My Web Design class is a Project Based Learning environment. I completed the curriculum for Special Education and would consider myself to be very in tuned to the fact that students learn in different ways. Teaching Strategies I, II and III taught me to integrate technology in creative ways to meet the needs of students that find learning difficult. Because of this, I believe Web 2.0 gives a wide variety of options that help teachers be creative with the delivery of instruction. Students can also demonstrate proficiency in creative ways. Learning Styles of the Next Generation describes a world of multi tasking. How do we learn to teach these students effectively? I used to believe that Inclusion of all students in one classroom was impossible. Not only is it possible, advances in technology make it possible for a teacher to take a back seat and facilitate learning by giving students the tools they need to take charge of and document experiencs in their own way.
Technology provides me the tools to give students a wide variety of options to meet their needs. I run everything out of a network server. What I like about project based learning is that you can provide students with a rubric and they know before they begin what the expectations are. They are required to do self assessments during the learning process. I believe this relieves anxiety about what students should know and be able to do. You can align rubrics with standards and add your own expectations at the same time. Although I do believe in some standards based learning, I do not believe the standards change as quickly as they need to. Keeping up with the times and what is going on in the world has to be a priority to people that decides what our students need to know. So, teachers need to be given some leeway to make decisions, add tools and make learning current and relevant. There are great resources out there to help build personalized rubrics Rubistar and Teachnology are two great ways to utilize technology and enhanced assessments. A proper assessment that is relevent only if provides and outlines clear vision of what you want students neet know and be able to do. More importantly it should define how will know they will be able to do it?
Assessments & Data Driven Decisions
Performance pathways is an amazing tool for teachers. I took a one week intensive class that taught us how to access NECAP and NWEA test results and use the data to improve learning. You can access student scores, target the individual questions and determine how and why students struggle. The question assessment will give you verbs that help determine where students may have difficulty learning in your classroom. For instance if you are requiring students to analyze something in your lesson and this is a trouble area, you can provide them additional samples, tools and revised units to help them through something that you have predetermined would be difficult. Blooms Taxonomy is a great resource to help determine what higher order thinking skills are required in your lesson plans and activities. I found six students struggled with reading and writing and are scheduled to take Web Design in the fall. I attached the way I broke down the data, analyzed their difficulties and plan to adapt my lessons to meet the needs of the individual.
Creating individualized instruction is possible with technological advances. Howard Gardner has spent the better part of his career teaching and learning how to address different people with different talents and skills. He refers to this as Learning Styles. Gardner is a multiple award winning Professor of Psychology Harvard and has degrees from “twenty-two colleges and universities, including institutions in Ireland, Italy, Isreal and Chili”( http://pzweb.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm). I agree with Gardner’s theories about the fact that everyone is intelligent and has their own way of recieving information that helps them understand and comprehend information. Project Zero studies to understand thinking, learning and creativity. Level the playing field and understand different people, from different places have different knowledge. More time should be spent teaching students how to learn as opposed to memorizing facts that will never be used.
Technology provides me the tools to give students a wide variety of options to meet their needs. I run everything out of a network server. What I like about project based learning is that you can provide students with a rubric and they know before they begin what the expectations are. They are required to do self assessments during the learning process. I believe this relieves anxiety about what students should know and be able to do. You can align rubrics with standards and add your own expectations at the same time. Although I do believe in some standards based learning, I do not believe the standards change as quickly as they need to. Keeping up with the times and what is going on in the world has to be a priority to people that decides what our students need to know. So, teachers need to be given some leeway to make decisions, add tools and make learning current and relevant. There are great resources out there to help build personalized rubrics Rubistar and Teachnology are two great ways to utilize technology and enhanced assessments. A proper assessment that is relevent only if provides and outlines clear vision of what you want students neet know and be able to do. More importantly it should define how will know they will be able to do it?
Assessments & Data Driven Decisions
Performance pathways is an amazing tool for teachers. I took a one week intensive class that taught us how to access NECAP and NWEA test results and use the data to improve learning. You can access student scores, target the individual questions and determine how and why students struggle. The question assessment will give you verbs that help determine where students may have difficulty learning in your classroom. For instance if you are requiring students to analyze something in your lesson and this is a trouble area, you can provide them additional samples, tools and revised units to help them through something that you have predetermined would be difficult. Blooms Taxonomy is a great resource to help determine what higher order thinking skills are required in your lesson plans and activities. I found six students struggled with reading and writing and are scheduled to take Web Design in the fall. I attached the way I broke down the data, analyzed their difficulties and plan to adapt my lessons to meet the needs of the individual.
Creating individualized instruction is possible with technological advances. Howard Gardner has spent the better part of his career teaching and learning how to address different people with different talents and skills. He refers to this as Learning Styles. Gardner is a multiple award winning Professor of Psychology Harvard and has degrees from “twenty-two colleges and universities, including institutions in Ireland, Italy, Isreal and Chili”( http://pzweb.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm). I agree with Gardner’s theories about the fact that everyone is intelligent and has their own way of recieving information that helps them understand and comprehend information. Project Zero studies to understand thinking, learning and creativity. Level the playing field and understand different people, from different places have different knowledge. More time should be spent teaching students how to learn as opposed to memorizing facts that will never be used.
