“What we learn to do, we learn by doing”
I plan to tie Aristotle’s quote in with the lecture on memory that we heard this week. My initial impression is that this quote seems to just be stating the obvious. Amusingly, it almost sounds like one of those pseudo-intellectualisms that I might have heard on an old Kung Fu television episode, “He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions Grasshopper.” At face value Aristotle’s quote is so blatantly apparent that it’s almost just as laughable. Only when we stop to think about WHY “learning by doing” (LBD) is such an effective way to learn, does the intended value of the quote become perceptible.
When we are experiencing a new activity, we are receiving information simultaneously through all of our senses, rather than just auditorially. With all the senses involved we can more adequately conceptualize the information as we are taking it in. Our brains are also linking this new experience to our existing ones, comparing and contrasting until there is enough context assigned to it that it can be properly filed into our memory retrieval system. Chances are also good that when we are engaged in LBD, because of the novelty of the situation, we are also in a heightened emotional state. This too raises the probability of the information being properly integrated. LBD usually takes place in a public setting, giving us the added motivation of peer pressure. Overall, LBD is a procedural activity that is usually practiced after the initial experience. This leads to retrieval automatization, virtually guaranteeing survival in our long term memory.
Understanding this process can guide us as educators in our quest to have our students learn in the classroom just as effectively. Now, obviously, we cannot literally provide a LBD environment for every single benchmark. But, if we are creative and industrious enough it should be possible to simulate a comparable state of mind in our students during classroom instruction. This is exactly why we are learning to COME IN (Connect, Organize, Model, Enrich, Interact, Nature and Needs.) This is why we are learning to use differentiated instruction, universal design, and applied technology. This is why we are learning about Inquiry Training, Concept Attainment, Learning Cycle, Concept Formation, Unguided Inquiry, and Cooperative Learning. These are our ‘virtual reality’ building blocks. When properly assembled we can construct a learning environment in which we’ve approximated the cerebral conditions that are present during LBD. I think if I go into every lesson plan with the goal of inducing this state of mind in my students, I should be able to become an effective instructor.
Now, what to say about assessment? It is what it is. At this point, we’re putting the horse in front of the carriage. Assessment has to be tied to skills that we are only now beginning to develop. I think the best thing to take away with us regarding assessment at this early stage is the idea that, as beginning teachers, it’s going be especially important to use ‘everyday assessments.’ We will do this not to test the students, but to test our own effectiveness while we learn by doing .
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Reflection 7 - On the Job Training
“On the job training”. That is the present day translation for Aristotle’s quote, “What we learn to do, we learn by doing.” This quote can apply to almost anything a person does, but is most easily relatable to a person’s career. My life, as of this moment and for the next year and a half, is best summed up by Aristotle’s quote. I am a special education teacher, currently stuck in the body of a substitute teacher. Because I am not currently licensed to teach my own class, I substitute for other teachers who are at home for the day, or who have other responsibilities. I’m not complaining about the job, honestly I don’t think it’s that hard. However, it is difficult to demand respect when you have a tag hanging around your neck that proclaims for all to see, that you are in fact, a substitute teacher! I have had many successes in my short stint as a substitute and have felt pride on many occasions. This pride comes from helping a student or even sharing a laugh with my class. I have had great experiences when I sub for special education teachers and in special education classrooms at the junior high and high school levels. However, it is the general education classes that seem to give me the most trouble. I know that I haven’t been doing this for very long, and it is pretty tough to tell a student who is four and a half years younger than you to get to work, but I have to try don’t I? I realize now more than ever, how Aristotle’s quote is true. I am learning to do what I will for my career right now. I don’t have my own class to go to everyday for a year but I do have the classroom experience everyday, and that on the job training will only help me when I begin my actual teaching career.
As I watched the presentation that was given on Monday night I often found myself relating to what Mr. Pfrogner was saying. When he gave examples about sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory, I often found myself saying “yes, that happens to me.” I really enjoyed Mr. Pfrogner’s presentation. Assessment is obviously necessary. Without giving our students a quiz or a test or some other form of assessment, we won’t know whether or not they have a reasonable understanding of the material that we are teaching. In our book the authors stress that teacher’s tie assessment to their stance on education. Teachers should also have their assessment driven by learning goals. Teachers should also have a systematic approach to assessment as well as tie it to their instruction. The authors of our book also want assessment to be inclusive of the learner, and integrated into a manageable system. In education today, assessment doesn’t have to be a test or a quiz, and although some students crave testing and perform well with them, it is true that others excel in forms of alternative assessment.
As I watched the presentation that was given on Monday night I often found myself relating to what Mr. Pfrogner was saying. When he gave examples about sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory, I often found myself saying “yes, that happens to me.” I really enjoyed Mr. Pfrogner’s presentation. Assessment is obviously necessary. Without giving our students a quiz or a test or some other form of assessment, we won’t know whether or not they have a reasonable understanding of the material that we are teaching. In our book the authors stress that teacher’s tie assessment to their stance on education. Teachers should also have their assessment driven by learning goals. Teachers should also have a systematic approach to assessment as well as tie it to their instruction. The authors of our book also want assessment to be inclusive of the learner, and integrated into a manageable system. In education today, assessment doesn’t have to be a test or a quiz, and although some students crave testing and perform well with them, it is true that others excel in forms of alternative assessment.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Learn by Doing
After drawing a blank for this week's assignment , I decided I needed a broader prospective and in the spirit of technology I goggled in "Learning by Doing". The results of this search truly inspired me and I have to admit to a greater appreciation for this approach and overall attitude in the classroom as well as, a means of assessment. Here are some thoughts for inside and outside the classroom:
"Learning by doing strikes at the heart of the basic memory process upon which humans rely. We learn how to do things and then learn how what we have learned is wrong and right." (Engineers for Education)
"I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?" (Macbeth)
"The story of learning is always about doing. The story of learning is a tale of bridging the gap between theory and practice, the cadence to which educators march." (Ted Nellen & Lori Mayo)
"Learning by doing is a concept of economic theory. It refers to the capability of workers to improve their productivity by regularly repeating the same type of action." (Wikipedia)
"One must learn by doing things, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try." (Aristotle)
"We learn by doing after we have reflected on what we have done." (Dewey)
And finally, a last word specifically on assessment: "Teaching for tests creates learnoids." (Apple Seeds for Teachers)
*I have a cartoon to share with you as soon as I can get it to post!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
In a perfect world
My lesson is on painting. It will be for an elementary art class. I found a lesson online where children will mimick the image of Monet's Waterlilies through the use of watercolors and collage. I could use technology in this lesson in so many ways. I already used the internet to find the lesson itself. I could have students research Monet and other painters on the internet for the Unit that the Monet lesson would be a part of. They could write reports/research papers on Monet's life. I could set up a field trip to a museum through the use of the internet so that my kids could see some of Monet's work in person. I could set up "Miss Lucas' Class Website" so showcase my students work. Through this website I could solicit parental feedback, and feedback from other teachers and schools. My kids would be so excited to show off the fact that they were on the internet! They could each have their own pages that they update with class and personal goals. They could write artist statements on their pages explaining their inspiration for the work that they create. I would of course not let them include any real personal information. First names only and definitly no pictures of the kids. There are a lot of weirdos out there. We could also contact another school and have kids from across the country talk to each other. I could talk to the other teacher beforehand and we could both do the same lesson and have the kids talk about it. This might all be far far beyond what could ever be possible. In my year of subbing, I have yet to see an art room with a smart board. I have been in art rooms that have their own computers with internet access, but not many. Usually those computers are reserved for teacher use. It seems like the regular classrooms get the first dibs on the technology. I know that there are efforts to get computers into the schools, but many of these school districts don't even have money for books. We could go on and on about the depressing state of our schools. I really like my website idea though. In my ideal classroom the class website would be possible. Included in that ideal is me actually knowing how to set up a website for my kids. But it doesn't hurt to dream!
Pappas Technology
Technology has taken us from chalkboards to power point presentations. As teachers, we no longer catch students passing notes, but rather text messaging their friends sitting two rows away. Technology has taken us from black and white movie projectors to high definition DVD videos. It has taken us from hand written papers to online blogs. It may even take my job one day! This is based on the premise that technology is evolving exponentially and human beings are not. So, before I am replaced by a mechanical instructor I would like to share some ideas on how I might use technology with my upcoming lesson.
The first use of technology that I plan on using is power point. Power point provides the following advantages:
· Organization of the material you intend on presenting
· Eliminates the need to “write” notes on the board
· Long term storage for future presentations
· Allows students to acquire the presentation on their home computers by simply downloading it
· Pictures and videos can be incorporated into the presentation through power point. This adds a spatial dimension to your presentation.
Power point also presents the following disadvantages:
· Must have a computer and projector in order to present
· Time required to create a power point presentation can be lengthy. However, once it is created it can be reused for many years.
In addition to power point, I will include a 10 minute VHS video clip with my
lesson. Unfortunately, I lack the means to splice the video into the power point, so I will need a VCR in order to present the clip. Regardless, this strategy can induce a student’s interest to the material being presented. It also provides another source for the students to learn from. I have noticed that 10 minutes seems to be the ideal time when presenting a video. Anything more and students tend to doze off. Breaking up your lecture with a 10 minute video can reset the students attention. I have also noticed that frequent use of videos can increase class morale. These are the reasons why I have chosen to use a video with my lesson.
The last use of technology that I will use for creating my presentation is the internet. I will use the internet to gather information from credible sources. I also intend on giving the class an article on the subject I am presenting, which was taken from the internet. I will even provide students with suggested websites for further studies. As a teacher, the internet has become my ally. It has become part of my everyday life. Hence, I intend on using it for my class presentation just as I do in my everyday classroom. Furthermore, I will use the internet as a means of communication amongst the students and myself. I will provide the class with my e-mail address incase they would like to get in touch with me about the presentation or have any questions regarding the material. I will even take it one step further and provide my cell phone number incase students would rather reach me that way. You may e-mail me, call me, or text me with any questions you come up with! This includes all of the forms of technology that I intend on using with my presentation.
The first use of technology that I plan on using is power point. Power point provides the following advantages:
· Organization of the material you intend on presenting
· Eliminates the need to “write” notes on the board
· Long term storage for future presentations
· Allows students to acquire the presentation on their home computers by simply downloading it
· Pictures and videos can be incorporated into the presentation through power point. This adds a spatial dimension to your presentation.
Power point also presents the following disadvantages:
· Must have a computer and projector in order to present
· Time required to create a power point presentation can be lengthy. However, once it is created it can be reused for many years.
In addition to power point, I will include a 10 minute VHS video clip with my
lesson. Unfortunately, I lack the means to splice the video into the power point, so I will need a VCR in order to present the clip. Regardless, this strategy can induce a student’s interest to the material being presented. It also provides another source for the students to learn from. I have noticed that 10 minutes seems to be the ideal time when presenting a video. Anything more and students tend to doze off. Breaking up your lecture with a 10 minute video can reset the students attention. I have also noticed that frequent use of videos can increase class morale. These are the reasons why I have chosen to use a video with my lesson.
The last use of technology that I will use for creating my presentation is the internet. I will use the internet to gather information from credible sources. I also intend on giving the class an article on the subject I am presenting, which was taken from the internet. I will even provide students with suggested websites for further studies. As a teacher, the internet has become my ally. It has become part of my everyday life. Hence, I intend on using it for my class presentation just as I do in my everyday classroom. Furthermore, I will use the internet as a means of communication amongst the students and myself. I will provide the class with my e-mail address incase they would like to get in touch with me about the presentation or have any questions regarding the material. I will even take it one step further and provide my cell phone number incase students would rather reach me that way. You may e-mail me, call me, or text me with any questions you come up with! This includes all of the forms of technology that I intend on using with my presentation.
Geometry and Technology
For my 3rd grade Math/Geometry lesson I would like to use Google Sketchup as a technological aspect of the lesson. Sketchup is a free 2D and 3D modeling software package developed by Google. It allows users to do things as easy as drawing 2D shapes (circles, triangles, squares) to as complicated as 3D architectural designs (skyscrapers, houses, bridges). At the beginning of the lesson I would like to start off using the interactive white board to draw 2D shapes such as triangles, circles and squares. Then I would use the “push up” tool in the program to transform each shape into a 3D one. There is also a tool that allows the shapes to be rotated so that every face of the object can be seen. The interactive white board will not only be used as a teacher demonstration tool, it will also be used by the students so that they can assist in making the 2D and 3D objects.
There is a geometric shape manipulation tool available online that is even easier than Sketchup. The tool shows several 3D images that can be rotated and resized. The number of faces of each image can be counted by clicking on them. Once a face has been clicked on it changes to a different color. The “counter” in the corner shows the number of faces that have been selected. The same can be done for the edges and vertices.
I have also found a number of Geometry WebQuests that could be used for my lesson. One WebQuest has students design a quilt that was described in Betsy Ross’s diary using geometric shapes. Another WebQuest is about triangles that include multiple tasks for the students to choose from. A variety of interactive math lessons can be found online as well as interactive games and flashcards.
One of the challenges I may face in using technology for this lesson might be that the district I am teaching at does not have the technology available. It would be difficult to implement the use of the WebQuests and interactive math lessons without a properly maintained computer lab. A reservation may be that the students might have a tendency to get off task and do other things especially if the internet is being used. Lab management software would be ideal so that this would not occur.
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