| Learning in a sixth grade science class |
Well recently I had the pleasure of observing and interviewing , Fran Leach and two of her sixth grade science classes at the Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, in Derry NH.
This task was part of a requirement that needed to be completed as part of my current class, Learning through technology. Part of this process is to actual learn and see and understand why teachers may or may not integrate technology into their teaching practices and in developing lessons to teach students.
I have to admit, this task was very enjoyable, it increased my knowledge and perception of why technology should be integrated in to what and how we are teaching are students, their response to the use of technology, their ability to interact with different technology, how it engaged them into participating in the class, and the knowledge they obtained.
My initial contact with Fran, was actual through technology of e-mail, where we established a structure of communication back and forth, Identify dates times and classes I could observe. I also developed a list of questions to ask Fran. I was able to share these questions with Fran prior to our meeting to observe and discuss with her these "Identified Questions". I thought that these questions would enable me to understand Fran's process into teaching , how she has developed this tool of technology into her 21st classroom.
The following are the initial questions I had sent and proposed to Fran;
1. As an educator in the 21st century, Where did you begin and where do you think the direction of education is going?
2. What has been one of the biggest hurdles for you in education process and how have you been able to get over that hurdle ?
3. What is your educational opinion of integrating technology into the classroom and into the curriculum ? Your personal thoughts ?
4. In using technology in the classroom, what has made it successful ? What has made it difficult ?
5. How are you able to assess the students acquisition of knowledge that is truly essential and enduring, and still be able to met the standards ?
6. How, and do you identify, students different ways of learning and capabilities ?, and how does that play out in your development of lesson plans with the inclusion of technology ?
My intention in using this questions was to provide me a frame work and a spring broad into this observation and interview, what I learned from this is having Fran explain and discuss with me, her knowledge, skill acquisition, her experiences and abilities as a teacher using technology and the actual observation of her teaching her class was far more informative than using structured questions to obtain information and experience in understanding the real world experience.
In conversing with Fran, prior to the beginning of her next class, I learned a lot about her as a teacher , her acquisition of being able to learn technology, how she makes her classroom technology friendly and accessible to all students, and additional information that made this experience very worth whiled. The following is the abundance of of wealth and her experience and ability to see her in action.
In being are discussion, Fran identified herself as having been a sixth grade science teacher for the past eight years here at her current school. She actual became a teacher at the age of 52. Prior to her becoming a teacher she had been a teacher assistant in a different school district for many years. Fran then had an opportunity to obtain licencing for level 1-2. Fran attended a community college in which she took 6-8 courses, and this was where the beginning of technology began for her. She received a lot of support, went through the teacher conversion program and was hired as an alt.4. Fran described that many of the challenges were actually getting forms of technology into the classroom, and what they did have many of of the school teams via for access to it so it then limits time and opportunity. Fran has addressed that challenge by writing multiple grants and receiving funding from these grants. Fran also uses a site called "Donor's Choose" which allows individuals to place a request for a needed item(she only request one item at a time) and donor's will contribute to the cost and purchase of that requested item. So far to this date she has been able to obtain six net books for student use. Fran also started out with only one technology station in her class, and learned that you have to develop other stations for student use that are not technology based or otherwise they the students would not be engaged in learning for a period of time. Fran now has had the ability to develop four technology based stations in her classroom and is able to usually divide the classroom into four groups of 4-5 students. One of the draw backs is that it becomes a group an activity versus students be able to individualize some of the activities. Fran described that one of her difficulties was the school obtained a new server this year and it has made it difficult to make some of the programs she uses compatible. Fran use a variety of technology in her classroom both for instructional purposes and project based learning. Some of the items she uses is the Smart board, where they are able to play scientific games as a class, she uses sites such as Jason.org, Bob Ballard- titanic , hurricane sites which promotes discussions and debates. Fran finds these classes very rich and rewarding.
Fran feels that the direction of technology is going forward, schools are looking towards a paperless environment where each student will have access to a net book. But as it stands right now the infra- structure does not support it. Each year the school would have to add new stuff and the current stuff becomes outdated.
Fran's view of our current student population is that they are truly digital natives. 95% of students have a cell phone. Students in her perspective respond very well to technology and usually know more about technology than the teachers.She encourages student support if she is having difficulty or needs help.. Fran believes that with the use of technology that her students are able to ignite a passion for learning, are able to appreciate their world, become curious, increase their observation abilities, and they remember stuff more easily.
Fran did express that she is not a fan of the standardized testing , does not believe its fair to compare to last years group and you can't make students testers. Fran does like the direction that she sees education going, She expressed that one of the components that she really likes is the collaboration with other peers in regards to what they are teaching and how they are teaching it, it allows them to be on the same page. They also develop a rubrics course, it allows them to teach/design the lesson backwards procedure tests are designed to reflect that , it assisted Fran in changing the way she grades and enables her to grade on content. Fran also trys to work with the different learning styles, She enables students to have choices in projects and has one general rubrics that assesses each students project. Fran also incorporates her Daily Science assessment question for students to write in their journals,, this allow students to assess what they know and then they are given the opportunity to use previous notes to help find the answer. This also gives students immediate direction and purpose when they enter the classroom. Also Fran explained that many of the DSA's are included in the culminating test, so their is no hidden curriculum. Fran also utilizes a pre-test with students, that she does not grade, but gives back to the students for them to correct the information that is not present, or is incorrect.
As Fran instructed her class, she was able to give clear defined directions, Goals were posted in the classroom visible to all students . In the two classes I observed Fran worked with multiple devices through out the lesson, using the over head to display a chart, the ability to visual complete a table with students, so they had the correct information. She clearly engaged the students to think critically by probing for answers and asking questions and encouraged whole class participation Fran also made reference to other previous materials that they had used to acquire knowledge such as, the Venn diagram. Fran supports many forms of resources so that the students have the information they need to succeed. As the class(e) proceeded fran utilized the computer with screen video display to have students watch an animation on oxygen.http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CGkQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.privatehand.com%2Fflash%2Foxygen.html&ei=wEK6UM6_G-SH0QHk8YDwCw&usg=AFQjCNFHSXiJIG1ZbtMa0ZTay13L2ROnvQ&sig2=2n5mLB39AXHy5v5NHB5dlg
Please watch and you will find why the students enjoyed this animation. Fran always show the animation twice, once for the students to just watch, and then she asks them what they learned from it, the second time is most students just want to see it again. Fran also puts the link into their homework page. Fran then transitioned the class to their project that they are going to complete, by showing a demo-reel of a finished product she made herself. She then identified the web tool they were going to use as " SAM Animation" also known as stop action animation. Verbalized the basic requirements of what it was to included , the length of the presentation, the time frame in which they will need to complete this project in and that they will be working in groups. The students will receive 2 grades/evaluations on the project, one for the contents of science information and one for production.
I know I have provided an enormous amount of information and insight in this blog and have much more to share from the perspective of Fran and her experiences and other tools she uses through out her classroom, that I would love to share. So if you would like to see more, or hear more about my experience, please contact me through this blog.
Again I would like to thank Fran and her two sixth grade science classes for allowing me to utilize their time, skills and information.
No comments:
Post a Comment