Question 1:
Laura Masters:
Question 2:
Question 3:
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Blog for the week: Complete reading Darling-Hammond (194-328) as time permits, but focus on her last chapter.
1. Meaningful learning goals
2. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems
3. Equitable and adequate resources
4. Strong professional standards and supports
5. Schools organized for student and teacher learning
Other Thoughts:
I have been on a mission to find high school teachers (specifically math teachers) using cell phones and other handheld personal devices in productive ways in their classrooms to engage students and hopefully increase achievement. If any of my Cohort 10 classmates come across videos or examples of teachers doing this, could you please share the link here on my blog, or email me any video links...thanks!!
After reading through the TPACK and ACOT material, I realized the area of most need for me is to improve and/or grow my methods and practices of using technology in my classroom in productive ways. Mishra & Koehler called this pedagogical technology knowledge (PTK) and it’s the “knowledge of the existence, components and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in teaching and learning settings, and conversely, knowing how teaching might change as the result of using particular technologies.” So….what does it mean to me? I have to be comfortable enough with my content, inside and out, that I can have the ability to know where quality infusion of technology would benefit my students. In addition...the resource of time is definitely underplayed in this article...having the time to explore new technologies, or how current technologies are being used by other teachers successfully, takes up an enormous amount of time. Switching gears slightly the video that I chose was of a high school English teacher using cell phones to gather data from her students about the lesson they had the day before: A. What is the nature of the case?
B. Share some descriptive details
C. What new and useful information did you learn?
D. Could you potentially use this lesson?
Rate the film experience: 4 Key elements I must include in my classroom to prepare my students for the future:
Other reflections/questions triggered from the readings:
Well, here we go. Some of my ramblings are direct reflections from something I read in the text, others come from something I read and it makes me think of other questions...
Thought one when reading the Forward: Should newcomers (and or struggling students) in our education adapt to our schools, or should our schools adapt to our newcomers? I'm not sure which of those populations bears the greater burden of helping those students adjust and succeed in our schools. It seems like the finger always gets pointed at the schools, but there is no way we can do it alone. It seems to me the goal is to close the widening achievement gap, but we can't do that at school alone. We need the support from home and "early" education before bad and/or unsuccessful habits are formed. What I mean by early education is two-fold: years 0-5 when students are at home and/or pre-school getting their informal education, and early elementary school getting their formal education. Thought two: The text claimed that work skills are constantly changing. Another question that prompted me to think of was how do we prepare kids for jobs that don’t exist? I don’t have the answer for this, but a quote that caught my attention, enough that I wrote it down, could be the beginning of the solution, “Schools must teach disciplinary knowledge in ways that focus on central concepts and help students learn how to think critically and learn for themselves.” (page 4) In my opinion, disciplinary knowledge is not the content of what you’re teaching, but the life skills, study skills that kids need to acquire knowledge. Skills such as, but not limited to: perseverance, grit, collaboration, curiosity, problem solving, independence, and oral and written communication. If we can get kids proficient at these skills then the can “think critically and learn for themselves” to adapt to whatever their new job might require. |