Designing and developing effective and engaging learning experiences, environments, resources, and assessments are at the core of any teacher's job. I think this is most evident for teachers who have significant technological resources but still remain ineffective in the classroom. I experienced this in my second year of teaching when I tried to incorporate the use of Vernier sensors into my 8th grade science class. The department head at our school encouraged us to use them at least once a month. It was a great starting goal. The potential for using them effectively was there, but I lost sight of that potential because I was simply focused on getting them into the lesson, not enriching the scientific process. Students were learning new technology, but they were not growing much in science. It was not until a year later when I realized I needed to completely change the way I conducted labs. They were very step-by-step, not containing much deep thinking or creativity. The following year I made a decision to take out many of my procedures, make the sensors available, and allow the students to design the experiments. What I found was a lot more work, but I also found a great deal more creativity and innovation amongst my students. Today, I use a balance of the two: labs that are designed by me to work on specific labs skills or data analysis and labs that are designed by students, which improve their ability to innovate and think critically.
In addition to developing effective learning experiences, the environment that a teacher creates is just as critical to student learning. At one time early in my teaching career, I was completely frustrated with the classroom climate. Any time I presented a significant challenge to grow my students, they would come in the door with homework that was many times half complete, done poorly, or not done at all. Sure they knew Mr. Weiss loved them and was doing as much as possible for them, but that was not making a difference in outcomes. I turned to the Flipped Learning Model as a solution. Soon, the quality of student work increased as I had more time to guide and direct them. Collaboration increased as well and students are completely accustomed to working together almost every day.
While the flipped classroom improved the learning environment, it was enriched even more by the assessments that I incorporated into it. I have come to realize that great teachers give feedback to students daily. The more frequent the feedback, the better chances we have as teachers to receive a successful product from our students. Similarly, I have also come to realize that assessments comes in a variety of forms, not just tests, quizzes, and homework grades. In fact, some of the most helpful assessments are those that are formative, or informal feedback mechanisms. My classroom utilizes GoFormative, Socrative, Edmodo, Blogs, Google Docs, and YouTube to send feedback to students BEFORE a grade is even considered. Generally speaking, the more rounds of feedback I can offer, the better the product becomes.
In addition to developing effective learning experiences, the environment that a teacher creates is just as critical to student learning. At one time early in my teaching career, I was completely frustrated with the classroom climate. Any time I presented a significant challenge to grow my students, they would come in the door with homework that was many times half complete, done poorly, or not done at all. Sure they knew Mr. Weiss loved them and was doing as much as possible for them, but that was not making a difference in outcomes. I turned to the Flipped Learning Model as a solution. Soon, the quality of student work increased as I had more time to guide and direct them. Collaboration increased as well and students are completely accustomed to working together almost every day.
While the flipped classroom improved the learning environment, it was enriched even more by the assessments that I incorporated into it. I have come to realize that great teachers give feedback to students daily. The more frequent the feedback, the better chances we have as teachers to receive a successful product from our students. Similarly, I have also come to realize that assessments comes in a variety of forms, not just tests, quizzes, and homework grades. In fact, some of the most helpful assessments are those that are formative, or informal feedback mechanisms. My classroom utilizes GoFormative, Socrative, Edmodo, Blogs, Google Docs, and YouTube to send feedback to students BEFORE a grade is even considered. Generally speaking, the more rounds of feedback I can offer, the better the product becomes.
Level 1 Artifacts - Give evidence of knowledge of current research
Level 2 Artifacts - Give evidence of application of this knowledge in one’s current or future vocation
Level 3 Artifacts - Gives evidence of research, innovation and or leadership in one’s organization and beyond in helping others apply this knowledge.