Collaborative Lesson Plan

Hello!

Today in our technology class we worked in a group to create a lesson plan which incorporates technology and multiple forms of assessment. We chose to focus on Grade Four math, specifically number sense and numeration and working with up to $100. We created the Powtoon video of a math problem which we would start our class with to create intrigue and provide some practice. We would then allow the students to form groups in which they will create their own math problems working with money, and their own video to share with peers. During this process we will get students to periodically self-assess how they are collaborating with their group, as well as assessing them as the teacher on their learning skills. This assessment can then go directly towards report card comments. Finally students will share videos with classmates who will be given the opportunity to solve even more math problems, while having fun as they are working from student examples rather than a textbook!

Nearing the End

It is amazing to look back on the course and see how much I have learned and accomplished. At the beginning if I had been told to create a movie trailer, a published video, or a technological way to display a learning goal, I would have had no clue what to do. I am not yet done the course and so am sure that I will still learn even more, but I am so far enjoying playing around with the tools that we have used up to this point.
For my learning goal today I experimented with using a word cloud. The easy way, and the way that most people use this, is to simply copy and paste an entire document and call it a day. I like to go through my document though to remove words that wouldn't make sense on their own or aren't important (such as the repetitive words like "the" or "and") that would not add any substance to the word cloud. I am very happy with my final product (which you can see on my "Learning Goal" tab at the top) and love seeing all of the important points found in my research so far. It really makes it easy to see what I have learned up to this point, which will also help in creating my TED Talk.

My Experience Thus Far...

I don't think that I was technology illiterate before starting the course, but I definitely thought I had a long way to go. I have been quite impressed with my progress so far though. I find that I have been successful with all of the tasks provided to me to date. When unsure as to what to do, I have been able to read instructions or even go to Google to find answers and have been able to answer my questions fairly quickly and easily. 

While I do feel that my experiences with technology are still pretty basic, I see this is a pro myself. I feel that being at this level I would have enough expertise in order to teach my students how to use a tool such as Powtoon, and to incorporate it into my classroom if desired. While it can be a fairly simple tool there are so many things that can be done with it, and I would love to not only teach my students but also learn new tricks from them as might happen when working in a Junior classroom.

I am looking forward to continually improving my technological literacy by continuing my genius hour research, creating a movie trailer, and even making my own TED Talk!

There is always more to learn.

Genius Hour Update

I'm so glad I chose to research the topic of class pets because I am learning so much and having to think about things that I may not have if it weren't for this project.

In the beginning I asked myself how class pets could be successfully incorporated into a classroom, and lessons. I am finding out now all of the things which must also be considered before getting a pet to make sure the experience is indeed a success. This includes being aware of any allergies that students may have and picking a pet accordingly. For instance, many people with allergies are often triggered by dander that can be breathed in from pets with fur, so if there are allergies in the classroom it might be a better idea to get a pet without fur. This could include fish, snakes, and turtles.

These were not pets that I had thought of before beginning as my own experience was having a rabbit in the classroom, as well as having furry animals in my own home. However, I am seeing that these animals have just as much as an impact on the students from hearing about the experience of other teachers. These are also animals that students may know less about, and so many teachers have created inquiry projects based around their animal which has motivated students that previously dreaded homework and assignments. There is a real world experience here and they love learning about their new friend!

I also heard positive uses of class pets from my associate teacher who told me, without even knowing I was doing this project, about her guinea pig that she previously had. She told me about how their piggy was used to create connections with communication and sociol-emotional skills simply by talking to her. If a student was having a rough day, whether from a social experience or even from being frustrated with their math, they could go sit and talk with the pet, their non-judgmental friend, and return to their desk feeling as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and ready to continue learning.

I learn more exciting things every day!

Starting Research on My Genius Hour...

Wow, I learned so much today about classroom pets!

My question is focused on how teachers can effectively incorporate pets into their teaching, and I definitely found many uses in this regard, but I also found lots of necessary background info when wanting to get a class pet. This information included some safety guidelines, such as teaching children how to properly wash their hands and being sure this is done after handling the pet, the pet's food, or anything from their habitat. Also found were concerns about being sure you know what will be done with the pet during weekends and breaks as they can't be left alone for weeks or months!

I am very excited about what I am learning about using classroom pets during lessons. I've found examples of teachers using pets in almost all subjects, including science (units on habitats and nature), reading (as children become very excited about reading to a class pet) or writing (students can write stories about the pet, or even write letters to them). I know this is only the beginning of what I will continue to find.

I knew this is a topic I was interested in, but I was shocked when I looked at what page I reached of the research article that I had found... I read up to page 20 without even realising it! It didn't feel like a chore, or an assignment, but I was genuinely interested in what I was doing. And if I can become this excited just about the idea of a class pet... imagine the difference it can make in a child's learning when they actually have one.

From here I will continue to read more articles and find more research. My main goal will be to find more first hand experiences from teachers and different ways that they used the pet to motivate students, or to teach lessons.

Genius Hour Goals

My goal for my genius hour project is to find out as much as I can about class pets so that I may use one in my own teaching and effectively incorporate one into my own future classroom. I will be looking for information on what types of class pets have been used in the past, how the teacher has incorporated them into the classroom and students' learning, and also the role of students in the care of the animal, if this is meant to be part of learning.

In my own experience I have been in one classroom with class pets. When I was in Kindergarten we had a class pet, a rabbit named Thumper who I, and my classmates, loved. We also had an incubator in which we watched our group of eggs hatch and grow into fluffy chicks.

I feel that I am not totally competent in my knowledge as to how these creatures were used to enhance our teaching, and so unsure as to how to do this myself. I do not want to try to incorporate something in the classroom that I am not confident in as this would be a disaster waiting to happen if I don't know myself why I am doing what I am!

From here I will be talking with other educators with experience in this area to get their opinions and participate in a dialogue on the topic. I also plan to find resources related to my topic online in the form of blogs, and websites.

Roo72. (2005, November 16). Gerbil [photograph]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbil#/media/File:Gerbil.JPG

Genius Hour

When trying to come up with a genius hour topic I tried to think of something that I am passionate about, and something that I can also use in the future to apply in the classroom. A topic which came to mind pretty quickly was my passion for animals, and the way that animals have been incorporated into the classroom in my own experience was by having a class pet. In my Kindergarten class, my favourite year of school, we had a class bunny named Thumper. He was a big, friendly bunny who I would put into the toy grocery cart and push around at play time. Now that I am heading into schools myself I wonder how we can use our students' interest in animals to not only excite them just by having a class pet, but by incorporating the class pet into lessons.

This ended up being: How can teachers effectively incorporate a class pet into their teaching?

At this point I have a number of goals. I would like to explore the different kinds of animals that have been incorporated into the classroom, what lessons students can learn from interacting with the animals, and also how the animals can be used in regular lessons in a way that may pique the interest of students and get them more involved. Basically, I don't think that a classroom pet should be there just for the sake of having an animal, but that they should be used as an opportunity to further learning.

Going forward I am going to begin to research the experiences that have been shared by other teachers. I also believe that I may need to narrow down my question so that it will be more specific, and pick a specific focus.