PBL Learning Plan #2 - Statistics and Food

I created a PBL on statistics and food for 7th grade Math students. You can find the learning plan, rubric, and peer evaluation form on my site.

Blog Post # 6 - What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

After watching Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, I was inspired by the teaching methods he used and his evident love for teaching. In his lecture he spoke about how he used project based learning in his classes and how to have fun while learning something hard.

Randy Pausch's classes on building virtual worlds are a prime example on project based learning. He began the semester by dividing the class into groups of five and giving them two weeks to complete the first of five projects for the semester. Two weeks later when the students presented their projects, he was blown away by their work. He didn't know what he was going to do in the next four projects because they had done so well in the first. This teaches me that as a teacher I can't put a bar of expectations on students. I have to keep pushing them to go as far as they can. Randy also taught that students need an audience. He found that on presentation day, he would have extra students and even parents in the class. His students were excited about their projects and wanted to share them with their family and friends. This shows me that when there is an audience, students work harder, have pride in their work, and are excited about sharing what they created with others. Randy also believed that as teachers we need to make our students become self-reflective. For each of the five projects, he divided the students into new groups, so for each project a student would work with a group of students that they had not worked with before. At the end of each project, he would have the students evaluate their group members so at the end of the semester each student would have 20 evaluations on their self. I think working with new people for each project is great preparation for group work in real life. Also, the evaluations allow the students to become self-reflective so that they will know the areas that they need to work on.

From his experience with project based learning, Randy Pausch knew what project based learning was all about. He said, "Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly." The students in his classes were learning how to build virtual worlds, but most importantly learning how to work with others. He also taught that the best way to teach someone something is to have them think they are learning something else, and he called it a "head fake". This reminds me of this EDM class. Dr. Strange is having us learn about technology in the classroom by using technology. I'm learning about teaching in this course, but more than that I am learning how to use technology by creating and maintaining a blog, by using Twitter for my PLN, and by working with others by collaborating on Google Docs.

This lecture taught me about teaching but most importantly it inspired me. One of the quotes that Randy Pausch kept reminding the audience was that "brick walls are there to show us how badly we want something." This inspired me that there will be brick walls in teaching but I must be creative and innovative so that I may reach every student. I must pass this on to my students as well, so that they know you must work hard to achieve your goals.

PBL Learning Plan

Ramsey Willis and I collaborated on a PBL for Algebra I students.

You can find the learning plan, rubric, and peer evaluation form on my site.

Blog Post #5 - Asking Questions

Questions are the heart of learning. Without questions how would we discover or invent, much less learn? The question for this post is, what do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher? I will address three topics in order to answer this question: why do we ask questions, the type of questions to ask, and the process of asking questions.

Teachers ask questions for a variety of reasons. Teachers will often ask a question to begin a lesson, or several questions to be answered over a unit. A good teacher will ask questions throughout a lesson to check for understanding. Questions are also asked at the end of a lesson to encourage students to delve into the concept further. But the most important reason teachers ask questions is to get their students thinking.

There are several types of questions that a teacher can ask to engage their students and to encourage them to think. The first type is a closed-ended question. This type of question has a direct response that is correct or incorrect, or it has a yes or no answer. Closed-ended questions are good questions to ask to check for understanding. It is best to follow these types of questions with another question asking for an example. Another type of question is an open-ended question. Open-ended questions have multiple answers and encourage discussion in the classroom.

The process of asking questions is equally as important as the type of questions to be asked. In Maryellen Weimer's post Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, she emphasizes that preparing questions is the key to asking good questions. Questions will come to a teacher's mind while teaching a lesson, but it is best to think of and prepare questions when preparing the lesson. Maryellen Weimer also wrote that teachers should play with placement of questions in their lessons. Instead of asking all the questions at the end, ask a question at the beginning of class that will be answered throughout the lesson or even in the next lesson, or have students work together to come up with an answer. An article from The Teaching Center of Washington University in St. Louis, Asking Questions to Improve Learning, states that questions should be asked throughout the lesson, and questions should be specific and direct. Also, only one question at a time should be asked so that students are not confused about which question to answer. When asking a question, a teacher should wait 5-10 seconds for the students to think before accepting a response, and if no response is given, then the teacher should not answer the question but rather reword the question and ask it again. When responding to a student's answer, a teacher should encourage their students to keep thinking by following up with a question to the student to explain their thinking.

The motto for this EDM class is Questions are More Important than Answers. Questions are what drive learning and discovery. As a teacher, I must continuously ask thought provoking questions to my students while teaching, but ultimately I need to teach my students to ask thought provoking questions in order to be good learners.

Project #3 Presentation

Project Based Learning

Teaching has made a total change in the fourteen years since I graduated from high school. This change is in large part due to how the world has embraced technology. Every time I read a teacher's blog about how they are using technology in the classroom I learn something new. To hear that students as young as kindergarten are blogging and tweeting amazes me! After watching Anthony Capps' videos with Dr. Strange, I have some observations to present and questions that to ask about how to use technology as a teacher, specifically for project based learning.

From the Anthony Capps interview, Don't Teach Tech - Use It, I learned several benefits of and tips for using technology in the classroom for project based learning or PBL. The first benefit is that today's students have been around technology all their lives so they understand how to use it quickly and they enjoy using it. This answers the question of how will I teach students how to use technology when I am not very good at using it myself. Dr. Strange added that teachers should not worry about spending a lot of time to teach technology. The next benefit is to use technology for PBL. Project based learning is the concept of constructing a project while learning a concept, instead of the old way of using a project to assess whether a concept was learned. Teachers should give students the opportunity to use technology to learn about a subject and to construct a project on that subject. With this being said, Anthony Capps said to not expect perfection when using technology. He said from experience that students will make mistakes while researching but a teacher needs to build in time for the students to reflect on the project and learn from their mistakes. Lastly, Mr. Capps pointed out that using technology for PBL is a low cost, clean, and shareable way of learning.

While watching the Anthony Capps interviews, I had a few questions about what kind of technology to use for PBL. I wondered how do third-graders do research on the Internet in a safe way, and specifically, what websites does he use for PBL. He answered my questions with iCurio and Discovery Ed, which both are used in Baldwin County. iCurio is an online tool where students can safely search online media because it is filtered for educational use. Students have individual logins and they use it like a search engine. I especially liked the feature that Mr. Capps mentioned about organization. iCurio allows students to organize their research by topic in virtual folders. By doing this, they are learning valuable skills of digital/virtual organization. iCurio will also read the text aloud to students that may need help reading. Anthony Capps referred to Discovery Ed as bringing text to life visually. This allows students visually learn about a subject after they have read about it. He uses it for Science and Social Studies.

One of the main issues I wonder about when incorporating technology in the classroom for PBL, how much time does this involve for the teacher? Anthony Capps answered the question by giving some details about his first year as a teacher. He started the year by working sixteen hours a day for the first three months and then cut it down to ten hours a day. This tells me that he is a hard worker! This also tells me that using technology in PBL requires a hard working teacher. Hard work is one the tips that Dr. Strange gave in the videos for being a good teacher. He also included being a learner, being flexible and creative, and having the ability to reflect. The role of the teacher has changed with the change in technology. They are no longer the main source for knowledge in the classroom, but they are more of the director of a child's education.

In conclusion, I will definitely use PBL in my classroom. Students often times have a negative attitude towards math because they feel that it doesn't have application in their lives. I hope to use PBL to show them that math is in their everyday lives they just have to look for it.

C4K

C4K Wk#1 Comment

Jake W in Ms. Toal's class - 4th/5th grade Boys Scoil Fhursa in Dublin, Ireland

Jake wrote about a class trip to the library to meet the author Kevin Stevens who wrote The Powers. It's a fun book about a family named The Powers. He suggested visiting the website to learn more.

I commented that I visited the website like he suggested and that the book looked like a fun book to read. I asked him if he liked to write stories and if he could write a book one day, what would it be about?


C4K Wk#2

Comment #1
Jacob in Mrs. Reuter's Class - 5th/6th grade Wisconsin

Jacob wrote about an outing he took for a friend's birthday to a ski resort called Sunburst. They went tubing down some hills and had a blast!

I commented that it sounds like he had a lot of fun in the snow at Sunburst. I told him that in Alabama we do not have snow very often but that it snowed here in January for the first time in over ten years. I also told him that instead of tubing on the snow, we go tubing on a lake or river. Then I asked him if he had ever been tubing or skiing on a lake or a river?


Comment #2
Cooper C. in Mrs. Gelde's 4th grade Class in Nebraska

Cooper was asked to write about if he could have a super power, then what would it be. He would like to be able to fly because then in kickball he could just fly around the bases.

I commented that I think flying would be a great super power, but I would like to be able to read people's minds. Then I would be able to know what people are thinking without them having to tell me. I commented that he did a great job on the picture he posted of showing how he would fly.


Comment #3
Buckets_4 in Mrs. Miller's Class - HS English Baldwin Co

She wrote about karma and how she was ugly to someone and the next day she hurt her ankle. She also wrote about how she would like to go to college one day and make something of her life. It was difficult to read because of poor grammar, all lowercase letters, and no punctuation.

I commented that I think karma is real but most importantly I liked it when she wrote that being horrible to people gets you nowhere in life. I told her that ultimately we can only control our own actions. I also let her know that I liked reading that she would like to go to college and make something of her life. Then I asked her which college would she like to attend and what would she like to study.


C4K Wk#3

Comment #1
It's Me in Mrs. Miller's Class - HS English Baldwin Co

The student wrote a short story titled, David and the Crystal Eye. It's a story about a man named David who reads about the crystal eye in book and then becomes obsessed with it. The crystal eye gives the power that know one can pierce you if you have it. David becomes so obsessed with obtaining the crystal eye that saves up enough money to leave his family and travel to Australia to get it. Before he gets to the island with the crystal eye, the plane he is on crashes on the island. After the crash, David goes on a search for the crystal eye. When he finds it, he has to fight the pilot of the plane to keep it. Then he quickly escapes the island on another plane. When David returns home, he has the crystal eye put in the Smithsonian for safe keeping.

I commented that I read his story about the crystal eye. It was very intense! I told him that he had me wondering to the end if David was going to get the crystal eye. Then I asked him if likes to write short stories and was this story inspired by another story he has read.


Comment #2
Cordell in Mrs. Long's 10th grade class

Cordell wrote about the movie Shawshank Redemption. It's his favorite movie because of the "amazing plot." He also likes how it was filmed in a real prison in Maine.

I commented that I like the Shawshank Redemption too. I told him that I think it is a cleverly written story about determination. Then I asked him if he likes any other Stephen King books and/or movies.


Comment #3
Kylie B. in Ms. Frahm's 7th grade class at Bode Middle School in St. Joseph, MO

Kylie wrote an argumentative assignment on Athens. She wrote about the schooling of boys and girls and how they differed. The boys were sent to school to be educated while the girls stayed home to learn.

I commented that I read her assignment on Athens. I told her that I found it interesting that only boys were able to go to school to receive a formal education. Then I asked her how she thinks life would be today if this still occurred, only boys could go to school and girls had to stay home to learn.

C4T Chosen by Dr. Strange

Ideas and Thoughts by Dean Shareski

C4T Wk#1
"I Couldn't Agree More" is Meh
Dean writes that people should read the comments of a blog as well as the blog. This is where conversation and debate can occur. Comments like "I agree" are nice but not helpful. Bloggers are wanting to initiate conversation. If you want to increase your critical thinking, don't always read blogs that you agree with.

I commented that I agree too. (But I have to leave a substantive post because this is a class assignment!) I also wrote that this post is very helpful as I am new to the blogging world. I told him that I've read many blogs in the past but never commented because I didn't feel the need. Now that I've had to create my own blog, I see the importance of substantial comments. I agreed that blogs are about conversation. I also wrote that I would think that most bloggers create their blog to have a way to share their thoughts and ideas, but even more they want to hear the thoughts and ideas of others. In conclusion, I commented that to truly benefit from the conversation, we can't just consume but we must produce as well.

C4T Wk#2
The Digital Divide: Live with It
Dean writes about how the increasing use of technology in education is opening up so many opportunities for learning, but educators still put a ceiling on the top learners. Educators have introduced technology to students but are still assessing students like they did before the technology, just to see if the achievement gap is smaller. He says that with all the doors that open to learning with technology, educators cannot continue to use the same assessments. Students are learning in ways that aren't always easy to assess and if we continue to do assess the same way as when there was not technology, then the students are being held under a ceiling.

I commented that when talking about closing the achievement gap, the lower-end students are usually the focus and this often leaves the students on the higher end of the spectrum stuck under "the ceiling". I also commented that all students deserve to be challenged regardless of where they lie on the spectrum. The increasing technology that is available for education opens up a world of opportunities for all students. I agreed that technology should be used to benefit all students, but this leads to more work for educators because it requires tailoring the lesson to meet the learning needs of all students. That's where the ceiling comes in.


C4T Wk#3
Do What You Love: A Selfish and Misguided Message
Dean writes that doing work that you love is selfish. He writes that doing work that you don't love or have a passion for is what work is and that's real life. He also writes that college should not be pushed on every student. He suggests that we should celebrate the students that go to work after high school, too.

I commented that I have worked with people who dislike their job with a passion and since I was not in a management position that could change things for these people, I ultimately had to leave the job because of their attitudes. Before I left, I spoke with one of the young workers on a personal level and told them that if they didn't like what they were doing, then why don't they look for a job that they do like. They have since moved on and hopefully to a better situation. The main reason my coworkers disliked their job was not the task itself, but the management. I heard more complaints about the people they worked with and for, than the actual job. This leads to the fact that the people of a job are the most important aspect of a job.
I also commented that I don't think any high school student should be discouraged from going to college, especially in today's workforce. However, having went to college immediately after high school, and then a few years after college realizing that I didn't like that profession, and now in college again going a different route, I don't think it is always a bad idea for a student to take some time after high school to work while deciding what they would like to study in college.


C4T Wk#4
Another Reason Why You Don't Blog
Dean writes about why people shouldn't stress about blogging. He links back to a post he wrote in November in which he wrote that "clicking publish" through blogging is not the same as publish meant in the past. He gives an example of how someone sent a link to one of his blog posts to a non-educator and because Dean misspelled a word in the title, the non-educator would not read it. He also links a podcast that he recorded and in it he reminds his listeners that blogging is not about formal writing but about conversation. Therefore, even though we may revise our posts several times, there still may be grammatical errors. He encourages his readers and listeners to not be afraid to blog about their ideas just because it may not be entirely grammatically correct.

I thanked Dean for this post because it was encouraging. I commented that I just entered into the blogging world two months ago in this EDM class and I have struggled with writing "publish worthy" blog posts and required comments on other's blogs. I also wrote that in this class I have read a range of blogs from elementary and high school students to college students and educators. Of course, all these blogs are not grammatically correct, but these people are writing about their ideas. Like he said in his post, publish doesn't have the same meaning as it did in the past. These students are learning a new definition of publish.

C4T Rotating

C4T Wk# 1
Blogging through the Fourth Dimension by Pernille Ripp

In her post "Is there room for slow readers in your class?", Ms. Ripp writes on the different reading paces of children. In her classroom, she sets a goal for her students of reading 40 books. Well, some students achieve that goal and some do not. Some of the students that do not reach their goal get upset because they are slow readers. She has changed her thoughts on this goal and just reminds the children that as long as they read more than last year, then they are doing great.

I was not able to comment on her blog, but this is what I would have said. I think it is great that she is looking at the children individually instead of just focusing on reading 40 books. I'm not the fastest reader because I like to thoroughly understand what I am reading. But, because I am goal-oriented, I would have been a student that sped through the books to achieve the goal without benefiting from the reading. Also, praising the students for increasing their speed of reading is good because it allows them to continue to enjoy reading while they are improving their reading abilities.

C4T Wk #2
Teacher Tom's Blog

Tom is the sole teacher at a preschool in Seattle. In his post "This Is Child Abuse", he writes about the subject of standardized testing to kindergarteners. With NCLB and Common Core, students as young as kindergarten are taking standardized tests. The kindergarteners take them on a computer and often with a parent guiding them. One comment that was posted reminded parents that they can have their children opt out of taking these standardized tests.

I commented that this is all news to me. I was not aware that students are being tested so early. Also, as I have preschoolers that will be entering kindergarten in a few years, I was glad to know that parents can have their children opt out of the testing.


C4t Wk #3
Kindergarten Life

Tweets, Tweeting via Twitter @vermontkkids123
Sharon Davis teaches kindergarten and in this post, she writes about using Twitter in her classroom. She uses Twitter to help them learn about community and how to properly converse with others. She also uses it to give them a global perspective.

I commented that I am encouraged by her blog. I found that it’s great that kindergarteners can learn so much from Twitter. (They probably know more about it than I do, as I just signed on a few weeks ago.) I also commented that I’m going into secondary education but her post has encouraged me to try to use Twitter with my own young children.


C4t Wk #4
Kindergarten Life

The Value of Conversations
Sharon writes about her experience on a panel at the Dynamic Landscape Conference at Champlian College in Burlington, Vermont. Here is a video of the panel discussion. Through this experience she learned about the value of conversations with her students, and writes about how she is using technology to spark conversations. She is using Twitter, Skype, Google Hangout, and blogging in her class.

I commented that I watched one of the panel videos, and I liked her open-minded attitude toward change and how change can give us more tools for learning. I think it is great that she is incorporating so much technology in a kindergarten class. I told her that I especially like that parents are tweeting questions to the class. I commented that it's great when the parents are involved in their child's learning, and I thanked her for her encouraging blog.

C4T (Continuous chosen by me) Authentic Inquiry Maths

Authentic Inquiry Maths
Bruce Ferrington is a middle school math teacher in Canberra, ACT, Australia.


C4T Wk #1
Math in Sports - Miranda Carfrae
This post is a series of posts he did of interviews with athletes in January 2014. Miranda Carfrae is an Australian Ironman. He asked her questions about her experience with math in school and about how she uses math in her training and racing. She responded that she did not have a great experience with math in school and she only took classes that she needed for what she wanted to study in college. Although math was not her favorite subject, she does use it everyday in her training and racing. While racing, she has to do quick mental calculations of her time so she can pace herself.

I commented that this was a great project for him to do to show students how math is used in their everyday lives. He interviewed several athletes during this series so I commented that he spent a lot of time on this project and hopefully the students will have a greater appreciation for math as a result.

C4T Wk#2
The Laws of Math - The Associative Law
In this post Mr. Ferrington writes about the lesson he taught on the Associative Law. He writes that he explained to the students about the Associative Law and how both sides of the equal sign must be the same. Then to make the class more interesting, he asked the students to think of a way to display the associative law. Some students used the number line, some used blocks and a scale, and one student got creative and drew two sets of three men of different heights standing on top of each with both sets equaling the same height.

I commented that I love to look at his blog for ideas for teaching in my future classroom. His students seemed to like doing something different than solving math problems on paper and they are very creative.


C4T Wk#3
89 and 98
During a lesson on the Commutative Law, a student realized that if you reverse two numbers that add up to 98, like 57 and 32, then the answer will be reversed, 89. He encouraged him to test this out with other two digit numbers that end in 9 and also with three digit numbers, and then look for a pattern.

I commented that it's great to see that his students are thinking creatively in his lessons. I told him that I'm sure he loves his job on those days! Last week, I asked him if he uses textbooks in his teaching. He responded that the short answer is no, so I asked him if he uses the Khan Academy, and if so, how?


C4T Wk#4
The Laws of Math - The Associative Law with Multiplication
Mr. Ferrington is finishing the unit of the Laws of Math. In this post he writes about his students' displaying the associative law with multiplication. They use colored discs, blocks, and tiles to demonstrate (2x4)x5 = 2x(4x5). Some students understood the concept better than others so this was a good moment to evaluate and discuss.

I commented that he is still having fun with the laws of math. I also commented that I continue to enjoy reading his posts about the different ways of teaching math. I liked reading about how he uses tiles and blocks to informally assess whether the students understand the concept. I also let him know that I look forward to learning more about teaching math from his blog.