Vocabulary Lesson in my Unit

Here is the lesson plan and student worksheet for my vocabulary mini-lesson, there is no learning plan attached to the lesson plan because the student worksheet is the lesson outline I used to conduct the lesson. For this lesson, I had wanted to extend beyond just learning terms through breaking down definitions and allowing students to understand the lesson vocab in a simulated real life application. So after familiarizing the students with the definitions of the  lesson vocab on quizlet I had students use the vocab of the lesson in a stock market simulation. Using the corresponding worksheet, students responded to questions that applied the vocab in a manner that related to their own faux stock portfolio. The goal of this practice was to provide meaningful context to help students learn and understand the vocab presented to them.

Performance Criterion 3.1: Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active engagement.

This lesson relates to PC 3.1 as the tasks at hand in the lesson required the students to complete independent work to apply vocab in a meaningful way. The engagement factors stems from the tech integration through the student stock trader app. Through the use of this app the goal is that not only do students learn the vocab, but also to give students to use the vocab in a meaningful way that relates to their own personal experience and allows students to simulate how the vocab would be used in a real world setting.

From this process I learned to look at vocabulary in my content area in a whole new light. I realized that in history there are essentially two potential types of vocabulary. The first type is historical content vocab, these would be vocab words that relate to a specific period or event in history. Words such as sharecropping, the holocaust, and the nuremberg trial would fit into this category, these are all related to content as they tie to specific events or periods in history. The second type of vocab in my content area I would consider to be historical theme vocab, these are words that relate to recurring themes throughout history. Words such as revolution, independence, or freedom are all typical historical themes. What sets these terms apart from the prior group is that they can be applied across multiple periods of human history and often have definitions that are more open to interpretation. Considering I was able to to pull this realization out of one lesson building experience I look forward to discovering more ways to approach historical vocab in the future. Looking forward, I also want to begin to identify sets of common historical themes that can relate to vocab found in human history. I feel that through finding common themes in history, I as an educator will be able to both make content more relatable across different historical periods and to the present day experience.

Through this process I’ve also been able to identify that my biggest crutch seems to be my talking pace. Though not approaching hyperspeed I know that my oral communication in a classroom setting can accelerate faster than I can stream my own consciousness. This nervous reaction to speaking in an academic setting can often lead me to move too quickly between points to allow myself to consider what I am going to say next, often leading to accidental “ums” and “likes”. This was also a problem when I first started teaching snowboarding and addressing groups, but as time progressed and I began to gain comfort speaking in that setting those problems faded away. The same I expect will happen as I get to spend more time addressing a formal classroom. What’s great though is that I am now conscious of this problem and have been able to catch myself speaking too fast on a few occasions since teaching this unit. This makes me look forward to the future opportunities I will have to build and hone in this skill and to consider other aspects of oral communication I can improve upon to become a more engaging speaker.

Resource Evaluation

The central resource for my unit is the text “Brother Can You Spare A Dime”, linked here is the resource evaluation I created earlier in the semester for this text. For this resource evaluation I calculated the readability, discussed text organization and structure, language and syntax and a variety of other factors that helped me to analyze whether this text would be appropriate for my unit. I also delved into pre, during and post reading strategies that could be used with the text.

Performance Criterion 7.1: Candidates plan instruction by drawing upon knowledge of content areas to meet rigorous learning goals.

Through completing a resource evaluation I am able to draw upon my own knowledge of the content area to see whether the text is appropriate for the unit I am planning. This in depth process allowed me to put more thought into what reading skills and strategies can be applied to this text as well as, allowing me to begin to think about methods of implementing this text in a meaningful manner.

When reading and using texts in history/social studies I think there are two prevailing factors the texts level of language complexity and content depth, both of which can lead to students “drowning” in the text.With regards to content depth, it’s very important to be sure the text your are supplying is not too broad or too specific.One of the great things about history is the amount of content you have availiable to draw from in the subject matter, but that also means as an educator you have to consider whether the text covers the appropiate amount of content for its intended use. Historical texts also vary greatly in language complexity, and there is definitely a wide breadth of texts in a wide variety of formats within the content area. There are many variables within language complexity as well, before thinking about supplying a text to a student a teacher in my content area must consider things such as authorship, style of source (primary, secondary, tertiary), readability, how accessible the text is to a modern reader and so on. The list of thing to consider with regards to language accessibility is far from scarce.

I think one of the biggest takeaways I’ve had from the use of resources in my own teaching segments and in my placements, is the value of structured note taking exercises and options for historical texts. By providing students with a structured note taking option/assignment allows students to know ahead of time what content to focus on in the text and what I expect them to gain as learners from the text. For students new or uncomfortable with note taking, structured note taking resources can really help students build note taking skills.

Back To Back Mini Lessons

There were a fair amount of materials and resources I used for my back to back mini lessons, so I will do my best to include all of them and my purpose for their use. First here is my lesson plan, my lessons were two twenty minute segments investigating the Great Depression. These first two lessons were an introduction to a larger unit about the Great Depression and understanding historical perspective. For both of these classes my main content resource was “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” by Milton Meltzer. The two lessons were shaped around preparing students to read the text and use the text to support their own faux narrative piece

To begin the unit in the first lesson, I started with a 3-2 pre-assessment, asking students to write three things they know/think they know and two questions they have about the Great Depression. I used this to help me understand the level of comfort and understanding students had with the historical period. Afterwards to hook students, I played a recording of Brother Can You Spare A Dime, which is a period song sharing the same namesake as our text and is based on the struggles of an average American man a year after the market crashed in 1929. Next in the lesson I created a nearpod presentation on a few key vocab terms, such as interest, stocks, shares ect. Through the course of the presentation I had all the students read the definitions aloud and then redefine them in their own words. At the end of the presentation students each took a fill in the blank quiz on nearpod to demonstrate their learning of the vocab words.

Between classes I had students read the first three chapters of our text, to check for reading I had students respond to a low stakes, one question reading quiz that asked students to list one of the six causes of the Great Depression outlined in the text. Afterwards we read a portion of the fourth chapter of the text and then culminated the lessons with a short performance assessment. Students responded to one of two prompts and used information from the text to create their own fictional narratives. At the end of the lesson after finishing the prompts, I handed out the unit final assessment to students.

Performance Criterion 3.1: Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active engagement.

If there was one thing I was really happy with after teaching my two lesson segments, was the level of engagement and participation. Granted, I was teaching my peers and not an actual 9th grade classroom, I still feel though that even though I may have rushed or included too much content in my unit I was able to create an engaging classroom experience. Between group reading strategies that allowed everyone to read and attempts at more creative forms of assessment and content presentation I feel as though the lessons I taught at some level required each student to actively participate in a meaningful manner. I feel as though within the field of history it is easy to slip into a focus solely on teaching and assessing content knowledge, that it can be difficult to reach levels of understanding and to create meaningful performance experiences. I feel as though I created an engaging environment by extending past an emphasis on content knowledge. I gave students opportunities to understand and relate more with the content and an opportunity to “do” the content per se, through a short narrative write.

From this experience with regards to this Performance Criteria, I believe my next step to creating learning environments that support individual learning is to avoid content overload. I think if I were to teach this unit in a classroom setting I would have had too much content for 9th graders. So in the future I believe that I should plan my lessons more loosely and consider that students may need more time to learn and understand concepts. For instance if students are having trouble with a vocab word in a lesson, have time set aside so I can provide a different way of instructing the content.

Performance Criterion 6.1: Candidates implement multiple methods of assessment to monitor learner progress to  inform instructional practice.

Through pre-assessment, formal and summative assessment I was able to reach this criteria in my mini lessons. My first assessment, the 3-2 prea-ssessment allowed me to actually reconsider the part of the focus of my unit. Through asking what students know and questions students had about the depression I was able to have a better understanding of what they already know and they want to learn in the content area. Later on I was able to use nearpod’s built in quiz feature to create a fill in the blank quiz to formatively assess vocab through selected response. Then the final assessment, a performance assessment journal prompt allowed for me to assess student understanding of historical perspective as well as providing a more creative form of assessment. I honestly felt the best part of my lesson was my assessment structures and uses throughout the lesson. With regards to creating assessments in general, I haven’t had much experience forming selected response questions, so in the future I plan to be sure to take some time to practice creating meaningful selected response questions.  

Tech Contract and Tech Letter

Tech Contract

Technology Contract For a Fake School

Teachers, Students, Administrators and Parents are expected to understand and/or follow the parameters laid out in the following document and are subject to punishments and repercussions if these parameters are not followed and/or understood. Please read through and sign the following document and return this to Mr. Boyd by no later than tomorrow.

[  ] Students understand Tech is a privilege

[  ] Guided use is a must

[  ] Understanding not to tamper with soft/hard ware of School Devices.

[  ] No food or drink near tech

[  ] Stay on your own account do not tamper with others.

[  ] Only visiting teacher approved sites

[  ] Headphones and personal devices are only to be used by teacher’s discretion.

[  ] Not sharing personal identification information

[  ] Understand damage forgiveness

[  ] Understand what level of ownership of a device you have     

[  ] I forfeit the rights to have a computer issued by the school.

[  ] Respecting privacy (i.e. not sharing photos of others without permission)

I understand and agree to all of the following, and submit to the consequences if any or all of these are broken.

Student's name.                                     Student's signature.                              Date

_________________________.       ___________________________.    _________

Parent/guardian name.                          Parent/guardian signature.                    Date

_________________________.       ___________________________.    _________

Technology Letter

Fake Union High School

Technology Agreement letter

2016/2017 School Year

Dear Parent or Guardian of a Fake Union High School student, During this transitional period in our school year, our administration has deemed necessary for our students to be allocated the means to interconnectivity through “One to One” technology. Our one to one program is intended to allow students to be immersed in the world of technology through educational formats, in order to propagate interests and proficiency in academic areas whilst allowing educators to further personalize learning in order to better reach and react to their interests.

Leading up to this administrative decision, students have been slowly weaned into the concept and application of technology in the classroom. Many classes already incorporate technology in their classes in the forms of smartphone apps and classroom laptops which students can rent out of our high school library. We believe that this early immersion will act as a broad base for students to expand upon in order for them to greater understand the use and responsibility in accordance with our expectations of this one to one initiative.  

The one to one initiative in our school has a lot to offer your children and we foresee tremendous growth with them through the tools a laptop has to offer. There are many free to download programs that we can use to thoroughly engage our students in nearly every class; other programs that cost money the school is willing to/has purchased for use on the laptops they will be receiving. The laptops offer more opportunity to individualize projects, and also gives them their own time to do their work when at home. When every student has their own computer, they can share information quicker and easier, as well as collaborate more efficiently.

Students are expected to care and maintain for their laptops for the course of the school year. Students are expected to bring their laptop charged to class. If any issues arise with the technology it is imperative that students bring their laptop to the IT department to resolve the issue. Outside of system and program updates students are expected to have school faculty perform maintenance on their tech. Since students are allowed to bring their tech home they can use the computer for personal use as well. Students are allowed to download programs and store data on their laptops. Be aware though at the end of the year the laptops are factory reset so make sure any personal data that you want to keep is saved externally!

        

It is very clear that this will be new to many of you, and you may be uncomfortable with your child having a large responsibility and tool at their disposal. You may be worried, for instance, that your child may not be able to properly take care of such a large responsibility and that they may break it. The school has implemented an insurance policy, wherein an initial fee of 25$ and a deductible of 25$ will cover any accidental damage done to the laptop just in case. You may also be worried that they will be distracted by their computer in school, but we have installed an app that monitors their laptops during and only during school hours, to make sure they are not doing inappropriate tasks. At home, the distractions may be useful to teach your child how to manage time between fun and work. During school, your students will also be taught how to use their laptop and surf the web safely, as well as shape an appropriate online identity.

Attached to this letter is the Fake Union High School Technology Contract which will require you and your child’s careful review and signature. We ask that the content of the contract and the contents of this letter is diligently assessed and that any questions that you or your child may have about the contents are posed to our administration at

FakeUnionHS@gmail.com.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Administrative Staff of Fake Union High School.

Tech Contract and Technology Letter

The Both the technology contract and the technology letter were  group endeavors by myself and other students in the secondary education program. The technology contract is a list of explicit expectations of the students with regards to technological integration in the classroom. Outlining what is permitted and proper conduct in the classroom. An agreement between teacher, student and parent as to how the technology will be implicated in the classroom. The technology letter states the reasoning and offers a more in depth description of the pseudo tech program. Its purpose being to inform students and parents in depth the use and application of tech in our school’s classroom.

Performance Criterion 4.2: Candidates accurately address common misconceptions of the discipline.

I believe through the process of creating both a technology contract and a pseudo letter to parents regarding how technology would be used in the classroom, allowed us as future educators to consider the misconceptions that are often associated with tech implication in a classroom. I feel as though oftentimes tech integration is seen as a cure all for improving a school's educational practices. I believe that going through this exercise really allowed us to consider multiple dimensions that result from the implication of a 1 to 1 technology initiative. That, while technology has the potential to enhance the learning experience of students; its effectiveness relies on the best judgement of the educator. The potential of tech in the classroom is not only limited by its availability but also how effectively it is implicated by the instructor.

Reflection

As a future educator I hope that the use of technology in the classroom can provide the opportunities for a more in depth and complete learning experience for students in the modern age. That with technology comes not only more accessible and more diverse assessment and learning tools but also more pathways for students to accumulate knowledge and engage as citizens in a global community. I believe that technology has the power to empower students by providing more opportunities for students to convey learning and original ideas. I also believe that technology has the potential to create more globally literate individuals, that it has the power to inform provide future generations with the wherewithal to create positive change in the world. I genuinely believe we are at the tip of the iceberg with regards to the way technology will change and reshape the way we interact with each other and the rest of the world. With that being said, the ever increasing complexity of technology and its implications in our world also spearheads my biggest concerns with tech and tech in the classroom. I worry that as a future educator the tech skills I teach the students in my classroom will prove useless or outdated after a short period as tech evolves into new forms and formats.

I think my biggest takeaway from this lesson was the value of clear expectations with regards to tech and the use of technology in the classroom. That explicit and clear understanding between the instructor and their pupils on how they will use tech in the classroom is crucial. Having a set list of boundaries and expectations to refer to create a solid foundation for how technology will be used in the classroom. This lesson also allowed me to further consider the different dimensions of tech integration as well. That the student, teacher and parent/legal guardian each have their own realm of concerns and perspectives on technology in the classroom. Technology is its own wide encompassing dimension that has many implications both in and inside the classroom and like any tool has its own strengths and limitations. When used properly it can enhance the quality of learning but, without proper implication tech can be as effective as hammering a nail with a screwdriver.

El Deafo Panel

El Deafo Panel

The El Deafo panel involved 5 panelists of different experiences with/of deafness and in the deaf community. The panelists responded to questions from a moderator and then opened up to the audience for additional questions. Honestly, prior to this event I had never seen American Sign Language used in person and I was blown away with both how expressive and efficient it was as a language. Generally thinking I don’t think I have done much thought as to what challenges and obstacles deafness in any form could create, or how deafness is a different experience between those with severe hearing loss.

Connection to PC

Performance Criterion 2.2: Candidates use an understanding of diverse cultures and communities to design inclusive learning experiences.

After attending this event I can say without a doubt I have a better understanding of the experience and difficulties that revolve around deafness and hearing loss. Having a better knowledge of the deaf experience will help me to cater to provide better accommodations and approaches to teaching learners with hearing loss. Knowing how hearing loss affects a learner and changes their experience in a classroom makes allows me to be more informed on one of the many diverse learning needs of students. Knowing more about the deaf community also will help me to be more informed on the cultural implications of deafness as well. Allowing for me to be able to have a better understanding of students that may be part of deaf culture, as well as being able to better inform my own students about deaf culture.

Reflection

I think first both from the graphic novel “El Deafo” and the panel I attended I learned a fair amount more about the deaf experience than I had before. As I stated previously this new knowledge will help me to better understand how to inform students about the deaf experience and how better form my approaches to teaching students with hearing loss. Attending this event also made me realize that deafness constitutes for only one of the many diversifying factors of students and that only one factor can be enough to create a diverse spectrum of needs. Each student's brings their own skills and weaknesses to the classroom and to provide the best education possible one must know how to approach the unique needs of each student.

One line that stuck with me from the night was “Don’t make a big deal about it”. Often times I feel when in education when a student with a disability is taken into account they are taken from a disability first standpoint. Meaning that educators and educational institutions focus on addressing the needs of the disability in the classroom but forget about the needs of the student. If the student’s disability becomes the central part of the approach the student may feel singled out from his or her peers. This may lead to the student feeling uncomfortable in the classroom making it even harder to address the student’s needs as they may feel demotivated or stressed. My biggest takeaway from that is what comes first is creating a comfortable learning environment that doesn’t single out students or create exclusivity. That students regardless of their capabilities each have their own realm of concerns and require a safe learning environment.

Stage I – Desired Results
Established Goal(s) [all standards/proficiencies]: D2 His. 4 6-8 Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras D2 His.4 6-8 Explain the multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past D2 Eco 1.6-8 Explain how economic decisions affect the wellbeing of individuals, business & society
Understanding (s): Students will understand that… The different factors and results of the the Great Depression and the Great Recession Form a working understanding of the factors and causes of the Great Depression and Great Recession	Essential Question(s): What impact did the great depression and recession of 2008 have the lives of Americans economically and socially? How were the experiences across each period similar? How were they different? What factors created the conditions for the great depression and recession of 2008? How were the experiences across each period similar? How were they different? What effect do both of these events have on modern day Americans.
Students will know… The different factors and results of the the Great Depression and the Great Recession Students will be able to… Use research skills to pull ideas and content out of historical and narrative texts. Draw connections from the past to understand the lasting influence of these events on American life

The performance assessment I was considering for my unit of study was a group presentation followed by a group discussion to culminate the unit. The first part of the final assessment I would have the class split into two separate groups; one for the Great Depression and another for the 2008 Recession. Each group would independently research for a set portion of the unit and at the end of the research period the groups would create a presentation and teach the other half of the class about their event. Through presenting I would be able to see how effectively students apply their research skills when drawing information through content. The second part of the assessment would involve a class discussion comparing and contrasting the two events around the basis of our essential questions. The group discussion would allow for me to assess understanding at an individual level of the content. Between both of these assessment strategies I feel as though I could reach a fairly competent judgement on whether or not students reach the proficiencies selected for my unit.

Performance Criterion 7.2: Candidates plan instruction by drawing upon knowledge of learners to meet rigorous learning goals.

Through assessing with a presentation and a group discussion I put a significant level of student achievement in the hands of the students. How effectively students use their research skills and allocate time will reflect their level of achievement. How much effort students put towards their own achievement in this unit will reflect on the class’s achievement as well. Since students become responsible for educating their peers the knowledge they acquire and distribute will be what influences the level of understanding and content acquisition of the class. Thus how effectively students learn and distribute their knowledge will determine if the students can achieve proficiency with the standards outlined in the unit.

At this point in time I would argue my lesson plan is in a state of near infancy. Conceptually I believe that I have an understanding of how to reach this performance criteria within my unit. I would argue that I would know how to go about how to using student knowledge to set and meet learning goals. My next steps would be to put the methods of reaching this performance criteria in more concrete terms and then putting them into practice within a classroom. Through specifying assessment I can more clearly display what specific methods I would use in the classroom to demonstrate that student knowledge is directing the learning goals of the unit. Then through putting those methods into practice I can obtain an higher level of proficiency through the act of real world application.  

Education Philosophy and Defining Literacy

Education Philosophy, Explain Everything

-Using the App Explain Everything we were assigned to create a multimedia presentation explaining our education philosophy. The presentation was to be 3-5 minutes long and required insight on at least two theorists/philosophers.

What is Literacy, Shadow Puppet

-Using the App Shadow Puppet in pairs, we defined what digital literacy is and what various forms of literacy there is within our own content areas.

Our graduates are reflective and contemplative practitioners.

The processes through which these projects were created by defining literacy and my educational philosophy were most definitely reflective and contemplative experiences on my pathway to becoming a future educator. Through defining my educational philosophy I was able to think about how my education philosophy will effect my approaches and motivations when teaching. The process made me reevaluate my motivations for teaching and what I’d like to accomplish as a future educator.

Performance Criterion 4.1: Candidates accurately communicate central concepts of the discipline.

Through defining literacy within history with the Shadow Puppet presentation I was able to identify some of the skills required of students within my content area. Thus forming a further understanding of what approaches to take in the classroom to guide students to become proficient and literate historians. Through the explain everything presentation on my education philosophy I was able to identify and explore some of the concepts related to being an educator in general. Allowing me to explore questions such as what are my goals and intentions as an educator, what approaches will I take when presenting an idea or concept or what approaches can be taken to help students discover and learn on their own tuition.

If the goal of education is to give individuals the skill sets to succeed within their respective society, than curriculum is the approach to providing those skill sets to students and literacy is the level of comprehension in each respective skill set. Through defining my education philosophy and defining what literacy means within my content area, I was able to further my understanding of the connection between literacy and curriculum. Within Social Studies research skills and the ability to contextualize content is part of being a literate individual in the field. Thus curriculum is the approach through which educators take to provide to provide those skill sets. Defining the specific literacy within my content area helped me to further refine ways to approach teaching. By forming a working understanding of what it means to be proficient in a skill set one can begin to form objective goals for their students to reach that proficiency. For example, through creating my presentation on the different forms of literacy within history I was able to further conceptualize curriculum forming questions within the field. Through doing so I was also coming to the realization that curriculum is built around objective literacy goals and the approaches through which to obtain those goals.  

When researching Critical Theory/Reconstructionism one specific quote kept coming into mind by Albert Einstein “No problem can be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it.” I found that quote to be congruent with the themes of Critical Theory. Through researching my education philosophy I reaffirmed my personal held belief that teaching is a necessary good for a society to be prepared to carry on in an ever more complex world.

Reflection on Adolescent Dev. Case Study

Performance Criterion 1.1: Designs Developmentally Appropriate Learning Experiences

Through my case study I saw examples of developmentally appropriate learning experiences in use within his high school. Although my examples are limited by the experience MK has described to me and the material his teachers provided, I can definitely say in the case of my student I saw examples of good content and material use to improve the learning experience of my student. One specific instance is his teacher’s use of Newsela as a tool to help english language learners. Newsela is a program that provides periodical articles with a choose your own reading level feature. Users of the program can read the same article with different language complexities with numerical measurements for the complexity of the language. For ELL students and students that may struggle with reading this is a great resource that allows students to develop at their reading at their own pace as they have the power to choose reading appropriate to them.

Another example of developmentally appropriate learning in action in MK’s high school is through the dedicated education plan that exists for ELL students. The fact that the school possesses the know how and resources to educate non-english students is remarkable. Having specialized instructors and a specialized program to address a student need is a direct approach to developmentally appropriate learning. By catering to the specific need of a group of students and addressing the reality of that need the school is taking the direct approach to create an appropriate learning experience for these students.

Performance Criterion 2.1: Designs Inclusive Learning Experiences

The program MK’s high school has created or ELL students is an example of dedicated inclusive learning at work. The dedication of teachers and a learning space to address the need for a portion of the school’s students. By doing as such the school district accommodates for the needs of students that are often excluded in a typical classroom setting due to their language barrier. Having such a program allows for students to more smoothly transition into an english learning environment. Thus creating an approach to inclusive learning through addressing the developmental needs of your students.

Adolescent Dev. Case Study Link

Getting Better Through Authentic Feedback

Here is a video I found about a teacher taking a unique approach to feedback, through student lead focus groups. Every so often the teacher meets with chosen students to receive feedback on his own teaching. By doing so the teacher creates a unique opportunity to gain a student perspective on the teacher’s performance. I really appreciate this approach to feedback because it really creates an opportunity for discussions that often do not happen between a teacher and student. I see this method as an intriguing way to enter the mind of one’s own students and definitely intend to use such a practice in my classrooms in the future.