Summer Reflection 2016
Looking Back
WOW - I made it through the two weeks and I am so proud of myself! My feeling the first day was excited and nervous. I love learning new things so my role was to be a sponge and soak up everything. I was looking forward to sharpening my skills - moving out of nostalgia and transitioning towards creativity and innovation (from a PowerPoint slide). This program showed me how to do that. My goal is to learn how to make my class and instruction more engaging, fun, and let kids discover the why behind mathematics. This experience was the perfect playground. I must admit academic reading and research is not my favorite and I think it was reasonably placed throughout the two weeks so it was not overwhelming.
I have learned this summer that good teaching happens in the intersection of content, pedagogy and technology. I have good grasp on content and pedagogy however the technology component was an eye opener. As stated in the article Using the TPACK Framework Mishra and Koehler (2009) “The skills, competencies, and knowledge specified by the TPACK framework require teachers to go beyond their knowledge of particular disciplines, technologies, and pedagogical techniques in isolation” (pg 15). I assumed like everyone else that technology has to be media, computers, electronics, etc. However, technology is whatever materials, manipulatives or artifacts that will help connect the content and pedagogy to build a better understanding of a concept. Discovering this really expands how technology can be used in my classroom to enhance learning experience for my students. I am at a school that has somewhat of a limited on technology (computers, phones) however I can look beyond the normal and find other ways to be use technology in my class.
Can you say that I learned lots of technology - Quick-fire style? I was exposed to so much technology starting with navigating the Surface Pro, setting up twitter accounts and tweeting, creating meme’s, creating videos using a phone downloading, sending to group member and then tweeting it out. I am still shaky on creating videos using youtube however I will be get better by the end of this program. I am creating a webpage on weebly.com which is I did not anticipate however I am learning as I am developing my website. Everything that I created using new technology really connected my understanding of the content and pedagogy that was being facilitated each day.
This experience is new for me because I was engaged every minute of the day. I am so used to learning a new initiative or pedagogy that I do not or cannot immediately use it is usually forgotten or put on the back burner. In this experience I immediately used the ideas, articles, technology, content, that was being facilitated. It was also great to contribute to the two weeks by presenting a world of wonder, tech tips, and storify. It gives insight to other fellows and what is interesting and seeing something from another person's perspective.
This experience was so valuable because I want to enhance my instruction to improve the learning experience for my students. I felt like I needed to be energized with something different and current that will be relevant to connect with my students. This program just gave my classroom life. Being a part of the program is significant because I have connected with other educators who are experiencing the same frustrations in the education profession and that are not giving up on seeking for better classroom experiences for their students.
Looking Ahead
Being a part of MSUrbanSTEM has been life changing professionally. Because of the experience, I have a different outlook in the way I am approaching my role as math teacher, as a curious spirit, and a parent who is teaching my children to have a open mind and embrace STEM. This experience this summer has confirmed that I have the power and ability to change my classroom. I can utilize what I need (technology) to create a better learning environment for my students. In Mishra and Koehler (2009) “Teaching requires the transformation of content in ways that make it intellectually accessible to students” (pg 15).
This will take time- however if I utilize the TPACK model as my center- then I can begin to transform my classroom. I cannot only limit me classroom to just the subject matter as stated in the article Disciplining the Mind Mansilla and Gardner (2008) “Regrettably, subject-matter learning does not challenge such robust intuitive theories. Indeed, memorization does not even acknowledge the existence of these entrenched ways of making sense of the world. As a result, in subject-matter classrooms, students tend to momentarily retain the information presented, or they reorganize it in oversimplified linear plots “(pg 2). As I am planning for the next semester I am trying to think of different ways to bring about more technology in Algebra 1. It is important that students experience real world application of the mathematical content. According to Mansilla and Gardner “Performances of understanding invite students to think with knowledge in multiple novel situations; they show whether students can actually make use of classroom material once they step outside the door” (pg 4).
This experience has made me look at teaching from the perspective of the student - what they are learning, how and why. I have to consider how my content is relevant to the learner and create learning experiences that will change how they feel about mathematics. In the article Learning from Creative Teachers Henriksen and Mishra (2013) “teachers of all subjects or grades should consider ways they might connect (even in small ways) ideas and topics they teach to events and contexts in the real world. The place to begin is often to just consider examples of how these topics already inhabit the world around students” (pg 2). I will consider more creative ways to bridge my content with the real world interests of my students. “A creative teacher imagines him- or herself in the position of students, asking how a particular class or group of students would want to learn something and what methods could make a topic interesting for that group” (pg 3).
References
Veronica Boix Mansilla and Howard Gardner. February 2008. Disciplining the Mind. Educational Leadership, 65, pages 1 - 5.
Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler. May 2009. Using the TPACK Framework: You Can Have Your Hot Tools and Teach with Them, Too. Learning and Leading with Technology, pages 14 -18.
Danah Henriksen and Punya Mishra. February 2013. Learning From Creative Teachers. Educational Leadership, 70, pages 1-5.
WOW - I made it through the two weeks and I am so proud of myself! My feeling the first day was excited and nervous. I love learning new things so my role was to be a sponge and soak up everything. I was looking forward to sharpening my skills - moving out of nostalgia and transitioning towards creativity and innovation (from a PowerPoint slide). This program showed me how to do that. My goal is to learn how to make my class and instruction more engaging, fun, and let kids discover the why behind mathematics. This experience was the perfect playground. I must admit academic reading and research is not my favorite and I think it was reasonably placed throughout the two weeks so it was not overwhelming.
I have learned this summer that good teaching happens in the intersection of content, pedagogy and technology. I have good grasp on content and pedagogy however the technology component was an eye opener. As stated in the article Using the TPACK Framework Mishra and Koehler (2009) “The skills, competencies, and knowledge specified by the TPACK framework require teachers to go beyond their knowledge of particular disciplines, technologies, and pedagogical techniques in isolation” (pg 15). I assumed like everyone else that technology has to be media, computers, electronics, etc. However, technology is whatever materials, manipulatives or artifacts that will help connect the content and pedagogy to build a better understanding of a concept. Discovering this really expands how technology can be used in my classroom to enhance learning experience for my students. I am at a school that has somewhat of a limited on technology (computers, phones) however I can look beyond the normal and find other ways to be use technology in my class.
Can you say that I learned lots of technology - Quick-fire style? I was exposed to so much technology starting with navigating the Surface Pro, setting up twitter accounts and tweeting, creating meme’s, creating videos using a phone downloading, sending to group member and then tweeting it out. I am still shaky on creating videos using youtube however I will be get better by the end of this program. I am creating a webpage on weebly.com which is I did not anticipate however I am learning as I am developing my website. Everything that I created using new technology really connected my understanding of the content and pedagogy that was being facilitated each day.
This experience is new for me because I was engaged every minute of the day. I am so used to learning a new initiative or pedagogy that I do not or cannot immediately use it is usually forgotten or put on the back burner. In this experience I immediately used the ideas, articles, technology, content, that was being facilitated. It was also great to contribute to the two weeks by presenting a world of wonder, tech tips, and storify. It gives insight to other fellows and what is interesting and seeing something from another person's perspective.
This experience was so valuable because I want to enhance my instruction to improve the learning experience for my students. I felt like I needed to be energized with something different and current that will be relevant to connect with my students. This program just gave my classroom life. Being a part of the program is significant because I have connected with other educators who are experiencing the same frustrations in the education profession and that are not giving up on seeking for better classroom experiences for their students.
Looking Ahead
Being a part of MSUrbanSTEM has been life changing professionally. Because of the experience, I have a different outlook in the way I am approaching my role as math teacher, as a curious spirit, and a parent who is teaching my children to have a open mind and embrace STEM. This experience this summer has confirmed that I have the power and ability to change my classroom. I can utilize what I need (technology) to create a better learning environment for my students. In Mishra and Koehler (2009) “Teaching requires the transformation of content in ways that make it intellectually accessible to students” (pg 15).
This will take time- however if I utilize the TPACK model as my center- then I can begin to transform my classroom. I cannot only limit me classroom to just the subject matter as stated in the article Disciplining the Mind Mansilla and Gardner (2008) “Regrettably, subject-matter learning does not challenge such robust intuitive theories. Indeed, memorization does not even acknowledge the existence of these entrenched ways of making sense of the world. As a result, in subject-matter classrooms, students tend to momentarily retain the information presented, or they reorganize it in oversimplified linear plots “(pg 2). As I am planning for the next semester I am trying to think of different ways to bring about more technology in Algebra 1. It is important that students experience real world application of the mathematical content. According to Mansilla and Gardner “Performances of understanding invite students to think with knowledge in multiple novel situations; they show whether students can actually make use of classroom material once they step outside the door” (pg 4).
This experience has made me look at teaching from the perspective of the student - what they are learning, how and why. I have to consider how my content is relevant to the learner and create learning experiences that will change how they feel about mathematics. In the article Learning from Creative Teachers Henriksen and Mishra (2013) “teachers of all subjects or grades should consider ways they might connect (even in small ways) ideas and topics they teach to events and contexts in the real world. The place to begin is often to just consider examples of how these topics already inhabit the world around students” (pg 2). I will consider more creative ways to bridge my content with the real world interests of my students. “A creative teacher imagines him- or herself in the position of students, asking how a particular class or group of students would want to learn something and what methods could make a topic interesting for that group” (pg 3).
References
Veronica Boix Mansilla and Howard Gardner. February 2008. Disciplining the Mind. Educational Leadership, 65, pages 1 - 5.
Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler. May 2009. Using the TPACK Framework: You Can Have Your Hot Tools and Teach with Them, Too. Learning and Leading with Technology, pages 14 -18.
Danah Henriksen and Punya Mishra. February 2013. Learning From Creative Teachers. Educational Leadership, 70, pages 1-5.