Thursday, 23 July 2015
Monday, 20 July 2015
Flipped Classroom Lesson Outline
Click HERE to be transferred to a lesson outline which uses the Flipped Classroom model approach, modeled well by Graham Johnson on his website "Flipping Math."
I highly recommend watching the video on Graham's website which explains his methods in the mixed classroom. I can see it would take a long time to incorporate into a class setting, but could be very much worth it.
I highly recommend watching the video on Graham's website which explains his methods in the mixed classroom. I can see it would take a long time to incorporate into a class setting, but could be very much worth it.
Personal PD
Throughout my education and career thus far, I have experienced a variety of different PD opportunities, from those that were mandated through the school division, to those that I was able to attend myself based on my interests and learning goals.
Each year our school division has a two day conference which all teachers must attend. Often these sessions are held in August right before the school year begins. We have had a number of notable presenters and educational theorists, such as Sandra Herbst, Damien Cooper and Mike Mattos. I really enjoyed listening to Damien Cooper last year as he provided some great suggestions for making effective assessments and a better framework for understanding the key components of assessment. The only downside to these conferences however, is that the sessions are often very general, as the speaker must cater to teachers from pre-kindergarten to high school level. I commonly prefer PD which can be catered to teachers’ levels and subject areas so that they can provide applicable examples and direct examples which could be implemented in my own classroom. As teachers, we are constantly struggling to find time outside of teaching time to prepare and improve our materials, so if the material that is presented is not adapted to meet my subject area, I find that I often get caught up in my day to day work, and don’t have time to alter and change the presenters’ ideas to meet my needs. This reaffirms the main idea in the document entitled, What is Effective Teacher Professional Development, from the Canadian Education Association, which suggests that “teachers need to have the chance to put what they learned into practice and to reflect on how new ideas and teaching approaches work within their classrooms; and that students are more successful when teachers have meaningful, ongoing, PD opportunities.”
Our division has also started a PD program for first year teachers, where we were able to meet once every other month for a full day with fellow first year teachers and more experienced teachers and mentors in our school division. I found these days to be highly worthwhile as we were able to not only learn more about initiatives within our board, but we could also spend this time working with other first year teachers to share resources, problem solve, and ask more experienced mentors for assistance in any areas which we were struggling. These meetings were a great way for us to establish connections with other teachers and to learn from their experiences, which is one of the key indicators of effective PD as suggested by the Canadian Education Association. By giving us a choice about the direction these meetings took, we were able to cater these PD sessions to meet our individual needs and learning goals. As a first year teacher it was nice to listen to experiences of other teachers and reflect on the outcomes in our own classroom throughout the year- rather than just having one meeting. I also had the chance in my first year to attend a first year teacher conference in Saskatoon with first year teachers from across the province. This opportunity provided us with a great opportunity to network with one another and learn more about the profession and benefits through the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF). By learning more about our rights and the logistics behind the profession, we were better able to maintain a safe and effective learning environment within our own classrooms.In the future I would like to continue to focus my PD opportunities around the flipped classroom and new mathematics and science initiatives (such as robotics). I am also very interested in technology (which is the reason I am taking this course), and would like to continue to take courses/attend PD sessions focused on integrating technology within the classroom as the students we are teaching today are digital natives and often are more interested in subjects such as math and science when technology can be integrated. The only challenge which I have faced as a result of these PD sessions, is trying to get new technology and programs approved by the board for classroom use. Sometimes this process can be highly lengthy, and as a result, I am not able to integrate new initiatives in a timely manner at which point there may be newer technology available to use.
Each year our school division has a two day conference which all teachers must attend. Often these sessions are held in August right before the school year begins. We have had a number of notable presenters and educational theorists, such as Sandra Herbst, Damien Cooper and Mike Mattos. I really enjoyed listening to Damien Cooper last year as he provided some great suggestions for making effective assessments and a better framework for understanding the key components of assessment. The only downside to these conferences however, is that the sessions are often very general, as the speaker must cater to teachers from pre-kindergarten to high school level. I commonly prefer PD which can be catered to teachers’ levels and subject areas so that they can provide applicable examples and direct examples which could be implemented in my own classroom. As teachers, we are constantly struggling to find time outside of teaching time to prepare and improve our materials, so if the material that is presented is not adapted to meet my subject area, I find that I often get caught up in my day to day work, and don’t have time to alter and change the presenters’ ideas to meet my needs. This reaffirms the main idea in the document entitled, What is Effective Teacher Professional Development, from the Canadian Education Association, which suggests that “teachers need to have the chance to put what they learned into practice and to reflect on how new ideas and teaching approaches work within their classrooms; and that students are more successful when teachers have meaningful, ongoing, PD opportunities.”
Our division has also started a PD program for first year teachers, where we were able to meet once every other month for a full day with fellow first year teachers and more experienced teachers and mentors in our school division. I found these days to be highly worthwhile as we were able to not only learn more about initiatives within our board, but we could also spend this time working with other first year teachers to share resources, problem solve, and ask more experienced mentors for assistance in any areas which we were struggling. These meetings were a great way for us to establish connections with other teachers and to learn from their experiences, which is one of the key indicators of effective PD as suggested by the Canadian Education Association. By giving us a choice about the direction these meetings took, we were able to cater these PD sessions to meet our individual needs and learning goals. As a first year teacher it was nice to listen to experiences of other teachers and reflect on the outcomes in our own classroom throughout the year- rather than just having one meeting. I also had the chance in my first year to attend a first year teacher conference in Saskatoon with first year teachers from across the province. This opportunity provided us with a great opportunity to network with one another and learn more about the profession and benefits through the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF). By learning more about our rights and the logistics behind the profession, we were better able to maintain a safe and effective learning environment within our own classrooms.In the future I would like to continue to focus my PD opportunities around the flipped classroom and new mathematics and science initiatives (such as robotics). I am also very interested in technology (which is the reason I am taking this course), and would like to continue to take courses/attend PD sessions focused on integrating technology within the classroom as the students we are teaching today are digital natives and often are more interested in subjects such as math and science when technology can be integrated. The only challenge which I have faced as a result of these PD sessions, is trying to get new technology and programs approved by the board for classroom use. Sometimes this process can be highly lengthy, and as a result, I am not able to integrate new initiatives in a timely manner at which point there may be newer technology available to use.
What is Effective PD?
Effective professional development is important for the progression of teachers’ skills and understanding. Often times, professional development happens through local workshops, school based collaboration groups, or formal/informal presentations. In our school board we have a number of professional development days built into our yearly schedule that are solely devoted to improving teacher skills. We worked in horizontal and vertical teams within our school, and had presentations from experienced educators and administration to help guide us through new board initiatives. Each year we also have a PD conference which is mandatory for the entire division that has brought in a number of well-known theorists and presenters, including Mike Mattos and Damien Cooper.
In order for PD to be effective there are a number of guidelines by which it should be run. Firstly, it is imperative that teachers are given choice in the conferences and sessions which they attend. Since teachers are professionals, their choice and interests should be given some consideration as PD is much more engaging and worthwhile if it relates to the content or teaching strategies that a teacher is using. As a high school mathematics and science teacher, I have experienced this first hand, as a number of the PD sessions which I attended at one conference were primarily geared towards elementary and primary teachers, and thus I found it difficult to remain engaged and apply the concepts to my own classroom because they were so unrelated.
It is also important that through PD teachers have an opportunity to reflect on their learning. Often times, teachers attend conferences and pick up great resources, only to have them sit on a USB or on a shelf never to be touched. By having a chance to come back to their place of work, try strategies, and then reflect on their outcomes, teachers can better utilize PD as a learning opportunity that can guide and improve instruction. This process may also involve data collection and reflection, as it is easier to reflect on the effectiveness of your improvements if you have concrete data to analyze. Through programs such as Aimsweb and Key Math, teachers now have a variety of instruments which they could use to test students prior to a PD session in order to use the results to provide a greater understanding of the improvements made or challenges which may have been faced.
We often think of PD as being solely those opportunities when a guest speaker is invited to present a new theory or strategy, when in actuality, PD can be just as effective when it occurs with local teachers and support staff. As educators have such diverse backgrounds and experiences, we all have different strategies for teaching, assessing and reporting. As such, this provides a great opportunity for teachers to learn from one another. Effective PD can occur within our own schools, by taking the time to teach each other about new ideas or strategies that have worked well in our own classroom, and asking questions to one another about how to improve and optimize student learning.
In summary, PD requires work. It requires constant reflection and commitment. As suggested in the document entitled, What is Effective Teacher Professional Development, from the Canadian Education Association, research has confirmed that “teachers need to have the chance to put what they learned into practice and to reflect on how new ideas and teaching approaches work within their classrooms; and that students are more successful when teachers have meaningful, ongoing, PD opportunities.”
In order for PD to be effective there are a number of guidelines by which it should be run. Firstly, it is imperative that teachers are given choice in the conferences and sessions which they attend. Since teachers are professionals, their choice and interests should be given some consideration as PD is much more engaging and worthwhile if it relates to the content or teaching strategies that a teacher is using. As a high school mathematics and science teacher, I have experienced this first hand, as a number of the PD sessions which I attended at one conference were primarily geared towards elementary and primary teachers, and thus I found it difficult to remain engaged and apply the concepts to my own classroom because they were so unrelated.
It is also important that through PD teachers have an opportunity to reflect on their learning. Often times, teachers attend conferences and pick up great resources, only to have them sit on a USB or on a shelf never to be touched. By having a chance to come back to their place of work, try strategies, and then reflect on their outcomes, teachers can better utilize PD as a learning opportunity that can guide and improve instruction. This process may also involve data collection and reflection, as it is easier to reflect on the effectiveness of your improvements if you have concrete data to analyze. Through programs such as Aimsweb and Key Math, teachers now have a variety of instruments which they could use to test students prior to a PD session in order to use the results to provide a greater understanding of the improvements made or challenges which may have been faced.
We often think of PD as being solely those opportunities when a guest speaker is invited to present a new theory or strategy, when in actuality, PD can be just as effective when it occurs with local teachers and support staff. As educators have such diverse backgrounds and experiences, we all have different strategies for teaching, assessing and reporting. As such, this provides a great opportunity for teachers to learn from one another. Effective PD can occur within our own schools, by taking the time to teach each other about new ideas or strategies that have worked well in our own classroom, and asking questions to one another about how to improve and optimize student learning.
In summary, PD requires work. It requires constant reflection and commitment. As suggested in the document entitled, What is Effective Teacher Professional Development, from the Canadian Education Association, research has confirmed that “teachers need to have the chance to put what they learned into practice and to reflect on how new ideas and teaching approaches work within their classrooms; and that students are more successful when teachers have meaningful, ongoing, PD opportunities.”
Sunday, 19 July 2015
The Astronomy Dream
I really hope that I eventually have the opportunity to teach astronomy.
Why you ask?
Because of Elite: Dangerous.
It's a new space-sandbox game that has been available on PC for a while (recently released as an early access game on Xbox). It's very open ended and does not ever really "end" in the true sense of a video game.
What does this all mean?
It means if I were to teach a lesson about a specific solar system, star, black hole, or nebula, the class could travel there within the game and explore (as long as it is within our Milky Way galaxy)! They could see the different stars in the galaxy, and actually read up on some general information about the type of body it is, as well as specific information about that individual object.
One could easily make an assignment where they would need to go out and find a specific star (you are able to search within the game itself) and give certain information about it.
An example could be to find LHS 2520 (a star which astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson found for DC comics as the possible location for where Superman was from). Once found, you will need to explain what type of star it is, how massive it is compared to our sun, and how hot the surface of that star is.
After they had done that assignment, they could then decide to search anywhere within our Galaxy. Want to visit the coal stack nebula? Go find it! Want to find Sagittarius A*? Get a move on, and bring some heat sink launchers to avoid burning up along the way to the center of our Galaxy!
I'm really hoping to find a way to explore this in my classroom, even if it's just as an extra curricular astronomy club. I think this is an interesting way to get students interested in the topic and allow them to explore our own Galaxy!
Thursday, 16 July 2015
Classroom Vs Professional Blog
Although both sound similar, there are key differences between a Classroom Website and a Professional Educational Blog. The table below gives the glaringly obvious differences.
| Classroom Blog | Professional Blog | |
| Audience |
|
|
| Purpose |
|
|
In a professional blog, you are voicing an opinion on a specific topic in Education and almost expecting your audience to post comments about their own opinions or any questions they may have. This is more about a learning and collaborative experience than one of an information giver.
If you maintained having both a Professional Blog and Classroom Blog/Website, you would want to keep the two separate. Although some parents (and maybe students) may be interested in your opinions on education, this should not but contained within your Classroom Blog, as it could become congested and confuse the readers who may be looking for just their homework, or just the opinion on Google Classroom.
Parent Night Outline
- Slideshow
- Introductions(5 min)
- Talk about topics covered in class (depends on class, either Math 10, 20, 30, Physics 30, or Computer Science 20, 30) (10 min)
- Full year project information (Physics 30 only [so far]) (5 min)
- Technologies used in class for both parents and students
- Remind
- 1 way communication with entire class / parents to cell phones or email
- Ability to remind students of upcoming assignment due dates or tests
- Ability to send out days homework
- Allow parents to sign up
- Khan Academy (for Math and Physics classes)
- Online videos that will help explain a concept
- Allow students to re-watch and attempt questions as many times as they require
- Contains question sets directly related to video lessons
- Setting up the coaching tool will allow me to “assign” videos and question sets to students in place of missed classwork
- Helps students master the topics taught in class
- Trello / Google Docs (Physics 30 Project)
- Allows students to collaborate in group tasks even when they are not directly beside each other.
- Easily keep track of all work done on project and have a place to store all of the information
- No more “John has all the work”
- Allows for immediate feedback from me
- Classroom Blog (how to get there, guide through the site)
- Store all of the above information
- Will contain each topic that was covered for the day, as well as any Khan Academy video lessons and question sets that may be important
- Homework and assignments will be posted
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