"Integration is when classroom teachers use technology to introduce, reinforce, extend, enrich, assess, and remediate student mastery of curricular targets." Integration of technology does not replace the teacher will a computer and I believe that this is important to understand. It is meant to enhance learning, not replace it. This reading opened my eyes to the amount of preparation and resources needed to have proper technology in the classroom, such as administrative support, time and tools for collaboration and equipment. Thought it might be a tough process, I truly do believe that the benefits of technology are worth it, and articles like this make me more confident that I will be able to achieve these goals as an in-service teacher.
Integrating technology into teaching has been a concept that I have been exposed to since I entered the college of education. The benefits are clear and proven, and the new holistic paradigm embraces technology and the advantages that it reaps. One benefit that Gullen and Zimmerman's article was its time saving quality. "Infusing technology thoughtfully into instruction can free up time for meaning learning." Choosing the right, appropriate technology can enhance any lesson. As a future educator, I believe that choosing the right technology depends on my students and their learning needs. "Teachers determine the mix that is right for their students." technology tools recommended by teachers in this article is a great resource that I will definitely use.
"Integration is when classroom teachers use technology to introduce, reinforce, extend, enrich, assess, and remediate student mastery of curricular targets." Integration of technology does not replace the teacher will a computer and I believe that this is important to understand. It is meant to enhance learning, not replace it. This reading opened my eyes to the amount of preparation and resources needed to have proper technology in the classroom, such as administrative support, time and tools for collaboration and equipment. Thought it might be a tough process, I truly do believe that the benefits of technology are worth it, and articles like this make me more confident that I will be able to achieve these goals as an in-service teacher.
0 Comments
Today, I utilized the popsicle stick method. A lot of my students tend to lose focus and not be on task while I am reviewing work, or explaining a new concept. As soon as I brought out the popsicle sticks, they were immediately intrigued. They thought it was the coolest thing, and this was already motivation for them to lesson. All students sat up in listening learning position. This method worked well for all three focus students. My lower level student was encouraged to pay attention, and thus each time he was called, he was able to answer the question. Because each child had an equal chance of being called, they were constantly prepared and engaged. The great thing about this is that it was also effective for my above level student. Because it was a new and fresh method, he enjoyed it and wanted his name to be called as much as possible. Therefore, he did not become bored just because he had mastered the work. I would definitely continue using this in the future. This week, I decided to finally test out "Plickers," in preparation for my technology lesson. This preview was a perfect tease for my students, as they are counting down the days until they can do it again. I believe that this significantly complemented my inquiry, and all three of my focus students were engaged. Billy had some problems with understanding the logistics, but once he got it, he was completely hooked. My other two focus students were also squealing with excitement, and they could believe the "magic" that was happening when I was able to see their live results. I believe that the new, unique way of displaying answers prevented my above level student from getting bored. This technology tool is one that I was am extremely grateful for, and I believe that it should be implemented in all classrooms. Not only is it great for engagement and participation, but it is an amazing technology tool. Furthermore, it is a genuine result and students are unable to copy each other's answers due to each of them having a unique code. When I use these again the future, I know that my students would be engaged, as they eagerly await the next time that I use them.
I have never had an ELL student in my classroom, so I do not have firsthand experience. However, these articles have been extremely helpful and I believe that they would prepare me well for the day that I do have an english language learner present in my classroom. In "Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners," I was reminded that each student has his/her own experience, and this significantly affects how he/she learns. Therefore, as an educator, I must embrace these needs and do all that I can to differentiate and meet these needs. "Differentiation is a balance between academic content and students' individual needs." I believe that this quote is a great way to explain this term. Because students learn differently, teachers must differentiate in order to ensure that all students have an equal chance of success. In my internship classroom, I differentiate in order to create equity in the classroom, so that no student feels at a disadvantage. I believe that differentiation is especially important with regards to ELL students. A teacher must pre-assess these students, and consider many factors including their proficiency, readiness, learning style, culture etc. Only when a teacher fully understands his/her student can she/he effectively differentiate. The article mentioned advice for differentiation for ELL students that I have never thought of before : "Differentiate homework." I believe that this is something that is rarely done in the classroom. However, it may result in some students being bored as they have already reached mastery, and some being extremely challenged and frustrated. Though differentiating homework is a task that may be time consuming, I believe that it is a must in my classroom.
The article "12 Ways to Support ESL Students in the Mainstream Classroom," was also very insightful. The methods that were new to me or I thought were the most interesting were:
Ford, K. (n.d.). Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners. Retrieved March 07, 2016, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/differentiated-instruction-english-language-learners Gonzalez, J. (2014). 12 Ways to Support ESL Students in the Mainstream Classroom. Retrieved March 07, 2016, from http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-classroom/ Greene, R. (2013, October 25). 5 Key Strategies For ELL Instruction. Retrieved March 07, 2016, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/10/25/strategies-for-ell-instruction/ This experience was extremely beneficial and I learned more than I thought I ever would. Being able to observe another intern's classroom was a huge learning experience, especially because I have never seen an intermediate grade. During our pre-conference, me and Meghan debriefed each other about what our activity was about, and how we could help each other. I explained to Meghan that I was going to use the cube strategy that we learned in our Instructional planning course in order to assess students' learning and understanding of the George Washington biography. Furthermore, I asked her to assist me by monitoring one of the groups to see if the questions were level appropriate, and how engaged they were. Meghan explained to me that her activity was based on a smart-board, and that she would use this while the class went over a review test. She asked me to monitor student behavior and to do whatever I saw necessary. First, Meghan came to my classroom, just after the students had finished reading George Washington's biography. She was aware that students were going to be divided into homogenous groups of three. Depending on their level, they were given a cube that had questions on each face of it. There were 6 groups- 1 below level, 3 on level, and 2 above level. I explained to Meghan that this linked to my inquiry (engagement) as I wanted to find ways to keep students of all levels engaged, rather than only paying attention to below level students. When I showed the students the cubes they were going to work with, they were extremely interested and in awe of how "cool" they thought they were. I knew this was a good sign as they were immediately engaged. I then broke them into their groups and assigned them different areas of the classroom to work in. Meghan worked with an on level group, and monitored their comprehension as well as application strategies. They were given fifteen minutes to work on this, and then I called on each group to share something they found interesting. This was a good recap of all of the new information. I then followed Meghan into her fourth grade classroom for her Math lesson. The students were arranged in table groups, which was like my classroom. Her CT was not present, so I was not able to get a full experience of her procedures and techniques. Meghan set up the review of the Math test on the smart-board, and students were very engaged. She was faced with some technical difficulties at the beginning, but did not allow this to be a disruption. She managed it well and kept the lesson flowing smoothly. Throughout the lesson, she only called on silent hands. Students were able to come up and write on the smart board, in order to show how they figured out a problem. To keep students on task and engaged, she use popsicle sticks to call their names. This definitely helped with student participation, and I think this is something I can definitely use with my inquiry. Because the students knew that they could have been called on at any time, they remained on task at all times. Meghan also implemented formative assessment via the thumbs up/thumbs down approach. She also asked higher-order questions throughout, and continuously reminded students of her expectations. From Meghan's lesson, the two things that stood out to me most were the use of the smart board as well as the popsicle sticks. These are two materials that I could definitely use to aid with my engagement inquiry. Watching my peer execute the smart board encouraged me to try it, and made me less hesitant. I would definitely use these materials in the future. My second graders would be absolutely amazed by the smart board and all the tricks that it can do. Secondly, the use of popsicle sticks would aid with those who tend to drift off and lack participation. At our post-conference, Meghan gave me tips that would help me in the future. This included to do the cube activity for longer as some students would take longer to answer questions. Furthermore, she suggested grouping them heterogeneously, which I do plan to do in the future. I plan on varying the questions within each cube- some would be more challenging than others. Group members would be able to help each other, so that the varying skill levels within the groups would be beneficial. Hearing feedback from a peer was definitely helpful and constructive. This week, I combined differentiation and engagement into one activity. Students were learning about biographies, and I wanted to find a way to assess them, rather than simply giving them comprehension questions. I learned about this cubing strategy in my Instructional Planning class, and I was immediately intrigued. We were all very engaged, so I thought this would be a good fit for my classroom and inquiry. I made six cubes of three different levels. Level 1 was for students who were below level, level 2 was for students who were on level, and level 3 was for advanced/gifted students. After students read the biography, I divided them into groups according to level. Therefore, they were in homogenous groups. The students were extremely excited about the cubes themselves, and were eager to begin the game. Each student took turns rolling the cube. They would then answer the question that was on the face that landed up. They would then pass it to the next person in the group and the process would repeat. I believe that this was a form of assessment in which students were all engaged. No one was too challenged or overwhelmed, nor was anyone bored. They also learned a lot and got a lot out of the activity. In the future, I would do the groups heterogeneously, and provide of variety of questions within each cube. I believe that students would be able to assist others in their group if needed, and that this would also be effective with engagement. In my initial goal setting blog, I stated that I needed improvement on Feap 2B- “Manages individual and class behaviors through a well-planned management system.” This was a goal due to the fact that I was not addressing misbehaviors to the extent that I should have been, and was given students too many chances. Another goal was FEAP 2H- “Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students.” I saw need for improvement in this area due to my focusing too much on below level students, ignoring the needs to above level students. I think that behavioral management and differentiation are two factors that are vital for student success and proper functioning of a classroom. I also believe that they are two of the harder practices to master, especially as a pre-service teacher. However, I am confident that I have made a steady improvement in both practices, and believe that I will continue heading in a positive direction. With regards to FEAP 2B, I decided to pay close attention to the way my CT manages behavior in the classroom. I made notes on everything she did, ranging from incentives, warnings, compliments and other methods. I learned interesting tips from her also. One of these is to compliment behavior that you like, rather than criticizing one that you do not. Without a doubt, this was extremely effective and I saw immediate results. For example, when doing a read aloud, there were a few students who were not turned towards me, and were very distracted. Instead of calling on these students and asking them to pay attention, I said, “I love how Billy is in Listening learning Position (LLP) and sitting up nice and straight like a mature second grader.” This had an immediate effect and all the unfocused students mimicked my compliment. Furthermore, I decided to use more incentives, such as giving the quickest and quietest students tickets, or marbles. This is also an effective means of time management. My supervisor’s words also encouraged me to take control, and let the teacher inside of me come out. Though I am just an intern, my students should see me just as they see any other teacher. With regards to FEAP 2H, I have also made progress. I have been focusing a lot on enrichment activities, as this is aimed towards the above level students. Furthermore, I have been switching up the small groups that work with teachers. Therefore, above level students do not always have to work independently, and this also makes it less of a predictable situation. However, I have also been focusing on my on level and below level students, and have been trying to spread my time, effort and resources equally among all students. My CT also guided me along this process, giving me ideas and suggestions along the way. One of these included allowing my above levels students to teach the class. This was an example of my CT's feedback, that I turned into something productive. In terms of behavioral management, my CT realized that I had been struggling to stand firm with some students. She encouraged me to take control and be a leader, and not to let students take advantage of me because I am an intern. Now, after one warning, I will give a student a negative check in his/her folder. I have seen improvement in students' response to my warnings, and believe that I am earning their respect more and more. This is a differentiated activity for my classroom. These particular questions on the cubes relate to biographies, but it can be used for any topic that they are learning. There are three levels of cubes. The first level is for below level/struggling students, the second level is for on level students, and the third level is for above level students. Students are broken into groups of three based on level, and given their cube. This ensures that each student learns meangingfully from the activity, but none are overwhelmed or unchallenged. I believe that this is evidence that I have improved FEAP 2H.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2017
Categories
All
|