VoiceThread

          Just to get a few things out of the way… here’s a big apology for my voicethread.  I am definitely still pretty shaky on creating them, and I felt very limited on what I could do with the program.  Simple edits and cuts all need to be made before creating the voicethread and that became problematic.  After I created this one for our class, I spent more time creating a second (with calculus problems) and it seemed a little easier.  Perhaps over time I will grow use to the setup and find ways to incorporate threads into my lessons. Click for my voicethread: HERE!

Now… on to the blog topic!

            We research a few instructional strategies this week which correlated with our study of social learning theories.  Of these strategies, the first was social constructivism which Dr. Orey (2010) states is “based on specific assumptions about reality, knowledge, and learning” (p. 56). This strategy (if not already evident by it’s name) is very centered around social learning.  Constructivists think learning happens through social means when people work together to create their own knowledge.  Everything about it lines right up with the social learning theories. 

            Cooperative learning was another one of the strategies we read about this week.  This one is often used in my room and is definitely the key to helping students understand.  Students can work together to solve problems and lead each other through barriers.  This works best when groups are small and I like to keep my groups as low as two or three when they are working together on problems. 

            These strategies all correlate to social learning theories in the fact that students learn best when working with and presenting to their peers.  By teaching a lesson to someone else, a student can grasp so much more than they could just learning individually by way of lecture.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.

Orey, M. (2010). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

working in the "Real-World"

            One of the toughest things about being a math teacher is finding activities (such as virtual field trips and webquests) to facilitate the curriculum we need to cover.  History and English both have so many avenues for discovery in the writing world and through field trips; it’s difficult to find a place for math classes to go.  On the flip side of that, math teachers are really lucky when it comes to problem-based and project-based instruction.  Nothing feels better than giving a students a problem with real-world applications… because so often they’ve already made up their minds about the usefulness of math! 

            After reading through our resources for class this week, I found several ideas through a few amazing websites.  The first was Webquest Design Patterns (courtesy of our professor: Kathryn Arnold) and another was the virtual filing cabinet of Sam Shaw, a teacher from New York.  These websites have great ideas for project/problem-based instruction and I’ve spent a lot of time sifting through hundreds of great ideas.  Using the constructionist views Dr. Orey (2011) talked about, it makes sense that students will understand and focus more when they are creating and building their own problems.  People learn more when they are involved in some kind of building process with a concept.  A real-world task not only gets our students building solutions, but they also find the information to be more important when it is attached to something concrete in our world.  Finding the volume of a rectangular prism is one thing, but creating a swimming pool with maximum volume while on a budget, is something students will connect meaning to.

            In Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn’s (2012) book, they talk about different techniques for testing hypotheses and technological tools to enhance these experiences. Spreadsheet software can help students gather and analyze data much quicker in real-world situations.  In the end, these spreadsheets help the students learn the content by letting them predict and analyze the outcomes of different problems. Technology can really boast our lessons by providing incentive for our students to collect and analyze data, hypothesize and prove trends through problem-based instruction. 

-Kate

"An expert problem solver must be endowed with two incompatible quantities: a restless imagination and a patient pertinacity."

~Howard W. Even 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

cues and questions and summaries... oh my!

Well folks, here we are again! And of course, you can’t read my blog without submitting your opinion in my survey (over on the left side).  I kept the results to my last poll posted- so if you voted last week, check it out! 

      Just as a recap (in case you’re not one of my fellow 6711 classmates), we’re reading through a few chapters in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (here’s a PDF version) and discussing the relationships between these instructional strategies and cognitive learning theories. 

       In the first section, Pitler, Hubbell and Kuhn discuss cues, questions, and advanced organizers; these strategies focus on “enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (p. 73).   When seeing these strategies, it’s easy to come up with example for each strategy, but the trick is to create questions and cues that encourage higher-order thinking.  For example, if you were to use brainstorming software and ask students to create a concept map of different types of triangles, every kid will only have three or four pieces.  But if you ask those same students to create a concept map of everything they know about triangles, there will be many more connections and it would look something like this:

http://sheilamorr.weebly.com/triangle-unit.html

     Summarizing and note taking were the strategies from the second chapter our class reviewed. These strategies are significant because students have to understand that the content they are reviewing is important.   Dr. Orey talks about how every piece of information is linked to another and that is how students retain concepts in their brains.  Other senses can help enhance memory (dual-coding), such as smell or sight.  We should use different visual presentations to help students enhance their long-term memory. Students store information in their long-term memory when they deem it of some importance, and when they see the information presented in a multitude of ways, it helps create links from one application to another.  As Novak puts it, “in rote learning, there is little or no integration of new knowledge with existing knowledge” (p. 6); without these connections, students will easily forget the concepts they learn.   For a fun example of how it feels when your instructional technique is NOT working… CLICK HERE!

     By using multiple forms of note-taking, instructing with higher-level questioning and cues, and continually having students summarizing what they are learning, I can ensure that they are learning the information I present.  And on the other hand, by switching up our instructional strategies, we’re helping ourselves too!  Nothing is worse than falling so deep into a regimented pattern that you don’t realize you’ve become one of “those” teachers.

-Kate

"The one real goal of education is to leave a person asking questions."

-Max Beerhohm

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.  

Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism

     Alright folks… weigh in with your opinions over on the left side of my blog.  The question: Is homework necessary for our students? Quick! Vote before you read my post! I don’t want to sway your mind in any way!

       Okay. Are you done voting? Great. How do I feel about it? Well, as a math teacher, I would shout it from the rooftops, YES! I really believe that homework is the best way for students to practice concepts they learn and commit those concepts to their memories.  Experience is the best way for the brain to learn, so when students are doing problems on their own, without the help of a teacher, they are having little experiences with each question and are slowly binding things to memory.  It’s no secret that doing something multiple times helps someone master a task.  This notion goes hand-in-hand with those ideas of behavior theorists like Skinner, Pavlov, Watson and Thorndike.  For those of you who don’t know the basic concepts of behaviorism, operant conditioning, and positive/negative reinforcement, you might wish to take about two minutes and watch a fun example… click HERE!! 

       Now, while I agree that homework is a great tool to use for practice, I don’t believe it should be the main focus of every class.  Behaviorism (if your still a little fuzzy on what ‘Behaviorism’ is all about, check out this great article by George Graham of Stanford) is one of several learning theories in education; the main argument is that learning can happen best through repetition, practice, and conditioning.  When students are practicing concepts, they are creating a sort of ‘muscle memory’ for the brain.  Practice makes perfect because the more someone practices, the less likely that person is to make the same mistake twice.  In math, most students learn by making mistakes.  Once that mistake is corrected, the student is much less likely to make the same one again. 

       Using feedback and recognition was the second part of the resource we were to link to behaviorist theories.  This one, to me, is a no-brainer.  Not only do students perform better when they are given recognition, but they also learn better.  Going back to the short video at the beginning of my post, by recognizing good behavior, Sheldon was able to reinforce Penny’s efforts to be respectful.  Now, of course we’ve all seen negative reinforcements, but it’s obvious that students will respond better to positive reinforcement. Having students brag up their talents on a website will push them to give more effort.  Here’s a great example of high school students collaborating with teachers for a math video and then setting it up on their YouTube channel. CLICK ME!

      Recognition and reinforcements bring a lot of students a long way, and as for homework and practice, we have to remember that there are other alternatives to homework that also stay consistent with the behaviorist theory; group work is a great way to get students collaborating while using practice to reinforce the information they are learning.  Homework should be used to help the students, not punish them… so if we as teachers keep that in mind, then the practice will be beneficial.  If we abuse this power of conditioning and practice, the benefits go right out the window. 

-Kate

“The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.”

-B. F. Skinner

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.

looking back to move *forward*

            A few short weeks ago, I started a class, which has totally changed my perspective of incorporating technology into my lessons.  I learned how to set up and use a wiki, blog (obviously), podcast and other resources.  A few of these things, I already knew how to use, but I had no idea how to incorporate the use of them into my lessons and classroom.   Now, I have so many new ideas for using these different technology skills with my students.  I have wanted to get my class headed towards a more student-centered, project-based learning atmosphere and these skills have really pushed me further in that direction.

            Most of the research I did for this class helped me understand the advantages to using these technological skills with my students.  Technology is a second language to most of my kids and it only makes sense that they would learn much better with the assistance of this language.  At my school, students have more access to technology at home than at school.  To me, this is a little disheartening but I want to rise to that challenge.  What good is a room full of students with smart phones if they only use those phones to text/tweet/post while they’re suppose to be paying attention to lectures?  Instead, I want to focus my classroom in on the benefits of educating WITH these devices, rather than fighting against them. 

            This past weekend, I attended a math conference (OCTM annual conference in Dayton) and was bombarded with the same ideas, over and over again.  The focus of our classrooms needs to move beyond the teacher and more to the learners.  An amazing statistic from one of the presenters gave me a glimpse into the reasoning behind learner-centered teaching; visual and audio help us retain somewhere between 15-30% of what we learn, but teaching helps us retain around 95% of the information.  This is HUGE!! I need to make my students the teachers so they can learn the material inside and out.

         

            So what do we do about it? Well… that’s the question I keep asking myself.  Over the next few years, I am hoping to change up the entire structure of my Algebra II class.  My first goal is to incorporate a “flipped classroom” at least once or twice a chapter.  The process of a flipped classroom starts with students reading/watching some kind of lesson on their own, as ‘homework’, then coming in to class to work in groups on the actual homework of the chapter.  I think this will significantly help infuse my class with student dialog and a higher conceptual process.  My second goal is to focus on at least one project per unit, with both my Algebra II classes AND my Calculus class. 

            In a small, rural district, it can be difficult to find the resources I would like to use in my classroom, but that’s no excuse to avoid the resources I CAN have… especially if it keeps my students more engaged and better prepared for life after high school. 

Isn’t that what it’s all about?

-Kate

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.”

-Rabindranath Tagore

Mission #1

My very first year of teaching, I remember walking into my classroom and imagining everything that I wanted my room to be.  I rearranged the desks, put up my posters, and covered my own desk in pictures of family and friends to make me smile…

Then the first day happened.

Finally, after everyone left and I was sitting in my room, it hit me! I spent all this time making the room my own, but I didn’t prepare to make the class my own.  So I changed it up!  Hundreds of things have altered since my first year and I like to believe I’ve gotten a little (a very little) bit wiser.  That being said, I have a few things that make my class special and uniquely mine.  Out of all of these, my favorite is…

 HUMOR!! 

My students figure it out the very first day they walk into my room.  I start with a serious face and roll call.  About halfway through, I say something completely ridiculous and make a joke.  Then comes my favorite part: the kids have no idea whether they should laugh or not and my face gives nothing away, so there’s this awkward, smiling silence that fills the room and I finally crack a smile.

After breaking the ice, I let them in on a little secret… I absolutely love math and I want to share that love!  Nothing is fun to learn when you’re sitting in a boring classroom with a sober teacher.  I also have found that kids are a lot more willing to talk to you about the important things when you joke around with them and keep the atmosphere laid-back. 


Math is such an awesome art and I have a strong passion for sharing all the amazingness!  These high school kids come in with a lot of negative things to say about math.  My goal is to get them to acknowledge the wonders of mathematics and hopefully enjoy the whole ride through Algebra II and Calculus!  

"One of the most amazing things about mathematics is the people who do math aren't usually interested in application, because mathematics itself is truly a beautiful art form.  It's structures and patterns, and that's what we love, and that's what we get off on."

Danica McKellar

A Student Questionnaire

This week, in my technology course, I needed to conduct a survey of my students and compile a bit of data regarding their technological strengths and weaknesses.  Click on the following link to listen to my podcast:    

Kate's Podcast

Enjoy!
-Kate