Technology in the Classroom

As we move into the digital age, teachers are doing more and more technology integration into their classrooms.  I, too, am one of those teachers.  If I were able to integrate more technology into my classroom, my students, who are 21^st century learners, will benefit greatly.  More technology would mean more opportunities to learn in different ways and to reach more learners. 

            Some teachers, including myself, are a little apprehensive about all these changes to our classrooms.  It makes us nervous to try new things and we worry about taking on more work and how it will impact teaching and learning.  But like Marc Prensky says, “Feel the fear and do it anyway!”  That is the attitude we need to take when implementing technology into our classrooms.

            When I integrate technology into my classroom, I see student engagement increase greatly.  They are excited to learn something new or to interact with a new piece of technology.  They are teaching each other things and are excited by that.  You see light bulbs going off on students who maybe struggle with traditional learning.  You see creativity, collaboration and imagination. 

            One of the most recent things I have done with technology is to film my kids doing behaviors that are both on and off target.  They then worked in small groups to create a video using Animoto.  We shared these videos with the school during an “On Target” assembly.  They loved seeing themselves in front of the whole school.  This was a great opportunity for my students to plan, work together and come up with a shared project.  

Fall Conference

After attending St. Mary’s Fall Conference, and meeting with some fellow first grade teachers, I was inspired to try some new things in my classroom.  First, is a new way of teaching handwriting to my kids.  And the second is a way to incorporate math tubs into my classroom.  I am excited to incorporate both these new ideas and even brought them back and shared them with my grade level. 

I feel this process supported all of the AGAPE principles.  It supported Association because it was a collaborative learning relationship that allowed for learning with one another.  It supported Generativity because it was an opportunity to build knowledge together.  Adaptation was supported by creativity, collaborative problem solving and critical thinking.  Presence and Engagement were supported by togetherness and a fully engaged learning experience that focused on acceptance and openness. 

Overall, this process was a great learning experience and a way to connect with others from similar grade levels.  We were able to brainstorm issues and come up with new ideas for our classrooms.

Backwards Design Process

The Backwards Design process was first introduced to me earlier this year in my master’s program.  This was a completely new process for me and I was nervous about how it would work.  It was a struggle at first because it was so new.  But as I continued through the process, I began to realize how it actually made teaching easier. 

 By teaching with the essential questions in mind, I now am more focused and organized about what I am teaching and why as well as what I want the students to know and understand.  The process has guided me to ask higher level thinking questions and think differently about learning goals for my students.

1)   How do I separate enduring understandings, knowledge and skills – I feel very repetitive when planning a BD unit?

AR Abstract

How will changing the style of classroom management affect behavior?

The question guiding my research is as follows: How will changing the style of classroom management affect behavior?  A review of literature suggested strategies in areas of my practice that could help me bring about the changes I am seeking.  As a result of my literature review, areas I targeted for change in my practice includes 1) Whole Brain teaching rules and techniques and 2) community building activities.  Assessment of the ways these changes make a difference in classroom management and student behaviors includes 1) Class Dojo behavior tracking app 2) Take –A – Break log addressing when, where and why the student needed a break and 3) Teacher Observation/Field Notes addressing behaviors throughout the day.

At this point I have been doing some informal observations and notes and look forward to starting my assessments soon.  Some questions I have regarding my AR plan are as follows:

1.     How can I assume that my results are because of the changes I am making    versus the dynamics of my classroom demographics?

2.     What strategies can I use to better manage and organize my observations and field notes so that I am getting the data I need?

3.     How will I organize all my data so that I can make accurate conclusions about my research?

Differentiation Activity

I do a lot of various differentiation activities for reading skills in my classroom.  But after reading some articles on differentiation, I have realized that I do not do enough in math.  So I decided to try something new.  I decided that on Fridays, I would try differentiated math centers.

I looked at what skills I was teaching and then where the kids were at on these skills.  I then used flexible grouping to group the kids according to where they needed more practice or where they needed some advanced tasks.  I pulled out activities and games to help either master a skill or extend the learning. 

I used the first 15 minutes of our math time to explain what we would be doing.  I also used that time to define expectations and to let them know that I would be going around to each group to observe and assist.  I then used the remaining 20 minutes for the students to work in their groups while I went around to each group and checked in, helped and asked questions.  

Overall, I feel this went pretty well.  It was the first time, so it was a little rough going.  I had kids getting up and coming over to me instead of raising hands and waiting for me to come to them.  Although this is expected the first time, especially with 1^st graders, I think with time and practice, this will get better.  I do think the idea is good though.  I think the kids benefit from getting a little extra support or some advanced learning.  I plan on trying it again next Friday and look forward to seeing gains.