1) I would like to learn how to incorporate technology into my classroom with the use of effective and curated digital tools and resources. Previously, I just read reviews to determine how "effective" a tool or resource was. I am sure there is a more professional manner in which you can determine how effective and curated a digital tool and resource is.
2) I would like to learn a great deal about blogging. Just like the technology integrations, I know very little about blogs. I read teacher blogs regularly and it has been pressed in my mind for a while now that I would like to start my own teacher blog. Hopefully, after this course, I will know more about blogging and be able to start my own teaching blog.
After referring back to these goals I can see how I have made progress and how these goals need to be modified.
Let's start with goal 1. Some progress has been made, still room to grow every day.
After reviewing many resources on how to create a tool for curated resources, I have learned what it actually means to "curate." I agree most with Beth's definition of content curation from her blog (link provided in name), "Content curation is the process of sorting through the vast amounts of content on the web and presenting it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific theme. The work involves sifting, sorting, arranging, and publishing information". Now that I have a better understanding of what it means to have curated resources and how to find them, it will be easier to incorporate this into my classroom. I can already see myself creating many curated resources for the units we will be studying next year and for my own personal professional development.
On to goal 2. Creating a blog.... I have enjoyed writing this blog and commenting on fellow students blogs. I feel like I have learned how to navigate Blogger. I would like to learn more about the HTML tools, however that is not the goal of this course. (...move to personal goal list)
Goal3 2... I'm just now adding this one!
I want to learn more ways in which I can incorporate Inquiry learning and the growth mindset into my classroom.
Eduardo Briceno mentioned in his TED Talk, "you are not chained to your current capabilities; our brains are malleable, you can change your ability to think." This quote really got me thinking about ways in which I need to change my own thinking and the thinking of my students. I want my classroom to be a community of thinkers and problem solvers. This will only be achievable through the growth mindset. Carol Dweck states in her article Even Geniuses Work Hard, a way in which teachers can begin to instill the growth mindset into our students through praise. She states, "To prepare students to benefit from meaningful work, therefore, teachers need to create a growth-mindset culture in the classroom. One way to create such a culture is by providing the right kinds of praise and encouragement. My research has shown that praising students for the process they have engaged in—the effort they applied, the strategies they used, the choices they made, the persistence they displayed, and so on—yields more long-term benefits than telling them they are "smart" when they succeed." I look forward to using this approach in my classroom at the start of the upcoming school year. I also like the strategy that students should begin to ask their own essential questions to the content they have learned. Learners Should be Developing Their Own Essential Questions, discusses how the teacher often creates an essential question and the learner does not find it engaging. There are many tips here that can help you rethink how to use essential questions in your classroom.
My mindset - possibly the mindset of many other teachers.
It is easy to have a fixed mindset, in fact that is how the world of education is seen through the use of standardized testing. Standardized testing is about results of scores and whether or not a student has "mastered" the content of a course. This power placed on standardized testing puts pressure and stress on teachers to get material taught by a certain date and in turn results in teaching to the test. Although no teacher goes into teaching with this fixed mindset, it is easily pushed onto us.
I believe there is beginning to be a shift in education. We are seeing more charter schools, magnet schools, etc., with these schools we are seeing an "equal" opportunity for students to prove their mastery of content by creating their own work/project that shows their understanding of the content. this requires a shift towards a growth mindset. This mindset will allow students to take on more difficult, rigorous, and challenging tasks without giving up at first sight. I believe that inquiry learning is a great learning path for this mindset.
After looking over my goals and what I've learned thus far in this course I can definitely see a shift in my own mindset. I tend to think that I've always had a fixed mindset, mostly due to the fact that I wanted good grades. Those grades would give me validation that I knew the content. Throughout the course I have had many trying times, setting up my PLN for example, where I had to change my mindset for myself. I knew that this was untouched water for me. I had never "swam" in this type of water before. So, I decided that I would probably make mistakes, but I would learn from those mistakes and then through more trial and error I would find the way that works best for me. I think that you have to keep reassuring yourself of the possibilities in order to keep yourself in the growth mindset. Miss Frizzle always said, ""Take chances, make mistakes, get messy." I think this is a quote that should resonate with everyone who is trying to take on the growth mindset.
Digital Informational Fluency Model and Growth Mindset:
I found the Digital Informational Fluency Model (DIF) to be very interesting. The 21st Century Information Fluency Project describes DIF as the ability to find, evaluate, and use digital information effectively, efficiently, and ethically. In order to make progress in this ability, I believe that one must encompass the growth mindset. There is an infinite amount of information on the internet. Some of this information being great while other information could be falsified or misleading. It is your job to become fluent in digital information by learning how to navigate through this web of information and pick out reliable, credible and validating resources. Every resource that you come upon may not be a good source, this is why the growth mindset is important.
After referring back to these goals I can see how I have made progress and how these goals need to be modified.
Let's start with goal 1. Some progress has been made, still room to grow every day.
After reviewing many resources on how to create a tool for curated resources, I have learned what it actually means to "curate." I agree most with Beth's definition of content curation from her blog (link provided in name), "Content curation is the process of sorting through the vast amounts of content on the web and presenting it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific theme. The work involves sifting, sorting, arranging, and publishing information". Now that I have a better understanding of what it means to have curated resources and how to find them, it will be easier to incorporate this into my classroom. I can already see myself creating many curated resources for the units we will be studying next year and for my own personal professional development.
On to goal 2. Creating a blog.... I have enjoyed writing this blog and commenting on fellow students blogs. I feel like I have learned how to navigate Blogger. I would like to learn more about the HTML tools, however that is not the goal of this course. (...move to personal goal list)
Goal
I want to learn more ways in which I can incorporate Inquiry learning and the growth mindset into my classroom.
Eduardo Briceno mentioned in his TED Talk, "you are not chained to your current capabilities; our brains are malleable, you can change your ability to think." This quote really got me thinking about ways in which I need to change my own thinking and the thinking of my students. I want my classroom to be a community of thinkers and problem solvers. This will only be achievable through the growth mindset. Carol Dweck states in her article Even Geniuses Work Hard, a way in which teachers can begin to instill the growth mindset into our students through praise. She states, "To prepare students to benefit from meaningful work, therefore, teachers need to create a growth-mindset culture in the classroom. One way to create such a culture is by providing the right kinds of praise and encouragement. My research has shown that praising students for the process they have engaged in—the effort they applied, the strategies they used, the choices they made, the persistence they displayed, and so on—yields more long-term benefits than telling them they are "smart" when they succeed." I look forward to using this approach in my classroom at the start of the upcoming school year. I also like the strategy that students should begin to ask their own essential questions to the content they have learned. Learners Should be Developing Their Own Essential Questions, discusses how the teacher often creates an essential question and the learner does not find it engaging. There are many tips here that can help you rethink how to use essential questions in your classroom.
My mindset - possibly the mindset of many other teachers.
It is easy to have a fixed mindset, in fact that is how the world of education is seen through the use of standardized testing. Standardized testing is about results of scores and whether or not a student has "mastered" the content of a course. This power placed on standardized testing puts pressure and stress on teachers to get material taught by a certain date and in turn results in teaching to the test. Although no teacher goes into teaching with this fixed mindset, it is easily pushed onto us.
I believe there is beginning to be a shift in education. We are seeing more charter schools, magnet schools, etc., with these schools we are seeing an "equal" opportunity for students to prove their mastery of content by creating their own work/project that shows their understanding of the content. this requires a shift towards a growth mindset. This mindset will allow students to take on more difficult, rigorous, and challenging tasks without giving up at first sight. I believe that inquiry learning is a great learning path for this mindset.
After looking over my goals and what I've learned thus far in this course I can definitely see a shift in my own mindset. I tend to think that I've always had a fixed mindset, mostly due to the fact that I wanted good grades. Those grades would give me validation that I knew the content. Throughout the course I have had many trying times, setting up my PLN for example, where I had to change my mindset for myself. I knew that this was untouched water for me. I had never "swam" in this type of water before. So, I decided that I would probably make mistakes, but I would learn from those mistakes and then through more trial and error I would find the way that works best for me. I think that you have to keep reassuring yourself of the possibilities in order to keep yourself in the growth mindset. Miss Frizzle always said, ""Take chances, make mistakes, get messy." I think this is a quote that should resonate with everyone who is trying to take on the growth mindset.
Digital Informational Fluency Model and Growth Mindset:
I found the Digital Informational Fluency Model (DIF) to be very interesting. The 21st Century Information Fluency Project describes DIF as the ability to find, evaluate, and use digital information effectively, efficiently, and ethically. In order to make progress in this ability, I believe that one must encompass the growth mindset. There is an infinite amount of information on the internet. Some of this information being great while other information could be falsified or misleading. It is your job to become fluent in digital information by learning how to navigate through this web of information and pick out reliable, credible and validating resources. Every resource that you come upon may not be a good source, this is why the growth mindset is important.
Yes, I have seen a shift in my mindset as well! With the 21st century classroom, we need to begin to see there are different ways to assess students, rather than the old assessments. A student's smartness isn't tied to what they score on a test, it is about them developing what they believe the essential questions are as you have stated and becoming self-directed learners. They need have some ownership in their learning.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have been in a seminar over the last few days and have not been able to get my thoughts together for my post. I have become very fond of Twitter. I have decided that I will not use Twitter for anything other than building my PLN though. I have a Facebook account that I am using more for personal stuff but decided that I wanted to keep Twitter “pure” for the simple fact of building my resources as an educator. To me if I start using it for other things I am afraid I might lose sight of it as that type of resource. What are your thoughts on that philosophy?
I like the idea of using a twitter handle for only building your PLN. I'm actually in the process of converting my twitter from personal to just education and technology related things.
DeleteHopefully your seminar went well. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the growth mindset.
I agree with the shift in the mindset. I too like the idea of curation of different subjects as it helps me stay focused and will do the same for fellow teachers and students. The twitter balance is also difficult between personal and school but I also see it as necessary. If I was not already balancing my own and one for a team I would consider the same. I do not think we will ever be 100% complete with the DIF model as it is ever-changing. I would like to close by saying you do not have a fixed mindset. If you did you would never admit that your may be making changes in your ways. It seems like this class is changing your ways as it is mine! Good reflection.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hated Blogger in the beginning. I was not getting the hang of it fast enough for my liking. The more I did it the better I liked it. I still only know the basics but by changing my mind frame I am now able to see how beneficial it could be in other areas of my life!
ReplyDelete