· What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
I have learned so much about goal setting, for myself throughout this class. I realize the importance or constant reflection and modification. I would like to apply this structure to my students learning over the last few months of school. My second graders have been slacking off quite a bit in Reading. I am going to pose a reading challenge to them, but ask them to set their own goals. Each week we will graph our progress and reflect. I believe that for second graders this will be a great experience for them in goal setting. It will also be a great assessment piece for me as an educator to watch their progress.
· What goals are you still working toward?
I am still working toward the goal of using Excel with my students, so they are keeping track of and assessing their growth and learning. I have checked out the book “Excel for Dummies” and plan to read the book over the next week. Then I will share Excel with students and help them get acquainted with the program and play around with it for a few weeks. After that time, I will prepare a simple set of directions for students and see if they can use this application.
· Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
My new learning goal is to “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership”. Over the past month I have attended 50 clock hours worth of free trainings through my school district. It has been challenging, especially since I am still a graduate student and work in two school districts, but I believed that the opportunities were too good to pass up. I have learned so many great things that I can use in the classroom, so I know it was worth it. I would like to prepare a quick summary of all the learning I received from these trainings and share it with my colleagues, in this way I have grown professionally through training as well as taking on some leadership.
· What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
Some learning approaches I will try this time to improve my learning is to try to focus on suggestions from others one at a time. I tried to research too many things at a time and got overwhelmed throughout this process. I want to take baby steps, research one thing, if it will work for me try it, if not then move onto the next suggestion. I tried to research everything at once this time and it did not work as well as I would have liked.
The GAME plan structure and weekly reflection has been very beneficial to me and something that I will use with my students immediately!
Thanks for your ideas!
Tiffany Hall
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Hi Tiffany -
ReplyDeleteI too have learned the value of goal setting through this class. I consider myself goal-oriented but this class in particular has really made me focus on my technology goals. I had to write up a goal plan for my previous district (as many districts have teachers do - what do you plan to accomplish, how will you do it, blah, blah, blah) but there really isn't much follow-up or accountability on anyone's account to ensure goals are being met or progress is being made. By having us focus on specific aspects of the GAME Plan and then writing and reading each week of the progress and setbacks we've experienced, I have learned even more and achieved more with my technology goals than I thought possible.
As for your 2nd graders slacking in the reading department - are you planning any sort of reading celebration when students achieve their reading goals? Maybe you could invite the parents in to celebrate everyone's progress. I love any sort of activity that promotes reading and involves parents :) and any reading goals that are met and exceeded deserves a party!
Good luck with the rest of your school year and your plan - it's flying by!
Maria
I think its great that you are taking Excel seriously with your second graders.
ReplyDeleteI get very frustrated when I hear adults say things like, "There's no sense in teaching THAT. It's too advanced for them."
I usually find that those that have that attitude are really saying that its too much for them, not the students. If students have the access, they will learn it. It's important to get up to speed as the instructor to prepare to guide students better but often just facilitating is the largest part of learning with technology.