Week 3 T2P

If.. Then.. Because....:
If teachers are assessing students based solely on knowledge and not evaluation then students will have trouble motivating themselves to pursue higher learning achievement because the teacher themselves is having trouble with their own motivation in continuing education and learning from their students.

T2P:
     Learning is not just about how students learn and their preferences for styles, but how learning is assessed in the taxonomy of learning. Gaging student's learning on knowledge and comprehension does not tap into their deeper yearning and drive to further their education. They are able to regurgitate information and pass a unit test. Educators should strive for more evaluation and synthesis learning that pushes the students to go beyond the facts and formulate ideas and relationships between terms and theories. Essay type questions and science hypothesis ask students to really relate everything they have learned and put it together in a way to share ideas and make speculations on those ideas.

     As educators, we strive to make our environment for student learning relevant, competent, and safe. We need to use motivation in ourself to foster motivation in our students. You can only motivate your students to the highest level they can reach if you yourself know the limits and benefits to your own motivation. We are learners of our students as they are learners of us, and we must find the balance of emotion and motivation in our classrooms. We strive for a sense of self-actualization in our students and ourselves, maybe not the way Maslow described, but in a personal sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for the truth of our higher learning.

Learning Theories Week 3- Post 1

Q1- Do you agree with Vygotsky in regards to his statement, "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter-psychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological)," (Vgotsky, 1978).

    A) Level 6 Evaluation.  I believe it is level 6 because it is asking the student to choose a side and defend our thoughts on the theory posed by the theorists and apply it to our own views on development. 

     B) I agree with Vgotsky on the idea that every function in cultural development appears twice. To me it seems that all things that are happening in a child's development, no matter if it is cultural or other tend to fall first on a social interaction and then back to the individual. We are a culture of our environment and surroundings and most things we experience happen there before they actually happen to us individually. It is easy to see that once something happens in the environment that we would adapt and then experience it ourselves. We form to what is around is and that usually involves learning something in a group setting first and taking it back to ourselves and applying it on our own. 

Q2- Identify a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) in your life? Why is this person an MKO?

     A) Level 4 Analysis. I believe this is a level 4 because it not only asks you to identify an MKO, which would be level 1, it asks you to explain why this person is an MKO. It makes you make the connection between a definition and an identification of why it is what it states.

    B) A More Knowledgeable Other in my life is my swim coach. My swim coach is an MKO to me as a swimmer because they have actually been swimming longer and gone to more clinics and meets that they have learned higher techniques and fundamentals to the sport. I have a knowledge of swimming and how to do it, but my coach has been able to take his higher knowledge of success in swimming and help make me a better swimmer. Passing his information on has been something that helps us both.

Q3- Design an experiment to test Piaget's theory of development. Include in your experiment material you will need, method, and the results you would expect to see. 

    A) Level 5 Synthesis. I believe this is a level 5 because the question is asking me to create and design something myself. I was able to actually take the knowledge from the theory and make my own. This asks me to dig deeper in my knowledge of the content area.

    B) I would design an experiment to test a students learning of words in a foreign language. I would need a classroom with items in that foreign language for the student to be surrounded by and take in through assimilation and being around the ideas and thoughts. I would also have flash cards to use that have the key words and phrases I am trying to get the student to learn. I will have assessments in the form of tests and worksheets to see their knowledge. I will use a method of teaching myself then having them to observe others speaking or interacting with the language after. This will allow them to try themselves and then observe. I would expect to see that the student does not learn much from me and them going over stuff together but when they get to observe and interact that way they will gain more knowledge. People have to feel and touch things to gain knowledge as well but they will need to be more in the field of the language then just a classroom. 

Internet Models

The four instructional models of Internet use have their similarities and their differences. All of them obviously use the Internet. They all are about going onto the Internet and looking up information about a question.  The student is on the Internet to gain knowledge and understanding about the concept being presented in class. They are able to learn how to share and collaborate with these methods as well. Webquests stands out because it is actually a learning unit for students that is solely to learn from one website. The other models all use many different websites. Half of them use collaborative ideas and half of them are independent (Leu, 2004). There is a common theme of the information being for an activity. This is not always in the same context though. There are some that have individual questions and some that are more collaborative with ideas and findings. Webquest is the most solo activity of them all while Internet workshop and project are the most collaborative and group oriented. Internet workshop leads almost to a Webquest since you go on to actually make an activity or simulation to be done, pretty much what a Webquest is. In the end, all of these models want the end result of understanding of a concept presented by the educator and a presentation piece that allows for an opportunity to share and reflect from all classmates (Leu, 2004). 

All of these models are good ways to incorporate activities into the classroom. I think Webquests work well for Science classes especially due to it being a supplement to actual labs that could happen in classrooms. Some districts do not have the funds to make some of these explicit labs possible for students to experience in person. These Webquest activities can allow these students to visualize a lot of what is going on in class and have some fun doing it for them.  This type of activity is also good for learners who are more visual or physical so that they can see the concept and maybe even be a part of the process. All of them are something teachers should try to bring into the classroom. Technology and the Internet have its flaws but can provide another level of learning for the students that not all classrooms can provide.

Donald Leu, who directs the New Literacies Research Lab in the Neag School of Education at UCONN guides new educators about how to bring these models into classrooms and the benefits of them. All of these types of models are helpful in the ever changing dynamic of the classroom in this day in age ( Leu, 2002). Leu states that when these models are used correctly, that they will give a new dimension of collaboration that classroom activities of the past cannot do (2002). I think this is truly correct because the internet provides so much more information then students had in the past to use that there is just a world of endless possibilities for their research. 

My student teaching is at Slade Middle School in New Britain and my cooperating teacher says that some classrooms have SMART boards but not all do. She uses a good amount of YouTube videos and credited websites for science lessons that get the students involved. She hopes to be able to use a SMARTboard one say soon but not sure exactly when. I know for sure I could use technology for lessons with Physics. There are a lot of Webquest type of sites that allow students to do interactive labs with mirrors, lasers, and reflections that sometimes can be tricky for students to figure out on their own. Many different other units can have Internet workshops or projects so that students can collaborate and bring ideas back to the class as a whole.

References:
Leu, D.J., Jr. (2002). Internet Workshop: Making time for literacy [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 55(5). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/2-02_Column/index.html


Leu, D.J., Jr. (2004) Introduction to Models of Internet Use. Available: http://ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm?movie=234_introduction.mov

T2P Week 2

Learning is not just about what we, as educators, bring to the mix but what our students bring to the mix as well. Learning is such a huge concept that has evolved from many different forms to encompassing a vast variety of styles, influences, and persona. We cannot control everything that goes into learning except for ourselves, as educators. Each day, class, student is different and we must learn to adapt and have a stance on how we want to lead the classroom to further understanding for themselves. We cannot always do the same thing day in and out since every student develops differently which adds another ripple effect to the concept of learning. We can only strive to display the moral values we hope to lead our students with that encourage a positive learning environment to grow in.

If students feel comfortable and emotionally safe in the learning environment, then they are able to fully explore learning in all aspects they are interested in because they are able to feel completely supported and encouraged in this type of environment.
I think this is a valid assessment of learning because students do not feel comfortable in any situation that is not safe for them, no matter what they are asked to do. When a student is in a learning environment that they do not feel comfortable with, they are too busy thinking about all of the outside factors that could make learning hard for them. This will diminish the students learning qualities quickly, but with a simple change as going to a school or classroom that they feel heard and safe in they can become a completely different student. When students are safe, it is easier to become happy and enthusiastic about things, which can ultimately lead to a more successful learning experience for educator and student. We, as educators, cannot make everything safe for these children, but allowing them the opportunity to explore in a safe environment at school is crucial for their development not only as a student but as a human being.

T2P Week 1

The learning environment was largely social, which is a common theme in this group. A vast majority aligned with social learning which allowed for successful lessons in class for all. This day in age with a new amount of up-and-coming technology allows for even more ways to be assessed in class. From obvious ways of asking direct questions of us to giving us free terrain with lessons and seeing how we do all play critical roles in the relationship between student and educator. Each activity was another branch or theme in the learning concept map that make us more cognizant of all the variants we, as striving educators, have for our next stages in our careers. The learning and education never end, it is a continuous cycle of give and take that ultimately lead you to prosper as a teacher. Each of us will learn more and more from each other and what all of us can bring to the table to improve each other as future educators.

In a society that is very technology and communication savvy then there are more opportunities to have learning variables that are mainly social because there are so much in this lifestyle that enables this learning through these communications.

Learning some Science?!?

http://camillasenior.homestead.com/resources.html
This site is a resource for educators for hundreds on worksheets and ideas on tools to get different concepts of science across. Science is a very hard subject to just listen to text and repeat out answers. It does not give a student a good understanding of any of the concepts. Students must use physical and social learning types to really tap into what is going on in science around them to get a feel for the information. Good educators will provide them opportunity to apply what they have listened to in class and be able to reproduce it on an activity. This site has many different concepts that might be difficult for students to grasp and allows them the opportunity to show better understanding of it by applying it in a non-test fashion. The labs, like Hot air vs. Cold Air also get to the root of the content in the field of science, the scientific method.

http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspView&ResourceID=414#myself#cHelp.dspMactelDetect&plugin=sw
This is a demonstration/gizmo of Laser Reflection from the site ExploreLearning. This site has many amazing animation and gizmos of challenging science concepts that are a lot easier to understand when you see it in practice. In this demonstration, students are actually allowed to use their knowledge about how lasers work and try to work out the "puzzle" to get the laser to perform as asked. By doing this, they are getting to engage in concepts of science that are around them but they actually do not know about. It allows them to see the Big Picture of Science, that it is everywhere and involved in everything we do. It will help them understand more concepts in science like how lights work and how mirrors work. It allows you, as an Educator, to really think more essential question about an overall idea then just the individual unit you share this exercise in.

http://enature.com/home/
eNature is a site that has a vast amount of animals and nature that you can explore and research. This is a great site for young kids when they are learning about the animals and environment to be able to match photos and descriptions to them. They are able to research and provide a poster, project, or presentation on an animal that they want to explore, not something they were assigned to do. Having that responsibility makes them feel so empowered that they actually look forward to doing the assignment then. It really is a great tool for visual learners to actually look at all this information and compile it into a meaningful little subject themselves. They get to do participation in the form on a discussion and it is good since as the teacher you know it all came from a credible source. This really allows children to also see that there are things in science that they do truly love, even stuff they learn in school. :)

My "Summertime Girl" Video

Here is a quick video about me, my hobbies, my family, my education, and professional development to where I am today :)