Final Thoughts

When I signed up for this class, I assumed I would be given several boring books written by people who died before I was born. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. This class has truly pushed me to rethink my theories of education. I was amazed by some of the trends and statisitcs we studied in class. I cannot fully express how deeply I was impacted by the Shift Happens video we watched. As a result of this class, I have begun to reexamine what we teach and whether or not we are actually preparing our students for the future. Never before did I question the necessity of the major content areas. I have always just accepted the fact that students learn math, english, science, etc. Now I am beginning to see that it is possible that skills may be more important than content knowledge.

The curriculum project was also an eye-opening experience for me. I did not realize how much red tape exists in schools. It was unbelieveable to me how hard it was to gain access to information. Also, the degree of detail required in the budgeting process blew my mind. I can truly say that this class has given me valuable hands-on experience that will help in my quest to become an administrator.

Orange Middle School

The plan implemented by Orange Middle school has a lot of positive elements. The division into "houses" should promote a sense of belonging for the students. They will be closely monitored by a small group of teachers and should not easily fall through the cracks. I also thought the dress code was a good idea but not for the reasons given in the article. In urban areas, gang violence is a very prominent issue (even in middle schools). By forcing the students to wear uniforms, they will no longer be able to wear their colors and represent rival gangs. This step may go a long way in decreasing violence throughout the halls of the school.

My first suggestion for improvement to the plan is to include some sort of extra curricular activities. In order to truly build the sense of community that the school is aiming for, students must see each other outside of the classroom. By working/playing together, the students will view each other in a different light and should become closer. Another key factor in building this sense of community lies with the parents. The school must get parents involved whether it be through the creation of a PTSO or some other outreach program. Without parental support, any progress made within the school day can be easily forgotten when the students go home.

Curriculum Mapping

The purpose of curriculum mapping is to design a cohesive, linear program of study that focuses upon the main ideas students need to learn before graduation. My school does use curriculum mapping within each department. For example, my department (the mathematics department) will meet and discuss the skills needed for students to be successful in AP Calculus. Once we have established the necessary skills, we begin a top-down design of which topics/ideas should be covered in which year. The goal of this process in my school is to improve student achievement and better prepare our students for college.

Curriculum mapping is directly related to curriculum change and the ideas we have discussed in class. Curriculum mapping causes those involved to take a holistic view of what is being taught in the classroom. Thus, curriculum mapping forces administrators and teachers to focus on the big ideas and essential questions within each content area.

Online Classes

After completing three online classes, I must say that so far I enjoy the process. I like the freedom of being able to budget my own time and having the ability to interact with other students on my own terms. I find the videos to be very helpful and informative. I also really enjoy the use of technology. I am not a very technological person, so I have been forced to learn and use programs that I would never attempt to understand without this course. I feel that these experiences have allowed me to grow as both a teacher and a learner.

The one aspect of the online courses that I did not enjoy was the collaborative document. I felt that the process was very disjointed and that the paper did not flow properly. I also felt the process was too circular and lacked linearity. Many entries were changed, only to be changed back to what was originally stated. Perhaps if students were assigned specific times to edit the document, I would have seen more of a progression. I often felt as if my contributions were only temporary and in turn lost their value.

I would consider taking another course like this, but I would need to the format to be similar. To me, it is important to come back to class and meet face-to-face after each online class. I think face-to-face discussion is important so that any misunderstandings can be clarified. I do not believe that I would enjoy a class that was completely online.

Reaction to Lesson Using UbD

I have yet to implement the lesson I wrote using the UbD template. This post will be written upon its completion.

Using the UbD Template

As a math teacher, I found the UbD template difficult to use. It is hard to come up with essential questions that are debatable in the area of mathematics. Most of our lessons are content driven and focus on the learning of specific skills. While many problems have multiple solutions, there aren't many topics that inspire the type of ethical debates that can be sparked in other disciplines. Maybe the point of this exercise is to show us that this is he wrong way to teach. However, how can we stray from the content in an era of high stakes testing?

I also found it difficult to discern between the categories given. I felt that Understandings and what students will know were very similar. I also felt that the Established Goals were very similar to what I felt the students will be able to do after the lesson. Perhaps I am missing something. Did anyone else encounter similar troubles?

Lesson on Derivatives

Established Goals:
At the end of this lesson the students should have learned how to use derivatives in order to find optimal conditions.

Understandings:
Students will understand that taking derivatives of functions is not a process “in space.”

Students will understand the applications of derivatives to real life.

Essential Questions:
How can derivatives be used outside of the classroom?

Students will know…
How derivatives are used to solve word problems as well as problems occurring in real life.

Students will be able to…
Use derivatives to optimize conditions for a given function.

Performance Tasks:
Students will be asked to create a box with maximum volume given a fixed surface area.

Other Evidence:
Students will be assessed based upon the process of creating their box.

They will also be assessed based upon their reflections papers.

Learning Activities:
Students will be given a piece of poster board, tape, and scissors.

They will be told that the class is having a competition.

The group that makes an open-topped box that holds the most pencils wins.

The prize will be the ability to drop their lowest test score.

After the competition is over, there will be a group discussion about which processes were utilized.

Students will then write a reaction paper for homework critiquing their own method and relating derivatives to the box creating activity.