Application 4 Web-based Course Management System Presentation

http://prezi.com/oynaar7mprsh/application-4/

Week 8 Reflection

The gameplan that I have been working on has been very effective. It made me realize that I can teach meaning and real-world applications without sacrificing content knowledge. Also, I learned that reflection is a great way for students to recall what they learned, so they may store the information more securely.

The new learning I developed while trying to accomplish my goals was that real-world applications open up many doors to activities and discussion amongst students. It also gives their learning purpose and it makes them realize that math is not just another course they have to take in order to graduate. Also, the applications get the students involved more and allows them the opportunity to think critically and problem solve. This new learning has made me decide to revamp my lessons and incorporate real-world applications at least once a week with my students. This will keep them on their toes and engaged in their learning.

As for technology, I plan on incorporating digital storytelling in my classroom as an attempt for students to review a unit. I also plan to utilize this teaching strategy for after the State tests because they leftover time seems to be quite monotonous. The students will feel like they are doing something exciting and different. Plus, I think allow them to incorporate their creativity will be fun for them and myself.

Week 7 Game Plan

In order to use the Game Plan process with my students, I would create a survey including the NETS-S standards and indicators. I will have the students rate which ones they would like to learn from 1 to 10 (I would also state that I expect more than just ones across the board). Then I would collect the surveys, and I would talley them up and find the top 5. I would then show those to the class and tell them that these are our tech goals. We would all develop ideas to reach those goals, and we would develop methods to monitor and evaluate our progess. I want to include the students in the development of the game plan, so they wwill feel more involved in their learning. After we lay the game plan out, I will pass out a copy of the game plan to the students that they will have to sign. That way we are all involved, and we are all responsible.

Week 6 Blog Post (Game Plan Continued)

So far I have learned how fun and interesting incorporating real-world applications into my teaching. It is a blast when the students ask if this stuff really happens, or when they say, "I thought that math was just to frustrate us, but I can see that it has it uses." I also like how the applications give students a chance to recall math that was taught earlier in the year. As far as technology goes, I have learned that there is a lot of sources that I can look to acquire a lot of materials, so I won't have to worry myself there. The technology also allows me to model the situations that they are working with. The kids love animation no matter how simple it is, so technology is a gold mine in that area.

I am still working on trying to get more reflection involved in my classroom. I think I should start reflecting on my own actions, and then I think I will be able to incorporate it better since I would have my own experiences. I think this will also help me analyze the students reflections better, and it will allow me to provide better feedback.

After looking at the NETS_T Standards again, I think that another goal I would like to work on would be providing a better mixture of formative and summative assessments. Right now, I focus on summative and throw in a formative or two once in a while. I think I should try to incorporate at least one of each for each unit. The problem I am running into for that is getting bombarded with grading and reading along with the planning that I already do. I know that we all have that issue, so I guess I will have to suck it up and do the best that I can. In order to satisfy this goal, I plan on doing a lot of observations and hands-on learning. I learn better by doing than just reading. I will also ask others that I work with about how they incorporate a good mixture, and I will see if I can mimic or extend there practices.

Week 5 Blog Post (Game Plan Continued)

After evaluating my game plan, I believe that my actions have improved my status for my goals reasonably well. I have found some interesting real-world applications, and after going through our courses resources, I have learned some things about implementing them in the classroom. I have learned about making my lessons diverse so all students are able to learn at their fullest capability, and I have also learned about the ins and outs of problem-based learning activities. I like problem-based learning activities because they will help when I am trying to incorporate more real-world applications. Also, according to Dr. Ertmer, reflection is important for making sure the students are learning concepts and it is good for assessment, so that will help with my other goal as well. I still need learn how to facilitate problem-based learning activities, so I don't give the students too much. I am too hands-on oriented when I teach, so I need to learn to back-off and let the students show me what they can do. In order to overcome this problem, I plan to look at my districts professional development programs and see if any deal with problem-based and project-based learning activities. I believe if there are any, they will include examples and maybe observation sessions.

Week 4 Blog Post (Game Plan Continued)

So far I have continued to find resources for real-world applications. I have developed a mini-project for my students where they will have to choose from a list of real-world problems (the list will be made by me), or they can present a real-world problem to me. With those problems, the students, in groups, will research the problem and attempt to use the mathematics they have learned in class to find a solution to the problem. At the end, the students will present their findings and their methods to the class. The mode of presentation will be up to them; this is because according to the course text it is important to provide multiple sources of media for those that learn differently. Well I am applying that idea with their presentations. I will let them pick a source of media that they believe will help others learn better.

I have been finding a few resources, but most are for minimal information. I have been having troubles finding math forums that seem useful. To test my game plan, I have been applying it to students that I tutor over the summer. The students seemed to like having the real-world problem at the beginning of the week. Of course, I only see them twice a week, so during the second meeting we go over their progress on the problem. I have learned that if you can find an application that the students think is interesting, then the students have fun finding the answer to the problem. I have started asking my tutees to think about topics that would be of interest to learn about the mathematics involved. Because of my tutoring experience, I don't believe that I will need to change my game plan for the start of the school year. I plan to survey to my tutees about their experience with the real-world problems and its affect on their learning.

The only question that has arisen is whether my focus on real-world applications interrupt my ability to teach the basic skills, or will it distract the students' learning of the basic concepts?

To answer this question, I will have to use multiple assessment formats that we learned about this week. I plan to use a mixture of three of the four formats: forced-option for basic knowledge of concepts, open-ended for higher understanding and application of real-world problems, and performance-based to see if their misunderstanding is with the concepts or the real-world application. I would use project-based to assess their understanding of larger amounts of material.

Week 3 Blog Post (Game Plan Continued)

For my action plan in regards to increasing my knowledge of real-world problems, the resources that I will need are colleagues, math forums, math journals, and reading up on popular things that incorporate mathematics i.e. sports statistics, amusement park rides, and gaming strategy. The information that I will need to gather is how mathematics are incorporated in the real-world activities. I will also need to help finding ways to simplify the mathematics, so the students will be able to attempt the problem and not get lost in the complexity. The step that I have taken so far is looking for resources. I have already received a helpful website from Sonia Bannon (Thanks) that will provide some nice real-world applications for my class.

For my second indicator to increase student reflection, I will need aid in developing a decent questionnaire for my students. I will also like to research other teachers' approaches when it comes to reviewing the students' reflections because I have never done it before. The most important thing that I will need to do is figure out how to create the time (yes create time) to implement these into my classroom. The step that I have taken so far is looking at examples of questionnaires that others have developed for similar reasons and determining how I could ask similar questions for my specific topic.