Carrying Out My GAME Plan

 
Last week I discussed my GAME plan. Both of my goals were based around reflection, which is an area that I feel is important for both students and teachers. My first goal is to use blogging with students to help build a reflective classroom and my second goal is to reflect on my own practices and how I use technology to enhance it. In order to carry out these goals it is going to take some work and lots of planning. To start the planning stage I need to ask myself three questions: 1. what resources will I need to carry out the plan, 2. What additional information do I need, and 3. What steps have you been able to take so far.

Resources Needed/Additional Information:
For the most part I have the resources that I will need. Students have their own MacBooks and I have my smartboard to do demonstrations and show expectations. Through talking to colleagues and trial and error I will have to come up with the best student friendly blog that will meet my needs. I will also need to come up with a way to organize my own reflections in a useable format. To accomplish this I will once again talk with colleagues and explore options to see which one best fits my needs. 
 
Steps Taken So Far:
This week I took my first step of trying to get students involved in reflection through blogging. We currently use a website called My Big Campus with out students. This website resembles Facebook, but in a clean educational format. I have previously completed discussions on here, but never had the students reflect on their knowledge. This week we did a small reflection on what they learned after a lesson and what they still are struggling with. It went well, but I would like to do more with it in the future. Reflection was a new process to my students and they are going to need lots of practice and demonstrations. 

In this weeks video, Dr. Ross discussed the importance of technology and how it can reach different learners and enhance the learning of diverse learners (Laureate Education, 2010). Through reflection I hope to gain knowledge of what technology works best for my students and what they need incorporated to better their education. Technology truly does allow us to adapt education to each individual students needs.

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

 This week I visited the International Society for Technology in Education website. On this website, I used the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) to evaluate my teaching strategies to determine if I am successfully teaching 21^st Century Skills. I discovered that, for the most part, I am following the standards they have listed, but there are a few areas that I need to improve on. I have selected two standards and will discuss my GAME plan for strengthening my confidence below.

In our reading last week, Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009) discussed that todays learners are self directed. They discussed that self-directed learners must follow a four step process to be successful. This four step process is know as the GAME Plan. The four steps are set goals, take action, monitor progress, and evaluate goal success (Cennamo et al., 2009)

The first standard that I plan on strengthening my confidence in is promoting student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and

creative processes (ISTE, 2008). My goal is to use blogging with students to help build a reflective classroom. I will ask students to reflect on their learning at the end of each unit. In their reflections I will ask them to make goals and then go back and evaluate their goals at a later date.

The second standard that I plan on strengthening my confidence in is evaluating and reflecting on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning (ISTE, 2008). I feel that the process of reflection can be very important to improving your teaching strategies. My focus for reflection will be on the impact incorporating technology had on the lesson or where I can add new technology to make the lesson even more effective. When I see areas of improvement in my reflection I will immediately take action and incorporate my findings and then reflect on if the change improved the lesson. Through reflection I will constantly be evaluating and making changes. I feel this will help keep me on top of my game and allow me to do what is best for my students.

I am excited to get to work on my goals. I hope that these goals will make me a better teacher and allow me to improve my students learning. Hopefully, when students leave my room they will be better prepared to be members of the 21^st century community and have a passion for being a life long learner.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A s tandards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

International Society for Technology in Education. (ISTE). (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Reflection on Implementation

When I plan my lessons and activities in my classroom I try to remember what it was like to be a student. When I think back to school, I remember a lot of sitting, listening, and taking notes. The classes that only included these aspects were always the hardest for me because I found myself not interested in the topic and counting the minutes until I was able to leave. On the other hand, the classes that I remember being excited about were the ones that involved hands on learning and getting to work with others. These are the classes that seemed to fly by and the ones that I would remember the material from. I feel in today's classroom technology is the key to making my classroom that exciting room that students do not dread coming to. Incorporating technology gives me a chance to give students meaningful experiences and gets them involved in their learning. Technology allows teachers to easily differentiate instruction based on student needs and make the classroom a dynamic learning environment (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007).

The technology I decided to use in this lesson is search engines, MindMeister, and VoiceThread. I selected these tools because they will help my students be organized and collaborate with each other. Search engines are a major tool that students need to know how to use in life. Endless amounts of information are available to us by just doing a simple search. I feel that it is important to teach students that just because the computer says it does not mean the information is valid. Students need to know how to pick trustworthy sites and be safe. Concept maps allow students to organize and visualize distinct characteristics and see the connections (Laureate Education, 2010). In 6th grade organization is one of our biggest battles. If students take notes, they struggle to find information and make connections between other information. Concept maps allow students to organize data in a visual manner. They are able to quickly look at the map and recall information. I feel that concept maps are going to be a great tool for my students and will be used in many different projects and lessons. The last piece of technology I decided to use is VoiceThread. This was my favorite tool we learned about during this class. This is the easiest podcasting tool I have ever used and offers students the ability to present their ideas. My favorite part is that after they make the podcast other students can go in and leave comments or ideas for the presenter. Collaboration is going to be a key element in my classroom this year, and this is an amazing tool for this process.

My lesson answers crucial questions students have in any subject area. It answers the question why are we learning this. The lesson gives an example a real-world display of data and an example of a job that involves data keeping and math. Students are involved in researching and finding credible information. In the real-world, people are constantly using the internet to investigate and learn new information. It is important for students to learn at an early age that not everything online is true.

The lesson also involves students in multiple forms of learning styles. The lesson contains two major learning styles, auditory and visual (Lever-Duffy, McDonald, 2008). Putting different forms of technology into my lesson helped reach numerous students. The students that learn by listening had many opportunities to listen to fellow students and myself and then discuss their feelings. Students that learn visually were able to watch a podcast showing the proper research methods and create a visual to organize their data. In my experience technology always gets the students more engaged in lessons and makes them meaningful. Every time we teach students how to use technology we are teaching them life skills they may use in the real-world. Students come into my room with diverse learning needs. Technology gives me the ability to quickly differentiate to each individual students needs. With technology, I can present my lessons in many different formats. I can create podcasts that explain lessons both auditory and visually. If a student needs extra practice, I can put them on a practice website that gives them immediate feedback. Technology gives students the ability to collaborate with each other and even myself in the classroom and outside of the classroom. If a student has a question while working on homework at home, they can get on the classroom blog and talk with each other or send me a message. Technology brings the communication level between students and student to the teacher to an all new level. My classroom also has a high ENL population and technology allows me to connect the lessons to their native language. Using search engines, I have been able to find videos and other class material in their native language and then connect it to what we are doing in the classroom.

Technology can transform teaching and learning. If used correctly, technology can move you from a good teacher to a great teacher and give you the positive influence on student learning you have always hoped for (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). This statement sums up the integration of technology perfectly. If technology is used in the classroom and used in meaningful ways, students will reach levels they never thought were possible. They will leave our classrooms with real-world knowledge and ready to be a productive citizen.

References

Indiana Department of Education, (2012). Indiana Standards Materials. Retrieved on August 12, 2012 from http://www.doe.in.gov/achievement/standards.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Cognitive Learning Theories [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Lever-Duffy J. and McDonald J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations. Boston, MA. Allyn and Bacon

Pitler H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Schacter J. and Fagano C. (1999). Does computer technology improve student learning and achievement? Journal of Educational Computing Reasearch, 20 (4), 329-343

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

The social learning theory states that students learn best when they are engaged socially in their learning. To learn they need to interact and collaborate with others (Laureate Education, n.d.). This weeks instructional strategy was cooperative learning. Cooperative learning fits perfect with the social learning theory.

Cooperative learning is a strategy where students interact in many different ways that can enrich their learning. Students can work with classmates or people in a real-world context to bridge learning and the real world (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). As you can see, cooperative learning is a social style of learning in which students interact with each other to learn new material. I feel that cooperative learning is a major component of the social learning theory.

Technology has brought the social learning theory and cooperative learning to a new level. Technology opens up the classroom to areas that classrooms of the past could not go to. Students are able to collaborate with people all over the world to learn new materials. Technology has allowed students to get involved in their learning and get a clear answer to why they are learning the material.

I have included my link to my voice thread for the week. This voice thread is an introductory to a cooperative learning project my students will be completing this year.

https://voicethread.com/share/3266250/

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). Social Learning Theories. [Video webcast].Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Constructivism in Practice

 Almost every class I have taken at some point talks about the fact that students learn much better from hands on experiences instead of being lecture to. The constructivist/constructionist learning theories help provide these hands on experiences to students. These learning theories are learner centered. Students are able to construct their own meaning behind certain concepts by using hands on activities. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This week we learned about a few resources that perfectly correlate with the principles of constructivist/constructionist learning theories. 

Web resources and gaming software, in the form of interactive applets and simulations, allow students to use background knowledge, make decisions, and see the outcome of their hypothesis, often in virtual situations that would be impossible or financially unfeasible in real life (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). All of these aspects are key components of the constructionist learning theroy. Web resources and gaming software is an area I use all the time in my classroom. One of my students favorite math gaming sites this past year was www.arcademicskillbuilders.com. This gives students to practice different math concepts in a game format. Www.Hoodamath.com is another place that I used, but as time has past this source has added more and more games that I question their math content. Anytime I can bring games into my lessons students get very excited. A lot of times they do not even realize they are doing math, they just want to complete the challenge at hand. 

In math, I can certainly see myself using spreadsheet software and data collection tools. This is an area that I have not transitioned to a technology format yet. I am excited to try some of the resources mentioned in the text this week. I also am interested to hear about any successful resources others have used in their classrooms for spreadsheets and data keeping.

I truly believe the constructivist/constructionist learning theory needs to be present in modern day classrooms. With the use of this theory and technology, students can get hands on learning experiences that are meaningful and engaging. Hopefully through this process students will then truly learn the material and use in their lives.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Constructionist & Constructivism Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Cognitivism in Practice

 This week we have learned about the cognitive learning theory. The cognitive learning theory revolves around information processing. There are three stages of information processing: sensory, short term memory, and long term memory. (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). In the classroom, our ultimate goal is to store our content into the students long term memory. In order to successfully complete this goal, we have to make sure we are integrating multiple senses. When you integrate multiple senses you improve the chances of students be able to recall the knowledge on a long term basis (Laureate Education, n.d.). This week we learned about two different teaching methods that I believe are successful cognitive learning strategies.

The first strategy is cues, questions and advanced organizers. The main purpose of this strategy is to help students organize information so that they can more easily retrieve it and use it at a later date (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Cues and questioning allow students to take their current understanding and reinforce it by connecting it to questions being asked. This method can also challenge students to dig deeper and learn more about the topic. The advanced organizers are a great tool for students to use to make a visual of their understanding of the topic. It takes the words they are processing in their head and outlines it in a visual that explains their individual understanding.

The second strategy is summarizing and note taking. Summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students' ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). When taking notes or summarizing my hope as a teacher is that my students are putting the information in a useful format that will help them recall it at a later date. The data can be used as a trigger to help students quickly recall what they had learned. I have used summarizing in my classroom through journaling and blogging. This has been productive because it gives students a condensed version of what they learned. I feel that the advanced organizers can be a powerful tool to enhance note taking and give a quick visual to trigger the information. This coming up school year I plan on using a lot more organizers in place of long written notes.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Cognitive Learning Theories. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice

 This week we have studied the behaviorist theory and the instructional strategies reinforcing effort, and homework and practice. After learning about the instructional strategies, I feel that they share a lot of commonality with the behaviorist theory. The behaviorist learning theory is made up of three parts, operant conditioning, programmed instruction, and behavior management (Laureate Education, n.d.). Both of the instructional strategies can fall under at least one of the three parts of the theory.

The first instructional strategy is reinforcing effort. This strategy reinforces the students understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). This strategy in the classroom involves teachers stress the importance of effort and students tracking their efforts. Students take charge of their efforts and look at the data to see what they achieve with the amount of effort they give. I feel that this strategy can fall under the behaviorist theory of operant conditioning the only difference is the students are the ones setting the boundaries. Through this strategy, students will learn that the reward to positive behavior and effort is a better final product. Students may even make the connection that the more effort they give not only the better final product but they may also complete it in less time. Another positive outcome is with students keeping track of the data it will be very simple for the teacher to sit down and discuss efforts and behavior with the students. If a student is not doing what is expected, the teacher can talk with them about the data and discuss the punishment or actions that will be taken. This shows that not only does reinforcing effort fall under operant condition it also falls under behavior management.

The second instructional strategy is homework and practice. In this strategy, students are given the chance to complete meaningful tasks at home and also given time to practice new understandings. Multiple exposures to material help students deepen their understanding of content and become proficient with skills (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). This strategy clearly falls under the programmed instruction part of the behaviorism theory. Dr. Orey discusses that programmed instruction involves students getting multiple experiences to reinforce the material (Laureate Education, n.d.). Homework and practice does just this; it gives students multiple opportunities to practice their learning and clear up misconceptions.

The behaviorism theory is present in education today. Teachers may not even realize they are using parts of it, but I guarantee it is present in some form. The two strategies that we discussed this week are just two of several that have adopted parts of the theory.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.). Behaviorist Learning Theory. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/6711/02/downloads/WAL_EDUC6711_02_A_EN-CC.zip

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.