I found the article on the principles of teaching one that I will directly incorporate into my PD portfolio. I have made notes on where my teaching is at, and what I need to change, to be an effective teacher. I intend to print it out and place it in the portfolio.
The other part of the principles article, the one on learning, I thought would be a repeat of information I've seen ad nausium. However, I found the section on mastery to be more detailed then the information I've seen in the past. I found it's important to have the students practice the skill in a new context. This isn't new information, but it makes me think about what I have them do with the skills they've learned before checking their mastery of the skill. The priciples of learning also made me even more confident in the Connected Math Program. These people really have done their homework. (Yeah, take the pun and run...)
I have to admit I felt quite intimidated by the length of the technology and its effects article, but found the results to be just what I needed to read. The impact of moderate use of technology in learning is minimal; it's positive for learning outcomes, but negative for student behavior. The reason I needed to read this research is not because I was looking for a reason NOT to use technology, but because I have a tendency to get a little too excited about using technology in my classroom. This information will help me continue to get down to business, while still allowing me good reason to implement the use of technology in my classroom. I am looking forward to discussing this article in class.
I am finding the Technology In The Classroom That Works to be an invaluable tool. First off, I must say that without the experiences I have had with exploring technology and technology tools in previous courses, this book would have been a bunch of yada yada; it would have been more research, more verbage. With the past experience, however, this book is extremely helpful in encouraging meaningful implementation ideas. The intro and Ch1 highlights the effectiveness of technology in the classroom, while Ch2 and Ch3, focus specifically on using technology to provide feedback and recognition. From this section of reading, I've decided to play with the ideas of
- collecting student and parent email on the student information card I collect at the beginning of each year,
- setting up a Google Doc for advisory students to access as their work log rather than have it available in a folder in the classroom (this work log would also be shared with the student's parent(s)),
- adding a 'Celebration' page to my classpage, posting various awards, great classwork, and great math reflections,
- posting a page for each student, maybe, for them to share information and work (this depends on our software updates for next year and sounds like it may be too complicated), and
- using ecards to send/copy to parents recognition for exemplary performance or improvement.
There were a couple of implementation questions I have from the example on using blogs to provide feedback and recognition I will need clarified.
Danelle,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea to use a Google Doc for your advisory students. It seems like a reasonable way to introduce Google Docs to students.
I'm also finding the book a great resource. I've started going through the book and adding bookmarks to my delicious account.
I realized when I read the meta analysis article that I hadn't had statistics in a long time so I concentrated on gaining a conceptual understanding. The student only noted a small effect improvement when teaching with technology. The study was published in 2003. I wonder what it would look like in the era of collaboration and cloud computing? Would the results change? HHmmmmmmm...
Hey Danelle - Your implementation ideas are excellent, and I think I'll "borrow" a couple for my own classes. I especially like your idea of collecting emails and celebrating successes. My students create many slideshows on various topics, and I've been trying like mad to get them posted on our school's website for the past 2 years with no success. What site do you use for your class page? Our website is being revamped, but if it's not ready, I may have to venture out on my own. I'd love to see a link to yours. One of my goals this year is to establish Google accounts for my 5th and 6th grade students and, like you, post items to it. In fact, I'm thinking of dumping Word (our district is still stuck with 2000!) and just move to Google docs.
ReplyDeleteI think the textbook is good - it does put everything into a context, but I wonder if it's a bit too specific. For example, Ch 1 mainly talked about using Inspiration which I'm fortunate to have at my school, but I wonder how useful the chapter would be for someone who doesn't have it? You can still get the main idea but it certainly is an advantage owning the actual software, don't you think?
I really like your idea about writing notes about where your teaching is presently at and where you'd like it to go. I think that as we are going through this program we are being hit with a lot of new information and sometimes our heads swim!--mine does. But looking at my teaching situation including students, environment, and available technology, I am going to copy you and start looking at one course I teach and how I presently teach it. Then I'd like to concentrate on change--start small and continue from there. Thanks Danelle!
ReplyDeleteDanelle I too like your ideas on implementation of the tools we are learning into your classroom. I also appreciate how you found something useful in each of the articles or reading assignments. Self analysis is probably a very helpful tool for improving our classroom experiences for our students, awesome!
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