Reflection: Final Blog Posting

After reflecting on my "Personal Theory of Learning" that I completed during week 1 of my masters course, I still feel the same about most of the topics mentioned in my application paper. For example, I wrote about using positive praise as a strategy for classroom management, which I read about in our learning resources as a successful tool when used in moderation. In addition, I wrote about creating a safe environment where the students are challenged, but can still find success and enjoyment in their learning. I still utilize this strategy everyday with my all of my classes.

A learning strategy that I will incorporate into my lessons came from week 3, which focused on the "Cognitive Learning Theories". Our learning resources that that we utilized week opened my eyes to the functions of our brain, and the important role teachers have in student learning. Teachers need to understand how to connect the student to the content, so the students can associate the material, and therefore, be able to recall the information at a later time. One technique I am implementing more in my gymnasium is peer teaching. Our resources mention that the more ways that students are exposed to the material (touch, smell, taste, hear, and see), the more likely they are to remember the information. They need to be able to create their own experiences, which is why I also have them peer teach to recall the information learned, and help others associate the content through each other.

Two technology tools that I would like to use with my students are a virtual field trip and blogging. I believe a virtual field trip will help me teach the students the history of sports and expand their learning about sports played around the world. For example, if I lecture to them about Ancient Greek Olympics, they will only remember one or two things I say. However, if I have them take a virtual field trip to Greece and show them pictures of what the events looked like, what the athletes wore, where Greece is located on a map etc., they will be able to have a more memorable experience through the use of multiple senses. Blogging is another technology tool that will allow my students to record their learning experiences, and communicate with each other. I will have the students blog about what they learned in class, and goals for the next lesson. In addition, I will have them blog on each others pages to give one another feedback and offer different insights about the content they are learning in Physical Education class.

Two long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practices are making more time outside of class to incorporate technology, and also to make more time in class to implement new technology strategies, without limiting the students' activity time. My school has two computer labs, so I plan to sign out one of the labs during the students' study hall to allow the students access to a computer for a virtual field trip or blogging. In addition, if a student has a home computer, they can complete their blogging assignment for homework. However, if a student does not have a home computer, they will have free access to the school computer, in order to complete their out-of-class assignment. Besides using the projector for aerobics DVDs, I would like to connect the laptop to the projector and have the students teach the other students through a presentation about different fitness techniques or a dance. When using the laptop, they can create a powerpoint presentation with different pictures of the movements and the critical elements for the movement. This strategy will incorporate technology, teamwork and collaboration, and get the students up and moving.

Voice Thread

Here is the link to my voice thread about classroom space.

https://voicethread.com/#u658269.b786581.i4174532

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

I thought their were numerous instructional strategies from our book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works that correlate with the social learning theory. For example, one strategy mentioned having the students work together in groups to create their own web site. Each student was responsible for a certain job to make sure that the web site was created with as much information about the topic that they could find. Once the web site was completed, the students wrote a letter to the Chamber of Commerce for the city in which they researched to get feedback from the city. I love the different layers of the social learning theory that tie together with this lesson. For example, the students have to collaborate, cooperate, and work together to research and create their web site. Next, they have to collaborate with adults from their city to get feedback about their creation. Finally, the students also receive feedback and a grade from their teacher. When a student takes ownership in their learning, they feel more responsible for making sure that they succeed, and in return, receive enjoyment for their accomplishments.

Constructivism in Practice

Our book, "Using technology with classroom instruction that Works" discussed different ways to generate and test hypotheses. One teacher, Mrs. Omar, focused on her students learning "that compounding interest and saving money can lead to strong earnings over time" (2007, McRel). She gave each group 3 plans for what they would do with a $10,000 inheritance. Throughout her lesson she had the students working in groups and testing each scenario by entering in numbers, and seeing which plan would work best, and how each investment would end up. The students were first asked to think of a hypothesis before they tested each plan, and then discovered the results over a 30 year period.

I believe this lesson demonstrates a combination of both a constructivist theory and a constructionist theory. The reason I think it demonstrates some of a constructivist theory is that the students are constructing their own beliefs and meanings from this assignment. In addition, their teacher created the spreadsheet, and then just had the students enter in their data. However, I think it is also partially a constructionist theory, because the students created a hypothesis, and then built their knowledge from trial and error. They discovered what would work best for their investment, and learned from applying educational technology. I think the students were engaged during the whole assignment, and this experience was more beneficial than reading about compound interest and saving money. The teacher did state that she created the spreadsheet for the students because they were in 5th grade, and her focus was not on creating a spreadsheet.

Dr. Orey in "Cognitive Learning Theories" explains how the brain connects to previous taught information, and the power of using multiple sensory components when teaching. Students learn best when they can see, smell, taste, hear, and touch what it is they are trying to learn. When those senses are used in learning, it helps the students store the information into a memory that has many different paths to get the students back to that memory when they need to recall that information. In our book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, there are many different instructional strategies that correlate with the information from Dr. Orey's speech, such as, word processing programs as a table-making chart. Students can fill in the table with pictures, key words, and web resources to help them remember the information in multiple ways. This strategy can also be used when taking notes. For example, a student could draw a picture, and then connect key words that link the two pieces of information together.

Overall, I feel our book correlated with our DVD well, and offered great ideas to help the students remember the content in many different ways. I enjoyed reading about all of the different examples that implement the use of technology with learning and remembering information.

Behaviorism in Practice

The first instructional strategy mentioned in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works is "Reinforcing Effort." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it uses collected data to motivate students to work harder. The behaviorist theory focuses on rewards and punishments and different forms of motivation to help the students want to succeed and learn. In the book, they mention creating a spreadsheet based on effort so that the students can visually see their effort and understand how to improve their performance. In my gymnasium, I use educational technology through the use of pedometers to help motivate my students to be more active and teach them that each step is important for their health and activity time. For my older students, I have them set goals and reward them for achieving a certain number of steps, which demonstrates how I implement the behaviorist theory into Physical Education.

The second instructional strategy mentioned is "Homework and Practice." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it allows students the opportunity to find success and reward from consistent practice and exposure to the material. The book mentions numerous educational technology techniques that can be incorporated to this strategy. For example, word processing, spreadsheets, and web resources that offer tutorials to help the students review the material they learned at school. If they students are getting rewarded by succeeding in their homework assignments, it is likely that they will want to continue this experience with enjoyment. I rarely give homework to my students, but do play games with the students that focus on practicing the movements and activities so that they can find success with each skill. I am constantly reinforcing the cues in class to help the students find success and praising them when they succeed. Practice is an important component in Physical Education that I use daily.

Final Reflection

This course has helped me develop many new teaching strategies that incorporate technology into the classroom. For example, I created my own blog page, collaborated with my classmates and developed a wiki page, and produced a podcast. Prior to this course, I did not know what a podcast was, or how to implement it into the classroom. I know I will be able to successfully teach my students the same technological skills that I have learned, because I have learned them through trial and error. Knowing the basic steps needed to learn these technology tools will help my students find the same success.

I deepened my knowledge of teaching by learning new skills to teach, and through my collaboration with my classmates. Sharing ideas and giving feedback have helped me grow and learn new innovative strategies that will benefit my students and colleagues. In addition, I have gained new learning strategies to solve technological problems that arise in everyday use of the computer. I find myself asking for less help, and instead, taking the time to try and solve the problem on my own. This course has given me the confidence to explore new technological resources that I did not know existed, for example, the wikipedia.

This course taught me the value of allowing the students to take ownership for their learning. For example, more group work and collaboration, and less teacher directed answers. I plan on giving my students problems that typically arise in game play, and allow them time to solve the problems as a team. For a closure, I will guide the students with questions, but allow them to do the teaching and demonstrating for the correct answer.

I will continue to expand my knowledge of learning and teaching through the different Physical Education forums I subscribed to at the beginning of this course. Collaborating with teachers from around the United States will only strengthen my content and strategies that I can use in my gymnasium. In addition to the forums, I will continue my masters at Walden and improve my understanding of how to integrate technology into the classroom.

Two long-term goals for transforming my classroom are to integrate more technology into the gymnasium without taking away from the students activity time, and to plan more lessons that are learner-centered instead of teacher-centered. I plan to accomplish these goals by preparing student-centered lesson plans and working with the staff on computer time for the students when they are in study hall. I will offer computer lab time during the school day for my PE students to complete technology assignments that I have given during class, so that the students can complete their assignment successfully and on-time.

My first podcast

For my podcast assignment, I was asked to interview someone about their daily exposure to technology and their overall comfort using technology. I chose to interview my husband, Joe, who is 32 years old and has been working in the field of environmental geology for the past 10 years. I hope you enjoy my podcast.

http://cadelman.podbean.com/

21st Century Skills

For my masters class, I visited an awesome website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ dedicated to helping teachers and administration prepare students to be successful in the 21st century. This website is user friendly and offers many helpful resources. Since I was a first time user, I navigated around the FAQ's and learned what the site has to offer and who supports this type of integration of such powerful 21st century skills for education. This site offers videos of different ways to implement 21st century skills into a classroom and resources that meet standards for various subject content. In addition, if you sign up (which is free), you can blog with other teachers and the actual site. These are just a few of the features that stood out on this educational site dedicated to preparing our students for a successful future.

I did not find any major flaws with this site, and was impressed with all the user-friendly charts and research developed to show foundation in the success of this program. While navigating through this site, I found an article about Ohio attempting to get on board with teaching more 21st century skills. Since I teach in Ohio, I was intrigued with the article and impressed with the Governor starting to understand the need for change in our school systems. As a contemporary educator, it is my job to implement technology into my classroom and let the students take ownership in their learning so that they develop proper skills needed for success in the workplace.

Blogging in PE

Hello, I am a elementary Physical Education Teacher (K-5) in Northeast, Ohio). Here are some thoughts about the positive effects blogging might have in Physical Education.

In Physical Education, I feel I can use a student blog for reflection of couse material. For example, throughout a sports unit, I could have the students blog at home or during student assist time to reflect on what they have learned individually, and as a team. A PE blog would allow students the freedom to share the positives and negatives of a unit, and reflect upon the skills they have learned. Most of the time in class, only a few students get to reflect on the lesson, during our closure. I do not call on every student at the end of class, because most of my class sizes are 25 or more. However, if I had the students blog, I would be able to take the time and read all of their posts and feelings. In addition, using this technology tool would give me new insight on improvements that I can make in my unit, and maybe even improve on my teaching style.

CREDE standards

Through my masters class at Walden, I learned about a new approach to teaching English Language Learners (ELL) called CREDE (Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence). CREDE has 5 standards that will help teachers teach more effectively to diverse students. One of the standards that I use successfully in my Physical Education class is Standard 1, which focuses on teachers and students working together. In my classes, I teach my students that winning the game is not as important as working together and having fun. Throughout the school year, I teach cooperative lessons that utilize the skills and strategies to slove problems as a group. For example, one of my favorite lessons is called, "river crossing". In river crossing, students are grouped in 5 or less and given a scooter, jump rope, cone, and a deck tennis ring. Their goal is to get from one mat to another mat (about 10-15 feet apart) using their equipment and making sure not to let any part of their body touch the ground. I enjoy this game because the students have to work together and communicate with one another in order to solve the task. As their teacher, I walk around and monitor their communication skills and different techniques they use to solve the problem. At the end of class, we get together and discuss strategies that worked and did not work. They get a chance to share what they learned from this experience and how they carry over these strategies into everyday life. Another standard that is reached through my class discussions is Standard 5, emphasizing dialogue over lecture. By the end of the school year, students understand how to communicate with each other, in a positive way, while playing team sports and being involved in group activities because of all the cooperative games, like river crossing.

One of the CREDE standards that I can improve on and use more in my classroom is Standard 3, connecting lessons to students' lives. Even though I just mentioned how I teach problem-sloving skills that can be used everyday, I need to work on helping my ELL students feel more comfortable in my gymnasium. ELL students come from different cultures and backgrounds, yet most of the games I teach are only commonly played in America. In order for me to improve on this standard I am planning to ask my ELL students to teach me about their favorite game from their culture and maybe allow them to teach the game to all the students in their class. This strategy will help me connect the lesson to the students backgrounds and life. In addition, learning more about my students helps them feel more comfortable to learn in my class.

The other 2 standards that I did not mention are...
Standard 2, developing language skills across all curriculum
Standard 4, engaging students with challenging lessons