End of course reflection

This course has taught me to really reflect on my teaching practice and to be more intentional as I develop instructional plans and strategies.  Necessary reminders to state the objective and break down the desired outcomes into achievable goals as a part of best practices have actually been a highlight of the course. Yes it takes more time, but the pre-planning and constant formative evaluations really help me to redesign along the way and become a better teacher as a result.

End of course reflection

As I complete my final assignments for this course I feel compelled to say I was wrong!  In the beginning, I thought this course was "too easy" for a post-graduate course.  I thought the text and its technologies was outdated.  The second text is inspirational.  The detours I found myself taking while reading this text were totally worth it.  I am inspired by rotational models, problem-based performance tasks, personalized learning and self organized learning communities.  I am fascinated with a future where a child gets to direct his own learning instead of a factory model that dictates what he/she should know.  I am also discouraged at the amount of roadblocks there are in South Carolina, but I remain hopeful for the future.

Extras from week 14

More reflections on summative assessments and in particular end-of-course exams in South Carolina for our discussion board this week...

I have two high-schoolers and I asked them if they felt EOCs were an accurate representation of what they had learned or were expected to learn throughout the semester.  This is what they said.

• The questions are unbalanced - not evenly distributed (i.e. 20% of the test comes from a single chapter.)
• The curriculum is too broad and their teachers do not have time to cover everything.
• There is unfamiliar content on the test (possibly because of the reasons above.)
• They test too early.
• Why do they have to take a final exam for the class when they took an EOC two or three weeks before?

Based on their responses, I would say that the EOC system does not work well; however, as a parent my view is that it is a necessary component.  Teachers should be evaluated.  Students should be evaluated.  I'm afraid that even as an educator, I do have not viable solution or replacement for summative evaluations.

Extras from week 12

Last week we were asked about instructional plans and materials we've used.  I am a huge fan of problem-based learning and love Dr. Shelagh Gallagher's work with gifted learners.  I had the opportunity to attend an educator conference sponsored by the Duke TIP program several summers ago.  I attended two of her sessions - one on problem-based learning and one on effective questioning.  Both were excellent!  I purchased her middle level problem-based learning units and have tried (unsuccessfully) to get my teachers to use them.  I think that I am finally going to get an opportunity to facilitate one of her units at the end of the school year (after state testing has completed.)  I am so excited and can't wait to share that experience.

Extras from week 12

So this video showed up today based on my previous searches and views.  "What if every child had their own teacher?"  Take a look at this view of blended learning and the limitations of America's current education system.

Extras from week 10

Our discussion board this week - “Research since the early 1980’s confirms that the choice of media for delivering instruction does not make a difference in how much students learn or in their attitudes about what they are learning; rather, it is the design of the instructional experience- the instructional strategy- that makes the difference.” (Chapter 9)

I agree whole-heartedly.  The same multi-media presentation can be shown by two different teachers and there will be two different results.  The content might have been delivered in the same way, but it is the teacher's use of effective instructional strategies that engage the learner and progresses the learning.  The same is true of our students.  We know that they do not all learn the same way, yet somehow there is a perception that there is a one-size fits all prescription for teaching.

Dick, W., Carey, L. & Carey, J., (2015).  The systematic design of instruction.  (8^th ed.).  New

     York:  Pearson.

Extras from week 10

Chapter 5 introduced me to Summit Public Schools.  The video clips are not available on my kindle book :(  But I found this clip on YouTube.  I love this idea of blended learning with personalized learning time and project mode instead of a traditional school day schedule.  I would love to see this model in South Carolina!