Reflection

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 6^th 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!