A fellow EDC3100 student – Delaney134 – wrote a fantastic blog to wrap up her course work for this semester. You can read her blog post here. As it turns out I have a fair bit in common with this author , see my earlier blog post for more info and I agree wholeheartedly with her that this semester has been a roller coaster of emotions!!! In fact I am still firmly belted into that ride. Due to another nasty cold that developed into an upper respiratory infection and turned my asthma into a raging monster, I have been given an extension to complete this assignment. Tonight is the first time in a week that I have been able to look at a computer screen for any length of time and for once my daughter has gone to bed without a fight so I am madly making the best use of the time available to me by catching up on some blogging and the remainder of this weeks learning path. For all the other mature aged students out there I found this great hints and tip sheet from Charles Sturt Uni entitled “10 Tips for Mature Age Students Returning to Study...” I particularly enjoyed #4… EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY!!!
Behavior Management on Prac…
I was extremely apprehensive starting this Professional Experience. Meetings with my Mentor highlighted some of the challenges faced by the students in the class and therefore the Behavior Management issues that occur in direct correlation to this. Many other EDC3100 students have blogged about some of the challenges that they faced on their own Professional Experience, and I was lucky enough not to come across attitude problems such as Emileigh. For more information you can read her blog post here… I had investigated a number of behavior support classroom programs and reward systems before beginning my Professional Experience as the first lesson on the first day my Mentor asked me to teach a lesson on what my behavior expectations were and a system I was going to implement. A number of students had highlighted Class Dojo and from other posts this seems to be a fantastic system. I had initially asked my mentor about using Class Dojo but she was not responsive to the suggestion and advised that a more visual and tactile system would work better with her class. After some modifications and many, many google searches, I was really impressed how this lesson was received and they system worked extremely well. Students are still asking my Mentor for ‘Monster Dots!”
R in SAMR…
The SAMR model is something that resonates with me however, I am also overwhelmed by the idea of striving for the ‘R’ in SAMR and not just settling for the ‘S’. As such, I have done my best to find some concrete examples that I can relate to and see how the ‘R’ was achieved in the classroom. In doing so, I came across a great blog by Patrick Larkin entitled… ” Thinking about the R in SAMR. It shows an amazing example and the blog post includes this quote that really resonated with me…
…I am talking about ensuring learning environments where students have time and support to get involved in meaningful tasks about which they are passionate…
This is something that I really hope more educators think carefully about. Especially with the introduction of the C2C. This system was never to replace teacher creativity and ingenuity and from my recent Professional Experience, the most productive classrooms are ones where the teacher has made a concerned effort to engage the children, through passions and interest.
Backwards Design… In the real world!
I have mentioned Backwards Design or Backwards Planning previously in my blogging however, I just wanted to share one example of how I saw this successfully used in the school that I completed my Professional Experience in. During my second week of Professional Experience I was lucky enough to have a meeting with the school’s Head of Curriculum. This amazing lady is technically based at the school but travels extensively to other schools within the large country district and has a range of duties and roles, primarily based around the C2C requirements and the effective delivery of C2C within the classroom.
To begin the session she spoke about the schools Unit planning and how this takes place. Her first words were….”We start with the set assessment and monitoring requirements and go from there…” “So Backwards Design…” i piped up with… “Exactly right!” she replied… (Thanks EDC3100 for making me look smart in front of this incredible, amazing and intimidating lady!!! Even if it was only for 2 seconds!!!)
We spoke about Unit planning, lesson planning and the C2C requirements for about an hour and it was fantastic to see theory in practice. A fellow student Amanda, also extols the virtues of Backwards Design and you can read her blog here.
Almost over…
Wow, i didn’t realise how long it had been between blogs…. End of semester, sickness, family and Professional Experience have all compounded and caused an immense workload. We are midway through our third week of Prac and I don’t know where the time has gone. I have loved being in the classroom every day and this Prac has allowed me to sigh a sense of relief that I am making the right decision. At times I have struggled with the workload, and feel that my assignments have suffered. They have definitely taken a back seat to the Prac requirements. Although this is a third year Prac it has been over 7 years since I have been in a classroom and I have had an amazing mentor who has allowed me to gain confidence without overburdening me.
My teaching has increased as per the Professional Experience outlines and this week I am teaching all of the Maths lessons as well as History and Arts. English and Science assessments are being completed and the teacher has advised that she wants to continue taking these classes for continuity however, I have been assisting in a supplementary role and helping students that require extra assistance with these tasks. Something that is both rewarding and daunting as how do you possible do this on your own?
Today the Deputy Principal sat in an observed me teaching a maths class. He gave some great feedback which was appreciated. One thing he mentioned was calling on the students without their hand up even if they may not have the correct answer… One reason I have been reluctant to do this was because I am unsure as to how to address inconsistencies and incorrect answers without causing undue embarrassment to the student and also how to re-address the class if the answer is completely off topic… Any hints, tips or ideas on this would be appreciated… Thanks and good luck everyone with your final days of Professional Experience.
ICT Theories, Models and Frameworks…
Although this table has taken me hours and I still cant work out the whole .html thing… I am very glad that this revision task was set. Its only now after collating all of the Theories/Models/Frameworks in one place that I really see the value in knowing and investigating such a vast array. The tasks of completing the table below has given me not only a clearer understanding of them but also a much greater insight into how to best incorporate them into real life situations and teaching necessities. Especially planning!
| Theory | Explanation | Application to Assignment 3/Professional Experience |
| TPACK framework | Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge Knowledge of Teaching, pedagogical models and methods of instruction Content knowledge, facts, organisations, skills and knowledge of Technology must be used together. |
Ties in most of the other models and theories. Must have an understanding of a range of theories and models to begin to develop a through Technological Content knowledge. |
| Backwards design | Learning and teaching goals are set and then the most appropriate models and methods of instruction and other teaching strategies are chosen to support these ultimate goals. Specific lesson plans then follow. | Will assist greatly as my school participated in C2C so assessment tasks have already been set. Therefore these can be used as starting points for backwards design. |
| SAMR Model | Substitution – A block is a block
Augmentation – Substitute with an increase in functionality Modification – Transforms learning Redefinitions – Create new tasks
|
Evaluating ICT usage in planning for experiences and activities. |
| 000The 5Es | Instructional Model; Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate | Specifically outlined in the school charter and discussed with my Mentor Teacher. Will include into planning specifically for Science planning. |
| WALT & WILF | WALT stands for “We are learning to…” WILF stands for “What am I looking for…?” and TIB stands for “This is because…” | Mentor Teacher reinforced the importance of WALT, WILF and TIB, used throughout C2C and in her planning. |
| Connectivism | Connectivism is a learning theory for the digital age. The process of establishing and maintaining digital connections for learning. | |
| Bloom’s taxonomy | A structured questioning model. The six levels are; Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation. | Explicit teaching and Blooms can work hand in hand. Explicit teaching is a strategy specifically adopted by my School. |
| Postman’s 5 things |
|
Once an understanding of the students knowledge and skills with technology is ascertained new ideas for applications and misconceptions may be challenged. |
| Toolbelt theory/TEST framework | The Toolbelt theory is essentially a collection of resources available to us that we utilise to make our life easier and knowing which resource to choose for which task.
The TESTframework is basically…
|
Specifically linked to lesson planning. |
| CLEM Model | Community – Who uses this ICT?
Literature – what does the academic literature state? Examples – what examples exist/are available and are they good/bad? Model – What makes this ICT specific, what are some common technical problems? |
Best used when introduced to new technologies on Prac to gain a greater understanding. |
Autism – and insider’s perspective…
My Professional Experience mentor has recommended that I read as much as I can on Autism before commencing my Professional Experience. With three student in the class with varying degrees of Autism, I am unsure as to how this will directly affect lesson planning. Coming from a play based early childhood perspective, planning for inclusion and differentiation was, I think, was a much easier task that lesson planning in a formal school setting will turn out to be. Whilst looking for hints, tips and resources, I came across this. While it is only one person’s direct perspective of their experience with Autism, I found it very insightful and it contained some interesting points for consideration.
A fellow EDC3100 student posted a very personal and well written account of some of her experiences with Differentiation. See Lisa’s blog post here.
I can only hope that I do these students the justice they deserve but ensuring my lesson plans are as inclusive as their individual needs require them to be.
Connect.ed Digital Safety Modules…
The week 10 Learning path saw us completed the Connect.ed Digital Safety Modules. A fellow student, Kathleen, blogs in detail about the content of the modules and you can see her blog post here. I completed all four modules in one block and I don’t particularly recommend completing them this way however, with my daughter teething and other assignments pressing I realise how precious my time currently is and I get the most out of every second! I thoroughly recommend completing these modules properly and in full. The ‘Expert’ videos in particular are compelling and informative. Although Cyber-Bullying is a significant component to these modules, the information I found most interesting was on Digital Literacy. For more information see this interesting blog post on Digital Literacy. It provides a quote from Paul Gilster, which really resonated with me…
“Digital literacy is the ability to understand information and—more important—to evaluate and integrate information in multiple formats that the computer can deliver. Being able to evaluate and interpret information is critical… (sic) you can’t understand information you find on the Internet without evaluating its sources and placing it in context.”
Along with understanding and practicing Digital Safety, I think that becoming literate in Digital Literacies is imperative for today’s students. The completion of these modules provided me with a certificate of completion which will be a great inclusion into my ePortfolio.
Early Childhood Professionals… Stage 1 of the ‘Inclusion and Professional Support Program’ online library has been released…
I receive the fortnightly Early Childhood Australia WebWatch newsletter and I strongly recommend other Early Childhood students to do so as well. It combines information sourced via the web on topics such as…
- early childhood development, growth and learning
- early childhood practice, programs and policy
- emerging issues and research.
To sign up for the newsletter follow this link. This fortnights newsletter promoted the release of Stage One for the Inclusion and Professional Support Program online Library. Here is what ECA states about the library:
“The online library contains up-to-date resources that are useful to early childhood educators across Australia. The free library will be updated in coming months to include in-service training materials, fact sheets, newsletters and resources that promote cultural inclusion and bilingual education for educators and children.”
There are already some wonderful resources included and hopefully they will be useful for our upcoming Professional Experience.
Planning, Preparation and Professional Experience…
In terms of content, week 9 of the EDC3100 course was a big one… Lots of information to digest and process. Although I have a basic understanding of my PE setting there are a lot questions that still need answers before I can begin any successful planning. That is why I have set up a meeting with my mentor for tomorrow afternoon after an insightful conversation this evening. I have to say in regards to making herself available and open I don’t think I could do much better, she is also extremely understanding in regards to the limitations I have regarding care for my daughter.
Some important information I received this evening from my mentor includes that the Technology Lab is often booked out weeks in advance and even if there is an available slot the years 5, 6’s and 7’s take precedence over the younger grades. (My PE is taking place in a year 2 classroom.) The reasoning behind this is that due to factors such as socio-economics, the older years assessment is conducted during class time to help ensure that it is completed, as a portion of the students have little or no access computers in the home.
My mentor also advised that although there are three iMac computers in the actual classroom, not all of the students are ‘Logged on’ yet. This is something I immediately offered to assist with. She also advised that the Interactive Whiteboard in her classroom is the only one of that particular model and brand in the whole school and therefore she does not have a lot of success in troubleshooting issues that occur with it. She is however, very keen to see what types of ICT’s can be incorporated into her class.
I currently have a whole page of questions to ask her but before I do I am going to try and find out as much information as possible via the school website. They have open access to their Annual Reports for the last two years and also the most recent newsletter. Both I am sure will assist immensely with my information gathering.
rachelharlen 