Technology Integration: Focus for Class 11/13/15

My focus for this class is going to be based around the SMART notebook program. I think it will be important to have these skills, because a lot of times when I see teachers using their SMART boards, they don'd really know how to use them.

I am hoping to learn some basic tricks and tips for becoming more savvy with this program.

Elementary Methods: Primary Sources

I thought/ I remember….

When I was reading this, I was thinking of how effective primary source materials were as a kid. Still today, primary materials are the most helpful, and of course the most engaging.

In the field…

In the field I feel that I see this all the time. Students are much more engaged with the proof and the raw details. They like to see it before they believe it. An example of this I see in my field work right now is my first graders exploring outdoors and what it has to offer. Yes, we do read about the things we are studying outside, but then we apply that to the real world, and get them involved with the actual materials and habitat.

I believe…

“Using primary sources is a way to link the human in the classroom with the humans involved in the creation of the sources. Often students fail to see the link between the remote past and the immediate present. Primary sources can create a bridge over that gap, a way of "tuning in" (Danzer and Newman 1996, 21) to the teaching of social studies”

I believe using primary sources is totally the way to grab kids’ attentions. Kids need the real deal to stay tuned in. Naturally if you were learning about butterflies, it would be much more engaging to see the actual butterfly that a picture of one. A student’s engagement is determined by your effort to engage them.

A connection I can make is…

A connection I can make to this is when I was in middle school and we had WW2 veterans come in and talk to different grades about the war, what it was like, and how it affected them. This was much more engaging than reading about the war because these men had actually been there- they were living proof! Another cool thing I remember was them bringing in different things they had acquired overseas; swastika arm bands, helmets, glasses, and mapping tools. 

Teaching Methods and Practice: Teaching Social Studies

Based on my reading of: Revitalizing Civic Learning in Our Schools and The SS Interview

I thought/ I remember….

When reading these articles I remembered when I was in school and how much we did not serve or learn to contribute to our community. I do however remember my gym teacher being very active in our school community and our outside community. Because she was so involved, and fairly old fashioned, we learned some pretty cool trades and showed both those communities regularly.

In the field…

In the field we are working very hard to help our student create a body and voice in the community. We are working as a whole school community to make a difference. This is our attempt at helping children to get socially involved in their town. I think a lot of the time this idea is overlooked because we are too busy teaching the behavioral expectation for a good society, but not actually what to do for your community.

I believe…

“As Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, John Dewey and other great educators understood, public schools do not serve a public so much as create a public.1 The goal of schooling, therefore, is not merely preparation for citizenship, but citizenship itself; to equip a citizenry with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for active and engaged civic life.” (NCSS article)

I believe this article is getting at the fact that schools do not teach kids to be their community, they just teach them how to be within it. To be a good part of your community you need to not only be in it, but an active part, and that is often left out of schooling.

A connection I can make is…

“Students tend to see Social Studies in general, and History in particular, as the subject matter that has the least relevancy to their current lives and their future needs.” (Interview article) The connection I make here is the dreadful one that when you were a child and Social Studies just seemed to mean history. It’s obviously much more than this, and it’s the job of the educator to help students see the difference and not the misconception. 

 

Personalization

"a truly personalized school would be able to recognize such budding genius. Indeed, it would be able to diagnose and support the whole range of human talents. A personalized school is one in which each individual person whether student or teacher, matters a great deal and has a program that is good for him or her." (p. 217)

I think the general idea in every school is we want to give every child the same playing field and opportunity. However, giving every child the same playing field doesn't necessarily mean they are getting the same opportunity. The idea with personalization is that even though kids might have or be given a different field, they are given the tools for their personal needs to reach the overall educational goal.

What personalization do you already see happening in your school?

AS for a school setting, teachers, and staff members have a student population to read and ponder. the pond of fish that nature hands you determines everything from behavior management, to activities, to the execution of instruction. The flow will change and fluctuate differently based on the student body. I see a lot of classrooms split up based on level of ability and how the students in that grade may learn best. I have also seen a lot of similar behaviors put in the same classroom and teachers who were placed with these students based on the teachers strengths and connections with those kids and their personalities. 

Which areas do you think could be further personalized? 

I think the open mindedness and flexibility in some older staff members could definitely expand. In this same respect, I think that some members in my school community could take biger risks with their approach to understand the students "way".

Technology: What's your Mindset?

Loving the "Challenge Accepted" or sweating miserably through failure?

I think when I am assessing myself, I am definitely a combination of both a fixed and growing mindset. I like to think of it as a package deal! I like to think there are things that I am just naturally the bomb at, and I always will be and I express those just as so. I am comfortable, and natural when expressing these things, and everything is all good. However, I also have basic qualities that that I have cultivated through my efforts and learning experiences. I think that these two things go hand in hand. Maybe your interest is your fixed mindset- "I know I am athletic. I show this." The growth pieces comes in when you expand this thought to different aspects of athletics that become new to you that you learn to the bump and grind- "Man I am good at this, so I'm going to fail through this a little and get okay at it. Starting with the basics baby...."

I think there is definitely some gray here in the middle and some crossing over!

I love in the beginning of the Mindset reading where it's talking about the huge surprise of the kiddos loving the challenge and lip smacking and rubbing their hands together! This is what rue interest looks like! Challenge is their interest subject. 

Maybe it's not what's challenging, but the challenge itself!

Form me I think that I am always able to:

• Find the humor- laugh at my silly mistakes.
• Create Approach and Innovate- I am willing to try different approaches when I am learning something new, imagine new possibilities, and use what I am learning to understand things happening around me. 
• and, Respond with Wonderment and Awe- I am okay being curious and seeing beauty and simplicity around me, including me learning! I enjoy the "AH! Yes!" moment.

Transcendence:I think this speaks a lot to the previous question. I see myself as light hearted and simple in the sense that I enjoy the little things; simple beauty, humor, silliness. And, I think optimism is one of the best tools we can have in our tool box and be aware of. 

BOOM

Check out my POWTOON

Check it out!

Do it- I dare you.

Elementary Methods: Chapters 8, 9,&11

I thought/ I remember….

While reading Chapter 9 I definitely remember doing this when I was in school, and I still do it now. I always found that when teachers gave me verbal and written feedback on my progress or what I needed improvement on, I felt like I was more on track with my own learning and what I needed to work on, or didn’t need to worry about. This was a super helpful learning tool that I still use and appreciate. Come on, everybody likes feedback!

In the field…

Based on my reading in Chapter 8 on personal communication assessment, I totally felt a connection- effective usage of words is the number 1, first thing you learn as a teacher. In other words, if you can’t word it in kid language, or understandably, they will ask questions not really having anything to do with what you’re asking them, or in most cases stare off into space until you come up with something better. Communication skills are vital in life for these kids both at home and at school; so if we can teach them effective language to communicate with, we are doing it right! Having the ability to communicate both efficiently and effectively is one of the single most important skills to have. This can be in the form of questions outright or discussions on topics to test the student’s knowledge and engagement with the subject.

I believe…

Based on my reading in Chapter 9 on Record Keeping (tracking student learning) I was refreshed that this could include anything from practice work, projects, quizzes, homework, and many other pieces of work. And that inevitably those scores contribute to the Summative assessments of their learning. I believe that can either be motivating or not, depending on how you present the record keeping to your students. If this is used correctly, students will have the ability to:

·         See their growth

·         Set Goals for themselves

·         And Self-Assess 

A connection I can make is…

A connection I can make to Chapter 11 about portfolios is the portfolio I have been building at JSC for the past 3 years. Similarly to in school, grades and test scores are not always the most accurate interpretation of our knowledge, and going the extra step farther, can sometimes make the difference.