Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Teaching with Technology - ISTE 5 - Participating in an OnlineEducational Community
I joined the edutopia community in order to show participation in an online educational community under the user name "Math Teacher". I happened upon this community when researching the my ISTE 5 triggering question and found a lot of interesting and informative posts and articles. I decided to comment on a blog post by Schoolhouse Media titled, "Social Media - Adopt or Face Irrelevancy". I thought this was especially relevant because of the ISTE 5 Google Hangout posted by Dr. Wicks. Because of this discussion and the blog post, I am considering ways in which I can use social media, not with my classroom, but as a tool to correspond with teachers about teaching practices. At this point, I am too new to this community for it to have helped in ways other than to shift my point of view on using social media to aid in teaching, but I do plan to keep up with this edutopia and see what sort of information and resources they have in the future.
Teaching With Technology - ISTE 4 - Digital Citizenship Infographic
https://magic.piktochart.com/embed/9976243-digital-citizenship
I chose to create a general infographic concerning the potential dangers involved with irresponsible technology and social media use, and some ways to stay safe and appropriate. With the prevalence of social media and technology abuse students (and parents) need to know how to help themselves in preventing potential issues. Overall, I hope that the visual is fairly striking and the links to other resources are very useful.
I chose to create a general infographic concerning the potential dangers involved with irresponsible technology and social media use, and some ways to stay safe and appropriate. With the prevalence of social media and technology abuse students (and parents) need to know how to help themselves in preventing potential issues. Overall, I hope that the visual is fairly striking and the links to other resources are very useful.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Accomplished Teaching Final Reflection
This quarter, I started with the intent of learning how to differentiate instruction in ways to allow all students to gain access to algebra regardless of where they came to me. Although differentiation was not the focus of this course, I did find ways in which I could help my students at their level through reflection and the work we have produced. My learning about the use of reflection to help guide our practice as an individual, small group, or even an entire staff has had an impact on the way in which I teach and interact in my class.
First, the general information concerning reflection as a tool was enlightening. Early on, the Reflective Practice Spiral as presented by York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, and Montie (2006, p. 20) revealed the power that the use of reflection may have starting with the individual and eventually leading to an entire school staff. One aspect of individualized reflection that I struggle with is the ability to maintain perspective when teaching. My most difficult class, due to both attitudes and abilities (the class is comprised of approximately 50% students with an IEP) is also at the end of my day. When lessons do not go well during that period, regardless of their success throughout the remainder of the day, I have great difficulty taking a step back and evaluating how things went overall. Instead, I have tended to focus on the way that single class period goes and taken that as the level of success the day attained. However, I have begun to reflect with a partner who is constantly asking how all class periods went in an attempt to get my focus away from the single class that may not have gone well and refocusing my reflection toward the bigger picture of how all of my classes went. This particular reflection partnership has helped me a great deal in including how all classes went rather than fixating on the one class that may not have gone well. The practice of reflecting with a partner is not one that I would have appealed to me without this class, and the readings and research in which we have participated.
Another element that has helped me a great deal is the lesson plan (KC's Lesson Plan) that we had to create and debrief with a partner. My work with Sara was difficult to get going because of our different schedules, but was very interesting and informative. The lesson I created, centered around solving systems of equations, has been very difficult in the past because although it has some real world applications, it is not the most intuitive types of problems to solve. The fact that I had Sara’s input, a teacher with relatively little experience in the world of math, was very interesting and helpful, especially the fact that she provided me with some suggestions and ideas that turned out to be very appropriate to the content being taught (even though this was definitely out of her comfort zone). The helpfulness was hopefully reciprocal as I provided feedback on her lesson based off of To Kill A Mockingbird, even though Language Arts is definitely outside of my comfort zone. This collaboration was also helpful in revealing how useful it can be to collaborate with those outside of my content area. I have found myself rarely in the position to make an obvious connection with teachers from the Humanities contents, but this collaboration allowed me to discover that there are possibilities to collaborate with other contents even when the opportunity is not obvious.
Finally, when we were required to research some of our own material concerning the traits of accomplished teaching, I was struck by the ways in which my peers and I approached this task. The article I found dealt with personalized learning environments and was very specific to my initial reflection desires. In the article, there were many informational topics, but the aspect that resonated with me most was the definition of educational equity presented by Hanover Research, “Educational equity is not simply about equal access and inputs, but ensuring that a student’s educational path, curriculum, instruction, and schedule be personalized to meet [the student’s] unique needs” (2012, p. 7). In ensuring that my students get the most they can out of their class, I need to be able to not only work toward individualizing their lessons, but may also need to take into account that they have other commitments that require them to miss classes and require other modes for them to gain access to the information provided in class. Another article I found interesting had a Language Arts focus, but was surprisingly informative to my practice. The article by Tobin (2008) titled, “Conundrums in the Differentiated Literacy Classroom”, helped to offer information about grouping and the benefits and potential pitfalls. One of the best tidbits of information I found from that article is that whatever the method for grouping, a focus on homogeneity versus heterogeneity for example, it is important to not let the groups get remain stagnate or else the practice loses its’ effectiveness (2008, p. 164). Since I am considering using grouping as a differentiation strategy, this struck me as very important moving forward. Further, the work we did at the beginning of the course and throughout with respect to the Danielson framework was important to shaping the way in which I approach the idea of differentiation. In Domain 1, Danielson outlines the requisite elements for an effective teacher, particularly with 1b and 1e. Knowing the student, their interests, skills, and needs, as well as providing appropriate grouping are all elements needed to differentiate successfully in today’s classroom (2013, p. 11, 23). For example, the Distinguished level of 1b offers elements that teachers should be cognizant of when designing lessons and utilizing strategies. These elements range from planning with a various level of follow up tasks so that students with low ability will experience success and learning as will the students who have shown or previously acquired a high level of ability to taking into account the various cultures in the room and participating in them to gain greater insight into the lives of students (2013, p. 13). This, along with many other articles and discussions, provide information that I will be taking with me moving forward in my planning for, and use of, various differentiation strategies.
Overall, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to take this class early on in my Master's program. The elements involved with this class have helped shape my thoughts moving forward with respect to what it means to become the type of teacher I hope to be. My synthesizing elements paper (Accomplished Teaching Paper) turned out to be something different than it would have been if I had been required to produce this at the beginning of the quarter mainly because of the aspect of reflection this class has emphasized. The number of resources I have been exposed to, as well as, the opinions and research provided by my peers and professors has provided me with a much clearer vision of the teacher leader I would like to become through the duration of this program. Moving forward, I hope to deepen my understanding, and use, of differentiation strategies so that I can better reach all of my students regardless of their skill level. I also want to continue building my skills as a teacher leader so that I can help my colleagues become better teachers, but also to become more comfortable working with teachers of various contents and experience from whom I can further learn and hone my practice.
Danielson, C. (2013). The framework for teaching: Evaluation instrument. Retrieved from: https://www.danielsongroup.org/download/?download=448
Hanover Research. (October 2012). Best Practices in Personalized Learning Environments. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwi9_ZWXu8PJAhVU_mMKHWxDDtcQFggiMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hanoverresearch.com%2Fmedia%2FBest-Practices-in-Personalized-Learning-Environments.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEydYQaMsjIIYiMSC2_VwjAfGK1Ow&sig2=Nb8qdMTqC5yBIOGNTS6XzA
Tobin, R. (Winter 2008). Conundrums in the differentiated literacy classroom. Reading Improvement, 45, 159-169. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=508023571&site=ehost-live
York-Barr, J., Sommers, W., Ghere, G., and Montie, J., (2006). Reflective practice to improve schools: An action guide for educators. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
First, the general information concerning reflection as a tool was enlightening. Early on, the Reflective Practice Spiral as presented by York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, and Montie (2006, p. 20) revealed the power that the use of reflection may have starting with the individual and eventually leading to an entire school staff. One aspect of individualized reflection that I struggle with is the ability to maintain perspective when teaching. My most difficult class, due to both attitudes and abilities (the class is comprised of approximately 50% students with an IEP) is also at the end of my day. When lessons do not go well during that period, regardless of their success throughout the remainder of the day, I have great difficulty taking a step back and evaluating how things went overall. Instead, I have tended to focus on the way that single class period goes and taken that as the level of success the day attained. However, I have begun to reflect with a partner who is constantly asking how all class periods went in an attempt to get my focus away from the single class that may not have gone well and refocusing my reflection toward the bigger picture of how all of my classes went. This particular reflection partnership has helped me a great deal in including how all classes went rather than fixating on the one class that may not have gone well. The practice of reflecting with a partner is not one that I would have appealed to me without this class, and the readings and research in which we have participated.
Another element that has helped me a great deal is the lesson plan (KC's Lesson Plan) that we had to create and debrief with a partner. My work with Sara was difficult to get going because of our different schedules, but was very interesting and informative. The lesson I created, centered around solving systems of equations, has been very difficult in the past because although it has some real world applications, it is not the most intuitive types of problems to solve. The fact that I had Sara’s input, a teacher with relatively little experience in the world of math, was very interesting and helpful, especially the fact that she provided me with some suggestions and ideas that turned out to be very appropriate to the content being taught (even though this was definitely out of her comfort zone). The helpfulness was hopefully reciprocal as I provided feedback on her lesson based off of To Kill A Mockingbird, even though Language Arts is definitely outside of my comfort zone. This collaboration was also helpful in revealing how useful it can be to collaborate with those outside of my content area. I have found myself rarely in the position to make an obvious connection with teachers from the Humanities contents, but this collaboration allowed me to discover that there are possibilities to collaborate with other contents even when the opportunity is not obvious.
Finally, when we were required to research some of our own material concerning the traits of accomplished teaching, I was struck by the ways in which my peers and I approached this task. The article I found dealt with personalized learning environments and was very specific to my initial reflection desires. In the article, there were many informational topics, but the aspect that resonated with me most was the definition of educational equity presented by Hanover Research, “Educational equity is not simply about equal access and inputs, but ensuring that a student’s educational path, curriculum, instruction, and schedule be personalized to meet [the student’s] unique needs” (2012, p. 7). In ensuring that my students get the most they can out of their class, I need to be able to not only work toward individualizing their lessons, but may also need to take into account that they have other commitments that require them to miss classes and require other modes for them to gain access to the information provided in class. Another article I found interesting had a Language Arts focus, but was surprisingly informative to my practice. The article by Tobin (2008) titled, “Conundrums in the Differentiated Literacy Classroom”, helped to offer information about grouping and the benefits and potential pitfalls. One of the best tidbits of information I found from that article is that whatever the method for grouping, a focus on homogeneity versus heterogeneity for example, it is important to not let the groups get remain stagnate or else the practice loses its’ effectiveness (2008, p. 164). Since I am considering using grouping as a differentiation strategy, this struck me as very important moving forward. Further, the work we did at the beginning of the course and throughout with respect to the Danielson framework was important to shaping the way in which I approach the idea of differentiation. In Domain 1, Danielson outlines the requisite elements for an effective teacher, particularly with 1b and 1e. Knowing the student, their interests, skills, and needs, as well as providing appropriate grouping are all elements needed to differentiate successfully in today’s classroom (2013, p. 11, 23). For example, the Distinguished level of 1b offers elements that teachers should be cognizant of when designing lessons and utilizing strategies. These elements range from planning with a various level of follow up tasks so that students with low ability will experience success and learning as will the students who have shown or previously acquired a high level of ability to taking into account the various cultures in the room and participating in them to gain greater insight into the lives of students (2013, p. 13). This, along with many other articles and discussions, provide information that I will be taking with me moving forward in my planning for, and use of, various differentiation strategies.
Overall, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to take this class early on in my Master's program. The elements involved with this class have helped shape my thoughts moving forward with respect to what it means to become the type of teacher I hope to be. My synthesizing elements paper (Accomplished Teaching Paper) turned out to be something different than it would have been if I had been required to produce this at the beginning of the quarter mainly because of the aspect of reflection this class has emphasized. The number of resources I have been exposed to, as well as, the opinions and research provided by my peers and professors has provided me with a much clearer vision of the teacher leader I would like to become through the duration of this program. Moving forward, I hope to deepen my understanding, and use, of differentiation strategies so that I can better reach all of my students regardless of their skill level. I also want to continue building my skills as a teacher leader so that I can help my colleagues become better teachers, but also to become more comfortable working with teachers of various contents and experience from whom I can further learn and hone my practice.
Danielson, C. (2013). The framework for teaching: Evaluation instrument. Retrieved from: https://www.danielsongroup.org/download/?download=448
Hanover Research. (October 2012). Best Practices in Personalized Learning Environments. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwi9_ZWXu8PJAhVU_mMKHWxDDtcQFggiMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hanoverresearch.com%2Fmedia%2FBest-Practices-in-Personalized-Learning-Environments.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEydYQaMsjIIYiMSC2_VwjAfGK1Ow&sig2=Nb8qdMTqC5yBIOGNTS6XzA
Tobin, R. (Winter 2008). Conundrums in the differentiated literacy classroom. Reading Improvement, 45, 159-169. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=508023571&site=ehost-live
York-Barr, J., Sommers, W., Ghere, G., and Montie, J., (2006). Reflective practice to improve schools: An action guide for educators. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Teaching with Technology, Module 4 -Keeping Relevant with Technology
My triggering question for this module was: How can I continually improve my knowledge of, and expertise in, technology to incorporate in my professional practice?
In researching this question I found a couple articles that spoke, at least in part, to my focus. The first article I found deals with the need for teachers and technology directors to work together to ensure that both the desired technology used is appropriate and that the programs are supported with appropriate levels of technology. Too often, Johnson (2013) argues, teachers forge ahead with technology use that is either not best supported by the technology available (or its' current set up) or technology directors move ahead with technology allocations that are not what a teachers needs or requires. One of the best ways in which to ensure that technology is appropriate for all is to form a "technology advisory committee" which is "composed primarily of educators (teachers, librarians, and administrators) but should also include parents and students—and of course, representatives of the technology staff" (Johnson, 2013, p. 81). The use of this committee approach is necessary to ensure that both the technology is appropriate and the technology is supported.
The second article I found discusses the need to have all levels, teachers, districts, and states, involved to effectively and lastingly incorporate technology in the classroom. Gunn and Hollingsworth (2013) researched the Southern Alberta school district and their implementation of technology in the classroom. The findings indicated that when the district implemented a 21st century curriculum shift including technology, they also utilized a focused curriculum of professional development over the course of three years yielding a significant growth in teacher comfort, familiarity, and use of the technology. Although the study was limited to three years, the authors acknowledged the need for an extended observation to determine whether this was a sustained shift, the fact that most teachers incorporated the desired technologies and strategies shows a significant impact by the districts program. Gunn and Hollingsworth (2013) conclude that, "any school district willing to undergo such a project must be willing to commit time and monies exclusively designated for the upgrading of information and communication technologies. They must also be willing to provide significant systemic support for pedagogical change" (p. 215). This effort is necessary for any school district to impart change, however, the lack of necessary support seems to be the downfall of many district or state-led changes.
Sonja found an article of particular interest to me as a math teacher. In the article, Pearce led his math classroom into a completely online, paper-free class. The class would do all of their work on an iPad and then upload it as a pdf so that he could see what his students did that day. The results of this article were fascinating in that student self reported "I am good at math" at nearly 80% after having worked through the digital class Pearson set up (2015, p. 49). This shift from worksheets and such to a completely digital class is something I have often wondered about as schools are limiting copies due to budgets, finding difficulty in shifting their curriculum to the new Common Core State Standards, and experiencing a necessary change in the way teachers need to relate information to students because of the prevalence of technology.
In closing, the use of technology must include everyone involved with education, students, parents, teachers, administrators, and district officials. For a district to initiate lasting change, they need to provide significant resources so that teachers have enough training to feel comfortable and knowledgeable with the changes. And, there are teachers out there who have experimented with many different types of classroom set ups if we look for them. I had not realized that a math class can be completely digital, but, thanks to Sonja, I have an outline of what that could potentially look like.
Gunn, T. & Hollingsworth, M. (2013). The implementation and assessment of a shared 21st century learning vision: a district-based approach. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Vol. 45 (Issue 3), p201-228. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=89525588&site=ehost-live (Links to an external site.)
Johnson, D. (Sept. 2013). Good technology choices: a team effort. Educational Leadership, Vol. 71 (Issue 1), p80-82. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=90068955&site=ehost-live (Links to an external site.)
In researching this question I found a couple articles that spoke, at least in part, to my focus. The first article I found deals with the need for teachers and technology directors to work together to ensure that both the desired technology used is appropriate and that the programs are supported with appropriate levels of technology. Too often, Johnson (2013) argues, teachers forge ahead with technology use that is either not best supported by the technology available (or its' current set up) or technology directors move ahead with technology allocations that are not what a teachers needs or requires. One of the best ways in which to ensure that technology is appropriate for all is to form a "technology advisory committee" which is "composed primarily of educators (teachers, librarians, and administrators) but should also include parents and students—and of course, representatives of the technology staff" (Johnson, 2013, p. 81). The use of this committee approach is necessary to ensure that both the technology is appropriate and the technology is supported.
The second article I found discusses the need to have all levels, teachers, districts, and states, involved to effectively and lastingly incorporate technology in the classroom. Gunn and Hollingsworth (2013) researched the Southern Alberta school district and their implementation of technology in the classroom. The findings indicated that when the district implemented a 21st century curriculum shift including technology, they also utilized a focused curriculum of professional development over the course of three years yielding a significant growth in teacher comfort, familiarity, and use of the technology. Although the study was limited to three years, the authors acknowledged the need for an extended observation to determine whether this was a sustained shift, the fact that most teachers incorporated the desired technologies and strategies shows a significant impact by the districts program. Gunn and Hollingsworth (2013) conclude that, "any school district willing to undergo such a project must be willing to commit time and monies exclusively designated for the upgrading of information and communication technologies. They must also be willing to provide significant systemic support for pedagogical change" (p. 215). This effort is necessary for any school district to impart change, however, the lack of necessary support seems to be the downfall of many district or state-led changes.
Sonja found an article of particular interest to me as a math teacher. In the article, Pearce led his math classroom into a completely online, paper-free class. The class would do all of their work on an iPad and then upload it as a pdf so that he could see what his students did that day. The results of this article were fascinating in that student self reported "I am good at math" at nearly 80% after having worked through the digital class Pearson set up (2015, p. 49). This shift from worksheets and such to a completely digital class is something I have often wondered about as schools are limiting copies due to budgets, finding difficulty in shifting their curriculum to the new Common Core State Standards, and experiencing a necessary change in the way teachers need to relate information to students because of the prevalence of technology.
In closing, the use of technology must include everyone involved with education, students, parents, teachers, administrators, and district officials. For a district to initiate lasting change, they need to provide significant resources so that teachers have enough training to feel comfortable and knowledgeable with the changes. And, there are teachers out there who have experimented with many different types of classroom set ups if we look for them. I had not realized that a math class can be completely digital, but, thanks to Sonja, I have an outline of what that could potentially look like.
Gunn, T. & Hollingsworth, M. (2013). The implementation and assessment of a shared 21st century learning vision: a district-based approach. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Vol. 45 (Issue 3), p201-228. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=89525588&site=ehost-live (Links to an external site.)
Johnson, D. (Sept. 2013). Good technology choices: a team effort. Educational Leadership, Vol. 71 (Issue 1), p80-82. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=90068955&site=ehost-live (Links to an external site.)