Alexa's Blog

Photography as a teaching tool(pedagogy)

• Acts as a window into the student’s lives and bonds school and home life
• An accessible way to explore the world and lessons with students
• Easy way to build digital literacy with students
  • Photography skills
  • Camera knowledge
  • Photo editing and uploading
• An alternative way to display learning and the learning process 
• Builds worldview through an exploration of local and international photographs

Photography as an assessment tool

• Photographs by teacher
  • Show students in process of learning and creation
  • Add to portfolio 
  • Supports Reggio Emilia Photography of learner 
• Photography by Student 
  • Show learning from the student point of view and showcases their voice
  • Allows for self-reflection 
  • Displays all steps of learning
  • A visual way of representation 

Pros and Cons

• Pros:
• Place-based pedagogy 
• Gives students a purpose for being outdoors 
• Easily cross-curricular 
• Display student work in an authentic way 
• Connect to students lives outside the classroom 
• Documenting memories 
• Portfolios 
  • Lower paper trail 
• Self-reflection capabilities 
• Authentic material (young student doing an adult thing) 
• Cons:
• Needs to be integrated to be effective 
• Availability of equipment 
  • ArtStarts or PAC can help 
• Important to teach students to hold to camera steady
  • Respect tools 
• Need to be aware of socioeconomic divide in upper-level grades in terms of camera/ phone availability 

Ethics

• Need photo release form from administration to take pictures of students
  • This applies to photographs used inside or outside of the classroom 
• Any photo clubs need additional permission slips 
  • For transportations
  • Rental equipment
  • Use of photographs
• Pay attention to where photos are being stored/ privacy in drives 
  • In or out of Canada 
  • Public or private

Project Ideas primary

• Photography scavenger hunt 
• ex) Take pictures of different species in an ecosystem, different objects of the same colour, ect. 
• Multimedia art projects 
• ex) Adding googly eyes and faces to printed photos of inanimate objects 
• Creative writing: write a story and take photos to act as the illustrations 
• Send cameras home and have children document things that are important to them

Project ideas intermediate

• Starting an extra-curricular photography club during lunch hour or after school 
• ex) Historical building photography club 
• Requiring students to use their own photos for social studies, science or other subject area projects and presentations
• “Photojournalism” about field trips and important school events 
• Creating stop motion video stories 
• Video projects
• ex) imovie book trailers, newscasts, ect. 

 

Resources:

Jodi Streelasky 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sacuuqjHPXo

https://freshgrade.com/

https://www.weareteachers.com/7-ways-to-use-digital-photography-in-the-classroom/

http://ocw.umb.edu/early-education-development/echd-440-640-eec-language-and-literacy-course/learning-module-1/module-11/consider%20the%20walls.pdf

https://www.picmonkey.com/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pic-collage/id448639966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLyOAp3XLLY&list=WL&index=2&t=5s

https://artstarts.com/

https://expertphotography.com/principles-of-design-photography/

https://www.city-academy.com/news/photography-composition-rules/

https://borncute.com/the-benefits-of-photography-let-kids-use-your-camera/

This week we interviewed our past professor Jodi Streelasky. In our course with her, she showed a few examples of how she used photography in her past classroom, so we thought she could give us some insight into photography in the classroom.

Ethics

Jodi loves to use photography in the classroom. She values it as a project for students to do (examples below), as a way to create ownership in the space for students, and as an assessment tool. Jodi sees photography as a way for students to express themselves and document their own life and learning. She sees it as a tool that educators can use to document their students’ learning and as a way to incorporate new ways of discovering information. Through this, she warns teachers to be careful about the ethics behind using photography. Teachers must gain a blanket release form from admin to send home to guardians to allow for the use of photography which includes students. This goes for photos used inside or outside of the classroom. She also warns that there is a bit of panic from new teachers on if they violate these contracts or not with certain projects. She suggests being very open with admin, students, and parents about projects to make sure that all parties consent to each step of the process, and to make sure that those important release forms are in place. Once this is done, educators have the freedom to explore photography with their students freely. 

A middle-grade project

One project that Jodi spearheaded was the photography club for grades 7 and 8. There were 12 students of varying genders that were a part of this club. One project that was given was a series focused on the history of their city. The students were tasked with researching a historical building, landmark or site within Regina and capturing the selected thing on film. Students would research in their spare time and then capture images over their lunch break. Jodi along with a coworker would drive students around the city to take the pictures. Due to the car space and limited time, they would alternate the group of students that would go every other week. It is important to note that parent permission forms were needed to participate. 

After the images were captured they were printed and hung up around the school as a homage to the history of their city. This project was created to help spur a natural desire to learn about history. Students who participated were excited about learning about the history of these places and about history in general after doing this project. 

How Photography Can Bridge the Gap Between School and Home

As educators, it is crucial that we never forget each child comes into our classroom with a story- a complex web of experiences that shape them into the individuals they are. 

Even the youngest of students carry unique sets of intricate encounters with them, as recognized by the University of Victoria professor and former teacher Jodi Streelasky. Jodi taught in primary classrooms for many years, and always focussed on the individuality of each child. In her pedagogy and research, she was interested in collapsing the all-too-present barrier between school and home life.

One of the ways that Jodi was able to actualize this was through a sixteen-week photography project with a class of grade one students. Each student had the opportunity to take a digital camera home for a week, after instruction on how to properly hold, point and shoot the devices. They were tasked with taking photographs of aspects from their daily lives that held importance to them. Granting children the right to handle and use cameras showed respect for their capabilities- the students rose to the occasion and no cameras were lost or damaged. 

The resulting photographs acted as a set of data that allowed for insight into the lives of Jodi’s students. Not only was she able to realize the vastly different worlds of each child, but the themes that emerged were indicative of certain tropes that hold great relevance for students of that age group. To elaborate, many children took photos of pets (such as cats) and family members. This goes to show that such motifs reign heavy in the minds of grade one children. Such insight is beneficial in designing lesson plans and adjusting our teaching to captivate student interest. 

To go further, this task bridged the disconnect that often exists between school and the rest of the student’s worlds. Dissociating one’s outside experiences from the events that take place within the classroom stifles the holistic education that benefits students throughout their lives. Once children realize that school and home are not two separate entities, deeper learning can take place. 

All in all, Jodi’s grade one photography project acted as a multifaceted medium for deep, engaging teaching. Not only did the students gain a sense of independence and responsibility but their further learning was improved by the insight their teacher gained into their interests. Perhaps most important of all, this task was a huge step towards erasing the arbitrary line children often drawn between home and school.

-Alexa, Lauren, Katie

**pictures included from Unsplash. Not student work.

Lauren- Portfolios and video to show teachers, admin, and parents growth 

Photography not only can be explored as a student but as a teacher. The new curriculum and wave of educational reform that has begun in the last five years caused a new grading system to match. The new grading system that has emerged is the proficiency scale and within this the idea of using a portfolio. In the time of technology, this has never been easier for teachers. They can snap pictures of students’ work, take videos of them practicing a skill and take pictures of students’ progression throughout the year. Curating these portfolios is a way to justify the grades given to the students on the proficiency scale. Having concrete photographic evidence can help parents grasp the new system of no letter grades and hopefully show a progression over time. It lessens the chance of losing the cumbersome paper versions of portfolios of 20 plus students and can be easily shared with parents and administration.

Below is a video about the pros of portfolios as an assessment. It does not address the use of photography and video, but it is certainly another medium that can be used in portfolio making. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sacuuqjHPXo (video on portfolio making)

Capturing those organic moments in the classroom that a concrete paper and pen can not, can be a window into the classroom for parents. Allowing for another medium of expression for kids and a more low stakes form of assessment through photography in the video allows for the endless opportunity for both student and teacher. 

Alexa-  FreshGrade

FreshGrade is a new grading app that allows for a teacher to have everything in one place. FreshGrade has many different avenues that teachers can use to connect to their students and parents, grade and assess students, and finally, communicate with students. This app is completely customizable to each teacher and how they wish to use it. You can customize what type of assessment you are using, and how you wish grades (or lack of grades) to be displayed. Within the assessment area, you can create portfolios, and use photography and video taken by the students or by you as the teacher to be evidence towards a particular grade. These videos and pictures can also show the student and parent their growth throughout the year. Connected to assessment is the live grade book that teachers can use so that parents can always see how their student is doing. Finally, there is a chat feature that allows for communication between the teacher, students, and parents.  This Communication can allow for important clarification on projects, grades, or progress. Overall, FreshGrade is a simple and all-in-one way to grade and access your students at the click of a few buttons. 

Katie- portfolios in student self-reflection 

Is there any better way to capture a moment in time than with a photo? 

We have all looked back at old snapshots and videos and remarked at just how much we’ve changed. Whether consciously or not, most individuals are well versed in the use of photography as a tool for self-reflection. When we are able to recognize the value of this as educators- and apply it to our teaching practice- multiple parties benefit. 

To elaborate, creating portfolios of photos and videos of student achievement through the year is a great way to document progress. Young children especially have a characteristic lack of self-awareness, so may be able to better pick out areas to improve upon if they see a video or photo of themself completing a certain task. 

This can be especially beneficial in subject areas that do not “leave a paper trail” through other projects or areas of assessment. Take Phys. Ed, for example. Snapping photos of children completing yoga positions allow for their skills to be presented back to them. Assigning students with the task of analyzing their positioning as presented in a photo will enable them to realize how their efforts are perceived by others. As students progress through a unit, guided by photo-reflections, they will be able to alter their form adjust accordingly.

All things considered, elf reflection can be highly beneficial for advancing students while in the midst of their learning. In addition, looking back at a task progression as documented in photos will enable students to see how far they have come. This can be very empowering, as it will prove to a discouraged child that they are capable of growth. 

Incorporating self-reflection is an important way to maximize student learning. Photography is a great avenue by which to achieve this, as it increases self-awareness and creates accurate skill documentation. 

 

-Katie, Lauren M, Alexa