I want to start by saying these videos were extremely helpful in a way that is difficult for those of us just getting into our education classes. It is hard to know exactly what we are getting ourselves into, but these videos showed the inside scoop of what it actually means to be a teacher and how to teach effectively. Here are a few things I learned from Dr. Strange's and Anthony Capps's conversations.
-Create a project that has an audience, student interest, community, and content that follows ACCRS standards.
A project that Capps did was writing letters to congressmen. The students were given a topic that they were able to research and then they peer reviewed each other's letters. Only eight letters were chosen to actually send off. I think this is a great way to incorporate both history and writing, and it also gives the students a feeling of doing something important and being heard.
Project Based Learning: Part 2
-You have to listen and include parents.
-Never limit students' ideas and creativity.
-Take students' opinions about the projects into consideration for future classes.
I think parents are always the ultimate "say-so". If they are not comfortable with their children researching a specific topic, then as the teacher you have to respect that (as Capps had to do). Also, you should never limit a student. Let them dream and create in their own way.
iCurio
iCurio is basically an online search engine that is safe and appropriate for school-aged children. It has texts, pictures, and videos. It also has a storage capacity so students can save certain resources to look at later. I think that is my favorite part about iCurio because it enables students to start becoming more organized. I also thought it was pretty cool how there was a read-along feature. If a student comes across a word they do not know how to pronounce, this feature could help them.
Discovery Education
I think this is a great tool. (My mother has even told me about this before-she loves it!) It enables the teacher to bring experts into the classroom via video and it can help bring certain texts to life for the students. Most students are listeners and watchers, which Dr. Strange pointed out in the video, so these types of things can really help positively impact student participation.
The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teacher Part 1
1. Be interested in learning as a teacher!
2. Teaching is a constant process. It does not stop once you get home.
3. You have to be creative and flexible when things go wrong.
4. Start with an end goal, but sometimes you have to flexible to get there.
5. You need 100% student engagement in everything you do! Figure out a way to make this happen!
6. Have time to reflect your work or your students' work with an audience.
Use Tech, Don't Teach It
You cannot teach technology in the classroom; allow the students to figure it out for themselves. Because you should not teach the technology, do NOT expect perfection. Throughout your lessons, use one tool at a time like building blocks. One week might have a lesson that needs to be researched by the students. The next week, allow them to research and then make a video of their reflections, etc. Lastly, always do it yourself first. You cannot know if it works, if you have not tried it. This is the best way to use technology in the classroom.
Additional Thoughts About Lessons
I though this was a great video. It helped put things in perspective for me. Capps described to the viewers that a lesson is at least four layers thick. The all-inclusive layer is meeting the Alabama standards for the year. Every lesson should be centered on this. The next lesson is the unit size- how long will it take to cover this one standard? The next layer is the week- what can you do over that week to ensure students are getting what they need? The final layer is the daily lesson. Is this lesson going to help a student master this one aspect and put it towards the lesson tomorrow? The way Capps described lessons makes it not seem so overwhelming, which is extremely helpful to me.
All of these videos help me understand what it really means to be a teacher- all of the work and the progress that has to be made every step of the way. I feel as though being a teacher is one of the most important professions out there. We are shaping the future, and we better do it right. The videos above have pushed us in the right direction to be able to do this.
As always, thanks for reading!
Jennah Rose
Jennah,
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed reading your post from last week! I couldn't agree with you more that it is so important for us educators to continue learning even when we're teaching. I learned a lot from these videos with Anthony Capps, and I can tell that you did, too. I also believe it is really important to USE technology as frequently as possible in the classroom, instead of just trying to TEACH it to your students. I used an example in my blog where I compared learning to use technology to learning to ride a bike. You can't learn it without just doing it! Great job on your blog! Just watch the spelling of your words-in your last paragraph, you typed "though" instead of "thought". That happens to me ALL the time! Just be careful. :)
-Catherine Stalvey
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYour analogy with the bicycle is a perfect example. It also goes back to the Professor Dancealot video we watched at the beginning of the semester. You really have to practice something to be good at it! As for the "though", I did mean to write "though" but thank you for looking out for me in such a nice way! :)
Well done!
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