Energizing Days

There are so many days when I'm home from school aka work and feeling refreshed and energized instead of exhausted.  :)


Here are some of the activities I've completed and/or participated in on these days:

• student growth
• making a difference-students telling me I care about them
• planning new activities
• great engaging lessons
• superb student behavior
• planning with my team
• finishing my "to do" list and/or crossing items off
• new ideas found on pinterest or blogs
• new ideas shared by my colleagues
• implementing something from graduate school and/or my internship
• making my students laugh and/or smile
• project-based learning
• student-centered instruction
• math talk
• students creating their own word problems
• "ah ha" moments with my students
• feeling like I'm doing the best job I can do as a teacher

Teaching energizes me!  Involving my students in these activities allows me to see the importance or why I feel energized and refreshed.


Throughout my time as a Pinnacle leader I have learned the importance of integrating 21st century skills into my classroom.  I need to prepare my students to be globally competitive.  I can relate project-based learning, student-centered instruction, and many other activities to make me a better Pinnacle leader.  Leading by example is one aspect of being a Pinnacle leader and I can do this on days where I'm energized and excited!  I am taking what I have learned from the training sessions, Pinnacle colleagues, and graduate school to allow me to meet goals I've set for my students.  I am constantly gaining and sharing new ideas with Pinnacle professionals, such as Balanced Active Math (BAM) games, and novel studies.  Sharing ideas will make me a better teacher.

Dumot's Class Goes Google!

Unit Overview: Here is a general overview of our simple machines google unit.  These directions were in a google document shared out to my class.  My students were given general guidelines.  The tasks of the students were to play/figure out google documents, create a google document, conduct research (using provided research sources), collaboratively take notes in their google document (with specific guidelines), and use google presentation to present and share their information.  The project will continue with a photo scavenger hunt for simple machines, data collection and entry regarding simple machines found, and designing/creating their own simple machine.

Learner-centered: Students were able to engage in their learning and determine their outcomes throughout the entire process.  Students discovered and learned about simple machines as they went.  Students played and figured out google documents with very little guidance.  Students were able to assist one another during this adventure.  Students helped one another name documents, add to documents, insert photos, and spice up their presentations.


Relation to Core Content: The unit integrated with the core content that we are teaching in science, our Force/Motion unit and the research component aligned with the ELA standards.  This project serves as a inquiry-based learning activity.  Students are teaching one another instead of hearing about the simple machines from the teacher.  The unit aligns with the NCSCOS in the following ways:
Science:
COMPETENCY GOAL 4: The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate technologies to build an understanding of forces and motion in technological designs.  
Objective 4.07: Determine how people use simple machines to solve problems.


Language Arts:
COMPETENCY GOAL 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology. 
Objective 3.06: Conduct research (with assistance) from a variety of sources for assigned or self-selected projects (e.g. print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries, databases, computer networks).


Information/Technology:

5.RP.1  Apply a research process as part of collaborative research. 
5.RP.1.1 Implement a research process by collaborating effectively with other students.

5.SI.1.1 Use various types of resources to gather information (including print and online media). 
5.SI.1.2 Use relevant sources of information for an assigned task. 
5.SI.1  Apply criteria to determine appropriate information resources for specific topics and purposes. 
5.SI.1.3 Use reliable sources of information. 


21st Century Skills: I believe that at first the technology was a stand alone element because students spent time logging in (with lots of guidance) and playing around with google documents while asking lots of questions.  The students then moved to the research component of the project.  From this point forward the technology really improved upon the alternative of reading a section and taking notes on each of the simple machines.  Students were able to collaborate, and find real-world examples of the six simple machines. This collaborative piece should really help students be prepared for the 21st century!


Student Achievement: This lesson has already impacted student achievement. All of my students are able to tell me about the simple machine they researched, give me real-life examples, and give me several other examples of the other 5 simple machines.  The project has truly given my students a better understanding of the six simple machines.  Even looking into the future at EOG's, students have a deeper understanding of the material and student achievement is predicted to increase based on this project and other projects to come (by me :) ).


Pedagogical Change: The way I teach has drastically changed throughout my time as a Pinnacle leader.  I try to integrate technology throughout my curriculum, without making it a stand-alone element.  My instructional strategies are student-centered, and project-based as often as possible.  My students greatly benefit from these strategies as they are able to apply the activities and problems to real-life situations.  Students seem more excited to learn in this environment opposed to the teacher-centered structure.


Reflection: I think giving students LOTS of time to play with google documents/presentation really helped.  My students were able to then create some presentations that they are proud of!  I am very proud of my students working in teams, collaboratively on these presentations.  The students really took ownership of this project and had FUN!  This project took much longer than expected.  Next time, I will allot more time, and longer slots of time to work on this project.  We will continue on with our project, continuing with the photo scavenger hunt.  Please check out my blog in the future for more updates on the continuation of this project.


Student Work Samples:

2011-2012 School Year

This school year has started off on a fabulous note!  I am excited for many things this year at school.  I am planning my P.D. at school titled Tech Cafe'.  If you have any new hot topics to share, please let me know.  This week I will be addressing blogging.  I plan to discuss blogging for students and blogging in a professional sense.

One idea I want to share is gems (my 5th grade teams idea, not my own).  It's so simple but yet students love it!  My team has adapted the traditional color card system (green, yellow, red, black) and incorporated gems.  Students can earn gems for various reasons (positive) and gems can be taken away (negative).  Students can then spend gems in our class store and earn a prize, a turn in the reading corner, a choice seat, extra computer time, etc.  Students are already going above and beyond to assist their classmates to earn gems and wanting to know more ways they can earn gems.

I know this year is going to be a fantastic year!  I am excited for the year and for the growth of my students.  I am also excited to be team teaching.  My team members and myself decided to team teach and I would like to welcome any advice that you have to offer so that it can run as smooth as possible.  I will be teaching math and reading, and my team teacher is teaching science and social studies.  Please share any advice!  Thank you in advance.

Practicing for P.D.---Edmodo Reflection

     Overall I think the Edmodo presentation was okay.  I definitively see areas where I could improve and areas where I confused my peers.  I believe that because I ran out of time I confused some people.  Even though I rehearsed it in my mind, I should have rehearsed it ahead of time with an actual audience.

Things I would change:

• Add some research or application (maybe an example) at the beginning.
• Have teachers create an account at the beginning and then just show the student view and parent view (from the screen shots).  Or if time allows, teachers could log in as students after creating the teacher account.  Teachers could also log in as parents if time allows.
• Allow time for brainstorming (using linoit).
• Allow time for connecting to ALL grade levels (show examples).

Things I would keep the same:

• Wordle to kick it off and explain.
• Allowing teachers to be hands-on from the beginning.
• Step-by-step handout and agenda.
• Livebinder as an organization tool.

Presenting staff development

     I think the characteristics of adult learners versus student learners needs to be the focus when administering staff development at a school.  When I'm planning my staff development, I need to make sure I'm presenting/administering a workshop where adult learners are not treated as student learners.  In this article, one of the most important characteristics of an adult learner is that adult learners are skeptical of new information being taught.  New information needs to be "tried out" before it is accepted.  The teaching strategies to address these characteristics are great tidbits to keep in mind when planning staff development.  It is vital to remember to give up the control when working with adult learners, because they want to be self-directed and learn some on their own.


     I also need to keep in mind the various thinking and learning styles of the adult learners.  Each adult learner has a different learning style and to maximize the time in staff development, all learning styles need to be addressed to the best of my ability.  Learners tend to associate their learning success with their learning style.  Therefore when addressing multiple thinking and learning styles, more learners will experience success.


     When reading another article, I learned that when creating staff development I need to reflect on how the staff development focuses on how students learn and how to address the learning of the students.  This will hopefully increase student achievement.  When planning my staff development, I aspire to incorporate the learning of students as my focus.  It is imperative to focus on the fact that teachers need to be able to connect what they are learning in staff development to teaching.  Making sure that the staff development connects to the curriculum, to the district and state standards, and assessment measures, is important for the teachers involved.  It was stated that during evaluation of staff development, the three things that are analyzed as classroom practices, impact on teacher behavior, and the effect on student learning.  Evaluations should be completed throughout the program/staff development.  One last point I need consider when planning my staff development, is that it should be over an amount of time and include a significant amount of hours.  These will lead to the success of the staff development.

What my classroom will look like in the 2011-2012 school year...

     The look of my classroom this year will change... both in the physical layout and in the content/activities that my students participate.
  
     I love where the article discussed engagement.  I need to ensure that my student's brains are fully engaged at all times.  I plan to do this by continuing to integrate technology seamlessly throughout my lessons.  This will better prepare my students for the 21st century.  I also need to incorporate problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity throughout our daily activities.  


     The concept of the article seems perfect.  I would love for every student to have their own digital device 24/7.  This would be an ideal situation, but the questions asked, such as who would purchase the devices, are an obstacle that we face.  


     This year I'm hoping to focus on helping my students achieve digital literacy keeping in mind the three parts.  The three parts of digital literacy include using information to solve a problem, using media and digital technologies to communicate/collaborate, and digital citizenship.  This will better prepare my students for the real-world and the unknown jobs they will encounter upon graduation.


     I need to focus on my role in the classroom.  My role as an educator is to be a facilitator, role model, collaborator, designer, and engager.    I plan to facilitate personal reflections as a form of collaboration in my classroom.  This year I started this and it really helped my students reflect on their goals, reading levels, progress, etc.  I usually am able to customize and personalize learning activities to address various student needs and this year I want to focus on doing this using digital tools and resources.  I also need to zone in on setting a good example for my students when it comes to digital citizenship.  My students need to be explicitly taught about topics including issues such as copyright.  Lastly, I plan to engage in professional development throughout the year.  I'm going to attend the Pinnacle conference and the Teacher and Learning Conference, lead staff development, and participate in staff development.


     I found this image and it sums up my thoughts.  The image is from an article by Prakash Nair in Education Week about 21st century school remodeling.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/99107397@N00/3927020130/in/photostream/