All in all, I am pretty pleased with the GAME plan even though I did not have an opportunity to utilize it IN a classroom. At first, I made a couple 'general' goals. However, the modification I made to my GAME plan, resulting in a suitcase of material, was essential in making me feel positive about the whole ordeal. I am not going to lie, the fact that I do not have my own classroom makes a project such as this a little difficult. However, the fact that I decided to make a little suitcase of strategies, materials, and ideas made the whole assignment worthwhile and effective.
I now have a list of technological materials that I can utilize when I get the chance, in addition to a brief synopsis of how I can utilize these tools. I think that this will be greatly beneficial when the time comes and I am very excited about the whole ordeal. I am also intrigued because outlining my own GAME plan has inspired me to have my own students look at what is expected of them and identify how they are going to fulfill these goals themselves. I think this is a great tool for kids these days to have and I believe it is something that not a lot of kids possess. This strategy could be greatly beneficial for my future students and I am excited to motivate them to take part in this strategy.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
GAME Planning in the Classroom
There are a couple different ways that GAME planning can be incorporated into my classroom, in my opinion. I think it can be done explicitly and also done by the teacher in way where students undertake GAME planning somewhat "subconsciously" (not sure if that's the right word?).
I think at the beginning of the year, it would be ideal to introduce students to NETS-S standards because they have most likely never heard of them. At the same time, I think it would be beneficial to go into a little detail about them and explain their relevance and their place in our classes curriculum (which they might wonder about because it is 'social studies' class). The next step I would take is pairing up assignments, projects, activities, and other classroom actions with the particular NETS-S that they go along with. Then, from time to time, I would require that students complete a brief GAME plan outline where they take the specific NETS-S and the particular assignment and go through the steps of GAME planning. It might require a little extra effort on my part, and the students, to incorporate this into a social studies curriculum, however it does have quite a few benefits.
First of all, it ensures that I am doing my part reaching NETS-S and preparing my students for the 21st Century. Secondly, it gives students the opportunity to work on identifying goals and looking at how they can actually go about succeeding in reaching their goals. I think this is a tool that students these days sometimes lack and it could be a very important tool for them to have in long run. I think a lot of people can make or identify goals, however, sometimes we lack the ability to create or identify a plan of action to actually reach the goal.
I think at the beginning of the year, it would be ideal to introduce students to NETS-S standards because they have most likely never heard of them. At the same time, I think it would be beneficial to go into a little detail about them and explain their relevance and their place in our classes curriculum (which they might wonder about because it is 'social studies' class). The next step I would take is pairing up assignments, projects, activities, and other classroom actions with the particular NETS-S that they go along with. Then, from time to time, I would require that students complete a brief GAME plan outline where they take the specific NETS-S and the particular assignment and go through the steps of GAME planning. It might require a little extra effort on my part, and the students, to incorporate this into a social studies curriculum, however it does have quite a few benefits.
First of all, it ensures that I am doing my part reaching NETS-S and preparing my students for the 21st Century. Secondly, it gives students the opportunity to work on identifying goals and looking at how they can actually go about succeeding in reaching their goals. I think this is a tool that students these days sometimes lack and it could be a very important tool for them to have in long run. I think a lot of people can make or identify goals, however, sometimes we lack the ability to create or identify a plan of action to actually reach the goal.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
GAME Plan Part III
Thanks to the advice I was given on last weeks post, I have decided to modify my original GAME Plan in a way that suits my situation of currently being a substitute teacher. Since I cannot simply put things into practice the way I could in my own classroom, I am changing my action plan to creating a 'suitcase' of technological tools, strategies, and skills that I will be able to use and add to throughout my entire life.
That being said, how am I going to do this? My plan right now is to create a document that lists a specific tool, skill, or strategy with a brief summary of what it is capable of doing or how it is of use to me in the classroom. In addition to this, I am going to create a running list of ways that I can incorporate it specifically into my curriculum. This could be in general or through the use of specific lesson plans that could be supplemented with the particular technology. By doing this, I can create a significantly sized list without becoming overwhelmed with a bunch of tools that I may or may not use on a regular basis. Another thing (which I literally just thought of while writing this) that I will do is create a checklist for each tool. This checklist will keep track of which tools I have learned about and which ones I have practiced using. This way, I can continue to build on the tools that I am actually capable of integrating in my classroom and which ones I still need to become more proficient with.
That last bit goes into the next progression of fulfilling this particular goal of my GAME Plan. Not only do I need to keep track of all of the tools I am introduced to or come across, but I need to become proficient enough with their use so that I can successfully integrate them in my classroom. I think that be creating a list such as the one I have proposed, I will be motivated to do this on my own and will be able to stay organized throughout the process.
Finally, I want to thank the people who suggested the basis of this idea on my last post, I may not have thought of this without your help! (What a way to learn the benefits of online collaboration first hand!!)
That being said, how am I going to do this? My plan right now is to create a document that lists a specific tool, skill, or strategy with a brief summary of what it is capable of doing or how it is of use to me in the classroom. In addition to this, I am going to create a running list of ways that I can incorporate it specifically into my curriculum. This could be in general or through the use of specific lesson plans that could be supplemented with the particular technology. By doing this, I can create a significantly sized list without becoming overwhelmed with a bunch of tools that I may or may not use on a regular basis. Another thing (which I literally just thought of while writing this) that I will do is create a checklist for each tool. This checklist will keep track of which tools I have learned about and which ones I have practiced using. This way, I can continue to build on the tools that I am actually capable of integrating in my classroom and which ones I still need to become more proficient with.
That last bit goes into the next progression of fulfilling this particular goal of my GAME Plan. Not only do I need to keep track of all of the tools I am introduced to or come across, but I need to become proficient enough with their use so that I can successfully integrate them in my classroom. I think that be creating a list such as the one I have proposed, I will be motivated to do this on my own and will be able to stay organized throughout the process.
Finally, I want to thank the people who suggested the basis of this idea on my last post, I may not have thought of this without your help! (What a way to learn the benefits of online collaboration first hand!!)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Evaluating Progress Part II
Well, similar to last week, I am having a hard time evaluating my fulfillment of my GAME plan due to the fact that I don't have a classroom to work towards the goals I have created. (If anyone has any suggestions or tips, please feel free to offer them to me, I am all ears!)
With that being said, however, I am able to work towards learning about new technological tools that can be used in the classroom to prepare myself to integrate them into my own classroom when that time comes. Although my original goal focused around actual technological tools, I feel that websites can also fall under that category as well. One new website that I was introduced to in the learning resources for this week is something I find very interesting and I believe it could be utilized in the classroom very effectively. The website, http://web.wm.edu/hsi/?svr=www, or Historical Scene Investigation, provides interesting scenarios in history and proposes inquiries about them. In addition, once a scenario is selected, numerous primary sources are provided to be accessed from the website to investigate the issue and create an opinion of your own. This is a great way to give students practice using primary documents and critically thinking in order to make informed opinions out of these documents. As a social studies teacher, I think this particular website could be very helpful in a classroom and would definitely be something new to me as well.
With that being said, however, I am able to work towards learning about new technological tools that can be used in the classroom to prepare myself to integrate them into my own classroom when that time comes. Although my original goal focused around actual technological tools, I feel that websites can also fall under that category as well. One new website that I was introduced to in the learning resources for this week is something I find very interesting and I believe it could be utilized in the classroom very effectively. The website, http://web.wm.edu/hsi/?svr=www, or Historical Scene Investigation, provides interesting scenarios in history and proposes inquiries about them. In addition, once a scenario is selected, numerous primary sources are provided to be accessed from the website to investigate the issue and create an opinion of your own. This is a great way to give students practice using primary documents and critically thinking in order to make informed opinions out of these documents. As a social studies teacher, I think this particular website could be very helpful in a classroom and would definitely be something new to me as well.
Monday, November 22, 2010
My Progress
As a substitute teacher, it is mildly difficult to see a lot of the progress that I can make succeeding in the implementation of a GAME Plan. In essence, what I am able to do is envision myself in a classroom of my own and take steps that I believe will be necessary to prepare myself to be successful in fulfilling my goals in the future. That being said, the main area of progress I can work on now, without having my own classroom, is becoming able to utilize a variety of new technological tools that can be integrated in the classroom. Through this program and through substituting in other teachers classrooms, I have been able to use and view quite a few new technological tools in action and gain some practice using them. For example, I have actually been on a long-term substitute assignment as a computer teacher for grades k-2 and have been able to use a variety of websites and tools that I had not used previously.
In addition to using new tools, I am also working at a grade-level that I do not have a whole lot of experience with, as I am certified to teach 7-12 social studies. Therefore, not only are the technological tools themselves new, but the content is new as well so I am able to see how different tools can be used at different levels, which is a great way to develop a new perspective on the effectiveness of certain tools. One of these tools is the website Earobics. This is a website that can be used with students who are new to reading or students who should be at the level to be able to read and are struggling. Students are able to log on to the program and complete a daily set of 'games' that monitor their ability to complete a variety of tasks associated with reading.It keeps track of their progress and becomes either harder or easier the next time they come in depending on their success that given day. This tool is a great way to differentiate instructional practices and give students something to look forward to doing, while at the same time helping them develop the necessary skills in order to read.
My other goal of modeling appropriate use of information, however, is one that I have not been able to actually practice in the classroom because I am not utilizing sources of information that I am able to reference. I would have to say that this is something that can only progress when I have my own classroom and am actually creating lessons and materials to use that need to be referenced. That being said, however, I am able to practice citing references on assignments for this program so although I am not fulfilling this goal in the classroom, I am gaining additional experience with the practice which should help me down the road.
I am pretty happy with the plan I have setout for myself and am looking forward to reaching a point where I have achieved these goals. However, I feel that I can never stop trying to achieve my goal of integrating various forms of technology into my classroom because every year a new tool will come out that will have beneficial applications in the classroom. That, in particular, will be a goal throughout every year of my career and I believe that it is my responsibility to remain fluent with the new technologies that come into play.
In addition to using new tools, I am also working at a grade-level that I do not have a whole lot of experience with, as I am certified to teach 7-12 social studies. Therefore, not only are the technological tools themselves new, but the content is new as well so I am able to see how different tools can be used at different levels, which is a great way to develop a new perspective on the effectiveness of certain tools. One of these tools is the website Earobics. This is a website that can be used with students who are new to reading or students who should be at the level to be able to read and are struggling. Students are able to log on to the program and complete a daily set of 'games' that monitor their ability to complete a variety of tasks associated with reading.It keeps track of their progress and becomes either harder or easier the next time they come in depending on their success that given day. This tool is a great way to differentiate instructional practices and give students something to look forward to doing, while at the same time helping them develop the necessary skills in order to read.
My other goal of modeling appropriate use of information, however, is one that I have not been able to actually practice in the classroom because I am not utilizing sources of information that I am able to reference. I would have to say that this is something that can only progress when I have my own classroom and am actually creating lessons and materials to use that need to be referenced. That being said, however, I am able to practice citing references on assignments for this program so although I am not fulfilling this goal in the classroom, I am gaining additional experience with the practice which should help me down the road.
I am pretty happy with the plan I have setout for myself and am looking forward to reaching a point where I have achieved these goals. However, I feel that I can never stop trying to achieve my goal of integrating various forms of technology into my classroom because every year a new tool will come out that will have beneficial applications in the classroom. That, in particular, will be a goal throughout every year of my career and I believe that it is my responsibility to remain fluent with the new technologies that come into play.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
My GAME Plan
In general, I have always felt pretty comfortable using technology as I have grown up using technology my entire life. That being said, however, there is always room for improvement and I aspire to constantly get better at using technologies I am already familiar with and technologies that are new to me as well. When I use technology in the classroom, there are two specific NETS-T Standards that I want to focus on getting better at.
One of these is standard number 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. Like many people, when I find something I like, I have a tendency to stick with that something and use it a majority of the time. I think that over time, I must begin to incorporate multiple technological tools into my teaching to show my students the variety of tools available to them and also in order to model how to use these tools. In addition to modeling the use of specific technologies, I also want to model how to be use information that is found on the internet.
This falls under NETS-S #4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. In order to get my students to understand the importance of legal and ethical information use, I must model this in my own classroom and at ALL times. For a lot of teachers (myself included) it is easy to neglect these practices from time to time, especially if something is done in a hurry or time is not a provided luxury. However, it is essential to the development of our students behaviors to model this practice all of the time in our classroom so we 'practice what we preach' so to speak. How can we expect our students to understand and appreciate the importance of referencing sources if we provide information and various media files without the use of any citations what-so-ever. Not only is it unethical and irresponsible, it is creating an atmosphere where these types of things are not appreciated and are therefore likely to be neglected.
In both cases, strengthening my confidence in these two standards comes down to one thing, experience. I feel that if I gain enough practice in both of these standards, I will eventually increase my confidence in providing these two standards to my students. Therefore, I need to ensure that I am constantly staying up-to-date not only with new technologies but also with changes in citation etiquette, as it changes quite often. Essentially, what it comes down to me for me is establishing the effort to increase my proficiency in both of these standards by being a self-motivated learner. By increasing proficiency in these two standards, I will increase my confidence as well which will benefit my classroom greatly in these two areas.
Evaluating my progress on standard #4 is somewhat straight-forward, as I can simply evaluate all of the information that I use in my classroom and ensure that I am always citing these resources properly. I can go back at the end of a unit, or lesson, or even the year to determine whether or not I have accomplished my goal and have lived up to the appropriate standard.
Evaluating standard #3 may be a little more difficult because it is somewhat arbitrary to determine whether or not I have modeled enough different types of technology tools in my classroom. However, I think I will document each time I use a certain type of technology and then keep track of the number of times I use it in order to, at the end of the year, determine if I accomplished my goal of modeling digital-age work and learning in my classroom.
One of these is standard number 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. Like many people, when I find something I like, I have a tendency to stick with that something and use it a majority of the time. I think that over time, I must begin to incorporate multiple technological tools into my teaching to show my students the variety of tools available to them and also in order to model how to use these tools. In addition to modeling the use of specific technologies, I also want to model how to be use information that is found on the internet.
This falls under NETS-S #4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. In order to get my students to understand the importance of legal and ethical information use, I must model this in my own classroom and at ALL times. For a lot of teachers (myself included) it is easy to neglect these practices from time to time, especially if something is done in a hurry or time is not a provided luxury. However, it is essential to the development of our students behaviors to model this practice all of the time in our classroom so we 'practice what we preach' so to speak. How can we expect our students to understand and appreciate the importance of referencing sources if we provide information and various media files without the use of any citations what-so-ever. Not only is it unethical and irresponsible, it is creating an atmosphere where these types of things are not appreciated and are therefore likely to be neglected.
In both cases, strengthening my confidence in these two standards comes down to one thing, experience. I feel that if I gain enough practice in both of these standards, I will eventually increase my confidence in providing these two standards to my students. Therefore, I need to ensure that I am constantly staying up-to-date not only with new technologies but also with changes in citation etiquette, as it changes quite often. Essentially, what it comes down to me for me is establishing the effort to increase my proficiency in both of these standards by being a self-motivated learner. By increasing proficiency in these two standards, I will increase my confidence as well which will benefit my classroom greatly in these two areas.
Evaluating my progress on standard #4 is somewhat straight-forward, as I can simply evaluate all of the information that I use in my classroom and ensure that I am always citing these resources properly. I can go back at the end of a unit, or lesson, or even the year to determine whether or not I have accomplished my goal and have lived up to the appropriate standard.
Evaluating standard #3 may be a little more difficult because it is somewhat arbitrary to determine whether or not I have modeled enough different types of technology tools in my classroom. However, I think I will document each time I use a certain type of technology and then keep track of the number of times I use it in order to, at the end of the year, determine if I accomplished my goal of modeling digital-age work and learning in my classroom.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Reflecting on Technological Integration and 21st Century Literacy Skills
One of the most important goals of education has always been to promote literacy in our students. In the past, this consisted of being able to read, write, and understand written text. Today, however, literacy is much more complicated then being able to read and write and includes technological skills that are essential to compete and succeed in today's global economy.
I was first specifically introduced to this concept when I read the book "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. In this book, Friedman focuses on the impact that technology has had on today's world and spends a considerable amount of time is spent detailing the way our educational system needs to reflect these changes. I read this book about two years ago and it is one of the reasons that I chose this program for my Master's Degree. I realized quickly that the integration of technology into the classroom was becoming increasingly relevant and important for today's students and I wanted to take steps to ensure I was fully capable of succeeding in doing this.
One aspect of this course that impacted me considerably was the material regarding the importance of teaching our students the need and importance of referencing sources and giving credit to those that are deserving of it. After the section of this course that focused on this topic I realized that most of the students I interact with daily do not take referencing very seriously. They may do it with minimal effort but they don't truly appreciate the necessity for the practice. This is definitely one thing that I want to focus on in my classroom. I want to get my students to appreciate the practice, understand its' importance, and make it become second nature to give credit where it is due. This is one of the most important characteristics of 21st century literacy and I believe it is often overlooked in secondary education.
The next practice that was highlighted in this course is the importance of evaluating the legitimacy of websites and information located on the internet. Students typically assume that any information they find on the internet is accurate and reliable and this is definitely untrue. One practice that I will always use in my classroom is to search for and show my students highly inaccurate websites on the internet to demonstrate that a lot of information you can find on the internet is in fact false and inaccurate. Getting students to understand that websites designed to mislead you exist is the first step in getting them to understand the importance of evaluating the legitimacy of websites on the internet.
Personally, my one goal as a social studies teacher is to incorporate the strategies and tools I learned of in this course into my classroom seamlessly. Although I believe that 21st century literacy skills go hand-in-hand with social studies, I want to ensure that I make a dedicated effort to incorporate these types of tools into my course material. Therefore, I want to ensure that at least 1 time a grading period, an assignment is conducted in my class that uses 21st century learning skills to complete an assignment. I do not want to limit myself to just 4 of these types of assignments but I do want to place a minimum at 4 21st Century Learning Skill assignments per school year to ensure that I am incorporating these ideas and strategies into my classroom.
I was first specifically introduced to this concept when I read the book "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. In this book, Friedman focuses on the impact that technology has had on today's world and spends a considerable amount of time is spent detailing the way our educational system needs to reflect these changes. I read this book about two years ago and it is one of the reasons that I chose this program for my Master's Degree. I realized quickly that the integration of technology into the classroom was becoming increasingly relevant and important for today's students and I wanted to take steps to ensure I was fully capable of succeeding in doing this.
One aspect of this course that impacted me considerably was the material regarding the importance of teaching our students the need and importance of referencing sources and giving credit to those that are deserving of it. After the section of this course that focused on this topic I realized that most of the students I interact with daily do not take referencing very seriously. They may do it with minimal effort but they don't truly appreciate the necessity for the practice. This is definitely one thing that I want to focus on in my classroom. I want to get my students to appreciate the practice, understand its' importance, and make it become second nature to give credit where it is due. This is one of the most important characteristics of 21st century literacy and I believe it is often overlooked in secondary education.
The next practice that was highlighted in this course is the importance of evaluating the legitimacy of websites and information located on the internet. Students typically assume that any information they find on the internet is accurate and reliable and this is definitely untrue. One practice that I will always use in my classroom is to search for and show my students highly inaccurate websites on the internet to demonstrate that a lot of information you can find on the internet is in fact false and inaccurate. Getting students to understand that websites designed to mislead you exist is the first step in getting them to understand the importance of evaluating the legitimacy of websites on the internet.
Personally, my one goal as a social studies teacher is to incorporate the strategies and tools I learned of in this course into my classroom seamlessly. Although I believe that 21st century literacy skills go hand-in-hand with social studies, I want to ensure that I make a dedicated effort to incorporate these types of tools into my course material. Therefore, I want to ensure that at least 1 time a grading period, an assignment is conducted in my class that uses 21st century learning skills to complete an assignment. I do not want to limit myself to just 4 of these types of assignments but I do want to place a minimum at 4 21st Century Learning Skill assignments per school year to ensure that I am incorporating these ideas and strategies into my classroom.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Reflection
About 8 weeks ago I created a personal theory of learning that centered around project-based learning environment combined with a social learning environment where students create concrete objects to assess their learning and work together regularly to do so. Throughout the last 8 weeks, I have been exposed to concepts, strategies, and tools that reinforce my beliefs in this type of learning environment and am excited to incorporate them into my classroom someday.
One aspect that I may choose to modify within my personal theory of learning relates to my use of social learning. When I discussed the use of social learning, I did so assuming that the social learning would take place among the students in my class or possibly also with students from other classes. However, with one of the technological tools I have been exposed to, (which I will discuss later) I realized that I could extend this even further and work with students from other cities, regions, and even countries.
Some of the things I have learned over the course of 8 weeks will have an immediate impact on my instructional practices in the classroom. One of these is the use of a program such as Inspiration that allows students to create digital graphic organizers. By doing this, students will be able to incorporate this technological into their learning so they are able to organize their thoughts and utilize the program to create artifacts that will be used to assess their learning. A second short-term goal that I have in regards to integrating technology is to incorporate a blog in my classroom. Most students have probably had experiences with blogs or things like them so I believe I could make this transition relatively seamlessly. My experiences using a blog over the past eight weeks have reinforced my beliefs that they can be used successfully in a high school classroom. I feel that this will be a great tool for students to express their thoughts and opinions based on the content that we are learning.
In addition to these immediate impacts in my classroom, there are also some long-term goals I have integrating technology. One long-term goal that I have in regards to technology in my classroom involves VoiceThread, which is a tool that I feel could be very effective in the classroom. My actual goal is to eventually collaborate with students from another state or even another country using this program. I think that would be a great tool for a social studies classroom to be able to look at a historical event and learn the perspectives of students from another country. This goal is long-term for me because I want to ensure that I am proficient using the technology before I try to integrate it in my classroom on such a large scale. Once I feel very comfortable using VoiceThread, I plan on incorporating it within my classroom. A second long-term goal of mine is to continue learning and becoming comfortable with new technologies as they are procured. I think this is essential to being an educator in today's world and I want to make sure that I take the steps necessary to ensure that I do. Therefore, I will make a commitment to a lifelong learning of technological tools that I can integrate in the classroom to ensure that my students will always be prepared for the world in which they will eventually work in and be able to succeed using these tools.
One aspect that I may choose to modify within my personal theory of learning relates to my use of social learning. When I discussed the use of social learning, I did so assuming that the social learning would take place among the students in my class or possibly also with students from other classes. However, with one of the technological tools I have been exposed to, (which I will discuss later) I realized that I could extend this even further and work with students from other cities, regions, and even countries.
Some of the things I have learned over the course of 8 weeks will have an immediate impact on my instructional practices in the classroom. One of these is the use of a program such as Inspiration that allows students to create digital graphic organizers. By doing this, students will be able to incorporate this technological into their learning so they are able to organize their thoughts and utilize the program to create artifacts that will be used to assess their learning. A second short-term goal that I have in regards to integrating technology is to incorporate a blog in my classroom. Most students have probably had experiences with blogs or things like them so I believe I could make this transition relatively seamlessly. My experiences using a blog over the past eight weeks have reinforced my beliefs that they can be used successfully in a high school classroom. I feel that this will be a great tool for students to express their thoughts and opinions based on the content that we are learning.
In addition to these immediate impacts in my classroom, there are also some long-term goals I have integrating technology. One long-term goal that I have in regards to technology in my classroom involves VoiceThread, which is a tool that I feel could be very effective in the classroom. My actual goal is to eventually collaborate with students from another state or even another country using this program. I think that would be a great tool for a social studies classroom to be able to look at a historical event and learn the perspectives of students from another country. This goal is long-term for me because I want to ensure that I am proficient using the technology before I try to integrate it in my classroom on such a large scale. Once I feel very comfortable using VoiceThread, I plan on incorporating it within my classroom. A second long-term goal of mine is to continue learning and becoming comfortable with new technologies as they are procured. I think this is essential to being an educator in today's world and I want to make sure that I take the steps necessary to ensure that I do. Therefore, I will make a commitment to a lifelong learning of technological tools that I can integrate in the classroom to ensure that my students will always be prepared for the world in which they will eventually work in and be able to succeed using these tools.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
My VoiceThread Creation
Copy and paste the link provided below into your web address bar to view my VoiceThread.
http://voicethread.com/share/1198220/
http://voicethread.com/share/1198220/
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Social Learning Thoery In Practice
During my student teaching, one aspect of social learning that I liked to use was the jigsaw activity. Instead of trying to explain the activity to you in my own words, I am going to make reference of a great website I was introduced to this week in our text that does a great job summarizing the activity in addition to providing a great resource for any teacher (experienced or unexperienced) wanting to utilize this strategy.
1. Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.
2. Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.
3. Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.
4. Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.
5. Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.
6. Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.
7. Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.
8. Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.
9. Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.
10. At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.
From: http://www.jigsaw.org/steps.htm
Trust me, that was a lot more coherent then my explanation would have been. Anyways, if you have not used this technique before, it is a great way to give your students new information while at the same time giving them a new activity that breaks up a class period into a few different sections. If executed properly, I think this activity exemplifies my opinions of the benefits of social learning in the classroom.
First of all, as the creator of the groups, you have the ability to arrange the groupings in a way that places students of various abilities and strengths/weaknesses together in a way that can hopefully benefit everyone involved.If you have a student that struggles with something, they can watch another student in their group succeed at that specific task to gain insight into how they can become better and hopefully master the particular skill. In addition to this, it allows students to put information into their own words which might benefit their peers that end up learning the information from them. Regardless of whether or not you relate well to your students, sometimes the way we teacher phrase particular items or explain certain topics simply is difficult for our students to understand. Some students may have a better time understanding information if it is facilitated to them by one of their own peers. The last thing I will mention (although there are plenty of other things) is the real world value this activity includes. These students are put into a group of peers (coworkers) who then have to interpret information so they can pass it on to another group of peers (coworkers) who are learning (working on) something else. It is my opinion that many of our students would benefit from this type of routine not only in their future careers, but also in college, if that is the path they are taking.
Overall, I believe that social learning has a valuable place within our classroom to help students learn together and to prepare our students for their futures. That being said, I do not believe that social learning should be the sole strategy used in the classroom because I believe it can be misused or manipulated by students fairly easily. Therefore, it is my belief that social learning techniques and strategies should be used on occasion within the classroom in addition to a variety of other teaching strategies.
1. Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.
2. Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.
3. Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.
4. Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.
5. Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.
6. Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.
7. Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.
8. Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.
9. Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.
10. At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.
From: http://www.jigsaw.org/steps.htm
Trust me, that was a lot more coherent then my explanation would have been. Anyways, if you have not used this technique before, it is a great way to give your students new information while at the same time giving them a new activity that breaks up a class period into a few different sections. If executed properly, I think this activity exemplifies my opinions of the benefits of social learning in the classroom.
First of all, as the creator of the groups, you have the ability to arrange the groupings in a way that places students of various abilities and strengths/weaknesses together in a way that can hopefully benefit everyone involved.If you have a student that struggles with something, they can watch another student in their group succeed at that specific task to gain insight into how they can become better and hopefully master the particular skill. In addition to this, it allows students to put information into their own words which might benefit their peers that end up learning the information from them. Regardless of whether or not you relate well to your students, sometimes the way we teacher phrase particular items or explain certain topics simply is difficult for our students to understand. Some students may have a better time understanding information if it is facilitated to them by one of their own peers. The last thing I will mention (although there are plenty of other things) is the real world value this activity includes. These students are put into a group of peers (coworkers) who then have to interpret information so they can pass it on to another group of peers (coworkers) who are learning (working on) something else. It is my opinion that many of our students would benefit from this type of routine not only in their future careers, but also in college, if that is the path they are taking.
Overall, I believe that social learning has a valuable place within our classroom to help students learn together and to prepare our students for their futures. That being said, I do not believe that social learning should be the sole strategy used in the classroom because I believe it can be misused or manipulated by students fairly easily. Therefore, it is my belief that social learning techniques and strategies should be used on occasion within the classroom in addition to a variety of other teaching strategies.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Constructivism in Practice
As many of us know, the ideas of constructivism focus around students essentially creating their own learning experience while the teacher serves as a facilitator of information and ideas instead of the only source. In addition, constructionism additionally suggests that students learn best when an actual product is created during the learning process and the student actually creates something with the information that they are learning. Both of these concepts are regularly seen within the classroom on a regular basis in most schools across the country. However, I believe that with the increased integration of technology into schools, we will see even more project based learning and constructionism in the classroom that focuses around students creating an actual artifact to demonstrate they have obtained the necessary content material.
The book I have been using recently, "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malensoki, 2007), dives further into this subject and suggests numerous technological tools and strategies that can incorporate this particular learning theory and apply it to the actual classroom. The ones that drew particular interest from me were the web resources that were discussed, particularly one titled, "Muzzy Lane's Making History: The Calm and the Storm, which can be found at www.making-history.com. As a social studies teacher, I was immediately interested by this particular learning tool because it focused on social studies content. In addition, after reading about the tool, I began to think that this could have some real impact in my classroom when I teach about World War II.
To briefly summarize the web resources, students are placed in the position of a leader of a particular country near the onset of World War II. They then begin making various decisions that particular leader would have had to make and then see if their decisions changed the outcome of that particular moment in history; thus constructing their own learning. I say this because they have the ability to see what types of decisions could have been made (instead of the ones that were) and see how these different decisions could have changed the outcome of this time period in history.
In addition to this tool, the other web resources that were discussed had much of the same relationship with constructivism in that they allowed students to take control of a situation and then see what kind of outcome their decisions produced. These ranged from web resources involving weather to modifying a catapult to ensure a direct hit on a building. Not only do these constructivist strategies allow students to see how the information they are learning can actually be applied, they also serve as a fun way to learn and an approach that will likely be enjoyed by the students which is always a good thing.
The book I have been using recently, "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malensoki, 2007), dives further into this subject and suggests numerous technological tools and strategies that can incorporate this particular learning theory and apply it to the actual classroom. The ones that drew particular interest from me were the web resources that were discussed, particularly one titled, "Muzzy Lane's Making History: The Calm and the Storm, which can be found at www.making-history.com. As a social studies teacher, I was immediately interested by this particular learning tool because it focused on social studies content. In addition, after reading about the tool, I began to think that this could have some real impact in my classroom when I teach about World War II.
To briefly summarize the web resources, students are placed in the position of a leader of a particular country near the onset of World War II. They then begin making various decisions that particular leader would have had to make and then see if their decisions changed the outcome of that particular moment in history; thus constructing their own learning. I say this because they have the ability to see what types of decisions could have been made (instead of the ones that were) and see how these different decisions could have changed the outcome of this time period in history.
In addition to this tool, the other web resources that were discussed had much of the same relationship with constructivism in that they allowed students to take control of a situation and then see what kind of outcome their decisions produced. These ranged from web resources involving weather to modifying a catapult to ensure a direct hit on a building. Not only do these constructivist strategies allow students to see how the information they are learning can actually be applied, they also serve as a fun way to learn and an approach that will likely be enjoyed by the students which is always a good thing.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Cognitive Learning Theory in the Classroom with the Use of Technology
Just as last week, today's post will be utilizing ideas gained through the use of the textbook, "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). As stated in the title, this weeks entry will focus on various instructional strategies and their relationship with cognitive learning theory. Refreshing my memory on cognitive learning theory and some of the tools that go along with it reopened by eyes to the effectiveness of many of the strategies associated with the theory and also the ideas that are associated with the theory, which I will be sharing with you today.
One of the most influential concepts that comes from cognitive learning theory, in my opinion, is the concept of dual coding of information. This idea essentially states that the ability to remember things can be positively impacted if you can find a way to remember it in two ways, or dually. The most practical way for me to achieve this as a social studies teacher is to consistently provide useful images to go along with ideas, people, events, or places that I am covering with my students. In addition, if I can use a concept map at the same time, I can not only take advantage of dually coding the information, I can also take steps to create a network of information relating to a single topic, thus increasing my students ability to remember whatever it is we are discussing. When it comes to organizing information, I feel that concept maps give you a great ability to succeed, especially when it is a digital concept map that is capable of including images along with text. That way, students can not only see the web of information but also the images that exemplify and identify the ideas, events, or people we are discussing.
Another useful tool in the classroom that exemplifies cognitive learning theory is the use of the virtual field trip. If used effectively, a virtual field trip can create an actual experience that students will be able to look back on to remember information. The creation of an actual experience can be the most effective way of retaining information and if a virtual field trip is executed properly, it can do just that. In my opinion, the best virtual field trips are those that create a sense that you are actually there. Many virtual field trips that are available are simply a slide show that fuses information and pictures together and calls it a virtual field trip. I disagree. I think that an effective virtual field trip incorporates more then just pictures and text. They should include moving video taken from the point of view of actually being at the site. This way, an actual experience is created in the students brain so they can recall the information that is learned from the virtual field trip.
I plan on suggesting many of my colleagues to review the information presented in the cognitive learning theory and also strategies that make use of ideas taken from the theory. I feel that a lot can be gained by doing so and it can reignite the desire to make a concerted effort to use these strategies in the classroom to ensure that students are given the best opportunity to retain the information that is presented to them on a daily basis.
One of the most influential concepts that comes from cognitive learning theory, in my opinion, is the concept of dual coding of information. This idea essentially states that the ability to remember things can be positively impacted if you can find a way to remember it in two ways, or dually. The most practical way for me to achieve this as a social studies teacher is to consistently provide useful images to go along with ideas, people, events, or places that I am covering with my students. In addition, if I can use a concept map at the same time, I can not only take advantage of dually coding the information, I can also take steps to create a network of information relating to a single topic, thus increasing my students ability to remember whatever it is we are discussing. When it comes to organizing information, I feel that concept maps give you a great ability to succeed, especially when it is a digital concept map that is capable of including images along with text. That way, students can not only see the web of information but also the images that exemplify and identify the ideas, events, or people we are discussing.
Another useful tool in the classroom that exemplifies cognitive learning theory is the use of the virtual field trip. If used effectively, a virtual field trip can create an actual experience that students will be able to look back on to remember information. The creation of an actual experience can be the most effective way of retaining information and if a virtual field trip is executed properly, it can do just that. In my opinion, the best virtual field trips are those that create a sense that you are actually there. Many virtual field trips that are available are simply a slide show that fuses information and pictures together and calls it a virtual field trip. I disagree. I think that an effective virtual field trip incorporates more then just pictures and text. They should include moving video taken from the point of view of actually being at the site. This way, an actual experience is created in the students brain so they can recall the information that is learned from the virtual field trip.
I plan on suggesting many of my colleagues to review the information presented in the cognitive learning theory and also strategies that make use of ideas taken from the theory. I feel that a lot can be gained by doing so and it can reignite the desire to make a concerted effort to use these strategies in the classroom to ensure that students are given the best opportunity to retain the information that is presented to them on a daily basis.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Behaviorism and Technology
For this post, I am going to be referencing the book "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works", written by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007). In particular, I am going to be discussing the correlation between behaviorism and the learning theories of reinforcing effort and homework and practice.
The basic idea of reinforcing effort is that by creating a project that forces students to keep track of how their effort impacts their success in the classroom throughout a unit. Students create some type of chart or spreadsheet to help monitor their scores on assessments along with their effort in specific areas relating to that assessment or lesson. In a perfect world, students would see that when they put forth increased effort, they gain better results. This not only shows students that effort in a subject can breed results, but it also boosts student self-confidence because they see that they are truly capable of succeeding in the classroom. In essence, this is classic behavioralism at work because it centers around the idea that students will see that effort increases their scores and this realization should modify their behavior and persuade them to continue putting forth effort.
The basic idea of homework and practice is that students can have high success rates learning material if they complete homework on the subject and actually practice using the material numerous times. Parts of this strategy reflect behavioralism better than others, but one area that reflects behavioralism very well is that of using web resources for students to practice their content. One web resource that I am familiar with is called Study Island. Essentially, students have the ability to complete quizzes or assignments on Study Island and when they answer a question correctly, they are allowed an "attempt" at the game that correlates with the quiz. )For example, the content could be a 9th grade social studies standard quiz and the game that could be played is a variation of bowling) Students eventually can become conditioned to put forth enough effort to submit correct answers so that they can play the game that is presented on Study Island. It is a simple example of modifying behavior by providing a reward "at the end of the tunnel".
The basic idea of reinforcing effort is that by creating a project that forces students to keep track of how their effort impacts their success in the classroom throughout a unit. Students create some type of chart or spreadsheet to help monitor their scores on assessments along with their effort in specific areas relating to that assessment or lesson. In a perfect world, students would see that when they put forth increased effort, they gain better results. This not only shows students that effort in a subject can breed results, but it also boosts student self-confidence because they see that they are truly capable of succeeding in the classroom. In essence, this is classic behavioralism at work because it centers around the idea that students will see that effort increases their scores and this realization should modify their behavior and persuade them to continue putting forth effort.
The basic idea of homework and practice is that students can have high success rates learning material if they complete homework on the subject and actually practice using the material numerous times. Parts of this strategy reflect behavioralism better than others, but one area that reflects behavioralism very well is that of using web resources for students to practice their content. One web resource that I am familiar with is called Study Island. Essentially, students have the ability to complete quizzes or assignments on Study Island and when they answer a question correctly, they are allowed an "attempt" at the game that correlates with the quiz. )For example, the content could be a 9th grade social studies standard quiz and the game that could be played is a variation of bowling) Students eventually can become conditioned to put forth enough effort to submit correct answers so that they can play the game that is presented on Study Island. It is a simple example of modifying behavior by providing a reward "at the end of the tunnel".
Sunday, February 28, 2010
What I've Learned
In the past couple months, I have experienced new technological tools and have learned how to utilize them in the classroom. Here is a brief overview of the new tools I speak of: podcasts, wikis, and blogs to name a few. Out of all of these new things, I am really excited about using blogs or a wiki in my classroom the most. I feel that the possibilities that are created by these tools are substantial for the classroom environment and also for preparing my students to be successful in collaborating and communicating via the internet. Before I learned about these tools, I was both unfamiliar and fairly skeptical of their potential in the classroom and am very pleased that I now have the abilities to utilize them myself. Therefore, I have decided on two technological goals to reach within the next two years. 1.) To establish and maintain use of a year long blog that is seamlessly integrated within my classroom. 2.) I want to continue my education of technological tools that I can use in my classroom and help prepare my students to be successful in the 21st century.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
How do students use technology?
One of the biggest challenges we face while we continue to integrate technology into the classroom is the perception of technology by our students. I have created a podcast that discusses this issue a little further and recommend that you check it out, here is the url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHriwQhpSuw
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Twenty-First Century Classrooms
As technology and collaboration continue to become intertwined with the business world, it becomes increasingly important that school districts and individual teachers begin to incorporate and infuse these two things in the classroom. If we do not, how are students expected to succeed when they enter a world that relies so heavily on technology and collaboration to complete everyday tasks? I was introduced to an interesting organization called the "Partnership for 21st Century Skills", whose homepage is located at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php. This organization has essentially created a new educational structure that integrates 21st century skills (created by them) with the traditional k-12 content. The suggestion they are giving is that schools begin to look at doing this themselves in order to most successfully prepare their students for the world they will grow up in.
The website itself is setup very professionally and lists companies and organizations they have partnered up with to set up standards and to promote this type of education including companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Pearson to name a few. I think that because of these partnerships, you can give legitimacy to the suggestions given by this organization because they have created their new, 21st century standards in accordance with some major players in today's economy and also in the educational field.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself that your district would never take on such a potentially expensive and challenging task as this in the near future. However, if that is the case, you, as an individual teacher have all the capabilities to do this yourself and I would imagine that some of you already have taken measures suggested by this organization into your own hands. By taking measures to attack project based learning assessments and technological enhanced lessons, you can make steps to prepare students to succeed in the 21st century. If you have a computer lab or library you can find a way to incorporate numerous technology based assignments such as blogs, wikis and podcasts into the daily routines of your classroom.
I highly suggest you take a look at this website and see what it is offering because not only do I believe that the ideas are interesting, I believe that more and more schools are going to gradually begin to adopt and integrate these ideas into their curriculum.
The website itself is setup very professionally and lists companies and organizations they have partnered up with to set up standards and to promote this type of education including companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Pearson to name a few. I think that because of these partnerships, you can give legitimacy to the suggestions given by this organization because they have created their new, 21st century standards in accordance with some major players in today's economy and also in the educational field.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself that your district would never take on such a potentially expensive and challenging task as this in the near future. However, if that is the case, you, as an individual teacher have all the capabilities to do this yourself and I would imagine that some of you already have taken measures suggested by this organization into your own hands. By taking measures to attack project based learning assessments and technological enhanced lessons, you can make steps to prepare students to succeed in the 21st century. If you have a computer lab or library you can find a way to incorporate numerous technology based assignments such as blogs, wikis and podcasts into the daily routines of your classroom.
I highly suggest you take a look at this website and see what it is offering because not only do I believe that the ideas are interesting, I believe that more and more schools are going to gradually begin to adopt and integrate these ideas into their curriculum.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Using A Blog in the Classroom
As a newcomer to the use of blogs, I am intrigued by the thought of using a blog in the classroom on a regular basis and have come up with an idea for how to utilize this tool in a high school setting. The school I regularly substitute at is lucky in the fact that every single student in the school has their own MacBook Laptop for their own use. Therefore, something like a weekly blog would fit into their classrooms very easily. However, I think that even without this privilege, you could still utilize a weekly blog that requires students to read and respond to.
I am certified to teach grades 7-12 social studies and will therefore use a social studies class as my backdrop for this idea, even though it could easily be modified to fit any content area. My idea is simple, based on the given weeks overall theme, the teacher will post an entry on the blog on Sunday night. Included in this post would be a brief summary of what is going to be covered that week along with examples of the content including (but not limited to) images, video clips, vocabulary or relevant articles.
Student's will then have until Tuesday night to review the new posting and respond to either a series of suggested questions or of their overall feelings on the subject at hand, depending on how the content can be best utilized. I believe that this could be of great tool to be utilized in the classroom and would love to hear any other recommendations or critiques of this idea.
In my opinion, this idea would serve multiple purposes in the classroom. First of all, it would be a good way to expose students to the week's concepts and lessons so that they are aware of what they are going to learn. Second, it is good practice for them to utilize the internet in a professional and educational way. I believe this would be a very effective way to utilize technology in the classroom.
I am certified to teach grades 7-12 social studies and will therefore use a social studies class as my backdrop for this idea, even though it could easily be modified to fit any content area. My idea is simple, based on the given weeks overall theme, the teacher will post an entry on the blog on Sunday night. Included in this post would be a brief summary of what is going to be covered that week along with examples of the content including (but not limited to) images, video clips, vocabulary or relevant articles.
Student's will then have until Tuesday night to review the new posting and respond to either a series of suggested questions or of their overall feelings on the subject at hand, depending on how the content can be best utilized. I believe that this could be of great tool to be utilized in the classroom and would love to hear any other recommendations or critiques of this idea.
In my opinion, this idea would serve multiple purposes in the classroom. First of all, it would be a good way to expose students to the week's concepts and lessons so that they are aware of what they are going to learn. Second, it is good practice for them to utilize the internet in a professional and educational way. I believe this would be a very effective way to utilize technology in the classroom.
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