PME 811: Innovation in teaching and learning

  The debate around AI use in the classroom is becoming impossible to ignore. As a high school teacher, I find myself going back and forth about when and how to introduce AI to my students. For my Grade 8 and 9 learners, I remain firm about limiting AI use. These years are foundational, and research shows that  dependence on digital tools can create gaps in core skills when students are still developing academic habits. My goal is to help them build confidence as thinkers before experimenting with tools that may do too much of the work for them. Still, I know AI isn’t going anywhere. In our senior grades, teachers are encountering AI in writing, research, and creative tasks. Yet, there is an argument that AI can strengthen learning through scaffolding and differentiated assignments. This tension, caution with younger learners and guided exploration with older ones, shows exactly where my practice is experiencing innovation.  The AI Assessment Scale in the image above has ...

  Jane Roland Martin’s “The Contradiction and the Challenge of the Educated Woman” shows how for much of history, women’s education was seen as threatening. John Stuart Mill’s statement that “women who read, much more women who write, are… a contradiction and a disturbing element" highlights how shocking it once was to imagine women as intellectuals (Martin, 1991). Even though the article was written in 1991, Martin’s argument makes it clear that the very idea of what it means to be “educated” has long been shaped by male‑centered expectations. She notes that women were expected to “ transform themselves from living contradictions… into people who transcend male as well as female stereotypes ” (Martin, 1991). With regards to diversity and inclusion in teaching, this startling history suggests innovation in teaching and learning are closely linked to inclusivity. At one point, becoming an educated woman was a radical yet innovative concept. This article has made me reflect: How inc...

  Leat and Whelan’s chapter explores how innovative teaching requires us to rethink how learning happens. They argue that education has depended on convergent learning, where teachers guide students toward predetermined answers through structures like IRF (Initiation‑Response‑Feedback). According to the authors, meaningful innovation comes from shifting toward divergent learning, where students co‑construct knowledge, ask their own questions, and explore ideas in open‑ended ways rather than simply seeking the ‘right’ answer (Leat & Whelan, 2023). Divergent learning also represents inquiry-based learning. This innovation in teaching is about creating a space for authentic learning that will create skills that extend beyond the classroom. Being curious and asking questions reflect deeper learning than having knowledge transmitted to them by the teacher. For my own practice, this made me reflect on how often I use IRF patterns without realizing it. I can see the value in intention...

  The first article I read was “As if Indigenous knowledge and communities mattered: Transformative education in First Nations communities in Canada” by Jessica Ball. This article helped me understand what transformative education can look like when it is rooted in the lives and knowledge of indigenous communities. Ball shows how meaningful learning grows when Indigenous knowledge is treated as central rather than an optional addition. Through the Generative Curriculum Model, Elders, instructors, and learners shape curriculum together, allowing community stories, traditions, and ways of knowing to guide what and how students learn (Ball, 2004). This model helps support cultural healing and strengthens identity after years of generational trauma form residential schools. Innovation is not treated as an “add on,” a new strategy or a tool. Innovation in this context is grounded in relationships, culture, and community. Innovation happens when a community becomes stronger, when people ...

Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse’s article “Integrating Aboriginal teaching and values into the classroom” highlights how indigenous students’ well‑being and academic achievement are tied to environments that validate their cultural identity. She argues that when schools honour students’ culture, language, and worldview, their confidence and engagement enhance. This vision creates the foundation for her argument that meaningful inclusion is an essential part of supporting Indigenous learners' success. This article once again helps redefine my understanding of innovation in education. Innovation not just a new tool or methodology to introduce in the classroom. Toulouse frames innovation in the context of how we see students and how we embed cultural knowledge into teaching. Her use of the Ojibwe living teachings, such as respect, love, and humility, offers a framework for imagining what a culturally responsive classroom can look like (Toulouse, 2008). This encourages me to think of innovati...

 Module 3 - Part 2: Historical Foundations in Teaching and Learning 2 The fourth article I read was “Foreign Influences on Curriculum and Curriculum Policy Making in Canada” by George Tomkins. Tomkins examines how Canadian curriculum has been shaped over time by ideas originating outside the country. He emphasizes that tracking educational influence is difficult, but Canadian curriculum has never been developed in isolation. Instead, it has been shaped by French, British, and American educational traditions. Historically, early Canadian schooling was conservative and heavily influenced by church authority and British academic traditions (Tomkins, 1981). During this period, teachers acted as the authoritative source of knowledge. This began to shift in the mid 1800’s as industrialization, immigration, and social change emerged. Over time, foreign ideas also helped drive innovation, leading to the introduction of “New Education” initiatives such as manual training, science education,...

 Module 3 - Part 2: Historical Foundations in Teaching and Learning The third article I chose was “There Are Nowadays Professors of Philosophy, but not Philosophers” by Pierre Hadot. The article highlights Thoreau’s believe “to be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically” (Hadot, 2005). The article continues to argue that people today live in a distracted way and are weighed down by unnecessary luxuries and worries, instead of focusing on what is truly essential for a good life. Interesting as the article was, innovation, creativity, teaching and learning were not explicitly referenced, however I made my own interpretations. Teaching in this context, could be about teaching students how to become philosophers in their own life, questioning, pondering, and investigating ...

 Module 3 - Part 1: Philosophical Foundations of Teaching and Learning 2 The second article I read was "A History Teacher Looks Back" by Ken Osbourne. As the title suggests, the article is about a history teacher ‘looking back’ and reflecting on the importance of teaching history. He reflects on what drew him to history and why he believes it matters. A major theme that stood out for me was how he describes the shift from teaching history as a list of facts to helping students “think historically,” encouraging students to engage with the past rather than simply memorize it. Innovation in this context, means improving current ways of teaching history. This means moving beyond the textbook to help students engage with the past. Similarly, creativity can include the means to which a teacher moves beyond the textbook by teaching inquiry to make history more meaningful. Osbourne also made an interesting point about teaching history in Winnipeg in the 60’s, and recognized that hist...

 Module 3 - Part 1: Philosophical Foundations of Teaching and Learning For this module, I read Pedagogy of Hope by Douglas Bourne. Bourne addresses 21st century challenges like the COVID‑19 pandemic, climate change, and racial justice movements. These global issues can shape how educators think about their practice and how they teach. In this article, hope is the center of innovation, creativity, teaching and learning. Innovation is framed as rethinking the purpose of education, especially in response to global uncertainty. Creativity reflects helping students imagine different futures and come up with new ways to solve problems. For teaching, Bourne stresses the importance of dialogue, reflection, and supporting students as they make sense of real‑world issues. Teachers, Bourne argues, should help learners feel capable of contributing to a more just and sustainable world (2021). Furthermore, learning becomes less about absorbing information and more about engaging with the world, ...