tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.comments2012-03-25T07:32:48.075-04:00Todd Deschaine -- A Journey Through a Master's DegreeTodd Deschainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-17130275865846299532012-03-25T07:32:48.075-04:002012-03-25T07:32:48.075-04:00Chris -
Thanks for the read, and for the respons...Chris - <br /><br />Thanks for the read, and for the response. My students love the responders, and we are on our second set. The first set were the PE type, and they could not do exponents or fractions, so we moved up to the XE type. Because of the switch, we refer to the PE type as clickers and the XE type as responders. These look just like equation editor in PowerPoint or Word. I am getting used to creating the lesson/assessments, but I am still learning how to grade them, and use them to the full extent.<br /><br />I am getting observed this week, and we are going to be playing SmartBoard Jeopardy using the responders, and doing a review of the student work. Between now and then, I have to figure out how to print out the individual reports. Doing this in class would be very powerful.<br /><br />Thanks again for stopping by!Todd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-5894372993760915372012-03-24T20:13:09.133-04:002012-03-24T20:13:09.133-04:00I know that it can be difficult teaching citations...I know that it can be difficult teaching citations and proper format to students. It is hard to learn, and many adults have problems with it as well. I always had difficulty getting my 7th grade students to create a proper reference page. Not only did they not format correctly, but they would always list Google as a source even though I specifically told them NOT to use Google as a source. I guess that the only way for them to learn is through practice, and we should give them adequate opportunities to practice these skills. <br /><br />I love using the responders. My county has just made a substantial investment with SMART Response Remotes. Using the ‘clickers’, creating multiple choice assessments is quick and easy. Plus, the Notebook software will not only grade the assessment for you, but it will accumulate all the necessary data over multiple assessments and provide a graph for easy viewing. You can even print off the data for individual students, which is great for parent communications. And depending on how you use the remotes, you can give an assessment to an entire class or the students can take an assessment individually and move at their own pace.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-90731807827239390542012-03-11T16:50:40.533-04:002012-03-11T16:50:40.533-04:00Vernon -
Thank you for the response to my post. I...Vernon - <br />Thank you for the response to my post. I wanted to set goals within my GAME plan that were achievable but challenging, and I think I got that set up fairly well. Your suggestion of modeling the process of citation, even with a simple item such as a picture, is the proper start for a group of middle school students. I will incorporate this into a future technology project befor ethe end of the year.<br /><br />Thanks again for the reponse.<br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-39008726430312095482012-03-11T16:47:51.515-04:002012-03-11T16:47:51.515-04:00Fred -
Thanks for the complement. I never though...Fred - <br /><br />Thanks for the complement. I never thought I was capable of writing anything coherant until I spent some time actually doing it.<br /><br />I mentioned to Joe in an earlier reply that I believe the APA formatting has given more gray hair than I deserve, and I would not wish it upon my worst enemies. However, some form of citation should be used, and I intend to check with our Language Arts department to see what form they are using and stay consistent with their lead. The last thing I want to do is open up a can of worms with the Language Arts department, especially being a Mathematics teacher! <br /><br />Getting all the new technology is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it is cool to get clickers; one the other hand, I had to adapt a bunch of my lessons from the older electronic format to the new format in order to incorporate the value of the responders. It was worth it, but the other teachers are quite resistant and simply want copies of my lessons. They get ONE, then I do not send any more until I get something in return. <br /><br />Thanks for the response!Todd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-61854728916781114892012-03-11T16:42:00.458-04:002012-03-11T16:42:00.458-04:00Joe - Thanks for the response. You are right on wh...Joe - Thanks for the response. You are right on when you state that we should all be crossing our content matter with technology. I guess I never really put the propoer emphasis on my students' citations, concentrating more on the content and believing that they would develop the resource citing skill later on. I do not know how deep or accurate the citations should be, because I think the APA format has been responsible for another chunk of my hair turning gray. I think this is a realistic goal and can be accomplished within the scope of another technology project. I am looking forward to it.<br /><br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-434664513180527222012-03-11T01:56:17.713-05:002012-03-11T01:56:17.713-05:00Todd, I think that you have done a great job of se...Todd, I think that you have done a great job of setting up your goals and have adequately addressed the actions you would take to meet those goals. I share your concern for student plagiarism and knowledge of copyright. I do not feel like the current method that my school uses to address plagiarism has any bearing on my students whatsoever. One thing that has worked quite well is my PowerPoint lesson that I use at the beginning of each year. I create a PowerPoint in one minute using information that I copy and paste from random sites. I also throw in a bunch of pictures. I show the kids how easy it is. I think this kind of modeling hits home with the kids.<br /><br />I would caution you to make sure to address how you will continue to learn and evaluate your learning in the future. Perhaps you could continue to meet with fellow teachers every year or find a PLC to join.Vernon Camphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09922900322499040406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-22380024683437083442012-03-10T14:07:48.783-05:002012-03-10T14:07:48.783-05:00Fred responds to Todd –
It is too bad that you ha...Fred responds to Todd –<br /><br />It is too bad that you have too busy in this Master’s program to have the time to post more blogs. You are an excellent writer! <br /><br />You mentioned that you plan on having your students cite their work. For some reason I am curious to which style you would have them use, or would you allow them freedom to choose between the two most common (APA/MLA)? Few teachers outside of English or Language Arts teach formal citing of their work and I think it is important that it is addressed throughout the disciplines. I am one of the few teachers at my school that teaches students how to use MS WORD to cite resources. I am truly amazed at who many of my students have never been taught how to cite their work. Good luck with integrating it your lessons…my only concern is that it doesn’t take too much of your time up! <br /><br />It is great to hear that you are a Math teacher first and that the technology is secondary. Kudos to you for getting more “clickers” in the hands of the kids! I don’t have a Smart Board, but if I did I would expect it to be more of a student center or management tool for our Virtual Enterprise executives. <br /><br />Good luck with you GAME Plan!<br /><br />FredAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00516786313315928686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-41158876281176392902012-03-10T10:36:28.210-05:002012-03-10T10:36:28.210-05:00Joe to Todd
As a relatively new user of technolog...Joe to Todd<br /><br />As a relatively new user of technology in the classroom, I think it is very easy to overlook how efficiently that students cite their sources in the classroom; especially on a technology presentation. If I were a humanities teacher, I think it could be easier to watch out for proper citation. After all, kids are writing all the time in English classes. It should be second nature for these teachers. Think about others whom do not have this skill as part of their daily routine. How do they accurately and effectively monitor and correct errors in citation? I know that in my math classes, the last thing I think about is citation. I am more concerned with delivery of message (if the student is answering a question), understanding of content and accurate calculations. These are the areas I have been trained to observe.<br /><br />I think this course will help bridge our citation concerns though. If you think about it, we are truly asking our students to utilize their cross content skills when they develop a technology project for teachers. Why shouldn’t we also be developing our own cross-content skills? The very essence of the project we assign demands just that. From comprehensive Speech and English skills to accurate content skills; we demand excellence in our project. Why not citation? The only effectively raise the bar for our student(s) is to effectively raise the bar for ourselves. That’s where this course comes into play.Joe Pluskotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798362958669865765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-79137915658419495812011-10-13T04:25:50.690-04:002011-10-13T04:25:50.690-04:00Technology integration provides the facilitation o...Technology integration provides the facilitation of instructional strategies that can create integrated lessons that will allow students to retrieve, organize, and analyze information in a way that wasn’t possible before. Students will be able to engage in activities with the assistance of technology resources that will allow them to make deeper connections. learning is an effective tool for allowing students to construct knowledge in a social environment. <br /><br /> This alone will prepare students for a global workforce that will demand collaboration and diversity. "The research on cooperative learning is like a diamond. The more light you focus on it, the brighter and more multifaceted it becomes. The power of cooperative learning is brightened by the magnitude of its effect sizes, but the more you read the research and examine the studies, the better cooperative learning looks."<br /><br />Reference<br /><br />Johnson, David W., Roger T. Johnson, & Karl A. Smith, "Cooperative Learning Returns To College: What Evidence Is There That It Works?" Change, July/August 1998, p. 27-35.Cathy(justsaying)http://blackwelltips.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-72621011356995058052011-10-09T20:53:06.505-04:002011-10-09T20:53:06.505-04:00Joanne to Todd
It is interesting your post addres...Joanne to Todd<br /><br />It is interesting your post addresses how to group students. In the state of North Carolina we are using a new evaluation tool for teachers and my administrator observed me on the sixth day of school this year. Which is the earliest I have ever been observed! <br /><br />As I was preparing for our meeting after the observation I had to check boxes in a standard to show what level I considered myself to be at for a specific standard. The one standard I told my administrator I did not feel confident in was helping students learn how to work in groups and creating groups. She made a great suggestion; create groups based on meeting times. With each meeting created for different types of activities such as, the 10:00 group may have only two people, the 1:30 group may have four people, and a 3:00 group may have three people. Each student is responsible for keeping track of who they meet with for each meeting time. <br />I only have my students for half the school year since our schedule is a 4X4 block schedule. If I had students for the whole year I would create new meeting times and group members for the second half of the school year. <br /><br />I really liked this strategy and believe it will help me feel more comfortable with group work. If I can take the pressure off myself about how to divide students into groups, then I can focus on helping students learn how to work in groups, by helping develop students strengths and become comfortable with trying new roles within a group. I am pleased so far with how well my students have adjusted to the use of cooperative learning groups in my classroom. <br /><br />Connections are so important for student learning and when connections are not made students are often not successful. I have seen this every semester in geometry, until this semester. I believe the difference this semester has been implementation of cooperative learning in their meeting groups, the opportunity for alternative assessments, and creating a learning environment where students are part of the decision making.<br /><br />Great post.<br />Joanne CAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10074106610043642781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-68875881401306058202011-10-09T09:28:51.044-04:002011-10-09T09:28:51.044-04:00To Syuen -
It is always a great feeling when the ...To Syuen - <br />It is always a great feeling when the students get excited about something coming up in class. To have students be enthusiastic about learning is a moment that we as teachers can relish and reflect that we have done something worthwhile for our learners. I also think it makes the hard work we have put into getting this enthusiasm worthwhile, and makes our jobs more rewarding.<br /><br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-20067865969892360622011-10-09T09:25:44.698-04:002011-10-09T09:25:44.698-04:00To Katie -
Once again, thanks for your input and ...To Katie - <br />Once again, thanks for your input and thoughts this week. Please feel free to take anything you want from me or my blog - I take it as a complement when someone wants to use something they get from me.<br /><br />You are absolutely correct about modeling good groups as compared to bad groups. I try to model good projects as well as bad projects, or show what good homework looks like compared to bad homework, so modeling good and bad groups before trusting the students to do it themselves without direction is a big leap of faith. In our middle school, we often have the eighth grade students come into a room with our sixth or seventh graders to model good practices. Assigning roles is also a necessity so that each group member knows their role and is aware of their responsibilities once the group rejoins the entire classroom. Thanks again!<br /><br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-91154757573011784962011-10-06T21:54:46.790-04:002011-10-06T21:54:46.790-04:00It is good that your institution encourages collab...It is good that your institution encourages collaborative learning. It is important that students learn to work with each other; they need to learn to put parts of thing together in order to make a whole. The business world talks about working on a part to make a whole and then putting the whole thing together to make one. It is good when students start doing this in school so that when they go into the world of work they are not shocked at the thought of working in teams to solve problems. <br /><br />My students are working on power point presentations, in groups of four. After which they will have to upload the presentation to their Wikis. My kids are excited about this and I can't wait to see what they come up with working collaboratively.syuenwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11531696902354128547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-42214138993984908572011-10-06T00:30:03.553-04:002011-10-06T00:30:03.553-04:00Todd,
Great post . . . You gave me a lot to think...Todd,<br /><br />Great post . . . You gave me a lot to think about here : ) <br /><br />There was a lot of discussion in our resources this week about whether connectivisim should be considered a learning theory to be utilized by educators in the classroom. Personally, I found the theory of connectivism one of the most powerful learning theories we have studied so far. Within it’s foundation the connectivist theory encompasses many elements of other theories and provides examples for how a balanced instructional approach can lead to extensive networks in the brain, therefore leading to greater retention of new content. I think that any way educators can create networks and connections for our students, whether that be through social interaction or individual exploration, will be a benefit to individual learners. <br /><br />Thank you for sharing your “buddy sticks”. I like how you use this simple tool in the classroom to create randomized groups. Being a middle school teacher myself, I often find that even when I give students numbers to randomly place them in groups, many students often “forget what their number was” and gravitate towards other groups where there friends may be. While I do believe random groupings sometime work the best in the classroom, there are also times when I intentionally place students in groups based upon their strengths and areas of weakness. I usually try to balance each group with 1-2 higher skilled students with 1-2 average to lower skilled students. While the Pilter, Hubbel, Kuhn, and Malenoski don’t mention the size of cooperative groups, I find that anything more than 4 will often “spoil the soup.” (I like that phrase and may have to borrow it) : ) (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007)<br /><br />At the beginning of the year I take a couple class periods to discuss with my students what a “good” group looks/sounds like. This is their opportunity to share their positive and negative experiences of working in groups. By the time students reach middle school, they have a good understanding of what makes a group work well and what doesn’t. As a class we come up with a set of “group work expectations” that they all sign to adhere to for the remainder of the year. When I have a student not doing their part while working in a group the two of us sit down and review the expectations the they signed at the beginning of the year and come up with a list of potential solutions to the problem. <br /><br />During this time we also discuss group roles (leader, recorder, time keeper, liaison, etc). Students are then given simple tasks (come to a consensus on your favorite food, band, author, etc) in which they are responsible for working within a group to practice each role. I have found that using these expectations as well as assigning group roles have helped groups work more cooperatively and productively in the classroom.<br /><br />Katie Dorr<br /><br />References:<br />Pitler H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-83374282383556874092011-10-02T10:14:51.002-04:002011-10-02T10:14:51.002-04:00Jason's Response to Todd
The constructivist l...Jason's Response to Todd<br /><br />The constructivist learning theory is one that I identify with more strongly than many of the other theories because I have used it with success myself in the classroom. Since I started teaching in elementary school, I have tried to explain material by accessing knowledge that students already have. This may be an experience that we had as a group, something that students have done in their own personal life, or simply comparing concepts to television shows and video games. It seems that connecting new material to ideas and concepts that the students have already experienced goes a long way toward creating new connections to the content. <br />One of the concepts that you touched on is a weak area for me. Having students self evaluate is something that I have not done a lot of in my own classroom. Upon further reflection, I think having students look at their own work and critique it honestly could go a long way toward helping them to really master the material and create a connection with it that will last.Jason Hoffmanhttp://mymanyreflections.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-74370386409786176962011-10-02T09:32:26.307-04:002011-10-02T09:32:26.307-04:00To Jennifer -
Thanks for the kind thoughts, and f...To Jennifer - <br />Thanks for the kind thoughts, and for reading my blog. I hope my input to your blog is as useful and helpful to you as yours is to me. I always thought collaboration was necessary in order to improve, no matter what field or profession. When I came to change careers to teaching, I was amazed how many teachers do not share ideas, keeping their best lessons and ideas under wraps. What is strange is that any other teacher can pretty much replicate the lessons, more than likely improving upon what has already been done. I cannot enforce the "paying it forward" mentality, but I hope it happens.<br /><br />I can imagine lots of applications for spreadsheets in history, and how effective they would be in finding out key dates and events. Instead of students doing mathematics in history class, they could look to key times. How about a discussion of the popular vote compared to the electoral college? The students could use Excel to set up the numbers, or you could set them up first. Then they could see the differences using percentages, of the various election years. I see many graphs in history texts, like population growth, crop production, industrial power, etc. All those graphs could be reproduced using Excel.<br /><br />Thanks again for following and for your input.<br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-63579113009257038512011-10-02T09:22:28.579-04:002011-10-02T09:22:28.579-04:00To Katie -
After years of using spreadsheets duri...To Katie - <br />After years of using spreadsheets during my business career, I know just how important they can be. I agree with you about the lack of use in our schools, and how helpful they could be if taught, implemented, and used correctly. I never thought I was a "power-user" of Excel, but many others would come to me for help. I know I barely scratched the surface of the program. I do not think anyone really comes to use any of the Microsoft Office products to their full potential, except maybe Bill Gates.<br />I had used Google Earth to show the three dimensional image of the buildings. It is sort of like a miniature virtual field trip. The math comes in during a unit we do on scale factors. The students usually use maps, which they can see the utilization. When the scale factors change, the students had difficulty grasping the concept, or picturing the images. That is how the project started. I have to admit it is a nice break from textbooks and slideshows.<br />Thanks for the read. I will look into glogster as a presentation tool. Right now, that is lacking in my classroom, because I just have the students use whatever program they used to create to present.<br /><br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-9951002790537753912011-09-28T21:12:17.723-04:002011-09-28T21:12:17.723-04:00Todd,
I think the million dollar house project s...Todd,<br /> I think the million dollar house project sounds like an excellent way to get the students involved. Although you say you cannot take full credit, isn't collaboration what we are trying to teach our kids as well? Some of the greatest ideas come out of collaboration and/or an improvement made upon an existing idea. <br /> I have to admit, I do not tend to utilize spreadsheets as much as I could. As many of the other students in this course have stated they use them for multiple purposes, I may have to give it a try. As a history teacher, I tend to not collect "traditional" date, yet I am certain they could be useful for population, statistics, demographics, etc. So, thank you for sparking the idea--I am interested to see where I can take it!<br /> I enjoyed your post! JennJennifer Cucchisi-Mounthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00927823371398880756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-30839222920884891612011-09-28T20:34:50.537-04:002011-09-28T20:34:50.537-04:00Todd,
I like how you have students share their mul...Todd,<br />I like how you have students share their multiplication methods with other students to build a firm understanding of multiplication. I believe this activity would show students how the concept of multiplication stays the same regardless of what method they choose to manipulate the numbers. It seems like this activity would open the minds of students to begin thinking about the actual concept rather than just plugging the numbers into a formula. <br />Your Million Dollar project also sound cool!! What a great way to have students participate in an authentic learning experience that encompasses research, reading, math and technology skills. After reading about how teachers are integrating spreadsheets into their classes, I am beginning to wonder why more teachers in my building are not using this tool within their instructional framework. I currently teach a digital technology class, and we always cover spreadsheets and how to enter and manipulate data, and It always surprises me how little experience students have had with these types of activities. Technology within our building is limited, so I think that may be an issue, but I also think that many teachers have not has a lot of experiences using spreadsheets therefore they tend to shy away from these activities. <br />I am curious as to what program you use to then present your data? I currently use www.glogster.com (an interactive poster) for students to create final presentations of various research. Within this program students can embed pictures, video, sounds, and links to other documents. My students get really excited about personalizing their posters and the final products is a true collection of various multimedia tools they used to collect their information.<br />Your landmark activity also sounds great. I was thinking that this could be a cool project to incorporate Google Earth. I am not sure about how the mathematics would work, but you could give your students a 3D tour of the landmark to give them an idea of what it looks like as well as where it is located. <br />I really enjoyed reading your post. It sounds like you are doing amazing things in your classroom!<br /><br />Katie DorrKatie Dorrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335655972991851987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-60598927183694585152011-09-24T18:38:19.785-04:002011-09-24T18:38:19.785-04:00Todd
My geometry PLT has had many discussions abo...Todd<br /><br />My geometry PLT has had many discussions about the use of fill in the blank notes for some lessons. Until the reading this week I was not sure about the educational benefits of providing teacher notes. <br /><br />We use skeleton notes in units such as logic and for proofs to save time. Students often complain about the amount of notes they need to take during class. They also find copying figures for proofs to be tedious. <br /><br />I appreciate your insight about providing teacher notes for students freeing up students from tedious tasks to attend to higher level thinking tasks. I am going to provide teacher notes in the hope I can get students to attend to the connections rather than keeping up with the notes.<br /><br />Thanks for a great post.<br /><br />Joanne C.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10074106610043642781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-60538811451936030092011-09-24T18:09:25.324-04:002011-09-24T18:09:25.324-04:00To Anonymous -
I wish I knew who you are, because ...To Anonymous -<br />I wish I knew who you are, because your thoughts are very constructive to me and my blog. I like your idea of allowing the students to create the notes for the class via a wireless keyboard. That must feel like walking a tightrope at times, because we know how mischievous these middle school kids can be at times. I am looking forward to giving it a try though.<br /><br />If you come back to read my blog again, please let me know who you are, at least the first name so I can check the class list and thank you perosnally for your time and input.<br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-18945976162413407802011-09-24T18:06:03.418-04:002011-09-24T18:06:03.418-04:00To Katie -
This course's test is one of the be...To Katie -<br />This course's test is one of the better ones I have come across, either voluntarily or by mandated reading. It seems to be written to the middle school level, and after so many elementary school or high school texts, it is refreshing to see a middle school level. Sometimes it feels like Goldilocks - some books are too small, some are too big, but this one seems just right. Thanks again for you input and your thoughts.<br />ToddTodd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-23627436692424216722011-09-24T18:02:26.724-04:002011-09-24T18:02:26.724-04:00To Syuen -
I remember those scientific calculator...To Syuen - <br />I remember those scientific calculators as well. When you say they are not user-friendly, you are very correct. We use an old set of the graphing calculators in class, mainly because they were free and available. A simple TI-30, which costs less than $10, is easier to use and more powerful. Thanks for your input and for reading my blog!Todd Deschainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843953991078226385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-37323412751588386772011-09-24T08:36:51.381-04:002011-09-24T08:36:51.381-04:00I enjoyed your post because it mirrors many of the...I enjoyed your post because it mirrors many of the issues that come up in my classroom as well. I often wrestle with the decision to use calculators and computers to solve the math problems. I want the students to have the skills to do the math without the technology, but I also don't want the lack of that skill to stand in the way of new concept acquistion when technolgy can better facilitate it. <br /><br />Note taking has always been a difficult area for my sixth grade students. I rarely give them pre-printed notes for the same reason you stated above. They simply do not make the connection with the notes and many of the students do not get the benefit from them that they should. I find that using varied methods to take the notes helps with student involvement. Sometimes I will let students come to the board and created notes with the SMART Notebook tools on the board and sometimes I pass around a wireless keyboard for them to take turns creating the notes that will be printed. Of course, hand written notes are also sprinkled in. Changing the ways that we take the notes seems to help to make more connections and a higher percentage of students master the concept being studied.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791858635667354263.post-13308624760431896402011-09-21T22:22:52.214-04:002011-09-21T22:22:52.214-04:00Todd,
I was also impressed with Mrs. Casselman’s u...Todd,<br />I was also impressed with Mrs. Casselman’s use of technology in the classroom. With the aid of technology she eliminated some of the tedious work for students and really got them thinking about how they could use the concepts they were learning in class to create new understandings of data and statistics. In order to make these learning experiences relevant, teachers need to have clear objectives and a good understanding of the critical content they want their students to remember. We all know middle school students (well most of them) can add, so rather than use her valuable class time practicing a skill that has already been mastered, she used technology to help them see the larger picture. I also like how she worked with her students to come up with a formula to manipulate their data. It is through this activity that students can learn about how the appropriate use of technology can increase the efficiency and quality of work in the classroom. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011)<br /><br />I also liked the passage in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, that discussed note taking. Being a middle school teacher I find that my students struggle finding the main idea of a passage and recording only the necessary details. So often they are so focused on copying everything that was stated or read that they often attend to the small details rather than focus their attention on the main idea. I often create concept maps and/or flow charts that are partially complete so that students only have to fill in the blanks. I have found that this method helps students attend to the main ideas and helps them see how the concepts/ideas are connected. I have found that Inspiration has great pre-made templates and I began playing with LucidChart’s (found in our technology resources). LucidCharts appealed to me because it seems like a quick and easy way to create concept maps. You have the option of either printing them out or sharing them with your students so they could fill them out online. I haven’t had time to look yet but I also noticed that there is a community library where teachers can share their concept maps with fellow educators. <br />I also use Cornell notes with my students and like how you have set it up. Thanks for the idea! It sounds like you are doing some great things with your students and really focusing your instruction on how to make math meaningful to students.<br />Katie Dorr <br /><br />References<br /><br />Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program six: Spotlight on technology: Virtual field trips [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1<br />Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com