Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach.
Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?
For this blog I would like to use a hypothetical classroom talking about natural resources. This would be set for a fifth grade science classroom. I wrote a used a lesson about this in my science methods class and it went very well.
First, I would introduce natural resources. I would ask students what they knew about natural resources, this would include definitions and examples.
Next, I would have students spend a few minutes writing down why they think natural resources are important and if they think they are at risk of running out.
After having some time to individually reflect I would have the class come back together and share their ideas about natural resources.
After this discussion we would do a short activity showing students how natural resources are at risk and how we need to share them among all citizens. This activity involves using M&Ms as fish in a lake and over fishing.
Lastly, I would ask students to apply what they've learned to other topics in the real world. I would ask for other examples of natural resources other than fish or animals. I would also ask what we can do to help save our natural resources.
This activity would help students explore what they think about natural resources and how we should use them. I've included a link that lays out constructivism pretty simply. This is helpful since we're learning so many different learning theories to keep them straight! http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism_in_the_Classroom
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Chapter 6
What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?
How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?
I want my students to be able to relate previous knowledge to the material we are learning in class and then relate that to future lessons. I think it's important for them to be active learners, so I will constantly ask my students questions to check for understanding. I will also try to give lessons in different ways and try to connect what they're learning to the real world.
I also want my students to be able to make not only academic connections, but emotional connections to material we are learning in class. As we covered in the teaching projects, students are more likely to remember material that has some sort of meaning behind it. Giving students enough time to share stories will not only help them verbalize their own connections, but may trigger memories that other students have.
I think that linking ideas helps students remember things well. For example, when I was in high school we had to make concept webs in my microbiology class. I would remember topics that went together because I literally linked them on my paper. I remembered this flow of ideas and also remembered the way that my concept web looked (I tend to be a pretty visual learner).
How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?
I want my students to be able to relate previous knowledge to the material we are learning in class and then relate that to future lessons. I think it's important for them to be active learners, so I will constantly ask my students questions to check for understanding. I will also try to give lessons in different ways and try to connect what they're learning to the real world.
I also want my students to be able to make not only academic connections, but emotional connections to material we are learning in class. As we covered in the teaching projects, students are more likely to remember material that has some sort of meaning behind it. Giving students enough time to share stories will not only help them verbalize their own connections, but may trigger memories that other students have.
I think that linking ideas helps students remember things well. For example, when I was in high school we had to make concept webs in my microbiology class. I would remember topics that went together because I literally linked them on my paper. I remembered this flow of ideas and also remembered the way that my concept web looked (I tend to be a pretty visual learner).
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Assessment
Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area. Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.
In my teaching rotation I am able to observe a math lesson at Mooreland Heights Elementary School. I previously didn't feel very comfortable about teaching math, but by watching Ms. Hutson, my mentor, I have found some confidence. Most of her lessons follow the same format, something that I wish to do when I'm a teacher. I think it gets the kids in a good routine and makes them feel comfortable with topics and also some of the forms of assessment I am going to discuss.
For the sake of this blog I will say we're learning about adding and multiplying fractions in a fifth grade class (that is what we're doing at MHES). As most of us know, fractions can be a pretty scary topic and can be confusing so I think it's a great topic to be assessed in frequently, so no one will get left behind.
Below I have stated some of the different types of assessment I will use when teaching fifth graders about math.
-Have some sort of "bell ringer" work that reviews topics from the previous day. This was I can see if students need a little extra time to review what they learned in the previous lesson or if they feel comfortable to move on. This is informal assessment.
- Frequently throughout the lesson have students show me "thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs in the middle" as an indicator of how well they understand what's going on. When I first heard my mentor teacher doing this I thought it may not be accurate beacuse students would be embarrassed or shy to say that they are struggling, but I've found that even with fifth grade they're not afraid to ask for help! This is also an informal assessment.
- Students will work individually on whiteboards when I present a problem on the smartboard or main whiteboard. I will have students hold up their whiteboards when they are done so I can see how they're doing. If possible I will have a co-teacher walking around checking everyone's work and taking notes of how they're progressing. Again, this is informal assessment.
- I will present students with a real life situation involving fractions... I'm thinking along the lines of a Hershey's chocolate bar, or pizza slices, and see if they can apply what they've learned to a real life situation. Informal assessment.
- Lastly I will give my students a formal quiz or test at the end of the unit over adding and subtracting fractions. Even though this will be a formal test I will be sure to do what I can to make my students feel at ease, like giving them their white boards to work out problems or drawing a picture if they need it. This is a formal assessment.
I've included a link that has a great, extensive list of informal assessments for math lessons. Some are strategies that I have mentioned in my assessment ideas and there are a lot of new strategies as well! This would be a great link to bookmark. http://loticonnection.cachefly.net/iste_2010/Informal_Assessment_Strategies.pdf
In my teaching rotation I am able to observe a math lesson at Mooreland Heights Elementary School. I previously didn't feel very comfortable about teaching math, but by watching Ms. Hutson, my mentor, I have found some confidence. Most of her lessons follow the same format, something that I wish to do when I'm a teacher. I think it gets the kids in a good routine and makes them feel comfortable with topics and also some of the forms of assessment I am going to discuss.
For the sake of this blog I will say we're learning about adding and multiplying fractions in a fifth grade class (that is what we're doing at MHES). As most of us know, fractions can be a pretty scary topic and can be confusing so I think it's a great topic to be assessed in frequently, so no one will get left behind.
Below I have stated some of the different types of assessment I will use when teaching fifth graders about math.
-Have some sort of "bell ringer" work that reviews topics from the previous day. This was I can see if students need a little extra time to review what they learned in the previous lesson or if they feel comfortable to move on. This is informal assessment.
- Frequently throughout the lesson have students show me "thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs in the middle" as an indicator of how well they understand what's going on. When I first heard my mentor teacher doing this I thought it may not be accurate beacuse students would be embarrassed or shy to say that they are struggling, but I've found that even with fifth grade they're not afraid to ask for help! This is also an informal assessment.
- Students will work individually on whiteboards when I present a problem on the smartboard or main whiteboard. I will have students hold up their whiteboards when they are done so I can see how they're doing. If possible I will have a co-teacher walking around checking everyone's work and taking notes of how they're progressing. Again, this is informal assessment.
- I will present students with a real life situation involving fractions... I'm thinking along the lines of a Hershey's chocolate bar, or pizza slices, and see if they can apply what they've learned to a real life situation. Informal assessment.
- Lastly I will give my students a formal quiz or test at the end of the unit over adding and subtracting fractions. Even though this will be a formal test I will be sure to do what I can to make my students feel at ease, like giving them their white boards to work out problems or drawing a picture if they need it. This is a formal assessment.
I've included a link that has a great, extensive list of informal assessments for math lessons. Some are strategies that I have mentioned in my assessment ideas and there are a lot of new strategies as well! This would be a great link to bookmark. http://loticonnection.cachefly.net/iste_2010/Informal_Assessment_Strategies.pdf
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