|
|
|
|
|
Week 1 Response In my school building, technology instruction is currently considered a separate entity from the regular classroom. Many teachers do not view technology as a way to enhance their curriculum, they view it as a "specials" class once a week. I generally build my lessons from the topics teachers are covering in the classroom and base my curriculum around those themes. After reading Building a Bridge to Knowledge for Every Child by Pace & Gardner and A Hundred Times More Rewarding by Carrero, I often wonder if my district will ever achieve that kind of integration. In Pace & Gardner's King School, learning revolves around a central topic or theme and is generally project based. "Within the projects, students apply their knowledge and skills. Students sometimes work in cooperative groups where technology is a critical element in student's learning and is drawn upon in a natural and seamless way." (Pace & Gardner, p. 19-20, 1997) Technology is not currently a seamless way of discovering and learning in my school district. It is currently thought of a completely separate subject matter in it's own little box. I also dream of a time when students are responsible for creating portfolios as Alexis Carrero was at Central Park East Secondary School. She was responsible for creating a portfolio for 14 different subjects and then had to defend her portfolios to a committee of teachers and students. In the portfolios, students faced the challenges of solving problems pertaining to real issues within their surrounding community. (Carrero, p. 22-23, 1997) It's hard to imagine a time when my school district will function on such a level. However, all is not lost. My school district and the technology department is currently working on a program called CFTI, Curriculum F Technology Infusion. In this program, teachers go through the process of designing a technology based project to go along with the curriculum in their regular classroom. Teachers can take the course for a continuing education unit and essentially are given time to create an innovative project to use in their teaching. We've definitely got a long way to travel before we are collectively ready for electronic portfolios, but every journey begins with just one step.
Resources: Carrero, Alexis. "A Hundred Times More Rewarding." Live & Learn. Ed. Patty Burness. California: The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 1997. 22-23. Gardner, Howard & Pace, Judy. "Building a Bridge to Knowledge for Every Child." Live & Learn. Ed. Patty Burness. California: The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 1997. 19-20.
EDPSY 487 Week 2 Response Generally speaking, I really don't have any group work assignments for students while teaching in a 1st through 4th grade computer lab. I want the students to build a foundation of basic computer skills, which comes from practicing the steps over and over again. Because students don't receive a grade for my class, I haven't developed an official rubric to assess them in this way. When I assign curricular related projects, I like for each student to have their own finished project, which they take home as enrichment to their regular classroom curriculum. However, within the individual projects, I feel that I do try to incorporate a lot of the ideas seen the Exhibit 2 Dimensions of Collaboration. It's my hope that the foundation of skills we build in the lab will become conducive to group projects outside of the computer lab and in the future. In the computer lab, I try to encourage students to find the answers to their own questions. Often times, students will ask questions about skills we have already covered. It's not that they don't understand how to complete the task, but they are forgetting all the steps necessary in order to complete it. I have them show me which steps they do remember and they are often able to figure out which steps they're missing without me having to tell them. (Asking Questions, Analyzing the Task, Dimension 2) I also try to encourage students to use their neighbors as resources. I find this to be a positive situation for both the child who has the question and the child that helps share the answer. Sometimes, students will model a method that's different than the model I taught. This is great because it shows the students that there are several ways to perform the same tasks on the computer. Generally, once students know that sharing the procedures is okay, I rarely have to answer a question again. The students will say, "Oh, Miss Pacey I know how to do that. Let me tell them." It allows students to share their information while also providing them with the opportunity to explain how something is done. It's also a great tool because it allows for everyone to have the chance at being in the leadership role. (Sharing Resources, Explaining/Forming Arguments, Assigning and Adapting Roles, Dimension 2) References:
EDPSY 487 Week 3 Response Prior to my arrival in my current teaching position, the classroom teachers had no active involvement in what was taught in the computer lab. They simply left their students in the hands of the technology teacher. I really worked hard to change this way of thinking and open up computer lab as a way to enrich the current classroom curriculum. In the beginning of the year, many teachers were surprised when I inquired about themes in their curriculum and when such themes were taught throughout the year. It's my belief that they best way to teach my students the basic computer skills is to make the learning relevant to something they are currently learning. We began creating KidPix slideshows about the arctic, completing Internet searches on the Illinois state symbols, and Hyperstudio stacks on the solar system. From there, I can then refer to certain skills in the manner of, "remember when we did this in our solar system projects?" It helps give my students a frame of reference. They may not remember the steps to a skill when I say, "do you remember how to copy an image from the Internet and paste it into Hyperstudio?" Creating the link with a certain project helps them to remember skills we've already covered. I started to invite teachers to see our final projects and the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to go on for them. They are now beginning to realize that technology can be a rich way to enhance their curriculum. Towards the end of the year, some teachers began coming to me to ask if I could focus on a particular theme in their curriculum. A few teachers even abandoned their prep time to help participate and build the projects with their students. They started to sign their classes up for lab time beyond their instruction with me. My district has also begun to inservice teachers on building technology based projects to complete with their students to enrich the curriculum. We're trying to encourage teachers to try new activities and ways of teaching the material. While many teachers still shy away from the computer lab and the activities that go on there, it feels good to have just 2 or 3 teachers willing to try something new. My district is very fortunate to have active family involvement. You will often see parents in the hallway during the school day, we have an active PTO, and our lunchroom would not run if not for our parent volunteers. Upon completion of many of our computer projects, we invited parents to come to school and view our finished products. It was a wonderful experience to invite parents into my classroom to show off our hard work. Because students do not yet receive a grade for technology instruction on their report cards, it was a great way to share the knowledge we'd learned over the past year. Many parents were amazed at what their children had accomplished. At this time, our district is still working on community outreach. The district has a very tense relationship with the school board. There was a new election this spring in which four of the seven members were replaced. It is our hope that we will begin to build bridges between the new board and the district. References: Patty Burness, Learn & Live, (Nicasio, California: The George Lucas Educational Foundation) Chapters 3, 5, 6.
ED-PSY 487 Week 4 Reflection I feel that my district has really done an excellent job of ensuring high academic standards for all students. We provide a variety of services for many students with different needs. The following describes a few of the services available. Our district currently provides a English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The program works in many ways to benefit students and families where English is not the language spoken at home. Depending on the needs of the student, there is a site located in one school building for those with little or no English proficiency. Students are at the site for half a day for intensive English instruction and join their regular classrooms for the rest of the day. As students improve their language skills, they leave the ½ day program and work daily one on one with an adult tutor. The tutor also spends time in the regular classroom with the child. Our district also provides a Reading Intervention program. The main focus of the program is addressing the needs of young readers whose scores on two reading screening devices indicate a need for early intervention. Reading screening tools are also administered at various times in the year to monitor student improvement. Students targeted for support will receive instruction in small groups, individually, or within the classroom setting. Our district offers what is referred to as Curriculum Differentiation. The principles of differentiation include ongoing assessment and adjustment, flexible grouping for instruction, and respectful tasks that allow for differences among students. When teachers differentiate the curriculum, they adapt the content, process (or type of thinking required), products to show new learning, and the learning group or environment. Using a variety of instructional strategies, teachers guide the students through the essential concepts, principles, and skills of the District 39 curriculum. Our district also provides an opportunity for High School Seniors called the Senior Project. This occurs in the Spring of a studentís senior year in which they are placed in an internship for the last few months of school. Students can choose an area of interest and work closely with a business within our community. This spring, the Technology Director for my district used a high school student in the senior project. The student was responsible for creating and updating the inventory for all our computers as well as technical support for the buildings in the district. These are just a few of the services my district is offering to help ensure high academic standards. I do feel that my district is very conscious of meeting the needs for every child, whether it be through special education services or curriculum differentiation.
References: WPS #39 New Trier High School Senior Projects
Back to Homepage |