Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 8- Placing the magic in the classroom; TPCK in art education
Due: April 1, 2009
Even though I am an English teacher, this chapter was by far the most engaging and applicable to my classroom. I am swimming with creative ideas and engaging resources to explore. Right from the start, Nancy DePlatchett identified those necessary skills our 21st learners need and found ways that we could achieve them. She seems to understand that much of the arts are now being swept into the core content areas to be integrated by unprepared teachers rather than being taught in the art or music classrooms as was previously the case. I find it hard to accept that our nation is going to brush aside the potential genius and creative expansion of the mind through the arts for rote memorization and standardized tests, but that day is here. What Platchett effectively achieves, is a bridge between the arts and the core content areas. Just because the program is cut, doesn’t mean that the skills have to be lost.
While reading through the many pages of suggestions and resources, I was struck by the options before me because of the one-to-one laptop initiative. My kids have the world at their fingertips with the click of a mouse. When the anecdotes about “What did you learn this year” were shared, my mind began working out all of the things that I would so desperately like to incorporate in the future. This Masters course has provided me with so many new skills and free resources to enrich my classroom. It can allow me to connect to the other people in my district in ways that I did not realize were possible. This year I would like to see my class working on a Fablehaven blog with the students of Strong, so that they are better able to work on a larger blog around the district read book House of the Scorpions next year. It is not enough to share our thoughts in a group of 12- 20 students. I want them to challenge and be challenged by the minds of others.
The arts allow for a sense of expression that the English Language Arts are not able to do on their own. Kids need the experience of multicultural dances and music as well as the exposure to the many forms of artistic expression. I know that I do them to some degree, but I have always felt that they were “playing” and almost felt guilty about taking the time to explore them. This chapter really affirmed my stance on the integration of the arts in the core classrooms, but it also reminded me that I can’t always do it all alone. I am looking forward to approaching the physical education teacher about joining in our Wabanki perspective unit. I am sure that he would be willing to work with the rest of our staff to incorporate some traditional Wabanaki dances into his curriculum. It might even benefit out unit to approach the steel drum and music teachers about working in some traditional drumming in their content areas. With the help of some of the great resources found in this chapter, I think that we can all feel more prepared to incorporate new and culturally informative practices into our content areas.
From the suggestion of shadow puppet theatre (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/shadowpuppets/) to the information about educational search engines (Thinkfinity), I know that I am more informed and more excited about technology integration. In my view, this chapter was by far the most informative and inspiring. There are things that I am going to try now and there are things to research and plan for later, but no matter when it happens, my teaching will improve.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
TPCK Chapter 10 Reflections
Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 10: The role of TPCK in physical education
Due: March 25, 2009
At first glance, I would have missed the need for technology in the physical education classroom. I was of the mindset that the kids were mostly hands-on and real world. I believe that this is one of my areas for improvement. I need to broaden my definition of technology and its variety of uses. I limit myself and the tools available by keeping that narrow view of technology as a laptop.
This chapter certainly spent a great deal of time reflecting on the importance of technology for data collection. This felt so foreign to me. The only “data” I collect is in the form of grades that I enter into PowerSchool. I see that the physical education teacher would certainly need more data than that. The idea of utilizing pdas to ease the burden of data collection made perfect sense, but I agree that the cost of those materials would not be easily justified. It made me wonder how many other teachers could benefit from their use and why we don’t have more sharing of these devices. If we were all trying to use the same tools, we would have more grounds for justifying the cost.
When I first read that there is a great deal of technology used in the gym, I could only imagine “Dance, Dance Revolution.” Again, I limited myself to a video game and its minimal benefits. It never occurred to me to view bikes, stair steppers, and other such machines as technology. These are certainly expensive, but it would seem that with the rising obesity rates that the needs for health and wellbeing would out-way the financial burden. I know that our physical education teacher at the high school certainly promotes individual programs and technologies that meet each students comfort level. “Dance, Dance Revolution” seemed to be the hit that got everyone off of the benches and into action. This is what we need. In a world of Nintendo Wii where kids can throw their own bowling balls and participate in action packed softball games from the comfort of their own homes, we need to meet them half way, if not all the way there.
I know that my classroom will never be as mobile and hands-on as physical education, but I can still learn to be more open minded about the uses of technology and what constitutes it. I was just thinking about all of the supplemental aids that I could be utilizing to meet some of these kids part way. I could try to include more use of the smartboard to allow them the opportunity to get hands-on and feel more engaging. The important thing for me is to keep my eyes and mind open while navigating this wide-open technology sea.
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 10: The role of TPCK in physical education
Due: March 25, 2009
At first glance, I would have missed the need for technology in the physical education classroom. I was of the mindset that the kids were mostly hands-on and real world. I believe that this is one of my areas for improvement. I need to broaden my definition of technology and its variety of uses. I limit myself and the tools available by keeping that narrow view of technology as a laptop.
This chapter certainly spent a great deal of time reflecting on the importance of technology for data collection. This felt so foreign to me. The only “data” I collect is in the form of grades that I enter into PowerSchool. I see that the physical education teacher would certainly need more data than that. The idea of utilizing pdas to ease the burden of data collection made perfect sense, but I agree that the cost of those materials would not be easily justified. It made me wonder how many other teachers could benefit from their use and why we don’t have more sharing of these devices. If we were all trying to use the same tools, we would have more grounds for justifying the cost.
When I first read that there is a great deal of technology used in the gym, I could only imagine “Dance, Dance Revolution.” Again, I limited myself to a video game and its minimal benefits. It never occurred to me to view bikes, stair steppers, and other such machines as technology. These are certainly expensive, but it would seem that with the rising obesity rates that the needs for health and wellbeing would out-way the financial burden. I know that our physical education teacher at the high school certainly promotes individual programs and technologies that meet each students comfort level. “Dance, Dance Revolution” seemed to be the hit that got everyone off of the benches and into action. This is what we need. In a world of Nintendo Wii where kids can throw their own bowling balls and participate in action packed softball games from the comfort of their own homes, we need to meet them half way, if not all the way there.
I know that my classroom will never be as mobile and hands-on as physical education, but I can still learn to be more open minded about the uses of technology and what constitutes it. I was just thinking about all of the supplemental aids that I could be utilizing to meet some of these kids part way. I could try to include more use of the smartboard to allow them the opportunity to get hands-on and feel more engaging. The important thing for me is to keep my eyes and mind open while navigating this wide-open technology sea.
TPCK Chapter 5 Reflections
Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 5: An integrated framework for educating world language teachers
Due: March 25, 2009
This chapter was distinctly different in its focus on teacher training instead of student technology training or use. It also felt more content driven, but seeing that my content area is actually English and not world language, this made it quite difficult to apply to my own classroom at times. I did, however, appreciate the general idea that teachers need more training and experience with technology to be able to use it to its fullest within the classroom. I myself have seen a shift in my own teaching following the technology course that I took a couple of years ago through my district and the courses that I have been taking here at UMF as part of my Master’s program. I started a few years ago with simple iMovie options for projects, which then turned into a large scale Madman and Genius documentary Film Festival! As I grew more comfortable with the technology, I felt more comfortable teaching my students how to use it therefore improving their interest and quality of product. Now I am moving into the realm of wikis and blogs in hopes of improving the level of feedback that my students can obtain on their work and to expand their audience. The teacher’s comfort level, knowledge, and confidence with technology really do impact the integration in the classroom.
As far as real-time communication technology, I too would like to include more of this. I wasn’t completely surprised to see that the use of video conferencing, chatting, and emailing was improving language learners skills. It seems only natural that the students would need to practice the skills they are learning in a real way with a real audience to truly improve their performance. I, in fact, want to use video-conferencing and a form of “chatting” to enable my students to communicate with the students of my best friend who will be teaching internationally for the next two years in South Korea. We want to help our own students to experience cultural differences and nuances through real interaction. We also thought that giving the students a real audience would aid in the quality of their writing and other products. We are still working things out and don’t have plans to put this into motion until next year, but we are looking in this new direction.
Although this section was particularly hard for me to relate to, I appreciated the suggestion that teachers can’t do this on their own and that they need strong role models and pre-service opportunities to really work with and feel comfortable with these new tools. It is certainly a whole new world with a whole set of new expectations and new opportunities.
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 5: An integrated framework for educating world language teachers
Due: March 25, 2009
This chapter was distinctly different in its focus on teacher training instead of student technology training or use. It also felt more content driven, but seeing that my content area is actually English and not world language, this made it quite difficult to apply to my own classroom at times. I did, however, appreciate the general idea that teachers need more training and experience with technology to be able to use it to its fullest within the classroom. I myself have seen a shift in my own teaching following the technology course that I took a couple of years ago through my district and the courses that I have been taking here at UMF as part of my Master’s program. I started a few years ago with simple iMovie options for projects, which then turned into a large scale Madman and Genius documentary Film Festival! As I grew more comfortable with the technology, I felt more comfortable teaching my students how to use it therefore improving their interest and quality of product. Now I am moving into the realm of wikis and blogs in hopes of improving the level of feedback that my students can obtain on their work and to expand their audience. The teacher’s comfort level, knowledge, and confidence with technology really do impact the integration in the classroom.
As far as real-time communication technology, I too would like to include more of this. I wasn’t completely surprised to see that the use of video conferencing, chatting, and emailing was improving language learners skills. It seems only natural that the students would need to practice the skills they are learning in a real way with a real audience to truly improve their performance. I, in fact, want to use video-conferencing and a form of “chatting” to enable my students to communicate with the students of my best friend who will be teaching internationally for the next two years in South Korea. We want to help our own students to experience cultural differences and nuances through real interaction. We also thought that giving the students a real audience would aid in the quality of their writing and other products. We are still working things out and don’t have plans to put this into motion until next year, but we are looking in this new direction.
Although this section was particularly hard for me to relate to, I appreciated the suggestion that teachers can’t do this on their own and that they need strong role models and pre-service opportunities to really work with and feel comfortable with these new tools. It is certainly a whole new world with a whole set of new expectations and new opportunities.
Monday, March 16, 2009
TPCK Chapter 9 Reflection
Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 9- Science, technology, and teaching: The topic-specific challenges of TPCK in science
Due: March 18, 2009
As one of my integrated unit partners is the science teacher, I began reading this chapter not just for myself but also to aid Tom Piekart in his incorporation of technology rich experiences in our integrated Wabanaki unit. But as I was reading, it became increasingly clear that Tom is one of those exemplary science teachers whose knowledge in this area exceeds the standard. He worked as the technology integration specialist for our school before becoming the science teacher, so he is not only familiar with the available technology but probably aided in its acquisition.
I did, however, learn quite a bit myself about the difference between technology being used to enrich a lesson and technology that is the lesson. My former colleague used to set up cat dissections in her anatomy and physiology course. It was not only extremely expensive but also ridiculously messy and foul smelling. In these tough budget days, it only makes sense for her to switch to a digital version. The lesson will be far more effective when mistakes can be redone and someone going ahead incorrectly can’t ruin the experiment. On the other hand, this chapter also mentioned those technologies that are so fundamental to the lesson that they are themselves the lesson, such as the microscope or the telescope. I found myself thinking about which technologies, if any, are like that for the English teachers. I have come to the decision that word-processing for English teachers is much like the microscope to the science classroom. The lessons could be done without it, yet the lack of the tool limits the student’s application to real life and real understanding.
In the real world, students are going to be expected to use word-processing programs and other technological skills that we take for granted, and yet they all have to start somewhere. I learned the hard way that all students start at different levels and that it is the teacher’s job to be aware of those differences. Having worked with high school students for so long, I set my 5th graders up in the lab right away to start typing and formatting a newspaper article based on a walk that we had taken. It wasn’t until every child’s screen with covered in funky colors, crazy fonts, and jumbo print that I realized that we had never discussed what I expected for behaviors. They couldn’t do the things I asked and were so excited by the options that they could manipulate that they got completely off track. It took awhile, but I eventually did return to the “lab from hell.” I had to learn, as the book suggests, to take risks, learn from past experience, and hear my students. I needed to hear where they were and ease them into the typing pond with floaties instead of dropping them off in the middle of the ocean without a life jacket. It isn’t just science that requires faith and experimentation; that comes in all fields. It is the requirement of teaching.
As for the Wabanaki unit, I was thinking that models and data collection based on those models might help students to get the full Wabanaki perspective. We can’t go back in time to explore the actual hunting grounds and forests of those time periods, but Tom might be able to recreate the conditions and methodologies of the hunters using computer simulations or models. He may even want to consider having the students track the data of hunting and fishing impacts through the ages to draw conclusions about the laws and ethics. Whatever he does, I know he will effectively use the technological tools in his possession.
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 9- Science, technology, and teaching: The topic-specific challenges of TPCK in science
Due: March 18, 2009
As one of my integrated unit partners is the science teacher, I began reading this chapter not just for myself but also to aid Tom Piekart in his incorporation of technology rich experiences in our integrated Wabanaki unit. But as I was reading, it became increasingly clear that Tom is one of those exemplary science teachers whose knowledge in this area exceeds the standard. He worked as the technology integration specialist for our school before becoming the science teacher, so he is not only familiar with the available technology but probably aided in its acquisition.
I did, however, learn quite a bit myself about the difference between technology being used to enrich a lesson and technology that is the lesson. My former colleague used to set up cat dissections in her anatomy and physiology course. It was not only extremely expensive but also ridiculously messy and foul smelling. In these tough budget days, it only makes sense for her to switch to a digital version. The lesson will be far more effective when mistakes can be redone and someone going ahead incorrectly can’t ruin the experiment. On the other hand, this chapter also mentioned those technologies that are so fundamental to the lesson that they are themselves the lesson, such as the microscope or the telescope. I found myself thinking about which technologies, if any, are like that for the English teachers. I have come to the decision that word-processing for English teachers is much like the microscope to the science classroom. The lessons could be done without it, yet the lack of the tool limits the student’s application to real life and real understanding.
In the real world, students are going to be expected to use word-processing programs and other technological skills that we take for granted, and yet they all have to start somewhere. I learned the hard way that all students start at different levels and that it is the teacher’s job to be aware of those differences. Having worked with high school students for so long, I set my 5th graders up in the lab right away to start typing and formatting a newspaper article based on a walk that we had taken. It wasn’t until every child’s screen with covered in funky colors, crazy fonts, and jumbo print that I realized that we had never discussed what I expected for behaviors. They couldn’t do the things I asked and were so excited by the options that they could manipulate that they got completely off track. It took awhile, but I eventually did return to the “lab from hell.” I had to learn, as the book suggests, to take risks, learn from past experience, and hear my students. I needed to hear where they were and ease them into the typing pond with floaties instead of dropping them off in the middle of the ocean without a life jacket. It isn’t just science that requires faith and experimentation; that comes in all fields. It is the requirement of teaching.
As for the Wabanaki unit, I was thinking that models and data collection based on those models might help students to get the full Wabanaki perspective. We can’t go back in time to explore the actual hunting grounds and forests of those time periods, but Tom might be able to recreate the conditions and methodologies of the hunters using computer simulations or models. He may even want to consider having the students track the data of hunting and fishing impacts through the ages to draw conclusions about the laws and ethics. Whatever he does, I know he will effectively use the technological tools in his possession.
TPCK Chapter 7 Reflection
Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 7- Perhaps a matter of imagination: TPCK in mathematics education
Due: March 18, 2009
Reaching deeply for connections in this chapter, I found myself connecting more through the struggles and frustrations of my dear friend Renee, the quintessential math teacher. She is young, brilliant, and of the technology age; yet even Renee faces those very questions raised in this chapter.
Understanding that certain areas of mathematics are both interesting, important to her field, and connect to real life, Renee still questions how to teach these things, such as fractals, how much is too much, and how can it be justified. It was almost déjà vu when I read about the fractals and their importance. Renee has been working on the inclusion of this new concept all year. It doesn’t quite fit into her regular lessons, and she has the added pressure of teaching to a particular test, but they validate mathematics and its creativity for her. I am certainly going to recommend the NCTM 2005 Yearbook, which provides 23 articles on technology inclusion in math classrooms. She may be the MLTI integrator in her school, but everyone can benefit from the experiences of others.
Where is the line between technology being an aid and technology being a crutch? Of course Renee goes back and forth over the calculator question with her more basic courses, but it is required for her more challenging AP and BC calculus courses. But I know that she questions the equity and reality of life in a computer age. I face a similar dilemma with spell check and grammar check. One would assume that English teachers everywhere embrace these devices with open arms, but I question the skills that these kids are losing. I don’t see them improving through the use of these devices because they don’t have the necessary background to fully appreciate what it is correcting. They don’t even seem to learn from the consistency of certain issues in their work. So is technology the aid that students need to be stronger writers or is it the answer to the lazy writer’s prayers? Are students in English class being assessed on their ability to write effectively or their ability to use spell check and grammar check effectively? These are real questions that probably will never be answered, but these are the real challenges of the teachers today, even the TPCK teachers.
Although this chapter presented more of a challenge for connections than others, I know that it also offered more validation for the integration of technology in all areas. Technology breathes new life into the core of our subject areas, including the tried and true practices of those mathematics formulas and manipulations that have been around for thousands of years.
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 7- Perhaps a matter of imagination: TPCK in mathematics education
Due: March 18, 2009
Reaching deeply for connections in this chapter, I found myself connecting more through the struggles and frustrations of my dear friend Renee, the quintessential math teacher. She is young, brilliant, and of the technology age; yet even Renee faces those very questions raised in this chapter.
Understanding that certain areas of mathematics are both interesting, important to her field, and connect to real life, Renee still questions how to teach these things, such as fractals, how much is too much, and how can it be justified. It was almost déjà vu when I read about the fractals and their importance. Renee has been working on the inclusion of this new concept all year. It doesn’t quite fit into her regular lessons, and she has the added pressure of teaching to a particular test, but they validate mathematics and its creativity for her. I am certainly going to recommend the NCTM 2005 Yearbook, which provides 23 articles on technology inclusion in math classrooms. She may be the MLTI integrator in her school, but everyone can benefit from the experiences of others.
Where is the line between technology being an aid and technology being a crutch? Of course Renee goes back and forth over the calculator question with her more basic courses, but it is required for her more challenging AP and BC calculus courses. But I know that she questions the equity and reality of life in a computer age. I face a similar dilemma with spell check and grammar check. One would assume that English teachers everywhere embrace these devices with open arms, but I question the skills that these kids are losing. I don’t see them improving through the use of these devices because they don’t have the necessary background to fully appreciate what it is correcting. They don’t even seem to learn from the consistency of certain issues in their work. So is technology the aid that students need to be stronger writers or is it the answer to the lazy writer’s prayers? Are students in English class being assessed on their ability to write effectively or their ability to use spell check and grammar check effectively? These are real questions that probably will never be answered, but these are the real challenges of the teachers today, even the TPCK teachers.
Although this chapter presented more of a challenge for connections than others, I know that it also offered more validation for the integration of technology in all areas. Technology breathes new life into the core of our subject areas, including the tried and true practices of those mathematics formulas and manipulations that have been around for thousands of years.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
TPCK Chapter 6 Reflections
Margaret Nerney
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 6: Toward democracy: Social studies and TPCK
Due: March 11, 2009
Although this section focused on the social studies content area, I found it considerably applicable to my own English content area. Many of the ten pedagogical actions fit naturally in the English classroom. I made great connections, found some helpful resources, and gained a new appreciation for my colleagues in the social studies arena
Right away I could relate to the difficulty of finding specific lessons or resources online due to the unstructured quality of my own content area. There are so many disciplines within the English content area that it does take time and scrutiny to find those that are most appropriate to your aims and goals. I did, however, question how this would be unique to any content area. Isn’t that the nature of the beast? Technology offers us so much more than we have ever had before in exchange for time and effort in discovering it.
I can certainly appreciate the idea that technology requires new literacy skills. I love how this chapter referenced the blurring of roles of reader and writer through the advent of hypertext and hypermedia. Further explained, the chapter highlighted the new level of interaction now available to the reader. The writer offers paths that lead the reader astray, but only at the reader’s wishes. You are allowed to make your own experience from a text through the materials relevance and importance to you as a consumer of information. My AP Language and Composition students are often analyzing the organization of a piece. This new element confuses the intent. When viewing the rhetorical triangle, we have to view these new articles with the understanding that they won’t be read the same way or even intended the same way depending on the path that is chosen.
My students are also encouraged to view resources with a critical eye. I can see the importance of being able to discern fact from fiction and maneuver the cornucopia of information that technology grants access to. However, I wonder which specific skills I should be teaching them. As technology tends to change rapidly and skills are always evolving, it seems that we, the educators, are faced with an impossible task. I have heard it mentioned in various educational readings that the teacher should act as expert and cull the necessary information for the students. What is that teaching them? I do see the need for better technology based research skills, and I do my best to provide that training, but I question the long-term use of those skills. Even I, a relatively young teacher, must constantly learn new ways and adapt to new databases or search engines.
I agree with the chapter’s main point, that it is important to communicate and connect in a democracy, which is why I too try to work with my students to be effective communicators with the aid of technology in English class. I encourage my students to create the authentic intellectual work that was so praised in this chapter and even try to model it myself. Only this week, I received a box with enough posters and bookmarks for every kid in the middle school and five Fablehaven T-shirts because of technological communications. The local bookstore owner asked me to send him some digital images and a write up about the work my students had been doing in my classroom with the novel Fablehaven. As a result, I was put in touch with the book’s promoter and offered some free promotional materials for my student’s as a reward for their hard work. I would not have been able to do this on my own. It was the use of my social network and supplementary technology that earned me this great new opportunity. As was suggested, I am also trying to get wikis going in my middle school. I am starting with the 6th grader’s Fablehaven book trailer. We are going to try to start a blog about he book and get feedback on the trailer through our district only blog. Then I hope to move to a more widely viewed wiki with them next year during my integrated Wabanaki unit. I understand that it can’t all happen over night, but I feel I am heading down the right road on this technological super highway.
Finally, I walked away with some great resources. I made note of some of the cross-cultural communication supports such as iEarn, KidLink, and ThinkQuest. I also intend to check out the student published resources that the chapter highlighted, including the Cherokee Digital History Project, which might aid in the improvement of my integrated Wabanaki unit.
Overall, I have some new resources to explore and some new concepts to ponder, but most importantly, I have a newfound respect for the magnitude of content that the social studies teachers are suppose to explore. It is true that much of what they must cover centers on democracy, but the content itself winds in and out of every other content area. So, my hat is off to my colleagues in the social studies area.
EDU 583- Cohort 1
Chapter 6: Toward democracy: Social studies and TPCK
Due: March 11, 2009
Although this section focused on the social studies content area, I found it considerably applicable to my own English content area. Many of the ten pedagogical actions fit naturally in the English classroom. I made great connections, found some helpful resources, and gained a new appreciation for my colleagues in the social studies arena
Right away I could relate to the difficulty of finding specific lessons or resources online due to the unstructured quality of my own content area. There are so many disciplines within the English content area that it does take time and scrutiny to find those that are most appropriate to your aims and goals. I did, however, question how this would be unique to any content area. Isn’t that the nature of the beast? Technology offers us so much more than we have ever had before in exchange for time and effort in discovering it.
I can certainly appreciate the idea that technology requires new literacy skills. I love how this chapter referenced the blurring of roles of reader and writer through the advent of hypertext and hypermedia. Further explained, the chapter highlighted the new level of interaction now available to the reader. The writer offers paths that lead the reader astray, but only at the reader’s wishes. You are allowed to make your own experience from a text through the materials relevance and importance to you as a consumer of information. My AP Language and Composition students are often analyzing the organization of a piece. This new element confuses the intent. When viewing the rhetorical triangle, we have to view these new articles with the understanding that they won’t be read the same way or even intended the same way depending on the path that is chosen.
My students are also encouraged to view resources with a critical eye. I can see the importance of being able to discern fact from fiction and maneuver the cornucopia of information that technology grants access to. However, I wonder which specific skills I should be teaching them. As technology tends to change rapidly and skills are always evolving, it seems that we, the educators, are faced with an impossible task. I have heard it mentioned in various educational readings that the teacher should act as expert and cull the necessary information for the students. What is that teaching them? I do see the need for better technology based research skills, and I do my best to provide that training, but I question the long-term use of those skills. Even I, a relatively young teacher, must constantly learn new ways and adapt to new databases or search engines.
I agree with the chapter’s main point, that it is important to communicate and connect in a democracy, which is why I too try to work with my students to be effective communicators with the aid of technology in English class. I encourage my students to create the authentic intellectual work that was so praised in this chapter and even try to model it myself. Only this week, I received a box with enough posters and bookmarks for every kid in the middle school and five Fablehaven T-shirts because of technological communications. The local bookstore owner asked me to send him some digital images and a write up about the work my students had been doing in my classroom with the novel Fablehaven. As a result, I was put in touch with the book’s promoter and offered some free promotional materials for my student’s as a reward for their hard work. I would not have been able to do this on my own. It was the use of my social network and supplementary technology that earned me this great new opportunity. As was suggested, I am also trying to get wikis going in my middle school. I am starting with the 6th grader’s Fablehaven book trailer. We are going to try to start a blog about he book and get feedback on the trailer through our district only blog. Then I hope to move to a more widely viewed wiki with them next year during my integrated Wabanaki unit. I understand that it can’t all happen over night, but I feel I am heading down the right road on this technological super highway.
Finally, I walked away with some great resources. I made note of some of the cross-cultural communication supports such as iEarn, KidLink, and ThinkQuest. I also intend to check out the student published resources that the chapter highlighted, including the Cherokee Digital History Project, which might aid in the improvement of my integrated Wabanaki unit.
Overall, I have some new resources to explore and some new concepts to ponder, but most importantly, I have a newfound respect for the magnitude of content that the social studies teachers are suppose to explore. It is true that much of what they must cover centers on democracy, but the content itself winds in and out of every other content area. So, my hat is off to my colleagues in the social studies area.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Integrated Unit: Stage 1 Reflection
Margaret Nerney
Integrated Unit- Stage 1 reflection
Due: March 4, 2009
I am the Phillips Elementary School 5th-8th grade Language Arts teacher. As my unit focuses on Wabanaki culture, I have been working with the science and social studies teachers to create an integrated unit that centers on perspective. The social studies teacher, Paula Roy, and I had been trying to get something worked out for this year, but time constraints have not allowed this. So it was not difficult to get my colleagues to participate in this work. We have utilized our prep. periods and even stayed after school to have enriching conversations and complete stage 1 of our unit plan.
I have also found it relatively easy to maneuver through the stages with them because they are comfortable with and using the backward planning method in their own classrooms. We sat down right away to decide on common goals. It seems that we are all in agreement that students should be able to see situations from the different perspectives of those involved and understand the contextual influences on those perspectives. This made the integration of three separate units able to come together with the unity of a common aim. It is the content knowledge that will be unique for each of us.
As these teachers already teach units that could be easily adapted for our integrated plan, it was easy to sit down and map out each of their individual goals. I have found that I usually meet with each of them individually to work on their specific plans. It also helped to have the template before us and work through it as I had done. Mine was used as an example that we would structure theirs around. I would give them each the chapter overviews and then we would begin discussions. I worked as the recorder. This worked well because I could remind them of the specific wording that was needed and help them restate their goals and questions accordingly. I felt comfortable in this role, as I had already worked out these things with my own unit and feel comfortable with language use in general. The templates also helped to maintain a log of our conversations. We were able to make clear connections between the goals and the eventual things that the students would need to be able to do. I was thoroughly surprised at the ease with which my colleagues and I worked through this. Their expertise in teaching pedagogy and their specific content area knowledge are a true asset to this unit.
Tom already teaches a unit on hunter safety, so he is modifying it to include the Wabanaki hunting traditions and ethics. This will allow him to explore different cultural perspectives as well as the idea of conservation versus preservation. As Tom is very comfortable with his Maine Learning Result standards, it was relatively easy to connect his unit goals to those standards. Once we had the goals and questions, he easily began listing the “knows.” The six facets were a perfect fit for him. I think I spent more time than he did finding the appropriate terms! He would say them aloud and then find them on the list. We even labeled each facet to make sure that we had two “dos” for every one “know.” His unit will be far more hands on and exploratory. The students will even be applying their knowledge in the field.
Paula also teaches a social studies unit on the Wabanaki people. Again, it was easy to identify the Maine Learning Results for her unit because there is a section on Wabanaki people in her social studies section. What we discovered is that we had to explicitly tie the modern issues into her section. They were glossed over. So she worked hard to rewrite her goals and questions to reflect the modern perspective that she felt was lacking in previous years. Again, the templates and specific language that the template provided, allowed us to quickly map out and rethink the focus of her unit. We were able to narrow her studies in some places while expanding them in others.
These two teachers are also very comfortable with technology. Tom Piekart, the science teacher, has just finished his master’s program in technology integration. He is very comfortable with not only integrating technology in his own classroom, but also with helping out me and the social studies teacher. Paula Roy is always up for learning and integrating new things into her lessons as well, so our units will end with an integrated product. We have agreed on a Wabanaki wiki that can be added to in different ways in each of our classrooms. None of us have ever worked with our students using wikis so it will challenge us all in different ways. Paula is use to having kids post their work in First Class Ed., as is Tom. They both have tried online discussions without a great deal of success, so this will be a learning experience for all of us.
Overall, this has been a great way to get to know my colleagues and what they already teach. They are both creative and innovative in their own ways, and I hope to gain a great deal of knowledge and understanding through this opportunity to work with them. So far, I am most impressed with the time that they are willing to spend on this project. I truly feel that they are as invested in this unit as I am. What a team!
Integrated Unit- Stage 1 reflection
Due: March 4, 2009
I am the Phillips Elementary School 5th-8th grade Language Arts teacher. As my unit focuses on Wabanaki culture, I have been working with the science and social studies teachers to create an integrated unit that centers on perspective. The social studies teacher, Paula Roy, and I had been trying to get something worked out for this year, but time constraints have not allowed this. So it was not difficult to get my colleagues to participate in this work. We have utilized our prep. periods and even stayed after school to have enriching conversations and complete stage 1 of our unit plan.
I have also found it relatively easy to maneuver through the stages with them because they are comfortable with and using the backward planning method in their own classrooms. We sat down right away to decide on common goals. It seems that we are all in agreement that students should be able to see situations from the different perspectives of those involved and understand the contextual influences on those perspectives. This made the integration of three separate units able to come together with the unity of a common aim. It is the content knowledge that will be unique for each of us.
As these teachers already teach units that could be easily adapted for our integrated plan, it was easy to sit down and map out each of their individual goals. I have found that I usually meet with each of them individually to work on their specific plans. It also helped to have the template before us and work through it as I had done. Mine was used as an example that we would structure theirs around. I would give them each the chapter overviews and then we would begin discussions. I worked as the recorder. This worked well because I could remind them of the specific wording that was needed and help them restate their goals and questions accordingly. I felt comfortable in this role, as I had already worked out these things with my own unit and feel comfortable with language use in general. The templates also helped to maintain a log of our conversations. We were able to make clear connections between the goals and the eventual things that the students would need to be able to do. I was thoroughly surprised at the ease with which my colleagues and I worked through this. Their expertise in teaching pedagogy and their specific content area knowledge are a true asset to this unit.
Tom already teaches a unit on hunter safety, so he is modifying it to include the Wabanaki hunting traditions and ethics. This will allow him to explore different cultural perspectives as well as the idea of conservation versus preservation. As Tom is very comfortable with his Maine Learning Result standards, it was relatively easy to connect his unit goals to those standards. Once we had the goals and questions, he easily began listing the “knows.” The six facets were a perfect fit for him. I think I spent more time than he did finding the appropriate terms! He would say them aloud and then find them on the list. We even labeled each facet to make sure that we had two “dos” for every one “know.” His unit will be far more hands on and exploratory. The students will even be applying their knowledge in the field.
Paula also teaches a social studies unit on the Wabanaki people. Again, it was easy to identify the Maine Learning Results for her unit because there is a section on Wabanaki people in her social studies section. What we discovered is that we had to explicitly tie the modern issues into her section. They were glossed over. So she worked hard to rewrite her goals and questions to reflect the modern perspective that she felt was lacking in previous years. Again, the templates and specific language that the template provided, allowed us to quickly map out and rethink the focus of her unit. We were able to narrow her studies in some places while expanding them in others.
These two teachers are also very comfortable with technology. Tom Piekart, the science teacher, has just finished his master’s program in technology integration. He is very comfortable with not only integrating technology in his own classroom, but also with helping out me and the social studies teacher. Paula Roy is always up for learning and integrating new things into her lessons as well, so our units will end with an integrated product. We have agreed on a Wabanaki wiki that can be added to in different ways in each of our classrooms. None of us have ever worked with our students using wikis so it will challenge us all in different ways. Paula is use to having kids post their work in First Class Ed., as is Tom. They both have tried online discussions without a great deal of success, so this will be a learning experience for all of us.
Overall, this has been a great way to get to know my colleagues and what they already teach. They are both creative and innovative in their own ways, and I hope to gain a great deal of knowledge and understanding through this opportunity to work with them. So far, I am most impressed with the time that they are willing to spend on this project. I truly feel that they are as invested in this unit as I am. What a team!
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