EDLD Week 5 Reflection on Learning

Helen Barrett writes, “An electronic portfolio provides an environment where students can collect their work in a digital archive, select specific pieces of work (hyperlink to artifacts) to highlight specific achievements; reflect on the learning demonstrated in the portfolio, neither text or multimedia form, set goals for future learning (or direction) to improve and celebrate achievement through sharing this work with and audience, whether online or face to face.” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007.) 

From third grade, and up, students should be encouraged to create an online portfolio. This is the primary reason I chose this medium as my lesson focus and means of assessment for our third grade science lesson in this course. Not only does the online portfolio offer evidence of student learning over time, but it provides a more public venue for student work – increasing student motivation. Additionally creating an online portfolio through venues such as http://edmodo.com, http://kidblog.org, or http://sites.google.com allows students to develop critical thinking, analytical, writing, and technical skills that will transfer across all needs from school through work. I currently use this format in my classes through my learning at Lamar so I have access to student portfolios without dragging home endless piles of papers from my science students and they can access their information from anywhere that has internet connection; including their phones. 

References

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Teaching with Technology Final Reflection

EDLD5364 Teaching with Technology afforded me a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with others in the design of a UDL lesson unit. Already working collaboratively during my other courses made this a fairly easy process. Our team had a strong grasp of Google Docs as well as Google Sites, making the flow of the project nearly seamless. We used the live chat feature and the new social-media based “discussion” functionality within Google Docs for meaningful and real-time communication assisted with some emails. Some fo the other tech tools that we used, but that I was already familiar with were Prezi and YouTube; a new tool that I plan to use in my own classroom is Book Builder. I liked that our collaborative assignments were somewhat open-ended, giving us the opportunity to explore these various tools and come up with exciting new ways to integrate technology into real-type scenario lessons.

New to me, was CAST’s Universal Design for Learning site with the lesson builder. This is the type of lesson planning and pedagogy I am interested in developing, personally and find CAST’s UDL Curriculum Self-Check a valuable tool in helping me develop this skill. I am very excited to learn more about UDL tools such as speech to text, Braille keyboards, structured search-engines, text linked to glossaries, visual dictionaries and screen-readers to increase student performance by helping eliminate some of the barriers that stand in the way of many students. In keeping with UDL expectations, providing multiple ways to learn will removes obstacles to learning that can skew assessment results. This tool can really strengthen a student’s ability to communicate and reflect on their learning providing the teacher with an authentic assessment. Communicating and evaluating learning through rubrics and ePortfolios as well as setting high expectations for student peer and self-evaluation are simple means through which to vary assessment and thus provide for more accurate appraisal of student mastery of objectives. (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 65).

I also enjoyed learning about voicethread. I learned about voicethread at the 2012 TCEA convention, but had not taken the time to sit down and actually learn how to use it. I was very impressed by how simple it is to use as a learning tool that exemplifies UDL principles, “break(ing) from the traditional classroom model-that of a teacher standing up in front of rows of students to deliver ‘truth” and later using a test to check whether “truth” sank in (Rose & Meyer, 2002). since there are so many means (text, audio, visual) by which to create and add to a voicethread. It is definitely a learning tool that I will work to have “unblocked” in our district.

References

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society    

     for Technology in Education.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. 
     Chapter 1. Retrieved on March 1, 2011, from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Reflection as a means of assessment

Reflection as a means of assessment is a solid way to allow the student to demonstrate learning. There are many ways to allow a student to reflect but the use of technology gives the students more options in the way they can reflect. Podcasts and Blogs are reflection activities that can be incorporated into the lesson planning. These along with short Animoto clips or eBooks made by the students to summarize learning will not only solidify for them what they have learned, but can help them make connections as to why they are learning. The teacher can also very quickly see where the student disconnects are and correct them before formal evaluation of student accumulation of knowledge. These, then, also make great assessment tools. Instead of having students just go through the motions of the labs they can be given questions to consider and answer while involved in the activities and again at the end. This also ties in to KWHL Chart to help wrap up what they are supposed to be learning, how they will accomplish that learning, and what they actually learned. Some other types of Tech-Savvy reflective tools may include the Flat Classroom Project, Project Exchange, Voice Thread, or Classroom Displays as described by Suzie Boss (2009) on Edutopia.


The key advantage of this type of learning is students being able to use what the are comfortable with so the teacher can have a more authentic assessment. The student choices gives them the safety in the classroom needed to explore the learning and express that learning in a manner they can demonstrate what they are wanting to communicate most effectively.

Boss, S., (2009). High tech reflection strategies make learning stick. Edutopia. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.edutopia.org/student-reflection.

Differentiated Instruction through Technology

Have you ever wanted to say something and forgot what is was exactly but it was hanging on the tip of your tongue? That is the feeling I have had for a long time. If I have had a predominant weakness in my pedagogy it has been differentiated instruction. Sure, I make modifications and reduced TEKS per the IEP but I have been clinging to idea I could find that "something" or the "it" that would make the difference in overcoming the barriers to learning that my students faced knowing it was there but not really knowing how to grasp it.

What I have learned from the CAST site and our readings, especially the book "Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age", this week is beginning to pull together some thoughts and ideas I have had and I feel like I am about to remember what to say...or in this case, know how to differentiate my lessons for every student in my classroom; not just the ones with an IEP or 504.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 6 retrieved from the Center for Applied Special Technology web site on March 18, 2012, at http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

CAST's UDL and Research Based Technology Lessons

This week in review is a delve into the way the brain learns and how technology has repeatedly shown to increase the interest level and engagement of the students/learners and subsequently increased the performance level of the student on standardized assessments. This is my particular breadth of interest and was very excited to be introduced to the CAST site and read this specific research presented in out readings.

In the specific application to my practice I will use the UDL Lesson Planner to direct my planning but frame it within the concrete UDL learning aspects addressing the “what”, the “how”, and the “why” of knowledge acquisition.

Constructing Your Own Learning

I have been a champion of Piaget for many years and run my classroom on those same principals outlined in his theories. This course (EDLD 5364) is a very exciting one for me as it is starting off with the principals of a constructivism learning theory, using technology as a basis of engaging the student while allowing them to experience or explore what is needed to be learned for a higher level of knowledge.

I always try to take what I am learning in my classes and incorporate it into my classroom for my own real world experience and relationships. This past week we were having a planetary alignment and my 8th grade science students were also beginning a unit on the Solar System. I had the laptops set up on the lab tables when they entered the room with a statement on the front board that there had been an event, astronomically, that occurred over the weekend that only happens about every 50,000 years - what was it? That was the only information I gave them and they had to research, collaborate, problem solve and critical think to find out. Then they wrote a 150 word article to describe what they learned and included an image. This, I believe, is what we are learning about this week. How to take this learning theory and apply it to the classroom to give the students a experiential process in which to construct their new knowledge. They learned many new things this week just by investigating the question. They emailed astronomers on their own initiative and some even wrote additional articles about things they learned about because they though it was interesting. It was a great teaching week for me and a great learning week. 

Graphic Design Reflection EDLD 5366

The major assignment this course was the collaborative web site. I found the experience to not only be good for me as an online collaborative activity through the use of ooVoo but in graphic design as I had the opportunity to see through other people’s eyes as we developed our logo and web layout. Exposure to the different perspectives allowed me to have more ideas. I have always tried to implement what I am learning in class into my classroom. I am taking knowledge from this class and combining it with what I picked up at the TCEA conference to infuse my lesson plans. This new six weeks we are studying the solar system and I am having my students create a website. The home page is all about them (thank you, Holly Dornak), but the first page of the website will be all about the solar system. I will have them add a page for each new unit we cover, plus a review page for each unit we have already covered as a resource to study for the STAAR exam (thank you, Lamar). The parents and students are all very excited about this project and I am having even the most reluctant students doing their work. I hope this is a sign of things to come with students “working on the work” and creatively learning in the process. The graphic design class has been a wonderful lesson for me and my students and I can’t wait to see their end products.

PSA Reflection

As a result of this project I spoke to my students about Cyberbullying. I shared the statistics of unreported cases and asked if they had either personally experienced this or know someone who had. Every hand in the room went up in each class period. I showed this video to my students and it opened a great dialogue. What really surprised me was how they took this message and made something meaningful from it.

Three students began collecting anonymous stories from our campus about the student experiences, how it made and how it made them feel. The letters written by these students were heart wrenching. There is now a formal sponsor and a group beginning when we return from break to support students with these experiences and how to avoid or stop them. The really amazing part it the group is being formed and "run" by students for students. They never cease to amaze me.

My Personal Photo Story Video

This was a very exciting project for me. I had a hard time deciding what I would do but then it occurred to me that this would be a good time to begin a video journal into my journey with Problem Based Learning [PBL]. It has been a very hard item to research and get good information on the planning and development of PBL lessons especially when curriculum is being layered. I really wanted to talk to someone who was actually doing this and get their thoughts on their personal experience. Maybe there will be someone else out there who wants to know how a person gets started in this type of instruction and that it is not just a decision to do it and then Ta-Da, you instantly have the wherewithal to do it with all of the internet resources and support of traditional lesson plans.

This first video describes how I stumbled into PBL as a pedagogy and am really just following the lead of my students as I encourage them to construct their own learning. I am holding on white knuckled and adrenaline rushing but still have my hands and feet inside the ride.

EDLD 5301 Final Reflection

     The most poignant moment of this class, for me, was the Week 2 lecture when Timothy Chargois stated that “to just help one student succeed is no longer enough”. I cannot say how many times I have stated that if I could help at least one student I have done a good thing. His comment echoed through me that I need a different frame of mind when approaching my students. I have to help them all, all the time, every time.

     The Dana text explored The Passions That Drive Your Journey: Finding a Wondering, in chapter 2 (Dana, 2009 pg 20) which helped me to focus on my Action Research project. When reviewing the nine passions I was able to focus my attention on an issue I believe can address all of these. My ideas were not so focused prior to this reading.

     The step by step guidance from the Harris book, Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools, is something I have read twice and will continue to use as I consider the development of my lessons and education of my students. Each lesson should be re-created with some sort of action research plan incorporated. Not only will this help me as an educator, but will help me stay up with the ‘natives’ as they continue to evolve.

     I really enjoyed the blogging and seeing what others are doing. I appreciated the feedback and suggestions offered by classmates. Getting the perspective of others ‘in the trenches’ and from different disciplines makes a more rounded collaboration. I know I have new ideas from this collaboration that I can incorporate into my action research plan, now and in future ones.

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Corwin. Thousand Oaks,

     CA

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to

     action. Eye On Education. Larchmont, NY.

CARE Model Planning Tool

Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, Julie Combs

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool

Identify Concerns that must change (look to the future)

(Assign points to concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Students must take pride in their school and their work at school.

2. Faculty must look at each student based on their needs and not expect the students to bend to the teacher.

3. Administrators must support the teachers and foster collaboration throughout the campus.

Identify Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)

(Assign points to affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Administration must continue to survey the students about their needs and concerns as they attend school.

2. Administration must continue to communicate the results of those surveys to the students and share the actions that will take place based on their voice on campus.

3. Teachers must continue to participate in the surveys as facilitators to gather the information from the students.

SMART Recommendations that must be implemented:

(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)

(Assign points to recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations to implement.)

1.  Student’s top three concerns should be addressed, in some manner, to the student body by May 15^th so they know their voices have been heard.

2.  Student Council should continue to advocate on behalf of the student body by soliciting concerns and issues as well as things they would like to see continued and present those to administration at least once per month.

3.  Student’s should have a School Improvement Box that they can deposit their written concerns, issues, and commendations at will to foster an atmosphere of caring.

EVALUATE – Specifically and Often

(Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1.  A school assembly to be held no later than May 15^th (after TAKS) by our principal to talk to the student body about the top three submitted concerns. This assembly will address what the issues are, what can be done to improve the concern, and when that improvement will be implemented.

2.  Student Council will maintain an academic calendar to track the issues presented to them, when the meeting with administration was held, when the resolution is expected, and when the resolution is completed. This will document the efficacy of the involvement as an advocate of the Student Council and the timeliness of actions for both the council and administration.

3.  An administrator will be responsible for collection of the School Improvement comments from the box on a designated day each week. The comments will be aired on the school announcements and open for comment by the student body for a period of three days. The comments will be considered and changes implemented as appropriate. These changes will be listed in the school newspaper, on the announcements and in the hall ways for the students to see how their voice can make a change.

Agreed Action Plan

Kim Davis Action Planning
Goal: Improve student performance through better reading strategies.
Action Steps:	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.  Create a graphic organizer for students to identify vocabulary and main points of a reading passage.	Kim Davis, teacher	March 13, to March 21, 2011	Cornell Note Template	The reading template is completed.
2. Model, facilitate, and observe student use of the graphic organizer.	Kim Davis, teacher	March 21 to April 15, 2011	Textbook, graphic organizers	Improved student 6 week grades.
3. Review and revise the graphic organizer through student feedback and teacher observation.	Kim Davis, teacher	March 21 to April 15, 2011 (ongoing)	Textbook, graphic organizer, feedback	Continuous student improvement (at least a 10% improvement in the fail rate each grading period.

Action Plan

 Goal: My students will become better equipped to handle difficult reading assignments and, in the process, become more successful at learning the substance of what they are reading, by learning paraphrasing techniques.

Objective 1: Students will complete a teacher guided reading instruction through one entire Biology chapter in 5 school days using a graphic organizer to identify new vocabulary words and main ideas with a modified Cornell Note format.

Objective 2: Students will complete a teacher facilitated reading instruction through an entire Biology chapter in 5 school days using a graphic organizer to identify new vocabulary words and main ideas with a modified Cornell Note format.

Objective 3: Students will independently complete a reading instruction through an entire Biology chapter in 5 school days using a graphic organizer to identify new vocabulary words and main ideas with a modified Cornell Note format.

Objective 3: Students will show an improvement in reading comprehension and the substance of what they are learning by reducing the overall student fail rate by 10% from the previous grading ending period.

Activities: Over a three week period students will have modeling and guided practice with learning to use a modified Cornell Note formatted graphic organizer to learn new vocabulary words and identify main points. The first week will be a guided activity. In the second week students will be asked to complete the reading activity with questions being answered by the teacher during the reading time. By the third week of reading assignments students will be asked to complete the graphic organizer independently.

Resources and research tools: This activity will require the creation of a modified Cornell Note style graphic organizer, student textbooks, and writing utensils.

Timeline: Three weeks are needed to complete this research based inquiry as described below:

     Week 1: Teacher guided reading activity to model how to read for understanding by

                   identifying unknown vocabulary words and main points of the passage.

     Week 2: Teacher facilitated reading activity to assist students who are reading a

                   passage to identify unknown vocabulary words and main points.

     Week 3: Students will work independently in the reading assignment to identify

                   unknown vocabulary words and main points of the passage.

Responsible Party: Kim Davis (teacher) is responsible for implementation.

Process for monitoring the achievement: Students’ ability to work independently to complete the task and a fail rate reduction of 10% in six week grades.

Assessment instrument(s): Correct, independently completed graphic organizer and six week grades will be used to assess efficacy of this action research study.

Week 3 Blog - Drafting the Action Research Plan

This is an exciting week for me. I have narrowed down my action plan to something that can not only benefit my students in my class, but is also a timely activity for TAKS time and may be a tool they can use throughout High School and possibly improve their educational experience and reduce the overall dropout rate for our school.

It is known in our district that the reading comprehension levels are low for our students due to language and cultural challenges. I taught my students to use Cornell Notes earlier in the year for lectures and will use a modification of that format (scaffolding) to create a graphic organizer to be used during reading assignments.

I have been researching this online and am finding some interesting information in similar directions in the High School settings; way past where the students should have already learned these techniques. I have redesigned my lessons for after Spring Break to incorporate this research activity.

5103 Week Two - Leading with Passion and Knowledge

It is an interesting quandary learning to lead with passion and knowledge. As we build our scaffolds in this program is it imperative to understand the principals outlined in our Dana text yet be able to actually apply them to our practice in the classroom and on our campus and district. There is an overlap on the nine wonderings of an administrator yet I can see the distinct separations and why they should be kept separate.

I did get a bit distracted when reading the beginning of the chapter when the author was making the point of the people being what is important, not the programs - I looked up the Baldridge Model. I wondered around that information for hours and then sent an email to my principal about it. It is not the point of the week's lesson, but it is a good framework for a beginning to great leaders.

I also really enjoyed the introductory video with Dr. Jenkins and his two areas of concern for an action research topic; purpose and significance. I actually viewed it twice with pauses for note taking. I will work to consider the four elements of purpose and the focus of significance as I work and review my lesson plans.

How might educational leaders use blogs?

Educational leaders could use Blogs as a reflection tool but also as a collaboration tool. By being able to communicate online and read other’s experiences it opens up a myriad of ideas and possibilities to problem solving that draws on the successes of other leaders in other campuses. It may also direct an idea that may not have been as effective on another campus and allow for additional planning and revising prior to implementation.

What I learned about Action Research

I see action research as a tool to use in the classroom but also in my professional endeavors, in general. I have always tried to maintain that I am researched based, data driven, and results oriented but I have not had a strong organizational tool to help me reach these aspirations for my classroom. Action research puts a theory and method in place to help me understand how to affect this type of teaching and leadership.

In discussions with colleagues sometimes I hear that this is too demanding and the constant changing of lesson planning and monitoring is not productive. I actually feel that by doing so now and finding what works for my students to help them learn best and retain information for testing will only make teaching later much easier. Especially as we are moving towards the End of Course Exams and students are expected to have a deeper understanding of the material as opposed to remembering for the test.

I am already looking at my lesson planning for the next couple of weeks to see how I can place a formal strategy in place to plan, take action, observe, and reflect. I will also incorporate my student data (scores) and their surveyed responses into my observations and reflections. This does take a long time to initiate but after a while I think it will become a procedure for our class discussions – I think Harry Wong would like that.

Web Conference 01-27-11

I really enjoyed this conference. I had the opportunity to be more casual and friendly with my cohorts, felt camaraderie with classmates and was able to make sense of some of the direction I needed to be in with my course internship. I also appreciated having a chance to speak with Dr. Borel about the book I just finished reading and then found out I could use it with my studies in this course. I am just very excited to be a part of this program and know that I am finally reaching the goals I have set for myself.

Pearsall ISD E-Rate Presentation

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

E rate presentation

View more presentations from Kim Davis.

Blog #3 Week 2

The Draft Plan include these five goals:

(Source: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf, 2010)

1.     Learning: All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.

2.     Assessment: Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.

3.     Teaching: Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.

4.     Infrastructure: All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.

5.     Productivity: Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.

This biggest concern I have with this plan is the global effect of change that does not account for the individual responses of teachers who may not want to change or budget restrictions of those who simply cannot change. As small districts with low income residents try to move into the global economy and technology many households may not be engaged in the same manner. I work in a small district with very few parent resources. I just came from a district in the Dallas area to South Texas and am very surprised at how computer illiterate many of our students are. We are also in an area where the median household income is only about $22,000. There are not a lot of luxuries outside necessities in these homes.

These areas may make it difficult to cultivate a learning environment of teachers that are technologically savvy, ready to implement technology learning strategies, or are willing to take the time to bring the students up to par with their skills so it can be implemented into the lessons. This takes precious time, sometimes days, from the limited time allotted for rigorous curriculum. This can be very hard for many teachers to do.

Personally, as a first year, secondary teacher, I am very committed to using Layered Curriculum to employ rigor, productivity, and choices to my students. You may see what I am referring to at http://www.help4teachers.com/. My first two weeks in the classroom went remarkably well as far as the students tending to what needed to be done. I will grade their unit test and assignments this week to measure where adjustments needs to be but they were able to complete 16 activities in 10 days including a webquest on the history of Biology and scientists who made contributions, an online survey with www.MyFootprint.org and a journal writing about what they learned, a power point presentation (student made) on lab safety and an online lab equipment quiz at http://www.quia.com/quiz/386664.html.