Time To Park!

This semester has truly been a roller coaster for me. Things did not go as planned in regards to partner work or lesson planning. This semester has taught me that, this is completely ok. In the classroom, lessons are not going to go as planned. People are not going to show up or do what you'd like for them to do when you'd like for them to do it. Students may not learn the lesson you intended for them to learn as quickly as you want them to, or they may learn it to quick and you have no back up plan. Your principal may not like or agree with the lesson you present when they observe you or your students may absolutely hate the lesson you thought was going to be such fun. Being an educator you have to be prepared for any and everything. In this class I learned different types of assessments, I relearned economics which is a topic I have forget completely about! I learned how to work on the required tasks in for edTPA. I learned how to design AND implement a unit plan. I learned things about the Hudson Valley that I never knew before even though I lived her 24 years. I learned that participating in inquiry lessons such as the artifact bag project can still be tons of fun even when your a graduate student. I learned that watching your classmates use an interactive website in their lesson is just as much fun to you as it is to the students it is intended for. I can say the 3 lesson plans front words and backwards. I was able to revisit the 5E's which I was sure I saw the last of in Math methods. I was able to discover new websites to use with my students in the future. I even tried Russian cuisine, and get this CAVIAR. From the moment I stepped in the class, I knew I was in for surprises, stress, and challenge. I learned that pacing is everything and deadlines mean something. I learned that you may get the terrible end of the stick but there are ways to get to the other end of it. Through out this semester I did not realize how much I was learning. And that is where my blog title comes from. I am a teacher that is still learning. You are never to old or to smart to learn....the smartest person in the world is the person who realizes they may know just about everything but there is still so much to learn and experience. I want to thank all of my classmates and Dr. Smirnova for this very educational journey I have taken with you all! It is one I will never forget!

The infamous Efolio.

The word EFOLIO is one we have dreaded all semester. However it is definitely a learning experience. Using the website live binders.....which is exactly what it sounds like, a live binder we were able to create a portfolio of all of our work over the semester. Our efolio helped us begin to get prepared for edTPA and student teaching. Our efolio is separated into numerous tabs and sub tabs. These tabs include things such as introducing ourselves, to places we can place our lesson plans, to the video of us teaching, to commentary about us teaching, to different rubrics and assessments. There is even a tab for our blog. This website is a permanent place for us to save the work we completed over the semester in our Social Studies method class. Our efolio is definitely a little intimidating because there are so many steps and ways to input. But it was such a learning experiencing because I know have a head start on an idea of what to expect when I have to create one like this to submit for student teaching. This efolio is a form of practice, and can be accessed to reference in the future. I always heard what was expected in our portfolio for student teaching but seeing it makes it much more understanding. This process will definitely be a long difficult one but it was great to get a head start on see what is expected from us. 

Group 1 is the ones that begun!

The very first group of my classmates to teach did a spectacular job! They used different types of assessments, integrated different lessons, and they're idea for the final project was phenomenal. Although they ran out of and over time they were able to keep their lessons going swiftly and smoothly, and have a great finale. For their topic they focused on the Native American tribes of the Hudson Valley. They used a Voki of a turkey to introduce their lesson. I thought that was very creative because that is not something I have ever seen anyone integrate into a lesson before. However, there are two notable things I felt was memorable. They used plicker to assess the students. This website allows you to create a quiz and instantly grade students using a smartphone by scanning their answer cards. It keeps track of students responses and ranks them as well. I have never seen this done before and was literally amazed. That is such a short court to grading work and using the traditional multiple choice or fill in the blank assessments. The other notable thing was the final project students had to create. This group had the students create a diorama. Once again I was astonished because although this an older project with all the technology that is out now. It was wonderful to see students working with their hands, and even more wonderful to see how excited they were to present it. I have not seen a diorama being used since I was in elementary school. I think that is sad because it is such a great project for students. They can take a box and set a scene of literally anything using literally anything.  
Here is an example of a diorama if you don't quite remember one:

My point is, this unit they presented integrated so much creativity. That is the number one thing we must remember as educators. Don't forget to be creative and think out the box, Students learn better when they work actively. Nobody wants a "Charlie Brown" teacher. Great job group 1!!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dTTMDbZh1AA/UJh6p8p41I/AAAAAAAAA7U/slmr7jtWRM0/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG

But you can't forget about assessments.

Diagnostic.Formative.Summative
These are the three types of assessments we study during this semester. 
Diagnostic is the pre-assessment to see what our students know, such as a KWL chart or a concept map. Formative is to assess what our students are learning such as a journal or a quiz. This could just be merely us observing. Summative is to show what our students have learned, the end product such as a project, a final exam, or a portfolio. 
Assessment and its different stages is so important because it is a way to track our students progress throughout our lesson or unit. Assessments will let us as educators know whether we are ok to move on and teach our students the next  lesson, or if there are certain aspects we need to revisit. Assessments are a great way for students to track their own personal growth. Students are like sponges.....using assessments shows how much they really do absorb.

Technology, The Great and Not So Greats

Compare and contrast what a colleague of mine stated about technology here and my response to her!

The Greats:

There is so much to say about technology and not nearly enough time and space to say it. Technology has changed our world and bettered it. We are able to access and turn in assignments on or cellphones with the click of a button. We are able to carry thousands of songs and videos around with one pocket sized device. Think about what it does in our schools. We have smart boards that teachers can write on with smart pens. We are able to create presentations and project them nearly every where. We are able to assign a task to our students and give them a computer and there are infinite sources both primary and secondary for them to research. We can create a presentation and share it with just one click. Technology is advancing so swiftly and we there is not nearly enough time to keep up with it. 

The Not So Greats

As you can see from this picture, there are not so greats to technology as well. With infinite resources, students rather "google" answers to questions rather than do actual research.Technology is like a massive calculator. Teachers use to only have to worry about students cheating doing math on calculators. Now they have to worry about technology for any and every subject. Things such as spark notes, fully developed essays, and answers to take home tests are right on the internet and technology gives you assess to it. The other down fall is technology is not always correct. Anyone can make a website and input whatever information they want. They can go on there and say, if your ice cream is to hard to scoop warm your fork up in the microwave and then try to scoop it. Now, we all know metal cannot go into the microwave....but some child will think because they saw it on the internet it is the right thing to do. I cannot think of the amount of times I have gone on the computer and looked on the internet and saw that a celebrity was dead when they actual aren't. Technology is a blessing and a curse, ensure your students use it the right way.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

During the week of our field work experiences, we unfortunately had a wrench thrown into our plans. My partner was unable to make it to class, so we all had to brainstorm a way to create a lesson to present to our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. We decided on have them create a brochure advertising the Hudson Valley and encouraging people to come visit it. Given the opportunity to do so, the students really impressed up all. The group I worked with was assigned trade and industry. The two boys I worked with collaborated greatly. One of them researched information on the internet, while the other imputed the researched information into the PowerPoint.They added information such as how the Hudson River as well as other local rivers were used to import and export goods for trade which came from the area. These items were transported from New Netherlands (Albany area) to New Amsterdam (New York City.) This was not only a learning experience for the students but, it was for me as well. One of the boys should be how to search information and key words on the page using a keyboard combination. This is something I personally didn't know.The students were required to present at the end of the hour they had to create this brochure. In this time these students were able to create such an amazing masterpiece, and they were equally excited about presenting. It was great to see what could happen positive, when life gives you lemons!

Debating like Great Debaters

For our current event project we focused on using the debate process to teach current events.
You can find our presentation here

We separated the class into male and female groups. We gave them a topic and had them debate for and against the topic. 

We modeled this for them first by selecting a news article on raising minimum wage. I then filled out a graphic organizer, showing them how they should use one to organize their thoughts. They in normal circumstances would pick a side. In this circumstance we had presented a side for them. And what do you do next..........DEBATE! State why you absolutely agree (or disagree) and fight to the end to support your side. We used the site newsela (which I will create a separate blog for because I enjoy it so much) to find the articles to give them.  Debating is an interesting way to stay current on what is occurring in the world. This is a way for students to collaborate and get more involved in their lesson, especially if the topic is something they feel strongly about. I will use debating in my classroom frequently because it encourages engagement and individuality. You can't debate something you aren't passionate for.