A Look Back on EDUC-6711

When I look back at what I have learned the past seven week in EDUC 6711, my most recent graduate course, I can now see that a lot of my goals and ideas on learning theory are now very tangible in my classroom.  In the first week of the course, we were asked to write our own personal learning theory, and describe how we think students learn in the classroom today.  The major point in my theory says that I think students learn best when they are in a technology rich environment and have a lot of hands-on learning experiences.  Part of what helped me develop this theory came from Dr. Patricia Wolfe, who said that students are more likely to remember something they have experienced rather than something that they heard or wrote down, and that teachers should try and create more meaningful experiences for their students (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).  This really got me thinking about my own classroom and how I do a lot of lecturing and have my students doing a lot of note taking.  I teach high school math, and I know what college math classes are like, so I never thought that lecturing and note taking were that bad because that is what they are going to see at the next level.  In addition, just about every math teacher I had used the same strategy and I loved learning this way and was very successful with math.  However, I am math teacher, and a person who loves math, and math lovers are a very small population in high schools today.  So I began thinking about what I had been learning in my graduate program, which is all about implementing technology and began to shape my personal learning theory.  I began to think about how often students are using technology and how much I use it myself.  The Internet is a very large and powerful tool that creates a lot of opportunity for independent learning, as it plays the role of the teacher and the students can learn at a pace that is a more tailored to their pace.  The Internet is a piece of technology that creates more hands-on learning as the students themselves are doing the research and learning information on their own.  Using technology in such a manner makes the Internet a learning tool in the classroom, as opposed to an instructional tool.  According to Dr. Michael Orey, an instructional tool is something that helps the teacher present information and a learning tool is something that students use to help them learn something new (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  The key words in the previous sentence are ‘helps the teacher’, and ‘students use’.  Instructional tools are great for teachers, as they usually make our lives easier, but at the same time we have to think about making sure our students can benefit from them as learning tools.  Dr. Orey says the best way to make a piece of technology a learning tool is to let them actually use them.  

Moreover, I am very eager to try implementing some of the many great ideas I have picked up from this course.  The first thing I want to implement into my classroom this coming school year is more trips to the computer lab to use Microsoft Excel.  I teach statistics and there is a lot of calculating and recording that take up a lot of time in class.  By using Excel, students will have a more realistic experience of calculating data, as it is rarely done completely by hand any more.  In addition to Excel, I also plan on using the Internet a lot more in all of my classes.  Part of what I realized in this course and all the others before it, is that lecturing is not the most effective teaching method.  I have already made a major change in my classroom by having students constantly working in groups, which has been a very positive change in my opinion.  Now, one of my goals is to try and do less talking and let the students work more independently in their groups.  One way I can achieve this is by letting students work with the Internet.  By letting students explore a new topic on the Internet allows them freedom to work at their own pace (with a little monitoring from me, of course) and find resources that are more relevant to them.  Dr. Orey says that the more ways students have information presented to them, the more likely they are going to remember something (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011c).  So in the past, I would lecture and go over guided notes with my class, which was one resource they had to consult, and they also had their textbook.  So unless students took it upon themselves to use the Internet to seek out alternate resources on their own, they really only had two resources to rely on learning the material.  By giving students the chance to use the Internet to learn something new gives them the power to find a resource that relates best to them.  In addition, I would also like to start using the Internet to extend conversations outside the classroom via blogs.  Blogging is very similar to something my students are already very good at, which is text messaging, and it also extends the cooperative element outside of the classroom. 

Finally, I feel that my ‘bag of tricks’ just got a little heavier after all the I have learned from this course.  It was a bit of a culminating course for me, because we began learning about how technology relates to learning theories.  This was a big deal for me, because it gave technology some validity in how well it works because it is already a big part of my students’ lives already.  I have also set two major long-term goals that I hope to achieve within the next few years of teaching.  The first is to change my role in the classroom from teacher/instructor to facilitator.  One of the most important things I have learned through out my graduate experience is that my students to not have to hear everything from me in order to learn it in my class.  Not every student in my class is going to learn best by hearing me talk about math all hour and show examples of how to do things.  It would be more effective to have students working in a cooperative learning and technology rich learning environment.  In this environment, I hope to see students working together to gain knowledge on new topics, as I monitor and step in to help when students ask for it, or when I see a major struggle.  By becoming a facilitator I am letting my students create their own interpretation of what math is, rather then having them try to remember what I tell them mine is.  My second goal is to use the Internet and various software applications in my classroom on a regular basis.  In order to achieve my first goal to become a facilitator, I need to have this second goal in place.  This is what is going to allow me to achieve this goal and will likely have to be achieved before I become that facilitating person.  I am lucky enough to teach in a school that has multiple computer labs that I can use, and I have not taken advantage of this very often.  I know it will take some time to achieve these goals, but I believe that it is in the best interest of my students.  Their futures are going to be full of technology and cooperative work environments, and I want my classroom to reflect that.

Social Learning Theories

To me, social learning is exactly what it sounds like, which has students learning together in a social setting.  This is different than the traditional teaching style that has the teacher talking at the front of the classroom the entire class period while students record notes.  Social learning theory involves student working collaboratively towards a common goal, and also construct memories of what they are learning along the way.  This week in my Walden class we are making a lot of connections to constructionism, which is what we learned about last week.  Constructionism is the process where a student constructs new memories and artifacts about a subject they have never learned about before.  Social learning provides a much more efficient avenue for student to construct these new memories, because they are doing so with other students that are going through the same process as them.  In other words, they are going through the constructing process with fellow classmates, rather than alone.  One of my resources this week was a video in which George Siemens speaks about an argued learning theory he calls connectivism.  He describes connectivism as a networking process in which students link certain things together to further advance their knowledge.  It sounded to me like a snow-balling type of process, where you first inquire about something, then seek a source to find out more about it, which then leads you to another source, and so on, creating this network on information that helps you learn about a given topic.  To put it into my own terms, I relate it to how I came to brew my own beer.  I am a big advocate of craft beers, and am lucky enough to live in the great state of Michigan, which is home to some of the best microbreweries in the world!  After many different microbrews I asked myself, why can't I make my own beer?  I immediately began researching the topic, and found myself immersed in the world of homebrewing.  Once I learned that there was a homebrewing supply shop only 10 minutes from my house, I headed up there to inquire more about what it would take to make my own beer.  They taught me a few things in the store and also recommended online resources that would be very helpful.  Now this is not a story that I share with my students, because I do not condone drinking in my classroom, but the learning process that I went through in order to brew my own beer is very similar to what Siemens refers to as connectivism.  I had a network of resources that I consulted where I learned more and more as I went from one source to the next.  I used social media, whether it was the Internet, cell phone, or face-to-face interaction to learn what I wanted to do.  This is a very efficient way of learning, and I did most of it on my own.  To translate this into my classroom, I am always telling my students to consult the Internet about any question they have about anything.  The great thing about the Internet is the fact that there is usually at least one person who has something to say about just anything you have to ask.  As a result, you can explore any topic you want to learn more about, and whether the information you initially find is correct or not, you have at least started down the path of inquiry.

Moreover, in order to promote social learning in the classroom, many teachers use collaborative learning activities.  Collaborative learning activities are really just a fancy name for group activities.  In the book 'Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works', the authors have an entire chapter on collaborative learning.  They make a few critical recommendations about which include: varying the criteria in which you group students, keeping groups to a manageable size, and using appropriate groups in different scenarios.  The first two recommendations are pretty self-explanatory, although I will note that the authors strongly recommend to not group students by their ability.  The last recommendation of using appropriate groups, however, deals with finding the right type of group for a given activity.  Say you are planning a major activity in your class, this is an instance where you want to put a lot of thought into how you group students, versus an impromptu activity where you might just randomly assign groups by numbering students or having them turn to a nearby student.  Regardless of the method you use for collaborative learning activities, the process is what is important.  During these activities, granted they are well developed, you will see students working together towards a common goal.  Most of these activities have students delegating roles and responsibilities among each other and also deciding what information is important to include and what is not.  Another benefit that comes with collaborative learning is the ability for students to teach students.  Many teachers often say that they never really understood a topic so well until they actually taught it to somebody, so why not give your students a chance to do the same?  Even if there is a portion of the project that no student in the group understands or knows how to explain to the group, there will always be what Dr. Michael Orey refers to as a 'more knowledgeable other', which could either be the teacher, or the Internet.  Either way, the teacher does not need to be the first or primary resource that students consult when they are pressed with a problem.  They can ask a member of their group, then try and solve the problem together, or consult the Internet and verify with the teacher.  Either way, what social and collaborative learning have in mind is having the students rely less on the teacher, and more on themselves and their ability to seek out information on their own.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program nine: Connectivism as a learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread Take 1

I made my first ever project on VoiceThread, you can check it out here.  I hope you enjoy it!

Project-Based Learning and Constructionism

This week in my Walden master's class we learned about the differences between constructivism and constructionism, as well as what project-based learning is.  In a video resource, Dr. Michael Orey discussed the differences between constructivism and constructionism.  He described constructivism as a process where a student attaches something new to a memory they have already created in the past, or in other words takes new material and makes it relate to them.  In contrast, constructionism involves the process of the students creating something new, be it a memory or external artifact.  In essence, constructionist learning theory involve the learning building something new during the learning process, just as the word construction suggests.  In addition to constructivism and constructionism, we also learned about Project-Based learning (PBL), which is a teaching methodology that has students utilizing their problem solving skills by working on things that are more realistic as opposed to fact based textbook problems.  PBL sounds great in theory because it involves students working hands-on with things and also helps build their 21st-century skills.  It also has them working collaboratively and independently, and has the teacher playing more of a facilitator role who is no longer the primary source of information. 

I really like the ideas behind constructionist learning theory and PBL, because I think they are what is best for my students' futures.  However, at what point am I supposed to teach them their fundamental skills that are needed to help gain these 21st-century skills.  I teach high school math, and in order to use math in a real life setting, you have to know how to do the math.  Granted, there are some types of real world problems in math that can be solved by simply reasoning through them, but some problems must be solved using algebraic or geometric theories.  Part of what I am up against as a teacher today is trying to incorporate these types of 21st-century learning experiences and also teach all of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  All that is required of me by my school and the state of Michigan is that I cover the CCSS.  So great, I can teach my kids a bunch of math, and most of what I am teaching them is only useful for standardized testing, at least that is what they think.  Part of why I want to incorporate more PBL in my classroom is because it gives meaning to the math.  It is an answer to the constant question of "when am I ever going to use this stuff?"  Unfortunately it all boils down to the time factor, and there is simply not enough of it to show my students how to use all of the math that I am teaching them in the real world. 

Going back to one of what is becoming one of my best resources, the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I have found some suggestions that might help me create more PBL opportunities without have to sacrifice so much time.  This week we read the chapter titled "Generating and Testing Hypotheses", which is not just talking about science experiments.  What I took from this section of the book is that I need to get my students thinking and hypothesizing more about my subject matter.  I believe that by having students hypothesize about a certain concept and then comparing it to the actual results relates to a constructionist's approach.  The students is constructing their own hypothesis and then eventually comparing it an actual result, which creates a memory that they can reflect back on.  The authors also give a recommendation that students should be able explain their hypotheses and conclusions.  Establishing this with students up front will set a tone that they can not just simply guess, and encourages them to think about their hypothesis.  Also, by having students explain their conclusion forces them to look back at their hypothesis, which was their original constructed memory, and relate the final result back to that, which is a bit of a constructivist approach to learning. 

The book goes on to give some suggestions on how to utilize technology to help make these PBL experiences more realistic by using the Internet, data collection tools, and spreadsheet applications.  As I mentioned earlier, my biggest inhibitor of PBL experiences in my classroom is time, and the fact that I do not have too many days I can spare to spend doing projects on and still teach the CCSS that need to be covered.  However, with the use of Internet application/simulators, graphing calculators, and applications like Microsoft Excel and Google Spreadsheet I can incorporate more realistic learning experience in a fraction of the time.  Even though it is not an actual 'out in the field' experience, it is the next best thing, and it is a lot closer to the real thing than a textbook story problem.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Helping student remember what they have learned.

I recently viewed a video where Dr. Michael Orey talks about cognitive learning theory.  He specifically talked about how one of every teacher’s main goals is to get students to remember what we teach them.  In addition, he goes on to discuss the actual learning process and how connections are made between short-term and long-term memory.  One of the more interesting facts to me as a high school teacher that Dr. Orey presented, was that on average students can only remember or take in five to nine pieces of information at a time.  At the high school level, students are often bombarded with facts, especially at my high school because we are on the trimester schedule.  One of the major consequences of the trimester schedule is the small number of days I have with my students, and I am often teaching a new section everyday in order to fit the entire curriculum in the allotted amount of time.  This fact, combined with the though that students can only retain five to nine pieces of information in short term memory is a major concern for me.  Dr. Orey goes on to discuss three different types of long-term memory, which are: declarative, procedural, and episodic.  Where declarative deals with the memorization of facts and information, procedural deals with remember how to carry out processes or do things, and episodic has to do with remember certain experiences the learner has encountered.  As a high school math teacher I am constantly providing declarative and procedural cognitive experiences to my students, because they are a major part of learning math.  In order to be successful in math, you have to learn a large amount of rules, and also have to know how to carry out many processes to solve problems.  One thing I try to incorporate in my teaching to help make the learning experience more memorable for my students is to make it more fun.  I have incorporated songs, have played math games, and also have students work in groups in order to help make their learning experience more memorable.  Dr. Orey also talks about ‘forgetting’, and how the process of forgetting works in the brain.  It is not necessarily that students forget something, but rather that they forget what a given piece of information is linked to in their brain.  He extends on this by talking about how when something is learned it first gets stored in short term memory, then we link it to something to help us remember it.  This process of networking allows us to store information more efficiently, because we can recall something that is simpler in our mind to remember that is something more complex and has less meaning to us. 

Extending the conversation on cognitive learning, I also read a few chapters in the book ‘Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works’ that give some recommendations on to question students to generate their thinking, how advance organizers work, and how to help students become better at summarizing and note taking.  In math, students are constantly taking notes, and trying to simplify the information into an easy way to make connections and remember things.   I always encourage my students to read their math textbooks, because they need to be familiar with the vocabulary, but reading math text can be very difficult for teenage students.  In addition to reading a math textbook, students also need to know how do sift though the text and determine what is important to them and what is not.  To help with this I almost always give my students prepared notes, or what I call ‘guided notes’.  This takes a lot of the ambiguity out of the note taking experience, and highlights the main points I want my students to take away from the lesson.  The guided notes include important vocabulary terms, formulas, and examples that we go over together in class.  I also encourage students to take their own notes in the margins, which also helps them think about what important pieces of information they want to add to their notes to help them remember the material.  The book also talks a lot about questioning students and using advance graphic organizers.  In order to help students generate their thinking before a lesson I often ask questions about some of the prior knowledge that is going to be necessary to the new material.  I think this makes the new material a little less intimidating, because they know it is going to involve something they have done before.  The book also talks a lot about the use of advance graphic organizers.  One example of an advance graphic organizer is a concept map.  A concept map is what I like to call a brainstorming/webbing tool, where you connect a series of nodes/bubbles with lines.  The central node/bubble is in the middle, and you then branch out to more minor points that link back to the central point.  I have not used these too much in my math classes, simply because I never really liked them as a student.  They seemed rather simple to me, and I saw them as simply stating the obvious that I always assumed.  However, my math students have not been through as many math classes that I have been through, and have not been able to see the connections in math that I have seen.  I think concept maps would help a lot of my students out because it shows how different things relate, and it is easy to read.  Also, in addition to the central node/bubble design, you can also use flow charts as concepts maps that show progression.  Flow charts are something that I have used many times in my class, however I never really considered them concept maps.  What is nice about flow charts is that they can show rules via a hierarchy that is quickly picked up on by students.  It effectively shows boundaries, and in math with so many formulas, a flow chart could be useful for students when trying to pick out which formula they need to use for a given problem.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Connections: Instructional Strategy and Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a major part of education and I do not see it going away anytime soon.  Teachers will always give students praise when they do something right and will also let students know when they need to correct something (mostly in classroom management situations).  Nonetheless, behaviorism is here to stay, and I feel teachers need to facilitate this to help their student reach their full potential.

I am currently going though a master's program, and one of the resources we have is a book that talks a lot about effort from a behaviorists point of view.  The book is called "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works", and there is a chapter all about reinforcing effort.  In this chapter the authors bring up a very interesting point that I as a high school math teacher have always seemed to have trouble with.  They talk about the awareness students have of their effort in class.  One of the biggest battles I have with my students is trying to get them to understand that in order to do math, you have to try math.  I have preached this time and time again, and still some students just do not seem to get it.  After reading this section on effort, there were quite a few strategies recommended by the author that I could easily put in place that could potentially yield positive results.  They recommend having some sort of self evaluation system that students track themselves with as they progress though a unit.  Part of what the authors try to make their readers realize is that students need to be aware of their effort in a class, and that their effort is important.  This may seem obvious to any adult, but this could be the last thing on some high school students' minds.  The authors give examples of some easy rubric systems that allow students to grade their own effort, and then compare the effort results with their test/quiz results.  They make this process even easier by recommending it be done using an Excel spreadsheet.  I think doing this on the computer would make students more apt to do this, simply because it is on the computer and they typically would prefer to use a computer over paper and pencil.  Using Excel also saves time because it calculates things much quicker, and I am always trying to manage time in the classroom, so I think this would help a ton.  Getting back to the discussion on the effort itself, I think that by having students track their own effort they will have a more clear vision on how it reflects on their achievement.  I have talked with each and everyone of my students about their grade, and have assessed their effort with them and they hear me for the time being.  However, me just telling them how I perceive their effort and what I recommend they do to change it does not really stick with a lot of them, in my opinion.  I think the students gets a lot more meaning out of this process when they do it on their own, because it forces them to look in the mirror and see if they are really putting forth an honest effort.  I think it would be very effective and I am very eager to try something like this in my classroom.

Another topic that the book talks about deal with the assigning of homework.  In math, homework is one of the most critical components because it is the time where students get to hone their skills.  Being that I teach high school math, I am always trying to put more responsibility on the student.  As a result, I usually have students check their own homework, and then I take any questions that students have about the assignment before starting the next lesson.  In addition, I do not always grade every homework assignment, and when I do I usually just check for completion of the assignment.  Part of the reason for this is due to my belief on effort.  I always tell my student that I know who is honestly doing their homework and making their corrections when I grade their tests and quizzes, because they are a reflection on their homework efforts.  The other part is the fact that most of my homework in college math classes was not graded, and I am trying to help my students as prepared for the responsibility that college brings as I can.  In the same book as mentioned above, the authors talk about how homework should be assigned and used in the classroom.  They recommend that feedback should be quick and explicit.  Part of what I want to change about my homework procedure in class is how it is corrected.  Right now I have students check their own answers with an answer key that I post in class, and then take any questions that students might have.  What sometimes  happens with this procedure is that not all students care to check their answers and never find out what they know, or they check their answers but do not ask questions because they think they know how to fix it themselves or are too shy or embarrassed to ask.  The text does not offer much on how procedures to help with this situation, but again it is unique to my situation and the book was not written specifically for me.  However, I have generated some ideas from other colleagues because this is not the first time I am addressing the homework procedure in my class as a concern.  One of my ideas to help with this involves peer checking, which would have students passing their paper to a neighbor, or I would simply collect everyone's assignment then pass them back in random order.  This would ensure that everybody's assignment got checked thoroughly and that each student would at least be able to see if they are understanding the material or not.  To supplement this, I would also like to give student 5-10 minutes to go over their corrected homework in groups to make corrections.  This is an easy way to provide immediate feedback and also give them time to fix any mistakes before while the information is relevant.  In the end, however, this still circles back to student effort, and I think peer editing would help with this because students will be able to see how much effort their classmates are putting in.  This will ultimately help set examples of what it is going to take to be successful, and will also show how poor effort can hold some students back.

References:

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Reflecting on things learned

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

            I have always thought that I was a person who was pretty fluent with technology.  This is largely due to the fact that I was always able to find a means to troubleshoot any problems that I have had with any piece of technology whether it be my computer, TV/cable, or cell phone.  Whether it was playing with settings or wire connections myself, or calling customer service to have them walk me though a troubleshooting process, I always felt competent in finding a solution to any technology problem in a timely fashion.  As a teacher, I feel that it is necessary to have these skills, simply because most teachers now have some form of technology that they use and rely on, on a daily basis.  However, as a professional teacher these skills only help me, not my students, and there is a whole lot more that I can offer my students though technology than I have ever thought was possible.  I have always known that computers are excellent resources for people, and I have always been an advocate of saying “just Google it”, when a stumping question came up.  Through the progression of this class I have been able to see that there is so much more to the Internet than search engines, like podcasts, blogs, Wikis, and video conferencing.  As I mentioned before, I feel that I am a very competent and capable technology user, however I feel that I am lacking in the creativity area when it comes to technology.  I have always thought of technology as a convenient tool, which I is how I would expect my students to look at it.  This course has changed my point of view on technology, and now I am starting to look at it as a professional teacher, which has me trying to find creative and useful ways to implement it into my teaching.

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

            Moreover, I have always considered myself to be more old-fashioned when it comes to education.  As a student, most of my classes involved some sort of lecture, in which I would record notes on, quizzes, and unit tests.  This is how my parents and siblings learned, and I grew up expecting this because it was how it had always been done.  I like this because I am the type of person who does not like a lot of surprises or constant change, and this was a steady and safe model.  Now that I am a teacher, I am on the other side of things, and I now have to look at educating all different kinds of learners, not just the ones that learn the same way that I did.  This has been one of the most challenging things that I have faced as a teacher, because I am constantly thinking to myself, “I figured it out this way, why can’t they?”  I personally believe that our education system has become soft in some ways, and that student accountability is becoming more and more rare in schools in my area.  On the other hand, I do believe that students’ mindsets have changed since I have been in school.  Students today need more stimulation than they used to, partially because so many kids are watching TV and playing video games.  Video games and television programs are constantly changing and keeping your attention.  With video games, the user is in control, and failed attempts can be retried with the push of a button.  With television, or to be more current, Internet media (YouTube, podcasts, etc.), you can skip the fine print and get right to the main point.  Today’s students have a lot more options to sift through all of the small talk, and get to the major point that somebody is trying to make, by scrolling to the bottom of a page or fast forwarding.  The need to wait and endure hours of lecturing is becoming obsolete, and students can learn a weeks worth in just an hour at a time that is convenient for them. 

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

            Moving on, the fact that students have the ability to learn so much on their own, and that the ability to work in a group is such a desired trait to most professions today, has really made me question my desire to teach students the way that I was taught.  My students will tell you, just as they have told me, that they would rather not take notes or have a lecture during class.  As much as I try to admire this thought, I still have to make sure that my students are getting the information they need in order to be proficient in my subject.  I have had many instances where I totally let go of the controls and let my students learn from each other.  I have my students seated in groups, so it is very easy for me to do group activities, and I think it is very valuable for them to see how other students work and also to learn to work with people they might not normally work with.  I know that my future students will benefit more if I talk less, because I am not their only resource. 

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

            In order to stay current with a constantly changing field of technology, I need to continue to be a student.  There are new ideas and technologies that are constantly being produced, and the more I try new things, the more I will be able to find what works best.  The concept that I feel is most important to my students’ future, however, is developing 21^st-century skills.  So in order to expand on my teaching, I would like to make sure that I try and implement more opportunities for my students to learn these 21^st-century skills. 

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?

            Continuing, there are two long-term goals that I would like to set for myself that are inspired by what I have learned through out this course.  The first goal that I would like to set is to have more 21^st-century skills experiences in my classroom.  By this I mean having more hands on problem solving situation, and having time to let students think critically and be creative in order to problem solve.  My idea behind this is that I want my students to become more independent and creative thinkers, and that they do not always have to do everything the exact way I showed them because there is usually multiple way to arrive at a solution to any given problem.  Part of what stands in the way of this goal is the fact that my school is on a trimester schedule, and the other part that is blocking this goal is the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  With the trimester schedule I am very pressed for time, and when you throw the CCSS into the mix, there is not much time for anything else.  The teachers in our building have sat down many times and tried to find ways to fit all of the CCSS into our curriculum, but there is simply not enough time and some things must be cut.  As a result, it is difficult for me to find time to do something other than teacher to the CCSS, and omit lessons that include 21^st-century skills.  In order to overcome this hurdle, I plan to try and teach lesson aligned with the CCSS with 21^st-century skill driven activities. 

            My second goal is to provide more opportunities for students to use technology in my classroom, rather than just include more technology in my classroom.  I am a teacher who is lucky enough to have a document camera, overhead projector, and interactive whiteboard in my classroom.  These are great things for me to have as a teacher, because they save me a lot of time and make my life a lot easier when I need to present things to the class.  However, as far as technology usage in the classroom goes, this is about as far as I take it with my students.  A lot of this issue has to do with the fact that there is not enough time in a trimester schedule to take my students down to the computer lab and still teach all the curriculum I need to teach.  However, I know this is no excuse, and I need to try and make more time to let my students explore problems on their own with the help of technology.  In order to achieve this goal, I plan to utilize the many computer labs my school has to offer, as often as possible.  My goal is to get away from a textbook driven teaching model, where I do most of the talking.  By getting away from the textbook and letting my students have more freedom, I am hoping to keep my students more stimulated and eager to learn because they will be able to do it at their own pace and have the satisfaction of learning it on their own rather than constantly hearing it from me.

Refer to your checklist from Week 1. Have any of your answers changed after completing this course?

            Finally, there are not many changes that have occurred over the course of this class since week 1.  I have always been a big believer in collaborative work environments, and continue to present collaborative work opportunities to my students.  I also still feel that I need to implement more technology in to my teacher, and not just simply using technology to teach.  Also, the biggest insight that I have gained from this course has been that I need to implement more 21^st-century learning experiences in my classroom.  This includes more student-driven learning, presenting or work, collaborating both inside and outside the classroom, and providing more real world examples and experiences. 

My Very First Podcast!

Here is a link to my very first podcast.  It is a discussion about a survey I conducted with my math students about how much they use technology.  Enjoy.

http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/13489

21st Century Skills

I just recently visited the Partnerships for 21st Century Skills website (www.p21.org) and my initial thoughts were "wow, what a teacher's dream!"  The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) standards for everything I had hoped my classroom would be before I became a teacher.  I envisioned students collaborating to solving critical thinking problems, eagerness to use constantly available technology, and an overall eagerness to learn.  This is everything we want our students to be and our curriculum to involve, yet is it truly feasible with everything else that must be included in our teaching?  With standardized testing a common standards always on the docket, where are we supposed to find time to include these skills?

I am a believer in these 21st century skills, because they are the skills our students need in order to be successful in the future.  Part of what P21 promotes is the learning of core subjects, something we have been doing since the dawn of education.  Now, P21 says that it is time to evolve a little, and I could not agree more.  I always knew that 21st century skills included a lot on technology and collaboration on a world-wide level, but I did not know that there were some many other areas of interest such as health, entrepreneurship, civics, and media to name a few.  I also thought that 21st century skills were more geared towards the subjects of math and science, because I associated it with engineering, architecture, and computer programming.  Twenty-first century skills are coming to the forefront of education because they are the skills necessary to keep the world functioning and to be more efficient at doing so.  Communication skills are just as important as math and science skills, because we will need to communicate with other countries when we are trying to fix global issues.

The P21 website has a great deal of information on what they are all about.  They have an entire framework that defines what they believe 21st century skills are, and their mission is to make 21st century skills the focal point of K-12 education in the United States.  The information presented by P21 has made me take another look at my role as a teacher.  Should I just be the math teacher that makes sure they can solve equations, graph lines, and find area?  Or should I be the teacher who teaches them how to think critically and prepares them to take on challenging real-world problems that require them to apply their knowledge?  I think one way teachers can promote 21st century skills is by providing as many real-life situations as possible, whether it be with problem solving scenarios or guest speakers.  Our students need to have the validity that what they are learning is going to be useful to them at some point in their future.

Blogging for Homework Help

If I were to implement blogging into my classroom, I would probably start the blog as a place where students could go to get homework help.  I teach high school math, and students are always looking for additional help.  In addition to offering help after school, I always tell my students to consult Google and YouTube for help as well.  In order to help with this process, I could create a blog that has examples of websites and videos that could help them for various units though out the term.  I would also encourage students to contribute by providing links that they find useful and to discuss challenging problems, major concepts, and study tips with each other.  The purpose of this blog would be to make the classroom accessible from home.  Whenever one of my students felt stressed out the night before a test or while they were doing their homework, I would hope that this blog could be a place that puts their mindset back in my classroom. 

New to Blogging

This is my first ever blog, and it is something that I have been meaning to do for a while.  Now that I am in a master's program that is requiring me to make a blog, I am finally doing it!  I am a high school math teacher who is interested in my subject area, integrating technology, and the teaching profession overall, so that is what I will mostly be blogging about!