Course Reflection

Looking back at my week one “Personal Theory of Learning”, I see that the two large ideas that I was trying to expand was to have my students expand their problem solving skills and to allow a hands on learning environment.  One modification I would like to add would be to also create a student centered learning environment.  With this course I was able to learn the difference between an instructional tool and a learning tool.  With my desire to create a student centered learning environment I need to make sure that how I am introducing new technology is in a way that it is a learning tool and not as an instructional tool.  In other words I have to remember to have my students use the technology.  Then and only then will it be a learning tool.   

            With this idea I will always make sure to have my students use the technology as much as possible.  I will be getting a whiteboard or smart board next semester and will be introducing it in all of my presentations of new art projects.  So I must remember to allow my students to use the whiteboard so that I am using it as a learning tool and not as an instructional tool.  If I can get my students using the tools there will be a much higher level of students engagement going on in the classroom.  I also look forward to be able to my overhead projector and elmo to introduce new projects to my classes in a way I would not have to have my back to them like I would normally when working on the board.  This would help with my classroom management during the year.  Once again knowing how to now make my classroom a student centered learning environment is a tribute to this class.

            I just want to restate the want to allow my students to use as much of the technology in my classroom as possible.  So I do not make the mistake to only teach with instructional tools instead of teaching with learning tools.  It is so easy to fall back and just lecture to the class as to how to create the art project and give them time to work.  I want my students to learn how to incorporate the technology into their art work.

Cooperative Learning &Social Learning Theories

Cooperative Learning &Social Learning Theories

Cooperative Learning is the topic for this week.  Cooperative Learning is broken down in the simplest terms as having your students working in groups.  Your students will be able to talk to each other as to what they have just learned.  They have just learned something new; they have then processed that new information and are now putting it into their own words.  That is a great learning strategy because if they are able to put it into their own words they will be more apt to remember it for a much longer time, or will be able to retrieve that information at a later date much easier than other students.

The idea of social learning is very similar to cooperative learning.  With the idea of social learning you have students working to construct or build an artifact then engaging in conversation with their fellow students.  The one big key component to both theories is the idea of students talking to one another.  Putting new knowledge into their own words.  If feel students will always get more out of it if they are hearing it from their peers.

I have not personally worked with many forms of web based technologies or other forms of social networks.  I feel Wikis is still a great tool for students to communicate and collaborate with one another.   I read about Flat Classroom Project (www.flatclassroomproject.org) in the weeks reading.  It is a project that allows students to collaborate at a global magnitude.  With so many different types of software or interfaces that allow collaborating between students it is so important to try a few to get an idea what will work in your classroom.  We as teachers need to be open to new ways of reaching our students.

I have also created a voicethred as part of my assignment please check it out.  I hope I did it right I was having some problems with it so let me know if it works. 
 

Resources

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., & Kuhn, M. (2012).  Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. (2^nd ed., pp. 73-80).

Lessons in Constructionism

Working with the theory of constructionism is so refreshing compared to behaviorism.  The idea of constructionism is taking firsthand experiences and making it a priority, as opposed to test scores being put into the for front.  The theory of constructionism states that people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  Giving students that opportunity to build those firsthand experiences is a great learning tool. Students are actively engaged in creating their own meaning of the material in turn concretely connecting their knowledge and memory of the material.

Some of the learning tools that were recommended in this week’s reading were creating spreadsheets.  I have not worked much with spreadsheets so my experience with them is very limited. One idea that I really liked was having students making educated predictions while collecting data.  We are flipping the old idea of reading the material and answer the questions on its ear and allowing students to go through chapters and develop educated hypothesis using the spread sheet. When you build a hypothesis you are asking questions and building the connection to the material. Using these spread sheets they are actively engaged in the lesson connecting them with previous knowledge. At the beginning of the lesson students are already asking the questions.   

In my art class I can use this same idea when introducing new artists or new art movements.  Students will first be able to see works of art by an artist without being told about him or her.  Students will then be building up their own idea of what the artist was all about.  I could even try to create a spreadsheet comparing the artist or movement to other forms of art or artists.  Then we would be able to start and learn about the art movement or artist. This would make a much greater learning experience for the class then handing out an article on the artist and go around the room and read about them.  The more I could get my students involved and incorporating any type of technology would make art history a little more bearable. 

Cognitive Learning Theories

When we talk about cognitive learning and using cues, questions, and other ways of triggering learning in our students.  We need to understand how our students learn.  When we give our students cues we are trying to trigger what has been learned.  In order for cues to work we will have needed to helped our students to attached the new information to something they have already known.  It will now be tethered and able to retrieved.  Scaffolding is very similar when you build upon something already learned.  Remember it is all about getting new information to your students but I think most importantly how do have them learn how to retrieve that information for years to come.  We have to learn how they learn best and then teach them so they know how they best learn.

 

Using concept mapping in your classroom is a great way to connect new material to material that has already been learned.  If you wanted to introduce new content and review old content at the same time using a concept map is a great way to do that.  It is like a good old fashion brain storm.  You are able to bring in old ideas and tie it to new ones.  Allowing students to make new connections to the new material.  That is very key to learning new information because now they will have something tethered  and will be easily retrievable unlike short term memory that will be easily forgotten because it is not tied to anything and the student will forget how to retrieve that information.   Summarizing is something we as teachers always do.  We take information that we want our students to know and understand, but instead of  just reading it out of a book we give it to them in our own words.  By putting it into our own words we will be more likely to use those same words again as we discuses the project or lesson again.  When we review it is always in a summarizing manner.  Note taking with any word processing programs will be a great advantage to our students as well.  Remember we are needing to get new information to our students and to have them be able to remember it and retrieve it easily.  Being in a word document on a computer can print out the material that the students are needing to remember.

 

Taking your students on a virtual field trip is amazing technology.  Once again you are trying to introduce new information to your students and have them experience something new.  By giving your students new experiences they will be able to tether that new information to that experience.  Also lets think about the financial benefit to your school.  You will be able to take students to Washington D.C. or to New York.  Places that your school or students may not be able to go in the real world.  A virtual field trip will allow you to go any ware even into space.

 

Reference

 

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R.,& Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

There was a great strategy we learned about in our video this week.  Talking about moving the clip, as a student displays a certain behavior.  The clip will be moved either up or down depending on the behavior both good and bad.  This is form of behaviorist learning theory.  We just have to be careful that we don’t rely too much on behaviorist theory.  Mainly because the learning environment can become very negative very fast, and we must try to keep it a positive one.

Reinforcing our students effort is a very important teaching strategy.  Students need to be given many examples of what a good effort is.  They are so apt to just not try if they feel it is something they are unable to achieve in.  I have so many students in my art classes that tell me they can't do something even before they start the lesson or even pick up a paint brush or carving tool.  They need to know how effort relates to achievement.  How do we expect our students to be able to know just how far they can go if they were never pushed or shown what their true limitations are.  We always tell them give us your best.  How do they know what their best is if they don't have good effort?  It is up to us to show them they can succeed. 

Now I do not assign home work to my students.  I recommend to them to take work home if they are falling behind but only as a way to stay caught up with the other students in class.  It is hard to tell students to practice at home and really mean that.  I know when I was in school homework was never looked at as a good thing.  So I never allowed myself to think of it as a way to reinforce what I learned at school or to strengthen new concepts taught or skills learned.  So the idea of homework goes back to that idea of negative learning environment.  I am not sure how we can show a positive spin on behaviorist theory and homework.  If anyone has an idea please share with all of us.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbel, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria: ASCD

In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills as a professional teacher?

I feel that this class has opened my eyes to several new forms of technology that I can incorporate into my classroom.  I had never had the opportunity to create a blog before, nor have I ever heard of a wiki.  It is important to introduce the new forms of technology to my students.  I must use different forms of inspiration and we live in a technology driven society.  It makes very good sense to use as much of that technology in my classroom.

In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?

With the different forms of technology that we learned about during this class showed me several way to inspire learning.  The class allowed me an a glimpse into what education could be like if you had the opportunity to learn how to use today's new technology.  It is so important to inspire when your teaching.  So the idea of deepening of knowledge goes to the simple idea to inspire.  Through this class I have many new ideas on how to inspire learning within my classroom and school.  I have several ideas that I can share with my fellow teachers that I hope will also inspire them within their own classrooms.

 

In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?

Being teacher-centered educator I would teach my lessons and not really look towards outside my classroom for  information.  Much like the idea this is our book and we are going to learn what it has inside and not look for any other points of view.  Being a learner-centered educator you are always looking for many different points of view.  You have your school book but you also have different kinds of media to help educate your students.  Using Wikapedia is one that i would never use until now.  I was under the understanding that anyone could post to it and there for was not the most accurate form of information.  I learned a little more about it and now trust it more.  So this is one more form of information to use in the arsenal.  The more points of view you have the easier it will be to get the entire picture. 

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?

We have been given a glimpse into how to use pod casts, blogs, and wikis.  We are able to mast all or one just depending on how much work we want to put into them.  It is just like anything in life, you will get out just what you put into it.  So they have shown us the door but it is up to us to open it.  We are now equipped with new ideas and new ways to introduce old ideas.  The more i use my blog and introduce different wikis to my students the more I will be able to find new ways to fuse technology and school together.  We have to be willing to try new things in education.  If our students are already using them why not bring them into your classroom.  How else are we going to prepare our students for the real world?

Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

Goal number one will be to have a blog that will be updated on a very regular bases that will allow students and parents to be involved on what is gong on in class.

 

Goal number two is to have my students creating their own wikis that will be uploaded to the blog.  The blog will be evolving as fast as the students can push it.  it will be a great collaboration between all classes and something that will be viewed by classes to come.

I just hope that the amount of internet usage that is available in the school will be one that allows everyone to use it.  Right now we do not have a great amount that can be used during the day without have problems like computers crashing and other problems with computers.

                         

Evaluationg 21st Century Skills

I have an assignment to review a web site called Partnership for 21^st Century Skills.  This web site can be found at http://www.p21.org/.  Looking at this web site I see a well instructed and structured web site.  It flows very easily from one topic to another.  There is a lot of information on this site, and it does feel a bit over whelming.  I was very surprised to see that they have a section for Art Education.  There was an easy to read map for art educators in the classroom.  One that I feel I could easily refer to when I am in need of  new ideas in my classroom when trying to incorporate skills in the 21^st Century.

I did get a feeling when reading about the arts and how they were being used in this idea of 21^st Century Skills that core teachers were going to be intergrading the arts into their classes.  It sounds great but I disagree with this.  That Math classroom should not be a one stop room.  In other words, as an art teacher I try to incorporate some math with measuring and other skills.  By no means am I passing my class off as a math class.  That is what I am getting out of the information that the core teachers will be incorporating in their rooms the fine arts. It is one thing to integrate different subjects like art and math in elementary but for middle schools it is a different ballgame. We need to have highly skilled educators teaching the material to our students. 

We are experiencing this right now in our elementary schools because we do not have an art program for K-6 grades.  So the core teachers have to pick it up and the art lessons are really craft projects as opposed to fine art concentrated subject matter.  As an 8th grade art teacher I can really tell that they are coming to me with no art experience and the quality of there art is years behind the level is should be.  This can only work if there are art teachers in the school developing the techniques and building a base of information.  The core teachers can touch on elements of the arts and then the art teachers would be able to go much deeper with the lessons.

Blogging in a classroom setting

Using a blog in my classroom could help with several ways of getting the ideas of the lesson across to my students.  I have a few ideas as to how I want to use this blog.  My first idea is to have all my lessons on the blog step by step so if students are absent or need to understand one of the steps in the lesson they can go and look it up.  I teach eighth grade art so the lessons that the students are working on have several steps or stages and this is just one way they could check to make sure they are doing it the right way.  Another way to use the blog is to post works of my students.  This could be a great way to showcase the great work that is being created in my classroom.  Students could see each other’s work and use that as a motivation tool.  Students would also be able to communicate to each other in different classes using the blog.  One aspect in teaching art that I struggle with is having my students be able to correctly critique each other’s work.  I could have my students create their own blogs.  This could be the first step in expressing what they like about the work of art and what still has some room for improvement.  This would also be a great tool to keep the lines of communication open to the parents.  So many times students just toss out their projects or stick into the lockers to never be seen again.  I always have parents asking what we are working on at parent teacher conferences because their children hardly bring anything home from any subject.  This way the parents can simply look at the blog and find out exactly what their child is creating. 

Exploring technology in the art world

I am taking masters classes in education focusing on technology.  I have decided to get it in order to introduce technologies into the classroom.  Technology is something that I have not been able to utilize in my classroom, but I am hoping to change that.  My first obstacle is the simple fact that I do not know how to utilized the different types of technology that could be adapted for use in an art classroom.  The second obstacle is the lack of technology in my very old classroom and school which will fortunately be changing this school year. We will be moving into a new school building for the start of the second semester.  We have been told the technology will change and all classrooms will have smart boards as well as ELMO's.  Right now in my current classroom I would just be happy with a grounded outlets if you can believe that.  So this transition will be very exciting to be in a new classroom and be able to explore these new technologies to make more dynamic lessons for my students.