UDL: Sharing Ideas, Building Resources, Part Two

Brain Research/Three Principles:

Recognition networks – the “what” of learning

Strategic networks – the “how” of learning

Affective networks – the “why” of learning

(retrieved from www.cast.org)

Learning Differences:

“Brain functioning depends on what is being learned and the learners current level of expertise with the topic (Laureate, 2010).”
Different parts of the brain are activated by how the learner reacts to things and by which teaching method is being used, such as kinesthetic type lessons.

UDL supports cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and academic diversity.  UDL reduces barriers for learning, provides tools that are flexible and diverse, and engages/challenges all types of learners.  There are technology tools to address brain research through UDL.

CAST Online Tools:

1.       Lesson Builder – provides educators with models and tools to create and adapt lesson plans for a more centered UDL environment

http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/

2.      Class Profile Maker – allows educators to easily get to know their students and find out which brain networks their students use.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/classprofile.cfm

3.      Strategy Tutor – provides a resource for students to get help with reading, researching the Web, taking notes, etc.

http://cst.cast.org/cst/auth-login

References:

Center for Applied Special Technologies, CAST, retrieved from http://www.cast.org/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012a). Program number 5: Universal Design for Learning [Video webcast]. In Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology.

UDL: Sharing Ideas, Building Resources, Part One

 “Educating students with disabilities is a collective responsibility.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunity to learn.  (www.cast.org)

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.  (www.cast.org)

Examples of UDL in physical environment:

·         Ramps for wheel chairs

·         Doors that automatically open from pushing a button

Both of these examples might be seen in various businesses, schools or even in homes.

Three Principles of UDL:

1.       Multiple means or representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge.

2.      Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know.

3.      Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation

(retrieved from www.cast.org)

Universal Design for Learning-
Builds maximum flexibility into the curriculum, provides every student with the maximum opportunity to learn, provides alternatives so that every student can learn, and builds flexibility into curricular materials  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

Role of Technology:
Technology allows students to have access to learning and learning environments, to materials for learning, and to be able to have the same experience as other students.

Examples of Technology:
Calculators, speech devices, enlarged monitors and/or keyboards, laptap computers

Impact of UDL in my School Environment:
Through the use of UDL, all students can learn and can have the same learning experiences.  UDL offers a “barrier free” learning environment to ensure success for all.  UDL offers a positive learning environment with the options being endless.  Students are able to collaborate with others to learn as well.

References:

Center for Applied Special Technologies, CAST, retrieved from http://www.cast.org/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012a). Program number 5: Universal Design for Learning [Video webcast]. In Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology. 

GAME Plan Reflection

Throughout this process of developing a GAME plan and carrying out, I've learned a lot about goal setting, planning, and about myself.  I was successful with carrying out my goals and meeting my goals of being more technological in my classroom and within my lessons.  I've learned new ways to incorporate technology into my daily lessons and content areas.  I've become more active with sharing ideas with my teammates and becoming more of a role model/facilitator with technology amongst my team.  I can tell that my students are more engaged while using the SMART Board and laptops more often.  I also feel less stressed with integrating content areas into the technology components.  I feel that I am using my time more wisely and efficiently in ym classroom.  This process makes me excited to begin next school year with the knowledge and understanding that I have about technology.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

It's important to remember to monitor your progress when beginning a journey or plan like this.  So far, I am very proud of my growth and learning experience.  This past Wednesday at school, my 1st grade team had our usual collaborative planning afternoon.  During this time, I made a point to have a discussion about integrating technology into our content areas.  We shared ideas that we have found to use with the SMART Board and various assessments that we had created to use with our iRespond remotes.  I was excited too because not only did I gain new SMART Board ideas/lessons, but I learned about some great resources to use that will get my students up to the SMART Board more rather than me just using it for a teaching tool.  On Thursday and Friday, I taught my students about different things that I learned.  An "Aha!" moment for my 1st graders was when I used the words "I learned something and I want to share it with you...".  My students were so amazed that "I" am still learning about things and I explained to them that even adults still like to learn about new things.  We are all life-long learners.  I think this "mini" lesson turned out to be a "huge" learning lesson for my 1st graders.  :)

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

Through this journey, I will work through the process of developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating my personal GAME plan.  In order to carry out this plan, I will need recources.  Something that I am currently doing in my GAME plan, is discussing and sharing ideas with colleagues.  I am fortunate to work with some incredible 1st grade teachers with whom I am constantly sharing different SMART Board activities/lessons with.  We do a great job of communicating ideas with one another to better our students.  I have also been to two trainings since beginning this GAME plan.  The trainings were about using the technology in my classroom and sharing SMART Board activities/lessons that will get the kids up more and not just me standing there talking and using it.  I plan to continue my online research of finding more ways to use technology with my students on a daily basis.  Since the beginning of this school year, I can already tell a difference in how I teach and how much more my students are learning.  This makes me excited to continue this journey and see where it takes me.

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

Teachers are often self-directed learners…

We create lessons plans (Goals)

We teach lesson plans (Actions)

We monitor student learning (Monitor)

We evaluate student progress and teacher effectiveness (Evaluate)

After examining http://www.iste.org/ and the NETS-T, I chose to focus on number two…

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.

My goals are to design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity and also to provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

The action that I plan to take is to search for research-based lessons using technology tools to help give me some ideas of how I can better use the technology tools that I have in my classroom with my students.  I also would like to become more fluent on our iRespond to use with my students for assessment and data collection. 

I will monitor my progress by making sure that at least once a week I designing, developing, and evaluating authentic learning experiences and trying something new and different each week with my students, whether it’s a lesson or a type of assessment.  (This I feel is the hardest part of the GAME plan.  I’m not sure how I should monitor myself and would love feedback or ideas for this.)

I can evaluate my progress by making sure that my students are still learning the content and by looking closely as student data from assessments.  I could also ask for a peer or administrator to observe me using technology tools in a lesson to evaluate my effectiveness and offer me feedback for growing more as an educator.

http://www.iste.org/

Reflection: Enhancing Instruction with Technology

Throughout this course, I have learned how to use technology in my instruction taking in the ideas of the various leaning theories.  Dr. Wolfe helped me to understand the brain and how the brain can affect teaching methods.  I also developed a personal learning theory.  Throughout this course, I have reflected on my personal learning theory and believe that my personal learning theory portrays everything that I've learned.  We also learned about the behaviorist learning theory.  Behaviorist learning theory strongly influenced instructional practice in the 20th century and continues to influence practice today, particularly in the area of classroom management.  Cognitive learning theory marks a shift in focus from the role of behavior in learning to the various mental processes associated with learning and memory.  We also learned about various technology tools that exhibit these learning theories that could easily be integrated into instructional practice.  Concept mapping tools and virtual field trips are examples of great technology tools that teachers could use in the classroom.  Constructivist theory incorporates the cognitivist ideals about the brain’s function in learning, and further asserts that through these cognitive processes, each individual constructs unique and distinct understandings.  While learning about the constructivist theory, we were able to explore voice threads.  This is another example of a technology tool that teachers could so easily integrate into the classroom.  While constructivist learning theory states that we build our own unique understandings of the world around us, social learning theory adds that we construct meaning primarily through our interactions with others and with our environment.  This is a learning theory that is going to constantly grow and become more evident in schools because of all of the new social networking tools available.  Dr. Pickering and Dr. Marzano teach us about the nine instructional startegies.  These startegies make teaching successful and enhance student learning.

My 1st Voice Thread!

http://voicethread.com/share/2302866/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

With social learning theories, students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others.  Collaborative and cooperative learning are key components in the social learning theory of connectivism.  Cooperative learning refers to the numerous methods of grouping students.  Cooperative learning takes a closer look at the potential benefits for learners.  Effective cooperative learning occurs when students work together to accomplish shared goals and when positive factors are in place to support them.  Students help each other learn and encourage individual team members’ success.  Interpersonal and small-group skills are in place, including communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and time management.  Grouping students to work collaboratively and cooperatively offers benefits for learners.  Teachers who are successful at facilitating cooperative learning employ research-based strategies.

Constructivism in Practice

“Generating and Testing Hypotheses” is an instructional strategy that embeds technology and also incorporates the components of the constructivist learning theory.  Dr. Orey states that the constructivist learning theory is a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning.  Effective teachers create learning opportunities in the classroom through inquiry, which means asking “good” questions.  These kinds of questions generate hypotheses and prediction, which in turn can create higher level thinking in the classroom.  Students deepen their understanding of key skills through this type of learning experience.  When we think of testing hypotheses and inquiry, we instantly think of science, but this instructional strategy can easily be integrated into all content areas.

Cognitivism in Practice

Cues, questions, and advanced organizers are among the tools and strategies that teachers use to set the stage for learning.  These tools create a framework that helps students focus on what they are about to learn.  Asking questions and prompting students' replies with cues are strategies that come naturally to most teachers.  Like questions, advance organizers are also commonly used to help set the stage for instruction.  Graphic organizers show how new ideas or concepts relate, providing students with a visual framework for acquiring and organizing new information.  Teachers want the time spent planning and teaching to generate the most effective and sustained learning.  By implementing the recommendations below focused on cues, questions, and advance organizers teachers can gain from research and maximize effort.

Effective summarizing leads to an increase in student learning.  Helping students recognize how information is structured will help them summarize what they read or hear.  Note taking is a related strategy that teachers use to support student learning.  Teachers can prompt students to review and refine their notes, particularly when it is time to prepare for an exam, write a research paper, or other summative assessment of learning.  By deliberately teaching the skills of summarizing and note taking, teachers provide students with a stronger foundation for learning by employing research-based strategies. 

The Cognitive Learning Theory explains why the brain is the most incredible network of information processing and interpretation in the body as we learn things.  Using various strategies such as “cues, questions, and advanced organizers” and “summarizing and note taking”, incorporates the ideas from the cognitive learning theory by stimulating the brain to think/learn in different ways.

Concept mapping is a tool used to represent relationships between ideas, images, or words.  Concept mapping is a way to develop logical thinking and develop study skills.  Virtual field trips create episodic memories.  They allow the opportunity to “go” where you physically cannot.  It’s a way to “witness” history and engage in critical thinking activities.  Both of these exciting technology tools incorporate the ideas of the cognitive learning theory and feed into how students’ brains work/learn best.

Behaviorism in Practice

“Reinforcing Effort” and “Homework and Practice”

Although research on learning tends to focus on instructional strategies related to subject matter, students' beliefs and attitudes have a significant effect on their success or failure in school.  Reinforcing effort strategies address students' attitudes and beliefs.  Most students are not aware of the importance of believing that their level of effort is related to their achievement.  When students are rewarded or praised for achieving specific goals, their level of achievement is higher. 

Homework and practice are related, connected by the context when students are learning on their own and applying new knowledge.  Homework and practice both provide opportunities for students practice, review, and apply knowledge.  It also enhances a student's ability to reach a level of expected proficiency for a skill or concept.  Research referenced from our resources indicated students need to practice a skill 24 times to reach 80% competency, with the first four practices yielding the greatest effect.  Research on homework indicates that it should be approached not as an afterthought to the school day, but as a focused strategy for increasing understanding.  Practice means students are engaged in applying new learning, often repeatedly. The goal of practice is for students to get as close to mastery as possible.

These instructional strategies portray the behaviorist learning theory because with “reinforcing effort” one is reinforcing desirable behavior by rewards and praise and with “homework and practice” one is repeatedly practices desirable behaviors and thus being successful.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. Behaviorist learning theory. Baltimore: Author.

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviorist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm

Reflection

This course has taught me many new technology skills that I will be able to use as an educator in my classroom.  My view on what 21^st-century skills are has been enlightened to a new level.  I have learned that 21^st-century skills mean information literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, teamwork and collaboration, information technology, leadership, creativity and innovative thinking, life-long learning, self-direction, professionalism, ethics, and social responsibility.  Before this course, I had very minimal knowledge about blogs and had no knowledge about wikis and podcasts.  Not only did I learn about these technology tools, but I learned how to integrate them into my classroom.  By using these new technology tools, the kids will be more engaged and more prepared for society.  This course has also taught me to think differently when planning lessons.  This course and technology has deepened my knowledge of the teaching process and learning process.  As a teacher, it is important for me to see my lessons and my classroom as learner-centered rather than teacher-centered.  How the kids are learning is so important for teachers to understand.  In order to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology in order to expand student achievement, I will implement everything that I have learned, stay current with technology tools/skills, and promise to provide my students with the technological learning environment that they deserve in this 21^st-century world.  Two long-term goals for myself include: Developing a classroom blog for the students and parents to interact with and really implementing the 21^st-century skills listed above into my daily lessons.

Podcast Assignment: Profiling the Students of Today

Click the link below to hear my latest podcast!

http://linzobrien9.podomatic.com/entry/2011-07-31T09_38_21-07_00

1st Attempt @ Podcasting

http://linzobrien9.podomatic.com/entry/2011-07-24T09_00_42-07_00

21st-Century Skills

Partnership for 21^st-Century Skills Website

www.p21.org

P21 is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student.  This organization believes that critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation are key skills for the 21^st-century.  I agree with the beliefs and ideas of this website and feel that they are similar to what Dr. Thornburg and Dr. Dede believe.  I especially liked the layout of the framework for 21^st-century skills.  The framework consists of core subjects, 21^st-century content, learning and thinking skills, information and communications technology, life skills, and 21^st-century assessments.   There are various online tools, resources, and links for 21^st-century skills.  I was disappointed to see that Georgia was not listed under their state initiatives.  Overall, it’s a great informative website for 21^st-century skills.

Blogs in the Classroom

After creating a blog, I needed to figure out how I would utilize a blog in my classroom.  My blog will focus on 1st grade and will incorporate all subject areas.  I plan to use my blog as my classroom website.  The blog will serve the purpose of communication between myself and my students' families.  On this blog I will include a calendar of events, homework calendar, various links to other educational websites/games, classwork from our class, pictures from fun activities that we've done, and other helpful tips/information needed for parents and familes.  I would teach my students how to access our class blog, so that they would be able to interact with it from home with the help from their parents.  This would make it fun for the kids.  They could go on our blog and write comments about lessons/activities they liked or comment on class photos.  I also feel that by utilizing a class blog, the parent support/interaction would increase.  Parents would have the opportunity to look at what we're doing at school.  Parents would be able to see hall displays and class bulletin boards with just a click of the mouse.  Also, by having a class blog, students are more likely to be more motivated to want to increase their technology skills.  I could easily incorporate our class blog into technology lessons to spark their interest.  Making learning more realistic with our class blog will increase engagement and learning.  I believe that a blog is a good tool for instructional context because it will increase engagement while teaching students various technology skills needed for learning and real-world situations.

I have a blog?!

So, I just created my own blog and I'm so excited about it!  I'm new to the "blogging world", so I would love to hear some of your helpful hints, tips, and ideas!