Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Internet Safety Sharing

For this part of the internet safety assignment, I talked to my 32-year-old sister. She is the mother of 3 young children ages 7, 4, and 1. From our discussion I pleasantly surprised by what an informed parent she is. She told me that she’s spent a lot of time reading articles and listening to programs about internet safety. I was able to share a few new ideas with her about internet safety—mainly that you sometimes have to shut down an entire system when you accidentally access something you shouldn’t view and that parents need to set the example as good viewers of media when it comes to time. I also shared with her what I learned from the article, “Tangled in the Web” and a more gospel-oriented perspective on how media is useful if we use it correctly. This was a positive experience because I was able to congratulate my sister on all that she knew as well as give her a little more information. This was also an easy assignment to complete because she already knew so much information and yet I was still able to help her learn something new about a topic she is very interested in. Overall, I think this was a valuable experience and I’m glad that my sister is a well-informed, caring parent who understands the importance of internet safety.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Personal Learning Theory

I discovered a lot about how I learn by trying to teach myself how to knit a scarf on a loom. As I reflected back on the process of learning how to loom, I was intrigued by the fact that many of the things I learned come together to constitute my personal learning theory or the ways that I learn the best.

In order to really learn, you have to want to learn or have motivation. This motivation can be extrinsicintrinsic. When a person is intrinsically motivated, the process of learning in and of itself provides personal fulfillment. I was intrinsically motivated to learn how to loom. I wanted to be able to master looming because I felt like it was a valuable skill to have that would be applicable for the rest of my life. This same idea applies to me learning any new skill or concept—I have high intrinsic motivation when I know that what I am learning will help me in the future and that it will be applicable in situations I will encounter for the rest of my life. or

When I first obtained the loom, I was hoping I would be able to figure out how to do it all by myself. I quickly realized that I needed some help. So, I asked for written directions from my former third grade teacher—a more knowledgeable other. I then tried to teach myself with only the aid of written directions. I realized again that I needed more help, this time in the form of having a more knowledgeable other model the steps for me. At this point, my mom came to my assistance and fulfilled that role. I watched her go through each step (modeling). She was careful to explain things in ways that I could understand—in effect, she was teaching to my specific zone of proximal development. She then proceeded to help me complete the process. As she helped me, she was gradually removing her degree of assistance. My mom recognized that I as I moved further along in the process, I didn’t need as much scaffolding as I required at the onset of learning the loom. My mother teaching me how to learn the loom is a great example of cognitive apprenticeship. I think that this is a good way for students to learn because a more knowledgeable other serves as the example as he or she models the process the students themselves will then complete. In addition, this also serves as a way to increase student self-efficacy. When I saw that my mother mastered the loom by practicing, I believed that I too could master the loom, increasing my personal self-efficacy. This method of learning also caters to individual student needs by adapting instruction to fit into every student’s zone of proximal development. I believe that cognitive apprenticeship compliments guided discovery learning.

When I finally started to loom on my own, I experienced disequilibrium. I found that I started to make mistakes with the loom and it was difficult for me to learn how to correct the mistakes I made, especially when I had to take off so many rows to catch a simple error. I realized that I was still in the process of trying to transfer the knowledge I had about the looming process from my working memory to my long term memory. I had a hard time with this because I was not consistently practicing everyday. Because I wasn’t consistently looming, it would have helped me transfer my knowledge to my long term memory if I would have practiced maintenance rehearsal. When I began to loom for longer periods of time and looming multiple times the same day, I then began to develop automaticity. I found that looming became a mindless, automatic task that no longer took mental effort. I feel that I learn concepts and ideas in a similar fashion. If I am not constantly learning about the concept or idea, I have to practice maintenance rehearsal in order to transfer my newfound knowledge to my long term memory.

Overall, I think that my personal learning theory falls under the social constructivism theory. I know that I learn the best when I am able to watch someone (observational learning) model before I perform the task This increases my personal self-efficacy and my motivation for learning and completing the task correctly. I found that learning how to loom was often a hard process, but in the end I did master it! I find it fascinating that I am able to apply the lessons I’ve learned from looming to come up with the ways I learn best in a variety of situations. I hope to be able to use this learning style more in the future as well as continue to develop other learning styles.

Personal Learning Project

Learnin’ the Loom

For my personal learning project, I decided to learn how to knit a scarf on a loom. Back in the third grade, my teacher taught me and my fellow classmates how to do this. So, when I was eight, I knitted a rather rough scarf. I was very proud of myself and presented it to my sister as a Christmas present. Now that I reflect back on this, I can’t recall ever seeing her wear it and I know there was a reason! When I was eight, I did not truly learn the process of knitting the scarf, nor did I create a very successful or good-looking product. When I decided to learn how to do this, completely from scratch because I had absolutely no memory of how I did it in the third grade, I was excited! I wasn’t successful at age eight and while I have a slight memory of what the scarf looked like, I was hopeful that at age 21 I would have better luck. I started this project with high hopes and unfortunately, they were quickly dashed.

I am still in contact with my third grade teacher, Kathy. I had Kathy send me a loom and she included some yarn to go with it. She’s been knitting scarves on looms for many years, so I assumed that this amount of yarn would be enough for the scarf I would create. That was my first mistake. My second mistake came when I tried to teach myself how to start the scarf. I had Kathy email me instructions and I attempted to follow them. The first step is to tie a slip knot. I didn’t know how to tie a slip knot, so I called my dad and asked him to walk me through it. This proved to be a frustrating process and I finally just researched step-by-step directions to tying a slip knot online. I successfully tied my slip knot and then attempted to follow the written directions. Learning to knit by reading written directions was very confusing and I was completely lost! I called my mom and asked her to schedule a knitting session with Kathy before she came down to see me one weekend. She and Kathy spent some time knitting on the loom together and my mom brought her fresh experience down to help me. My mom finally helped teach me how to start the scarf. Once I got started, I was on fire! I was able to get the hang of making the yarn zigzags, pulling the loops over the zig-zags, pushing that row down and repeating. I enjoyed knitting and had a lot of fun until one day I realized that I had missed a loop and there was a small, but noticeable hole in my scarf. I ended up taking off a lot of knitted rows in order to go back to fix it. I then continued on without any other major setbacks. I was back to the point of having fun and then the thought crossed my mind that I might not have enough yarn for a whole scarf. I didn’t think my concern was valid because Kathy, the expert, had given me the amount of yarn and I trusted that it would be enough. But, it turns out I was right and I ran out of red yarn. Not knowing what to do, but wanting to keep my knitting that I had worked so hard on, I carefully pried it off the loom and started again with blue yarn. The second start was a bit rocky at first, but once I got started, I was really going—faster than a speeding bullet! I actually finished more knitting on the blue scarf in about four hours than I did on the red one in six hours. Because of the many set-backs I encountered along the way, I was not able to finish a complete scarf. However, I’ve made considerable progress on the blue scarf and hope to finish it soon.

Overall, I enjoyed learning how to knit a scarf on the loom. At times the process was completely frustrating. I found that it was very difficult to learn such a complicated task by following written directions. I appreciated the first-hand experience my mom brought with her to actually teach me how to knit on the loom. It was a lot easier to have someone teach me and help me through the process on my first round because I had no idea what I was doing. As I was knitting, the process was, at times, very mindless, but I still had to concentrate because I didn’t want to mess up again. By the end of my ten hours, I was disappointed that I didn’t finish a complete scarf, but I’m excited to keep going. So, at age 21, I really was able to learn how to knit a scarf on a loom and it looks pretty good so far. Learning how do to this was a frustrating, yet fun project and I’m glad that I was able to accomplish the feat of actually learning how to knit a scarf on a loom!

Personal Learning Log—Loom Hours

Date Duration Description

2/16................ 20 minutes................... Loom Directions

3/1.................. 30 minutes................... Loom Directions

3/2.................. 1 hour......................... Slip knot; Starting on loom

3/7.................. 30 minutes................... Looming; making mistakes—starting over

3/28................ 1 hour......................... Looming

4/4.................. 2 hours........................ Looming

4/5.................. 1 hour 40 minutes........ Taking red off loom; slip knot; starting blue

4/5.................. 2 hours........................ Looming

4/9.................. 1 hour......................... Looming

Total: 10 hours

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Integration Ideas

I enjoyed listening and watching my in class group presentations as well. I learned that the best way to use technology involves student interaction--having the students physically use the technology. Two of the best ideas I found for using technology was to use a permetheum board to review the parts of speech and to use an LCD projector to play a vowel jeopardy game. There are so many different ways technology can be integrated into a lesson. After seeing such a wide variety of technology integration ideas, I am looking forward to my next practicum where I will be able to use these wonderful ideas!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What I Learned

I enjoyed watching other group member's presentations. From watching the different slideshares I learned that there are a lot of ways to integrate different technologies into similar lessons. I also learned that technology really enhances student learning. I was surprised at the wide range of programs my group members used--I saw iclickers to Stellarium. Using technology in a lesson not only helps a teacher achieve the lesson learning objectives, but it also exposes students to technology as the teacher models appropriate technology use. I think that technology is important in the classroom and when it is used correctly, it will contribute to student learning and add an element of fun and excitement to the lesson.

Technology Enhanced Lesson

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Internet Safety

The article I chose to read for my fourth article was entitled, “Tangled in the Web” from the August 2001 Ensign. I learned a lot of things from the readings, but I think the most important thing I learned is that media is neutral—it’s how we choose to use the media that determines if it is good or bad. I learned that media, in the form of television, the computer, the Internet (social sites, e-mail, and chat rooms), is replacing face-to face contact with others. We, as educators, parents, and concerned adults, need to make sure that virtual reality doesn’t become any child’s reality. Parents need to use Internet filters and TV programming locks to prevent children from coming across things they should not see. It is important to have computers and TVs in high-traffic areas of our homes. Parents should also discuss and watch appropriate media with their children. In addition, parents need to serve as an example of a responsible media viewer—choosing appropriate, uplifting media, and using media and technology (including cell phones) for appropriate time lengths. All family members should be informed about the dangers of Internet pornography. I found it interesting and surprising that if an inappropriate site is accidentally accessed, in order to escape from the site it involves shutting down the entire system. I believe that the main message I got from reading all of the articles is that the Internet and media can be great tools and resources, but you have to use them wisely and safeguard yourself and your family from potential danger. Based on what I’ve read, I want to be the type of parent and educator that sets a good example of media viewing. I also will have computers in high-traffic areas of my home and classroom. I will use Internet filters and TV locks in my home and in my classroom to prevent accidental viewing of inappropriate materials. I want to be an educator and parent that helps children understand media dangers and what types of media should be viewed. I will use what I have learned from the readings and discuss with my family and friends the dangers of misusing media. I want to share the information I’ve learned about ways to safeguard children and I will talk to my family and friends about their opinions and views on the Internet and media.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

My Technology Enhanced Lesson

On Monday, I introduced the class story of the week, "The Plant Castle." Before reading the story to my class, I told them that the story had six words that they might not be familiar with (arboretum, cacti, succulents, orchid, papayas, and cacao). I created a PowerPoint presentation with slides for each of these words that I showed to my students. After showing my students the word slides, I had slides displaying each of the four reading strategies we use to identify unfamiliar words. Following the reading strategy slides, I had the sentence each vocabulary word was in on individual slides. When I got to a sentence with one of those words, while reading the story, I held up my computer screen with the corresponding slide displayed. Students could see the sentence text and then guess what word they thought went in the sentence. Following the sentence slide, I had a slide with the correct vocabulary word and then a slide with the definition of the word. We repeated this process six times. By the end of the lesson, the students knew how to read and correctly pronounce each vocabulary word and they also knew the definitions. I think this lesson went well. However, I originally intended to use an LCD projector to project my Powerpoint. This didn't actually work out because my mentor teacher wants the students sitting at the reading carpet when they are being read to and the only place to project the LCD screen would be on the whiteboard in the front of the room (this is because the classroom doesn't have an overhead/LCD screen). But, I used my laptop that has a 15 inch screen and held it out so all the kids could see it. I think the Powerpoint really enhanced the lesson and helped my students learn their vocabulary words. I'm glad that although I had to have a last minute change of plans, my lesson still worked out in the end.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Technology Enhanced Lesson Ideas

My classroom has access to a lot of technological resources. I taught today and used the laptop cart and speakers to project a song that introduced my lesson. One idea I have for my technology enhanced lesson is to use a Powerpoint during a guided reading group to activate their prior knowledge when introducing new information they will learn in the story. I think a Powerpoint with pictures and vocabulary words would be a creative way to introduce a new story the students will read. Another idea I had for a technology enhanced lesson would be to do a digital story to present the work students create during an interactive writing lesson. My students would be thrilled to see their work in a digital story and they would have fun watching the presentation. I am excited to put some of these ideas into place! Technology enhances teaching in a variety of ways that ultimately will benefit my students.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Classroom Technology Inventory

I am completing my practicum in a first grade classroom at Mapleton Elementary. I was very surprised by the results of my classroom technology inventory. I learned that in my classroom, technology is not a big priority. My first graders have scheduled computer time once a week, but other than that instructional period, technology is seldom used in my classroom. I found this interesting because the school has a lot of technology available. While my classroom only has one "teacher" PC, there is a technology cart that contains a laptop and projector (this cart is shared with one other teacher--there are 2 of these carts per grade level). The laptop on the cart serves many functions--it has wireless internet access, plays music, and serves as the tv/dvd player. The school also has big tv carts that teachers can check out as well as a digital camera, a video camera, and smartboards. In addition, the school has two computer labs that are available for scheduling. At my school, however, there's not a lot of extra software available. Beyond the Microsoft Office pacakage, there is a program called Youlead that is for video purposes. If and when computer problems arise, a staff member assists teachers to fix problems, if possible. If not, there is district tech support available to help.
I found it very surprising and somewhat strange that despite the all of the wonderful technology resources available, technology is not a priority in my classroom. Now that I am aware of the resources I have access to, I hope to be able to integrate technology into the classroom and show my students how fun technology can be.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

IPT 301: Social Constructivism Lesson Plan

IP&T 301 Modified Lesson Plan:  Social Constructivism
What Shape Am I?
 
SOURCE: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10715
AUTHOR:   Utah Lesson Plans
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:   1st grade; Math

Objective: Students will identify, describe, and create simple geometric figures.

Materials:

This lesson is an example of Cognitive Apprenticeship. In this lesson, I will teach my students what shapes look like, what they are called, and how to compare and contrast the different shapes. For my lesson, the students are learning from a more knowledgeable other, the teacher (me). I know the four shapes I will be teaching to my students and will therefore serve as an expert and resource to help students with any questions they have or problems they encounter. The cultural tools used in this lesson are the shapes themselves (symbols) and the academic language relating to the shape names that I (the teacher) will be using to help my students learn the socially accepted terms given to those symbols. I will teach within my students’ zone of proximal development. This means that the lesson activities the students will participate in to learn the required information will be at a student instructional level. In this lesson, students will be able to complete most requirements on their own but will have appropriate levels of support as needed. Scaffolding is an integral part of this lesson plan. I will use scaffolding as I help the students with hints, provide examples of shapes, and encourage them to think about shapes and what are some shape similarities and differences. I will be demonstrating different tasks the students must complete and I will monitor the classroom as students work to ensure that all students who need help have ready access to it. I will expect my students to be “shape spies” on their own. If they need clarification on directions, have a question, or are confused, I (the more knowledgeable other) will be there to help. I will encourage my students to use their critical thinking skills when being “shape spies.” If a pair of students is really struggling at any point in the lesson I would work with them (dialectical relationship) to guide them to hopefully result in the right ending point. I will foster a safe classroom environment where all students are encouraged to think for themselves, but understand that I (the teacher; more knowledgeable other) have concrete knowledge about the shapes and the concepts surrounding shapes. Throughout my lesson, my students will be able to ask questions and receive any help they need. In my classroom, students will be expected to first problem-solve in their partnerships and if they still have a question, I can then assist them.


Filing Cabinet Link-Google Earth

Here is the link to my Google Earth Underground Railroad Tour: http://sites.google.com/site/mlesiptstuff/my-files-1
Enjoy!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

IP&T 301 Modified Lesson Plan: Developmental Cognitivism

What Shape Am I?
 
SOURCE: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10715
AUTHOR:   Utah Lesson Plans
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:   1st grade; Math

Objective: Students will identify, describe, and create simple geometric figures.

Materials:

1. Stage-Based Learning:

I know that students in my classroom will be in different developmental stages. Some students may be in the preoperational stage, while others may be in the concrete operational stage. Considering the different stages my students are in, I would explain the directions for each activity in small, simple steps and in two ways to facilitate student understanding and comprehension. The matching model shapes to shapes in the classroom will be good for students in the preoperational stage and students early in the concrete operational stage because of the hands-on element and the use of concrete props.

2. Uniqueness of Individual Learning:

In addition to the students in my classroom being in different stages, each student will also have a unique background and therefore, a unique set of background knowledge. Most children will have some knowledge of shapes, but in order to capture student’s attention (and hopefully activate any preexisting background knowledge) I will start the lesson with the “I spy” game. The students will then name shapes that they know as I write them on the board. Having students be “shape spies” will help students add new information by connecting their existing knowledge of shapes to the new information about shapes they will learn. In addition, the lesson has a variety of activities to facilitate individual learning styles—there will be a discussion, a hands-on activity, working in partners, a Venn diagram, and shape song chants to help them remember their shapes.

3. Experience that Involves Action:

When students are able to participate in a lesson, they usually have more fun and their learning of the concept being taught is more concrete and stored in their long-term memory. My entire lesson involves student participation: the “I spy” game, having student’s be shape spies while finding and matching model shapes to shapes in the classroom, filling out a diagram with a partner, having a class discussion, and learning to recite the shape song chants. Each of these activities will help students learn about shapes and internalize that knowledge in their long-term memory.

4. Necessity of Social Interaction:

Throughout the lesson, students will have the opportunity to learn from and work with each other. Students will listen to classmate’s comments and ideas and contribute their own comments and ideas when we are playing “I spy” and having a class discussion. Students will work in partners as “shape spies” to find and match model shapes to shapes in the classroom. Students will also work in partners to fill out the Venn diagram. By participating in class work and partner work, students will be able to learn and help each other.

· Adaptation (assimilation):

I will begin my lesson with the “I spy” game and then have students list shapes they know as I write them on the board. Students will then be “shape spies” as they match model shapes to shapes they find in the classroom. This will help students connect their existing schema about shapes to the new information they will learn about shapes.

· Disequilibrium/Cognitive Dissonance:

Disequilibrium, or the “out-of-balance” state, contributes to student learning. When students experience disequilibrium or conflict, learning will result. In this lesson plan, I will foster an environment where disequilibrium will exist, but monitor student learning to avoid creating a situation where frustration overpowers learning. I will use adaptations to help the students internalize the new information about shapes into their schemas.

· Schemas:

As previously mentioned, my students will have unique backgrounds and therefore, they will have a unique set of background knowledge or schemas. Throughout the lesson, I will try to help students make connections to their schemas so students will understand that shapes are everywhere and they are important in daily life.

· Discovery/Guided Discovery Learning:

In this lesson, students will be able to participate in guided discovery learning as they are “shape spies.” Students will locate shapes in the classroom and try matching the shapes they find to the provided model shapes. Students will be able to discover which model shape fits with different shapes they find in the classroom. In addition, students will have to find out if the model shape matches with a classroom shape by manipulation—they may have to turn one of the shapes to make a match. Also, students will have to determine if the size of the classroom shape fits the size of the model shape and if that fact makes a difference. In this activity, students are working together to problem-solve and discovering new information about shapes through hands-on experience without help from me, the teacher.

· Classification:

When the students are done being “shape spies,” they will work together as partners to fill out the Venn diagram. Students will write down the differences and similarities between different shapes. This will help students who are in the preoperational stage share their own ideas and learn from the ideas of their partner. We will then have a class discussion about shapes as we classify the shapes into student-generated categories.

Google Earth Tour

Here are my plans for a Google Earth Tour of the Underground Railroad.

Location ActivityGoogle Earth Content
1. Wilmington, Delaware
Write a 2 stanza Poem about Harriet Tubman.
Wikipedia Link, Image of Harriet Tubman
2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Make a paper lantern to hang on the hitching post signifying the house is safe. Follow the instructions explained at http://familycrafts.about.com/od/chinesenewyears/ss/eplantern.htm.
Wikipedia Link, Link to Lantern Instructions
3. Rochester, New York
After reading about Susan B. Anthony, create a motto that exemplifies her life ambitions for the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
Wikipedia, Image of Susan B. Anthony
4. Canada
Approximately how many slaves escaped to Canada? You are a journalist in Canada. Create at least 5 questions to ask during your interview with a recently escaped slave.
Wikipedia
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:The image overlay will be a path connecting the various stops of the Underground Railroad.

TPACK Questions:

The content I am using for this lesson comes from the Utah State Core Curriculum for 5th Grade Standard 4, Objective 2, Indicator c. This indicator states: "Identify the range of individual responses to the growing political conflicts between the North and South (e.g. states rights advocates, abolitionists, slaveholders, enslaved people)." For this lesson, students will focus on the Underground Railroad. During their explorations of this key system, students will learn about the different types of people who helped along the Underground Railroad, including escaped slaves, abolitionists, and born-free blacks. The pedagogy for this lesson will include various activities that will challenge students to gain a deep understanding of this system. These activities will be designed to help students place themselves in the shoes of a slave making his or her way to freedom as they examine those who risked their lives helping others. The technology used in this lesson will be Google Earth. Through Google Earth, students will be able to see the location of the events and have access to the different activities corresponding to that event. Google Earth will also allow the students to read about the specific details of the event.


Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Digital Storytelling

Messy Room

Thursday, February 12, 2009

IP&T 301 Modified Lesson Plan: Behaviorism

What Shape Am I?
 
SOURCE: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10715
AUTHOR:   Utah Lesson Plans
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:   1st grade; Math

Materials:

Behavioral Objective: Students will be able to identify and recognize simple geometric figures by matching a paper shape model to a shape they will locate in the classroom and by completing a listening activity with 85% accuracy.

Cueing/Prompting: I will use cueing and prompting when the students pick and work in partners. Working with a partner will be the cue. As a class, we will discuss the expected behaviors for working with a partner such as staying on task and treating each other kindly. I will use prompting by creating a behavior checklist that outlines the previously discussed expected behaviors. After students are finished working with partners to locate and match the paper shape models to a shape in the classroom, each student will evaluate him/herself by completing the behavior checklist.

Positive Reinforcement & Observational Learning: When the class has successfully completed the partner shape activity, I will draw, in random order, different shapes on the whiteboard. After students provide the correct answer, I will leave the shape on the board, write the name underneath it, and move to a different section of the board to start drawing the next shape. Students will raise their hands when they know the correct name of the shape. During this activity, students will have the opportunity to earn shapes to complete their “shape puzzle” picture. The first student to raise his or her hand and correctly identify the shape will earn that shape for his or her “shape puzzle.” By providing students with the opportunity to earn shapes for their “shape puzzle,” students will be more focused and there will be more active student participation because students want to earn shapes. After finishing the white board shape game, students will then draw and name each shape on their own piece of paper. This is an example of observational learning because students are able to watch the teacher draw and write each shape name before drawing and naming each shape on their own.


Vicarious Reinforcement: If at any point during the lesson I notice students who are messing around and not staying on task, I will use vicarious reinforcement by reinforcing other students who are behaving appropriately and working on task to complete their work. This will hopefully change the behavior of the students who are off-task and help them realize that they should be acting more like their peers that I reinforced.


Positive Practice & Reinforcement Schedule: Throughout the lesson I will promote positive practice by encouraging students to immediately correct any mistakes they might make. By helping students immediately correct their mistakes, they will understand how to do it correctly and hopefully they will not dwell on the mistake they’ve made, but instead concentrate on the correct way to avoid future mistakes. In addition, throughout the lesson, I will use every opportunity to reinforce correct student work. I will praise each student for identifying shapes correctly.


Task Analysis: Students will complete the following listening activity with at least 85% accuracy:

The students will:

  1. Outline the circle red
  2. Color the triangle blue
  3. Fill the square with orange strips
  4. Make yellow polka dots in the rectangle
  5. Name a minimum of 3 objects that look like these shapes

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Storyboard & TPACK Questions

Storyboard



TPACK QUESTIONS

The content I was focusing on in my lesson comes from the Utah State Language Arts Core, Standard 1, Objective 1. This standard states that students will develop language for the purpose of effectively communicating through speaking, viewing, and presenting. The students will be able to speak clearly and audibly with expression in communicating ideas in their storyboard presentation. The students will base their storyboard on a Shel Silverstein poem of their choice.

Students will be using aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy to create, analyze and interpret a poem storyboard.

In this part of my lesson, students will search for poems by Shel Silverstein on the internet--a list of approved sites will be provided. After picking their favorite poem, students will use digital cameras and internet images (searching for pictures from approved sites only) to create a storyboard outline. In the second part of the lesson, students will incorporate their pictures and chosen text into a video presentation using PhotoStory. This is a good fit with content and pedagogy because students will be able to interpret and express their interpretation of a poem using found or created pictures. In addition, students will make their poem creation “come to life” by creating a storyboard video, which will include incorporating music and narrating the poem text.


Friday, February 6, 2009

IP&T 301 Modified Lesson Plan: Cognition

What Shape Am I?
 
SOURCE: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10715
AUTHOR:   Utah Lesson Plans
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:   1st grade; Math

Objective: Students will identify, describe, and create simple geometric figures.

Materials:

Step 1: Hook

I will being the lesson by having students play I Spy. For example, I will ask questions like:

· I spy something that is large and has four sides and four corners. This object can be used to write on or hang pictures on. What is it? (whiteboard)

· I spy something that has no sides and no corners but it does have hands. What is it? (clock)

I will then ask students to name some shapes they know as I write them on the board. I will explain to students that we are going to be shape spies today.

This activity will capture students’ attention and activate their schema. It builds upon background knowledge of objects they are familiar with before introducing the new shape concepts. One strategy used is elaboration because students will be adding new information by connecting their existing knowledge of shapes with the new information about shapes they will learn.

Step 2: Instruction

The students will be more ready to focus their attention on learning new shapes because of the experience of guessing the ‘I spy’ shapes and the idea of being a shape spy. When their attention is focused, they can then prepare to transfer the information from their sensory memory, the system that holds sensory information very briefly to their working memory, the information that a person is focusing on at a given moment. The transfer from sensory memory to working memory must occur before students will eventually be able to transfer the information into their long-term memory. In order to have students transfer from sensory memory to working memory, students will choose a shape and identify it by describing its attributes. After picking partners, the students will walk around the classroom and compare their shape to an object in the classroom. Students will place the shape on top of an object to make sure they match. This is also activating perception, the process of detecting a stimulus and assigning meaning to it and is constructed based on both physical representations from the world and existing knowledge. Students will return to their desks and fill out one part of a Venn-Diagram. Students will then choose a different partner and complete the activity of choosing a shape and comparing it to an object in their classroom surroundings. They will once again return to their seat and complete the Venn-Diagram. This is an example of distributed practice because students are practicing one shape and using time to complete the worksheet as a rest interval before starting in on a new shape.


Venn-Diagram



Step 3: Practice

As an example of an acronmyn (a technique for remembering names, phrases, or steps by using the first letter of each word to form a new, memorable word) and a chain mnemonic (a memory strategy that associates one element in a series with the next element—in this case, because the words make sense as a sentence), students will learn the sentence Cindy Sees Red Trucks to remember the first letter of the four basic shapes- C for circle, S for square, R for rectangle and T for triangle. In order to prevent decay, the weakening and fading of memories with the passage of time, I will teach them the following shape song chants:

Cindy Circle

Cindy Circle is my name.

Round and round I play my game.

Start at the top and around the bend.

Up we go, there is no end.

Sammy Square

Sammy Square is my name.

My four sides and angles are just the same.

Slide or flip me, I don’t care

I’m always the same, I’m a square!

Ricky Rectangle

Ricky Rectangle is my name.

My four angles are the same.

My sides are sometimes short or long.

Hear me sing my happy song.

Trisha Triangle

Trisha Triangle is the name for me.

Tap my sides one, two, three.

Flip me, slide me, you will see...

A kind of triangle I’ll always be!

By learning these shape song chants, students will be able to rehearse or practice their newly acquired shape knowledge and will remember it, being able to transfer between their long-term memory and their working memory when needed because of the fun song chants that they learned to go along with each shape.