Educational Philosophy
“Pedagogy must be oriented not to the yesterday, but to the tomorrow of the child’s development. Only then can it call to life in the process of education those processes of development which now lie in the zone of proximal development.”
-Lev Vygotsky (n.d.)
The most powerful tool that can be attained in life is the ability to think critically. Through my education I have been taught not to accept everything for fact, but rather to question everything. I form my own opinions based on arguments presented from both sides of a given matter. It is important to realize that students are integral parts of our community and have the ability to change the future. There are many reasons for me wanting to pursue a career in education, but the one that means the most to me is the belief that all children should be taught how to think, not what to think. Creating a system of informed learners who have the ability to think critically about the world will lead to a better future.
I constantly think back to a class I had during my undergraduate career at the University of Oregon. As the professor walked into the classroom for the first time, she greeted us and immediately described that this would be a difficult class, with high expectations. She assured us that we would work more in this class than any other, and also assured us that she would work just as hard, and at the end of the class we would learn more here than in any other course. This professor challenged us as students, but did so because she knew everyone was capable of learning at a high level.
The work of Lev Vygotsky and specifically the zone of proximal development (ZPD) backed my professor’s high expectation approach to education. The ZPD can be thought of as a tool that gives teachers a certain range of difficulty, which they can teach in. The ZPD’s baseline is the “actual” level of a student, meaning the level of knowledge the student already possesses. The “potential” level is where the student is capable of being with guided help. To find a students ZPD we look at the area between the actual and the potential level, and this is the area we aim our instruction (Vygotsky, 1978). It is important to me that I challenge my students both to keep them interested and give them the self-confidence to tackle difficult challenges. Understanding the ZPD is crucial for educators, this tool can be utilized in a way that helps children develop and leads to a more productive learning environment. Providing the opportunity to succeed in a difficult situation will lead to children with more confidence in dealing with challenging situations later in life.
Of equal importance in my classroom is creating an environment where students take responsibility for their choices, and learn to deal with the consequences that arise from those choices. I feel the classroom offers the ideal environment to teach personal responsibility. Learners from many different backgrounds are all placed into one room with a common goal. The differences in backgrounds provide us with the opportunity to encounter different situations the child may not otherwise be exposed to. Instilling responsibility can be done in the following way “when faced with a problem, students should identity and define it, formalize a plan, carry it out, and reevaluate the problem and the solution” (Coloroso, 2013). To me a quality education is more than purely academics and that is why I believe so strongly in instilling a sense of responsibility into my students.
In order for me to successfully challenge, and teach responsibility to students the classroom environment I create is imperative. I believe in a collaborative approach to classroom management where students and teacher will work together to create an environment safe and conducive to learning. Tools such as social contracts will be utilized where student input is used to create a set of classroom rules and expectations, predetermined consequences will ensure that children are treated fairly and know what to expect (Curwin & Mendler, 2013). Giving students this responsibility in creating a fair set of classroom rules will give them more of a sense of belonging and ownership in the classroom. It is important to be aware that children see the good in what they do, before they realize the bad. For this reason I believe a positive influence technique is beneficial compared to a classroom based around punishments (Redl & Watenberg, 2013).
Curwin and Mendler (2013) suggest a number of strategies to use in the classroom: help all students set goals; set high expectations for all students; challenge learners to greater achievements; involve students in the evaluation process; provide instruction that uses a variety of models and approaches; involve learners in class activities; encourage students to persist; and teach social skills when assigning cooperative tasks. My personal beliefs surrounding education align to these strategies, and this will be shown in every aspect of my classroom from the rules and procedures to my classroom layout.
-Lev Vygotsky (n.d.)
The most powerful tool that can be attained in life is the ability to think critically. Through my education I have been taught not to accept everything for fact, but rather to question everything. I form my own opinions based on arguments presented from both sides of a given matter. It is important to realize that students are integral parts of our community and have the ability to change the future. There are many reasons for me wanting to pursue a career in education, but the one that means the most to me is the belief that all children should be taught how to think, not what to think. Creating a system of informed learners who have the ability to think critically about the world will lead to a better future.
I constantly think back to a class I had during my undergraduate career at the University of Oregon. As the professor walked into the classroom for the first time, she greeted us and immediately described that this would be a difficult class, with high expectations. She assured us that we would work more in this class than any other, and also assured us that she would work just as hard, and at the end of the class we would learn more here than in any other course. This professor challenged us as students, but did so because she knew everyone was capable of learning at a high level.
The work of Lev Vygotsky and specifically the zone of proximal development (ZPD) backed my professor’s high expectation approach to education. The ZPD can be thought of as a tool that gives teachers a certain range of difficulty, which they can teach in. The ZPD’s baseline is the “actual” level of a student, meaning the level of knowledge the student already possesses. The “potential” level is where the student is capable of being with guided help. To find a students ZPD we look at the area between the actual and the potential level, and this is the area we aim our instruction (Vygotsky, 1978). It is important to me that I challenge my students both to keep them interested and give them the self-confidence to tackle difficult challenges. Understanding the ZPD is crucial for educators, this tool can be utilized in a way that helps children develop and leads to a more productive learning environment. Providing the opportunity to succeed in a difficult situation will lead to children with more confidence in dealing with challenging situations later in life.
Of equal importance in my classroom is creating an environment where students take responsibility for their choices, and learn to deal with the consequences that arise from those choices. I feel the classroom offers the ideal environment to teach personal responsibility. Learners from many different backgrounds are all placed into one room with a common goal. The differences in backgrounds provide us with the opportunity to encounter different situations the child may not otherwise be exposed to. Instilling responsibility can be done in the following way “when faced with a problem, students should identity and define it, formalize a plan, carry it out, and reevaluate the problem and the solution” (Coloroso, 2013). To me a quality education is more than purely academics and that is why I believe so strongly in instilling a sense of responsibility into my students.
In order for me to successfully challenge, and teach responsibility to students the classroom environment I create is imperative. I believe in a collaborative approach to classroom management where students and teacher will work together to create an environment safe and conducive to learning. Tools such as social contracts will be utilized where student input is used to create a set of classroom rules and expectations, predetermined consequences will ensure that children are treated fairly and know what to expect (Curwin & Mendler, 2013). Giving students this responsibility in creating a fair set of classroom rules will give them more of a sense of belonging and ownership in the classroom. It is important to be aware that children see the good in what they do, before they realize the bad. For this reason I believe a positive influence technique is beneficial compared to a classroom based around punishments (Redl & Watenberg, 2013).
Curwin and Mendler (2013) suggest a number of strategies to use in the classroom: help all students set goals; set high expectations for all students; challenge learners to greater achievements; involve students in the evaluation process; provide instruction that uses a variety of models and approaches; involve learners in class activities; encourage students to persist; and teach social skills when assigning cooperative tasks. My personal beliefs surrounding education align to these strategies, and this will be shown in every aspect of my classroom from the rules and procedures to my classroom layout.
Example of Teaching
Inspiration for Students
Mobilism Proposal
Justification for using handheld devices in the classroom
3 main reasons for an ipad:
The teacher will be able to utilize technology to collect data directly related to the effectiveness of lessons, and thus implement a more effective differentiated learning environment. iPads will enhance the curriculum allowing the teacher to teach higher order thinking skills and collaboration between students will be enhanced, this leads to a more creative environment for the students. E-portfolios allow for an efficient way of assessing student progress throughout the year, and let the teacher provide instant feedback.
1. Having a combo second and third grade classroom, I see the majority of my students varying greatly on their level of knowledge in all subjects. iPads will help the teacher directly personalize lessons quickly and with ease. This differentiated instruction is imperative, and the process is made more efficient with the availability of iPads.
2. Instant feedback will help each student stay focused and continue working to the next step toward lesson mastery. Due to large class sizes some lessons can move forward at a slow pace. iPads can alleviate this problem by making the classroom more efficient. Providing students with instant feedback quickly, shows that the teacher cares about their work, but also provides the teacher with an assessment tool and the students with an extra tool that can be used to motivate them.
3. Lessons can be limited due to cost of student supplies such as markers, construction paper, scissors, etc. With an iPad in each student’s hand the creativity is endless. More creative thinking and unlimited resources gives the teacher the tools to engage the students in higher order thinking skills.
Putting use to the handheld devices in the classroom
Example 1
Using the app PenUltimate students will use their iPads as writing devices. This will be used across content. For example during a math lesson I can have the students write their answer down on their iPads, and using the application their answers can be automatically emailed to myself. This will also be used during other class activities and will serve as a formative assessment for myself.
Example 2
Another feature of the PenUltimate application is that it allows the teacher to load predesigned math problems, or pictures onto the students’ iPads. Using this feature the teacher will be able to better differentiate the lessons. For example during a math lesson I will be able to identify what level of thinking students are at and be able to load their iPads with the appropriate problems. I can provide better scaffolding when students are working on problems tailored to their level of understanding. Using learning theories of Vygotsky, we know that all children have a different zone of proximal development (ZPD) , the different levels of difficulty for the pre-loaded problems will help better aid myself in teaching at the higher level of each child’s ZPD.
Example 3
I frequently introduce new topics or lessons to my classroom using videos from the internet. I think this is important because the videos help my students connect their learning to real life scenarios and situations. For example a science unit on volcanoes, will be introduced using a YouTube clip of volcanic eruptions. This immediately engages students, while connecting the lesson to real life. Using the iPad app Nearpod I can load my powerpoints onto each individual iPad so the students can follow along with me while I present my Powerpoint. This application is especially useful because it appeals to the three different learning styles; auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. The visual learning style will be met by giving the students the iPads to look at while they follow the PowerPoint. I will meet the auditory learning style by incorporating videos and songs into my lessons, the iPads give me the opportunity to call on students to read aloud a portion of the Powerpoint without having to worry if they are close enough to the screen to see, or if the font is large enough. By having students physically hold the iPads then I will be able to appeal to kinesthetic learners, I can also utilize the technology by incorporating interactive features into the PowerPoint, such as real time polls to further appeal to those who learn best using a kinesthetic style.
Address classroom management once the handheld devices are in the classroom
Ipads will remain in the classroom for the majority of the year, on few instances iPads will be sent home with the students. This will help ensure that iPads are here for learning and not for gaming. Having the iPads remain in the classroom will lower the chances of damage and destruction. iPads will be charged at night and checked each morning to make sure they are ready for student use. Students will be assigned their own iPad and responsible for their care. We may also create technology teams, where students will be placed in groups to work on collaborative assignments using the technology the iPad makes available to the classroom.
Addressing security and privacy issues
During the school day - The iPads will remain in the locked charging station until students are given teacher permission to get their specific iPad out.
Outside the school day -iPads will mainly remain inside the classroom to reduce risk to the device. This will also help to reduce unnecessary tasks, and maintain privacy.
Other pertinent information relevant to the proposal
The International Society for Technology in Education outlines a set of standards aimed at leveraging the use of technology in K-12 education to enable students to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital society. The standards include (http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers):
- Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Teachers model, support, promote and use their knowledge to provide and facilitate productive technological experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation both face-to-face and virtually. They also promote student reflection and collaborative construction environments.
- Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment: Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context. They do this by adapting relevant learning experiences to incorporate digital tools, they customize and personalize learning activities to address different learning styles and they provide students with varied and multiple formative and summative assessments.
- Model Digital-Age Work and Learning: Teachers model, communicate and collaborate with their students, colleagues and school community using current technologies and digital-age media to share and transfer knowledge. They do this by exhibiting their own knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional to a global and digital society.
- Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Teachers model and advocate safe teaching and understand the societal global issues of media literacy in an evolving digital world. They address diverse needs of the students, promote digital etiquette, and they exhibit legal and ethical responsibility and respect.
- Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. They do this by reflective practices, participation in local and global learning opportunities, and exhibiting leadership within the technology infusion and incorporation process
Technology Integrated Lesson Plan
1. Topic of your lesson
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
2. Teachers
Bryan Weiss, Tori Mueller
3. Essential question(s) that drives your lesson
What role does addition play in multiplication?
Why is multiplication important and how does it help us as mathematicians?
4. Grade Level
3rd grade
5. Arizona State Standard that your lesson will address
3.OA.A.1
Interpret products of whole numbers
6. Student learning outcomes
Multiplication requires students to think in terms of groups of things rather than individual things. Students learn that the multiplication symbol ‘x’ means “groups of” and problems such as 5 x 7 refer to 5 groups of 7. The students will demonstrate this by visually representing the question and the answer with a picture of each component of the multiplication problem. The students will understand multiplication problems in both written and in number format and will demonstrate this by solving these types of problems using multiplication.
Lesson Plan: Multiplication
Day 1
The class will come in and see the problem written on the board. “4 kids brought 2 party hats each to the birthday party. How many kids will get to wear a party hat? Explain how you found the answer.” The teacher will (TTW) ask the students to think about this problem and try to come up with a solution for the next 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes has expired the teacher will ask for volunteers to share out their answers and strategies for solving the problem. After sharing the teacher will help the students solve the problem using the SmartBoard. TTW explain that in problems like this we want to find the total number of things we can take the two numbers and multiply them together. TTW write 4*2 and show that this problem is saying there are 4 students and each student brought 2 hats, to find the number of hats we need to solve 4*2. TTW represent this visually and draw 4 students, each holding 2 hats and show the students they can simply count up the amount of hats to find the answer. TTW also show that you can find the answer by adding 2 to itself 4 times. TTW answer any questions and ask students to hold up 1 finger for “I’m lost”, 2 for “I almost get it” and 3 fingers for “I understand” as a way to check for understanding.
The teacher then introduces Multiplication Ring Toss, a game they will be playing. The teacher will then hand out a graphic organizer for each student. The teacher asks the class to take a second and write their name at the top of the graphic organizer and to look at the first box. After a couple minutes of the class examining the graphic organizer the teacher announces that they will be doing box number two as a class. The teacher sets up the ring toss game and asks for two volunteers. Each volunteer is asked to toss a ring onto the bottle and then to tell the teacher what number bottle their ring landed on. The first student goes and says the ring lands on 3 the teacher then writes a large 3 onto the board. The next student tosses the ring and it lands on the number 5 bottle. The teacher then writes a large 5 on the board then asks the students to sit back down. The teacher then goes on to explain each step of what he/she is doing, following the same order as the first box on the graphic organizer. During this time the students will be copying down the same work and putting it in box two. After the teacher is done explain each part of the work done in box two the teacher then asks the class if they have any questions. Answering any questions the students have. The teacher then lets the students begin working on their graphic organizer. Each student will be required to fill out the remaining eight boxes the same way they did as a class. The student will be in groups of five and able to ask their friends for help. The teacher will be wandering around to each group during this time and making sure each student understands the game. Each student will have to take turns tossing the rings then sitting down and writing out their work while the next student tosses their rings. This will be worked on for as long as it takes or until it’s time for lunch. If students finish early they will begin playing Math Blasters on the computers. If no one finishes early they will finish after lunch then begin playing Math Blasters until everyone is finished.
At the end of the day TTWl ask the students to look at the original math problem “4 kids brought 2 party hats each to the birthday party. How many total hats are there? Explain how you found the answer.” They will be asked to write down the answer on a piece of paper and turn it in when they are done as an exit ticket for the day. Students will also be turning in their graphic organizer. The teacher will look over each of the students answer and work on the graphic organizer to help determine if they need to work on the ring toss game again tomorrow or move on.
Day 2
The next day, the teacher has determined that his/her class is ready to move forward. A new math problem is written on the SmartBoard, “5 kids brought 6 cupcakes to a birthday party of 30 kids, were there enough cupcakes for everyone to have one?” The teacher asks the class to take out their whiteboards and answer the question showing their work. When the students are done they will flip over their white board. As soon as everyone is finished they are asked to flip back over their white board and discuss what they found and wrote down with a partner sitting next to them. The students will be given 5 or so minutes to discuss their answers with their partner. Then the teacher will then ask the students to raise their hand if they had the same answer as their partner. Then the teacher will ask the students to raise their hand if they had a different answer than their partner. The teacher will ask each partner to stand up one at a time and explain their answer and strategy for solving the problem. The teacher will remind the class to be respectful and explain that sometimes we all get a wrong answer but that’s okay because we are all here to learn. The teacher writes the incorrect answer along with the work on the board. Then thanks the two students for sharing their work. The teacher calls on different students to go up to the board and fix the incorrect parts of the problem. After the multiplication problem is fixed the teacher then asks the class to raise their fingers as a “1 for still don’t get it” a “2 for getting there” and a “3 for I know how to do it”. If the class seems to still not understand they will do the same activity with the whiteboards again but with a new word problem, this will be done until the teacher feels the class is ready to move on.
The teacher asks each student to get out a piece of paper and begin to think of their own multiplication word problem. Each student will be asked to write out the word problem, solve it and show their work with pictures (as we did on the graphic organizer during the ring toss game). The teacher will be moving around the room making sure each student is on task and will use this as an informal assessment. The teacher answers any questions the students have but does not correct any issues he/she might see on the students work. The teacher gives the students the remainder of the class time to work on the word problem and if they finish early they will play MathBlasters on the class computers. At the end of the day the teacher explains that each students’ homework is to go home and upload their word problem onto WikiSpace.com.
Day 3
The next day in class the teacher will project on the SmartBoard each of the students word problems they added to the Wikispace.com site as homework the night before. The teacher will use the reveal option to keep the answer hidden; each student will work out the problem on his or her whiteboard. As issues arise during the word problem the teacher will ask for volunteers to come up and work on the problem on the SmartBoard. Students will go through each word problem repeating this process until all problems are completed. After going through all the students creative word problems the students end the day with either playing MathBlasters.
The next day the students will be take a math test. The math test will be made up of all the different word problems the students made up the previous day.
NCES-S:
2. Communication and Collaboration
2 d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
- Students will be asked to contribute a created word problem to a class Wikispace page. The page that is created using all of their input will be used the next day in class to drive our lesson, and will ultimately be used for our summative assessment in the form of a test..
5. a. Advocate and practice safe, legal and responsible use of information and technology.
5. b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaborations, learning, and productivity.
- Students will be posting appropriate responses to a class Wikispace site.
- Students will be collaboratively working on the SmartBoard to understand working multiplication problems in from of the class.
4 b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
- Students will be working each day on Math Blasters to practice their multiplication skills.
- Students will be solving problems using the Smart Board.
6 a. Understand and use technology systems.
- Students will be adding their multiplication word problem to a class wikispace site.
- The students will be using the SmartBoard in class to demonstrate their ability to work out the math problem.
- The students will also be playing Math Blasters which is an internet based game.
Assessments:
Formative Assessment:
Baseline Knowledge- The students will be introduced to the concept of whole number multiplication by being given a word problem and asked to solve the problem on their own with no help. The thinking the students show during this activity will give us an idea of their baseline knowledge of the content.
Projects- The teacher will be able to informally assess the students during their submission to the class Wikispace site.
Individualized Assessment- The teacher will also be able to check on each student during MathBlasters by see what “level” they are able to get to.
Editing the created word problems- By collaboratively editing the submitted word problems the teacher will be able to take note of who is participating and who is not during the editing process.
Summative Assessment:
Summative Test- The students will be given a test on the multiplication of whole numbers at the end of the multiplication unit. The test will include the word problems the class created individually and collaboratively “fine tuned” to make into cohesive problems.
Learning Theories:
Behaviorism- By using the game Math Blasters we will be utilizing a behaviorist approach because the teacher will be providing students with input (through the game) this input is constantly repeated and given in a format that has a right or wrong answer.
Constructivism- By delivering information to the student in different contexts (i.e. Ring Toss, Math Blasters, SmartBoard, Wikispace) we will encourage the students to make their own meaning of the information. Students will be allowed to show these different types of thinkings in their strategies they show during their work on the SmartBoard in preparation for the final test.
Social Learning- By placing students in groups that contain “more capable peers” we will be utilizing aspects of the social learning theory and specifically that of Vygotsky’s work. The more capable peers will be able to pull the other students to their level, and this also works in terms of the zone of proximal development. Those who are more capable will be working at a level just above the actual level of the students who are not at this level. Therefore, the students who are below these more capable peers will be learning at a level consistent with the higher end of their zone of proximal development. The scaffolding provided by their peers is essential. This will be evidenced during the Ring Toss game when students will be encouraged to work collaboratively to fill out their graphic organizers.
The way the lesson is designed is to scaffold from one mini lesson to the other beginning with a multiplication problem they will “struggle” with for a short period. Following the struggle the teacher will explain the problem and work it out in front of the class on the SmartBoard. Then let the students work on problems of their own during the Ring Toss game, again being able to collaborate with other students for help. The lessons continues to grow in difficulty building on previously learned skills using different contexts.
Created Google Site
Please take a minute to review the website I have created that was built around a 3rd grade math lesson.
Click here to view my website!
Click here to view my website!