used this activity in place of a test, which was welcomed by the entire class who said they enjoyed the activity and felt that they learned a lot by sharing with classmates.  It was as if they were receiving multiple review times before I came to ask them questions.