Phase 3

My understanding of the Technology and Global Citizenship Standards, different from the standards I have studied for the past 2 years, was limited when I began this class.  These Technology Standards include:

Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
            Standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
            Standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
            Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

As the semester progressed, I have realized that the students’ learning is a priority when designing lesson plans.  Thorough planning is key to a successful learning experience.  Content may be unfamiliar as a new teacher, but careful planning, varied learning techniques, and differentiated assessments will help facilitate understanding and personal connections for each student.  Using technology as an attention-getter, a tool for modeling, a way for students to expand their understanding, and as a learning tool can assist students develop their learning in a familiar learning environment.  Today, students have more access to technology than in previous years and has become integral in their lives.  As a teacher, it is important to incorporate this advancing tool into the student’s learning.  It supports individual learning and encourages collaborative group work making assignments accessible to many students.  Using programs such Glogster allows students to be creative as they independently assess their own learning.  It will also be important to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility by teaching and repeating rules that keep the environment safe and productive.  These rules will include proper websites usage, responsible use of information from web materials, and proper social etiquette to discourage cyber-bullying and improper behavior.

Students’ understanding increases with technology that engages students with visual and hands-on learning.  Games that can connect learning with understanding encourages struggling students and also gives excelling students an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills such as applying a concept to a personal project or reflecting in a writing assignment what has been learned. Technology mixes auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning to provide varied options for progressing learners. 

My peers gave fresh perspective while collaborating many ideas for team lessons. When working in groups, it is important to realize that each individual needs to communicate in a positive manner ideas so that as a group, ideas are carefully considered for a complete project. Each person has a different work ethic as well as a different approach based on individual experiences.  These qualities add to a positive experience when collaborating on a group lesson.  There needs to be an attitude of cooperation, adaptation, enthusiasm, and compromise when creating an innovative lesson that will appeal to all types of learners.  Within a group, lessons need to contain detailed directions, alignment between the standards, objectives, and formative assessments, and creative techniques to engage each student.  Feedback, both positive and ‘changes’ becomes important as a teacher reflects on the impact the lesson had on his/her students and the connections that were made. 

As a future teacher and life-long learner, I am excited to incorporate technology within my lesson content.  Most students have interacted with computers, smart phones, or tablets by the time they begin their schooling.  Technology incorporated into the classroom via reading, writing, and extensions in other subjects will engage the students in their learning.  With websites such as Weebly and Blogger, I can connect and interact with not only my students, but also with their parents and caregivers.  I look forward to using technology in my classroom to enable my students to have a positive and exciting learning experience.

Phase 2

Instructional Decisions/Teaching

My lesson plan was very detailed, allowing for me to explain each step of the lesson.  For young students, it will be important to keep the instruction simple as one objective could be broken into two or three mini lessons.  Young kindergartners and first graders will not  have much “prior experience”, so it will be important to establish a foundation for further understanding.  I started my lesson with a short, animated video that introduced the concept of graphing data and the definition of “graph” and “data”.  This would help facilitate understanding as the objective of organizing and representing data with categories is met.  The goal of collecting and recording data is simplified as students count and record with manipulatives the animals that have ‘escaped the Zoo’, something most students would understand.  Even at a young age, most students can identify animals and give them their proper name.  Those who struggle with vocabulary could easily learn the name of four animals with proper words and corresponding pictures.

Assessment of Learning:

Assessment would be continuous throughout the lesson.  In the pre-assessment stage, I would  make sure all students participated as they were grouped according to what they ate for breakfast.  I would have visual pictures on the board of different breakfast foods to help with vocabulary connections.  As we created a class graph of our “data”, I would ask various students to help create the graph, both using the Unifix cubes and also on the wipe-board. As we collected and graphed the animals, it would be important to go around and talk with the individual groups, making sure they understood the connections between the number of animals and the Unifix cubes that represented that same number.  As a class, I had planned to combine the group numbers and complete another class graph of all the animals.  After reviewing my peer comments, I would modify this part of the lesson.  For first graders, this might be confusing when they moved on to the technology part of the lesson which asked them to make their own graph of the escaped animals.  Another suggestion that I would incorporate would be the coloring of their own graphs with the data of the smaller groups.  This would also help with the transition to technology.  To meet the needs of those struggling with the spelling of the animals, another suggestion was to include an image in the middle of the circle along with the name of the animal.

Assessment Examples:

There are two separate assessments that would assist me as a teacher to make sure that there is a solid foundation of organizing and representing data.  The first would be the colored charts of the group’s collected data.  The second would be the print-out of the website graph.  The end results of both should be the same.  As I looked over these assessments, I would be able to identify which students needed more instructions and also provide me with feedback on how to proceed with various parts of the measurement and data standards.

Phase 1

Assessing Prior Knowledge:

First graders will have little prior knowledge as a teacher presents a lesson focused on the Arizona Math Standard 1.MD.C.4, “organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories”.  Prior knowledge could be assessed by asking the students to form groups based on what they ate for breakfast that morning.  After collecting the information and writing it on the board, I would ask the students to answer the following questions with a thumbs up or thumbs down answer:

1. By looking at the newly created graph, can you tell me which breakfast was the most popular?  (Thumbs up if they know the answer, thumbs down if they don’t.)
2. Did anyone have “(insert one breakfast) for their breakfast today?  (Thumbs up if they could look at the graph and give the answer, thumbs down if they can’t see the answer on the graph.)

By looking around the room as the children answered the questions, I would be able to assess prior knowledge of graphs, how they are created, and how to interpret the details on the graph.  As we discussed our classroom results I would be able to plan learning activities that would help struggling students understand and make connections with data/graphs that are created with everyday objects.

 

Plans Instruction:

My goals, objectives, and outcomes are appropriate for first graders and align with the Measurement/Data standards outlined.  My objective clearly states that students will organize groups and create data that will represent each group.  This includes using a real-life example of animals escaping at the zoo and organizing the data into easily identified groups of four.  Students will be able to see the total number in each group visually.

 

Designing Instruction:

After a collaborative discussion with the whole class on grouping breakfast foods, including various ways a graph can be interpreted, I would model linking the information with the results using Unifix Cubes.  As a class we would decide a color to represent each breakfast food and create “logs” of cubes to represent our data.  Before giving each group their animals and cubes, safety instruction would need to be discussed for small manipulatives (both animals and cubes).  With these manipulatives, I can help young students understand and make the connections between organizing information/data and representing that data on a graph. We would discuss using Unifix Cubes as a representation of the collected data.  By using a graph maker found on www.(address), technology integration could help extend the understanding of organizing and representation of data on graphs.

Technology instruction would include a safety discussion before the use of making the graphs.  This would address the safe use of computers and also the importance of following the policies of the school.  If students needed to work in groups, we would discuss computer etiquette and manners as well.  By allowing the students to work in small groups and then individually, the diverse needs of learners as struggling students could be addressed by practicing with graphs of various animal groups.  At the end of the lesson, I would ask the students how graphs could be used in the school, the community, or even the world.  This would also integrate technology as students could understand that data can be collected everywhere are depicted in graphs.  

 

Planning Assessment:

The technology link will also be used as the assessment.  As a class, we will create a graph with all the “animals that escaped” as a model for their technology activity.  This links their new knowledge with the objective of creating a graph with grouped objects.  By creating their own graph, students will demonstrate both comprehension of the data collected and application of the data into new graphs created on the computer.  This activity meets individual students’ needs by utilizing group discussion and activities (auditory learners), modeling what is expected and creating a class graph (visual learners), and generating their own graphs with collected data (hands-on learners).  By observing the work of the students as they create and hand in their graphs, I will be able to assess for interpretation and understanding of the presented content.
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx

 

Global Citizenship Post #4

Meeting Diverse Needs of Learners Through

Learner-Centered Strategies and Equitable Access

Students want to learn when they see relevance in their own lives through personal connections.  An effective teacher will differentiate their teaching strategies because they realize that students learn at different levels and through different techniques.  Technology is a great tool in assisting students connect their experiences in the classroom to prior learning.  This can be done as independent work or in simple learning centers.  Students can work though learning-based activities to reinforce vocabulary by mixing pictures, sound, and text, or assist in teaching hard to understand topics in math or science.  Allowing students to work during class or providing extra time to work on computer-based activities in an integral part of each lesson plan that uses technology as a learning component.  As quoted in an article, Literacy in the Digital Age, “computers at schools substantially narrow the gap in usage rates for children from high- and low-income families”. 

 

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/cnc.html

Global Citizenship Post #3

Global Awareness and Digital-Age Communication

Communication in the digital age is fast-paced, continually changing, and reaching all areas of the globe.  It has changed how businesses connect with customers and clients by communicating in different languages and navigating various customs.  Digital communication has replaced the standard phones, pen and paper letters, and writing on the traditional chalkboard.  The digital revolution finds most of us talking or texting on a cell phone, writing on keyboards, and taking notes on digital devices that can later be downloaded and shared with a circle of friends.  Communicating through texting or the shorter version, Twitter, limits the ability to expand verbal and written skills.  Words become emotionless as individual lose the ability to communicate one-to-one, looking for non-verbal cues as a way to enhance personal dialog.  As a teacher, it would be important to emphasize listening skills within groups as students learn to verbalize their ideas, listen to others, and work to collaborate in a positive atmosphere. 

 

    

Global awareness is acquired as students are given opportunities to work with and learn about cultures and individuals with different backgrounds, values, and beliefs. Teachers can encourage the acceptance of all types of individuals with positive experiences through the use of technology.  Students begin to understand that through this technology, interconnections can be positive or negative, and affect all individuals through-out the world as news of current events is easily accessible and becomes an integral part of learning about global relationships.

http://smallhandsbigideas.com/generation-y/communication-in-the-digital-age-lost-in-translation/

http://crazedandwild.blogspot.com/2014/01/global-awareness-and-digital-age.html

http://pict.sdsu.edu/engauge21st.pdf