EDIM 508 Week 6: Respectful and Ethical Mind

At this time, I have not implemented an idea that helps to develop students’ respectful ad ethical minds.  After listening to Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis on “Flattening Classrooms” I was amazed at the concept and started to really brainstorm how I can implement this concept into my classroom.  The biggest struggle for students that I see is the transition to the middle school and the high school.  Listening to this podcast and the ideas that the ladies have implemented are amazing.  It was great as an educator to hear their perspectives on how the world of education in a “flattened classroom” works.  I have two ideas that I would like to incorporate into my classroom. The first would be the student portfolios, I really like the idea of having students use different opportunities and experiences to celebrate their work, also using a portfolio to track their behaviors toward their behavior goals would be great for them to become a part of that process. The second, I would like to set up some type of blog/pen pal activity for students transitioning to the middle school and also for my students transitioning to the high school.  This provides students in a role of helping and supporting others in a stressful transition into a new school building.  Not sure exactly how to set up the transition aspect but listening to the 7 steps of globalization, students need to look at their own practice and need to be connected and how technology affects their lives.  As stated in the podcast this technology needs to start with teachers, projects and molding the way for students on how to use the technology.  I believe it would start with as pen pals or even a blog where students can go on and ask questions about the middle school and high school, then those students would then answer those questions.  At the end of the school year students transitioning to the middle school or high school get opportunities to walk through the building and then can meet up with their counterparts.  This would support a web community and also teach students web ethics, ways to use technology for educational purposes not just social media.  Listening to the levels of Taxonomy of Global Connection I believe that the blog/ pen pal activity would fit into the Inter-Connection within a school or district and as a beginner like myself would be a great way to start to flatten my classroom.

Future of Education (2014, January 16). Julie Lindsay & Vicki Davis on “flattening classrooms” [Video File].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVZuwIhjQvA

EDIM 508: Project 2: Spotlight on Strategies

Spotlight on Strategies: Smore

Embedded Link:
https://www.smore.com/ym2x0

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Reflection: Spotlight on Strategies:

The instructional goal that the spotlight on strategies I created addresses Text Dependent Analysis through the use of identifying character motivation.  The project/lesson provides students with the background knowledge of the author and instruction on vocabulary used throughout the text to provide students with a discipline mind, Gardner states, “Second, in the course of acquiring a disciplined approach to consequential topics, individuals will indeed pick up useful information…” (Gardner, 37).  The SOS provides the goal to create learning opportunities for students to develop their skill of text dependent analysis and apply it to different types of writings.  This allows for the student to take the discipline approach and synthesize the concept.  Students will develop their own voice and learn how to take the information in a written piece to help support their way of thinking on a topic.  Gardner states  I’ve already noted the strong, indeed ineluctable, tendency of young children to see, make, and even force connections.” (Gardner, 67).  This Spotlight on Strategies provides these opportunities through explaining tone and voice and providing students with the ability to make connections with the text they are given.  With the goal of the Spotlight on Strategies for Text Dependent Analysis it provides teachers and students the opportunity to, “Celebrate, don’t censor or curtail, the connections that are effortlessly effected by the young mind.” (Gardner, 68).  The next step to the spotlight is integration the use of digital media.  These components provide individuals with addition mediums to understand and process the information.  Students watching video segments on tone and mood also watching the characters interacted with each other helps provoke the understanding of the characters motivation for students that may not be able to understand through the text.  The digital media provides students with learning moments to achieve the goal for students in the Spotlight.  The next step to this unit would be to provide students with a project to activate their creative mind through a project-based activity for example, one pagers for students to express their ideas of the unit on the short stories of Poe.

References:

Gardner, H.(2009). Five minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press