http://www.npr.org/sections/education/
This website will take you to the National Public Radio website under the education heading. These pod casts talk about current events in the educational field. It also talks about the hot topics and controversial items that come up in the world of education. This website also lets you listen to pod casts from other subjects that may interest you!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Teaching Learning Theories
In the chapter about foundations for instructional design it talked about many different theories that are found. In the explanation of the theories it talked about what the state consist of and what tools are best to help learning in that state. In the question at the end of the chapter it asked how would you teach learners how to calculate and compare items that are of various sizes and brands of the same product. In order to figure out the question that I was having to ask my students I had to think of a product that I could use so I knew how to answer the question of describing how I would teach it. So I chose to use pop as my product. Students would focus on Coke products, Pepsi products and store brand products in the sizes of 12 oz., 20 oz. and a 2 liter size.
For the cognitive information processing theory it mentioned that children need to learn and use attention, encoding and retrieval. I would have products in each size and from the three different brands as a visual so students could see them and know what we were talking about. I would not tell them the name brands or the sizes of the items. I would then have children get into groups with a partner and talk about what they already know about each of the bottles (sizes, brands, where they have seen them, have they tried them etc.). Also I would have them compare and group up bottles with similar sizes so that they can see the similarities and differences. I would then have the class come back as a whole group and make a chart about what we already know about the bottles and brands based on their small group discussions. I would also give feedback of items that they didn't mention or to correct a response about the sizes and ounces amount. I would have children think about math skills that we have used in the past and that we have learned and have them get into their small groups again to think how can we figure out the price per ounce of a 12 oz. bottle of coke that cost $1.50 at the store. After they brainstormed the ideas I would then meet whole group again and we would try them out and see which ones worked and which didn't.
Another theory that I read about was the Schema Theory and Cognitive Load. In this part of the article it talked about how these learners need work examples,partial work problems and diagrams. If I were teaching students using this type of theory I would do a whole group brainstorming event. I would give the class the category of pop and ask them to name all the brands that they can think of and the sizes. Then we would limit it down to three sizes and three brands. I would then tell the students that we need to figure out how we would find the price per ounce for each brand and size. I would show the children work examples of how to complete the process and I would work through one in front of the whole class so they could see the results. I would then have children get back into their small groups to work on some problems. I would give each group a paper that has partial problems on it and they can work together to finish them. After they were finished we would come back together and go through the problems as a whole group to find the answers. I would then graph the results on a bar graph so the students are able to see the differences and similarities.
For the cognitive information processing theory it mentioned that children need to learn and use attention, encoding and retrieval. I would have products in each size and from the three different brands as a visual so students could see them and know what we were talking about. I would not tell them the name brands or the sizes of the items. I would then have children get into groups with a partner and talk about what they already know about each of the bottles (sizes, brands, where they have seen them, have they tried them etc.). Also I would have them compare and group up bottles with similar sizes so that they can see the similarities and differences. I would then have the class come back as a whole group and make a chart about what we already know about the bottles and brands based on their small group discussions. I would also give feedback of items that they didn't mention or to correct a response about the sizes and ounces amount. I would have children think about math skills that we have used in the past and that we have learned and have them get into their small groups again to think how can we figure out the price per ounce of a 12 oz. bottle of coke that cost $1.50 at the store. After they brainstormed the ideas I would then meet whole group again and we would try them out and see which ones worked and which didn't.
Another theory that I read about was the Schema Theory and Cognitive Load. In this part of the article it talked about how these learners need work examples,partial work problems and diagrams. If I were teaching students using this type of theory I would do a whole group brainstorming event. I would give the class the category of pop and ask them to name all the brands that they can think of and the sizes. Then we would limit it down to three sizes and three brands. I would then tell the students that we need to figure out how we would find the price per ounce for each brand and size. I would show the children work examples of how to complete the process and I would work through one in front of the whole class so they could see the results. I would then have children get back into their small groups to work on some problems. I would give each group a paper that has partial problems on it and they can work together to finish them. After they were finished we would come back together and go through the problems as a whole group to find the answers. I would then graph the results on a bar graph so the students are able to see the differences and similarities.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Article Reflection on A History of Instructional Design and Technology
In this article there was a scenario about using wireless computers in the classroom and at home for a whole year. The question that was brought up was how does this project have very little effect on the instructional practices that teachers use.
There are many reasons that this project would not work with instruction. One of the reasons that there is no effect on the instructional teaching practices is because that teachers think that there is no use for instructional purpose or they do not want to change their routines and schedules, especially teachers that have been set in their ways for years. They can get the supplies and think of some short, quick ways to use them, but when it comes to teaching the core subjects, they tend to fall back to their old habits. Another reason is that teachers do not have the training in computers, yes most people know how to use a word document and a variety of other items, but do they really know the tricks and gadgets that can help students? I am one that doesn't, I never knew about half the things that we have been doing in this class, so there is no way for me to teach children about them. It also depends on how much training a person gets, if you teach them one thing one day, chances are they are not going to use it because they do not feel comfortable. The third reason that this project had very little effect on teaching instruction is because teachers only used them for certain things. In the book it described that in elementary computers were used for drills and practice and in later grades they were used for teaching computer skills like word processing. Teachers again are stuck in certain ruts and do not have the tools or knowledge to go beyond the basic with technology.
I think some factors that could help to contribute to the project to make it more effective is teacher, staff and student training. This is something that could benefit all school employees, so everyone is on the same page. Teach a new product or media and then let people explore it and play with it, like we do in this class. I know that I can learn so much better by doing rather then studying or listening about something. There are so many resources available out there and some students will benefit because they need a variety and choices when learning to find their understanding. The other factor that would help to contribute to the project is showing teachers the benefits of using the computers. This goes along with the choices thing I mentioned above. Computers could benefit so many children with various learning styles. They could help them to show their learning and gain their learning better then school issued supplies like textbooks. I think that teachers and students would have more fun, gain more knowledge and be better learners with the help of computers, if they were trained and comfortable with the use of them!
There are many reasons that this project would not work with instruction. One of the reasons that there is no effect on the instructional teaching practices is because that teachers think that there is no use for instructional purpose or they do not want to change their routines and schedules, especially teachers that have been set in their ways for years. They can get the supplies and think of some short, quick ways to use them, but when it comes to teaching the core subjects, they tend to fall back to their old habits. Another reason is that teachers do not have the training in computers, yes most people know how to use a word document and a variety of other items, but do they really know the tricks and gadgets that can help students? I am one that doesn't, I never knew about half the things that we have been doing in this class, so there is no way for me to teach children about them. It also depends on how much training a person gets, if you teach them one thing one day, chances are they are not going to use it because they do not feel comfortable. The third reason that this project had very little effect on teaching instruction is because teachers only used them for certain things. In the book it described that in elementary computers were used for drills and practice and in later grades they were used for teaching computer skills like word processing. Teachers again are stuck in certain ruts and do not have the tools or knowledge to go beyond the basic with technology.
I think some factors that could help to contribute to the project to make it more effective is teacher, staff and student training. This is something that could benefit all school employees, so everyone is on the same page. Teach a new product or media and then let people explore it and play with it, like we do in this class. I know that I can learn so much better by doing rather then studying or listening about something. There are so many resources available out there and some students will benefit because they need a variety and choices when learning to find their understanding. The other factor that would help to contribute to the project is showing teachers the benefits of using the computers. This goes along with the choices thing I mentioned above. Computers could benefit so many children with various learning styles. They could help them to show their learning and gain their learning better then school issued supplies like textbooks. I think that teachers and students would have more fun, gain more knowledge and be better learners with the help of computers, if they were trained and comfortable with the use of them!
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