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.

NETS-T Standards and Indicators GAME PLAN

The two indicators, from the National Technology Standards, that I need to improve upon are from the first standard "Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity." They are "engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources" and "promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning,and creative processes."

In order to improve on the first one, I will first need the knowledge of some real-world issues. According to the video “Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1,” knowledge is one of the four important requirements needed to enrich student learning with technology. I have knowledge of the technology I want to use, but I still need to work on the knowledge of real-world applications. In order to improve on this, I will pay close attention math forums and news in the mathematical world. This will provide issues that I can simplify for my students to work on. I will then ask my students to research these issues and use the skills that we learned in class to develop a solution. To monitor my progress, I will dedicate a time period at the beginning of the week to introducing the problem, and I will dedicate time at the end of the week to see my students progress on the problem. To evaluate my learning, I will look at the students work and determine if I providing enough exposure for the issue or if I need to provide more earlier on in the year until they become more independent in their work. To extend my learning, I will branch out from just mathematical forums and news and look for real world applications in other areas of study.

For the second indicator, I will ask students to make a power point presentation, near the end of the unit, that will summarize what they learn, and to express what they would still like to learn about or believe they need extra aid in. Because of the many topics we must cover in the year, I tend to neglect the importance of reflection. In order to monitor my progress, I will provide students with a questionnaire that will ask questions regarding their feelings toward the presentations. It will also ask whether the students feel they have enough opportunities to reflect and express their creativity in the classroom. To evaluate my learning, I will look at the questionnaires and see if my contributions are helping students or hurting their motivation. I will see what I need to improve to make the reflecting process a more enjoyable experience. For extending, I plan to research other ideas about reflecting on learned material in the classroom and how to facilitate those ideas, so the students may have variations and choices in their reflecting process.