Week 8 Reflection

Dr. Douglas Hartman discussed the need to better prepare our students when he stated, “We really need to prepare them for their future not our past. Our past was rooted in book culture. The future will be rooted in online and digital media” (Laureate, 2009). As educators we must strive to prepare our students to be successful in this ever-changing technological society.

One striking revelation that I had during this course was my realization of the importance of teaching my students how to safely and effectively search for information using the Internet. In my history class, my students use the Internet on a regular basis to gather information. I usually provide links on my webpage so that students are not wasting class time searching. However, there are times when my students are conducting research on a variety of topics, and it would not be feasible for me to find resources for all of my 8th grade students. Because of this course, I have a better understanding of the need to teach students to think critically about the information that they find on the Internet. Being able to recognize and analyze key pieces of information included in the URL will help my students narrow down which sites are reliable and which ones are personal opinions (November, 2008). Because of this course, I now have the skills to help my student identify valid and reliable sources on the Internet.

In the future, one goal that I have is to spend more time modeling for my students how to conduct effective searches using key words that are not too broad or too narrow. I will also model how to evaluate the usefulness as well as the reliability and validity of each site (Eagleton and Dobler, 2007). To accomplish this goal, I will show my students the iMovie that I created where I recorded my thoughts as I analyzed the website www.martinlutherking.org/ which was clearly created to mislead and confuse students instead of providing them with factual information. Modeling using this teacher think aloud strategy will provide my students with an effective example of how to find reliable information on the Internet.

As an 8th grade teacher, I have the unique responsibility of teaching United States history to students who think history is boring and not relevant to their lives today. This is a real challenge. As an educator, I try and bring history to life for my students by showing them the relationships between history and today. Project based learning helps me to do this. Project based learning is described as fostering creativity and critical thinking skills while encouraging responsibility by allowing students to express their learning in different ways (Laureate, 2009). By the end of each school year, I believe my students have a better understanding of United States history as well as a better understanding of the need to continue learning.

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousands Oaks: Corwin Press.

Reflection: Week 8

This course has reinforced my personal theory of learning. I still believe that as educators it is our job to tap into the different learning styles of our students and provide a variety of strategies that will allow our students to demonstrate their knowledge. Throughout this course, I have learned some new techniques to accomplish this. I plan to use voice threads as another way for my students to communicate their thoughts and ideas. My students respond regularly to our classroom blog, but this format will provide students with a different option. Another tool that I cannot wait to try in my classroom is the idea of a virtual fieldtrip. This resource will be amazing for my students. Students will be able to visit locations using their computers that they would otherwise not be able to access. One long-term goal that I have for technology integration in my classroom includes finding new ways for students to communicate with other students in other districts or around the world. I have heard of Skype, but have never used this application. I think this could be a great tool for my middle school students to communicate their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Another goal that I have is to create more units of study that allow students to choose the application that they feel most comfortable with to share their knowledge of United States History. It takes a little more planning on my part to create rubrics that can be used to fairly assess different programs, but the benefit is worth the effort. Students are more willing to complete assignments when there is choice involved and they feel as if they have some ownership of their learning.

Voice Thread

Check out my voice thread which focuses on parent involvement at the middle school level.


http://voicethread.com/share/518639/

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning plays an essential role in the education process. In my opinion, students need to be presented with information in a variety of ways. Students need to learn how to successfully read a non-fiction passage and pick out the main ideas. Students need to be able to listen to a lecture and stay focused. Students also need to be able to watch a short video and see how it connects to what they are studying. Lastly, students need to be taught how to effectively work in a group setting.

From my experience, middle school students are very social. They really love working in cooperative groups. While this can be a good thing, it can also be a struggle. Middle school kids often settle into cliques and are not friendly with all students. This can make it difficult to work cooperatively. Some students at this age are also not motivated by grades and do not work hard to achieve success at this level. It can be very frustrating for an honor roll student to be asked to work with a student who has yet to complete an assignment on time.

To avoid some of these issues, I usually randomly assign my groups. I pull names out of a hat while students are present. My students are not allowed to comment positively or negatively during this process. Also, students are given specific tasks within the group. Students are graded on their piece of the whole. No student is penalized because someone in the group is slacking. Students are provided with detailed instructions, rubrics, links, student examples, etc. This information is also posted on my webpage. I have found that when I am organized, my expectations are clear, and I provide support throughout the collaborative process, my students are able to be successful in a cooperative learning situation.

Systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making are the six tasks that teachers can use to help students generate and test hypotheses (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K..2007). Decision-making is a task that can easily be incorporated in a middle school classroom. Over the years, I have found that middle school students love to formulate their own opinions and then discuss and debate them with their classmates. Using Decisions, Decisions computer software from Tom Snyder productions, students can participate in a real world problem based simulation. For example, earlier this year my students took on the role of President of the United States in a simulation. Our country was facing a severe energy shortage. Students had to use their knowledge of colonization and apply it to the simulation in which they were faced with the prospect of colonizing space.

Several years ago, I wrote a grant to purchase several of these simulations. They are amazing and my middle school students love them. They are thrilled that someone wants to hear their opinion. As the year progresses, they are able to articulate and prove their point of view often swaying classmates in the decision making process. With the use of simulations such as these, students are able to problem solve and develop critical thinking skills. It takes more time and effort on the part of the teacher to organize the simulation and manage the class, but it is worth it. When students actively participate in their learning, it will be more meaningful.


Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cues, questions, and advance organizers are great tools to help students get focused at the beginning of a lesson. One strategy that was mentioned in the reading for this week focused on preparing for a field trip. Providing students with the opportunity to research and create a brochure that includes maps, facts, pictures, and an agenda will help students to be more focused and learn more from the experience. Another strategy that was mentioned focused on providing students with a preview of what they are going to learn during a chapter or unit. Several teachers in our building use this strategy by setting a goal for the day, week, month, and quarter. Students are well aware of the expectations and what they are going to learn during the time frame. Using programs like Kidspiration to create an organizer will help students by providing an essential question to guide their learning. The primary focus at our school is responding to text and using higher level questioning. An organizer like this will help students with both of these goals. Throughout the lesson or unit, students could add and organize information as it is taught. Using multimedia resources including web sites, BrainPop and United Streaming are great ways to help students get settled in and focused while allowing teachers the opportunity to teach from bell to bell (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K..2007).



Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Reinforcing effort can lead to greater student success. After completing the reading for this week, I have decided to incorporate the idea of using spreadsheet software to help students see the relationship between their effort and their successes. The eighth grade language arts teacher in our school creates a class chart which shows students the correlation between the number of zeros on homework assignments and the number of students failing at midterm and the end of the quarter. This is a great tool to show middle school students the relationship between failing grades and a lack of effort. While this is effective, I think having students track their individual effort in relationship to their successes and failures would be even more beneficial. Our school is lucky enough to be a part of a one to one initiative which allows each of our students access to their own laptops throughout the school year. Students would easily be able to use their laptop to track their progress. They will see the relationship between working hard and doing well.

As a history teacher, I do feel that homework is an effective assessment tool. I never give assignments as busy work. If I assign something, it is because the work is important and has value. My homework policy is clearly communicated to my students at the beginning of the year. Throughout the year, the format for assignments is varied so that students are able to tap into their different strengths and learning styles. The majority of the time, homework is graded and I provide evaluative feedback only. I have made it my goal, however, to provide more descriptive feedback which I feel is more beneficial.

The district that I teach in uses primarily Apple computers. When I began teaching, we used ClarisWorks for word processing. We then graduated to AppleWorks and now Word. This summer we are being trained in Pages. The reading for this week provided me with several new strategies that I would like to try in the future including using different aspects of Word including having students check the grade level of their writing and using the AutoSummarize tool.

"In addition to learning from multimedia such as educational games and interactive simulations, students can learn with multimedia by creating their own projects at home or at school to develop their understanding and practice skills" (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Since our school is a technology magnet school, we try very hard to integrate technology into ever lesson and provide students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning. In my own classroom, students participate in simulations, create podcasts, design iMovies, produce comic books using ComicLife and create iPhoto books.



Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.