I hope that title didn’t get you too excited- I’m talking about playing around with technology to increase the understanding of concepts I teach! For one of my graduate courses, we had to create a lesson plan that would incorporate 21st Century Learning. If you are interested in learning more about 21st Century Learning, you can look at a post of mine below or read more at the Rio District Blog. During this lesson, the students were using all four of the 4 C’s for 21st Century Learning listed in this blog post! They collaborated, created, communicated, and had to think critically when deciding how their lyrics would introduce the books effectively. You can find a rough draft of my lesson here. For the lesson, students had to create their own theme songs for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. To do this, they used the online program called GarageBand to create music and, since each student has an iPad and Google account at my school, they used Google Docs to collaborate in real time when creating their lyrics. The students had a week to complete this project. As Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011) tell us, experimenting and “play” are very useful tools when it comes to learning, and the amount of time allotted for this project offered plenty of time for these things. Here is the theme song for the Netflix series based on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. We used it as inspiration! Creating this lesson plan wasn’t too difficult because the technologies and assignment flowed together very well. The students have also used both programs so the technology truly enhanced their learning and collaboration and allowed them to focus on the actual content. This is a sample of student work for this project. These kids had a lot of fun with it in class! References [4 C's of 21st Century Learning]. (2017). Retrieved from https://rioschools.org/21st-century-skills-practices-stuff/ Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage. Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
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The way people learn and gather information is changing rapidly, and it is our job as educators to grow with this change in order to properly prepare students for the society in which they will be contributing. Have you ever heard of 21st century learning? Well, the term encompasses the skills that students will need in order to thrive in today’s world. The four widely accepted ideas of 21st century learning that I found in my research were critical thinking/problem solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Check out the Rio School District Blog to learn more about the 4 C’s. It is my goal to continue to incorporate these essential skills and make sure my practice is working to help students of today’s world. One particular component of 21st century learning that I feel I teach with the most is collaboration. I assign many group projects and stress to my students that in almost any job they will have in the future, they will need to be able to work with all kinds of people. In the video below I explain three aspects of 21st century learning that resonated with me, as well as some specific examples of how I use these aspects when teaching in my classroom. Feel free to comment below! References
Growing up, I always had an appreciation for music because my Father did. He wasn’t into music just for fun, he was in a rock band for years and is super talented. He has since become a Professor for Central Michigan University and, in his words, his style of music to play has “mellowed”. Here is a link to his current band’s Facebook page. Check out some of their covers of songs! Randomly one summer I decided to try singing with him, and it went really well. He then began recruiting me to sing all of the time. In my CEP 810 graduate course we have an assignment to learn something new, so I have decided to learn something that could make performing even more fun! Above is a picture of my Dad and I performing! I want to learn how to play the guitar so I can accompany myself when my Dad isn’t around. My Dad recommended that I watch some “how to” videos. So far, I have reviewed a chord chart (which can be found here). This is helpful but can be frustrating when there isn't someone physically present to guide you. Also, I practiced an easy cover of “Purple Rain” by Prince which was a little easier to get the hang of since I could actually see someone playing the chords. Check the video out below! I have never played the guitar before but I am confident that with the help of online resources I will be just as successful as the DIY Girls at learning something new. Unlike the girls in the article linked, I have a close family member who is very skilled at the guitar and will be an invaluable resource! Resources
Beckman, B.L. The DIY Girls: How 12 teens invented a solar powered tent for the homeless. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2017/06/15/diy-girls-solar-powered-tent-homeless/#mIuwHqMM8Sq1 (Picture retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/10-reasons-every-teacher-needs-professional-learning-network/, 2018) What does #PLN mean you ask? Well, it stands for professional learning network. Below you can find the definition. “A professional learning network is a vibrant, ever-changing group of connections to which teachers go to both share and learn. These groups reflect our values, passions, and areas of expertise” (Crowley, 2014). Below I have made a map on popplet.com of what my current PLN has looked like this year. While I was creating it I realized how many connections I have made in a relatively short time. I switched schools mid-year and the teacher who I replaced has been an invaluable resource as we have similar ideas and passions! We are both totally into spooky stuff. She gave me the idea to teach the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman (you can find some summaries here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/plotsummary). One big difference between the schools I taught in this year was the size. The school I taught at in the beginning of the year had three 6th grade ELA teachers alone. I had about nine other ELA teachers to go to for advice/resources/ideas. At my current school, I am the only middle school ELA teacher. I am a little concerned about collaboration, but after interacting with twitter and other educators in my online CEP 810 course for graduate school I am a lot more confident about all of the possibilities for collaboration! I am very excited to see how I will learn how to use technology to interact with teachers from all over!
If you want to read a little bit more about why teachers should join a PLN check out the link below: https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/10-reasons-every-teacher-needs-professional-learning-network/ Feel free to comment any other ideas that could help me expand my PLN! References Crowley, Brianna. (2014). 3 Steps for building a professional learning network. Retrieved fromhttps://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/12/31/3-steps-for-building-a-professional-learning.html (picture retrieved from https://misscm.com/2015/05/10/remember-this-peanut-butter-jelly-time/, 2019) This week in my MAET graduate course, we had a very interesting assignment. We had to perform a randomly selected cooking task using materials also selected at random. I had a friend choose my cooking materials and cooking task. Lucky for me, she chose materials that made my task easy! You’re probably wondering why I put the “peanut-butter-jelly time” picture above. Well, I had to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using a small bowl, a small plate, and a fork. The plate was the perfect size for the small sandwich I whipped up, and the fork substituted quite well for a knife! I recorded myself performing the task which can be found below. In the video I talk you through my thinking process while making the sandwich! After completing this task, I considered something Dr. Punya Mishra said in an interview I watched. In the interview, found below, Dr. Mishra talks about how it is important to first consider what you are going to teach your students before selecting a technology to support instruction. If you would like to learn more about the TPACK framework discussed in the interview above, you can find that here: https://d2l.msu.edu/content/enforced/820304-US19-CEP-810-730-97NBTB-EL-14-204/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=XfUxWkrK71SZ0tVAIkbCOCjgz&ou=628350&_&d2lSessionVal=xdR8rzIXo5zfWkQPlZ2ZEysDF&ou=820304
For my assignment, I would have chosen a knife to complete the task as opposed to a fork if I were to have selected the materials after learning what my task was. Similarly, it is important to first determine what needs to be learned before deciding the tools that will most effectively support the learners. In a paper I wrote which can be found here (http://mwilliams29.weebly.com/college-writing-samples.html), I talk about a specific example where I used a PowerPoint for a lesson that is wasn’t best suited for. Feel free to leave a comment below! (Image retrieved from https://www.stateofdigital.com/understanding-audience-doesnt-mean-exactly-say/, 2014) As a teacher, I am constantly trying to learn more about effective pedagogy and how to help my students gain deep understanding of topics we discuss. Recently, I have been reading about what makes learning meaningful and I wanted to share some of the ideas that I found interesting. In Bransford, Brown, and Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn (retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/chapter/1) it explains how students come to us with preconceived notions about many ideas, and to mold these ideas (or eradicate them) into new ones we must address them. It had been my idea that when you need to learn or teach something new, you need the definition of the topic. However, as I have found through my teaching practice, learning is much more than just memorizing facts. I detailed my ideas and experiences in an essay that can be found on the "College Writing Samples" page of this website (titled: Learning, Understanding, and Conceptual Change Essay, http://mwilliams29.weebly.com/college-writing-samples.html). Throughout my writing I define learning as understanding the concepts behind facts that we know. Then, I delve into how, as teachers, we need to have a deep understanding of the content we teach in order to transfer what we know to our students in a meaningful way. I recount two specific experiences that relate to learning, understanding, and conceptual change. Please feel free to leave a comment! References Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368. |
AuthorMy name is Mallory Williams and I am just trying to better my teaching practice! Most of my posts will be about learning and understanding. Enjoy! Archives |