Reflection: The GAME Plan

I believe that my initial thoughts on my GAME plan had many positive aspects, and the biggest issue I have had in executing the plan was my own ability to process what I was trying to accomplish.  Perhaps a bit overwhelmed, I did not have firm grasp on the ultimate goal of the unit until it was underway.  There have been many positive learning experiences for me along the way, and while student results were not what I had desired, there was a lot of learning happening in my classroom.  Issues with technology impeded some of my intentions with blogs and wikis, but as all teachers must, I was able to detour around the difficulty and find another way to accomplish our goals. 

This is my first year teaching at the high school level, and after five years teaching 13 year olds, I am now responsible for almost one hundred 18 year olds.  It is quite a drastic difference as I assumed it would be, but my awareness and preparedness did not line up.  I allowed too many excuses to interrupt the flow of our work, and this has caused some hiccups along the way.  In the future, I will have a more deliberate plan developed for reading the novel.  While Lord of the Flies is a challenging read, I allowed that to influence some of my plans.  I recognized early on that my students would have the ability to seek out reading aids such as SparkNotes since they each have their own Netbook.  However, I believe that by providing them access to this resource, many students chose to rely heavily upon it rather than attempting to understand the novel.  In addition to this, I made a digital copy of the novel available,  but required students to visit the school media center if they wanted a paperback copy.  I have mixed feelings about student responsibility in this as I recognize that in less than a year, many of them will be in college where this independence is required.  I feel that by not having a stack of books available in my room, I may have taken away some sense of urgency which many students may need to push them forward.  I need to create a classroom setting that pushes students to be responsible for their own learning while still providing them multiple avenues to find success. 

Two revisions will be needed for future use of this GAME plan in regards to technology.  These are:
 

• One blog will be made for each class, and students will respond to my posts.  These responses will stand in as their own blog posts.  This will create an easier way for them to view what their classmates are writing and discuss ideas.  It will also make my evaluation of student understanding easier as I will not have to visit over one hundred separate student created blogs. 
• Wikis will be created by student groups.  Students will be divided into groups at the very beginning of the unit and will start develop their wiki projects at that time.  This way, the project will have the opportunity to evolve with student learning and will provide students with the ability to recognize how their understanding has changed over time. 

GAME plans are really about metacognition; it is teachers or students setting goals, taking action to meet those goals, keeping an eye on progress towards those goal, evaluating how well this was done, and taking that understanding forward to accomplish new tasks (Cenammo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009).  In the future, I plan on presenting the unit project from the very beginning.  As soon as students are aware of the novel they will be reading, they will know every goal they must achieve.  If this is applied to the Lord of the Flies character campaign that I have been developing, students would need to sort out how they are going to develop a political campaign for their character.  This would require them pay special attention to character details and relationships in the novel, as well as behaviors and responses to conflict.  As they continue working through the novel, they would have to monitor their work on their group wiki to make sure that the material they have created aligns with the goals that must be met.  And at the end,  student groups could evaluate how well these tasks have been accomplished.  The idea in translating the GAME plan process to what students are doing  is making sure students are thinking about what they are doing and why they are doing it.  Using this will allow students to place their assumptions on the table, break them down, and use new understanding to develop a deeper, richer understanding of the material (Tsao, Takahashi, Olusesu, & Jain, 2006).

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Any adjustments I would make involving technological integration in the classroom revolves around developing student competence with technology.  I have made the same mistake many teachers make, and perhaps because of my awareness of it, I am the bigger fool.   Availability of technology does not translate into productive use of technology.  Thirty students in the classroom who can access Facebook with their phone does not mean that those same thirty students have an understanding of how to recognize a website's reliability or how to create a meaningful digital product.  This is the same mistake I feel my corporation has made by placing Promethean boards in every classroom in the city without providing any meaningful professional development for teachers (of which I have been highly critical).  Students need to know how to use the technology, and it is my job as a teacher to recognize their preconceptions about technology and address those.  I believe one of the biggest reasons make mistakes with technology, especially when gathering online resources, is that they do not recognize they are making mistakes.  Teachers need to help students to recognize preconceptions, evaluate them, have them challenged and restructure their understanding (Davis, 2001). 

Technology has always been a part of my classroom.  Before I began teaching, I thought I would have a computer related career, perhaps in networking and maintenance.  I have always recognized the value of understanding these tools.  The biggest issue is making sure that the technology is used in a way that enhances the learning as using technology just to use technology serves no purpose (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).  In order to make the learning more meaningful for all of my students, I have to be able to take the skills they are to learn beyond the four walls of my room.  Lord of the Flies as a novel may have no worth to many of my students who find no joy in reading literature, but the practical lessons of social organization, societal rules, and values are present for all.  Using problem-based learning and addressing real-world problems that correlate with the novel can provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the skills required by academic standards and an understanding of the world in which they live.  Social media would then allow students to take that learning beyond the school and perhaps make an impact in our city and beyond. 

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Davis, J. (2001). Conceptual Change. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Tsao, J., Takahashi, K., Olusesu, J. & Jain, S. (2006). Transformative Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Monitoring the GAME Plan

My GAME plan is running smoothly to some degree. We have encountered a handful of issues, but I have been discussing what has been happening with other teachers in my department. I believe I have discovered some ways to cope with certain issues and replace others.

There are two modifications that I just realized I will need to make this week. The first pertains to student blogging. Blogs for individuals, such as those we create for Walden, are excellent tools for students to use in developing their own voice. The major issue, however, is time management for me. If I use the format that I originally intended, which was modeled after the classes I have been taking in this program, I will have over one hundred separate blogs to visit. If I add the component we use in this course, which is to have students submit a separate file with their posts and responses, I will create a huge rift with my students. Many are not to that level responsibility and maturity yet, and I believe much of the work with the blogs would not be done well if done at all. I must also take some of the blame. Teachers must prepare the technology, make sure the correct resources are available, and are working properly (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). I did not do this, and instead relied on what I thought I knew from my experience last year. Therefore, I have decided to create a single blog for each of my three senior classes. I have gathered each student's school Gmail address, and I will send them all invitations to the blog. Doing this, I can have the writing prompt as the initial post on the blog, and their responses can be placed in the comment section. This will allow for a number of things to occur. Students will be able to see what others are writing which can help clarify the purpose, open up new possibilities for understanding through collaborative thinking, and develop conversation on the topic we are engaging.

The second modification is very similar to the first, yet it pertains to wikis. I believe we would have had more success with the group wikis in the classroom, but I would have still had at least a dozen different projects to evaluate. If I am to address both individual and group learning, it will be difficult to judge at this time as I am still wrapping my mind around this process. As my understanding evolves, I can broaden the scope of future projects. For now, one wiki per class will allow for student creativity and collaboration without developing a difficult monitoring situation for me. The pieces of the wiki can still be divided among smaller groups, each with their own group leader. These could be the students with editing rights to the blog. This would be even more powerful in that these group leaders could also be a group, perhaps made of students that on the higher end of the ability spectrum. If there are students who are ahead of the game, then adding in a layer of responsibility that will push their thinking can account for that differentiation piece that will be important to keep them engaged.

All the information and resources are at my fingertips. The biggest struggle has been using the technology tools. Each student has been assigned a Netbook, but our corporation micromanages web access to the point that we are never sure what we will be able to do from day to day. For example, YouTube is available to all on some days, only teachers with their school account on others, and there are even days when it is blocked completely. Our LightSpeed software, which is the Internet security software we have pre-installed on all computers in the corporation, is excellent when used correctly, but if people are not careful, it could hinder access to the point that students no longer want anything to do with the provided technology due to absolute frustration. I do have options, and the first one that I intend to look into is developing a list of need sites for my class. I have been told that if I do this, I should be able to make sure that the sites we need will not be blocked at any point.

The biggest lesson I have learned: Nothing is as simple as it originally seems, and the worst thing I can do as a teacher is start out with a big idea and not break it down into manageable pieces. I have some amazing ideas sometimes. But I have to make them manageable or they are merely unachieved dreams. In the future, I have much to do to improve. It is important that expectations are clear from day one, all objectives are stated along with the evaluation methods, and students need to be actively involved in the development of their learning (Han & Bhattacharya, 2001). I have the tendency to think things are obvious, and I omit things that are necessary. In addition to tackling the issues with technology, I must be more intentional. If I am, I believe I will find greater levels of success and so will my students.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Han, S., and Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved September 29, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt

Making the GAME Plan Happen

In order to carry out my GAME plan, there are several items that I must bring together.  This can be time consuming, but fortunately, I have worked with Lord of the Flies before and have a fair understanding of what it will take to accomplish that task. 

As we are working with the themes and symbolism within the novel, it seems prudent to incorporate informational texts that provide depth to understanding of how people function within society and thus potentially creating meaningful connections with characters in the novel.  While I love the novel, I recognize that many people, including teachers, have difficulty relating to the work and finding a way to enjoy the reading.  Luckily, others feel the way I do and have compiled resources that can help students make solid connections and reflect on the world in which they live.  One such source is from the New York Times Learning Network.  Even though this novel falls on many lists of “least enjoyable to teach”, the use of such real world material can make all the difference in creating a positive experience (Ojalvo & Doyne, 2010).  Aside from this resource, I have engaged in conversation with my school’s sociology and psychology teacher, and he has offered to aid me in creating a social experiment to further student understanding.  We have not determined what this will look like, but it is a very promising idea. 

I have already gathered both paperback and digital copies of the book, as well as made the audio book available to my students.  It is important that students read the book, but I recognized that the analytical and evaluative skills that can be developed through complex thought process outweighs turning the pages.  For this reason, I have also provided access to the SparkNotes for Lord of the Flies so that students who are struggling with the reading will still be able to follow the story progression and contemplate the real world context.  Providing students with multiple avenues for accomplishing tasks supports their affective networks, bringing forth feelings and emotions that help them look at, as Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer call it, the “why” of learning (2009).  The availability of technology, specifically student Netbooks, creates a flexible situation where Universal Design for Learning is more probable to find success (CAST, 2012).

Students have been able to create their blogs and develop, at the very least, sufficient understanding to complete blogging tasks.  As I explained to my students, writing techniques have been taught to them since they were in grade school, and these were important lessons.  However, the writing can become formulaic and appears more to be an assumption of what the student believes the teacher wants to hear rather than a true expression of the student understanding.  Voice is lost, and blogging has the potential to bring that back.  If I add another level for higher level students by requiring them to comment on other student blogs, I can create the potential for expanded thinking and discussion.  I have not been able to speak with our professional development coordinator, but I need to gather information on how to develop a meaningful way to use the feature. 

In order to grasp some of the concepts, we have also been taking notes and discussing the dystopian concept.  All notes are available online through our ANGEL website though students were encouraged to rework the notes to make them more meaningful for their own understanding.  I used real world examples of utopian concepts that did not work, as well as dystopian themed books, movies, and video games.  At this point, the general concept seems to be understood by my students.  The next step is establishing that connection to theme and symbolism so that we can get to the meat of the work. 

I have yet to determine how the wiki and video project will look.  This is the one piece that I cannot wrap my mind around for senior level students.  My commercial project went well for some students and was a bust for others, so I feel I need to tighten my hold on student responsibility without removing choice.  I will be talking to other ELA teachers within my building, but I am concerned that it may not result in any clarification.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to create a wiki project that incorporates video that somehow relates themes and symbolism within a novel to the real world, I would love to hear your ideas.

 

References

CAST (2012). The framework for UDL: Three principles. What is universal design for learning? Retrieved September 19, 2012 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4_3.cfm

 

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Ojalvo, H., &  Doyne, S. (2012, September).  Teaching  The Lord of the Flies with The New York Times. [Web Log Post].  Retrieved  from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/teaching-the-lord-of-the-flies-with-the-new-york-times

The GAME Plan

There is such a variety of ideas with the NETS-T indicators that at first I found it difficult to select what direction I wanted to go.  After some thought, these are the two that stood out the most for me at this moment in my career:

1b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

1d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

My seniors are getting ready to begin working with Lord of the Flies.  Through this piece, we will be discussing the utopian/dystopian concept, social constructs, and the novels relationship to the real world through its symbolism. 

The Goal I have in place for this unit is rooted in maintaining individual responsibility while providing collaborative opportunities to learn and create.   Creating work for individual students is fine in and of itself, but collaborative skills are extremely important to the development of understanding within the material we are covering.  The challenge here is to make both individual and group work meaningful without setting some students up for failure or creating a situation where only certain students are contributing.   

The Action plan I have in place involves the use of three technologies:  blogs, wikis, and video.  Through blogging, students will be able to offer their individual perspectives on the novel and real world stories we encounter over the course of the unit.  They will be able to share perspectives and pose questions.  Classmates will be able to read, evaluate, and engage each other within the blogs.  Wikis and video will be used for collaborative pieces throughout the unit, most especially when students are presented with a scenario and required to develop a plan to accomplish certain tasks.

Monitoring student work will be managed through the various tools.  As students will be posting their individual work on their blogs, I will be able to evaluate that work, as well as their classmates’ responses, whether those are questions, add-ons, or critiques.  We will be using Wikispaces.com to develop our wiki projects, and the greatest part about this tool is that it logs who contributes to the wikis, when they contributed, and shows each revision over time.  This provides insight into some of the thought process behind the creation of the wiki and holds each member accountable for completing his or her piece of the project.  In addition to the accountability piece, Wikispaces also has a communication tool for students to leave notes for each other and does not require students to be together to complete the project.  I will have access to this as well and will be able to get a clearer vision of what groups are trying to accomplish.  As the video component will be partnered with the wiki project, monitoring this should be simple too.

Evaluating the students and the effectiveness of this plan will be just as easy as monitoring student progress.  Using the rubric(s) created for each component, I will be able to see how students have progressed, and if things go well, I will be able to incorporate collaborative pieces that go beyond our classroom walls.

References

ISTE, I.S. (2012). Nets for Teachers. Retrieved September 12, 2012 from:
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Final Reflection: Integrating Technology and Educational Theory

Computer technology has always been a part of my life.  My father, who is also a teacher, would bring home his classroom Apple IIc so that my sister and I could use it.  Without any book to look for computer commands, I quickly learned how to operate this machine.  It is just as well as there was no book because I was only five years old, and my reading skills were quite limited.  Despite the low level capabilities of that computer, in many ways it was more complicated to use than the machines that many of my students are using today.  What this says to me is that the clear masters of current technologies are those that are immersed in them from an early age.  With the enormous number of technologies available today, teachers would be naive to think that they could teach their classes better without computers, iPads, Kindles, Activboards and other such technologies.  Our students are technologically savy, and teachers must embrace this. 

The greatest impact of this class has been the opportunity to revisit the variety of learning theories.  After rereading my initial theory on learning, I feel quite comfortable in saying that nothing has changed in my thinking, and the research I have had the opportunity to review has emboldened me in the classroom and in working with colleagues.  Perhaps I needed a way to express my beliefs, but it really was quite a simple thing.  Instructional tools are valuable, but the true value lies in the learning tools.  Merely standing at the front of the class using a piece of technology can only help students so much. Teachers must remember to provide students the opportunity to use all of these amazing technologies to further their learning.

This course has also pushed me to increase the opportunities my students have to engage in their own learning through the use of these valuable technology pieces.  Currently, the two technologies that I intend to use the most are wikis and podcasting.  I feel that both provide students with a chance to collaborate with classmates while retaining that necessary independent learning component.  These tools can enhance learning in many ways.  Possibly the greatest way that wikis will impact my classroom is the ability for students to collaborate without being together.  In the past, I had to provide students with all of the time needed to work together.  With the 1-to-1 Netbook initiative, all of my students have access to the Internet outside of the school.  Therefore, they can continue to work on a project without being physically together.  Podcasting can provide students with the opportunity to create and perform while removing some of the fears that often comes with projects that have an audience of peers.  Overall, I would say that I have a toolbox full of great strategies that incorporate behaviorism, constructivism, and social learning theory, and with the technology I have available to me, I will be able to provide students with many great learning experiences.

My Goals

The first long-term goal change I would like to make is early integration of technology pieces to create more opportunities for student created and led projects.  I have recently accepted a high school position, and I feel that working with these more mature students will allow me to do just this.  I recognize it will be quite a challenge, and yet it is one that I feel I must accept if I want to develop higher quality projects for my students.  I would like to provide tutorials for each of my major components (blogs, wikis, and podcasts) within the first weeks of school.  This will provide the opportunity later on for students to take their projects to a deeper level as we engage more complex material. 

My second long-term goal is to vary the strategies that I use with my students and apply them strategically from the very beginning.  I am still settling into my comfort zone, and I feel that perhaps, some of my successes have been more fortune than intent.  Ultimately, my goal will be to evaluate my students early on to establish how they best learn and find ways to incorporate the appropriate strategies to help each student find their groove in my classroom.

Bringing It to a Close

In many ways, I believe that the changes that have occurred in the way people learn is more perception of what is occurring than actual differences.  People have learned independently and socially from the beginning.  We have responded to stimuli, rewards and punishments, since life began.  The greatest thing that has happened is that educators are now aware of the fact that we learn in these ways.  Some of us will always learn because we want knowledge while others must find the value in putting in the time.  It is the teacher who must decipher the data so to speak.  We can figure out which students need to learn in what way.  The strategies are there, as they always have been.

Social Learning

If human learning happens by adapting and assimilating new data into mental constructs (Piaget's Constructivism), then social learning is the next step in creating opportunities to learn.  According to Beaumie Kim from the University of Georgia, social constructivism pushes the importance of people's culture and societal context in helping construct knowledge (2001). To capitalize on this, teachers should take advantage of strategies that incorporate this theory.  Enter cooperative learning.

In my own experience, I have used collaborative learning.  And though there is a fine line, the differences I could have made through working with cooperative learning may have solved some of my frustrations.  Cooperative learning, like collaborative learning, requires whole group assessment.  What sets cooperative learning apart is that each student in the group is still accountable for their own piece of the project.

The value that cooperative learning places on the individual and the group is notable.  Within collaborative learning, all that a teacher would look at is the group.  I believe this opens up the unfortunate possibility of one or two students completing all of the pieces of a project while the remaining members of the group ride the coattails of the motivated students.  The possibility of learning for all members of the group could be limited because not all are pushed to contribute.  According to Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Work, the individual is every bit as important as the whole in cooperative learning.  Because each student in the group relies on the rest, a teacher can create a "sink or swim together" learning opportunity (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).

Cooperative learning fits well within social learning theory.  As a group, students must rely on individual expertise of the group members.  Take the video project mentioned by Pitler et al.  Within a group of five, there may be a student who is a very capable writer.  There also may be a student with some tech knowledge.   Each student may have something they can bring to the group, but they have to be able to work together to make it happen.  Cooperative learning opens up opportunities for students to support each other and resolve problems.  Group members are creating opportunities to learn through their socializing.  Each group member brings to the table a set of beliefs and ideas, and through collaboration and cooperation, they are helping to shape the context for understanding.

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Voice Thread

In my classroom, I have been trying to create a learning opportunity that requires students to acknowledge that there is not always a clear answer.  My students are very argumentative (and what middle school student is not), but they do not always argue effectively and lack the understanding that there could be more than one perspective. 

A unit that I have taught in the past and will be teaching again in the next few weeks involves three different stories that take place during World War II.  Granted, one of the stories is a complete piece of fiction, but it is still a solid piece for getting students to recognize the varying perspectives of the time.  It is very easy for American children to vilify the Japanese people when discussing World War II.  That goes to the nature of people wanting clearly defined answers.  However, when we read the story of Yoko, a young Japanese girl living in Korea near the end of World War II, it makes you question your perspective on right and wrong.  Should all members of a group be held accountable for the actions of a few?

The ultimate goal is to create some sort of social justice project.  Each of the people that students meet during the course of our reading recognize some pretty major truths about the world.  Anne Frank's is belief is most likely the best known, that all people are basically good at heart.

Here is the link to my Voice Thread: Empathy, Understanding, and the World

Constructionism

I have encountered Piaget before, but I just never could wrap my mind around constructivism.  Perhaps it was where I was in my own development that created the barrier.  I believe now, however, that I have finally figured it out.  When a person encounters something new, they either have to make it part of what they already know (assimilation) or adjust their thinking to make they new information fit (accomodation).  Everything is about balance (equilibrium).  All of this is represented in our minds by mental constructs of how we view the world, ideas we have, and the actions that we recognize (schemata).  All of this in turn fits directly into constuctionism.

Constructionism assumes that students create their ideas as opposed to just having them.  Therefore, when working with material in class, they must either assimilate or accomodate what they are presented to create an equilibrium and form or reshape their schemata.  Learning by design and project-based learning are, in my mind, perfect ways to allow students to engage real world material, things that they must in someway assimilate or accomodate into their own ideas and beliefs.

I have long thought that I was a teacher pushing for project-based learning.  I have even talked about it throughout my coursework at Walden.  While I do not believe what I have said in the past was wrong, I do believe what I have been developing in my own classroom more closely resembles learning by design.  According to Seungyeon Han and Kakali Bhattacharya (Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology, 2012), there are seven components of learning by design.  These are:

Authenticity: tasks based on real-world applications

Multiple contexts for design activities

A balance of constrained, scaffolded challenges with open-ended design tasks

Rich, varied feedback for designers

Discussion and collaboration

Experimentation and exploration

Reflection

The pieces that I have tried to create are still not perfectly aligned to these seven components.  But if you consider that constructivism is all about people creating or shaping their schemata based off of assimilating or accomodating new data, then what better way to incorporate the opportunity for students to do just that.  The activities are clearly defined and based in the real-world.  Rather than trying to teach students through abstract ideas which they may not have any clue how to incorporate into their thinking, it only makes sense to take things that they may actually encounter (and perhaps already have to some degree) and let them build upon it. 

I believe all of this is true within project-based learning as well.  Students need clearly defined expectations.  They need the chance to work with others, especially those whose schemata differs from their own.  The only way to find the value in your beliefs is to have them challenged and see how you respond.  Upon reflection, you will either feel validated or you will know that you have to make adjustments.  This is, I feel, the way students need to be driven.  Teachers can provide a lot of material, and perhaps students will be able to remember it and apply some of it.  But the only way to truly push students and make what they learn have value and meaning is to put them in a position to create their own ideas.

Cognitivism and Technology

There are three pieces that I have learned about cognitivism that are at the core of what I want to talk about in this post.  These are:

1. people are actively involved in the learning process.  It does not just happen.
2. knowlegdge is organized in a learner's mind (through word association, images, etc)
3. learning is relating new information to prior information learned.

While I may not have exactly stated that as eloquently as some may, I found a lot of comfort in the fact that what I have been gathering from Dr. Michael Orey and Dr. Jeanne Ormrod are a validation of many of my own thoughts.  I am not someone that believes in absolutisms, and while last week I believe I stood rather strongly in support of behaviorism, cognitivism also has great many pieces that just make sense.  I suppose that is why there are cognitive-behavioral theories.

(Helpful site where I found information from Dr. Ormrod's Human Learning)

I suppose the reason technology fits so seamlessly into cognitivism is the relative ease with which students can use it.  If you think about what Dr. Orey spoke about with the way people store information, the dual processing, technology pieces such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel feed directly into that.  Statistics may hold a small amount of meaning to a student, but in conjunction with a pie graph, it becomes something far more powerful.  Later, when a student is working with some similar problems, the number may not mean much, but a recall of the chart may be just the trick to push the student through to finding a solution.  It begins with basic knowledge and recall, and quickly, it finds it way to critical thinking and potentially analysis. 

Cognitivism and Podcasting

This past week, students in my honors class had the chance to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  This began as a simple story reading, using basic pieces of technology to pose questions and chart out the plot.  However, by the end, students had developed an understanding of legends.  They were instructed to take the story and put it into a modern context.  After this, they were to create a performance of it and record it for a podcast that would be uploaded to our class site.  In doing so, there were several things happening.  They first had to grasp what a legend is.  Then, they had to take a story set  long before they were born and place it into their own time.  They were connecting prior knowledge to new learning and applying this to a format, podcasting, that would make the lesson more meaningful to them, especially since it was their own creation.

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Since, according to cognitivism, learning is a process that requires active engagement, organization, and connection between new information and prior learning, it only makes sense to incorporate various pieces of technology to enhance this process.  If students are already creating separate entries in their minds (pictures and words), why not provide them with more control of this process.  It will add greater depth to what is being learned because students will be able to take the reigns on what they are learning and manipulate the information to best suit their individual needs.

Behaviorism and the Classroom

Behaviorism is really about what we can see when we observe others.   Specifically in the classroom, behaviorism is about controlling or attempting to control discipline and learning.  Through positive and negative reinforcement, as well as punishments, teachers attempt to mold and guide students to the completion of wanted objectives.

There are many that believe behaviorism is an outdated concept.  They say trying to control achievement by bribing students is harming education.  And if it is simple bribery or coercion to get a desired result, let us say, passing a state exam, then those people would have a valid point.  But if someone were to really look at what teachers are doing, many of us are shaping or attempting to shape our students.  Last April I had the opportunity to visit the Ron Clark Academy.  I recommend reading about what Mr. Clark has accomplished, and if you can, visit his school.  While what he is doing is completely unrealistic for public school teachers (he acknowledges this), there are pieces that can be applied.  From what I observed, he used behaviorist theory in much of what he does, from reinforcement strategies to punishments for behaviors.  It works, and his results are pure evidence.  (I am sure he does not need my endorsement, but if you are interested, here is a link to his website:  Ron Clark Academy)

Instructional Strategies That Work

Two instructional strategies that are great examples of behaviorism in the classroom are reinforcing effort and homework and practice.  These strategies are about taking observable behavior, whether it is the effort put forth in the classroom or the training students receive to achieve mastery of material. 

Reinforcing effort is invaluable to a teacher, especially in circumstances where students are not receiving support outside of the classroom.  These students tend to not notice that results on an assignment or project are related to the effort put into it.  As it states in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, some students associate passing or failing with factors outside of effort such as gender, heredity, or race (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).  Teachers must create that reference point, that piece inside of each student that shows that applying effort can lead to positive results.  Using spreadsheets or surveys, such as were suggested by Pittler et al, can create that observable and measurable piece that is behaviorism.  In my own school, the use of Survey Monkey has given a voice to the student body.  Where in the past students did not actively participate in the decision making process for fear of being ignored ("It's not like anybody listens to us anyway"), students now recognize there are others with similar ideas, interests, and concerns and that the only way to propogate change is to put their voices out to be heard. 

Homework and practice are necessary to promote student learning.  It sounds good to speak of project/problem-based learning to lead students to greater heights, and I would be remiss if I said homework and practice were enough.  Students cannot grow as effectively without practice as they can with it.  I do not understand why this is so difficult to understand for some people.  I know of administrators and even other teachers who say homework is on the way out.  Is it really?  It does not seem like we would apply such thinking to anything else, such as playing music.  The great musicians may one day no longer need practice, but to become great, surely they did not just sit around thinking critically about what makes great music.  That practice time was necessary.  I suppose it is truly about balance.  Giving homework just to give homework is worthless.  It must be purposeful, and that purpose must be known to students.  It has to be acknowledged and valued.  If we want to create life-long learners, students who can think for themselves, we cannot simply promote the critical thinking and large-scale projects.  Students need a toolbox of skills, and in order to master a skill, they must practice.  Without these skills, could they truly think critically?  Here is my favorite example from my own experience:  A colleague of mine, one that had 10 more years of experience, suggested that grammar practice was outdated and unnecessary.  "Just have students work with that stuff in their original writing pieces," she stated.  While I agree that nothing but grammar worksheets is a sign of poor teaching, how can you teach grammar to students that cannot create that original piece?  Yes, I could point out that a student wrote nothing but fragments and used incorrect punctuation, but how many pieces is this student going to be willing to create, especially if all I am doing is pointing out the mistakes in the writing.  Those practice pieces, especially now that educators have access to so much technology, allow the learning to take a step back from the personal to get in some learning that is focused specifically on skills.  Just think back on that paper your teacher handed back with all of those red marks.  It did not matter what the teacher wrote on the very last page.  All of those marks, crossed out pieces, and underlines overtook your mind and left you feeling like you simply were never going to get it.  Practice pieces, such as the ones offered at English Grammar 101, let students practice and get some reinforcement that shows their effort is paying off and that they are starting to develop the skills.  Homework, practice, and critical thinking should work in conjunction.

Reflection: Understanding the Impact of Technology

During the coursework for the class, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I believe I found my groove with education. I do not want to give the impression that it was solely the class that placed me in my newfound comfort zone. What this course really did was provide me with the back-up and support to advance ideas that have been in my mind for years. Nothing is so comforting as finding others that think the way you do. As for its relevance to the development of my technology skills as a teacher, I felt bolstered to take leaps forward with projects that, in the past, I would have not taken the risk. Technology is only as good as its implementation. For many, a laptop is not much more than an expensive typewriter. In order to proceed with the learning that needs to take place in the 21st century classroom, teachers must take advantage of the tools available without forgetting the core values of learning. Without these values, teachers are stuck with yet another piece of technology with untapped potential.

The one area where my understanding of teaching and learning has deepened is the way we learn in general. I have not always agreed with the expert positions on digital natives and digital immigrants. But what I have walked away with has been a greater understanding of a simple fact. The depth of our learning is dependent on the delivery and availability of information. When lecture was (and perhaps is) the best format available for a lesson, there can be an expectation of learning. With more hands-on approaches, a student's learning experience becomes more relevant and meaningful. The more teachers can immerse students in the learning process, the greater leaps forward students can make.

I have always felt that a more student-centered classroom was needed to take my students further. I just did not know to get there. What I discovered about my own practice is that I have been very close to what I wanted to accomplish. I have never enjoyed the spotlight, and I think this fits perfectly with students being the driving force behind the learning. There are many people who do not agree with the way I conduct business in my classroom, but the test results are at least some proof that my students are thinking for themselves and finding success.

The next step in my teaching to continue this journey is to make the lessons more relevant to my students' lives. I am still choosing what I think is relevant. I believe to find greater levels of growth, I am going to have to incorporate a method of letting students take more ownership of what they are learning. I recognize the challenges that are present with state indicators and testing. But I believe I can present my students with the tasks we must complete and at least to some degree, allow them to determine how we go about achieving these goals.

Long-Term Goals

Over the next two years, my goals for the classroom are:

1.  To establish a coursework for language arts that incorporates the use of various technology pieces (podcasts, blogs, wikis, forums, etc) that is student driven.

2.  To create problem-based scenarios that incorporate these technology pieces and allow for cross-curricular and community outreach to bolster student ownership of learning. 


In order to accomplish these goals, I will need to communicate with the content teachers and the various offices within my school, as well as the corporation, to gain approval.  In addition to this, I will need to contact community leaders to acquire their participation in creating real-world opportunities for my students to incorporate the language arts skills they will need to be successful.

________

I do not feel as if my perspective on technology and education has changed since the beginning of this course.  I still believe that audio and video equipment used effectively in the classroom provides some of the greatest potential for learning.  Why stand in front of a classroom and deliver a speech that only classmates will hear when you could develop a video that could be shared with the masses.  If you add these tools to the others that are available (blogs, wikis, forums, podcasts, etc), you could kiss the worksheet days goodbye for good AND provide students with something that could (and I believe would) create a sense of accomplishment in their learning.

First Podcast of Chatting with Mr. Cooper: Episode 1 - Student Technology Demographics at McGary

21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) web-site is interesting.  As I went through the various pieces of the site, much of what I found seemed straight-forward and left me asking myself why it is so difficult to get everyone on the same page about what teachers need to accomplish with the blending of 21 century skills and core content or the three R's.


The piece of the Partnership's site that stood out to me most is probably the diagram that is used to show the 21st century student outcomes and skills.  Take a look.

What this diagram represents is very simple.  At the root of all classroom learning is teacher preparedness.  I see it breaking down with these four questions:
                            

• Has the teacher created a positive environment to cultivate learning? 
• Is the teacher continually adding to expertise through professional development? 
• Is curriculum and instruction both rigorous and engaging?                    
• Does this instruction hit the targeted standards in a way that can be assessed to monitor student growth?

This foundation supports the main arch on which 21st century learning needs rest.  In order to develop the needed 21st century skills, students must have solid guidance in core subjects (language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, etc).  This taught in addition to 21st century themes paves the way to guide students in the areas of 21st century life and career skills, critical and creative thinking, and media and technology skills. 

I suppose my only real issue with what P21 has to say involves standardized testing.  I recognize the need for quality assessment, but I do not see how standardized testing is providing the data that we in education claim we want.  Let me explain my position.  Through my education and my career, the pieces of education that have stood out to me have been the following:

• Students have different styles of learning.
• Students have different abilities.
• Students have interests.

This seems very simplistic.  But it leaves me asking one simple question.  If all students have different abilities, needs, and interests, why do we try to get them all to achieve on the same test?  To be fair, P21 does have many more assessment pieces.  And I certainly do not have the answer to my own question.

I enjoyed looking through the P21 site.  What it shows me is that I have been on the right track in my short career.  The first step is having prepared teachers in the classroom.  I could go off on a tangent about how to make sure that we have high quality teachers in the classroom, but that is for another conversation.  Once we have effective teachers in the classroom, the most important thing is to make sure students are learning the core material, and through that they will be able to learn the much needed skills to be successful in the 21st century.  It is comforting to see an organization recognize that education is about more than just the teachers in the classroom.  It must be a collective effort of teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and parents.  I am looking forward to Indiana joining the P21 list of state leadership initiatives.

For more information on P21, visit http://www.p21.org/

Blogging in the Classroom

Currently I teacher both 7th and 8th grade language arts.  I have been fortunate that two of my sections are honors level.  It has allowed me to push my students harder than ever before as they are up to the challenge.  We are always discussing the world outside of the classroom, and there are many topics that we want to cover that we just have not been able to bring to the table.  Enter blogging.

Many of the indicators that we must cover in class revolve around using logic and supporting ideas with sound reasoning.  In the heat of a discussion, my students are prone to slipping back into an emotional argument and veering terribly off topic.  With blogging, we have been introduced to a medium that allows for us to step back and consider our ideas AND provides others with the opportunity to add to or challenge our ideas. 

While Internet posting has its share of emotionally driven responses, I feel that blogging in the classroom can be used to manage two very important things.  1) Students need to be able to express their opinions and beliefs in a safe environment.  2)  Students need their ideas to be challenged in a way that is different than the usual "Nuh uh, you're wrong, I'm right" argument. 

Recently, I had a very interesting conversation with one of my students.  She has very strong religious beliefs, and often her arguments derive from her faith.  What we discussed was something that she picked up on very easily but had just never considered.  Faith often comes from a place that is not always made of clearcut facts that can be presented to people with differing beliefs.  If she wanted to get others to at least consider her perspective, she needed to present her perspective in a way that provided others with a tangible idea they could grasp without retreating into aggravation or anger because someone was telling them that their belief was wrong.  While I know there is a very fine line when discussing religion in a public school setting, this led me to thinking about how this conversation could apply to other issues and interests.  I believe that blogging can be a terrific way to showcase student work, and what better way to do this than to allow them to develop their arguments in a safe, monitored situation where they can learn the needed skills to use logic to develop arguments, receive feedback from peers, and perhaps even have their thoughts and ideas challenged by others.