Week 4: Monitoring My GAME Plan - Kayla Shandra

Week 4: Monitoring My GAME Plan

January 25, 2012

I believe that I have made good progress with my GAME Plan.  I spoke with colleagues, tried the strategy of having students assign themselves jobs within a group, and learned alongside my students, a new piece of technology that will be very useful in lab.

So far I have found all the information and resources I need towards accomplishing my goal. I spoke with our librarian and she actually showed me how to use Prezi’s, so the students can use them in my class when we do presentations.  By playing around and looking at examples of Prezi’s , I could see that this could be a great tool for my visual learners.

To prepare for my second goal which was to alter my lessons to best meet the needs of my students, I had the students do a simple genetics activity where they taped the names of genes on a coin and then tossed it 50 times and recorded the results of which genes came up the most.  I had the groups assign jobs which included, coin tosser, number recorder, and a person to create a graph. This simple activity allowed me to observe the students in their group to see  how they worked together and which jobs they assigned to each other.

A small modification that I needed to make was a matter of just changing a few group members around. A few issues arose and some groups really were not working well together and it was becoming a real problem and distraction. I made notes of this and will make sure that those students are not grouped together anymore. Students need to learn how to support each other in their group and not get caught up in drama (Cennamo, Ross, &  Ertmer, 2009).

I realized also that I need to give the groups a job list where they sign their names and write down a small description of their job. This will ensure that all work is “most equitable and productive” and that “no individual takes a dominant role” (Cennamo, Ross,& Ertmer, 2009, p. 90). The other groups worked very well together and I noticed that the artistic students chose to graph the data and made very nice graphs.  The kinesthetic learners chose to toss the coin. The next and final step to my plan is to have the students carry out a lab investigation with their lab group. This investigation will have a variety of different activities where students can showcase their abilities.

After this activity I moved on to start accomplishing my first goal which was to work together with my students to learn new technology. For this lab I wanted to learn how to use the Vernier CO2 Gas Sensor. I went into the lab with just a basic plan, but not knowing how to use the gas sensor. Once we were in the lab I handed the students the CO2 sensor, a handout of the directions for calibration, and the lab handout with the procedure and some background information.  I then gave the students all the materials to complete the lab and had them start. I explained to the students that I never used this technology and I want to learn together. I then challenged them to properly calibrate the sensor and then start the lab set up.  Throughout this whole process I was walking from group to group and asking them questions about what they were doing. After visiting about 3 groups I knew how to calibrate the sensor.  I even learned from a few groups how to properly handle and store the sensor.  As students completed the lab I noticed that many of them were choosing to learn the equipment by trial and error. Students would do something with the sensor to see how it worked. For example, students started breathing on the sensor to see how the CO2 levels changed. I let the students do this, but monitored that they were on task and not just fooling around. They were actually interested in the results. Other groups were reading the directions very carefully and following the steps exactly, which is perfectly fine.  By the end of the lab I learned how to calibrate the sensor and how to use it in the lab. Although this seems like a simple task, I know I can trust my students to work with this technology and we can move on to more complex labs and technology.

A question that has arisen is how I can teach students to work together as a group even if you do not get along with each other. This question arose from the incident I mentioned above. This one group did not get along at all and were fighting and arguing. I want the students to learn that you may work with something that you may not like but you need to overcome your differences and work through it. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) mentioned that teachers should “model effective problem-solving strategies and conflict resolution skills (p. 91). I usually try to do this, but I feel that my students need more practice. Any suggestions?

Kayla Shandra

References

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

Week #3 Carrying out my GAME plan- Kayla Shandra

Carrying out my GAME plan- Kayla Shandra

Week #3

January 18, 2012

There are still a few things that I need to accomplish before I start my GAME plan. I need to consult with a few colleagues and collect some more data on my students. Once I have this information then I can start moving towards my two goals of learning along with my students and altering my lessons to better meet the needs of my students.

In order to carry out my GAME plan I will need support from the technology/computer teacher and librarian, who also works in our media center. These teachers are very good with computers and troubleshooting any technology problems that I may come across.  I will also need to access to different presentation software that my students can use at the end of their project.

Some additional information that I will need is initial observations of my students regarding their strengths and weaknesses. One of my goals is to alter my lessons to best meet the needs of my students, so I need to get more information on my students and try the find the key to motivation. In order to do this, I plan on observing my students over the next few days while I give them a variety of different activities. I may even do a trial run where I have the students split up into groups and have the students assign jobs to each other while they complete a mini-activity. I will watch for how they split themselves up, and how they work together as a group. I will be able to see the group dynamics, and any problem areas I will need to address. This will serve as a type of formative assessment, so I can see what types of problems may arise or if there will be anything that needs to be adjusted (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I will also be able to observe the groups dynamic. I will be able to see which students work best together and which students I need to keep separate.

I also plan on completing a few labs using new Vernier Lab software and equipment that I have never used before. I plan on having the students work with the equipment during a basic lab experiment to learn how to use the equipment. Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009) stated that observing students during activities is a way to monitor the effectiveness of a lesson. I will be walking around to each lab group and monitoring their progress and I will have students report how they are using the equipment in their experiment. The students and I will be working together and giving each other feedback on the lab equipment. This will help me accomplish my second goal which is to work more with my students to learn new programs, technology, and strategies that can be useful in my classroom.

It is important for teachers to know the learning preference and the needs before they design a lesson (Naimia, Siraj, Abuzaid, & Shagholi, 2010). So far I worked with our librarian who made a wiki with all different resources for students to use. She showed me a link on the wiki that takes the students to a survey where they can see what type of learner they are. I had the students take the survey at home and bring their results to me a few days later. As I suspected, almost of the students were visual learners. I knew that many of my students were visual learners already, just from what they told me in class, but I never thought that almost all of them were. I know now that I need to start adding more visual activities in my lessons to appeal to the majority of my students. Knowing what types of learners are present in a class is also important when you have to decide what type of technology will be useful in your lessons (Naimie et. al, 2010). This information gave me a good jumping off point to start planning my lessons and accomplishing my goals.


Kayla Shandra


References

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

Naimie, Z., Siraj, S., Ahmed Abuzaid, R., & Shagholi, R. (2010). Hypothesized Learners' Technology Preferences Based on Learning Style Dimensions. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 9(4), 83-93.

My Personal GAME Plan- Kayla Shandra

Shandra, Kayla: My Personal Game Plan

Week #2

1/10/2012

Indicators:

1.      Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with the students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual knowledge.

Goal: Work together with my students to learn new programs, technology, and strategies that can be useful in my classroom.

2.  Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

Goal: Alter my lessons so that they best meet the needs of all my students and motivate my students.

My first goal was that I want to work together with my students to learn new programs, technology, and strategies that can be useful in my classroom. I feel that a lot of times I do not have enough time to learn new technology and programs that can be beneficial to my students. It is very hard for me to find time to learn new technology and programs and plan meaningful, engaging lessons. I am a bit of a control freak and get very anxious when I do not know exactly what will happen throughout the lesson. I want to take a step back and go into a lesson, admitting that I do not know a lot about the program, and tell the students “let’s work together to explore and brainstorm different, creative ways that this new program can be used in our classroom”. I would also challenge my students to find aspects of the program that may be “hidden” and only a really tech savvy person would be able to figure it out.

My second goal was to alter my lessons so that they best meet the needs of all my students and motivate my students. I do try to do this with my students, but unfortunately I am inconsistent or there is so much to get through during my lesson, that it gets pushed aside. I have to be honest, when I wrote this goal, I sat and thought how I can do this without creating even more work for myself, so that I do not get overwhelmed and quit. I thought about having my students do more group projects, where each student would be assigned a job. The job would be specific for each student’s needs. For example, for the students who are visual leaners, they can work on the graphics and visual aspects of the presentation. For my kinesthetic learners, they can concentrate on actually completing the hands-on activities etc. It is really about knowing the strengths of the students and letting them showcase their talent to their group and the rest of the class. I feel that this would serve as motivation for the students. Sevinc, Ozmen, and Yigit (2011) found that students in a science class were more motivated when they actively participated in a laboratory activity they were familiar with, because students felt more successful when they worked on something they knew how to do well. I feel that this applies to any activity that a student does. If the students are completing something they are good at and interested in, they will work harder because they have a higher chance of being successful.

I will monitor my progress by completing a deeper reflection at the end of the lesson. I will be making notes on how successful the lesson was and the level of motivation and engagement of my students during the lesson. I will reflect on each strategy after I use them and try different ones if I need to.  I will also ask myself if any modifications will need to be made to my lessons and then make the appropriate adjustments (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

After I monitor my progress, I will evaluate and extend my learning by looking at my reflections and observation notes. I may even look at my students’ grades to see if there was an increase or decrease.  I will decide whether or not I reached my goals, or if there are any further modifications I may have to make. I will also ask myself “what will I do differently in the future?” (Cennamo, Ross, &Ertmer, p. 5). If I reached my goals and all the strategies worked, then I will do more research and continue using those strategies and any other that I come across in my research.

Kayla Shandra

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

Sevinc, B., Ozmen, H., & Yigit, N. (2011). Investigation of primary students' motivation levels    towards science learning. Science Education International, 22(3), 218-232.