One of the main goals of my GAME plan is to get to know my students and their learning styles on an individual basis. Last week I developed the surveys I will use at the beginning of the year to help me towards this. This survey and my analysis of it are the key components in reaching this goal, so now that I have the survey ready, I can concentrate on what I will do with the information once I have it.
Thinking about this brought new questions to mind. Some students may have more than one learning style, if so, how should I group them? I know I probably will not be able to create every lesson to match every student's unique learning style. Should I put them into more broad groups, so I can develop some lessons that meet 2 or 3 broader style groups, while still having other lessons that address each individual learning style?
I have also progressed towards meeting my goal of creating learner-centered lessons, where the students pick a topic to do a more in depth study of. I have chosen a few units that I think would be good to start with, including the human body and ecology. I chose these to begin with because they are both large units and have a lot of sub-topics that the students could chose from for their study.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Oil Spill
As a biology teacher and nature lover, I just have to take a moment to vent...I am absolutely sickened by what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico/Louisiana. I am at a loss for words...
Click on the title to see some amazing (and depressing) pictures.
Click on the title to see some amazing (and depressing) pictures.
Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress
As I continue to progress towards implementing my GAME plan, I continue to think of new things and have come up with new questions to address.
In order to progress towards my goal of customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students' different learning styles, I have begun creating the surveys I will distribute at the beginning of the year. I have included questions about what they like to do with their free time, what types of class activities they have done in the past, included ones they both liked and disliked, and why. I also ask students what types of tests and projects they seem to score best on, and what types of tests they prefer to take and why.
In order to progress towards my second goal of incorporating learner-centered lessons with technology I have begun reviewing different topics within my content area to see which ones would be best for these types of lessons. I don't think it would be practical to try to do this type of lesson for every topic, as it is time consuming and I don't think we would be able to get through the whole curriculum. I also think it might be a little overwhelming for the students if we tried to do this for every topic, as it would be a lot of work in addition to the regular content they are responsible for.
In order to progress towards my goal of customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students' different learning styles, I have begun creating the surveys I will distribute at the beginning of the year. I have included questions about what they like to do with their free time, what types of class activities they have done in the past, included ones they both liked and disliked, and why. I also ask students what types of tests and projects they seem to score best on, and what types of tests they prefer to take and why.
In order to progress towards my second goal of incorporating learner-centered lessons with technology I have begun reviewing different topics within my content area to see which ones would be best for these types of lessons. I don't think it would be practical to try to do this type of lesson for every topic, as it is time consuming and I don't think we would be able to get through the whole curriculum. I also think it might be a little overwhelming for the students if we tried to do this for every topic, as it would be a lot of work in addition to the regular content they are responsible for.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Carrying Out My GAME Plan
There are several different resources and types of information I will need to carry out my GAME plan.
To address the indicator about customizing and personalizing learning activities, I will need to begin by performing surveys with my students. I will review the results and discuss them anonymously with my colleagues. I would like to get their insights into how to best address different learning styles and techniques they have used, without discussing specific students by name. Once I begin customizing lessons, I will need access to computers and a variety of software programs for student projects.
To address the indicator about addressing diverse needs through learner-centered strategies I will first need to be familiar with what types of learners each of my students are. I will also need to have a variety of topics for students to choose from when they are doing their in-depth studies. I will also need access to a variety of technologies, including computers with internet access and software programs for creating projects and recording equipment and software for creating videos or podcasts.
I am not able to really enact my GAME plan at this time because I do not have a full-time teaching position, I am substituting, which does not give me the opportunity to create my own lessons and plans.
To address the indicator about customizing and personalizing learning activities, I will need to begin by performing surveys with my students. I will review the results and discuss them anonymously with my colleagues. I would like to get their insights into how to best address different learning styles and techniques they have used, without discussing specific students by name. Once I begin customizing lessons, I will need access to computers and a variety of software programs for student projects.
To address the indicator about addressing diverse needs through learner-centered strategies I will first need to be familiar with what types of learners each of my students are. I will also need to have a variety of topics for students to choose from when they are doing their in-depth studies. I will also need access to a variety of technologies, including computers with internet access and software programs for creating projects and recording equipment and software for creating videos or podcasts.
I am not able to really enact my GAME plan at this time because I do not have a full-time teaching position, I am substituting, which does not give me the opportunity to create my own lessons and plans.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Developing My Personal GAME Plan
After taking a look at the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS T), I saw several categories that I felt confident in as well as several that I know I definitely need to work on.
The categories I feel confident with are:
-Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
-design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
-participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
The categories I feel I need to work on include:
-customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
-address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
In order to address the first indicator, I plan to begin at the beginning of the school year by getting to know my students learning styles and preferences. I would begin this by doing a survey and then observing over time what types of assignments each student performs best on. As I gain a better understanding of my students, I will design lessons that can be easily adapted to their different learning styles. The lessons will have choices for how they can be completed, depending on the student. I would like to have lessons that give the option of using different types of technology, so the students can use what interests them. For example, a research project may be completed using a poster, PowerPoint presentation, or podcast. Through the implementation of these technologies, I hope to engage students and increase their content understanding (Laureate, 2009).
The second indicator is a little more difficult for me to address. I would like to develop learner-centered lessons that incorporate different forms of technology. I will do this by allowing students some freedom in deciding certain topics that we cover in more depth than others. For example, during the ecology unit, I will allow them to pick the topic that most interests them to complete an in-depth research project on. They will still have to learn all of the material for the unit, but they will be able to pick which topic they would like to explore more and what types of technology they would like to use to achieve this. I will give ample class time, as well as be available after school, so everyone can have access to the technology they require, as well as giving passes to the computer lab or library during study halls.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program four. Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part I. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
The categories I feel confident with are:
-Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
-design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
-participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
The categories I feel I need to work on include:
-customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
-address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
In order to address the first indicator, I plan to begin at the beginning of the school year by getting to know my students learning styles and preferences. I would begin this by doing a survey and then observing over time what types of assignments each student performs best on. As I gain a better understanding of my students, I will design lessons that can be easily adapted to their different learning styles. The lessons will have choices for how they can be completed, depending on the student. I would like to have lessons that give the option of using different types of technology, so the students can use what interests them. For example, a research project may be completed using a poster, PowerPoint presentation, or podcast. Through the implementation of these technologies, I hope to engage students and increase their content understanding (Laureate, 2009).
The second indicator is a little more difficult for me to address. I would like to develop learner-centered lessons that incorporate different forms of technology. I will do this by allowing students some freedom in deciding certain topics that we cover in more depth than others. For example, during the ecology unit, I will allow them to pick the topic that most interests them to complete an in-depth research project on. They will still have to learn all of the material for the unit, but they will be able to pick which topic they would like to explore more and what types of technology they would like to use to achieve this. I will give ample class time, as well as be available after school, so everyone can have access to the technology they require, as well as giving passes to the computer lab or library during study halls.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program four. Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part I. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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