Woo-hoo! Can't you just taste the end of the semester? I just finished up my summary of ED 307 on The Teaching Strategies page of my website. Check it out- you won't be dissapointed! As I said in my farewell on that page- I highly recommend you add the Educational Technologies Minor- or just a class in the minor! Now it's time for Christmas Candy and Family!
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Let's all take a minute and catch our breath.... Ahh, that was nice! It's swiftly nearing the end of our semester and I have been busy as a bee! I got to create my own lesson plan using Problem Based Learning, and I presented it with some of my classmates in a Live Session! I learned a lot from creating a lesson plan. One of the main things is that they are hard and time consuming! A great tip from my teacher is to use other lessons from other teachers for inspiration. I found a great website called Share my Lesson where I began creating a lesson for Completing the Square. It was a great experience. Now, get back to work! Happy Testing!
Hey, guys! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween; it's been a busy, but exciting, couple of weeks at ASU and in my ED 307 class! My group members and I explored the concept of Collaborative/Cooperative learning, and then I branched off on my own to further investigate my own partnering pedagogy- problem based learning. It is a method in which students learn through the experience of solving an open-ended problem, usually with group members. In this method, the teacher- instead of transferring information to his/her students and then giving them problems- presents the students with an initial, open-ended problem, which the students will work together to solve. The processes they go through are the following: clarify any unknowns, define the problem, brainstorm, discuss, address issues, fill in any gaps, and share their findings. Researchers have found that students in a problem based learning (PBL) classroom have stronger problem solving skills and score higher on clinical or essay style tests than students in the traditional classroom; however, it has been shown that PBL students score lower on standardized tests when compared with traditional students. This is likely because the students in a traditional classroom setting have a structure most like a standardized test setting. The pedagogy does a few critics who say that PBL can cause students to perform poorly on tests, it is full of time consuming assessments, it does not provide enough structure, and it could prevent the teacher from completing the ACS course of study requirements. For these critics, I would recommend that they still try PBL but make sure that they have planned adequately for the class, use time-management wisely, and communicate with their students to improve their methods. The advantages of PBL definitely outweigh the disadvantages; the pedagogy promotes the development of desirable skills that relate to critical thinking, problem solving, and written/oral communication. PBL students are also more likely be engaged and retain the knowledge they have gained. If your looking for information on PBL, check out my youtube video on the topic
Hey, hey, hey (in my best impressionist voice)! It has been a busy few weeks, as I and my classmates explored the amazing, wonderful, down-right fantastic text Teaching Digital Natives Partnering for Real Learning by Marc Prensky. Can I say WOW. This book convicted me for my old-school (pun intended) ways of thinking, and it opened my eyes up to this new world called Partnering. This is a pedagogy where the students and teachers are viewed as separate, but equal, partners with a similar goal in mind. Students are encouraged to investigate and take control of their own learning; whereas, teachers are a guide to that learning. Partnering breaks education down into to parts- verbs and nouns. The verbs are the goals- the stuff that always has been and always will be- what the students are learning (i.e. Explaining a timeline of events that lead up to WWI). The nouns are the tools that students use to get there. These change just as quickly as the world around us changes. Most recently, these tools can be the internet, or other forms of technology. Teachers should encourage students to use the technology for themselves.
But that's not the best part, guys! As I was reading, I was thinking "This is cool and all, but I am going to be a math teacher and we can't do this with math" But oh, boy was I wrong! Prensky gives so many great examples and resources to use in the classroom. Partnering in it's simplest form is an investigation. SO, all you amazing people out there, reading this and wondering "how could I ever do this?" Check this out: If you think you have a topic that you HAVE to lecture on, take the main ideas (maybe questions from a test, the big picture that the students should learn) and mold them into questions, 'guiding' questions. Present your students with these questions and give them class time to investigate and come up with the answers on their own. This is a great way to ease into partnering for all you control freaks (myself included) out there who can't stand the thought of an uncontrolled classroom. But guess what you will find, as you ease into it. It's not out of control! Your students will be, dare I say, ENGAGED! They appreciate being treated as an equal partner, and the information is more valuable when they found it individually. Lastly, figure out your students' passions and interests. That way you can mold your lessons to support those passions. Leading to, none other than, ENGAGEMENT! Partnering is the answer to your teaching prayers! Another tip: Students want learning that is REAL. This means find a way for your students to apply what they have learned and see that it is used in the real world. Have a good one! And enjoy partnering! Hey, hey, HEY! It's been a while since I last posted, but that's because there's been A LOT going on in ED 307! Over the past two weeks, I've been looking at constructivism- it's a learning theory, and I've researched some of its main theorists and this awesome model of learning that helps implement it!
Let's dive right in! Constructivism is a learning theory which was developed upon the premise that learning is effective when it is active. Basically, it prompts us to continually reflect and reevaluate on our life experiences and pre-existing conceptions of a topic, and by re-shaping and molding our thought, we can create our own individualized understanding and meaning of the world we live in. It's really awesome because it COMPLETELY changes the classroom dynamic! The students are no longer passively receiving information, which has been shown ineffective time and time again in the 21st Century. The most important component of Constructivism is view of the students as CREATORS of their own knowledge! This theory has early views in Socrates- who would kind of play Devil's Advocate to his students by asking them questions which made them find weaknesses in their reasoning. This is found in constructivism when students use what they already know and re-shape that knowledge to create a new meaning. But the two main theorists who are attributed with the creation of constructivism are Jean Piaget and John Dewey (I know you've heard of this guy before!). Piaget believed that we learn through the construction of one logical structure after another, and he proposed that children's minds work differently than adults'. Dewey proposed that knowledge is gained through experience, and he developed INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING. This is huge because it a type of learning that is based on student interests and questions! After these two trail blazers, Lev Vygotsky introduced the concept of socializing in school (so you can thank him for group work and group discussions!), and Jerome Bruner proposed that curriculum change based on the notion that learning is an active process that builds on itself. Now, I know what you're asking right now- What's the difference in the constructivist classroom and a traditional classroom? Well, of course, I have the answer! Curriculum is different in how it is presented and what is valued. In traditional views, presentation begins with parts of a whole and emphasizes basic skills; Whereas, constructivism emphasizes big concepts, beginning with the whole and expanding to include the parts. The value in traditional views is placed on adherence to a fixed curriculum, and in a constructivist classroom, pursuit of student questions and interests is valued. The students are no longer viewed as passive recipients of information, but instead they take their knowledge into their own hands and construct their own logic and reasoning. They work in groups, not independently, and learning is interactive, not repetitive. The teacher's role is now interactive and rooted in negotiation. They have dialogue with their students and guide them through their endeavors. Lastly, assessment is no longer just getting the right answers on a test. It is student work and observations in addition to tests. Process is stressed just as equally as much as the product. And, How am I to implement this? Well, you're in luck! The PAR model of learning is the Present, Apply, Review approach to teaching, which emphasizes student responsibility. In the present component, the learning goals and objectives are explained along with the relevance and importance of learning the topic. The material is presented using learning strategies like the following: listening to the teacher, watching videos and demonstrations, independent learning, and/or teaching by asking. The teacher can check learning in progress by asking questions or looking at student work. In the apply component, group discussions, student presentations, and critiquing examples are some of the strategies used. The teacher should also make sure to praise and encourage effort, progress, and completion. In the final component, Review, what has been learned is summarized and classified with key points emphasized in a review. Some strategies used in this component are. Q&A's, mind mapping, reiterating key points, and peer explaining of key objectives. I created a you tube video which outlines constuctivism, the PAR model, and an example of a topic presented with the PAR model. I hope you'll view that and have enjoyed this post! Good luck with constructivism and PAR! Hello! I hope everyone had an amazing Labor Day weekend! I've plunged right back into Ed Tech! This week, I revisited a topic that I discovered in ED 305- the flipped classroom. Now I'm not talking about hanging students from their toes if they don't listen (maybe we'll discuss this another time). I'm talking about FLIPPING your curriculum upside down, inside out, and every which way but right! The flipped classroom is a model of instruction in which the curriculum is learned outside of class through a short, instructional video or other engaging tool. I know you're wondering: Well If they learn everything outside of class, what the heck am I supposed to do in class?! That's the best part! The possibilities are endless! The students could work through problems that supplement your instruction with peers, create a short presentation to present to the class, draw a picture or complete projects that summarize their findings in the instruction..... they could do ANYTHING ( as long as it is engaging and supports the concepts they have learned)!!
I'm sure you already think this is the best thing since sliced bread, but just for all those negative Nancy's out there, let's talk about misconceptions. You DO NOT have to flip your whole course. Take it slow; flip one lesson, one chapter, or one unit. Test the waters, if it doesn't work the first time it's not the end of the world! Each classroom will have a different groove to fit into. I can hear you now "Well that might work for you, but I'm a MATH teacher. We can't have fun in MATH." You can't bring me down. This works for any subject, any class, anywhere! And your flipped content doesn't have to be a video- it can be any tool that is engaging and gets the message across. You can always create an alternative interactive worksheet or activity for students with no internet access, and you can collaborate with other teachers and share content! The biggest problem when teachers try this and it "doesn't work" is that they made the mistake of believing it was uniform. This is not a one-size fits all, people! Each classroom is different and each student has different needs. I encourage you to try it out, and find what works best for you! If you are planning on implementing this in your classroom (and I'm sure you are by now), please consider some of the best practices for the flipped classroom method. First, allow time for reflection- you can not improve if you and your students don't give feedback and reevaluate the delivery of your method. Plan ahead for availability if you wish to use technology. When using out-of-class videos, keep them short and to the point. Find another teacher who you can bounce ideas off of. Before you start, express all of your expectations to the students, so that they know what this will entail. And don't overload yourself with trying to flip every bit of your content immediately. Take it slow! I hope it is obvious how the flipped classroom is changing education, and specifically how it looks in your classroom! Get those creative juices flowing! Hey there, world! As my first post in this Ed Tech Blog, it is a BIG one! This week in ED 307, I navigated my way through P21 and the 21st Century Skills that my future students will need to be effective citizens and workers. I took a look at the "Are they Really Ready to Work" report. The first thing I found CRIPPLING was that the majority of employers rated high school graduates as "Deficient" in workforce readiness. This was not shocking to me, as one of the many reasons I want to teach is that I myself did not feel prepared for the world when I graduated. What I also found interesting was that 75.6% of those employers placed the blame on K-12 educators. That's where P21, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, comes in.... TO THE RESCUE! This organization is still growing, but it is changing education as we know it.... DUN DUN DUNNNN! Its focus is to integrate 21st century skills into the K-12 classrooms and create work-ready and effective graduates. How would something this big be done? I'm glad you asked! Everybody knows the 3R's- Reading, writing, and 'rithmatic (as my Granny would say), but P21 has also implemented the 4C's (Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) to sit along side the 3R's at the forefront of education. What does that mean? My thoughts exactly. So I did some digging..... This means that in addition to core subjects, that are oh, so interesting to students, is this AWESOME idea that learning is not driven by the teacher. I know, it's shocking, but this suggest that the STUDENTS are the stars of the show (their education being the show). And it is our job, as teachers and pre-service teachers, to prepare our students with the tools that they will need to succeed in the 21st Century. This ain't your Momma's education, people! Our students will be equipped not only with the core content of a high school education, BUT ALSO with info literacy, media literacy, ICT literacy, flexibility & adaptivity, initiative & self-direction, social & cross-cultural skills, productivity & accountability, and leadership & responsibility. I know, I know, it sounds like a lot, but I know we can do it! And it starts with taking the focus off of you and placing it onto your lovely little students! I challenge you: plan, implement, conquer!
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AuthorHi! My name is Kassi, and I am currently a Math Ed student at Athens State University. This blog will take you through my adventures in ED 307! I hope you enjoy! |