Week 8 Reflections and Ruminations

Throughout this course, I learned more about being a student. Many of the things that I require from my students I was faced with during the past eight weeks. With my tumultuous personal life interfering with my learning process. I wish that I had been able to explore each of the things we learned more in depth. Creating a unit plan with a problem-based learning lesson, a collaborative lesson, as well as a digital story was incredibly insightful. Each lesson grew and developed as my understanding of each was finally realized. It was not until I was creating my digital storytelling lesson plan that I could visualize exactly how this unit would flow, and how each part builds upon the previous lesson.

In regards to my GAME plan, I was not as successful. I had set high expectations for my students and myself. During this course, my class had access to the computers six times. During those periods, we discussed digital etiquette and how to respond respectfully online. We accessed Kerpoof.com to create, share, and discuss different items. It was just an introduction to a much bigger lesson. We spent the majority of the time with the laptops working on our keyboarding skills; I realized after speaking with other teachers that because of the requirements later in school my students were not as prepared as possible. I had to spend time having students learn and have a basic understanding of keyboarding skills. They are becoming much more comfortable with a keyboard and where to find each letter, it may not be perfect, but they are still learning proper techniques.

I have been introduced to many different professional learning communities online. I have begun following different educators on Twitter, following different blogs, and accessing websites that will help me to grow and learn as a professional educator. This has been the most valuable for me. I enjoy observing other educators with their successes and failures in our profession to find things that may work or things to avoid in my classroom.

I look forward to continuing to develop my GAME plan and identify more realistic goals for a short-term project, as well as identify a long term GAME plan for the rest of this school year and to prepare for next year. For the time being, I have many new technology tools to use within my classroom. One thing that I am very excited to begin using with the new quarter is www.kidblogs.com. I am looking forward to having students write blogs as a means to respond to their reading, as well as to discuss their own learning processes. Thank you for following along as I try to make sense of an overwhelming amount of information and resources!

Parental Involvement Voicethread

The latest project for my master's program was to create a voice thread that identified a need, problem, or situation I am confronted with in my classroom or school today.  I have created a voice thread that discusses the issue of parental involvement, and ways for educators and families to work together.

http://voicethread.com/share/1260546/

Behaviorism and Homework

While reading the chapters in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works that deal with homework, I started to feel defensive. I realized that I am deeply involved with the homework debate, and was taking it personally. I do not put a lot of emphasis on homework in my classroom, because of the issues it causes with families. Parents make a big deal if students do not finish their homework and expect consequences to come from the classroom. According to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski “homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills.” (p.187). This is the truth in homework, however many teachers and families mistake it for a chance to drill and kill. Homework should be a continuation of the learning from the classroom. Students should be given the chance to explore their learning without fear of consequences. The example of students exploring their effort in their assignments compared to their rate of success was a very powerful message as described by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski. I plan to investigate how I can have my third grade students graph something similar to see their results, like the students that used it before, I believe that my students would understand the value of effort in completing their assignments with thought and accuracy. I will continue to assign homework as practice but being mindful of the main purpose of enrichment of our classroom activities.

Behaviorism learning theory is an important part of running a classroom everyday. From the classroom management, procedures, and homework students need the repetitive routine and reinforcement to work effectively with their classmates in a cohesive manner. “Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside of the classroom, making it easy for students…providing ‘drill and practice’ resources that help students refine their skills.” (Pittler, p.189) Many technology resources available utilize the behaviorist learning theory. Some of the resources listed provide instant feedback on how a student preformed. I was excited to see that I have used some of the resources for practicing students understanding of a topic, before assessing them later. Students enjoy practicing things they already have some knowledge about, especially when they know that they are expected to know the information again in the future. When students are allowed to use technology to complete their homework, there is more interest in doing well and attempting more. They are provided with the instant feedback that is necessary to be effective practice. Many of my students use www.spellingcity.com to use a multitude of ways to practice their spelling words, and are able to instantly determine which words they need to focus on studying. I may not always be able to include technology to complete a homework assignment, but I will provide many different ways to practice, or further research a topic on a class website students can access.

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