UTS I-Think Summer Camp (2016)
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The University of Toronto Schools 2016 I-Think Summer Camp was a component of the UTS cohort MT coursework at OISE. Find our website for the program at: ithinkicancamp.wordpress.com/ |
We built our capacity for empathy and inference-building.
We developed an understanding of food security, plucking out connections to Social Entrepreneurship, Integrative Thinking and Growth Mindsets. We ventured to a sun-warmed community garden and a trust-based ropes course in Toronto, Ontario. Collaboratively planned and facilitated, the University of Toronto Schools I-Think Summer Camp was a unique experience for all the designers, community members, and students involved. Thank you for integrating your thinking with mine! |
Curriculum & Camp Excursions
Our curriculum provides students time to discover, to contextualize, and to connect I-Think learning toolkits. Social Entrepreneurial case studies, and local social justice issues. Visits to a local community garden and team-building exercises strengthened the learning done indoors. Students were held accountable for individually and collaboratively producing, revising, and synthesizing new ideas as the week developed, culminating in a community presentation and feedback session. Use the button above to read more about our creative, experiential, inquiry-based curriculum design.
| studentresourcepack.pdf |
Framing Inquiry & Research
What local issues could middle school aged children feel comfortable investigating? What issue could bring them together? Eventually, we landed on 'How might we make Toronto a food secure city for all?' The question was framed positively, leading to an open-ended answer inclusive of all possible perspectives or experiences with the issue. Use the button above to read more about the development of the content and research included in the week-long program.
Program &
Job Description
Camp Directors met regularly with the Rotman Team and the UTS Staff Lead. Group training (approximately 12 hours); Individual research: reading of relevant literature & media (asked by the I-Think team; 6 hours); Group meetings (6 hours); Group communication (1 hour total); Meetings with Program Manager (7 hours, ongoing) Total hours: 32 hours. Skills necessary: Open-mindedness in a problem-solving context; Ability to probe others with thought-provoking questions; Effective, frequent communication; Organization; Inquisitiveness & Inquiry.
Pedagogical Reflection - Food and Social Justice Education
Around the world, food connects students and their community in complex ways. One year ago, I was a Camp Director at the I-Think Summer Institute 2016 and facilitated week-long problem solving camps aimed at tackling Toronto’s issue of food security for all its population. Integrative Thinking allowed students to explore the complex issues around equitable access to healthy food in their city. It was a problem the students could see, taste, and touch.
Integrative Thinking is a unique process of problem solving and is built on a collection of thinking tools one can use to tackle a “wicked problem“. As a teacher searching for tools to engage students in real-world problems, I-Think was a burst of inspiration and a foundation for creative lesson planning. This camp was my first crack at building an intensive curriculum that incorporated academic activities, field trips, team building exercises, expert panels, and community presentations/feedback sessions, all targeted for student in grades six through eight. It was a learning experience that continues to inform my practice today.
Our goals for the camp were to push students who have not experienced food scarcity or insecurity personally to build empathy for those who have, and to learn from experts about the ways Torontonians are actively working to make healthy, affordable food accessible. We focused on building our students’ abilities to engage in social and emotional learning collaboratively. The core values underpinning discussions of 21st Century Competencies came to life throughout the camp as students developed self-awareness and self-management, built relationship skills and social awareness, and made responsible decisions on an authentic problem.
While the solutions they brought to the community forum at the end of the week were not perfect, they demonstrated the growth in empathy and integrative thinking that were the aim of our curriculum. Feedback from community leaders and activists, as well as parents, showed students that their ideas were heard, appreciated, and useful. I am hopeful that the I-Think tools will give the students the confidence to create meaningful solutions to future social justice challenges.
Widespread change does not occur in a week-long summer camp. Bringing a widespread problem, like food insecurity in Toronto, into the classroom forces students to learn historical, scientific, and literacy-based content while presenting thoughtfully crafted solutions. We can always plant seeds of social justice in our students’ lives.
Integrative Thinking is a unique process of problem solving and is built on a collection of thinking tools one can use to tackle a “wicked problem“. As a teacher searching for tools to engage students in real-world problems, I-Think was a burst of inspiration and a foundation for creative lesson planning. This camp was my first crack at building an intensive curriculum that incorporated academic activities, field trips, team building exercises, expert panels, and community presentations/feedback sessions, all targeted for student in grades six through eight. It was a learning experience that continues to inform my practice today.
Our goals for the camp were to push students who have not experienced food scarcity or insecurity personally to build empathy for those who have, and to learn from experts about the ways Torontonians are actively working to make healthy, affordable food accessible. We focused on building our students’ abilities to engage in social and emotional learning collaboratively. The core values underpinning discussions of 21st Century Competencies came to life throughout the camp as students developed self-awareness and self-management, built relationship skills and social awareness, and made responsible decisions on an authentic problem.
While the solutions they brought to the community forum at the end of the week were not perfect, they demonstrated the growth in empathy and integrative thinking that were the aim of our curriculum. Feedback from community leaders and activists, as well as parents, showed students that their ideas were heard, appreciated, and useful. I am hopeful that the I-Think tools will give the students the confidence to create meaningful solutions to future social justice challenges.
Widespread change does not occur in a week-long summer camp. Bringing a widespread problem, like food insecurity in Toronto, into the classroom forces students to learn historical, scientific, and literacy-based content while presenting thoughtfully crafted solutions. We can always plant seeds of social justice in our students’ lives.
OISE MT Program Reflection: 4 July 2016
What roles might digital technologies play in supporting the learning and design process?
Camp Director is an exciting job title, but when I am not planning for the I-Think camp I am a full time student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. We began our second round of summer classes on this lovely July 4th (I’m a dual citizen, so happy Independence Day!), one of which is Integrating Technology into the Classroom.
I am excited to have the space to learn and play with technology in an educational setting because my only experiences have been as a student: the far-and-few-between assignments based on a single technology tool we learned specifically for the program. Now, I get the chance to develop my skills a member of the Camp leadership team -- a millennial with little technological expertise, how does that happen?
I have a proclivity for the outdoors, used books, yoga…I spend my time away from a computer and phone as much as possible. This isn’t because I fear it, or don’t know how to use it, but because I don’t think it’s necessary for a healthy, productive life!
I use my planner to keep appointments and assignments organized, not my phone. I take notes in a notebook and all my creative writing begins on paper. I like to feel the pen between my fingers and watch the ink glide from one letter to another, and I know that this excitement over the tangible is not held by everyone. My nostalgic and tactile nature aside, technology permeates so many aspects of our lives that I wonder if we are replacing rather than improving: replacing the “old” with the “new” without pausing to question if the change can bring about more than just efficiency or ease. In the SAMR model of technology, simulation is where the tale begins.
Camp Director is an exciting job title, but when I am not planning for the I-Think camp I am a full time student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. We began our second round of summer classes on this lovely July 4th (I’m a dual citizen, so happy Independence Day!), one of which is Integrating Technology into the Classroom.
I am excited to have the space to learn and play with technology in an educational setting because my only experiences have been as a student: the far-and-few-between assignments based on a single technology tool we learned specifically for the program. Now, I get the chance to develop my skills a member of the Camp leadership team -- a millennial with little technological expertise, how does that happen?
I have a proclivity for the outdoors, used books, yoga…I spend my time away from a computer and phone as much as possible. This isn’t because I fear it, or don’t know how to use it, but because I don’t think it’s necessary for a healthy, productive life!
I use my planner to keep appointments and assignments organized, not my phone. I take notes in a notebook and all my creative writing begins on paper. I like to feel the pen between my fingers and watch the ink glide from one letter to another, and I know that this excitement over the tangible is not held by everyone. My nostalgic and tactile nature aside, technology permeates so many aspects of our lives that I wonder if we are replacing rather than improving: replacing the “old” with the “new” without pausing to question if the change can bring about more than just efficiency or ease. In the SAMR model of technology, simulation is where the tale begins.
Professional Feedback on Group Project
Professor Montemurro commented: "Impressive compilation of thoughtfully curated & well-detailed materials. [He] could see where many of the resources including videos, articles, and websites would be great teaching resources that are transferable to for other instructional purposes" (in "Feedback on Website" rubric, 2016).
