Personal ReflectionReflecting back upon the semester I am realizing what a whirl-wind of knowledge I accumulated. I feel like a lot of my feels of our out-dated education system have been confirmed. My eyes have been opened to so many different opportunities and complex solutions. I have begun experimenting with different ways of teaching hoping to reach each of my students and help them learn as much as possible in the short amount of time I have them with me. I am still learning to become more and more comfortable with technology within the classroom, but figuring out new ways to do so such as utilizing cell phones and implementing heart rate monitors has been wonderful. I am looking forward learning more about utilizing technology in the classroom. Click HERE for Action Research paper
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I synthesized that the key idea that flowed throughout all of the speaker's lectures were that adults and children alike need to be given permission to fail and be willing to take the risk to fail because failure and creativity go hand in hand. I especially liked how Sir Ken Robinson described intelligence as having a diverse, dynamic, and distinct way of thinking. Or to summarize it, as most of the other speakers did, intelligence in the 21st Century where the future is unknown is to be a creative thinker. It really hit home when Robinson he told the story about Gillian Lynn - saying our educational system tends to stigmatize people and holed them back instead of embracing a student's different way of learning. I work with kids like this everyday who think they aren't smart enough just because they learn and think differently.
This speeches go hand in hand with everything we have been learning in this class. As John Seely pointed out we are teaching children skills that maybe useless within jobs that have not been created yet. We are working with a 1900's model/industrial education system that is out dated. They all spoke about equal opportunity for learning and embracing a diverse learner whether they be visual, auditory or kinetics (often those diagnosed with ADHD). We need to embrace technology and 21st Century learning and teaching. And without knowing it every single one of the speakers promoted the 4 C's - creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Seely used World of Warcraft as an example of this: within the game they are creatively finding their way through different challenges which they need to analyze their moves by critically thinking about them. They are communicating and collaborating with peers to reach the COMPLEX solution or end game. As an instructional leader in a high school classroom I can use Mobley's six insights to help my students think creatively by helping them become creative thinkers and learners. Mobley exchanged classes, lectures, and books for riddles, stimulation, and games. Now I cannot get rid of books but instead of lecture and memorization I can teach students to come up with a complex solution on their own. It is easy to stimulate learning through game and fun activities. Mobley also points out that creativity is highly correlated with self-knowledge, something most hormone-ridden teenager struggles with. I as an instructional leader can continue to help students assist students in learning about themselves and finding their identity as them begin to move into adulthood. Lastly, I can help them think creatively by this by giving them "permission to be wrong" and reminding them that it is okay to fail. Fail = First Attempt In Learning. Share your musings about flipped teaching and CBL (vs PBL?) from the context of your
I really enjoy the idea of flipped teaching - viewing a short lecture, 5-7 minutes, at home and then being able to focus on the practice and active learning in the classroom. It seems that it would help students be more prepared and have support as they become frustrated with the information being learned. I also like that the lectures are short and students are not spending hours after an eight hour school day doing even more work. Yet, unfortunately unless I move schools I would not be able to try this process out as we don't give out any type of homework at my high school. Even though I might not be able to use this particular method at the moment; I can think of many ways to implement this type of teaching into a physical education classroom. I already utilize videos of professionals to show students the proper way to perform a physical activity. There are so many benefits to Challenge Based Learning or CBL and I definitely foresee utilizing it within my own classroom. There are so many different ways to implement it into the various types of curriculum. I like that it helps the students connect with community members and business. It makes the students become part of a solution and creates empathy for someone other than themselves. After watching the video one of my first thoughts were the fires last fall and how students wanted to help but didn't know how. A CBL project might have helped not only get young people more involved, but also help them cope with the devastation and better connect the community. Within her five policy prescriptions Darling-Hammond suggested that "Schools have to be places that support good teaching, and the work that students and teachers are asked to do needs to be work worth doing."(The Flat World and Education). This suggestion correlates with the three R's (relationships, relevance, and rigor) supported by our district and stood out to me as significant. We need to ensure that our work with students is worth doing while also adhering to the standards that continue to change. Policies need to be improved and polished. Support needs to be given to schools and especially teachers so that they can make lessons "worth doing". These supports need to be given equally throughout all schools not just high-achieving schools.
Equal opportunity learning needs to be provided to all students especially with those in high-need populations and schools. We never know what type of genius might be stifled without the opportunity to grow. Our leaders need to move forward utilizing John Dewey's idea that we should treat every child as if they were our own giving them the best opportunities and have the same high expectations and ideals. There are "4C's" that support 21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity. I think that the expectations of these 4C's directly correlate with what Misha was saying when it was stated "We argue for developing a thoughtfully playful attitude towards understanding the landscape being created by these new technologies." The 4C's help us utilize and understand the developments of technology as a tools to promoting a whole learner. A learner who can become a successful student and an even more successful citizen.
I need to learn how to utilize technology better within my classroom. Using technology is easier to implement into the Health Science portion of my class but creating opportunities in my physical education class can be difficult. The first couple years of my teaching career I didn't have access to as much technology as I had hoped as a bushy-tailed, fresh teacher. I had to become creative in my lessons and sometimes fall back upon an older style of teaching. Now that each student finally has access to a device within my classroom I have been creating new projects that use technology. I always wonder how I can improve my projects. I also wonder how I can manage their learning better and create more collaborative opportunities for my students while they still use technology. Examples of 21st Century Teaching:Review: Digital video and analysis and assessment in physical education
Throughout the videos and the reading I kept coming back to the same conclusion. The conclusion that relationships are a significant part of being a teacher. Dalton Sherman asked multiple times "Do you believe in me?" - Our students not only need us to believe in them they need to know that we believe in them. Sometimes as educators we are the last ones to give up on a child. We are the last ones to inspire them to be a contributing citizen and to not fear working the jobs that haven't been created yet.
Adora Svitak put it into perspective once again the power of one child can have when someone believes in them and when they are given the right tools. The book makes it clear that we as a country and a state as falling behind by denying our students the funds and the resources to succeed. It would be wonderful to be able to provide every child with a device so that they are equipped for success, but since that isn't the case we as teachers need to make sure that every child is able to access the curriculum. The book "The Flat World and Education" implies that the world is becoming flat once again due to our country's inability to grow and develop a well-rounded educational system in which every student is able to access relevant material. Our world has evolved and we need to grow with it.
The book suggests that the reason our country continues to fall behind others is due to our unequal distribution of resources. "These disparities reinforce the wide in income among families, with greater resources being spent on children from the wealthiest communities and the fewest on the children of the poor". There seem to be a large amount of evidence that points us to the conclusion that our education system is stagnant and still operating on a system that was designed in the 1900's. We need to change the way we treat the education system and follow suit with some of the countries that out rank us. For example Singapore where education is a priority - classrooms are full stocked for students needs, teachers are well trained and qualified, student work is always displayed, and technology is plentiful. We need to stop living in the past and find innovative ways to allow every student to access the curriculum so that they are prepared for the jobs that are offered today and that will be created tomorrow. I am passionate about learning and every child deserves the opportunity to learn and develop their own opinions and ideals. Not every student is the same and as educators we need to recognize that. This book is discusses the importance of problem solving, working as a team and being creative. I truly believe that physical education takes roll in all of the solutions that this book is suggesting. I am enjoying the book and am looking forward to reading more. |
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