Pretzel letters and semantic encoding

As we were studying for the final yesterday, I realized how much we covered in class this last semester. It has flown by. Here are the top couple of things that I will take with me from this class:

Theorists:
-Dewey Democrat (describe, analyze, act)
-Gagne-->Tahna-->Volleyball-->Winner-->Semantic Encoding
-Every rose has its...consequence/Thorndike
-Piaget, let them play
-Bloom's KCAASE
-Hollow Paulo
-Rodgers-always changing...his sweater
-Gardner plants multiple intelligences in his garden.
-Eisner: art education

Stuff from books:
-Dress for the occasion.
-The first days of school are the most important and will determine how the rest of the year will go.
-A good teacher is one who has good classroom management, a well-developed curriculum, and good instructional techniques/positive expectations.
-The difference between procedures, routines, and discipline.
-The teacher has the most powerful effect on student learning.
-Charity never faileth.

Vocabulary:
-phenomological perspective
-artisians
-technology
-teach
-learn
-technology education

STLs:
-2CCs (core concepts) of technology on a SPORRC (pronounced "spork")
-it takes 3 people for a relationship to work
-the 4 SPEC-effects of technology
-5=green=environment
-the number 6 just keeps "role"-ing in society
-the "eight-ttributes" of design.
-engine, engine number 9, coming down chicago line...
-10 is the role of troubleshooting PRIDE.
-on a scale from 1 to 10, your design processes are an 11.
-management has 12 letters
-it takes 14 yrs to get through medical school
-16-yr-old girls shouldn't use an EPT
-in 17, the 7 is communicating with the 1.
-you can drive when you're 18
-when you turn 19, you become a man...ufacturer
-Jason has worked in construction for 20 years

Teaching the tots

This week was pretty amazing. I had a really good time teaching 6th graders. I'm not sure how much different it will be to teach the higher grades, but 6th graders are hilarious! I think I'm more of a Junior High teacher...I think it's because I like to mess with them and see what they really know. High schoolers can see right through you and know that you are playing stupid. I always have the most fun teaching those who are still young enough to be gullible and old enough to have advanced brain processes. I like helping them see what they know and why they believe it. 6th grade was a lot of fun. I can't believe how much they called me on when I was playing Ms. Volta. They're smart. I'm excited to see what happens in my classroom.

Group Planning

I thought it would be really difficult to plan a 2 hour lesson with 6 people. Turns out, it wasn't that bad. I think it would have been a lot better with only 3 people or so because then everyone would have been able to participate. We had 2 people who kind of took the lead and pretty much ran with it. I tried to bring in the other 3 but they didn't say much. I think they didn't want to compete with what was going on already. I'm pretty sure 2 of the 3 only got in a few words, if that.
I think when I am a teacher and my students are working on group projects, I will sit and listen for a while before I jump into the conversation. It is difficult to stick with a plan or continue a train of thought when the teacher comes and starts leading the discussion. It messes with the flow of the group, although that may have been a good thing in this case. I just wish that we could have had all the group members give some input instead of just a few.
If I ever have to teach with 6 people again, I hope it goes a little differently. I'm not saying it was bad, just different. I think it could be better but I'm not sure how. Oh, to be a good teacher...

Marzano = PMG??

I think a lot of the stuff that is in Marzano's book is also in Preach My Gospel. It makes sense because good teaching is good teaching no matter the topic.

Most of these chapter headings are used either with the teachers/missionaries or the learners.

Ways that the Marzano chapters are similar to PMG:

Identifying similarities and differences: most people will do this automatically with the gospel. They will look for ways that our church is the same as or different from theirs.

Summarizing and note taking: Everyone learns better when they write down what they learn. The Spirit continues to give revelation if the learner shows gratitude for the new knowledge by writing it down.

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition: Making sure they have a friend at church to support them and be there for them when the missionary is gone.

Homework and practice: Homework and practice.

Nonlinguistic representations: The pictograph of lesson 2 (plan of salvation), flip charts, etc.

Cooperative learning: Try to teach them in families or groups of friends. They will be each others' support system and will have similar experiences to draw from. Also FHE, sunday school classes, wards, stakes, areas, etc.

Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: Help investigators set goals and ask for a report on how they did. Give feedback and support. Answer questions.

Generating and Testing Hypotheses: Help them know it is right for themselves. You only know if it's true by obedience. If you get blessings, it's a true principle.

Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers: Help them ask the right questions and look for things in the readings. Use prior knowledge and build on it with the new knowledge.


Ya, I think that covers most of PMG. I would like to have PMG as a text for this class. I think it would be more beneficial because it was written with the spirit and there are ways to adapt it.

Motivation Mastery

This week in class, we talked about the book we are reading and how important it is to incorporate the principles into teaching. I like the idea that homework should be a form of formative testing. I think it's a great way to informally see what your students know and how well they know it.

Example: Go home and do these 10 problems. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. If, after 30 minutes, you haven't finished, put it away and bring it to class.

If your students can't do the assigned problems in the recommended time, they obviously don't understand it well enough to move on. It's up to you to decide what to do now. Is it your fault or theirs that they don't understand it? Did you fail as a teacher or did they fail as students? What are the implications of that answer? How can you make your lessons more understandable and easier to comprehend? How can you inspire your students to put forth the effort to want to know?

Teaching is not just a "here's the material, learn it" profession. We have a huge responsibility in this era of video games and just-getting-by. We need to learn how to instill intrinsic motivation into our students so that they will succeed and expect more out of life. Is that possible?

Drafting Class

After getting over the initial shock of not having the teacher know we were coming, we went to the class next door where Matt was observing another teacher. It was a little strange because he didn't talk at all at first and the students were just "catching up on their projects." I walked around and most of them were either playing games or looking up other stuff on the internet.

After a while, he got up and started helping students. As he was helping, he called us over to watch what he was doing. He explained why he was doing everything and allowed us to help some students as well.

There was a lot of diversity in this classroom compared to the others. There were some people who didn't even speak english very well. They were the ones who didn't turn in most of their stuff. They were used to the metric system and were supposed to be doing an assignment to learn how to use an engineering scale. They kept getting the feet and inches mixed up. It was interesting to see how disinterested they were in the assignment because every time the teacher walked away, they forgot about the assignment and started looking up ringtones on the internet.

I'm not sure what I will do when I teach to help kids get interested. It's difficult to have everyone on the same page at the same time with varying skill levels.

Another week already?

Wow, it's gone by fast. We learned about STL 4, 5, and 6 Tuesday and took the TSA tests Thursday. It was pretty funny to have technology students taking tests on the most basic computer programs and still have a hard time with it. It's been a while since I learned excel. The program look has changed so it was a little more difficult for me to figure out where everything was. Anyway, it was just funny.

STL 4: The cultural, social, economic, and political effects of technology.
STL 5: The effects of technology on the environment.
STL 6: The role of society in the development and use of technology.

It's becoming more and more clear as to why we need to teach these things to our students. If we don't, it will probably take them a lot longer to figure out the connections. We can stem the innovation needed to improve the future.

Teaching STLs

One of the standards for technological literacy is the combining of technology with other subjects. As I was reading about it, I found a part that said to not explicitly teach these principles by themselves to our students, but to incorporate them into our lesson plans with the subjects we are teaching. I decided to try this in my teaching.

When I taught about the combination of technology with other subjects, I tried to get the class to focus on how they can get the students more interested in their subject. I talked about being a "just teacher" like in the movie clip I showed. (A "just teacher" is one who sees everything for just what it is...it's just a student, just a lesson, just a class, just another year.) In doing so, I tried to help them see how they could impliment this STL into their teaching. I gave some suggestions at the end about how to do this:

If the students are interested in something, gear your teaching and lesson plans to fit their interests. (i.e.,-If someone wants to be a green engineer, let them do a project on solar heating or whatever so they can see how technology factors in to their passion.)

If there are a lot of athletes in the class, do something related to sports.

If the kid only likes to skateboard, let him make a skateboard. He'll still learn the tools, get the planning experience, and he won't get an "F" as his final grade because he is going to do a great job. Why? Because he cares.

I'm not saying that we should just let the kids run amuk and get their way all the time, but I bet there are so many things we could do to get them involved. It will take more work on our part in the beginning, but it will pay off big time in the end.

How is that possible?!?

I went to observe a class on Thursday. The teacher was eager to teach us the lessons he has learned over the past 18 years since he has been teaching. Most of it was very helpful. But one thing really bugged me for the rest of the week. There was a kid who just sat there with his hands folded in his lap and his feet on a chair for the entire 85 minute class period. I asked him why he wasn't working on a project and he said that he didn't have one. After talked to him for a while, it became apparent that he didn't have any ambition in life besides skateboarding. I was so confused! I love school and love learning, but he would rather be out on the street by himself than in school. He would rather be doing anything besides sitting in school.

I came to the conclusion that I, as a teacher, need to decide how to handle those students before I get into the classroom. I would like to think that love, concern, and involvement would cure that kind of attitude, but my friends tell me otherwise.

We'll see.

Blissful Simplicity

In general conference, one of my favorite talks had to do with living a simple life. They say to live within your means. The first presidency has said that buying a large house or nice car is "misusing resources."

Situation: Using school money at the end of the year because "if you don't use it, it's gone." At PG Jr. High, they said they were able to buy a bunch of cameras for that reason. Yes, it helps the students learn photography. Great. What is the purpose of all this knowledge? What is the purpose of any kind of intelligence?

The glory of God is intelligence. We are supposed to seek knowledge for the purpose of glorifying God. How can we incorporate this stuff into the things we are teaching our students without crossing the church/state line or whatever you want to call it?

-Service projects (locally or globally--it could be fun to work with another school in a different country to accomplish a common goal.)
-Presents for mother's/father's day or the holidays.
-A "green" contest to see who can create the greenest power source.
-Anything to expand their vision for the future!

I'm out of ideas. It's late. But wouldn't it be cool if we had a broader vision for our students? What difference would it make if we came to a new school with the vision that our students are going to create a better future? Would the students believe more in themselves? Could we get them to catch the vision? Would they care enough to make a difference? I think they would. I really think they would.

What was it?

I had something really good from Tuesday's class but I forgot what it was. Hmm....

I am teaching about STL #3 in class. It's the relationship between technology and other fields of study. Personally, I think there is no way to actually accomplish anything without using technology.

In English, to write a paper, it's required to be typed. Also, if research is required, where are students going to go for information and resources? Wikipedia...yeah.

In math, it takes a smart person to figure out advanced equations without a calculator.

In P.E., well, maybe PE is exempt from this over-generalization. Unless you count music to go with a workout, stopwatches to keep track of records, and other non-essentials.

But you get my point. It is very difficult to make it through life without technology these days. People even make fun of me for not having an iPod. I don't really see a need for one.

Organized Chaos

I observed 2 different class periods with the same teacher. He called the first one his "rest period" because he pretty much just talked at the beginning then the kids built their crash-test-dummy/egg cars. I think he was actually in the classroom for maybe 10 minutes the entire 80 minute class. He had 2 TAs in there, one student and one adult. The kids were on task for the most part and were really working hard to get their cars done.

The second class was the one that Tara and Braden talked about. He talked for the first part then they all went crazy doing their own things. I was amazed that he was able to help all the kids in a timely manner. We had to leave after the first 15 minutes or so, but he had amazing classroom management skills. I could tell the kids wanted to be there, and that helped too.

After teaching for 35 years, I asked him if he changed his lesson plans often. His response: "You're assuming I use lesson plans." He pretty much has a shelf-structure where he keeps all the handouts on all the projects so that kids can go get them as needed. The class pretty much runs itself. Oh, to be a teacher of 35 years...

They're so small!

Today I went to observe a classroom in Pleasant Grove. I was so excited to be there! The teacher was great and the kids were so fun. Aside from letting us go through his handouts and take the stuff we wanted, he was really friendly, very optimistic, and actually really honest about the pros and cons of teaching.

When we first got there, we talked for a little while with him and he kind of told us what would be going on. We met the other teacher who is in charge of the wood shop, but was launching water bottle rockets today. He invited us to come out and watch. We didn't make it out there until the second class.

Mr. Frey was really good at demonstrating all the skills from the Wong book. He praised the students, had high expectations for them, didn't interrupt the class to discipline an active student, and was very patient with the students who didn't quite catch on at first.

A student in a wheel chair came in about 5 minutes late. I expected there to be a huge commotion with moving chairs around and I thought the students would lose focus. None of that happened. The only interruption was when the student's TA needed a place to sit. Mr. Frey, almost in passing, asked his classroom TA to get a chair for her. It was almost as if nothing happened in the classroom to distract the students. Pretty cool.

I noticed that Mr. Frey obviously had really good classroom procedures. As the students walked in, they each turned in their assignments to him and were at their desks ready to start class when the bell rang. Even after being sick for the entire week (this was his first day back), the students were right on schedule and he praised them for being so good for the substitute teacher. Most of the students were quietly listening to instructions and all of them were excited to go use the computer lab and make bridges on the software they've been working with.

It was a very successful class period and all the students stayed on task. Everyone had a positive attitude except for the students who got frustrated because their bridge wouldn't work, but that's probably normal. As soon as they figured it out, they kept going to try to get the cost of the bridge as low as possible. It was actually pretty amazing to see how involved they all were and how much fun they were having.

Mr. Frey was a really great example of how teaching should be done and even offered to let us come in and teach for a day sometime if we feel like we want/need the experience. He said that some teachers get annoyed when new teachers come in with almost no experience, just because the way the system is set up. Basically, there is student teaching for a semester and then they let us loose.

In the seminary teaching program, we get 2 weeks out of the semester to go teach one period per day. It's great experience. I think it would be kind of fun and great practice to do that in our program as well. Is it possible?

L/T: the circle of life

I was asked to give a talk in church. It reminded me of teaching our class. I think that we are so used to speaking in church that we don't know the difference between "giving" a lesson (or a talk) and "teaching." It's hard to break the habit. In my talk, I kept wanting to ask questions and see what they would say...it's tough to do one or the other. I tend to mix them both.

In the Gong book, I really liked the chart on page 80 about Expanding a Capture. I am going to use that in my personal study. It's a 3 column diagram on how to internalize what has just been learned.

The first column gives the scenario of agreeing or approving of something recently learned. That one is pretty easy. I think people generally do that if they are really interested in the subject.

The second column deals with new knowledge that is disagreeable or not approved of. It gave great pointers on how to counter the argument. Using experiences was a really good one, I thought, just because people cannot refute a personal experience because it is what it is.

The third column was the one that was most helpful to me. It addresses the option of boredom or indifference to the topic. Sometimes I learn something that I really don't care about. I've never quite known how to start caring in order to make it stick. Here are some of the suggestions:

• rewrite the capture showing the changes needed to make it interesting and applicable to you.
• see if you have any experiences that you can compare it to.
• apply the central ideas to a subject that does interest you.
• find the most boring idea to you and discuss it with someone who is interested in it; tell why they like the idea.
• if you think the idea is useless or unimportant, tell what it would take to make the idea more meaningful (i.e., worth sharing with others).

I didn't really understand the "roles" section at first. As it went on, I came to realize how important it was. This is a prime example of what I just listed above. Instead of just dismissing it because I thought it was not important, I researched it further and came to understand that it is one of the most vital parts and is what makes the L/T scenario continue perpetually. Your role as a learner will soon become a role as a teacher. You decide when the change takes place.
For me, the change usually takes place as soon as I understand a concept. However, my downfall is that I don't always check my facts.

(Example: Last semester, I found out that there was a plastic island twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I made an informative poster about it in 255. I found out later that it's probably all a hoax. There are no pictures, evidence, or credible sources for this assumption. I did more research to find out the truth. I didn't ever find a real answer, but one day I'm going to go there to find out.)

My point is this: never stop learning. There is always something new to learn and implement. And there is always something being researched. Learn as much as possible then tell others about it. It's one of the best ways to retain information (not to mention spread it).

Freedom...what is it?

I finished the Gong book this weekend. I really liked it. It got me thinking about things, not only about teaching but about the subjects it talked about. I've been thinking about freedom and how everyone should be free to choose what they want to do. However, in politics, there are always people who want to take rights away from others. In Indonesia, the government (primarily Muslim) wants to pass a law banning pornography. Bali, an island in Indonesia, thrives because of rituals and culture that bring tourism. They don't want the law passed because they are afraid that people will stop coming and that they will not be able to worship in the way they desire. So, morality and "mormon thinking" aside, which one is right? Who is actually taking the rights from others? Muslims don't want to see it and Hindus do. So what is the answer? What is freedom all about? To be continued...

Action Satisfaction-AKA-Breakdancing

This week I taught break dancing in class. I wish I could do it over again. Here's how I would do it if I could:
Start with a short video of breakdancers, maybe 20 seconds. (purpose: sheer enjoyment).
Ask them to look for common things about all the people in the video (i.e.,-what were they wearing, moves, footwork, etc.) and replay the video.
Discuss observations, write them on the board.
Talk about toprock.
If time allows, show the "liquid" dancing guy.
Talk about downrock.
Teach the 6-step.
(In class, Jason volunteered to try it up front. When he got it down, I should have had him help Tara, the next volunteer. That way it would have been an L/T moment where he was the learner, but progressed to the teacher. We could have then gone out into a bigger area and split up into pairs so that everyone could help teach their partner. If needed, Jason and Tara could have acted as TA's for me to help everyone get it right.)
If there is still time, watch the competition video to give inspiration to continue learning on their own.
That would have been a much better lesson than what I had planned. It's always easier to see what could be better once you've taught it.

Reflection 2

In class this week, we had the opportunity to teach. I taught a principle about attitude and how it can change lives. I really enjoyed the opportunity to teach. It's great practice and it's not as scary as doing it in front of actual students in an actual classroom where you are responsible for their learning the material. I'm not saying that this is not real, I'm just saying that they won't be tested on my presentation. I say presentation because I feel like I could have done a better job teaching it than I did. It was more of a presentation and I don't think it hit home like I had hoped.
We focused on checking for understanding. I forgot about that part...funny, because it is one of the most crucial points. In the book we are reading, it talks a lot about that and about how to create tests to fit your objectives.
I really enjoyed learning about the different styles of learning and the theorists that go with them. I think you have to have a mix of all three to have a good learning environment. I would like to discuss these theories more in depth because I kept thinking of more tests that could be done (ex. Bandura's experiment with the bobo doll...Would he get the same results if he used video games instead of actual toys? Just curious.)

Reflection 1

“There is no greater responsibility than the training of the human soul.”
I really enjoyed class this week. It re-inspired me to continue on my path to become an educator. I’ve never really thought about the definitions of learn, teach, technology education, teacher, and student. My partner and I came up with these definitions (which will be built on throughout the semester):
Learn: To grow in understanding &/or knowledge through personal experiences, reflection, others’ experiences/knowledge to improve life.
Teach: To facilitate learning. To invoke curiosity in a pupil so they willingly and actively learn for themselves.
Some things from the reading that I thought were helpful:

“This book will only help you become the teacher you were meant to be.” Teaching is not for everyone but we are all teachers.

“Money and materials cannot buy an ideal learning environment. Only YOU can provide that environment.” Some schools will not have the means to provide what you think you need. Make do.

“4 Stages of teaching: 1.Fantasy 2.Survival 3.Mastery 4.Impact”

“Education is not teaching people things they don’t currently know. Education is teaching people behaviors they don’t currently practice.”

“Having positive expectations simply means that the teacher believes in the learner and that the learner can learn.”

Whatever you believe about a student will happen. “It is essential that the teacher exhibit positive expectations toward all students. That attitude benefits both the teacher and the student, as well as the overall classroom environment.”

Continually learning as a teacher will help you become an effective teacher. Don’t get stuck in the same routine with the same handouts and the same books. Improve just as you would expect your students to improve. Research is simply finding solutions to your problems. Do it.

“Listen, listen, listen.”

Some teachers lose sight of who is really important in their teaching. “Always remember: student achievement and success are why teachers teach.”

Intersperse questions throughout all class activities. It’s proven to help students comprehend and internalize the material.

Sorry if this is longer than expected. I really enjoy this book and the class. I may have more to say on the first section of it by the time I finish reading it. For now, this will do.