Tech. Integration in the Content Area (I)

Bitter & Legag's Using Technology in the Classroom (2006), does an excellent job of providing a format to creating lesson plans for teachers who would like to add technology to their lesson planning.

It does lack some of the modern-day "buzz" words, but instead provides word with similar meanings. For instance, Bitter and Legag write that the teacher should provide a list of Purposes. Today's student teachers would create a list of Objectives. I do not think one is "more right" than another, they both have the educator assess his/her lesson to ensure that there is a significant degree of student learning.

I also like the variety of lessons that exist for teachers of all levels - elementary and secondary; inter-disciplinary and subject-specific. Tomorrow, I will blog about how one of the lessons to my unit would appear, using Bitter and Legag's lesson plan format.

Final Project

I have finally figured out what I am going to do for my final project. Using one of the strategies that we read about in last week's reading "Instructional Strategies."

The reading mentioned a strategy called Independent Study. Using this strategy, students will study their own topic on Ancient China. Some ideas include (1) The Mongol Wars (2) Chinese Caligraphy (3) Women in Ancient China and (4) Confucius.

The students will study their technology using two main forms of technology. First, they will read about their technology in an Encyclopedia. Second, they will research their topic on the internet.

The unit should last 5 days, and will culminate in a journal entry where students create and answer an essential question.

Instructional Strategies (II)

I noticed a great way to expand my use/collection of Instructional Strategies. The Classroom 2.0 website offers several options for file-sharing. You can also use it as a "myspace" for educators. I have already become a colleague (a Classroom2.0 version of "friending") of several teachers - some I know, knew, or just met through the cite.

This could be a great way of diversifying my teaching strategy. Who knows, I might also be able to help or be helped by a colleague who encountered similar problems to my own.

Instructional Strategies (I)

As mentioned in my previous blog, I think it is important to use a variety of teaching strategies so that as many learners as possible can benefit from their particular learning style.

Of all listed in the article, I believe that I use drill and practice the least. I have used it, but only when we review states and capitals. A lot of students still prefer to memorize, rather than try to remember the state's corresponding capital city in another manner.

I believe that I use discussion the most as well as cooperative learning. In social studies, it is often beneficial to have students discuss their various ideas together. It is important for students to hear several opinions, as well as their own, when pondering an essential question.

Pre-Reading "Instructional Strat."

I decided to use a very contemporary approach in Middle School education, and that is "pre-reading." Our school has donated a lot of professional development in studying the impact that pre-reading strategies has on student learning.

Before we read anything in class, we usually do something to guide the level of understanding that students have already about the subject. Perhaps we would do a "K-W-L chart" to see just how much information the group as a whole has about the topic.

In this instance, the topic I am about to read is about "Instructional Strategies." I believe that it is important to vary your instructional strategy, as I mentioned earlier, to reach all learners. For instance, one lesson I may begin with note-taking to help the learners who prefer auditory learning or are more organizational. While other times, I may arrange my class into groups so that they can "solve the puzzle" of the new topic together. This will help the interpersonal, kinesthetic learners who need to be more 'hands-on' with their learning.

What type of learner/teacher are you?

What kind of learner are you?
I will combine several of Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences” when it comes to me describing my own learning styles.I think that I am a intrapersonal learner, in that I prefer to learn by myself when learning new concepts. I also am a visual learner, in that when I research I like to have all of the topics visible to me so that I can have a large bank of information to use.

What kind of teacher are you?
I believe that all teachers are not affixed to one particular learning style, per se. I would say that I try hard to reach all of the different styles of M.I. by diversifying note-taking. I also do not force my students to research in any particular way, as long as they have the necessary information. Therefore, I try and vary my instructional methods as often as possible.

Lever-Duffy

I believe that C.C.S.U. does a good job at really stressing Gardner's theory on M.I., and feel that I was well-ahead of my colleagues in that area who had their degrees from other universities.