EDTC 600 Pedagogical Practice in instructional technology
Reflection
The first artifact I chose to highlight is the TPCK tool website I created for myself and other teachers. This website hosts all of the important pedagogy teachers need to keep in mind when designing lesson plans. Having information about the UDL guidelines, Marzano’s nine instructional strategies, the three learning theories and technology standards all in one place it gives me a great resource to refer to when planning lessons. One of my favorite documents in this site, which I have referred to several times throughout each course, is the Pedagogy Strands Matrix I created comparing UDL guidelines, Marzano’s nine instructional strategies, and the learning theories. By breaking down and analyzing common elements in these three documents I was able to internalize and understand the information more than I would have if I had just read the documents. Does analyzing sound familiar? It is one of Bloom’s higher level thinking skills!
The second artifact I chose to demonstrate my learning is the lesson plan with TPCK planning tool. In this assignment, I took one of my existing lesson plans and revised it while commenting on the side explaining when the activity applied to Marzano’s nine strategies, UDL or the constructivist’s theory. This assignment opened my eyes to how much I was already using TPCK in my instruction without even knowing it. To be honest, it is just good teaching. Many times I write lesson plans and teach lessons, but I often don’t go back to reflect why I choose to do something a certain way. It is a comfort to know that I do not have to change much about my teaching in order to incorporate TPCK in my instruction. By having learned about TPCK and dissecting different parts and applying them to my lesson, it has allowed me to fully understand how TPCK can enhance children’s abilities to learn and grow. TPCK is a really helpful tool to uses when teachers are planning lessons.
NETS*T Standards
*Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
*Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
*Model Digital Age Work and Learning
*Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
*Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
21st Century Skills
*Creativity and Innovation
*Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
*Communication and Collaboration
*Information Literacy
*Media Literacy
*Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
*Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
*Model Digital Age Work and Learning
*Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
*Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
21st Century Skills
*Creativity and Innovation
*Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
*Communication and Collaboration
*Information Literacy
*Media Literacy
Research
As this was my first class at Regis, I learned a lot about the skill of actually researching. I learned how to access and use the Regis library including the ERIC database, which became my favorite resource for retrieving scholarly articles. I became efficient at searching for particular subjects on the Internet. I learned that you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet. Anybody can put any kind of information onto the website. When researching, it is important to check the source, date and the inherent motivation of the writer to determine if it has a good probability of being truly reliable.
A lesson I learned that I shall never forget, is that teachers should not be using technology for the sake of using technology. Technology is a wonderful enhancement, but it is not always the most effective tool in every teaching situation. Careful consideration needs to be applied in how using the technology can enhance the lessons. There must be a purpose and goal behind using technology. Implementing pedagogy when planning technology lessons is important, because in order to teach our students, we first need to know how learning takes place. Teachers can use as much technology as they want in the classroom, but if they do not know how children learn and what strategies work best, the use of a certain piece of technology may not be the correct one to use for the desired teaching goal. Knowledge of the different learning theories to support the use of technology in the classroom will help me create a more authentic learning environment for my kids. For example, constructivists believe children learn best when they take an active role in the learning process. I use technology effectively by allowing my students to do the creating, and not just have them sitting back and watching me. Students can discover, create and synthesize their own learning by creating beautiful visual maps using programs such as Popplet or SpiderScribe.
The knowledge of TPCK has impacted the way I plan my lessons. I now have in the forefront of my mind that my kids will learn better if I create experiences that will activate their prior knowledge, allow for collaboration, give choices, and reinforce efforts by providing praise and feedback. My students enjoy being in control and love to make decisions on their own. It gives them a feeling of power and self-determination, so I like to do this quite often. In my classroom, I am giving my children more responsibility by having them set their own reading target goals, which they will evaluate and revise each quarter. Last week during guided reading, one of my kids said, “Hey, I just used the flip strategy, that’s my goal!” Their face lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will not soon forget. By giving them ownership of their own learning, I have empowered their individual voices allowing them to be responsible members of our collective classroom.
Resources