When I look back on my “Personal
Theory of Learning” that I created at the start of this course, I feel as
though it has become more specific as I have acquired new knowledge of the many learning
theories and instructional strategies that exist. Initially, I focused on the learner being
active in the learning process and students being engaged, connected, and
having fun. However, I failed to specify
specific strategies to utilize when trying to meet these goals. This course has opened my eyes to the
importance of selecting specific instructional strategies and technological
tools that will enhance learning. This
means that teachers need to be purposeful when choosing strategies and
technology to use in any given lesson.
Through new knowledge about learning theories such as social learning,
constructivist, behaviorist, and cognitive, I now realize that in order to
reach all students, teachers must be aware of the different ways students
learn. Teachers must be willing to “shake
up” what they do in the classroom in order to meet the needs of all
students. A vast amount of the latest
technologies are awaiting a population of students who are engaged and
motivated when using it! We, as
teachers, need to adapt and adjust instruction to tap into what students like
best.
An immediate adjustment I am
going to make within my classroom is having student use technology to
create. I have always shied away from
students creating in my mathematics classroom.
I always felt as though I needed to present the information in order for
them to be successful. However, after
learning and experiencing Voice Thread and blogs, I feel as though students can
start to be creators. To support student
learning, Voice Thread is going to be used as part of a center activity. Students from different classes can create
mini lessons for each other to watch and learn from. I plan on using this technology at the
beginning of the year. I will first
start out with modeling how to use Voice Thread and having students obtain
information from teacher-created videos.
However, as soon as students are confident and comfortable using it, I
plan on having them create the rest! In
terms on the blog, the blog is going to be the main communication tool between
school and home. I plan on introducing the
blog in a few weeks at Open House to teach students and parents the ins and
outs of its working. I will post news,
updates, and allow students and parents to ask questions at any time throughout
the year. As a result of this course, I
have become much more comfortable using the latest technologies and have gained
confidence in sharing these newly found skills will colleagues.
Two long-term goal changes I would like to make to my
instructional practice regarding technology integration are staying up-to-date
with the latest technologies and how to effectively utilize them in the
classroom and setting up specific class time to teach students how to use
different technological tools. To stay
up-to-date with the latest technological tools, I plan on attending at least
one professional development class geared toward a specific technology that I
could utilize in my classroom. This
means that I must stay current with what is being offered and well as what
other mathematics teachers are finding to be successful in their
classrooms. To ensure that I set up
specific class time to teach students how to use technology, I must plan ahead
in terms of when I will be able to fit it in.
Too many times, I have pushed this goal to the side simply because I
feel rushed to teach all of the content.
I am going to communicate with my 6th grade mathematics team
to build purposeful time into the schedule for this to occur. For the coming school year, I have already
started to meet these goals as I have signed up for a Smart Board professional
development class and planned ahead to teach students about blogs and Voice Thread.
Overall, this class has been very beneficial to me as an
educator. I have gain new knowledge that
is applicable to the classroom and have become motivated to make some small
changes that will make a huge impact on student learning. I am eager to start the new school year!
