Week 4: First Day of Fieldwork.

I am so thankful that I switched with Christie, Chris, and Joe. I would have never been read especially since my one and only partner dropped the class. I was not able to attend class that day because I was sick. I send good thoughts and prayers to the team from my bed. Their lesson was on the American Revolutionary War. If I had to go first that would have been the topic I wanted to do. Since I was not their I am going to post the links to their YouTube videos. They did a GREAT job especially for being the first group.

Week 3: Pigs and Jigsaws

I believe that cooperative learning is one of the most important types of teaching there is. I know from when I was in school, when I was lectured to (direct instruction) I would drift off and day dream. I was never good at taking notes and if you talked at me to long I would loose interest. The days that we had group assignments that were hands on and exciting, I learned a lot more. This isn't the case for every student but for me it was. I think that teaching should be more about the students learning by then me just talking at them. Using Cooperative learning it activates different parts of the students thought process and it is easier (at least in my experience) for them to retain more complex topics.

 

This week, we also learned the technique of using jigsaw in our classroom. I am not a huge fan of this way but it will work for the more advanced learners. We used this technique, when we all became "experts" on a certain Native American Tribe. This was pretty interesting. We all paired into groups of two and worked together to create a PowerPoint on the tribe we assigned. Once done we presented it to the class.

Iroquois tribe2 from Kate Finch Shwiry

Week 11: Chapter 13: Making Economic Decisions!

4. Explain how to use the economic decision-making model with students.

It had been years since I have learned about economics. The first time I can remember learning about anything that was strictly called economics was when I was in 8th grade and learned about the stock market. My class did a yearlong program were we had to follow the stock market, buy and trade stocks and create a successful portfolio.  This program was for all 8th graders in Connecticut. They had prizes and awards for the top "earners". At the time I was not interested in doing this at all so I did the bare minimum to pass the assignment.  Some other students in my class actually took the project VERY serious and won 5th place  in the state ranks. I wish I paid more attention back then. Fast forward to my sophomore year in college (about 10 years ago) when I thought I wanted to be a business major. I was taking Intro to Business, Micro Economics, Macro Economics, Statistics, and English Literature. I LOVED everything economics! I did great in all my classes but I found that the economics classes were very easy to the point that they turned into my "easy A" classes. Ten years later, whiles learning how to teach economics to elementary students, I realized that I have forgotten everything I had ever learned (for the most part) about economics. I have been in the airline industry and had to worry about the economic climate of the time and other key economic concepts but nothing very in-depth.

When I read Chapter 13 in Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades: A Constructivist Approach, by Cynthia Szymanski Sunal and Mary Elizabeth Haas,  I realized that before I could even think about teaching economics, I needed to brush up on what economics is all about.

During this reading, I picked the following objective to focus on "4. Explain how to use the economic decision-making model with students."

To start this response, one must know what economics is based on.

• "Economics is based on the realization that people want more than the resources available can provide" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p.413).

"Economic Educators today recommend an in-depth understanding of scarcity and the influence of incentives and strategic thing about how scarcity applies to personal examples and to the more complex and morally difficult issues in the international realm" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p. 413). This is important because people will have to make decisions on whether the product/good is worth it.

There are "four fundamental questions in economic decision making:

1. What should be produced?
2. How should the production be organized?
3. How will goods and services be distributed?
4. What are the most effective allocations for their land, labor, capital, and management?" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p. 415).

In history, rulers, inventors, workers and governments have tried to answer these questions. Most times their decision making was only based on the good of their people or interests. In today's world, we must make these decisions on a global scale. Teachers must teach their students about the "interdependence of nations and the role of the United States in a global economy" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p.415).

Scarcity is one of the major concepts when considering economic decision-making. Economists encourage people to "make rational decision that consider the economic long- and short-term consequences. The decision maker must weigh the alternatives and be aware of the opportunity cost of what is given up when one alternative is selected" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p. 428). The selected choice must outweigh all of the opportunity costs.

The Key to teaching students economic decision-making skills is to teach them hot to "identify the alternatives, criteria, and the consequences and to select what they see as the best alternative" (Sunal & Haas, 2011, p. 428).

To start teaching students about Economic decision-making by using a couple different ways. One way is using the following chart. This is a great tool to help the children realize what goes into making informed decisions.

Another technique could be using the word PACED. "The PACED Decision-Making model provides for students to be actively involved in the decision-making process. It provides teachers and students with a straight-forward decision-making matrix that can help rational decision-making skills. 

1. Define the PROBLEM                                       P

2. List the ALTERNATIVES                                 A

3. Select CRITERIA                                              C

4. EVALUATE the alternatives                              E

5. Make a DECISION                                           D

Here is a good cite that list how to teach PACED!

Week 11 School Bullying's Chilling New Front.

 

 

 

 

 

Bullying has become a very big problem in schools today. There have always been forms of bullying between people but the real issue that before the development of technology, children and adults could "turn off" the bullying by going to a safe place. Now with social media being so popular the bullying can be nonstop for people. This has pushed people to kill themselves. It is such a sad day when children can't be children and carefree.

 

Anti Bullying Games

It's My Life
Stop Bullying




**The following was taken from NoBullying.com**

Bullying Statistics 2014: Middle School Mayhem
According to a UCLA psychology study, bullying boosts the social status and popularity of middle school students. Psychologists studied 1,895 students at 11 Los Angeles middle schools, where students were asked to name the students who were considered the “coolest”. According to Jaana Juvonen, the lead author of the study, “The ones who are ‘cool’ bully more, and the ones who bully more are seen as ‘cool’”.

• 20 percent of U.S. students in grades 9-12 reportedly have experienced bullying, while 28 percent of students in grades 6-12 report the same. Experts agree that most incidences of bullying occur during middle school.
• According to one study cited by the DHHS, 29.3 percent of middle school students had experienced bullying in the classroom; 29 percent experienced it in hallways or lockers; 23.4 percent were bullied in the cafeteria; 19.5 percent were bullied during gym class; and 12.2 percent of bullied kids couldn’t even escape the torture in the bathroom.
• Most of the student in the study reported name calling as the most prevalent type of bullying, followed by teasing, rumor-spreading, physical incidents, purposeful isolation, threats, belongings being stolen, and sexual harassment. Surprisingly, cyberbullying occurred with the least frequency.
• 70.6 percent of teens have seen bullying occurring in their schools – and approximately 30 percent of young people admit to bullying themselves. With so many students seeing what goes on, one has to wonder why bullying proliferates – especially since the DHHS reports that bullying stops within 10 seconds 57 percent of the time when someone intervenes. Juvonen found in her study that “A simple message, such as ‘Bullying is not tolerated,’ is not likely to be very effective,” and that effective anti-bullying programs need to focus on the bystanders, who can step in and stop the behavior.

Bullying Statistics 2014: Lasting Effects
Most experts agree that bullying peaks in middle school, while children are making the transition from children to young adults. Although bullying certainly continues into high school – and even into adulthood, unfortunately – it does seem to subside with maturity. Even so, approximately 160,000 teens reportedly skip school every day because of bullying, and 1 in 10 teens drops out of school due to repeated bullying.

• 83 percent of girls, and 79 percent of boys report being bullied either in school or online.
• 75 percent of school shootings have been linked to harassment and bullying against the shooter.
• Not shockingly, students who are bullies as young adults continue the trend of abuse and violence into adulthood. By the age of 30, approximately 40 percent of boys who were identified as bullies in middle- and high school had been arrested three or more times.

Bullying Statistics 2014: Targets
Unfortunately, children and teens who are considered “different” from their peers are the most frequent targets of bullies. Special needs students; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) students; students who are overweight; and students who are perceived as “weak” are the most likely targets of bullying by others. Nine out of 10 LGBT youth report being verbally bullied because of their sexual orientation, while 55.2 percent of those students reported being cyberbullied. Of special needs students who report bullying, the majority of those who are victimized are students diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, and students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Bullying Statistics 2014: Stopping the Cycle
Unfortunately, only 20-30 percent of students who are bullied tell adults or authorities about their situations. Without accurate reporting, it’s difficult to change the patterns of bullying and abuse that persist in the U.S.


http://nobullying.com/bullying-statistics-2014/

Blooms Taxonomy

The Following is a Fantastic reference when wanting to learn about Bloom's Taxonomy. This was taken from University of Connecticut website.

http://assessment.uconn.edu/why/index.html

 

Cognitive Domain - Bloom's Taxonomy

Work on the cognitive domain was completed in 1956 and is commonly referred to as Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain, since the editor of the volume was Benjamin S. Bloom, although the full title was Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain, 1956 by Longman Inc. with the text having four other authors (Max D. Engelhart, Edward J. Furst, Walker H. Hill, and David R. Krathwohl).
Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.

A description of the six levels is given here 
Bloom, et al indicated …

“[Bloom's] Taxonomy is designed to be a classification of the student behaviors which represent the intended outcomes of the educational process.  It is assumed that essentially the same classes of behavior may be observed in the usual range of subject-matter content of different levels of education (elementary, high school, college), and in different schools.  Thus a single set of classification should be applicable in all these circumstances.
What we are classifying is the intended behaviors of students – the ways in which individuals are to think, act or feel, as a result of participating in some unit of instruction.  (Only such of those intended behaviors as are related to mental acts of thinking are included in the part of the Taxonomy developed in the handbook for the cognitive domain.)
It is recognized that the actual behaviors of the students after they have completed the unit of instruction may differ in degree as well as kind from the intended behavior specified by the objectives.  That is the effects of instruction may be such that the students do not learn a given skill to any degree.
We initially limited ourselves to those objectives referred to as knowledge, intellectual abilities, and intellectual skills.  (This area, which we named the cognitive domain, may also be described as including the behavior; remembering; reasoning, problem solving; concept formation, and to a limited extent creative thinking.)”

In essence, the authors foreshadowed what has come to be known as outcomes-based assessment (Assessment in Higher Education by Heywood 2000)

 

Examples of learning objectives at each of the Bloom levels:

Example of Learning Objectives at each of the levels of Bloom's taxonomy (based on Assessment in Higher Education by Heywood 2000 and Eder, Douglas J., “General Education Assessment Within the Disciplines”,The Journal of General Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 135-157, 2004 )
Bloom's level	Learning goal: Students will understand the major theoretical approaches within the discipline
Knowledge	Students can list the major theoretical approaches of the discipline Exam question at this level: Name the muscles of the rotator cuff. Medical faculty questions at this level: What was the heart rate?  Where is the primary lesion?
Comprehension	Students can describe the key theories, concepts, and issues for each of the major theoretical approaches Exam question at this level: How does the rotator cuff help you to raise your arm? Medical faculty questions at this level: When would you use that type of hernia repair?  Why is the fracture in the same place it was before?
Application	Students can apply theoretical principles to solve real-world problems Exam question at this level: Why does throwing a curve ball cause rotator cuff injury? Medical faculty questions at this level: You are watching the patient and she falls – what would you do?  Here is a lady with no vibratory sensation – what problem does this pose?
Analysis	Students can analyze the strengths and limitations of each of the major theoretical approaches for understanding specific phenomena Exam question at this level: How does the throwing motion stress each component, in turn, of the rotator cuff? Medical faculty questions at this level: What are the most significant aspects of this patient's story?  That is a curious bit of information – how do you explain it?
Synthesis	Students can combine theoretical approaches to explain complex phenomena Exam question at this level: Design a physical therapy program to strengthen each component of the rotator. Medical faculty questions at this level: How would you summarize this?  What are your conclusions?
Evaluation	Students can select the theoretical approach that is most applicable to a phenomenon and explain why they have selected that perspective Exam question at this level: Evaluate another physical therapist's program to strengthen the rotator cuff. Medical faculty questions at this level: Why is that information pertinent?  How valid is this patient's story?

The following graphics depict how courses in a curriculum reflect Bloom's levels. Namely, the higher levels of learning are addressed in advanced course work taken by students.

Week 2: What is Assessment?

Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.  (Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)
I believe assessment of any form is very important. it allows for teachers to track their students progress. I don't think assessment should just be all about test. Personally, I was never great taking test even though I would know all the information.

A Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment

(Terenzini, Patrick T., “Assessment with open eyes: Pitfalls in studying student outcomes.” Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6, pp. 644-664, November/December 1989)

Fundamental Components of Assessment

Four fundamental elements of learner-centered assessment:

 

• Formulating Statements of Intended Learning Outcomes – statements describing intentions about what students should know, understand, and be able to do with their knowledge when they graduate.
• Developing or Selecting Assessment Measures – designing or selecting data gathering measures to assess whether or not our intended learning outcomes have been achieved.  Includes
• Direct assessments – projects, products, papers/theses, exhibitions, performances, case studies, clinical evaluations, portfolios, interviews, and oral exams – which ask students to demonstrate what they know or can do with their knowledge.
• Indirect assessments – self-report measures such as surveys – in which respondents share their perceptions about what graduates know or can do with their knowledge.
• Creating Experiences Leading to Outcomes – ensuring that students have experiences both in and outside their courses that help them achieve the intended learning outcomes.
• Discussing and Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning – using the results to improve individual student performance.

(Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)



Taken from University of Connecticut website. http://assessment.uconn.edu/why/index.html

BizMovie Time!

Today we learned about the program BizMovie. This is a FANTASTIC program to do in the classroom or an after school program but can take a lot of time to successfully do.

 

Goanimate Movie about BizMovie: http://goanimate.com/videos/0JznnLDJ2NYs?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=usercontent

The Journey Begins!

Today was the first class... It was VERY scary the amount of work that is going to be going into this class. I don't know if I didn't understand what this class was supposed to be (teaching social studies) or it was changed. I thought this class was just about teaching children social studies and not so much about using technology in the class. I love the idea of using technology in the classroom but it should just be a "side note" in this class because not every school has the funds to have technology in every class. I am really overwhelmed with the amount of work assigned. I understand that this is a Masters class but most of us have other things that are more important then doing homework all the time. I hope I am wrong about this class and it will be better then it looks.