1. How does this topic fit into what I have learned already in this course?
Technology used the way it was shown in chaper 9, follows Theme 1 by making learning active. The kind of technology projects that the book talked about requires students to use: problem solving, decision making, deductive reasoning, heuristics, top-down processing, working memory, long-term memory, metacomprehension and creativity. Many of the projects talked about will build the students’ schemas. Projects like this take all the things we have learned in this class and puts them all to use. John Dewey would love these projects.
2. What am I still not clear on in this week's reading(s)?
My questions this week are not really on what I read, but are connections to what I read. In our elementary schools, K -3, I would say that this are probably 3 -4 teachers, out of about 35 teachers that use technology in a way that advances cognition. Not only that, but a great majority of the same teachers are not computer/technology savvy at all. My daughters attend high school in the same district and there are only a few of the high school teachers that are using technology to promote cognition. My district is in Carlinville, which is a rural community. I am just wondering if technology weak in our district because we are rural and are behind the times, or is this what it is like in many districts. Let me know – thanks.
3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching/work?
Technology is something that I love and can really get into, so chapter 9 was great. I can’t wait to try a project like Monsters, Mondrian and Me (p.s. I could not get into the site that the text recommended to see the artwork and paragraphs related to that project. Did anyone else have luck?) The children will have to use several skills: technology skills, writing skills, art skills, problem solving skills and colaboration. In order to have the other class get the picture just write, they class sending the info will have to work together to figure out have to better get their image across using words only.
I would like to set up a class website again so we can get parents more involved in our learning environment. I know I personally am always surfing the web to find other teacher’s website to find new ideas. I think having webcam conversations with classroom in other countries would be a great learning tool too.
I know whenever I have done a technology project with my students, I usually end up learning just as much as them because first I have to learn the program and second, the kids usually catch on more quickly than me and then are able to navigate better than me. So I end up asking them questions. And the students learn from each other.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Week 14 Reflections
I am going to be bold this week and veer somewhat from the usual reflection questions. This week I am going to reflect on what comes to my mind as I am reading. Some of it will fit under the three questions we usually answer and some of it won’t (I will indicate with a number if it is answering a specific reflection question). But they are my meaningful learner-centered reflections.
As I was reading the first two pages in chapter 6, I wondered if the factory model of school was really were standardized testing first evolved (2). I also wondered if WWI pushed reading to a higher level (2). If so, that is very interesting.
I was glad to see that the author emphasized that all four learning environments (community, learner centered, knowledge centered and assessment centers) are needed to make a well-rounded learner. I get so tired of people jumping on educational bandwagons and throwing out the baby with the water. For instance when whole language instruction was new on the forefront, many schools jumped on the whole language band wagon got rid of phonics (our district being one of them). Consequently, there were a couple of years where students had a big hole in their education and many resulted in poor readers.
I do like that a learner centered environment requires the teacher to observe, question and converse with the student. The following quote for the learner centered section is my question #3 inspiration, “The teachers attempt to get a sense of what each student knows, cares about, is able to do, and wants to do. Accomplished teachers ‘give learners reason,’ by respecting and understanding learners’ prior experiences and understandings, assuming that these can serve as a foundation on which to build bridges to new understandings.” I want to be one of those accomplished teachers. I can be at times but I know I need to do it more often and be more consistent about it (3).
The part about knowledge centered environments that really hit home it that it includes metacognition (1). After reading our textbook, I am really sold on metacomprehension and metacognition. I don’t know that I had thought that much about it before reading our text. But I am definitely working on having children think about their thinking. Questioning themselves – does this make sense? (this is something that I am applying to my teaching - 3)
Assessment center environments reminded me of Understanding by Design (1), where you start with a Big Idea and you look at what you want to assess first, and then design your unit around that. I also liked that they talked about students assessing themselves and using teacher assessments as a way to revise thinking which fits in with the whole metacognitive idea. That is something I am trying to build into all of my subject areas.
As far as the community centered environment, I definitely feel that family is a huge factor in a child’s learning experience and I try all the time to include family. A child who comes from a family who is involved in the learning process will get a much better education than the one who does not.
As I was reading the first two pages in chapter 6, I wondered if the factory model of school was really were standardized testing first evolved (2). I also wondered if WWI pushed reading to a higher level (2). If so, that is very interesting.
I was glad to see that the author emphasized that all four learning environments (community, learner centered, knowledge centered and assessment centers) are needed to make a well-rounded learner. I get so tired of people jumping on educational bandwagons and throwing out the baby with the water. For instance when whole language instruction was new on the forefront, many schools jumped on the whole language band wagon got rid of phonics (our district being one of them). Consequently, there were a couple of years where students had a big hole in their education and many resulted in poor readers.
I do like that a learner centered environment requires the teacher to observe, question and converse with the student. The following quote for the learner centered section is my question #3 inspiration, “The teachers attempt to get a sense of what each student knows, cares about, is able to do, and wants to do. Accomplished teachers ‘give learners reason,’ by respecting and understanding learners’ prior experiences and understandings, assuming that these can serve as a foundation on which to build bridges to new understandings.” I want to be one of those accomplished teachers. I can be at times but I know I need to do it more often and be more consistent about it (3).
The part about knowledge centered environments that really hit home it that it includes metacognition (1). After reading our textbook, I am really sold on metacomprehension and metacognition. I don’t know that I had thought that much about it before reading our text. But I am definitely working on having children think about their thinking. Questioning themselves – does this make sense? (this is something that I am applying to my teaching - 3)
Assessment center environments reminded me of Understanding by Design (1), where you start with a Big Idea and you look at what you want to assess first, and then design your unit around that. I also liked that they talked about students assessing themselves and using teacher assessments as a way to revise thinking which fits in with the whole metacognitive idea. That is something I am trying to build into all of my subject areas.
As far as the community centered environment, I definitely feel that family is a huge factor in a child’s learning experience and I try all the time to include family. A child who comes from a family who is involved in the learning process will get a much better education than the one who does not.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Week 12 Reflections
1. How does this topic fit into what I have learned already in this course?
As I was reading the section on speaking, it amazed me how many processes are going on in the mind just to be able to speak one sentence. I had never thought of this before. The brain truly works at remarkable speeds. This also showed me all the processes from our past readings that are involved – phonological loops, top-down processing, working memory, semantics, schema, central executive, and long term memory. So many processes work together to make just one sentence.
The same applies to producing written work; so much going on in one’s brain just to produce one little sentence. The brain truly is an amazing organ.
2. What am I still not clear on in this week's reading(s)?
This all seemed to make sense to me. Although I continue to be baffled by the top-down processing. I know that seems silly, but I just haven’t gotten that straight in my brain and it continues to come up in every chapter.
Also, I was wondering about the introduction at the beginning of chapter 9. It gave four goals of speech production. The goals did not contain – To inform. Isn’t one of our goals of speech simply to pass along information?
3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching/work?
One thing that hit me right off the bat was that when I am teaching, I had better be following the rules of pragmatics. Before I begin any lesson, I need to be sure that my listeners have common ground with me. For instance, if I am teaching a lesson about weather and I am talking about how the meteorologist makes predictions based on the air pressure, the air currents, etc…, I had better make sure that the children know what a meteorologist is, or the lesson has no meaning. Having common ground is very important in teaching; and I think that is one area that is often overlooked. One cannot assume common ground has been established especially with the growing population of poverty children that is appearing in the scho
As I was reading the section on speaking, it amazed me how many processes are going on in the mind just to be able to speak one sentence. I had never thought of this before. The brain truly works at remarkable speeds. This also showed me all the processes from our past readings that are involved – phonological loops, top-down processing, working memory, semantics, schema, central executive, and long term memory. So many processes work together to make just one sentence.
The same applies to producing written work; so much going on in one’s brain just to produce one little sentence. The brain truly is an amazing organ.
2. What am I still not clear on in this week's reading(s)?
This all seemed to make sense to me. Although I continue to be baffled by the top-down processing. I know that seems silly, but I just haven’t gotten that straight in my brain and it continues to come up in every chapter.
Also, I was wondering about the introduction at the beginning of chapter 9. It gave four goals of speech production. The goals did not contain – To inform. Isn’t one of our goals of speech simply to pass along information?
3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching/work?
One thing that hit me right off the bat was that when I am teaching, I had better be following the rules of pragmatics. Before I begin any lesson, I need to be sure that my listeners have common ground with me. For instance, if I am teaching a lesson about weather and I am talking about how the meteorologist makes predictions based on the air pressure, the air currents, etc…, I had better make sure that the children know what a meteorologist is, or the lesson has no meaning. Having common ground is very important in teaching; and I think that is one area that is often overlooked. One cannot assume common ground has been established especially with the growing population of poverty children that is appearing in the scho
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)