EDUC 6711 reflection

Throughout this course, I have gained more information to support my earlier personal theory of learning. I do not wish to change any aspect of my theory, but I feel more confident in it since completing this course.

I have been integrating technology throughout the course. I have used webquests as well as added new features to my classroom website. My students now have forums to post questions to professionals in the field (my friends and relatives have agreed to answer these) which encourages a sense of curiosity in other areas of science as well as provides insight into real world applications. Also new on the website, parents have access to a calendar showing what we do in class each day. My sixth grade students still struggle remembering to write assignments in their agenda, or forget if they have homework. Parents email me constantly asking about assignments, so I have made a tool for the families to use to know what is occurring each day in my class. I have also used a digital camcorder to record presentations and have offered to provide the clip to the students' parents. By telling the students that they were to be recorded, I noticed a much higher effort level put forth on the projects.

I am always looking for new things to add to my class website (scmsearthscience.weebly.com). I would like to continue the calendar feature and perhaps expand the areas of science experts the students have access to question. There is a new movement for connecting professionals with educators, especially in the area of science. I have not taken advantage of this as of yet, but I intend to shortly.

Voice thread- student motivation

http://voicethread.com/share/898409/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

My desks are organized in sets of four to allow for group activities. Within each group, the students have a specific role: resource representative, scribe, manager, presenter. When assigning seats, I use a mixed ability but common interest approach. Since class sizes have been increased to thirty, I do have a group of two that I will use sometimes for higher or lower level learners. By having my students used to sitting in groups, it forms a sense of consistency and a sense of camaraderie among the children. This method makes classroom management much easier because the manager is the discussion facilitator and group mediator while the resource representative is in charge of gathering, returning as well as monitoring the use of any classroom materials. Presenters share with the class the conclusions their group has drawn, and the scribe writes all needed data during labs. The students know what their role is, what is expected of them and how to effectively complete their task.

Our textbook mentions the use of positive interdependence (p. 140) which I use during my labs. Since the scribe is the only one writing down data, the entire group gets the grade from the paper that the scribe turns in. This approach creates less papers for me to grade, as well as a sense of importance for teamwork. Overall, I love my use of group assignments because it promotes accountability, interpersonal skills, and promotive interaction.

In our resources from this week, I found several useful tools in order to integrate technology in my classroom, while still holding true to my group-based class. My favorite tool I discovered is the JASON project (www.jasonproject.org). Since I am a science teacher, this resource is highly useful for allowing students to complete online labs and explore other areas of scientific study.