Blog Assignment #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

   In this blog post, we were asked to answer the above question. The first source that was reviewed was Brian Crosby's video "Back to the Future". Brian Crosby is a teacher at Agnes Risley Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada. In this video, Crosby discusses the negative effects of having a narrow curriculum. A narrow curriculum, he believes, prevents students from building a world schema, which makes imagining what something could be hard due to the fact that they don't know what it is even about. Crosby also asks, "if you don't have imagination or creativity, then where do you build passion from?" You have to be able to imagine what you want your goals to be in your life in order to build a passion to pursue that goal. Crosby speaks on actively engaging your students to lessons, and how you can take one idea and create several lessons from that one idea (i.e. science can be science and history, and language can be language and reading). He also promotes blogging, which promotes student collaboration.

   The second video we watched was "Blended Learning Cycle" by Paul Anderson, a high school AP biology teacher Bozeman, Montana. In this video, he describes his blended classroom, which consists of a combination of online, mobile, and classroom experiences. He also introduces the five E's: engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. Anderson also explains the blended learning cycle using his QUIVERS acronym: start off with a good Question, investigate/inquire, video, evaluation, review, summary quiz. These are the six components that make up a blended learning cycle.

   The third video was "Making Things Visible" by Mark Church. In this video, Church discusses documenting students' thinking. He believes teachers should focus on connecting, exploring, and moving certain ideas forward so observers can have the opportunity to assess thinking. He continues to talk about how teachers should make thinking more visible. This appeals to the visual learner. Students should be able to not only see, but more ideas forward.

   The fourth video was "Sam Pane 4th Grade". In this video, Sam Pane explains to his students how to use the internet safely. Pane focuses on how he allows his students to discuss answers to questions within a group, and then discuss them aloud. He then explains to his students how they can make their own digital super hero. Pane then allows his students to create their own super heroes, and furthers his lesson by adapting it to an ELA lesson by allowing the students to write their own comic books! How cool is that?! After they are done, students go around and look at one another's work. This merges ELA into technology, and students are fulfilling ELA standards such as writing a narrative to a developed imagined experience or event, analyzing how visual and multimedia elements contribute to text, and asking and answering questions. The students are doing all of this by just having fun with a digital super hero, and probably don't even realize it.

   The fifth video was "Project Based Learning" by Dean Shareski. In this video, Shareski begins by telling how research shows that by using integrated studies by using projects increases students' engagement and provides the opportunity for a student to deeply understand the material, which is harder to do in a segregated learning environment. He focuses on technology being used as a tool to enhance students' learning, and as a tool to bring material to life. Shareski also discusses how project based learning leaves students feeling proud of themselves.

   The last video was "Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program" by Trish Relly Taylor. In this video, Taylor discusses project based learning, defining it as an in-depth learning that integrates thematic instruction with something that is "real-world" problem solving. It is also research based. Taylor explains how project based learning allows students to think for themselves, and shows that the student really understands the material being taught. She tells of how it is also a great learning environment for students because it is all about student choice, which gives students a feeling of empowerment. Taylor also describes how it promotes 21st century skills that student need in the real world work environment. Project based learning promotes individual and group learning, lesson differentiation, and easy access to incorporating multiple intelligences into a lesson.

   These videos have taught the advantages and enhancing powers of project based learning. It shows how so many different teachers in different areas are able to enhance their students learning and mesh subjects by using project based learning. What we can learn about teaching and learning from these teachers is that learning has evolved into something that is actively involved and ventured beyond the walls of the classroom.