The Mayfield Ladies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRNXvAbwS7M

Problem-Based Learning

As I was researching problem-based learning and creating the above video, I kept thinking about another assignment for another class. I had to find a virtual field trip for my Teaching Social Studies course, and the one I submitted was a virtual field trip to Plimouth Plantation . The reason I kept thinking about this is because there was a little game on the website where you could make some choices that the pilgrims had to make such as where to build, what to spend your time doing, etc. Once you made the choices, you learned whether or not those were the same choices made by the pilgrims and what the consequences to those choices were or could have been. I think something along these lines could easily be turned into a problem-based learning unit. Students could learn about the pilgrims and their history by working on a case study that depicted the choices and challenges faced by the pilgrims.  I was engaged just playing the game, I can easily see how engaging learning history in this fashion would be to young learners.  And, because students are actively engaged and applying their knowledge while acquiring new knowledge, the lessons of history become quickly applicable to them in their lives, and isn't that a major purpose of learning history? 

I'm feeling very inspired today ... Here's to problem-based learning!

Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning ... that was my topic for study this week in my technology class. Like I mentioned in my last blog post, I am struggling with seeing how this actually functions in a classroom because it is something I have not experienced before. I found this video, and I feel like it answered some of my questions: I love how the teacher guided the students into making the own questions and investigations. I love seeing how the kids are learning ... from the girl realizing that a question could be both scientific and mathematical in nature, and I love the quick teaching opportunity that produced for the teacher. I can see inquiry-based learning happening as culminating events at the end of learning a mathematical topic, where students construct their learning through working with manipulatives, and then they apply that learning through an inquiry-based learning activity. I think, in combination with other methods, this is a very effective way to teach.

Partnering Pedagogy

The last 1.5 weeks, I have been actively working with Marc Prensky's book, Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning.  This book has challenged many of my ideas of teaching and how to go about teaching, and honestly, I still don't quite know how I feel about it all.  While I agree with a lot of Prensky's premises, I have a hard time deciding how much control needs to be transferred from the teacher and the curriculum to the student.  While I believe in student-centered learning and can see practical application and value in much of Prensky's ideas, I believe also that sometimes it is good for students to have to do things that they might not be interested in or want to do.  The argument was often framed that we need to teach children skills they need to be proficient at as functioning adults, and while I agree, there are many tasks that I have to accomplish as an adult that do not speak to my passions (cleaning bathrooms, for example).  My husband sometimes has to do mundane work in his profession, too, so teaching our children that things aren't worth doing unless they speak to our passions is a falsehood and does our children a great disservice.  Also, as adults, we have to work for a boss, and while a teacher shouldn't be a harsh disciplinarian, she does need to be an authoritative figure.  That being said, she can still be a coach and a guide, but children need to learn how to follow and accept authority, and those lessons can come from the classroom.  I also have a hard time seeing (and perhaps it is because I am an elementary major and so much focus, especially in the primary grades, is on teaching children to read) how all the standards can be taught through a partnering pedagogy.  I can easily see its application in teaching science and social studies, and even in math, but I feel partnering can really be utilized to a greater extent in upper grades.  Anyways, just a few of my thoughts that I am working through over the next few days and weeks.  

Constructivism

I know that this post may not be politically correct, but it is what I am thinking at this moment, and what I am thinking in relation to the lesson I just finished on Constructivism.

I have been teaching 12/13 year-old Sunday School at church for two years.  My church put out a new curriculum and training materials for youth teachers within this time frame.  The focus is on teaching as the Savior taught, which tends to be a very constructivist way of teaching.  First of all, he knew and loved the people He taught.  He taught them in parables and stories - activating prior knowledge of tangible things on which spiritual knowledge and abstract concepts could be built.  He used effective questioning techniques.  He invited the people He taught to apply His teachings and find out for themselves whether or not the things He taught were true. 




I am asked, as a teacher, to apply this same model in my classroom.  My church students cannot gain a testimony of the truth of the lessons I teach by listening to me talk the entire time.  The way they gain a testimony is through using the scriptures, finding truth for themselves, and applying it to their lives and experiences.

This is what constructivism is all about!  I know in a public school setting, I cannot share my views of the Savior and my testimony of His divinity with them, but I can use the training and experience I am getting in my Sunday School calling to be a better teacher in public schools.  I have seen first hand the benefit of allowing students to discover knowledge for themselves.  I have been a facilitator.  I know it takes more work to be the facilitator than it does to read out of a manual or a textbook, but the results are SO worth the extra effort.  Not only do I see my students growing, but I grow, too, as I step outside of my comfort zone and put my trust in the students and their ability to learn and grow.

In case you are interested in peeking at the training materials from my church, go here for some great, short videos on teaching the Savior's way.  I have spent lots of time pondering how closely related my church and school learning is.

The Writing Process: A PowToon Creation

I tried out PowToon this week. I was assigned to make a Power Point on the writing process for my intermediate reading class, but asked for permission to make a video instead. Permission was granted, and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!