I had no idea what I was getting myself into when decided to enroll in the Innovative Learning Program. Since then I feel I have grown leaps and bounds in my thinking, knowledge of technology, comfort and attitudes. Initially I felt uncomfortable interacting face to face with peers and instructors. As time progresses, I feel more at ease having direct contact and 1:1 meetings. So far, I am more intrigued with the idea of how I can expand my “creativity” aspect as a person, educator and as lifelong learner. My comfort level with the usage of technology keeps expanding week by week, I definitely have a long way to go before I can proclaim myself technology proficient. Overall, my attitude has changed in the way I used to view technology and its purpose in the classroom. I have more respect and admiration for the teachers who have made the jump into 21st century teaching skills and are implementing this skills in their classrooms. At this point in time, I feel challenged, inspired and supported by my professors and cohort. One semester down, a couple to go!!
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Within the three types of teaching methods presented, my preferred teaching method is flipped over CBL and PBL. Currently, the flipped teaching practice aligns more appropriately with the type of learning my students are more capable of doing. All of my students have multiple emotional and behavioral deficits not to mention low tolerance levels. Hence, a curriculum geared for independent learning, such as CBL or PBL would be too challenging for the majority of my students. The flipped teaching approach is more accessible in that students can view instruction online outside of class and move “homework” into the classroom. Many of the students at my special day class, who have a difficult time attending school, would greatly benefit from making up class work outside of class. This non-traditional teaching practice would provide more flexibility in the student’s schedules and perhaps keep them motivated to stay in school to graduate. Students would have an easier time earning high school credits without spending summers making up the credits. The flipped teaching practice may become the way of the future, especially for students who face serious emotional and behavioral challenges and cannot succeed within the confinements of a traditional teaching setting. In the flipped teaching practice, teachers would have time to help students and explain difficult concepts on an individual basis. Students would spend more time in class, collaborating and doing interactive activities to minimize frustration levels before going home to do homework. Although this teaching practice would not work for all students, it definitely would be a step up from what we currently offer at my school site. As we approach the end of this Fall Semester, I am enlightened and inspired with new ideas, ideologies, and teaching practices. The two speakers I found most compelling were Daniel Pink and his presentation on The surprising science of motivation. One of the reasons I appreciated his message was this idea of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. In my particular teaching setting, students are offered multiple rewards to succeed in school such as, Fun Friday (classes are shortened to participate in fun activities), breakfast is provided for all students, and school hours are reduced. Still, students lack motivation to attend school, participate and/or complete class assignments. Many of our students’ mindset is on the immediate reward, instead on the long-term benefits of education and learning. One of the major factors attributed to this cause are the chaotic, unstructured home environments. This semester has been full of emotional and behavioral challenges, in comparison to last school year. In general, students are not intrinsically motivated to be in class, even when they have carrot sticks dangling right in front of them.
The next speaker, John Seely Brown, talked on A new culture of learning. The one point that resonates with me is the idea of study groups. He said, “what’s the best predictor of how well a student will do in college.” It’s not their GPA or SAT scores, it is the ability to join or make study groups. Unbeknownst to me, I have been actively practicing this studying strategy this semester with my cohort. I regularly meet with my peers at least 3 to 4 times per week. We talk about current, pending, problem-solve, and give input when asked. John also said, “there’s no better way to learn, than to try to explain it to others.” And in our case, as teachers, we learn to improve our teaching practices based on student high performing outcomes. How well can students apply previous lessons to solve math problems, science questions, quizzes, and statewide testing. As instructional leaders, I plan to help my students think creatively by having access to educational math games. I will use Youtube videos as a learning tool to find the effects of prescribed medication, or a similar topic of interest. My third idea is to engage students with hands-on activities such as making a quilt, christmas ornament, or design a logo. I will tell my students ahead of time to perform as creatively as possible without paying attention to perfection. I have read the following articles, Leveling the Digital Playing Field, Challenges in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Elementary Settings with Math Instruction using Learning Technology, and Teaching Mathematics to Secondary Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Challenges and Practical Suggestions for Teachers.
Even though, I read the articles a couple weeks ago and took notes, I had forgotten the main points and reread most of them. The articles explored teaching practices to use with students lacking fundamental math skills. To make problem solving skills more accessible for special needs students, the articles promote hands-on activities and technology to reinforce retention and engagement for math students. I found the third article to be more relevant and practical to apply because it focused on the same population of students that I currently teach. The implementation of technology with math are the common themes throughout these articles, along with the challenges of teaching students with disabilities or disadvantages. These articles offered multiple perspectives but mainly from a teacher’s and what the district’s policies puts on math instruction. In many ways my driving question was address which is: What effect will a digital math classroom have on student engagement? I am still interested in researching articles that will tie in digital math instruction on student engagement or add something new to the field of special education knowledge. |
AuthorI am a special ed teacher at Vintage High School. Archives
July 2018
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