Below is a list for teachers adapted from the ones I have seen for students.
During my time in the eLearning online course from the Alabama Department of Education, as well as during my graduate studies at the University of South Alabama in educational media, I learned about student checklists and rubrics used to self-evaluate and guide many parts of their learning. One that has stuck out at me at this time is the Self-Direction checklist, which includes goal-setting, project management, problem solving, using feedback, persevering, assessing quality, reflecting on learning, and learning continuously. After reviewing this list, I wondered why there has not been a checklist for teachers. Some of the points made within the categories would certainly make me more aware of my day, instead of going through the motions, as I have done in the past.
Below is a list for teachers adapted from the ones I have seen for students.
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There are many things I learned within my educational media graduate student courses at the University of South Alabama, and one of them is project based learning, or more like inquiry based learning. I am now taking an online professional development course through the Alabama State Department of Education regarding project based learning. This week, we are learning the misconceptions and the readjustments a teacher must make in order to move toward a project based learning classroom. My response is below.
There are so many considerations regarding changes geared toward a project based learning classroom. I really enjoyed the conversation between Abe and Maria about misconceptions. Many teachers have these and being a prospective school librarian, this is a wonderful beginning for motivating them and encouraging them through the ins and outs. I will begin with the quote from the first grade teacher, Lisa-Helen Shapiro, within the Project Design section of the intel program. Simply, she explains that projects are more difficult, require more planning, and take longer for the students to accomplish than paper and pencil days, but the results are much better. This is where it all starts, because pencil and paper days are much easier and require much less planning and preparation with worksheets. Developing rubrics takes time, reaching out to community helpers takes time, and redeveloping the lesson plan structure also takes time. I am glad that within the context of the conversation between Abe and Maria, Abe says to start small and use what is comfortable, then branch out slowly. Time is of the essence as well. This is my fifth online learning course, and I have read many complaints about not having enough time to plan, teach, and learn new strategies and technology applications. I enjoy problem solving, so I researched ideas about time management. Most of them say to implement timers. Just like the KWL chart for new and experienced teachers for project based learning that we are given in this module, when planning, a teacher can estimate the time needed, then when beginning the lesson, he or she can set the timer. The teacher can learn more about time management with the timer as a guide. Experience will be gained for the next lesson. Project based learning is student centered. Many teachers will not like giving up control. This also causes students to fill different roles within the classroom within groups, instead of simply the listener. Some students will need to be leaders, note-takers, etc. That means, the teacher will need to make sure he or she knows her students more, so that tasks can be assigned for groups. Within the groups can assign tasks to their own members, but life skills will need to be taught and learned through that process, so students can know how to deliberate, assign, accept, and follow efficiently when called upon. Teachers also need to readjust their lessons and reach out to community helpers. Community helpers are also teachers and can be invited into the classroom more often. This also makes the teacher give up control, because she is allowing someone else instruct his or her students more often than in the past. Last, learning to create better questions that are asked throughout the lesson needs to be practiced and researched. Knowing which questions to ask and when is very important. And, although questions might be planned by the teacher, there are always instances when new ones will arise. Lots of adjustments to make within my classroom! It has been eight years since I taught, and it was definitely the more traditional, teacher-centered way with very little projects, but here they are! I am most eager to bring in community helpers to talk about and probably help facilitate projects in the classroom, something I never did in the past. I am taking an online professional development course for expanding my knowledge of book reading for early childhood education. One of the forums regards improving the classroom library and encouraging the children to best utilize the area. My answer is below.
After looking at another article, The Importance of the Classroom Library, in Early Childhood Today (2001) it says that a teacher should not only keep books in classroom library, but where various centers are, place books there, too. For example, in the housekeeping center, put books about babies, food, etc. In the building block center, keep books about construction work or trucks in a crate. I never thought of that idea before, well, mainly because I was teaching second grade, and we had centers based on word studies, but if I am in a Kindergarten class or younger, that will be something to implement. As far as the amount of books I formerly had in my classroom, there were a lot. But, I worked at a school that had a huge mix of demographics, and I believe I needed more books that suited them. I initially sorted them based on Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading Levels, but after my first year, we changed to a basal, so I simply sorted them into fiction and nonfiction, then subcategories. Something else I am definitely going to do, if I am indeed in the classroom compared to my desired occupation of a school librarian, is to display a collection of themed books in an appealing way on top of the bookshelves. Showcasing the books more creatively will create more of a desire to read. Some ideas include placing drawings of characters or animals surrounding the book, appealing signs, and according to the season, objects that go with both the topic of the books and what we will be celebrating that month or week. It will be as creative as a great bulletin board display. Writing within the classroom library is not something I considered in the past, but after reading the assigned article, I am excited about having a collection of materials to do so. One topic I would like to bring up is the insignificance of the teacher’s desk. When I was in the classroom, my principal asked someone within each grade level to come with her to a school that was performing very well and observe some of their strategies. One of the strategies was to take out the teachers’ desks so the floor can be used for more student work. That appealed to me so much, but at the time, I could not see letting my desk go. When I return, I will definitely look into that possibility. Using the space for the classroom library appeals to me. More seating and a larger and more inviting theme could be set up. When I really think about it, I could keep my personal supplies of pens, paper, notebooks, etc. in the closet or a filing cabinet and grade papers at the students’ tables while the students are at an extracurricular activity or after school. IF a desk is absolutely needed, why not use a stand-up desk and keep a stool handy for when you want to sit at it. A simple podium with a wooden box attached at the side to hold pens and paper could also work. The Importance of the Classroom Library. By: Neuman, Susan B., Early Childhood Today, 10701214, Feb2001, Vol. 15, Issue I am just beginning a new online professional development course for creative use in a mobile classroom. The first week, we learned the meaning of creativity and the importance of it. The second week, we learned about apps to support creativity and mobile learning. The discussion question and my reply is below. What future mobile device trends interest you the most? How could you imagine these technologies being used in your classroom?
"I am the most interested in ideation apps, because they involve process. When opening up a broad objective in science, for example, plants, the teacher can implement a mind mapping application on the SMARTboard, then he or she and the students can brainstorm all the inquiries the students have about plants and also the terms and ideas they may already know, like a KWL chart, but much broader. After saving that mind map and clearing it out, the teacher and students can then brainstorm the many ways of learning, or resources, about plants, like other apps, books, websites, field trips, professionals in the community, etc. The teacher could take this further by creating a link and sending it to the parents, so they can become involved in the learning process. They can add to the mind map by asking their own questions about plants and also give information and resources about where to look to find those answers and learn more. After the brainstorming process for questions and where to find the answers, the teacher can task the students by finding the answers that intrigue them the most, fostering a more personalized learning environment. After finding what the students want to know, they present it in the way that suits them, maybe even using an ideation app to brainstorm the many possible ways of presenting information. "The other categories of apps are great. The teacher-productivity apps are especially handy, because educators always need that extra boost of organization and connectivity to their long-term and short-term goals." I have not taught math for some time now, except homeschooling my children. Even Aidan is excelling, and I need to brush up. This math professional development course has really opened my eyes to teaching it again, and we are only in the first session. I am excited about what is to come. Below is an answer to one of the forum questions in the first session that regards how to set a balance between revolving math around life situations, technology, and basic skills math practice review. New concepts need to be taught, but basic skills also need to be continually addressed and reviewed.
I really enjoyed all of the required videos for this session. After not teaching for quite some time, it is refreshing to come back to a little bit more structure than when I left. The three key points mentioned revolve around real life situations, using technology, and the need for as much math practice as possible with basic facts. I really enjoyed a video within the www.insidemathematics.org. A woman brought in experts in the field of engineering after her students learned about drag/pull, a physics concept. There is a method developed by a woman named Dr. Kulthau that I learned about in my educational media classes. Her method revolves around the inquiry process. This process begins with sparking students’ interests by bringing in experts within the particular field to show relevance to life situations, showing short video clips, allowing the students to play around with hands-on materials, or all of the above pertaining to the state objective at hand. They students have questions ready before the experts come in, and develop more questions to answer themselves through investigating online tools and other resources. This model can be completed with math in the elementary classroom using real life situations, technology, and basic practices within math. For fractions, a student’s parent could come in that enjoys cooking. Asking measurement questions pertaining to the size measuring cups will get discussions flowing, or take it to the next level with how many cookies to bake when having a certain amount of visitors or cost of ingredients, etc. It takes way more planning than just, “Take out your math books, turn to page 20, and let’s do a math drill,” but it is worth it, and like described in our required reading and viewing of videos, it is the best route. With addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, simple manipulation of objects can allow the students to see different ways of illustrating a problem. Many picture books based on math problems can be read at the beginning of a math class to be briefly discussed and illustrated through the math concept. As the story is being read, the teacher can ask questions to prompt ideas from students about how to solve the character’s problem. Students can have discussions about which process works the best and why. A homework assignment of getting a book at the library about an upcoming math concept can be tasked. That way, the student knows the concept can be taken away from the math textbook and placed in a real world situation. Or, instead of seeking out books about life experiences of basic facts, the students can write their own, or have the homework project of creating their own math story and illustrating it. It can be either digitally created and put on the school’s or class website for a digital archive. Or, it can be a physical copy, then scanned to be a digitally saved. Involving technology and creating a balance are both necessary. Integrating technology in math can be easy and fun with social media. Take Instagram, for example. If a student sees a real life situation regarding an objective learned in math, he can take a picture of it and/or write about it, post it, and add a designated hashtag. A digital collection by the class can then be established. The same can be applied for Twitter, Facebook, etc. With regards to technology, using it versus completely leaning against it for support needs to be differentiated. I grew up with teachers and parents asking if mere calculators should be used in a classroom versus fact memorization. I still use a calculator today, but I know when to use one versus having facts from memory, because I was taught how to use both. Students today need to be taught about the most appropriate time to use their brain versus technology. Both are needed for real world situations. When some of my teacher friends, my age and the older generations, and they tell me they do not use their SMART Boards or they are not interested in "flipped learning" or they loath the Common Core, I GASP inside! WHY? You are an educator! You are responsible for these students' learning! What if your child had you as a teacher? Come on! I am actually envious at the moment at my friends who are teachers for having SMART Boards, because right now, I am not teaching. I am a stay-at-home-mom. And, while I am enjoying it, because I DO have a choice to work or stay at home and definitely choose staying at home at the moment, I still envy them and shake my head at the ones who are not using them. I would have my whole day planned out on one of those!
At any rate, they need help. Why don't they use their SMART Boards or take advantage of the wonderful technology offered at their schools? Well, after writing a review paper in my Educational Research class, there is one factor: motivation. But, some are just reluctant when it comes to technology in general. In an article I read, 5 Tips to Help Struggling Teachers with Technology, by Josh Work, who writes for Edutopia, about helping struggling teachers with technology, I came upon these five strategies: I am excited about the first one: Build a Tech Team. Why didn't I think of that? Those that are tech-savvy can always help. Support is crucial. The team could even go so far as to have motivational or morale-oriented means of supporting struggling teachers. The second is based on the idea that there may be too much or too little given at professional development meetings. Teachers may feel overwhelmed or isolated when it comes down to it. Again, reach for the tech team. Poll teachers to see where they struggle most. The third idea is to simply make time. There needs to be a professional learning community that focuses on monitoring technology integration throughout the school. The fourth way is to make it relevant. Creating a school-wide culture of the integration is key. Take risks, knowing that some lessons may not go as planned, and that is fine. Just reflect and learn from it. Encourage teachers to learn from those challenges. STUDENTS DO THE SAME ALL THE TIME! We, as educators, are NOT perfect. And, the last, simply encourage. Everyone wants motivation in many ways than one. Encourage each other throughout the day on many matters, and everyone will be that much more successful. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/help-teachers-struggling-with-technology-josh-work |
Jennifer DarisI am a prospective school librarian with an elementary education undergraduate degree from Spring Hill College (2003) and a graduate degree in educational media at the University of South Alabama (2015). Archives
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