Yes! I love the idea of using Challenge-based Learning in my classroom; and, will do so this 2017!Blog: Share your musings about flipped teaching and CBL (vs PBL?) from the context of your classroom, your teaching practice and your student's learning experienceFlipped Learning is an approach I have been using in my 4th grade classroom since 2009 as part of my Math instruction. What students and parents have told me over the years is how much they appreciate the ability to go over materials in a preview, practice, and review manner so students can develop mastery and learn at their own pace -- which is a key factor for differentiated instruction that is highly personalized, uses technology, and includes peer-to-peer coaching! The websites my students and I have used included but are not limited to enVision Math, Khan Academy, Sumdog Math, and ST Math. Parents say they are able to see how engaged their child is while at home doing homework because their children are using the computers for the Math practice games that are also available as a part of their learning!
I use our August/September Back-to-School Night to introduce this Flipped Learning approach and use our October Parent-Student-Teacher Conference (PSTC) time to go over their child's progress up to that point. Usually, parents and students are initially apprehensive about this approach, but then realize soon after the PSTC that the Flipped Learning approach is a marvelous way to maximize learning time during and after school. I believe Sir Ken Robinson and Atty. Daniel Pink would be thrilled this approach is used in my classroom because of the intrinsic motivation that is activated in my students' personalized learning. Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is in my opinion quite similar to Project-based Learning (PBL) because they are both Inquiry-based Learning. The students in my 4th grade classroom have been doing PBL since 2009 because it was introduced to our school district through the Buck Institute for Education and then gently supported by our New Tech Network and LeanIn Napa partners. Three to four PBL topics are worked on each year covering (1) the school-wide behavior expectations of being safe, respectful, and responsible; (2) California Regions, Spanish Missions, and/or the Gold Rush; (3) students' choice of topic for the California Project; (4) Electricity & Magnets; (5) Water/Drought in California and Prevention of Water Pollution; and/or (6) the Advanced Learner Project Zone where our District's identified advanced learners in 4th and 5th grades at our school have a voice/choice of what they want to study with teacher approval for at least 30 minutes every day. What intriques me about CBL is its novelty for me, and it "feels" like it has a more community-based, problem solving focus than our usual two to three PBL topics we have covered each year. Maybe I feel that way because of the CBL videos I watched, which I believe had important solutions that students created. I would like to incorporate CBL into my classroom this coming school year and eventually into all of our 4th grade classrooms at Canyon Oaks by informing our PLC and students of my intentions. I sure hope they'll agree for all of us to do it!
0 Comments
Perception is E V E R Y T H I N G !!! (Check out my screencast on this brain-based learning topic by clicking HERE.)
Learning is context-based! Although there are exceptions, most students tend to learn well in a multi-sensory environment that activates several parts of the brain at the same time. Blog: Post key ideas you noted from the "Big C" [CREATIVITY]-Content speakers and any ideas you retained from Laura Masters' presentation. Within the context of your classroom and your teaching practice: What are your insights from this analysis? Are there common threads in your perceptions? How do your findings fit in with the other topics in this class: 21st century teaching & learning, equity of opportunity for students, the brain, problem-based learning, etc. As instructional leaders, how might you apply Mobley's 6 insights to help your students think creatively?Key Ideas I Gleaned From Each Video and Article
(1) Seung, S. (2010). "I am my connectome." Video - The brain function includes memories, personality, intellect. At a synapse, when/where the neurons communicate, neurotransmitters are sent out. Every neuron is connected to another neuron in one or more locations. - Brains change over time because of genetics, neural activity/physical movement within the brain (stream of conscientiousness), personal experiences, Just the mere act of thinking can change your connectome. - The human brain is being studied (constructed and reconstructed) to better understand our human existence. (2) Brown, JS. (2010). "The New Culture of Learning in a World of Constant Flux." Video - 21st century thinking is different from the past: From a predictable world of equilibrium to an exponential world of constant flux and dis-equilibrium because of increasing abilities in computation, storage, and bandwidth; thus, changing social, work, organizational, and political practices. - Skills we are teaching now will potentially be unnecessary or obsolete in just a few years. Instead of protecting knowledge assets and resisting change, we need our students participating in knowledge flows (creating new knowledge and embracing change) - Curiosity is needed in a world of constant flux. Mobile devices can be used as curiosity amplifiers. - Rethink "How We Learn, What We Need to Learn, and How New Media Has Changed This Process in Fundamental Ways ": Learning is redefined from traditional learning of old information to immersive learning by creating new information. Instead of "I think, therefore, I am" -- the new notion ought to be "We participate, therefore, we are." Understanding is socially constructed; we know ourselves in relation to others. - Nothing is better than learning in collaborative study groups; and, there is no better way to learn than for students to explain their understanding to others. According to Harvard, the best predictor of college success is whether or not you can form or join a study group -- even if it is through a virtual world and/or game-based learning. - Post/blog/write what you're experiencing! Those thoughts/answers become questions for further inquiry. Tools help to interpret/create answers. - Homo ludens: a highly nuanced concept of play as in the freedom to fail repeatedly, then get it right; as in imagination like poetry/music lyrics; as in an epiphany of understanding/of how to resolve a problem; as in riddles to reframe a world view; as in progenitor of culture (3) Gardner, H. (2007). "Five Minds of the Future." Video - The Disciplined Mind - Practice a lifelong habit of working steadily on things (practice) - Master the major ways of thinking: Historical, Scientific, Mathematical, and Artistic - Become an expert in a profession, craft, or art - The Synthesizing Mind - The synthesis has to be able to be explained to other people. - The synthesis needs to be revised contextually so it will make sense to the audience. - The Creative Mind - People who are creative are those who come up with new things that are eventually accepted. - They take chances/risks, are not afraid to fall down, then pick themselves up - They say "what can I learn from this?" as they move forward. - Creativity occurs after mastering at least one discipline, art, or craft -- usually takes about 10 years. - "Thinking outside of the box" cannot occur if you do not have a box. - A creative person's work(s) change how other people think and behave. (His definition/only criterion) - The Respectful Mind - Beyond tolerating differences; Understanding, reconciling, and forgiving each other's difference - Treating each other the way the other wants to be treated; "You"-based instead of "I/my" perspective first. - The Ethical Mind - It reflects on the different roles we fulfill and talks about the proper ways to meet the needs of those roles. - GOOD WORK is defined as EXCELLENCE, ENGAGEMENT, and ETHICAL - Give students practice in making ethical decisions through case studies and "What if..." questions. (4) Robinson, K. (2013). "How to Escape Education's Death Valley." Video - End outmoded industrial educational system and create a highly personalized, organic approach using technology and professional resources to engage ALL students! - Humans are naturally different and diverse. - A real education has to give equal weight to the arts, the humanities, to physical education as well as STEM. - Curiosity drives human life and innovation. Children are natural learners; continue to nurture their curiosity. - Great teachers mentor, stimulate, provoke, and engage their students so they can learn. - Have a high quality teaching profession with support and professional development. - "Alternative education" schools should become the norm to support ALL students' learning. - Change the learning environment/conditions to value the relationships between teachers and learners - Allow creativity and innovation to flourish rather than merely rule-following and rote memorization. (5) Pink, D. (2010). "The Surprising Science of Motivation." Video - Extrinsic rewards narrow our focus and restrict other possible ways of thinking/seeing/reacting/reasoning. - Higher incentives led to worse performance. - Right-brained creative, conceptual abilities are more important than ever. - Intrinsic motivation works best because problem-solving/tasks are based around things that matter, we like, are important, and are interesting. - People will be most interested in doing the task if it includes autonomy/self-direction, mastery, and purpose. - "ROWE" - Results Only Work Environment: How, When, and Where is self-determined. (Think: Wikipedia!) (6) Mobley, L. R. (2010). "Can Creativity Be Taught?" Article - a) Asking radically different questions in a non-linear way is key to creativity! - b) Upend existing assumptions; design mind-blowing experiences! - c) Being creative is a transformational process by doing, not by reading about it! - d) Hang out with creative people in an unsystematic unstructured environment with peer-to-peer interactions! - e) To be creative, one must be reflective and know oneself (strengths, flaws, biases, world view, etc.)! - f) Most importantly, let go of the fear of looking like a fool. Discover and learn from the "mistakes!" My Reflection: Ultimately, we teachers and our students must see ourselves and each other as change agents within and beyond our classrooms. Teaching and learning needs to be transformative, especially in terms of Mobley's 6-point perspective! Project-based learning appears to be the best path to helping our students participate with myriad skills (which includes the reflective process of how-to-learn) and thrive in our ever-changing 21st century. It provides inquiry-based learning, which includes: curiosity, creativy, and choices to solve problems authentically through collaborative study groups that communicate and think critically, then present/explain their knowledge to others. More importantly, this manner of learning can be enhanced with the use of technology so students who mentor and learn with each other can also do this virtually and across the globe! Because this type of peer-based learning and creation of aha moments is fun/emotional, the learning will be stronger based on intense neural brain activity. We must engage our students and each other as knower, maker, and player -- that is, as participators. In addition to inquiry-based learning, blogging is another important way to learn because it changes content/static knowledge to a creation of new information via collective contextual interactions. Those conversations can create convergent and divergent thinking! Aha, blogging appears to be the easiest manner in which I can help my students achieve transformational learning, so it must be implemented in my classroom (and in others, too). I also need to teach even more digital literacy than I have done before along with the other traditional literacies (language, numeracy, etc.) Based on the assigned videos and article I viewed in addition to other books I've read before this class regarding creativity as well as through the experiences I've fostered in my classroom, I believe whole-heartedly that creativity can be taught especially when everyone feels safe about the discovery process: asking questions like "what if ..." while making sure the expectation is that no one should laugh or put down the relevant ideas and divergent thinking. All of our students need to be encouraged to make mistakes, experiment, see experiences as learning moments, and to see the word, FAIL, as First Attempt In Learning so they will feel free to become/be creative in their own thoughts while encouraging their classmates to be creative, too! Full disclosure statement: Unfortunately, while growing up in San Francisco during a time in which perfection, being good, obeying rules, and following directions (not flexible-mindedness) were the major end goals for my immigrant parents, their siblings, extended family, friends, and society. I was extrinsically pushed/motivated/punished by my parents and elders to NOT make mistakes, always try to go for 100%, etc. -- or else! In retrospect, I feel like I could have grown so much more if I were to have felt safe enough to make mistakes and see those moments as opportunities to learn and develop. Therefore, ever since reading books on creativity and further validated by these assigned videos, I have learned about the importance of NOT being held to the standard of perfection to enable growth founded in confidence-building rather than fear: I cultivate in my classroom the theme that we should all do our BEST to give our sincere efforts in trying to learning by doing! I encourage a community culture in which my students recognize that everyday should be considered a new opportunity to better communicate, collaborate, create, and be a critical thinker with awesome character, and a global citizen perspective. Blog: Complete reading Darling-Hammond (194-328) as time permits, but focus on her last chapter. This week, please blog about how implementation of such policies could affect change in education and about John's Dewey's quote from 100 years ago. Darling-Hammond laid out her policy prescriptions in the closing chapter of Flat World Education. She organized them into five key elements:
The moral/ethical imperative stated in John Dewey’s quote made one hundred years ago, “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must we want for all children in the community. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy” and the perspective of your own classroom. As other members of this cohort 9 have stated, there have been many times when students have actually refered to us as "Dad" (or "Mom" in my case). Yes, we teachers definitely want the best for our students -- but unfortunately, there are parents in society who are unable to partner with us teachers for the success of their child/children and/or are indifferent to their child's well-being for myriad reasons (too busy, actually do not know how to parent, drug addiction, etc.). So, it is important for us educators to do our part as in "the village" to provide the upbringing our society's children need; and, for that upbringing through our classrooms to be done equitably. That upbringing refers to the education we teachers provide. It includes the social-emotional, behavioral, and academic content: foundational and abstract, skills and thinking. If ALL students were nurtured in the equitable learning environment that Darling-Hammond and Dewey argue as a moral and ethical imperative, social justice would prevail! Our society as a whole would benefit not only in innovation, but more importantly in the kindness and coopertation that could occur if everyone's needs were attended to. If our US educational system was, in fact, inclusive, that is, one in which the funding, the teacher quality, and the materials (site building, curriculum, and supplies) were equitably distributed and sustained, then there would probably not be a society of "haves and have-nots," which means criminal activities based on greed/hoarding would potentially eventually disappear. Our flattened world would be even more flattened if everyone in the US and globally fostered this equity for ALL students who would potentially grow up to be equitable and cooperative loving people who cared not only for themselves, but also for each other, other species, our environment, our world! Ever since I began my career as a teacher, I have shared this belief with my colleages (passing out car bumper stickers, etc.), taught my students, and have done my best to instill this motto in their hearts, mind, and actions: "Everyone Does Better When Everyone Does Better" with the practice of each of them doing what they can to lift up their classmates (emotionally, psychologically, and ultimately academically)! All supplies/materials are shared; students share their ideas with the understanding that divergent thinking is encouraged; and, students reach out to give care to each other anywhere on campus. My prayer is that they continue to think and act this way beyond my classroom, for the rest of their lives to contribute to making our world an equitable place to live in, that is, a peaceful loving planet Earth. I am extremely grateful that our Napa Valley Unified School District believes in and promotes this equity-based thinking throughout the district to close the acheivement gap. You can view their District Policy by clicking HERE. Blog: Summarize your thinking around the one of the videosA. What is the nature of the case? - This lesson is titled, "Fluency Assessment." It can be found here. More importantly, it is awesome because it addresses the TPACK nature of this Innovative Learning Program while also including a key aspect of student learning beyond practice: that is, self-reflection/self-evaluation. B. Share some descriptive details Objectives
C. What new and useful information did you learn? - According to the research by Basaran, reading fluency is an important indicator of reading comprehension; so this lesson is the perfect one that models for me how to use technology to fulfill the TPACK sweet spot by (1) TK=Audacity, free app, to record and listent to their oral reading; (2) CK=Language Arts oral reading fluency; and (3) PK=students reading out loud to develop their reading comprehension through frequent fluency practice. D. Could you potentially use this lesson? - Yes, I will definitely use this lesson; and, students will be encouraged to use the technology part at home to increase their rate of fluency development! E. Rate the film experience 1-5: - 5, it allows for students to work at differentiated paces and places (school and outside of school). My Web 2.0 Animoto Presentation and reflection about this lesson, students learning, and aha moments can be viewed by clicking on any part of this sentence! Part 1 of my other case studies analyses can be found here.
Blog: After reading pages 99-192 (CH. 4-6) in Darling-Hammond, what are the key elements you feel should be included in your classroom to prepare your students for the future.In order for my students to learn well in a 21st century learning environment per chapters 4-6 of Darling-Hammond's The Flat World and Education, I would like to see these elements implemented in my classroom (and for that matter, in all classrooms across the USA):
Blog 1: Write about your teaching passion/interest or a problem that you need to solve in your classroom. What question would you like to answer related that topic? What is the global background (international/national, state, district, school for that topic? What is needed to improve the situation? (Possible DQ and background and need?) My teaching passion is to help students learn to love to learn. My goal to inspire them to be responsible for their learning, so they will want to read, research, calculate, etc., and see how whatever they are doing is relevant to their future in school all the way through college and/or in their adult lives--professionally and personally. Integral in the learning process would be engagement and motivation demonstrated by my students. It is important to me that ALL of my students recognize this is their one pass at being a 4th grade student in my class and that they ALL need to help each other as well as themselves in being great students, that is, peer learners and teachers. So, my other great passion is making sure that our classroom has a culture of being a safe, close-knit, and supportive community.
At this moment, although I'm not certain, I know I would like the focus of my classroom action research to include how using peddlers could enhance students' learning. I had received a grant from the Napa Valley Education Foundation (NVEF) to purchase the peddlers so I could demonstrate that students would benefit from being able to move as needed to learn. According to Pat Wolfe's book, Brain Matters: Translating the Research to Classroom Practice, 2nd ed., research showed students need to move at least every 10-20 minutes to refresh their thinking, to learn best. It would also be great for me to learn how I can better support my students desire to read. So maybe, I will have students use peddlers during our sustained-silent reading time to determine if they will enjoy and/or focus better on reading when they use the peddlers than when they don't use the peddlers. I have learned that my DQ can be approached in a variety of ways vis-a-vis this statement: Naturalistic research using qualitative methods may investigate the same issue as experimental research using quantitative methods, but it does so in a different form and from a different perspective (Falk & Blumenreich, 2005). So, I will need to figure out which method will be best for my study. |
AuthorJulie C D Meyer-Houston began her exciting journey during Spring 2016 as a grad student in Touro University - California's Innovative Learning program to earn her Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree, which focuses on Social Justice & Equity and the use of technology in education. Archives
May 2016
Categories |