Journal

=My Journal= The purpose of this journal is to document my progress in integrating the 21st Century Skills in my classroom.

So far so good. I am learning so many new things. This weeks reading was again very thought provoking. Asking for students to share their ideas about how to shape their educational experience is not only smart, but is an engaging experience in and of itself. Everyone likes to be heard and valued and our kids sure have a lot to say. But will we listen?
 * 11/5/09** (Week 2)

When I taught preschool ten years ago we used an emergent curriculum. It was the newest craze at the time, and it makes sense. When kids are engaged in a learning activity we need to sustain the learning so that they get the most from their experiences. My sixth grade students excel when they can see how one lesson extends and applies to the next. These lessons emerge from the experiences we create in the classroom. Hence, my lesson plans always have scratch outs, additions and arrows in every color imaginable. When this happens my classroom feels like a laboratory. I find that I enjoy my students more and they learn more than they would by me lecturing. It's a win-win situation.

Changing the way we teach today's kids is a scary endeavor. It is evident that we need to make changes to the educational system we currently subscribe to. Rethinking and then aligning our new knowledge with practical applications is going to take time and energy. It is exciting to me and some of my colleagues, and it is a commitment we have chosen to make. I am fortunate to be making this leap with such a solid, brilliant group of educators.

Today I taught a lesson on the importance of effective communication. I used Prezi, a free presentation software that creates really cool presentations. The lesson focused on commonly misspelled words and the use of homonyms. The students were shocked to see the examples I found of signs with misspellings and word usage errors. We laughed a lot and found ourselves saying, "how embarassing!" several time s. My goal was to motivate my students and show them importance of looking good and sounding smart. Effective communication is more important in the 21st century than ever before. Check it out! []
 * 11/10/09** (Week 3)

The activity that I planned with this lesson was for groups of students to take photographs of homonym pairs. They used the digital camera to either find examples in the classroom/playground or to create (draw, act out) examples. This was a fun, engaging, constructivist learning experience. I was impressed by the problem-solving I witnessed by my students. I am certain that more learning took place by this activity than by me reviewing the many homonym pairs with them.

The next phase of this lesson is still in the works. I want to put all the photos taken by the kids together to make some type of presentation of homonyms. But, I want it to be meaningful to them. I need to survey the kids for next step ideas. Asking them: "What would help them learn all the commonly misspelled homonym pairs?" "What other types of practice activities would be helpful to learn these words?" "How could we show our mastery of the homonym pairs?"

After reading this weeks workshop on constructivism I feel a new obligation to continue this type of instructional practice. As I reflect on this lesson, and my use of constructivism, I am pleased with the learning that took place today. My students were engaged and in the end were able to debate the many reasons that effective communication is crucial in the world today. I can see us revisiting this essential question throughout the year as we work to transform our learning environment.

Today in class, I had a student ask to share his journal writing. He went on to tell the class that he had gone to the OSU game on Saturday. He shared the highlights of his day in great detail. At the end he told us that we could view his pictures on the internet. Of course we were all interested. I proceeded to tell the class that we could look but more than likely we would be blocked from the site because of the school's firewall software. They groaned and I rolled my eyes in frustration, but to our delight we could see Skyeler's family enjoying the Buckeye's victory. This is just an example of a great way to connect ourselves to our families and their world.
 * 11/16/09** (Week 4)

My work with transforming my classroom this week was a challenge. I was gone two days this week for our district leadership team training. We also had DARE on Wednesday and I have a student teacher who was responsible for teaching a few lessons this week. Despite this crazy schedule, the students did make a lot of progress on their "Urbana Project". We worked with iMovie. Amber and I completed our sample movie and shared it with the classes. It was a lot of fun and I find myself eager to work on another one for my family.

Unlikely Tourist Spot: West Liberty, Ohio (example) media type="file" key="Marie's Candies.mov" width="300" height="300"

Our students learned to download photos and music to use in their movies. They also taught themselves and others how to use the voice recording options to include their interview information and business pull factors. Although we will still need another day to complete our work, one more day than I had planned for, the kids are pleased and incredibly engaged in their work. This helps me temper my anxieties. Amber helped me to remember that I didn't have to know all the ins and outs of the program. And that the kids could teach each other. She was right! I am glad our relationship lends itself to such openness.

Here is a power point that I used to introduce vocabulary for the Urbana Projects. (coming soon) I'd love to see this, too. Kathy We were unable to downsize the PP to a small enough file. Sorry it won't fit on here.

This weeks readings focused my attention to using technology as a tool to teach the basics. We completed our projects with iMovie. The students set up the projector for both audio and video presentation of their movies. My classes used a rubric to assess each groups movie. They found it valuable and I noticed groups adding information orally once their movies ended to include information that may have been missing. They were self correcting and they wanted to include everything required to earn their best score. This doesn't happen when we do paper pencil projects. VICTORY!
 * 11/25/09** (Week 5)

Another positive to the project was that students reflected on their learning. They had to tell me what they liked/disliked and what they learned from doing this project. I found that many basics were taught through this assignment. The students asked when we would begin our next iMovie. I had one student say he would like to make a movie at the end of each learning target to show what he had learned. I can really see how using technology can be a great way to differentiate.

The article, //21st Century Skills: Will Our Students Be Prepared//?, Eeva Reader reminds us, "All human beings learn by doing, analyzing, talking, processing, and problem-solving. Talking at kids never has been and never will be an effective way to help them learn." I can now see that the interaction and problem-solving that took place throughout this project will better serve my students in the future. I have caught the bug and so have they!

Melanie, Just email me when you want me to look at Week 6. I saw your video pasted on Amber's wiki. It should really give both of you a head start on the video requirement. Kathy

Thanks Kathy!


 * 12/11/09** (Week 6)

Wow, things have been extremely busy. This week I began working with Fritzi, our Technology Coach. She will be with me for 50 minutes a day. The class she visits is an inclusion classroom so there is an intervention specialist with us along with my student intern. Having four adults in one classroom is very different. It will take some getting used to. We all seem to work well together and have no problem chiming in as needed. I wish we had time to collaborate and plan more so we could use the skills and talents of the adults to an optimal level. We began our Poetry Unit this week, and the kids seem very eager about writing poems. I introduced the unit by describing how we would read and write several different types of poems. I then explained the learning goals and the students and I created "I can" statements that we will use to measure mastery of the ELA standards. Finally, I described a project that the students would be responsible for. We looked at a rubric and made some modifications to it so that the students could begin thinking about how they can creatively show their new knowledge of poetry and various types of figurative language. I feel really good about giving them the freedom to choose how they want to demonstrate their mastery. It has been a challenge for me to give up some of the control I often exude in order to allow my students to prosper in a PBL environment. I am really excited to see what they come up with.

Although our week has been hectic with schedule changes and holiday music practices, we have been able to keep the kids writing poems. Each year that I've done this type of poetry unit I am amazed to see the kids who never want to write begin to blossom. There is just something about sharing feelings and describing them using our senses that appeal to so many of my students. This unit is proving to be a great opportunity for my kids to pour out their feelings and get a chance to share what they are going through. We've done some preliminary planning, and I'm going to get a Moodle poetry slam assignment ready for next week. (I hope I remember how to do this?!?!) More Project Based, Constructivist Learning is in the works.............


 * 12/18/09** (Week 7)

The Moodle assignment is ready. We decided to have the students choose their best poem and post it to the Moodle site. Then they are to respond to two other poems posted in the form of a poem. My student intern and I did a sample post to model for the kids. We will assess the students on the poem they post and will require them to use correct spelling, punctuation, and usage. We will emphasize that this is a formal language publication and they should avoid using "texting lingo". We will also require that the kids first post a response to someone who has not received a poem comment and then choose a second student to respond to.

Today the kids were begging to do the Moodle Poetry Slam assignment. It is crazy to see them enter my room and ask to do an assignment. I can see the value in allowing them the independence to use the computers and choose the poem to post and whom they can respond to. This is a shift for me and my teaching style and I attribute it to my new understanding about Project Based Learning. Watching my students quickly begin working and asking to go beyond the required number of responses is awesome. They have been helping each other with formating their poems and spell checking too. This is a great example of how problem-solving has become a new focus for me too. I have intentionally asked students to teach me or another student just to allow them the opportunity to problem solve. My classroom is transforming into a mini-work environment.

Fritzi is going to do a mini-lesson on using Word to compose the poems so that Spell Check can be used. She will also teach them to copy and paste the Word text into the Moodle assignment. I'm enjoying having Fritzi in my classroom. She has been able to assist me with several technology questions that I never seem to have time to ask. Every classroom deserves a Technology Coach! We couldn't be luckier to Fritizi on our team! [|Moodle]


 * 1/15/10** (Week 8)

Today we had a teacher work day that was very productive for us. Our team used the day to collaborate and plan for our up coming Literature Circle Unit. We created a video of ourselves modeling a literature circle meeting. We read a chapter from //Number the Stars// and each of us completed an assignment to share with our group mates. The assignments are designed to prompt rich discussion amongst the kids. The team sat in a circle on the floor and conducted our meeting. We had a good time creating the imovie so we can show our classes what is expected of their weekly meetings together. This unit lends itself nicely to differentiation. The flexible groups we use allow us to modify instruction to meet students' varying readiness levels, learning preferences, and interests.

We allowed the kids to choose from five novels based on their interests. Next we grouped them and have given then the option to choose weekly "jobs" based on learning preferences. The kids will read daily in class from the novel and will meet with the teacher for mini-lessons and discussions throughout the week. We will meet with struggling students who have a lower readiness level, and will tier activities for those needing enrichment.

Many groups have already begun to plan ways to show mastery of the learning targets for this unit. I have heard some who want to create an imovie, while others want to do a dramatic representation of the climax in their story. I can see how the past projects we have completed are acting as spring boards for critical thinking with my students. The motivation I see from my students at the beginning of this unit is remarkable. I truly believe that because the instruction isn't "one size fits all" the kids feel a sense of ownership for their learning. Although differentiation takes more time to plan and implement the rewards of this extra time show when my students are happy and learning to their individual potential.

This weeks readings validated my instructional decisions and that feels great! **1/29/10** (Week 9)

This week was a whirlwind! My student teacher has jumped in feet first and is off and running with Reading Workshop. She is working closely with Amber to plan lessons from a book we are reading called //Comprehension Connections//. The goal of this book is to teach kids how to think about what they read. After all, reading is thinking! The students are struggling with a weekly assignment that requires them to read 100 pages. The students keep a book log and write a summary of the reading, then prepare to meet with the teacher to discuss the reading. Unfortunately, many kids read just enough to write a summary and then briefly discuss a minor plot event during their reading conference. By teaching kids to use metacognition, we are teaching them different strategies to use while reading to check their thinking. I've seen a new level of excitement with the kids and these new lessons.

This weeks lessons fit nicely into the TPACK model. Mishra and Koehler report that, pedagogy and content need to be brought together in an interesting way to make learning accessible to all students. The lessons we've been doing require the kids to use their knowledge to further their understanding of the content they are reading. By utilizing technology, learning becomes a part of our students everyday life. This makes it relevant and useable for them. As teachers, our pedagogy needs to allow for creative ways to meet kids in their world. I've learned that standard (lecture/drill and practice) pedagogy doesn't work. I have to find a way to transform education to catch up with today's kids. This means being creative and open to new technologies and medias.

TPACK has influenced my teaching and how I manage my classroom. I am working to create a classroom learning environment that leaves kids seeking more. I want the solution to the current problem to lead us to our next problem. When this happens, I know the learning is relevant to my students lives. I see how being a facilitator of the learning gives the kids the ownership for their learning. I've always wondered why I feel like I work harder than my students. The TPACK model has helped me to reflect and in turn realize that, I design the learning, but the kids DO THE LEARNING! I will have to continue my professional development in the areas of pedagogy, content knowledge, and technology in order to teach kids the knowledge and skills they need for the 21st Century.

Click here to see the TPACK diagram.

[|TPACK Article]