Well, it depends.
Reading Dervin was one of the biggest challenges I have had since my early college days. It made me think twice about the information I expect my students to read and understand. When assigning new reading I ask myself, "How difficult will this be and how much differentiation will my students need to read this text above their grade level?" On the other hand, Baggio's readings were easy to understand and made visual learning easy to understand. Her direct, less wordy, approach, was very easy to comprehend. Again, I related this to what I present to my students. Am I reaching all my student's and their different learning styles? The big hit for the semester? All the new technology tools I was able to explore and try out with my students. Having access to chromebooks and ipads, I was able to try out many different learning apps and websites. My students enjoy Quizlet, are still learning Google slides, explore daily with Google Classroom, and many other technology tools. The biggest challenge? My Capstone Project. As I started my Initial Analysis, I found myself confused. Is it a research paper or project? I still need to look at the Capstones that were recommended for me to read. I am hoping that will help! How have I evolved as an innovative thinker? I have learned that there are so many resources out there for teachers to use. To be innovative, does not necessarily mean building it from the ground up. It means taking the ideas and making them your own. Taking what works and improving what failed!
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Mishra was point on when saying we need to move beyond technology in the classroom. I also couldn't agree more with his graphic organizer where pedagogy, content, and technology all intersect. When thinking about sensemaking and my classroom, I always try to see the lesson I am introducing to my students through their eyes seeing how I can connect it to their lives. I feel this video helped remind me how important it is to use technology with a purpose in lessons.
This video also helped remind me how technology is just a tool in the classroom, not the end all. As teachers, we need to use the tools that work for us and our students. What works one year, may not work the next. We need to give these tools a try and see how they fit into the daily routines of teaching and learning. As I think ahead to answering my driving question, I have to remind myself that I need my prototypes to be very teacher friendly: short, sweet, and straight to the point! I think about myself looking for tools to use in the classroom. What set of instructions can get me moving quickly to using this with students? How can I increase literacy skills through the implementation of Google Classroom?
What are my plans for the rest of this semester in my classroom?
As I finished reading Baggio, I had a lot racing through my mind, especially after taking the quiz. After every chapter, I found myself thinking about my students. Are they visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners? My conclusion... we are all of these and we need all of these learning styles given to us! We need a variety of different learning techniques to stay connected to our learning. We have to remember that "content is key" no matter what the lesson! How will I think "outside the box" every time I go to plan a new lesson? I found myself really questioning all the CRAP in my classroom. Every lesson has teachers questioning whether or not students will pay attention throughout the lesson. When giving a class presentation I will always think about contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, after reading Baggio. For my next lesson I will focus on the next four questions. 1. Contrast: Will it get their attention and keep it? 2. Repetition: What do I want them to remember? 3. Alignment: What image do I want them to focus in on? 4. Proximity: How can I keep it simple? How has my driving question progressed? Are technologies being effectively used in my classroom? ~What CRAP methods can I use to make technology more effective in my classroom instruction? Now what... I still feel as if my driving question needs more focus. CRAP! After reading the SITE Model I found myself thinking about my daily teaching: How are my students learning in my classroom? Are the effectively learning what is being taught? Am I offering students enough avenues of learning? For example, some kids learn through the writing model. Or, like me, need a visual model to understand what is being taught and then how to apply it. As a learner, SITE would have benefited me because everything was taught the same way without variation; if you didn't get the first time you were assumed to behind and in the last decade we are beginning to understand why this isn't working for all students. In my classroom I see the benefits of SITE by being able to engage my students with how they want to learn. Offering a variety of learning tools allows students to be proactive in their learning, connect with it, and retain what they have learned to be used in a different context.
Taking from SITE and what I have learned from the reading, this is how I would apply it in my classroom: Sociocultural- It is important for me to remember that students come from different backgrounds and everyone is bringing something to learning table. Informational- I need to remember that it is important to allow students the access to tools that apply to their everyday life. Technical-It is important to apply the technical side of learning to help students develop their skills in multiple settings. Educational-Now that I have taught a set of skills to my students, it is important for my students to understand why they are learning it. Will this skill be applicable outside the classroom? Well teaching my students how to use context clues when looking at new words help them later in their schooling? I need to remember that skills being taught now, will grow and improve, if given the right foundations. Baggio: How we feel affects everything was my big take away from this weeks readings. It made me think about the 4th graders I interact with everyday. Feelings are a big part of the daily routines. Thinking back to the previous chapters, this reminded me how important it is to capture our students attention, help bring clarity to this very confusing world, and help build their imaginations, to keep them in this game we call "learning".
Clark: Prior knowledge is my key take away from this weeks reading. As teachers we always looking at this years standards and what needs to be taught. It is is so important to look at the prior year and see where the building blocks started. Pre-assessments should be used as often as possible to see what gaps need to be filled and to if students have even mastered it Dervin: As I work with my System 44 third grade group, I am constantly reminding myself how important it is to continuously work on bridging the gap with our struggling students. I am also focusing more on the different learning types and reminding myself that my students are visual learners. What affect does a technology tool have on student engagement? As I think about my driving question and where it goes from here... Are technologies being effectively used in my classroom? My need to knows... Is there too much technology being used? Are the assignments meaningful? What prior knowledge should I be building on? What skills should be mastered? How does the inquiry cycle of your own learning manifest itself in your work setting?
Just like my students, I am constantly learning and growing. I have found myself trying something new more often in the classroom, thinking about how my teaching reaches my students, and reflecting more about my teaching practices, since starting this program. At the beginning of the year, I told my 4th graders that I was going to back to school and I was going to have them try some new tools for learning. My students are now always asking, "What else have you learned that you are going to teach us?" My dormant ipads are now being used daily for a variety of activities, Google Classroom is now a part of the my daily routine, and students now have a since of purpose when using technology. How can I continue to break barriers and clear up confusion for my students as they are learning? What visuals am I using? Are they working? What can be improved? After reading chapter 1 and 2 of The Visual Connection, I know have even more thoughts and questions about my teaching practices. I want my students to be thinking and learning all the time, even if it's a fun hands on activity. Students need to know that there is a purpose for what they are doing. So, how can I make sure students use their attention, perception, visualization, and imagination, daily? I am hoping that throughout this course I have my answers than questions. From the Mind's Eye was a very complex and difficult read. My first strategy, was to read through it once and see if I could understand the main idea... I did not. Sense-making confused me. My next strategy was to read it again and take notes of key words/terms and main ideas, I found myself writing more clarifying questions, than main ideas. What was the main idea? I knew it had to do something with communication and gap-bridging. After my third read, I decided to watch the video to see if it could help "bridge the gap" of understanding for me. It helped connect the main idea of how we look at information and communicate. As I finished the video, I reread From the Mind's Eye, I found myself thinking of my students. Do they feel this confused learning something new? The video felt like a small group lesson, breaking down complex text and relating it to real life. Was I the librarian? Teaching the way I felt comfortable? Or making sense of the situation, and looking at the lesson through my students eyes? There are many gaps our students have to fill in and I need to look at what's best for each of them. What questions can be answered, what confusions can we clear up, and are all the learning strategies being taught? All these questions ran through my mind as I once again, tried to reread this complex text. What if I had high-schoolers read this complex text? I would have to take each of the steps I took and help students process this kind of text slowly. Then, I thought of the you-tube video that helped finally connect the text. This reminded me how important it is to show videos to connect ideas to the world around us. One part of the reading really stood out to me, "acquiring skills, getting support or confirmation, getting motivated, getting connected to others, calming down or relaxing, getting pleasure or happiness, and reaching goals." If all of these things are happening in a classroom...we are bridging the gaps. |
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