Standard 1: Teaching for Learning
Candidates are effective teachers who demonstrate knowledge of learners and learning and who model and promote collaborative planning, instruction in multiple literacies, and inquiry-based learning, enabling members of the learning community to become effective users and creators of ideas and information. Candidates design and implement instruction that engages students' interests and develops their ability to inquire, think critically, gain and share knowledge.
Candidates are effective teachers who demonstrate knowledge of learners and learning and who model and promote collaborative planning, instruction in multiple literacies, and inquiry-based learning, enabling members of the learning community to become effective users and creators of ideas and information. Candidates design and implement instruction that engages students' interests and develops their ability to inquire, think critically, gain and share knowledge.
FRIT 7739 Collaborative Unit on Digital Citizenship
Reflection
In this digital age, we are all surrounded with social media and a plethora of avenues for adventure on the Web. Our students are no different. They, however, are not always wise when it comes to what they should and shouldn’t do online. Adults must instruct them what to be wary of online just as we have always warned our children about strangers. Many don’t realize that the person they think is an 8-year-old just down the road could be a stranger that might want to harm them.
With this understanding, I asked a 3rd-grade teacher in my building, Kelli Shwamb, if she felt the same way. She asked around to her students and was shocked what they considered safe to share online. Mrs. Shwamb agreed to collaborate with me in putting together a digital citizenship course for her students on internet safety. We were able to use many items that were already present from Common Sense Media and video files that were available from Intel Security Digital Safety Program. These sources are free for teachers to use in their classrooms at any time. One of the requirements for this assignment was it had to be an online module. Mrs. Shwamb was not comfortable doing the building of the site but did say she would love to look over my shoulder. I assured her I could do the site and she would be there to help guide me in the process so we included what she felt was needed for her students. She was happy with the choice for very little reading and mostly video support for her students since many of them have difficulty reading, with 5 of them needing SPED resource throughout the day. The data from the pre-assessment showed that the majority of students only scored around 30% correct on the information that was asked of them so the choice for cybersecurity and safe online presence was a good choice.
I was able to introduce the online platform to the students and go over a few details. I was not able to be there the whole time the students went through the course. Mrs. Shwamb did comment that the lessons the students were going through did spur quite a bit of conversation about how they wanted to stay safe and tell others to be as well. With comments like that and them wanting to share their new knowledge with family and friends I think it was a success. There were several students who would probably need remediation over some of the topics. However, we set a goal of having at least ¾ of the class pass the assessments with at least 80% proficiency. The data showed that they did not reach this. After some remediation from Mrs. Shwamb they took the test again but this time she read the questions to the whole class. Now out of the 15 students that were able to finish the course 12 passed with 80% or better.
I think the lessons were adequate for this group of children and the videos were a good idea since they wouldn't have to read since many of them had issues with reading. What I would change for this type of learner in the future, even though we had good success, is make a recording of the wording on the page itself so there would actually be no reading required at all. This way, if there were students who could read the words then they could skip this step, however, for those with reading inadequacies they could just listen to the steps they needed to do. I think this is a relevant change to the module since after she was able to read the questions to the students they were able to score higher. All in all, I think this was a success and with a few modifications to make it even more user friendly it would work in another classroom more effeciently.
In this digital age, we are all surrounded with social media and a plethora of avenues for adventure on the Web. Our students are no different. They, however, are not always wise when it comes to what they should and shouldn’t do online. Adults must instruct them what to be wary of online just as we have always warned our children about strangers. Many don’t realize that the person they think is an 8-year-old just down the road could be a stranger that might want to harm them.
With this understanding, I asked a 3rd-grade teacher in my building, Kelli Shwamb, if she felt the same way. She asked around to her students and was shocked what they considered safe to share online. Mrs. Shwamb agreed to collaborate with me in putting together a digital citizenship course for her students on internet safety. We were able to use many items that were already present from Common Sense Media and video files that were available from Intel Security Digital Safety Program. These sources are free for teachers to use in their classrooms at any time. One of the requirements for this assignment was it had to be an online module. Mrs. Shwamb was not comfortable doing the building of the site but did say she would love to look over my shoulder. I assured her I could do the site and she would be there to help guide me in the process so we included what she felt was needed for her students. She was happy with the choice for very little reading and mostly video support for her students since many of them have difficulty reading, with 5 of them needing SPED resource throughout the day. The data from the pre-assessment showed that the majority of students only scored around 30% correct on the information that was asked of them so the choice for cybersecurity and safe online presence was a good choice.
I was able to introduce the online platform to the students and go over a few details. I was not able to be there the whole time the students went through the course. Mrs. Shwamb did comment that the lessons the students were going through did spur quite a bit of conversation about how they wanted to stay safe and tell others to be as well. With comments like that and them wanting to share their new knowledge with family and friends I think it was a success. There were several students who would probably need remediation over some of the topics. However, we set a goal of having at least ¾ of the class pass the assessments with at least 80% proficiency. The data showed that they did not reach this. After some remediation from Mrs. Shwamb they took the test again but this time she read the questions to the whole class. Now out of the 15 students that were able to finish the course 12 passed with 80% or better.
I think the lessons were adequate for this group of children and the videos were a good idea since they wouldn't have to read since many of them had issues with reading. What I would change for this type of learner in the future, even though we had good success, is make a recording of the wording on the page itself so there would actually be no reading required at all. This way, if there were students who could read the words then they could skip this step, however, for those with reading inadequacies they could just listen to the steps they needed to do. I think this is a relevant change to the module since after she was able to read the questions to the students they were able to score higher. All in all, I think this was a success and with a few modifications to make it even more user friendly it would work in another classroom more effeciently.
McFatridge Collaborative Di... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd |
Private and personal inform... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd |
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Keep Yourself Safe - Google... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd |
Keep Your Stuff Safe - Goog... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd |
The Lost Princess and the W... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd
Task 3 - Currated List to Support Collaborative Lesson
This curated list of resources is applied to the collaborative lesson on Digital Citizenship. It is always good to have a list of additional resources available to students. A list like this can serve several purposes. It provides a place for students who finish early to find additional information on the subject. It can also provide a differentiated way for students to maybe see something delivered another way.
FRIT 7231 Instructional Design Document
Reflection
FRIT 7231, Instructional Design, was probably one of the most difficult courses I have taken at Georgia Southern. The reason I say it was difficult was how much had to go into developing a well written document that made sense and provided detailed steps to the instruction that would be provided. Due to its complexity and makeup, this project covers every element of Standard 1. As I look back at the Standard for Teaching for Learning, I had to take into account each and every one of these elements to develop the design of the online module I would have to build in FRIT 7235, Digital Learning Environments.
In this course, we had to develop an instructional design document after identification of a learning problem. The Kemp Method was what we used to develop our curriculum which would then be used in a later class to build an online learning module. Being a 5th grade math teacher for several years, I knew that students needed to be able to work on more complex problems without worrying about the basic math computations. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has also stressed that the use of technology in the classroom for basic computation will lead to a greater depth of problem-solving ability. So, I considered using basic calculators in my classroom but determined the students did not know how to properly use them. I decided that if calculators were going to be an effective tool, the 5th grade students would need instruction on how to properly use them. Even though this was a huge project and daunting at times, I learned a lot through the process. Eventually, when I did turn this into an online learning module, it was a great success and had a positive impact on students working higher-order math problems. It did work out great, however each section of the document was not just written once and then move on. I discovered that it would take many edits to deliver a precise document that I could follow when I had to build the actual module.
FRIT 7231, Instructional Design, was probably one of the most difficult courses I have taken at Georgia Southern. The reason I say it was difficult was how much had to go into developing a well written document that made sense and provided detailed steps to the instruction that would be provided. Due to its complexity and makeup, this project covers every element of Standard 1. As I look back at the Standard for Teaching for Learning, I had to take into account each and every one of these elements to develop the design of the online module I would have to build in FRIT 7235, Digital Learning Environments.
In this course, we had to develop an instructional design document after identification of a learning problem. The Kemp Method was what we used to develop our curriculum which would then be used in a later class to build an online learning module. Being a 5th grade math teacher for several years, I knew that students needed to be able to work on more complex problems without worrying about the basic math computations. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has also stressed that the use of technology in the classroom for basic computation will lead to a greater depth of problem-solving ability. So, I considered using basic calculators in my classroom but determined the students did not know how to properly use them. I decided that if calculators were going to be an effective tool, the 5th grade students would need instruction on how to properly use them. Even though this was a huge project and daunting at times, I learned a lot through the process. Eventually, when I did turn this into an online learning module, it was a great success and had a positive impact on students working higher-order math problems. It did work out great, however each section of the document was not just written once and then move on. I discovered that it would take many edits to deliver a precise document that I could follow when I had to build the actual module.
McFatridge Donald FRIT7231 ... by Lee McFatridge on Scribd
FRIT 7235 Online Learning Module-Calculator Usage
Reflection
The online learning module I created dealt with a problem I had noticed while teaching 4th and 5th-grade math. Teachers are asked to better prepare students with more rigorous math problems. The students were more anxious with the everyday computations instead of diving deeper into the problems. I had tried to have some students use calculators so the computations would not get in the way, but noticed the students knew how to set most problems up on paper but not how to key them into a calculator. After some research on the subject of calculator usage in the classroom, it was determined that a module on how to properly key a calculator would be advantageous.
While designing the module, I began to find that it might be more difficult than first described in the original instructional design document. The most difficult part was finding out what would work for the students since the district’s internet filter blocks most blogging sites and sites it considers to be social in nature. In order to make sure the students would have access to the module I had to build an area then log in to the internet as a student to make sure things worked correctly. This filtering issue also brought problems with designing a discussion board. I found a great site, ProBoards, which allowed me to build a discussion area that would handle what I was asking the students to perform. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the school filter. I had to then quickly find a way using a script inside the Google site. Luckily all the videos and links were checked and worked well.
Although I had no negative feedback from any evaluators I know there were several things I could do along the way to make this module better. I think another online platform other than Google Sites would allow for more versatility in the design. I would also like to design a way to block successive lessons until the student has proved mastery of the one they may be currently working on. As of right now the student does not get immediate feedback to an assessment and just continue with the next lesson. I feel the student would do better if they had response-sensitive feedback to what they may have answered incorrectly. This would allow the student an opportunity to work on a differentiated lesson to reteach them.
The online learning module I created dealt with a problem I had noticed while teaching 4th and 5th-grade math. Teachers are asked to better prepare students with more rigorous math problems. The students were more anxious with the everyday computations instead of diving deeper into the problems. I had tried to have some students use calculators so the computations would not get in the way, but noticed the students knew how to set most problems up on paper but not how to key them into a calculator. After some research on the subject of calculator usage in the classroom, it was determined that a module on how to properly key a calculator would be advantageous.
While designing the module, I began to find that it might be more difficult than first described in the original instructional design document. The most difficult part was finding out what would work for the students since the district’s internet filter blocks most blogging sites and sites it considers to be social in nature. In order to make sure the students would have access to the module I had to build an area then log in to the internet as a student to make sure things worked correctly. This filtering issue also brought problems with designing a discussion board. I found a great site, ProBoards, which allowed me to build a discussion area that would handle what I was asking the students to perform. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the school filter. I had to then quickly find a way using a script inside the Google site. Luckily all the videos and links were checked and worked well.
Although I had no negative feedback from any evaluators I know there were several things I could do along the way to make this module better. I think another online platform other than Google Sites would allow for more versatility in the design. I would also like to design a way to block successive lessons until the student has proved mastery of the one they may be currently working on. As of right now the student does not get immediate feedback to an assessment and just continue with the next lesson. I feel the student would do better if they had response-sensitive feedback to what they may have answered incorrectly. This would allow the student an opportunity to work on a differentiated lesson to reteach them.