Final Reflection EDUC 6711

Throughout the course, I have been exposed to various learning theories and different strategies that teachers can use in their classroom.  Before this course I have heard of these theories but have never learned strategies on how to apply these strategies in my lessons. I was able to expand on my personal learning theory, and incorporate new technology in my classroom that will greatly benefit my students’ education.

During week 1, I was committed to the constructivist learning theory. After this course, I remain committed to constructivism, but I also would also like to include the social learning theory and the cognitive learning theory. It is important to not only concentrate on the students working together to create an artifact, but it is also important to concentrate on how well the students work with peers and having the students understand their own thinking process. Team work and collaborative learning is very important in school as well as in the work force. Many employers look for prospective employees with these essential skills.

I will definitely be using SpiderScribe and VoiceThread in my classroom. In fact I am currently using both tools in a few of my classes. I believe that these two tools allow students to organize their thoughts and information they research to make connections between the information. These are essential skills to have in order to gain a deep understanding of the material. Tools such as VoiceThread allow students to work collaboratively with each other and learn how to communicate and discuss topics with peers. I would also like to start a classroom blog where the class can view and comment on discussion topics that I post. This will further promote the importance of being able to discuss information with others in a respectable way.

           My first long term goal is to have students work in groups more often. The social aspect of group work is very important. Students learn valuable skills when working with their peers, such as communication and collaborative problem-solving skills (Pitler, Hunnell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Students also learn to listen to their peers and respond in respectful ways, even though someone may not be pulling their weight or have a differing opinion. In order to achieve this goal, I will be rearranging my desks into small groups so that it will be easier to work with partners or groups during class outside of the lab setting. Instead of having students get up and move their desk if I want them to work with their peers, I can have them take about 5 minutes to discuss the topic with the students in their group, instead of adding the distraction of moving desks.

My second long term goal is to explore new programs and technology tools with my students. One thing I learned in this course is that there are many useful programs out there that can aid in students learning. I plan on challenging students to find new and exciting programs that can help them in class and present them to the class. I can even have students think of ways to use familiar tools, such as a social networking site, and have them brainstorm ways that we can use them in class. I plan on doing this at the beginning of the next school year so that the students may utilize these skills and programs throughout the year.

In conclusion, after this course I feel well prepared and well equipped with the tools I need to successfully incorporate technology in my classroom. I learned that the constructivist, cognitive, and social learning theories work well for me because they help prepare my students for the real world.  I will be using tools such as SpiderScribe to help students organize their thoughts, Voice Thread to help students present their thoughts, and blogs to promote discussions between my students.  I feel that I grew as an educator and that my students will benefit greatly from the skills I have learned in this course.

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

Kayla Shandra

Social Learning and Social Networking

Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) defined collaborative learning as when students work together in groups to enhance their learning. By working together with their peers, students can “make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007,p.139). I explored a variety of different cooperative learning strategies and a few social networking strategies. As I explored both types of strategies, I started to make connections between the two and how I can incorporate both in my classroom.

When it comes to using Facebook in my classroom, I tend to be cautious. Almost every student has Facebook, but the last thing they use it for is academics. I came up with the idea of having students design a class Facebook page. I would assign different roles to students to create the page. We could have a homework posting area, homework help, class discussions etc. I would need the students help to come up with more ideas. Students would also be responsible for maintaining and updating the page daily. I would of course need to set strict ground rules, such as no inappropriate posts or pictures. Although I am hesitant, I think it can be worth a try.

The second tool I would use is blogs. Students can work in small groups to design and maintain a blog related to science. I would run it similar to how we run our blog posts in this course. Each group would be responsible for posting early in the week and reading/responding to classmates blogs. Students will need to communicate and work with others in their groups to keep the blog up-to-date.

No matter what social networking strategy I would use, I would give the students a rubric outlining how they will be graded based on their participation. I would also give each group a sheet where they have to assign a role to each group member. The main goal for all these ideas is to have students work together to build something, communicate with their peers, and support each other, which is a main goal of social learning. It also allows students to see how the social networking sites can be used for other purposes, rather than discussing their social lives!

Here is the link to my VoiceThread:

http://voicethread.com/share/2498859/

Kayla Shandra

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

Constructivism in Practice

I use generating and testing hypotheses all the time in the laboratory portion of my class.  During my lab, I present students with a problem and they must work with their lab group and try to solve that problem. Once in a while, I give the students a list of materials and have them develop their own scientific questions from those materials. With the new developments in technology, students can use equipment such as, probeware, to gather and interpret data (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). In my Biology class, I use Vernier probeware.  A series of different probes came with the set along with a personal labquest computer. The students use the probes, which are connected to the lab quest computer, to collect and store data. Students can then go back and look at the data and start to interpret and analyze that data.  I feel this is connected to constructivism because students are working with their lab group to conduct an experiment, collect their own data, and finally, produce an end product. This relates to project-based learning because students are building their own knowledge throughout a hands-on projects and activities, and producing some sort of artifact which showcases that knowledge gained. In my case, the artifact is either a technology based presentation of results, or a lab report. The learners are also engaged in a complex activity that takes place over a number of class periods, which is a main aspect of project-based learning (Orey, 2001). Overall, constructivism is a learner-centered strategy where the teacher simply serves as a guide (Orey, 2001).  I believe that constructivism goes hand in hand with project-based learning. Through project-based and constructivist lessons, students work together to solve a problem or answer a question and then share their results with their peers (Orey, 2001).

Kayla Shandra

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

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

Cognitivism in Practice

Cues are used to help students know what they are about to experience during the lesson (Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  When starting a new unit, I often give students an anticipation guide that not only allows me to assess their prior knowledge on the topic, but it also gives the students a sneak peak at what will be learning throughout the unit.  As far as questioning, I always begin and end my class with a question. My warm-up question either serves as a review from last class, or it connects in some way to the new material. My exit slip questions are almost always a review question, so that I can assess the students understanding of the lesson.

One of my favorite things to use are advance organizers. When I started teaching three years ago I only gave advanced organizers to students to my special education students who needed them. When I saw how much it helped them with note taking, I decided to start using them with all my students. My students love advanced organizers and I believe that it helps with their note taking skills. Students are learning how to organize their notes and pick out main ideas, instead of writing every single word they see in the paragraph. I often include a summarizing part to my graphic organizer so the students can make connections and write all the information in a way that shows the overall picture, which is the main goal of summarizing (Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

I often use concept maps as a type of advanced organizer or as a brainstorming activity. When I use it as a brainstorming activity, I try to tap into a student’s prior knowledge and see what they know about a certain topic.  I believe that when using virtual field trips it would be beneficial for students to have some sort of concept map to organize all the information they gather. It can also serve as a guide through the virtual field trip which can make the field trip more meaningful for students. If the student have a concept map guiding them, they will be less likely to just click through the information because they will have to stop at certain points and read and record certain information.

Kayla Shandra

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

Behaviorist Learning Theory

As I looked through the learning resources and sample websites, I noticed that although the online activities were different, they all we set up very similar. Dr. Orey (2010) mentioned that reinforcement and punishment are very important parts of the theory of behaviorism. Teachers should always try to reinforce positive outcomes. I noticed that during all the online activities, when the correct outcome was accomplished, the program gave some sort of positive reinforcement. For example, during one of the activities where the students had to put the correct amount of change in the piggy bank, the piggy bank changed color when the correct amount was chosen. When students see this positive response, it motivates them to try their best. It also serves as a form of reinforcement. This can be applied to homework. When students work hard on a homework assignment, they should learn to expect a good grade. When I hand tests and homework back to the students, I make sure I put a sticker and a positve comment at the top of their paper to reinforce their hard work. I also noticed that when an answer was incorrect, the activity either told the student that the answer was wrong, or it had the student try over and over again until the correct answer was chosen. I can see how this can serve as a type of punishment and will discourage incorrect answers.  Many times, a prompt was given to the student to direct them in the right direction.  The goal of behaviorism is to change a student’s behaviors using punishment and reinforcement and these online activities clearly show this (Laureate Education,Inc.,2010).

Laureate Education,Inc.(Producer).(2010) Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast].

Reflection

Before this course I was not aware of all the different types of technology that I could easily use in my classroom. After the class started, I could not believe how easy it was to use all these programs. This course provided a hands-on experience in creating blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. I really enjoyed actually going through the motions and learning by trial and error, rather than just reading out of a book.

Through this course, I got the opportunity to learn and brainstorm different ways to incorporate different types of technology in the classroom. Through talking with others in the course I got some really good ideas, things that I would have never thought of before. I plan on using educational blogs to keep up to date on the latest trends in technology so I can incorporate some new things in my classroom.

I learned that students are digital natives and are very capable of learning and using new technology. Their brains are geared more towards technology and teachers should use that to their advantage. We can develop our lessons around all the prior knowledge our students bring to class regarding technology.

I have two long term goals for the coming years. First, I plan on starting next school year with teaching the students how to make blogs and wikis. I will then incorporate these blogs and wikis in my lesson at least once a week throughout the whole school year. I also plan on working with other subject areas to create blogs and wikis. By doing this, students can make connections between the topics learned in my class and their other classes. Second, I am going to try and set up video conferences between my students and classrooms around the world.  I will have to carefully research this method and speak with my school district to make sure I have permission. I also plan on getting the parents involved by asking for their help. We have a lot of military families in our district and parents that work overseas. They may be able to help set something up for the students.

The two answers that the changed the most from when I first complete the checklist where from the following practices:

1.      Promote the development of leadership and technology skills in my students and colleagues. I have been sharing all the information that I have learned in class with other teachers in the building. Next year I will also share this information with my students.

2.      Work to promote best practices in technology integration by researching, evaluating, selecting and sharing new tools for classroom instruction. Before this course I did not know about blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. Now I know how to create and effectively use them in my class.

In conclusion, this was one of the most interesting classes that I have taken so far during my master’s program. I learned a lot of different types of technology and got a lot of great ideas for future lessons. I plan on continuing to check my blogs and wiki, so if any one comes across any good ideas, please share. I will also post anything that I find that may be helpful.

Podcast

Here is the link to my podcast!

http://kaylashandra.podbean.com/2011/10/06/students-and-technology/

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I thought the website was very useful and easy to use. I liked the graphical representation of the skills and the support systems in place to promote those skills. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that business and government leaders were encouraged to join the program. This is a great idea since those leaders know exactly what skills employees need to be successful out in the real world.

As I was reading through the information I came across a section where they talked about the content areas that are usually not covered in school. For example, global awareness, financial, economic, business, entrepreneurial literacy, civic literacy, health and wellness awareness and environmental literacy are not taught in most schools.  I never thought of these skills/content areas before, but it makes perfect sense that students would need to know this information. I think that schools need to revisit their curriculum and implement these content areas where they can. Unfortunately, everything in education is state test driven, so school districts may be hesitant to include these content areas in the curriculum since it is not tested on the state tests.

I noticed on the website that the founding organizations are all large technology companies. This makes me a little nervous. Even though it is great that these large companies are trying to help schools to prepare their students, I think more educators need to be involved in developing the program. People with a background in education can work with these large companies and design a program that is teacher and classroom friendly. Also, this organization needs to realize that school districts are cutting back severely. Not all schools have the time and resources to adopt a whole new program, especially when funding does not rely on whether or not students have these essential skills, but rather on test scores.

Although the goal of the site is to prepare students for their future in a technology driven world, I feel like there is going to be more and more pressure put on teachers to make sure students are prepared for the workforce. Not only do all our students have to pass the state tests, but now we have to make sure they have all these skills so they can get a good job. Where will teachers find the time and what will be sacrificed to find this time?

Using blogs in my classroom...

Before taking this course I never thought of using blogs as an educational tool. After I thought about it for a while, I thought it might be an innovative way to stay connected to my students and integrate technology in my classroom.

One thing I always to do in my class is science current events, at least once a week. My principal always stresses how important it is for students to stay up to date with the latest news, and I couldn't agree more. So my idea is to incorporate science current events into a blog. Each week the students would be responsible for finding a current event, related to science, that they find interesting. The students would go to the blog and post the link along with a short reflection on the current event. They may write something they found interesting or something that they agree or disagree with. Once everyone in the class posted their current event (I would set a due date), the other students would have to go the blog and read through a few current events and post their own reflection.

I feel that this blog would  open up a discussion or debate between classmates, which is a great way for students to learn how to develop their own ideas and opinions on different topics. I also feel that students will like the idea of a blog since most students are so technology savvy. Also, I think that blogs would be great for shy students that are scared to share their thoughts in front of a classroom of their peers. By blogging, they can post their thoughts in the comfort of their own home.

I would use these blogs with my 8th and 9th grade Biology classes.

New School Year New Technology!

Welcome to a new school year! I just received my own SmartBoard in my classroom a few days ago and I am really excited to start using it in my science classes. I used SmartBoards in college about 4 years ago so I am somewhat familiar with this technology. I have a few websites in mind such as cellsalive.com to use in my classroom, but if you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them! I am always looking for new ideas.