It's been some time since I've written an entry into my blog. With this writing, the Beacon's light shines in a different direction....American History. For the next year the focus of this blog will be building background knowledge in our nation's history 1776 - 1787 and research-based instructional and thinking strategies that enhance student learning.
While in South Carolina much of our educational environment and instruction was built upon brain research; although, it was in place when I arrived. I never participated in any of the professional development based upon brain research. So, my prior knowledge of brain research is pretty poor. Over time, I've learned more and more about the brain and learning. You see, it's the brain research that explains "Why" we are to implement certain strategies with students...graphic organizers, think-pair-share, notetaking, etc. It was not until I participated in a 3-day Institute with Judy Willis and Jay McTighe that it all clicked. When one understands the impact a certain strategy has or doesn't have on the brain and its relationship to learning, it makes it easy to include strategies that work into instruction.
Why are we blogging? How does writing a blog entry fit into brain research?
The Beacon Light Shines in Another Direction
A Vision of 21st Century Teachers
These teachers will be ready for the little girl I saw yesterday sitting in her stroller engaged in a learning game on her simulated netbook. It will be about 3 years before she enters into their classroom. Because they are learners themselves, they will be using current research-based learning strategies and supporting technology tools as classroom teachers.
With the" End in Mind"...
For the past week, I've been faced with the challenge of converting a Flash Video to another format that is accepted by our web service provider. Just like learning VoiceThread, it was starting from square one; then, researching for a solution...and a simple, quick one at that. Needless to say, I did find a simple and quick way to make the conversion. Next challenge is cutting the time...too large. Inquiry and problem solving at its finest!
In today's classroom there is heavy emphasis on inquiry and problem solving. With the "end in mind", technology enters the stage. Technology is a tool to help relay our message. It doesn't always come easy. Finding the right application to relay our message with the impact we want it to have on the reader/viewer can be a difficult task. Welcome to the stage inquiry and problem solving.
There are times when we struggle wth ways to engage our students in high level learning. Today, students are drawn to technology and will often find a way to incorporate it into their tasks. Sometimes it's easy...others, it's a challenge. That's where inquiry and problem solving enhance the movie, if you will. The students invite inquiry and problem solving as they determine how to use technology as an avenue to get their message across to others. The "end in mind" is the vision of the final product. How to get there and accomplish it through what interest's them invites inquiry and problem solving.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
