Looking Back and Looking Forward
Looking Back
So, here I am, sitting in front of my computer, reflecting on a month that seemed to take forever to complete, yet went by way too fast. It was two weeks of meeting new people, learning new technologies, grasping new ideas, and, most importantly, moving out of my comfort zone as an educator. I am thankful that we kept a daily journal, as there was so much information, I would never have remembered it all. MSUrbanSTEM focused on TPACK as a framework for our teaching, and, while only one-third of the framework, Technology is where we spent much of our time; let’s face it- there is no way that anyone in the cohort needs help with content knowledge, as I realized early on, and was intimidated by the intelligence of my peers. The other area that we spent time was on the pedagogy of teaching, which mainly consisted of reading articles on the subject. Most of the concepts covered in the articles were things that I’ve personally seen and heard before, but were good to revisit, as you never know when an idea will become relevant to you personally.
Technologies in the classroom
I’ve always liked the idea of using technology in the classroom. In fact, in spite of the limitations of CPS, and my own limitations, I’ve consistently used technologies that were available to me. Math has always been challenging to find ways to implement technologies, though. It’s been difficult to get around using a pencil and paper to show your daily work. Through the use of document cameras and overhead projectors, it’s gotten easier to bring student work to the board. However, to increase student engagement even more, more ideas are needed that incorporate technology. In the two weeks, I learned new ideas for students to incorporate technology into their work that I never thought to even consider trying.
Tagxedo, EDpuzzle, Screencast-o-matic, Storify, Imgflip meme generator, Doceri, Youtube editor, Weebly, Pow Toon, Twitter, Facebook: These are just some of the learning tools we discovered in our two week adventure together. The key to successfully using technology in the classroom is understanding your classroom learning environment, so you may choose appropriate technologies to implement. For example, in the beginning of our cohort, I decided that I wanted to try the flipped classroom to increase student engagement, but I soon realized that with a 90 minute class, a flipped classroom might exasperate the problem.
Pedagogy in the Classroom
The pedagogical aspect of the cohort, as I mentioned above, consisted mainly of reading articles and discussing them in class. I chose three articles that spoke to me to review here:
Disciplining the Mind: by Veronica Boix Mansilla and Howard Gardner
“Having information is much less valuable than knowing how to think with information in novel situations.” This article seems to the thinking behind PARCC testing. Students need to be able to call upon knowledge to solve problems in unique ways, not just the pre-determined scope of math class...
Too cool for school? No way! Using the TPACK framework: You can have your hot tools and teach with them, too. Mishra, P. & Koehler. M. J. “Teachers need to develop a willingness to play with technologies and an openness to building new experiences for students so that fun, cool tools can be educational.” This article is pretty self explanatory- Find ways to incorporate the latest technology into your classroom, to deliver the material in a tech-savvy way.
Learning from Creative Teachers: Danah Henriksen and Punya Mishra The five approaches listed in this article were:
1. Connect Your Interests with Your Teaching : For me, this is something I already do when teaching integers to my seventh graders. One of my passions is competitive golf, where the fewest number of strokes to complete a tournament wins. Scores are compared to par (usually around 72 shots) using positive and negative numbers. For example, on a par 72 course, a score of 68 would be considered -4, 69 would be -3 and so on. 72 would be even (E) par. Any score above par would be denoted with a + sign, so a 74 would be +2, 76 would be +4, and so on...
2. Link Lessons to Real-World Learning; ...also something I already do on a regular basis....
3. Cultivate a Creative Mind-Set: This area was an eye opener, and something that I felt that MSUrbanSTEM really valued and worked to instill in cohort three. The idea of having a creative mindset is one of the main takeaways from Cosmos for me.
4. Value Collaboration: something else I already try to do as much as is possible...
5. Take Intellectual Risks: I’m always looking to try out new ideas; MSUrbanSTEM is helping me more carefully choose new ideas that really connect to my teaching in authentic ways. Ideas without any real purpose or connection to the subject matter and pedagogy will most likely fail. Thoughtfully choosing ideas, and carefully planning their implementation will create more meaningful learning opportunities for students.
Looking Forward
As I sit here reflecting on our summer, I realize how much I really needed MSUrbanSTEM. After thirteen years, my teaching had gotten stale. The reasons why don’t really matter. I felt uninspired, and really was looking for something to re-ignite the fire inside of me that drove me to go the extra mile for my students and for my craft. Sitting here, I am filled with hope and anticipation of the new year, and the possibilities of affecting my students in ways that I have been affected. My goals for myself are simple: By incorporating technology in meaningful ways, I want to keep fostering the curious, creative mindset in my students that MSUrbanSTEM re-ignited in me.
Looking Back
So, here I am, sitting in front of my computer, reflecting on a month that seemed to take forever to complete, yet went by way too fast. It was two weeks of meeting new people, learning new technologies, grasping new ideas, and, most importantly, moving out of my comfort zone as an educator. I am thankful that we kept a daily journal, as there was so much information, I would never have remembered it all. MSUrbanSTEM focused on TPACK as a framework for our teaching, and, while only one-third of the framework, Technology is where we spent much of our time; let’s face it- there is no way that anyone in the cohort needs help with content knowledge, as I realized early on, and was intimidated by the intelligence of my peers. The other area that we spent time was on the pedagogy of teaching, which mainly consisted of reading articles on the subject. Most of the concepts covered in the articles were things that I’ve personally seen and heard before, but were good to revisit, as you never know when an idea will become relevant to you personally.
Technologies in the classroom
I’ve always liked the idea of using technology in the classroom. In fact, in spite of the limitations of CPS, and my own limitations, I’ve consistently used technologies that were available to me. Math has always been challenging to find ways to implement technologies, though. It’s been difficult to get around using a pencil and paper to show your daily work. Through the use of document cameras and overhead projectors, it’s gotten easier to bring student work to the board. However, to increase student engagement even more, more ideas are needed that incorporate technology. In the two weeks, I learned new ideas for students to incorporate technology into their work that I never thought to even consider trying.
Tagxedo, EDpuzzle, Screencast-o-matic, Storify, Imgflip meme generator, Doceri, Youtube editor, Weebly, Pow Toon, Twitter, Facebook: These are just some of the learning tools we discovered in our two week adventure together. The key to successfully using technology in the classroom is understanding your classroom learning environment, so you may choose appropriate technologies to implement. For example, in the beginning of our cohort, I decided that I wanted to try the flipped classroom to increase student engagement, but I soon realized that with a 90 minute class, a flipped classroom might exasperate the problem.
Pedagogy in the Classroom
The pedagogical aspect of the cohort, as I mentioned above, consisted mainly of reading articles and discussing them in class. I chose three articles that spoke to me to review here:
Disciplining the Mind: by Veronica Boix Mansilla and Howard Gardner
“Having information is much less valuable than knowing how to think with information in novel situations.” This article seems to the thinking behind PARCC testing. Students need to be able to call upon knowledge to solve problems in unique ways, not just the pre-determined scope of math class...
Too cool for school? No way! Using the TPACK framework: You can have your hot tools and teach with them, too. Mishra, P. & Koehler. M. J. “Teachers need to develop a willingness to play with technologies and an openness to building new experiences for students so that fun, cool tools can be educational.” This article is pretty self explanatory- Find ways to incorporate the latest technology into your classroom, to deliver the material in a tech-savvy way.
Learning from Creative Teachers: Danah Henriksen and Punya Mishra The five approaches listed in this article were:
1. Connect Your Interests with Your Teaching : For me, this is something I already do when teaching integers to my seventh graders. One of my passions is competitive golf, where the fewest number of strokes to complete a tournament wins. Scores are compared to par (usually around 72 shots) using positive and negative numbers. For example, on a par 72 course, a score of 68 would be considered -4, 69 would be -3 and so on. 72 would be even (E) par. Any score above par would be denoted with a + sign, so a 74 would be +2, 76 would be +4, and so on...
2. Link Lessons to Real-World Learning; ...also something I already do on a regular basis....
3. Cultivate a Creative Mind-Set: This area was an eye opener, and something that I felt that MSUrbanSTEM really valued and worked to instill in cohort three. The idea of having a creative mindset is one of the main takeaways from Cosmos for me.
4. Value Collaboration: something else I already try to do as much as is possible...
5. Take Intellectual Risks: I’m always looking to try out new ideas; MSUrbanSTEM is helping me more carefully choose new ideas that really connect to my teaching in authentic ways. Ideas without any real purpose or connection to the subject matter and pedagogy will most likely fail. Thoughtfully choosing ideas, and carefully planning their implementation will create more meaningful learning opportunities for students.
Looking Forward
As I sit here reflecting on our summer, I realize how much I really needed MSUrbanSTEM. After thirteen years, my teaching had gotten stale. The reasons why don’t really matter. I felt uninspired, and really was looking for something to re-ignite the fire inside of me that drove me to go the extra mile for my students and for my craft. Sitting here, I am filled with hope and anticipation of the new year, and the possibilities of affecting my students in ways that I have been affected. My goals for myself are simple: By incorporating technology in meaningful ways, I want to keep fostering the curious, creative mindset in my students that MSUrbanSTEM re-ignited in me.