THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT I FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT IN MY TEACHING PRACTICES. MY FIRST ONE THAT I THRIVE IS FOR EVERY CHILD TO ENJOY SCHOOL, TO HAVE FUN, TO LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TO SCHOOL EVERYDAY. THUS, WHEN I BEGIN DESIGNING MY LESSONS OR ANALYZE MY TEACHING STYLE; I ALWAYS THINK OF THE CURRENT GROUP OF STUDENTS IN MY CLASSROOM AND HOW I CAN GET THEM TO BE LIFELONG LEARNERS. I TRY TO ENGAGE MY STUDENTS TO BE FORWARD THINKERS.
MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE I AM ADDRESSING IS HOW TO TEACH COMPUTER SKILLS AS A LANGUAGE. FOR THESE LEARNERS, I BELIEVE THAT JUST LIKE FOUNDATIONAL MATH AND READING SKILLS; COMPUTER LANGUAGE NEEDS TO BE PART OF OUR PROGRAM EVERY SINGLE DAY. MY GOALS IS TO DESIGN LESSONS THAT ENABLE STUDENTS TO HAVE THE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS OF COMPUTERS, APPS, WEBSITES.
MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE I AM ADDRESSING IS HOW TO TEACH COMPUTER SKILLS AS A LANGUAGE. FOR THESE LEARNERS, I BELIEVE THAT JUST LIKE FOUNDATIONAL MATH AND READING SKILLS; COMPUTER LANGUAGE NEEDS TO BE PART OF OUR PROGRAM EVERY SINGLE DAY. MY GOALS IS TO DESIGN LESSONS THAT ENABLE STUDENTS TO HAVE THE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS OF COMPUTERS, APPS, WEBSITES.
The role of personalized and competency based learning is to adjust to meet the interest of the students. These teaching models allow teachers to recognize that each student has different need and abilities. As Katie Varatte stated in, Teaching in Compentency-Based Education environment, "the lessons are personalized to the individual and students are taking ownership of their learning." Thru the process of allowing students to have agency through his/her learning, the student are achieving personalized educational goals.
Currently, in my classroom I am using Benchmark Advance online virtual tools for my students. I have one student his goals are different from the rest of the class. For his online Seesaw activities, I have assigned different reading assignments in his Benchmark portfolio. Then, during online Zoom session; while students are in Breakout Rooms working on the current reading assignment, I am working one on one with this student for his current reading goals. The technology is allowing me to adjust to meet the interest for this student. It has been quite successful.
Another way I am using personalized learning in my classroom is by using the app Dreambox for my students. I have assigned the assessments in the app and will be designing groups to work on math assignments in the Breakout rooms. This is an on=going process.
Seesaw has also been a great online tool for my to change the interactions I have with student and change the way students learn. In Seesaw, I have assigned reading lessons where students draw, write, using fun online tools (like spray-paint spelling) to access the current learning goals for our curriculum. During our Zoom sessions, I ask for feed back from students and either re-design the lessons for them or I ask for feedback on their turned in work. Seesaw is a great online platform for my 2nd graders to achieve their 2nd grade educational goals.
In your blog, consider reflecting on your journey towards 21st century teaching practices (or leading them). After reading about what is expected (in terms of the standards, 4Cs, etc) and the path the journey takes, what are you feeling? What can you do in your classroom/school to engender 21st century teaching and learning? What do you need to learn? Include your thoughts related to the Darling-Hammond readings, too, as they apply.
After our readings this week; I feel very excited about returning to the classroom. Prior to the pandemic, I felt I had encorporated critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity in my everyday lessons. In addition, I had measureable increases in students success with my instructional practices, strutures, purpose, and culture. I understood that we are "educating kids for a future that we are not yet familar with" (Linda Darling-Hammond). And, of course; I had technology in the classroom and I was using innovative teaching techniques. However, after almost a year of teaching in the virtual distance learning classroom, I have realized I was not using technology and innovative practices as best as I could. I had laptops in my classroom. I taught the kids to log-in. I taught them how to access iRead and S.T. Math. I taught them how to go to napa county of education and log into the student safe portal. That was the extent of my 21st century teaching. Now after learning all the new tools and how to really implement in my classroom. I am reminded of the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow; students need thinking skills the ability to learn and reason, to think creativitely, make decisions and solve problems. In prior years of teaching, my student did not have the ability (in the most part) to make decsions or solve problems. I am currently using so many different ways of teaching my curriculum that my students are reminding me to include google forms, seesaw activites, quizz, kahoots, emails, google slides, and private group work in breakout rooms! I am now thinking of how when I am in-person with a WHOLE group of students what my classroom will look like as an innovative 21st century teaching environment.
In the Flat World of Education, Linda Darling-Hammond states the following," Instead of investing directly in teachers' knowledge, a bureaucracy was constructed to prescribe, manage, and control the work of teachers, deflecting funds from the classroom." As many of us have stated in this Cohort, we and our peers have a lot more technology then we have ever had before. A huge part of this was it was a necessity for teachers to be trained in this innovative skills. Teachers were paid to go to new trainings for technology, we have experts we can contact (and will contact you back), we have a digital platform that has allowed us to form innovative and higher level thinking virtual classrooms. As I stated, I am excited to go back to the classroom and to continue the 21st century teaching and innovative lessons. However, I am not excited to go back to the rote-learning that the majority of the public feels children need to be educated inviduals.
After our readings this week; I feel very excited about returning to the classroom. Prior to the pandemic, I felt I had encorporated critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity in my everyday lessons. In addition, I had measureable increases in students success with my instructional practices, strutures, purpose, and culture. I understood that we are "educating kids for a future that we are not yet familar with" (Linda Darling-Hammond). And, of course; I had technology in the classroom and I was using innovative teaching techniques. However, after almost a year of teaching in the virtual distance learning classroom, I have realized I was not using technology and innovative practices as best as I could. I had laptops in my classroom. I taught the kids to log-in. I taught them how to access iRead and S.T. Math. I taught them how to go to napa county of education and log into the student safe portal. That was the extent of my 21st century teaching. Now after learning all the new tools and how to really implement in my classroom. I am reminded of the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow; students need thinking skills the ability to learn and reason, to think creativitely, make decisions and solve problems. In prior years of teaching, my student did not have the ability (in the most part) to make decsions or solve problems. I am currently using so many different ways of teaching my curriculum that my students are reminding me to include google forms, seesaw activites, quizz, kahoots, emails, google slides, and private group work in breakout rooms! I am now thinking of how when I am in-person with a WHOLE group of students what my classroom will look like as an innovative 21st century teaching environment.
In the Flat World of Education, Linda Darling-Hammond states the following," Instead of investing directly in teachers' knowledge, a bureaucracy was constructed to prescribe, manage, and control the work of teachers, deflecting funds from the classroom." As many of us have stated in this Cohort, we and our peers have a lot more technology then we have ever had before. A huge part of this was it was a necessity for teachers to be trained in this innovative skills. Teachers were paid to go to new trainings for technology, we have experts we can contact (and will contact you back), we have a digital platform that has allowed us to form innovative and higher level thinking virtual classrooms. As I stated, I am excited to go back to the classroom and to continue the 21st century teaching and innovative lessons. However, I am not excited to go back to the rote-learning that the majority of the public feels children need to be educated inviduals.
The tools I put in my lesson designs were: Sreencastify, Edpuzzle, Pear Deck, Flipgrid and Seesaw. All of these tools worked really well for my class and my instruction. I think that the students enjoyed Screencastify because it changed up my teaching. My students were not engaging as much as they had intially in the beginning of the school year. Edpuzzle was also enjoyable for my students, but I now realize I need to have multiple choice options in the future for my students and aslo some visual components for the struggling readers. Pear Deck I have been trying to master all school year and during synchronous time; IT DID NOT WORK! My students did not like the Pear Deck format. However, when I put the Pear Deck slides in my Seesaw account and assigned it to my students; it went amazing. It finally clicked for me and my students. Using the article from Edutopia (2020) www.edutopia.org/technology-intergration;" adding annotations like arrow, text labels, or circles can provide 'visual caffolding' clarifies your teaching priorities" I realzied it does help my students to engaged and focus their attention to the goals of the lessons. As for flipgrids; I am using them as follow up to lessons, checking for understanding and as an assessment tool. Flipgrid allows the student to orally explain his/her thinking in a fun format and allows the students to create something. As a class, we review the flipgrids during synchronous time; all of these video and audio tools.
As Jennifer Gonzalez (2020). "9 ways Online Teaching Should be Different from face-to face." Cult of Pedagogy.com outlines with her interview with Melanie Kitchen, I would like to do an screencastify lesson for parents on the learning pit as how long it will take for the children to master these different platforms. Over the fall break, I will design a lesson for the parents to allow the parents to see there is going to be a period of struggle for the students with these new online learning platforms.
I also really liked the inforgraphics for the hybrid model from both of Shenniger, Eric (2020) "Moving to a hybrid learning model" and "The pedagogy of blended learning". As a grade level lead, I will be sharing these visuals to my peer teachers during our Professional Learning Community Meetings.
702-#1-Blog |
The role of personalized and competency based learning is to adjust to meet the interest of the students. These teaching models allow teachers to recognize that each student has different need and abilities. As Katie Varatte stating in, Teaching in Competency-Based Education environment, "the lessons are personalized to the individual and students are taking ownership of their learning." Thru the process of allowing students to have agency through his/her learning, the student are achieving personalized educational goals. Currently, in my classroom I am using Benchmark Advance online virtual tools for my students. I have one student his goals are different from the rest of the class. For his online Seesaw activities, I have assigned different reading assignments in his Benchmark portfolio. Then, during online Zoom session; while students are in Breakout Rooms working on the current reading assignment, I am working one on one with this student for his current reading goals. The technology is allowing me to adjust to meet the interest for this student. It has been quite successful. Another way I am using personalized learning in my classroom is by using the app Dreambox for my students. I have assigned the assessments in the app and will be designing groups to work on math assignments in the Breakout rooms. This is an on=going process. Seesaw has also been a great online tool for my to change the interactions I have with student and change the way students learn. In Seesaw, I have assigned reading lessons where students draw, write, using fun online tools (like spray-paint spelling) to access the current learning goals for our curriculum. During our Zoom sessions, I ask for feed back from students and either re-design the lessons for them or I ask for feedback on their turned in work. Seesaw is a great online platform for my 2nd graders to achieve their 2nd grade educational goals. |