What do you think about when you hear school projects?
I know I automatically think of my own experiences with school projects. I think of creating a simple science fair poster every year in elementary school. I think of being taught an entire unit and them being told to create some sort of project based on something we already learned. Usually these involved PowerPoints, posters, and the occasional 3-D model. However, I was almost always told what the project needed to be. There was little freedom to be creative, and oftentimes, the projects were thoughtless. I had already learned all of the information. I would simply grab my class notes from whatever we learned and transfer that information to whatever project I was doing. On the rare chance that I had a collaborative project, my groups and many groups would have a few group members who would do all the work, a slacker or two who would never do their part, and maybe one person who was completely confused by what was going on. I do not want projects in my classroom to be like this. My individual topic for part two of module five (on investigating partnering pedagogies), was project-based learning. I thoroughly enjoyed part one of this module in which we collaborated with our peers to research and compile information about all kinds of collaborative/cooperative styles. However, I absolutely loved creating a multimedia presentation exploring my topic, project based learning. I enjoyed the creative freedom we had in this presentation, but my favorite part was learning about the potential that projects can have in the classroom if you stray from traditional projects and integrate project based learning instead. Project based learning is a fantastic way for students to participate in engaging, hands-on learning. Because it is so engaging, it results in increased information retention or deep, long-lasting learning that will make the learning experience personal. There are many wonderful partnering pedagogies that stray from traditional learning and allow students to be active participants in the learning process, and I think project based learning is a great one that will help teach students not only state standards and curriculum, but also lifelong skills that they will apply both in and out of the classroom. I wish my own education would have included more active, engaging learning in K-12 grades. I will do my best to implement some of these pedagogies in my own classroom in the near future.
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Partnering: Intimidating, but Worthwhile. Prensky Image Marc Prensky, author of Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning expressed the importance of moving forward in education, teaching 21st century learners in ways they will learn more efficiently and effectively, and implementing available tools (technology) to enhance learning. His solution to doing all of these things and more to enhance learning was by implementing a partnering pedagogy in the classroom. Many educators are intimidated by the partnering pedagogy because it changes the role of the teacher in the classroom. However, a partnering pedagogy is the combination of many popular student-first educational ideals or concepts. Think about engaging, exciting, fun learning. I really doubt that listening to a lecture, taking notes, and taking a test on the material is what came to your mind. This traditional learning style is the last thing I thought of when trying to consider ways to make learning a worthwhile experience that students want to participate in. Prensky really highlights the importance or making learning real, relevant, creative, and engaging in his text. Students want to know why what they are learning is important and how they are going to use it in the future. I know I did, and I still do when I am learning something new. If it does not benefit me in any way, what purpose do I have for learning the material. When learning is connected to real life and given real meaning, students have a purpose to learn it and engagement increases. The Pythagorean Theorem Making a boring activity meaningful: If you were told that you were going to learn about the pythagorean theorem in geometry class, that honestly already sounds like a miserable experience. You may wonder “why do I need to be able to learn the third side of a triangle?” Well, if I started out the lesson by explaining that even though this lesson may seem boring, having this knowledge can benefit you in many ways in the future. For example, my father has worked in roofing and construction my entire life. Every night when I would do my homework at the kitchen table, he would draw out plans to figure up materials for his work. When working with roofs, the traditional shape of a roof is a triangle. Every night, he used the pythagorean theorem to figure out the amount of materials he would need for work where he could then check the prices for those materials and place bids on jobs. If he did not know how to use the pythagorean theorem, he could have messed up and not bought enough materials to finish the job, or he may have bid a job too low and lost money in completing the job simply because he could not use this simple math skill. I have used the pythagorean theorem myself in building small corner shelves for my home and in creating patterns for sewing projects. By realizing understanding the pythagorean theorem outside of school has value, learning is real, relevant, and purposeful, which. This is how making learning relevant could encourage students to want to learn. Prensky discusses the “digital natives” a lot throughout his text, explaining how the 21st century learner has grown up with more access to technology and tools than any other generation. Although most people ten years younger than me have had access to technology their entire lives, I have had access to increasingly more advanced technology in one form or another throughout my entire life as well. I can usually pick up a new device, whether it be a phone, tablet, computer, smart tv, etc. and within minutes I can use the device. If there is something that I am unfamiliar with or do not know how to do with technology, I can figure it out within minutes. My phone is a resource that I have constant access to and I use it as a tool daily. I use it as a dictionary, thesaurus, for quick research, to contact people both in my professional and personal life, play music, write papers, take notes, and so much more. My parents, on the other hand, and many of the teachers in my life (both my former teachers and now friends), are not nearly as comfortable with technology as I am. They spend a long time figuring out new devices, turn to me for help or quick advice, and do not use their devices to their greatest potential by any means. Many teachers shy away from implementing technology in the classroom because they are either unfamiliar with it themselves, or they do not want to change their ways of teaching. However, technology is the biggest untapped resource in schools in my opinion. Prensky encouraged teachers to use technology to enhance learning even if they were not the most familiar with it. As long as students can use it with little difficulty, teachers do not need to know the ins and outs of every device. I would also like to urge teachers who are scared of technology implementation in the classroom to simply give it an honest try. One example of how technology can make a lesson easier is in the case of a collaborative writing project. Collaborative writing papers that used to take weeks, involved lots of marked up papers, possibly losing materials, were hindered if a student was absent and did not bring their share of materials, etc. no longer have those difficulties. If a group were to use a cloud software, like Google Drive, all materials are in one place. All students can work on their document simultaneously, instantly communicate with one another, and all of their work is in one place. If a student is absent, they could even work with their group from home or simply look over the new additions to the work and work at their own pace/convenience. Currently and in the past year, collaborative learning in person has almost become impossible with covid-19. With technology integration, the ability to collaboratively learn is possible again. Technology, when used effectively, appropriately, and purposefully, is a great tool that can open many doors in education if only teachers will allow it. Overall, I enjoyed reading Prensky’s thoughts in Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning. Although the book is not the most recent resource, the ideals still stand and can be extremely beneficial today. There are many aspects form Prensky’s partnering pedagogy that I admire and hope to implement in my own classroom today as education as we know it will continue to progress. Construct – to build; to make or form by combining or arranging parts or elements
Constructivism is a learning theory that focuses on allowing students to construct knowledge through active learning. Students learn through their own experiences and reflecting on those experiences. Students construct knowledge by connecting what they already know to what they are learning. The ideas of many educational theorists have given us the theory of constructivism as we know it today. Traditional learning focused on teachers lecturing and simply telling students information and expecting students to learn and understand what they had been taught. I don’t know about you, but I struggle to passively learn anything. Whether it is schoolwork, a new hobby, or a task at work, I need to actively do something to learn and understand it. This is where constructivism comes in. Through constructivist learning, students participate in various tasks and activities to process new information and apply what they have learned. Multi-sensory resources, questioning, and various resources are used to enrich learning. Students collaborate with their peers. They take an active role in what they are learning. Teachers provide scaffolding and help relate lessons to the real world to help students stay motivated and connected to what they are learning. If I wanted to learn how to crochet a blanket, I am not going to ask someone to verbally explain it to me. I would do research and find the kind of blanket I would want to make. Then I would look up the materials that I would need. I may watch a video tutorial of the stitches I would need to use. I also may find printable instructions with pictures. If I needed help, I may reach out to a friend for advice. However, if someone stood and gave me instructions for the entire process of making a blanket, I probably would not understand certain parts, and I would forget steps before I even needed to use them. Students are no different. Teachers cannot lecture to students and expect a flawless transfer of information with complete understanding. Students need learning to be a process where they can get their hands dirty at times, do their own research, and ask questions. They need to learn through their experiences and take a more active role in their learning (with the guidance and support of a great teacher). I look forward to using constructivism in my future classroom because I can see the many ways in which it can benefit my students in how they learn and grow in the classroom. I have heard of traditional learning, online learning, and technology integration, but I have never heard of a flipped classroom prior to this week.
A flipped classroom is essentially flipping where students learn and where they have practiced what they have learned. Traditionally, students will sit through lessons in the classroom and they will practice and apply what they have learned at home on a homework assignment. In flipped classrooms, students will watch a lesson at home and when they come to school they will practice what they have learned. This approach allows for much greater differentiation in the classroom. Students can work at their own pace to fully understand a topic. Students can then receive greater support and feedback from their teachers as they are working. This greatly decreases the amount of frustration that students face when working. Flipped classrooms have been proven to lessen the amount of students who fail their classes as well as decreasing the misbehavior in classrooms. Overall, I think that flipped classrooms are extremely interesting. I think that they can be extremely beneficial when correctly implemented. I would like to try using the flipped classroom approach in my own classroom one day. I may start by trying the approach with a couple of lessons. If it goes well and I see that it benefits my students, I would love to use it more often. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about flipped classrooms this week. Our world is forever changing. We learn new things, we grow as people, we invent, our world changes, and we adapt.
Education is changing today because it must. As a college senior, I can honestly say that the world is a much different place than it was when I started kindergarten. I had access to a television at home, but that was the only technology I remember having at the age of five. Today's children have screens shoved in front of their faces with YouTube videos, songs, games, and more before they can even talk. Because of children's constant access to technology, they are quite efficient at using it. Many students go home after school, log onto some kind of device, and research and create content pertaining to their interests. They spend hours watching videos, listening to podcasts, creating art, etc. Therefore, the common notion spread by teachers that students do not have the attention span today that they need for school is completely false. However, students do have a lack of desire to engage in traditional types of learning. As a future educator, I am extremely excited to be a teacher that uses more unconventional types of learning so I can get my students to be engaged and excited to learn. I think that the possibilities for education today are endless. There are so many resources today for any subject, and I think that it is important to utilize them. Today's educators do, however, have a challenge ahead of them. Because the world is changing at such a rapid pace, it has been said many times that we must attempt to prepare our students for jobs that do not yet exist. I think that in order to do that, we must teach our students lifelong skills that will help our students in any of their endeavors. Many of the critical, 21st Century skills were explored throughout the materials of this week's module. We may not know what kind of jobs to prepare students for, but it is and always will be useful to know how to be professional, a good teammate and a good communicator. It will also always be beneficial to know how to be adaptable, creative, resourceful, responsible, and how to use critical thinking skills. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about 21st Century skills and learning, and look forward to applying some of what I learned in my future career as an educator. |
Audriana ReidArchives
April 2021
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