Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cooperative Learning Voice Thread
What great ideas I have been reading about this week! I am a huge fan of group work and interactive lessons that promote teamwork. That is how we most likely will have to work for the rest of our lives. There are not too many professional opportunities to work totally independent of others, rather most careers include teams even networks of colleagues that people must work with. Many sales careers even require internet networking to help build their market.
This makes the need for integrating technology in school lessons even more valuable. As our business world builds its reliance on these technologies and networking sites, our students need to be building their experience on these. Although I find that constructionism lends itself to using technology and social learning opportunities, it must be used in moderation just like all the other theories and styles we have been discussing. One specific modality can not be single handedly promoted in a classroom. A positive, interactive, engaging learning environment needs to use a variety of approaches and activities including independent learning opportunities as well as social learning groups.
It was encouraging to hear Orey specifically discuss mathematics in the video (Laureate Education Inc., 2008)as he explained constructionism and cooperative learning within the classroom. Many times math is left out of the explanations and it becomes difficult to apply what is being said to math. His statement, "teach problem solving and provide support when needed" (Laureate Education Inc., 2008), really struck a nerve for me. All too often teachers worry about scores and requirements and they forget about the learning to learn aspect of teaching. Students will really listen and think when they need an answer and cooperative learning problems based activities would provide a great opportunity for this. Students become actively engaged and have interesting discussions and questions arise throughout the process.
I will be looking forward to trying to use technology to create an interactive learning opportunity that students will have to work with partners to create a project. My initial attempt of using a VoiceThread will provide students with a new and unique presentation to increase interest and promote active engagement in a mathematics lesson.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program eight. Social Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
This makes the need for integrating technology in school lessons even more valuable. As our business world builds its reliance on these technologies and networking sites, our students need to be building their experience on these. Although I find that constructionism lends itself to using technology and social learning opportunities, it must be used in moderation just like all the other theories and styles we have been discussing. One specific modality can not be single handedly promoted in a classroom. A positive, interactive, engaging learning environment needs to use a variety of approaches and activities including independent learning opportunities as well as social learning groups.
It was encouraging to hear Orey specifically discuss mathematics in the video (Laureate Education Inc., 2008)as he explained constructionism and cooperative learning within the classroom. Many times math is left out of the explanations and it becomes difficult to apply what is being said to math. His statement, "teach problem solving and provide support when needed" (Laureate Education Inc., 2008), really struck a nerve for me. All too often teachers worry about scores and requirements and they forget about the learning to learn aspect of teaching. Students will really listen and think when they need an answer and cooperative learning problems based activities would provide a great opportunity for this. Students become actively engaged and have interesting discussions and questions arise throughout the process.
I will be looking forward to trying to use technology to create an interactive learning opportunity that students will have to work with partners to create a project. My initial attempt of using a VoiceThread will provide students with a new and unique presentation to increase interest and promote active engagement in a mathematics lesson.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program eight. Social Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Yes there are DUMB questions?
"Do we HAVE to think?" or "Can’t you just tell me the answer?"
These are two examples of those dumb questions that DO exist!!! Even though educators tell students “the only dumb question is the one not asked”, dumb questions DO exist, and these are two examples! Why would any teacher or person accept that type of lazy defeatist attitude? Anyone that does is definitely not operating under a constructivist theory.
Orey(2001) states that America's producing underachieving students that focus on memorizing facts and processes to get the "test" correct. We are creating a lazy group of children that do not know how to think! This is sad … and unfortunately dumb questions, comments or attitudes similar to those above are the culprit. It is too time consuming to allow the child time to think or resources to make conclusions instead teachers tell students the answers or outcomes without allowing any thought or exploration.
According to Piaget and constructionism (Orey, 2001), learning takes place when pupils are actively engaged and/or constructing. They are creating ideas and drawing conclusions and assimilating or accommodating for the information just observed. This requires thought and time to question, which is what makes the strategy of generating and testing hypotheses (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn,& Malenoski, 2007) so vital to a constructionist’s classroom. The students are not just provided the answer and then told how to think about it. They are given models or scenarios and must make observations and analyzations so they can draw a conclusion and/or work on a plan if necessary. An example provided in our text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler etal., 2007), required students to look at a financial situation where they had to decide how much money to invest and at what rate. The teacher provided the students with technology to do all the math calculations for them. This was a valuable time saver and enabled the teacher to then focus on the goal of the lesson. The computer did the time consuming work that would have required students use so much energy and effort and time that when they needed to look at the data, their systems were exhausted.
However, having that spreadsheet to make that information readily available provided the students with real time data that they could discuss, manipulate and make conclusions about. By doing this the students can play with many different situations and find the answer to the question instead of having the teacher simply state how they would do better and why.
Having technology do the intensive part of the project allows the teacher to have the time and willingness to attempt project based learning. I think of this much like the simple calculator in a mathematics class. Once it has been established the child knows the basic facts teachers can allow children to use calculators to do the computations so the student can use the brain power and energy to follow and find certain processes required. That is what technology can do in many situations particularly in many situations that have to do with collecting and displaying data.
Often times analyzing data is the standard that our students struggle with school wide yet almost every child can make any type of graph in any type of situation, they just do not know how to understand what the display is saying. The children have just routinely memorized the process of making a graph, they have become lazy and do not and can not think critically (Orey, 2001) of what that information says. Build this skill by insisting that the technology do the computations, collections and displaying so the child’s brain can be left to analyze and connect with the data. It is only through allowing these types of situations to occur that we will ensure a future of thinkers!
The television game show, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader shows us all what these trivial facts do for us. NOTHING! A rocket scientist, (easily considered one of the most intellectual careers around) could not get past the first round on a fist grade level question. This genius was unable to spit back this trivia, and he is a genius doing remarkable things, this should prove that we do not need to know every little thing instead we need to focus on learning how to learn. My very wise brother has always told me the smartest people do not know all the answers but they know where to look to find them. That is my goal for my students, let them think about where to find the answer and ways to get there to learn the answer and eventually they might end up knowing many of the answers and without a teacher ever telling them one answer!
Good luck to all of us in trying to achieve this. It is a lot easier said than done especially when politics enters the real world of education but hopefully the few will prevail and teachers can begin to make a difference one student at a time! Perhaps even begin to create Americans that are not “underachieving memorizers” (Orey, 2001) but rather critical thinkers ready to conquer the world!
LORI POWERS
Resources:
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.
These are two examples of those dumb questions that DO exist!!! Even though educators tell students “the only dumb question is the one not asked”, dumb questions DO exist, and these are two examples! Why would any teacher or person accept that type of lazy defeatist attitude? Anyone that does is definitely not operating under a constructivist theory.
Orey(2001) states that America's producing underachieving students that focus on memorizing facts and processes to get the "test" correct. We are creating a lazy group of children that do not know how to think! This is sad … and unfortunately dumb questions, comments or attitudes similar to those above are the culprit. It is too time consuming to allow the child time to think or resources to make conclusions instead teachers tell students the answers or outcomes without allowing any thought or exploration.
According to Piaget and constructionism (Orey, 2001), learning takes place when pupils are actively engaged and/or constructing. They are creating ideas and drawing conclusions and assimilating or accommodating for the information just observed. This requires thought and time to question, which is what makes the strategy of generating and testing hypotheses (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn,& Malenoski, 2007) so vital to a constructionist’s classroom. The students are not just provided the answer and then told how to think about it. They are given models or scenarios and must make observations and analyzations so they can draw a conclusion and/or work on a plan if necessary. An example provided in our text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler etal., 2007), required students to look at a financial situation where they had to decide how much money to invest and at what rate. The teacher provided the students with technology to do all the math calculations for them. This was a valuable time saver and enabled the teacher to then focus on the goal of the lesson. The computer did the time consuming work that would have required students use so much energy and effort and time that when they needed to look at the data, their systems were exhausted.
However, having that spreadsheet to make that information readily available provided the students with real time data that they could discuss, manipulate and make conclusions about. By doing this the students can play with many different situations and find the answer to the question instead of having the teacher simply state how they would do better and why.
Having technology do the intensive part of the project allows the teacher to have the time and willingness to attempt project based learning. I think of this much like the simple calculator in a mathematics class. Once it has been established the child knows the basic facts teachers can allow children to use calculators to do the computations so the student can use the brain power and energy to follow and find certain processes required. That is what technology can do in many situations particularly in many situations that have to do with collecting and displaying data.
Often times analyzing data is the standard that our students struggle with school wide yet almost every child can make any type of graph in any type of situation, they just do not know how to understand what the display is saying. The children have just routinely memorized the process of making a graph, they have become lazy and do not and can not think critically (Orey, 2001) of what that information says. Build this skill by insisting that the technology do the computations, collections and displaying so the child’s brain can be left to analyze and connect with the data. It is only through allowing these types of situations to occur that we will ensure a future of thinkers!
The television game show, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader shows us all what these trivial facts do for us. NOTHING! A rocket scientist, (easily considered one of the most intellectual careers around) could not get past the first round on a fist grade level question. This genius was unable to spit back this trivia, and he is a genius doing remarkable things, this should prove that we do not need to know every little thing instead we need to focus on learning how to learn. My very wise brother has always told me the smartest people do not know all the answers but they know where to look to find them. That is my goal for my students, let them think about where to find the answer and ways to get there to learn the answer and eventually they might end up knowing many of the answers and without a teacher ever telling them one answer!
Good luck to all of us in trying to achieve this. It is a lot easier said than done especially when politics enters the real world of education but hopefully the few will prevail and teachers can begin to make a difference one student at a time! Perhaps even begin to create Americans that are not “underachieving memorizers” (Orey, 2001) but rather critical thinkers ready to conquer the world!
LORI POWERS
Resources:
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.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Cognitive theorists believe “learning is a mental operation that takes place when information enters the brain through the senses, undergoes mental manipulation, is stored, and is finally used” ( Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2003, p.16) and there are many resources in today’s educational system that support this thinking. This week I was re-introduced to several techniques that I have used in the classroom many times and find very valuable but over the years I have become lazy I suppose and never really thought about the theories behind the activities. Renewing my foundations to education has really been an eye opener for me and a journey that my students will benefit from.
Over the years I have found activities that have worked and have developed a style in my teaching and never really put the energy into referencing these activities and lessons to theories. My instructional methods are a “mod podge” of sorts that does not rely on just one theory or style but rather a fine blend of many. Depending on the specific concepts and/or curriculum and the group of students I am working with my techniques will vary.
Our text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski2007) lists a few different strategies that would be successful in the classroom while supporting the cognitivist’s point of view. “Cues, questions and advanced organizers” (Pitler et al., 2007) provides various samples of graphic, narrative and expository organizers, and numerous types of questions and questioning styles to provide the students with the opportunities to link learning to prior experiences and knowledge. This ability to connect with prior knowledge allows the student to transform this short term memory information into long term memory (Novak & Canas, 2008) and provides the learner with not just a written form of the information but also a visual form of the information therefore providing for multiple intelligences. Developing solid note taking skills is also essential for the students and again would concur that connecting the important facts with prior knowledge in a meaningful way to the learner is vital for those following a cognitive theory.
Concept Mapping is being labeled the “New Model of Education” (Novak & Canas, 2008) and requires that teachers be adequately trained on this type of instructing or guiding because it all starts with an essential question. Novak states that the “first step to learning is to ask the right question” (2008, p.12) and this would coincide with what the cognitivists believe. Ask a question based on your prior knowledge and you can link this new experience to an “old” experience and then find an easier more permanent connection to your long term memory. The questions need to be relevant and meaningful (Novak, & Canas, 2008) to the students to help retain the information and develop that connection even further. Cognitivists would expect that learners be exposed to physical experiences that would involve many of their senses. Touch, smell and sight are very important to the cognitivist theory. Hands on or actual real life experiences would be the best but when physically impossible technology makes it possible to bring these opportunities to the classroom rather inexpensively and quite conveniently. When discussing events in history or mathematical concepts that relate to the real world what better experience then to bring the children there. Our video resource (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008) refers to a virtual tour of Ford’s Theater that Lincoln was killed in, and reveals students as they experienced the lesson differently once they had the tour as compared to the textbook picture. I use virtual tours to insight interest and excitement. When we started our banking unit I took my students on virtual tour of the US Mint. This 15 minute experience provided my students with the concrete image to connect the new knowledge to, therefore giving it a better opportunity to stay in their long term memory and become learned knowledge.
Reading this material rejuvenates me as I begin to reinvent or confirm my style and my philosophy and connect it with theorists that I have studied years ago. In the everyday world of teaching and mothering it is easy to throw these formal titles out of your mind but I am relieved to know that the strategies and techniques that support these theories are being actively practiced in my classroom on a daily basis.
Please share with me some interesting virtual tours that you have been on or hope to go on. I would love the ideas and I would love to hear about the experiences. I also would like to hear about any experiences anyone has had with concept mapping in mathematics. I struggle as I try to incorporate a concept mapping activity into my current course.
LORI POWERS
Link to US MINT TOUR: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?flash=yes
National Zoo's webcams: Virtual field trips to see the animals.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/default.cfm
Yellowstone National Park Webcams: Old Faithful:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Resources: ( I apologize as I can not get the formatting on this blog to post my resources in correct APA format.)
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Lever-Duffy,J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and
how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006- 01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConc eptMaps.pdf
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.
Over the years I have found activities that have worked and have developed a style in my teaching and never really put the energy into referencing these activities and lessons to theories. My instructional methods are a “mod podge” of sorts that does not rely on just one theory or style but rather a fine blend of many. Depending on the specific concepts and/or curriculum and the group of students I am working with my techniques will vary.
Our text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski2007) lists a few different strategies that would be successful in the classroom while supporting the cognitivist’s point of view. “Cues, questions and advanced organizers” (Pitler et al., 2007) provides various samples of graphic, narrative and expository organizers, and numerous types of questions and questioning styles to provide the students with the opportunities to link learning to prior experiences and knowledge. This ability to connect with prior knowledge allows the student to transform this short term memory information into long term memory (Novak & Canas, 2008) and provides the learner with not just a written form of the information but also a visual form of the information therefore providing for multiple intelligences. Developing solid note taking skills is also essential for the students and again would concur that connecting the important facts with prior knowledge in a meaningful way to the learner is vital for those following a cognitive theory.
Concept Mapping is being labeled the “New Model of Education” (Novak & Canas, 2008) and requires that teachers be adequately trained on this type of instructing or guiding because it all starts with an essential question. Novak states that the “first step to learning is to ask the right question” (2008, p.12) and this would coincide with what the cognitivists believe. Ask a question based on your prior knowledge and you can link this new experience to an “old” experience and then find an easier more permanent connection to your long term memory. The questions need to be relevant and meaningful (Novak, & Canas, 2008) to the students to help retain the information and develop that connection even further. Cognitivists would expect that learners be exposed to physical experiences that would involve many of their senses. Touch, smell and sight are very important to the cognitivist theory. Hands on or actual real life experiences would be the best but when physically impossible technology makes it possible to bring these opportunities to the classroom rather inexpensively and quite conveniently. When discussing events in history or mathematical concepts that relate to the real world what better experience then to bring the children there. Our video resource (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008) refers to a virtual tour of Ford’s Theater that Lincoln was killed in, and reveals students as they experienced the lesson differently once they had the tour as compared to the textbook picture. I use virtual tours to insight interest and excitement. When we started our banking unit I took my students on virtual tour of the US Mint. This 15 minute experience provided my students with the concrete image to connect the new knowledge to, therefore giving it a better opportunity to stay in their long term memory and become learned knowledge.
Reading this material rejuvenates me as I begin to reinvent or confirm my style and my philosophy and connect it with theorists that I have studied years ago. In the everyday world of teaching and mothering it is easy to throw these formal titles out of your mind but I am relieved to know that the strategies and techniques that support these theories are being actively practiced in my classroom on a daily basis.
Please share with me some interesting virtual tours that you have been on or hope to go on. I would love the ideas and I would love to hear about the experiences. I also would like to hear about any experiences anyone has had with concept mapping in mathematics. I struggle as I try to incorporate a concept mapping activity into my current course.
LORI POWERS
Link to US MINT TOUR: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?flash=yes
National Zoo's webcams: Virtual field trips to see the animals.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/default.cfm
Yellowstone National Park Webcams: Old Faithful:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Resources: ( I apologize as I can not get the formatting on this blog to post my resources in correct APA format.)
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Lever-Duffy,J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and
how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006- 01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConc eptMaps.pdf
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.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Practice Makes Perfect !?!
Our school had curriculum night last night. I met many of the parents and shared my beliefs and theories in education and my expectations of their children for the year. HOMEWORK was a huge part of that discussion. As you know I teach math to sixth graders and nightly homework is a requirement in my courses. Although I share answers the next day and have active discussions regarding the homework I do not individually check homework for my students, I require they put in their effort to correct and understand their homework.
As I discussed this with the parents last night I could not help but think of these theories and strategies that we are studying and how I can just fit right into parts of all of these beliefs. I want to share with you my comments and ask you, am I actually seeing myself in all of these theories just as I can identify with all of the symptoms of any disease I read about on line. Am I a “theoretical hypochondriac” or do I truly follow the theories of many of these theorists and possibly fall rather heavy on the behaviorists side?
Homework is for practice and preparation. My students practice the skills introduced that day and then read and outline the next section to prepare for the following day’s lesson. I ask that parents stop children when the child hits 40 minutes or any tears and report this to me. I anticipate the practice exercises to average 20 minutes a night and 5-10 minutes reading and outlining. If the children require more time than that I do not want them going on because chances are they are not understanding and I do not want them practicing the wrong way. My students know this and understand their goal is to practice, and because the text I am reading states, “homework should be identified and articulated”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p.187), I discuss this often with the children.
My policy states that students bring homework in and check their answers with those on board, anything wrong is first discussed with classmates and then brought up to teacher in a whole group setting if the problem can not be resolved. This procedure clearly shows the students that they are responsible for their homework. Ultimately they will see that their effort during homework time should directly correlate to their success in my class. Although the idea of keeping a spreadsheet recording effort to success, which is also listed in our text (Pitler et al., 2007), is a wonderful visual to provide the children providing the immediate feedback they need to believe the theory. Mastering any skill requires practice and that is what homework provides in mathematics… practice, practice, practice! After the initial skill is mastered then it can be presented in applications and bring the information into the brain through networks and strengthen any necessary connections so the concept can become a memory (Laureate Education Inc., 2008)
Behaviorists believe in the idea that practice makes perfect! Memory can be built, behaviors can be improved and the world can be a better place if we all included a little bit of the behaviorist theory of practice makes perfect and reinforcement and punishment can produce amazing results. Now there is always a skeptic that will yell out an exception but I dare you to sit back and truly think how you learned and are as successful as you are. If you hung out with my Dad you would have no option but to listen, if he did something wrong he was beat, if he did n't do his homework he was beat, if he didn’t eat all his dinner he was beat … eventually he learned to do all those things without a battle and has become a success today! Mind you, he also had to walk up hill, both ways in the snow with holes in his shoe. Isn’t that how it goes? Seriously, reward and punishment works, the affects do not have to be that extreme and in all honesty I am sure my father was not beat for everything but that is what he remembers, punishment for not doing something right. Behaviorist techniques of reward and punishment have been used for centuries before it was even named actually, so it can not be that bad!
Therefore I feel a sense of peace as I assign my homework and require my students follow through on their activities or suffer the consequences of bad grades or home time restrictions. All I am doing is what generations before me have been doing, the only difference for my students is today I incorporate some technology with their assignments. Their stories of struggle will be telling of how they had to wait for the dial up connection to load their online textbook to be able to do their homework or how a virus wiped out their whole paper just as they were about to save it.
The resources we are using are changing but the ideas behind education does not have to totally change with it! Use the technology to make skill and drill and the record keeping of these skills more efficient. Find ways to incorporate these stimuli and response programs into your classroom to help with the basic concepts that do have to be memorized. The children will find them interesting, challenging and rewarding and will be pleading to “play it again” and I promise that is not the response when you hand out a worksheet or try to do flashcards.
Here are a few of my students’ favorite behaviorist style websites for mathematics:
Place value : http://www.mrnussbaum.com/placevaluepirates1.htm
Coordinate graphing: http://www.mathplayground.com/Locate_Aliens.html
Fraction addition: http://fen.com/studentactivities/MathSplat/mathsplat.htm
RESOURCES:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
As I discussed this with the parents last night I could not help but think of these theories and strategies that we are studying and how I can just fit right into parts of all of these beliefs. I want to share with you my comments and ask you, am I actually seeing myself in all of these theories just as I can identify with all of the symptoms of any disease I read about on line. Am I a “theoretical hypochondriac” or do I truly follow the theories of many of these theorists and possibly fall rather heavy on the behaviorists side?
Homework is for practice and preparation. My students practice the skills introduced that day and then read and outline the next section to prepare for the following day’s lesson. I ask that parents stop children when the child hits 40 minutes or any tears and report this to me. I anticipate the practice exercises to average 20 minutes a night and 5-10 minutes reading and outlining. If the children require more time than that I do not want them going on because chances are they are not understanding and I do not want them practicing the wrong way. My students know this and understand their goal is to practice, and because the text I am reading states, “homework should be identified and articulated”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p.187), I discuss this often with the children.
My policy states that students bring homework in and check their answers with those on board, anything wrong is first discussed with classmates and then brought up to teacher in a whole group setting if the problem can not be resolved. This procedure clearly shows the students that they are responsible for their homework. Ultimately they will see that their effort during homework time should directly correlate to their success in my class. Although the idea of keeping a spreadsheet recording effort to success, which is also listed in our text (Pitler et al., 2007), is a wonderful visual to provide the children providing the immediate feedback they need to believe the theory. Mastering any skill requires practice and that is what homework provides in mathematics… practice, practice, practice! After the initial skill is mastered then it can be presented in applications and bring the information into the brain through networks and strengthen any necessary connections so the concept can become a memory (Laureate Education Inc., 2008)
Behaviorists believe in the idea that practice makes perfect! Memory can be built, behaviors can be improved and the world can be a better place if we all included a little bit of the behaviorist theory of practice makes perfect and reinforcement and punishment can produce amazing results. Now there is always a skeptic that will yell out an exception but I dare you to sit back and truly think how you learned and are as successful as you are. If you hung out with my Dad you would have no option but to listen, if he did something wrong he was beat, if he did n't do his homework he was beat, if he didn’t eat all his dinner he was beat … eventually he learned to do all those things without a battle and has become a success today! Mind you, he also had to walk up hill, both ways in the snow with holes in his shoe. Isn’t that how it goes? Seriously, reward and punishment works, the affects do not have to be that extreme and in all honesty I am sure my father was not beat for everything but that is what he remembers, punishment for not doing something right. Behaviorist techniques of reward and punishment have been used for centuries before it was even named actually, so it can not be that bad!
Therefore I feel a sense of peace as I assign my homework and require my students follow through on their activities or suffer the consequences of bad grades or home time restrictions. All I am doing is what generations before me have been doing, the only difference for my students is today I incorporate some technology with their assignments. Their stories of struggle will be telling of how they had to wait for the dial up connection to load their online textbook to be able to do their homework or how a virus wiped out their whole paper just as they were about to save it.
The resources we are using are changing but the ideas behind education does not have to totally change with it! Use the technology to make skill and drill and the record keeping of these skills more efficient. Find ways to incorporate these stimuli and response programs into your classroom to help with the basic concepts that do have to be memorized. The children will find them interesting, challenging and rewarding and will be pleading to “play it again” and I promise that is not the response when you hand out a worksheet or try to do flashcards.
Here are a few of my students’ favorite behaviorist style websites for mathematics:
Place value : http://www.mrnussbaum.com/placevaluepirates1.htm
Coordinate graphing: http://www.mathplayground.com/Locate_Aliens.html
Fraction addition: http://fen.com/studentactivities/MathSplat/mathsplat.htm
RESOURCES:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Reflecting on My Course
What a week, this is an exciting time! I am completing my third course through Walden University and just starting my new year at school. Happily I can report my classes are fabulous and we are already on a roll trying new ideas and using definite 21st century technology! As Thornberg and Davidson discussed in the video “using different media and technology is fun” (Laureate Education DVD, 2008) and I will second that!
This course has introduced me to many new and exciting ideas that I can use immediately in my classroom. Blogging and using wiki pages are the two of the fastest and easiest ways to bring me into the 21st century and engage my students daily.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned and have brought back into my classroom is the idea of this generation as being a group of multitaskers. Teacher Jeff Houston points out that he researched that students have been found to be doing activities that total up to 26 to 27 hours a day (Laureate Education, 2008). Students are able to do many things at one time and want to do things immediately, and technology allows them this opportunity.
I have always agreed with the philosophy that education should be student centered and driven, engaging and interactive and these ideas have only been supported through this course. Listening to teachers vignettes and reading about various ideas, I have been able to think in new ways and make adjustments to current activities that assured involving technology. This course has in fact brightened up my activities and put a new spark into my daily plans. My first example is the first homework assignment, typically I would have had the students write me a letter or send an email sharing about themselves and their likes and dislikes, this year I used my blog through my work website and started the technological ball rolling. Within 24 hours I have already had 27 responses to my blog and there is an immediate feeling of excitement and interest involved in their responses.
First thing I plan to do to continue my growth with technology is to complete this Masters Program. Within my current school I will be practicing and learning new things on the equipment that we have, specifically the interactive smart board since all of our classes have just been outfitted with this hardware. Many teachers look to me to assist them and I am consistently looking for new hints and suggestions to share with them. I will also be continuing to attend professional seminars and conferences. This fall I will be attending a South Carolina formative assessment conference and will inevitably attend technology driven sessions when I am there. In the early part of next year I plan to attend some of the technology conferences offered within the math department so that I can begin to acquire a navigation system for my classroom and use graphing calculators on a more regular basis in my pre algebra classes.
Trying to think of two long term goals is a bit overwhelming as I try to incorporate these small advances into my classroom and daily plans this week. I keep repeating Richardson’s (2008) advice to start small and relieve myself of the pressure of having to transform my classroom immediately. I started this week using a blog to get to know my students and set the feel for technology. This has been an exciting start so I want to incorporate this into a long term goal. I would like to offer professional development opportunities to educate those in my school to also embrace and incorporate technology on a regular basis. As I read Prensky’s (2001) writings I can identify the majority of my colleagues as Digital Immigrants and I know they do not understand the students are multitaskers, they will need my inspiration and assistance as they try to make adjustments to their own style and lesson plans.
My second goal is to promote the importance of students having daily computer access. I have volunteered to cover a computer lab for one hour afterschool every Monday. This time will provide the students with the valuable computer time they need. The students will be able to participate in blogs, wikis or other assignments and creations. “Technology allows children to break down walls and allows the children to take control of their learning” (Laureate Education DVD, 2008). In order to achieve great levels of growth the students need time with the technology. These projects will be reported on and displayed if possible and this data will be useful to attempt to get more computers possibly even laptops for all students. Data will definitely be needed to support our request for more technology or readily available technology for all students. Therefore my overall goal will be to continue reaching out to the community and proving the needs and benefits if all children can have access to technology on a regular basis.
As this course ends and I reflect back on my initial checklist I can report a definite shift to the left for all areas of the checklist. I have moved towards using or understanding the need for technology much more after this course and can proudly say that one particular component I have made huge gains on is using a variety of digital tools. My classroom has already seen some significant changes in just the first week back to school this year and I anticipate carrying out many more plans that include and use 21st century skills and objects (Cramer, 2007).
Cramer, S. (2007). Update your classroom with learning objects and twenty-first century skills. Clearing House, 80(3), 126– 132.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.Richardson, W. (2006).
Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5),
1-6.
This course has introduced me to many new and exciting ideas that I can use immediately in my classroom. Blogging and using wiki pages are the two of the fastest and easiest ways to bring me into the 21st century and engage my students daily.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned and have brought back into my classroom is the idea of this generation as being a group of multitaskers. Teacher Jeff Houston points out that he researched that students have been found to be doing activities that total up to 26 to 27 hours a day (Laureate Education, 2008). Students are able to do many things at one time and want to do things immediately, and technology allows them this opportunity.
I have always agreed with the philosophy that education should be student centered and driven, engaging and interactive and these ideas have only been supported through this course. Listening to teachers vignettes and reading about various ideas, I have been able to think in new ways and make adjustments to current activities that assured involving technology. This course has in fact brightened up my activities and put a new spark into my daily plans. My first example is the first homework assignment, typically I would have had the students write me a letter or send an email sharing about themselves and their likes and dislikes, this year I used my blog through my work website and started the technological ball rolling. Within 24 hours I have already had 27 responses to my blog and there is an immediate feeling of excitement and interest involved in their responses.
First thing I plan to do to continue my growth with technology is to complete this Masters Program. Within my current school I will be practicing and learning new things on the equipment that we have, specifically the interactive smart board since all of our classes have just been outfitted with this hardware. Many teachers look to me to assist them and I am consistently looking for new hints and suggestions to share with them. I will also be continuing to attend professional seminars and conferences. This fall I will be attending a South Carolina formative assessment conference and will inevitably attend technology driven sessions when I am there. In the early part of next year I plan to attend some of the technology conferences offered within the math department so that I can begin to acquire a navigation system for my classroom and use graphing calculators on a more regular basis in my pre algebra classes.
Trying to think of two long term goals is a bit overwhelming as I try to incorporate these small advances into my classroom and daily plans this week. I keep repeating Richardson’s (2008) advice to start small and relieve myself of the pressure of having to transform my classroom immediately. I started this week using a blog to get to know my students and set the feel for technology. This has been an exciting start so I want to incorporate this into a long term goal. I would like to offer professional development opportunities to educate those in my school to also embrace and incorporate technology on a regular basis. As I read Prensky’s (2001) writings I can identify the majority of my colleagues as Digital Immigrants and I know they do not understand the students are multitaskers, they will need my inspiration and assistance as they try to make adjustments to their own style and lesson plans.
My second goal is to promote the importance of students having daily computer access. I have volunteered to cover a computer lab for one hour afterschool every Monday. This time will provide the students with the valuable computer time they need. The students will be able to participate in blogs, wikis or other assignments and creations. “Technology allows children to break down walls and allows the children to take control of their learning” (Laureate Education DVD, 2008). In order to achieve great levels of growth the students need time with the technology. These projects will be reported on and displayed if possible and this data will be useful to attempt to get more computers possibly even laptops for all students. Data will definitely be needed to support our request for more technology or readily available technology for all students. Therefore my overall goal will be to continue reaching out to the community and proving the needs and benefits if all children can have access to technology on a regular basis.
As this course ends and I reflect back on my initial checklist I can report a definite shift to the left for all areas of the checklist. I have moved towards using or understanding the need for technology much more after this course and can proudly say that one particular component I have made huge gains on is using a variety of digital tools. My classroom has already seen some significant changes in just the first week back to school this year and I anticipate carrying out many more plans that include and use 21st century skills and objects (Cramer, 2007).
Cramer, S. (2007). Update your classroom with learning objects and twenty-first century skills. Clearing House, 80(3), 126– 132.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.Richardson, W. (2006).
Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5),
1-6.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Are My Students Digital Natives or Digital Immigrants?
Please listen to my very first podcast as I had the pleasure of interviewing a few of my students after conducting a classwide survey of technology use. It was rather interesting to see through my students the concepts discussed in our resources this week. The number of children that just remember technology always being available and always having access to a computer and even remembering or being told by parents as early as two or three years of age was rather surprising to me. All of the students pointed out that they do not use technology in school near the amount of time outside of school, yet interestingly this did not seem to be surprising to them. The children just mentioned it as if this is how life is supposed to be.
The children I interviewed through Audacity were Susie C., Alyssa P. and Ronnie P. and they are all middle school students. I will attach the written survey that I submitted to my students via email but only have added clips to my podcast of my interviews. As a rookie to podcasting, I must warn that my clips are not flowing as well as I like but this too will get better as this "semi-digital native" continues to practice with this media.
MY PODCAST click on this link to hear this weeks podcast.
My technology survey click on this link to view my technology survey.
RESOURCES:
Dretzin, R., & Maggio, J. (Producers), & Dretzin, R. (Writer). (2008, January 22). Growing up online. [Television broadcast]. Boston: PBS Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/
November, A. (2007). Banning student 'containers'. Technology & Learning. Retrieved fromhttp://www.techlearning.com/article/7468
Marc Prensky. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1074252411).
Marc Prensky. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-6. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1074252431).
McHale, T. (2005). Portrait of a digital native. Technology & Learning. Retrieved fromDate Modified: 29 Jul 09 7:37 PM MST
The children I interviewed through Audacity were Susie C., Alyssa P. and Ronnie P. and they are all middle school students. I will attach the written survey that I submitted to my students via email but only have added clips to my podcast of my interviews. As a rookie to podcasting, I must warn that my clips are not flowing as well as I like but this too will get better as this "semi-digital native" continues to practice with this media.
MY PODCAST click on this link to hear this weeks podcast.
My technology survey click on this link to view my technology survey.
RESOURCES:
Dretzin, R., & Maggio, J. (Producers), & Dretzin, R. (Writer). (2008, January 22). Growing up online. [Television broadcast]. Boston: PBS Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/
November, A. (2007). Banning student 'containers'. Technology & Learning. Retrieved fromhttp://www.techlearning.com/article/7468
Marc Prensky. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1074252411).
Marc Prensky. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-6. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1074252431).
McHale, T. (2005). Portrait of a digital native. Technology & Learning. Retrieved fromDate Modified: 29 Jul 09 7:37 PM MST
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