Project Based Learning Reflection

I looked for some potential ideas for a math project based lesson and here is a potential activity that students could perform.

Math Project

I can see project based learning helping with student engagement, as long as the project was something of interest to a student. I also see how it would help integrate technology into a lesson and help students be more connected with the material.

The essential question is the driving force behind the project, so it will greatly impact student interest and engagement in the lesson. It also sets up the types of assessments that students could complete to show mastery of a particular topic, which impacts the quality of assessments that students return.

Problem Based Learning

The activity "A Bad Day for Sandy" reframes my understanding of PBL in that I see it leaves a lot of open ended questions for the students to investigate. Without really requiring a lot application of formulas or specific skills, students can work on answering questions and focus on defending their answers with reasons.

A unit project would be quite an undertaking. If you could find ways to start units with guiding questions and problems that students progressively answer as they move along a unit, then I could see incorporating problem based learning in for students. My guess, though, is that this is a time consuming and difficult practice to pull off.

IBL Reflection

1) Inquiry allows for ownership of the learning for students in that it relies on students using what they already know about a concept and encourages them to develop and investigate questions that have for a particular topic. Students are more likely to be invested in what they are learning as they ask their own questions about a topic, leading to them taking ownership of their learning.

2) Inquiry displays respect and honor of the learner by validating the questions the learning might have and providing the opportunity to research, investigate, and answer those particular questions.

Constructivism Reflection

1) I found the activity to be easy to navigate. The questions were clear and some required more analysis than others. I think some more context or background on the writers and the articles, such as the ambassador, would have made it easier to follow. I wonder how students would interact with the site and what they would to if they got stuck on a particular question?

2) The goal sets the direction of where you want your students to go, so it definitely has an impact on the tools used. The biggest advantage the tools offer students is the ability to collaborate in and outside of the classroom. Also, for my lesson in particular, the online website desmos provides students with an interactive graphing tool to utilize, which provides them with visual representations of data. This allows students to focus more on the analysis of the data instead of its creation, where some students could become frustrated or lost.

Collaboration and Learning Activity

1) I have not used collaborative tools in my classroom. I didn't really have a lot of knowledge of the various tools, so that prevents me from using them with my students. I think I am going to try using a padlet with my students, I will have to work on how this can be applied for a math class.

2) Content curation could be very beneficial for students by providing them with a single spot to access information on various topics. Potentially, I could see myself "curating" various units of study for students to access, manipulate, and add to, in order to help them better understand their material.

3) These tools enable students to pull materials from various resources on the web, including videos, images, and articles. Traditionally, students would only be able to pull information from textbooks.

Understanding by Design Activity and Reflection

Here is a link to my essential questions for a unit on exponential functions in Algebra 2:

Essential Questions

In terms of the Juicy Geography activity, I think an essential question for the project could be:

How can we as students use models to explain the impact of natural/global forces on human civilization?

Open Education Resource Reflection

Here is the link to my class website that includes a lesson with OER links. (DeFelice Website --> see the June 8th lesson in Algebra 3-4 Calendar)

1) The main impediment to the widespread adoption of OER content by classroom teachers is the relevance of the content to teachers' lessons. While it is very helpful to have available resources for students and teachers to access, I can see individuals struggling with applying the content to what is being learned in the classroom. Particular strategies or lessons may be taught or explained in a different way than how a teacher presents information. Students may also have a hard time accessing and navigating the variety of resources that are present. Another issue is student desire and motivation to complete the work associated with using resources.

2) One advantage of OER is its accessibility to all people and the ability to update information more quickly than with traditional textbooks. It also provides educators with resources for lesson development and extension activities to help support students.

3) This model frees educators from the restraints of using particular publishing companies. Teachers can more readily collaborate over various resources and apply what they feel is appropriate for their particular classes, not what a textbook think is appropriate.

LMS Reflection

LMS offer students a couple of advantages. First, students are able to work at their own pace and complete assigned tasks at home or in school. Second, it provides students with a great resource of information in one location that is readily available to them. This should ideally help them when they prepare for tests, exams, or finals. And third, it offers students a way to collaborate online through discussion posts.

In particular, Moodle can be used to create a student centered learning environment by providing students with the activities that need to be completed to master a topic. Students would just need clear directions and explanations of how to use Moodle and when assignments/quizzes are due. Once students are able to independently navigate Moodle, they should be able to access the required material and learn at their own pace.

With the choice activities or quizzes and making passing quizzes conditional on earning a certain grade, lessons can be easily differentiated for students. You can easily group students to have them work on a particular lesson. You can also create recovery materials for students to review if they do not assess well on a particular topic.

One particular struggle I have seen with Moodle in my resource (special education) classes is that students don't necessarily understand how to navigate the website. Sometimes, there is a lot of material there that is overwhelming and confusing for students to access. I think students need refreshers on how to access particular assignments and hopefully aren't penalized for not knowing how to navigate the site.

Flipped Lesson Activity

Here is a lesson about solving systems of equations using substitution.

Flipped Instruction

1) Under what circumstances can this method be beneficial for your students?

I think flipped learning is a great strategy for students who struggle with traditional note taking. With a video, students are able to pause at any moment if they get lost are confused with the material. Further, students who might normally be afraid to ask questions in class would be able to note questions they have and ask the teacher about them individually or via email. For a math class in particular, students have the ability to complete problems during class time and ask questions about the homework versus only getting a few minutes of time to complete homework problems after listening to a lecture.

2) How can occasionally Flipping your classroom help you reclaim "lost instructional time"?

I think flipping your classroom would particularly help with students who are frequently absent or who miss the initial lesson for a unit. Having a video that students can access to catch up on material would help them reclaim lost instructional time. It would also make it easier for myself, as I wouldn't have to find time within class to help catch up particular students.

3) Developing content is time consuming, where can you find quality, relevant sources for Flipping your instruction?

Flippedteaching.com has a whole resource page that lists sites that a teacher can use to help develop videos for their students. There are lots of people who currently do flipped learning, so looking at their example would help. In the district, I know of several teachers who are already flipping their classrooms, so we have local sources as well to help us troubleshoot this concept. 

In math, there already is a great website called Khan Academy that has worked out problems in videos for students to access. 

Introduction Reflection

It seems like the article didn't really connect with the prompt of the question.

As a special educator, I can relate to over identifying students as having ADD or ADHD. If classrooms were more engaging, would students be less bored and more likely to participate in class? Would this also lead to a decline in students who are labeled with attention deficit disorders? I don't think the two are as connected as the writer suggests, because if a student truly has ADD or ADHD, adding interactive activities won't make that simply disappear.

I do think we should look for ways to grab students' interests and provide them with more opportunities for collaborative learning. The blog that the article is written for is one example of using a Web 2.0 activity to provide students with a different way of learning.

As an instructor, I would need to make sure my students were fully aware of how to utilize a given tool to develop a rich learning environment. I have found that students aren't necessarily as comfortable with different types of technology, unless it can be easily accessed and utilized. To help build comfort with different tools, I would need to create a safe learning environment where mistakes are ok, provide student friendly user guides, and be available to address any and all concerns that students have.

Tech 2 Introduction

Here is my introduction.