EDT 6020 SPRING I WEEK SIX DISCUSSION

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Todd Goldie on February 25, 2014 at 8:36pm

Bring your own device is fine to have students provide their own tablet as opposed to the school having to maintain several laptops.  I don’t like the idea of extending the “device” to include smart-phones.  I don’t work in the classroom; I work in the private sector.  We have to police professionals not to use their smart phones while on the job.  When I hire young people, the skills I usually need are the skills they learn in high school; be on time, work well with others and act appropriate.  The good habits your students learn in your classroom will help them succeed in work. 

When kids are no longer temped by distractions from high-tech passing notes or electronic games then smart phones would be an excellent addition to the classroom.  I would venture that smart-phones will be obsolete before that occurs.

Permalink Reply by James Wheatley on February 19, 2014 at 4:55pm

Link to the Post: http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/becoming-invisible-classroom-t...

The article I chose was "Becoming Invisible in my Classroom". The article was mainly about a different model of teaching. Many people think this is "flipping" the classroom, and the article actual states that some parents thought the teacher was flipping, but it is inherently not. This method is more discovery based learning which has gained steam over the last couple of years. In terms of mathematics, many teachers would be familiar with the "Integrative Mathematics Program" or "Core Plus Mathematics" which are in nearly every school in the state of Delaware. Almost all of these programs contain investigations that require prior knowledge of mathematics, but rely on the students to figure out much of the information with each other.

The teacher generally is now a facilitator, in which sometimes it looks like we are sitting back and babysitting. This is far from the truth. You must observe during these times, pick up on some individuals lack of prior knowledge, push groups to delve deeper, and maintain proper group norms. Not only this, but you must have had serious lesson planning preparations before hand to make sure the investigations run smoothly. 

In discovery based classes, the pros are simple. Students have ownership of the investigation and consequently their own learning. Typically when seen from a teachers perspective, a student who learns through discovery has a much deeper grasp of the concept. Too much of rote memorization takes place in a traditional classroom, and a student may be copying a pattern or a rule seen on the board. This type of traditional learning leaves students lost after two weeks as they have forgotten what the "pattern" was for this type of lesson. If a student discovers a concept however, they typically hold on to the understanding of that topic for much longer.

The cons on the otherhand are extremely difficult in terms of discovery based learning. This type of learning relies heavily on the fact that students have a near mastery level of prior knowledge from previous grade levels. This is obviously not the case in much of your CP classes. When students do not have the prior knowledge, they are lost in the investigation and basically have no way of understanding the first step. If you can't start, they get frustrated within their group structure and want to shut down. This is where it is truly difficult for this type of classwork to succeed. 

In terms of emerging trends in technology and keeping up with them, I plan on reading social media websites such as reddit or news forums such as N4G. These two sites in particular help me keep up with the latest technology in terms of gaming, education, and the general computing world. I check these sites almost daily so I am sure I will have no problem keeping up with the technology trends. (They will be coming faster than ever!)

Permalink Reply by Laura Bianco on February 20, 2014 at 7:57am

James, I really enjoyed reading your summary of the blog post you chose. I think there is great value in discovery based learning and that it is not utilized enough in many classrooms. When students have the opportunity to perform research and discover new material on their own, they tend to retain the information better since they take ownership of it. These experiences will "stick out" in their minds more than simply being told the information. Too often, we as teachers (and I am guilty of this!) just lecture and provide students with information that they will then memorize so that they can perform well on future assessments. However, I believe that when students learn in this fashion, they do not retain the information nearly as well as they do when they utilize discovery based learning.

Permalink Reply by Sharon O'Neill on February 22, 2014 at 6:27pm

James,

I agree with you on the pros and the cons.  I think learning through investigation is great, but they have to be one step away, or they get frustrated before they make any progress. They also need to have developed perseverance, which most students today have not.  You also run the risk of students developing misconceptions. I teach elementary math and we use TERC or Investigations, but if I don't at least give them a starting point, they just sit and stare at me.  I don't know for sure, but I think part of that comes from the fact that many teachers didn't learn this way and don't really believe in this strategy, so if they have been "taught" strategies and rules and algorithms up until now, they don't even know where to start.  I do believe in it and still have trouble making it work. 

Permalink Reply by Victoria Annand on February 19, 2014 at 5:46pm

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/the-best-teachers-dont-do-what... 

I chose to read this article because the title intrigued me. I love going against what I am told and seeing what happens! :) 

I thought this article was going to be more on "going against the grid" and less on why the author wrote the article. I took from the article that it is important for teachers to stop going with "district expectations" all the time, and do what is best for their students. As teachers we have so many expectations and guidelines to follow that sometimes we can get lost in the "well what do we do now" aspect of teaching and we forget that it is all about our students and what they need to succeed. I did like how the author made it clear to not be defiant. It's important to know your kids, but also know what is expected with your principal. If something happens, it is your principal that will have your back, so keeping them happy is always important.

I am a huge fan of technology emerging trends because that is the way the world is going. Students today are linked to social media every second of every day and if teachers can tap into that resource to help them learn, they we are so far behind in teaching them already. It is important as teachers to get down to their level and reach them in ways that they will listen (and lets be honest, that can be a challenge). I also believe that as teachers, its important to continually learn with our students, to show them that learning never stops, even as adults. We have to instill in them the desire to want to keep learning and give them that example. 

Permalink Reply by Lucy Salvatore on February 22, 2014 at 9:39am

I think all of us, at one time or another have gotten caught up in all the mandates from district.  We just got a new reading series, Journeys, and some teachers feel like they have to follow a five-day plan and have to stick to the scripted nature of the program.  Like you said, we need to remember that our job is to help children succeed; not just in our grade, but in life.  That means helping to mold inquisitive, independent problem solvers.  We can't do that if we don't think outside the box.

Permalink Reply by Laura Bossert on February 23, 2014 at 9:37am

You? Going against what you are told?? Never Vicky! :)  
(p.s. I work with her!)

I think you summed it up perfectly about how students are so engrained in social media that we need to incorporate these aspects into our teaching to reach them. Some of the best learning days in my classroom is when the students are in control of technology via laptops or iPads. Their interest level is increased ten-fold and the products they produce are always more in depth and you can see how much pride they take in their work. It is only a shame that in some districts it isn't really possible to have lots of technology at your disposal and you have to make what you have work!

Permalink Reply by Laura Bossert on February 19, 2014 at 6:10pm

http://www.teachthought.com/trends/12-silent-saboteurs-of-innovatio...

I chose the article, "12 Silent Saboteurs Of Innovation In Education" because the title alone peaked my interests. I think that today there is so much that gets in the way of teaching that educators are quickly bogged down, overwhelmed, and just plain frustrated. The article delves into twelve different things that get in the way of being innovative in the classroom. While some were common knowledge, such as overworked teachers, scripted curricula, and strict PLCs, others were like an "aha-moment". One of these moments was district initiatives. The point was that these initiative makes sense in theory, but when application is necessary, the people who are outside of the classroom do not have the same knowledge those in the classrooms have. For example, an administrator may think a new program is great and want to implement it right away, but there are many factors that need to be dealt with, especially the hardware and software necessary. Nothing is more frustrating from a teacher standpoint than needing to do something and not having the technology available to do it successfully.

The other (thank you somebody else thought it) saboteur that really caught my eyes was drive-by professional development. Especially coming fresh off a PD day, there are many times that we have a professional development training that is not applicable to where we currently are, or is a topic that is never followed up on. These trainings are not only wasting time and money, but wasting the ability to have trainings that will benefit the staff members. There are many more experienced teachers in my school that do not feel comfortable with technology because they are not familiar with it. Therefore, they rarely use it in the classroom and when they do it is more for personal, or teacher directed lessons. It would behoove many people, to have a training that focused on new ways to become comfortable with the technology at our disposal.

While this article was not specifically about technology, rather many things revolved around technology integration, it is extremely important for an educator to be familiar with new technologies. Our students learn best from technology and many know how to operate technology better than at least 50% of our teachers (probably more). Therefore, it is necessary to keep up to date with new trends via blogs, technology trainings, and just through random research. Some of the best and most influential web 2.0 technologies I use in my room have been "stumbled upon".

Permalink Reply by Daniel Bossert on February 19, 2014 at 7:43pm

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-tips-teachers-connect-wit...

I chose to read the article from teachthought.com: “10 Tips For Teachers To Connect With Parents Via Social Media”. I chose to read this article because social media in regards to parent contact has been a much debated topic in recent history. Social media is a great tool for connecting with the community but many teachers are hesitant to use it for such reasons because there aren’t very specific guidelines or trainings about how to effectively and safely use it. That being said, it is important that teachers comply by any general guidelines that are in place for their district and it is also a good idea to ask questions to determine what is acceptable use or not.

The author outlines the ten tips for connecting with parents via social media with much detail but the point that I found most important was using more academic social media platforms. Social media tools that are designed for educational purposes are created to have strict security options and also fit the learning environment more appropriately than facebook and twitter. I was trained a few years ago to use edmodo and it seems to have many great applications for communication between teachers, students, and their families.

I thought that another important note in regards to using social media for parental contact was to give parents motivation to connect. If social media is being used to connect to parents, it should be used for two-way contact and not just one way. One way communication can be accomplished through notes home or email, social media has many more uses and should be taken advantage of.

I think it is vital for teachers to stay in-tune with new technologies and their uses for student engagement and teaching methods. Teachers need to be on the hunt for new technologies that aid in communication, collaboration, and discovery learning. By keeping up with emerging trends in technology, teachers can also find new ways to relate to students in ways that are modern and applicable.

Permalink Reply by Jessica Pizzaia on February 23, 2014 at 1:50pm

This is such an interesting topic! At the end of our school-year last year, we were informed that if we were to have contact with ANY students in our district via social media, we must have parental consent! This was then further discussed to even include relatives! I agree that this is a much debated topic! I tend to venture on the safe side, as opposed to walking a thin line. Until I am given distinct guidelines, I will be unwilling to cross that bridge. It is better to be safe than sorry. I liked your ideas of implementing social media that is specifically designed for educational purposes, especially when they are created to have strict security options! As long as parents/students are aware that the social media being used is STRICTLY education-based, I am sure it could be used successfully! I would go as far as getting the idea approved by administration before I began implementing the idea in my classroom however. It is a shame that educators are so nervous about being put in a position that they are "breaking the rules" that we are obviously neglecting the incredible use of technology available! Maybe one day the parameters will be set, and educators will feel more at ease with implementing social media into their educational setting.

Permalink Reply by james weeks on February 21, 2014 at 7:02pm

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/27-classroom-management-strategies-keep-things-fresh/

The article that I read was about different classroom management strategies. I think many of them were useful in the respect that any good teacher should be doing them. Several of the strategies have to deal with creating lessons that are engaging and at students levels. I believe that many students react differently to different types of lessons. In addition, it is also a good strategy to be aware of what is going on in the classroom and adapt to how students are performing. Teachers should be dynamic not static.

Unfortunately, some of the advice was not too great. One was simply “break bad habits”. That is easier said than done. It is sometimes even harder realizing that you are even doing something that could be considered a bad habit.

There are tons of ways to keep up with trends in technology and education. There are many websites and wikis such as this one that offer up to date information. Also, with the advent of social media it is easy to follow other educators and industry leaders through programs such as twitter and facebook.

 

Permalink Reply by Lucy Salvatore on February 22, 2014 at 9:43am

That is bad advice, to "break bad habits."  Well, duh!  Just like children respond better to specific directions/steps, if you're going to dish out advice on classroom management, you need to provide specific strategies.  I agree that being hyper-aware of what's going on in your classroom is a great way to nip behaviors in the bud, gauge student engagement, foster collaboration, and so on.

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