Individual Problem Discussed:
I had a student in one of my courses this term who has decided that she no longer wanted to work in the field of Early Childhood Education. Yet she is so close to graduating from the program so she did not drop out. It seems like her main motivation to come to class was to get a her diploma. I could tell that she was more interested in the assignment criteria rather than the learning that we were doing in class. This had caused the students that she sat with and the groups she would work with to be less motivated to do the in-class tasks. As the instructor, I tried to motivate the class with explaining and demonstrating how the material relates to what they will be doing in the field. I included student centered approaches such as cooperative learning, discovery learning, and case studies. However, this student would come to class expressing verbally and physically (body language) that she did not want to be there. One day while we were doing group discussions, I over heard her say to her group, that she hated the course and she didn't want to be here anymore and she could wait to be finished. I could see the people in her group start to feel uncomfortable and their enthusiasm for what they were learning deflate. I approached the group and said, that I had noticed that they were off topic and that I over heard what they were talking about. I told them that I understood, that it was the end of the term and that they are completely swamped with assignments which can be very stressful. However, when they were off task and making comments that they did not want to be there, made the people who were there to learn unable to do so. I also mentioned, that I had put a lot of effort into prepping the course to make sure that they learned all the outcomes in a way that they could apply it when they go out into practicum and it made me feel that I was not doing a good enough job teaching if they were not enjoying the learning. Some of the group members apologized and said they do enjoy the course but were just having a hard week with assignments and test and they would get back on task. I walked to the other side of the room to listen to some of the other groups and I could hear one of the another students in the disruptive group take over and got the group back on task. Every time the conversation would go off task, I could hear her say, lets get back on task we were talking about... I continued to walk around the room and listen in on the different discussions going on.
I feel like approaching the problem by talking to the disruptive students really worked however the unmotivated student continues not to be interested in the course. At this point it may just come down to making sure the rest of the class is having fun learning and making sure that one rotten apple doesn't spoil the bunch (which can be a hard task).
Group Discussion (April 29, 2014) abusive student attitudes and behaviors
talk about other people's perspective
be direct when approaching the behavior of the student who is being abusive
review the rules and regulations on a regular basis
speak to the class as a whole then speak to the person as a individual
achieving diversity and cooperation
assign seats
assign partners for each other
let students pick their own groups so they are comfortable for every other project
this will help students feel more comfortable with more of their classmates
managing interruptions
ignore the negative attention and reward the positive behavior
move around the room so the attention is focused all over
Ask students question about course material, who are not listening or being disruptive
social and emotional factors
remind the students that they all come from different backgrounds and life situations so one person's problems are not worse or better than your problem
teaching empathy to the students
gender and race issues - To what extent do you believe that the gender of the teacher or the student influences the selection of classroom rules? Provide an example.
we have a tendancey to be a little more empathetic to female students and allow them to get away with certain behaviors that they would not normally allow.
we allow them to leave the room, and go on their phones to solve the crisis
Assignment #3: Inquiry Presentations (April 23rd)
Mahi:
What was done well: Prezi presentation is very aesthetically pleasing and fun to follow. Really shows the steps you took to learn how to sew your shirt. Love how you said you had to use your common sense.
What you could add: More about where and how you got the material. Did you get it for free?
Wendy:
What was done well: I like how you tried three different recipes and explained the differences and brought in a ramekin to show us what it was.
What could you add: More pictures to your presentation.
Amanda:
What was done well: I liked how you talked about the feelings you had about doing the project. Animoto video was great. Easy to follow.
What could you add: A longer Animoto video because it was good but too short.
Jerrylynn:
What was done well: I like how you used the same pictures to show the different settings. You really explained some hard definitions in away that was easy to understand.
What could you add: Explain what you are planning to learn next with the camera.
Sajjad:
What was done well: I like the resources and screen shots used to in your presentations.
What could you add: More pictures to go with slides. It would be good to have a video of the steps to see it in movement.
Cara-Leigh:
What was done well: I like how you used all the different transitions and animations and everything that you used to show all the different things you learned on PowerPoint.
What could you add: More about the steps of how you learned some of the specifics of PowerPoint.
Assignment #3: Inquiry Presentations (April 29th)
Husam:
What was done well: Very humorous and fun to listen to.
I believe learning and documenting are both equally important especially in my field of work.
What could you add: clearer video of the screen of the Sumsung phone.
Darcy:
What was done well: I really like how you explained how you had to weigh out the options of what program to use in order to make your website.
What could you add: I would like to look at your actual website.
Jenna S:
What was done well: I like how simple your Prezi presentation was. The pictures made it very interesting to look at.
What could you add: What you want to learn next.
Jenna B:
What was done well: I like how you tried the two ways to learn how do your taxes. It really shows the difference in how hard it can be. I really like how you thought about your learning style.
What could you add: It would be interesting to get someone else to do it and see if you did it right with one of the ways you did it. This may help subside your fear.
Cynthia:
What was done well: I like how you used pictures to show each of the steps you did in the process of your wine making journey. I also like how you used a videos of yourself explaining the step you were doing. Great explanation on opportunities in inquiry based learning for students.
What could you add: How much you could save by making your own wine compared to buying bottles at the store
Shauna:
What was done well: I like how you explained your frustration with how fast the videos you watched were and how you used that learning experience as a means to slow down how you teach technical things you teach for your students so they can learn better from you.
What could you add: Edit slides to look for mistakes
Vanessa:
What was done well: I like how you used pictures to show the finger positions and explained how hard it was to learn guitar without an instructor that does have a lesson plan or who knows the steps to teach from the beginning.
What could you add: Talk about if you are going to continue taking guitar and where you are going to find an instructor. Did you have a strumming pattern and explain how you strummed. Did you use a pick or your fingers?
Leonard:
What was done well: I like how you changed what you decided to learn because it was not what you expected. I think that it okay to take a break from what you are learning and going back when you are ready for the challenge.
What could you add: How your learning experience can help you in your classroom.
Student-Centered Approaches (May 6, 2014)
Husam:
What was well done: Very well organized and it also makes lots of relevant points about the importance of Student Centered Approaches.
What you could add: How you will evaluate your students?
Wendy:
What was well done: I really liked how you had all your information for each topic and student centered learning on one slide. It made it easy to follow. You had good examples of how students learn from them. I like how you used a video to show how you will use the flipped classroom.
What you could add: Nothing it was great.
Cynthia:
What was well done: Great explanation of how to use the approaches in a way that makes it relevant. I like how you used three different courses
What you could add: Nothing it was great.
Jarrylynn:
What was well done: I like how you talk about how you are helping visual learners by using mind maps to help students retain lots of information and different processes. I like how you have pictures of how you will or do use the approach you are using.
What you could add: You could also use stimulations for dissections.
Vanessa:
What was well done: I agree that cooperative learning is very important when planning and creating a learning environment. It can be very hard to work with others when you have different ideas. I also like how you get them to reflect on how the environment actually works with the children.
What you could add: Less writing on slides so it is easier to follow.
Sajjad:
What was well: You used good strategies to help students learn the material that can be very complicated. I really like how you talked about the flipped classroom.
What you could add: More pictures but I know it is hard when it is your first prezi.
Darcy:
What was well done: I like how you explain what the students will learn from the different tools that you use such as BYOD and ect.
What you could add: Some of the words were hard to see. Use a darker font color.
May 13, 2014
Jenna S:
What was done well: Prezi is well done and easy to follow. I really enjoyed your presentation.
What you could add: A little more about what students will learn from the tools as well.
Kelly:
What was done well: Very well organized and well explained.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Amanda:
What was done well: Great flow of presentation. Really shows how you can make the students more invested in this course.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Jenna B:
What was done well: I like how you used graphic organizer/ mind map to explain/teach how to go through the process of an exam.
What you could add: Be more specific as to what tools you will use. i.e. graphic organizer. It looks like you used Lucid charts.
Shauna:
What was done well: I like how you explain how the students are able to see their progress as well as network through the use of blogs.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Cara:
What was done well: I like how you are getting better at using different types of technology to show your work.
What you could add: Less words. You could also use a digital storytelling instead of a webquest.
Len:
What was done well: I like how you used discovery based learning, It seems so simple as to how you just change the questions to make them more student centered. Looks like you are doing well with incorporating student centered learning even though you didn't even know you were doing it.
What you could add: Less words in presentation.
Assignment #3: Learning to do something
Learning objective...
For this project, we wanted to:
Learning object:
Assignment #7: Student Centered Approaches
Learning object:
Assignment #6 - Classroom Management - Discussion with shared Doc Participation/Discussions - (25 marks) Assigned: April 15 Due: April 29
Individual Problem Discussed:
I had a student in one of my courses this term who has decided that she no longer wanted to work in the field of Early Childhood Education. Yet she is so close to graduating from the program so she did not drop out. It seems like her main motivation to come to class was to get a her diploma. I could tell that she was more interested in the assignment criteria rather than the learning that we were doing in class. This had caused the students that she sat with and the groups she would work with to be less motivated to do the in-class tasks. As the instructor, I tried to motivate the class with explaining and demonstrating how the material relates to what they will be doing in the field. I included student centered approaches such as cooperative learning, discovery learning, and case studies. However, this student would come to class expressing verbally and physically (body language) that she did not want to be there. One day while we were doing group discussions, I over heard her say to her group, that she hated the course and she didn't want to be here anymore and she could wait to be finished. I could see the people in her group start to feel uncomfortable and their enthusiasm for what they were learning deflate. I approached the group and said, that I had noticed that they were off topic and that I over heard what they were talking about. I told them that I understood, that it was the end of the term and that they are completely swamped with assignments which can be very stressful. However, when they were off task and making comments that they did not want to be there, made the people who were there to learn unable to do so. I also mentioned, that I had put a lot of effort into prepping the course to make sure that they learned all the outcomes in a way that they could apply it when they go out into practicum and it made me feel that I was not doing a good enough job teaching if they were not enjoying the learning. Some of the group members apologized and said they do enjoy the course but were just having a hard week with assignments and test and they would get back on task. I walked to the other side of the room to listen to some of the other groups and I could hear one of the another students in the disruptive group take over and got the group back on task. Every time the conversation would go off task, I could hear her say, lets get back on task we were talking about... I continued to walk around the room and listen in on the different discussions going on.
I feel like approaching the problem by talking to the disruptive students really worked however the unmotivated student continues not to be interested in the course. At this point it may just come down to making sure the rest of the class is having fun learning and making sure that one rotten apple doesn't spoil the bunch (which can be a hard task).
Group Discussion (April 29, 2014)
abusive student attitudes and behaviors
- talk about other people's perspective
- be direct when approaching the behavior of the student who is being abusive
- review the rules and regulations on a regular basis
- speak to the class as a whole then speak to the person as a individual
achieving diversity and cooperation- assign seats
- assign partners for each other
- let students pick their own groups so they are comfortable for every other project
- this will help students feel more comfortable with more of their classmates
managing interruptions- ignore the negative attention and reward the positive behavior
- move around the room so the attention is focused all over
- Ask students question about course material, who are not listening or being disruptive
social and emotional factors- remind the students that they all come from different backgrounds and life situations so one person's problems are not worse or better than your problem
- teaching empathy to the students
gender and race issues- To what extent do you believe that the gender of the teacher or the student influences the selection of classroom rules? Provide an example.
Assignment #3: Inquiry Presentations (April 23rd)
Mahi:
What was done well: Prezi presentation is very aesthetically pleasing and fun to follow. Really shows the steps you took to learn how to sew your shirt. Love how you said you had to use your common sense.
What you could add: More about where and how you got the material. Did you get it for free?
Wendy:
What was done well: I like how you tried three different recipes and explained the differences and brought in a ramekin to show us what it was.
What could you add: More pictures to your presentation.
Amanda:
What was done well: I liked how you talked about the feelings you had about doing the project. Animoto video was great. Easy to follow.
What could you add: A longer Animoto video because it was good but too short.
Jerrylynn:
What was done well: I like how you used the same pictures to show the different settings. You really explained some hard definitions in away that was easy to understand.
What could you add: Explain what you are planning to learn next with the camera.
Sajjad:
What was done well: I like the resources and screen shots used to in your presentations.
What could you add: More pictures to go with slides. It would be good to have a video of the steps to see it in movement.
Cara-Leigh:
What was done well: I like how you used all the different transitions and animations and everything that you used to show all the different things you learned on PowerPoint.
What could you add: More about the steps of how you learned some of the specifics of PowerPoint.
Assignment #3: Inquiry Presentations (April 29th)
Husam:
What was done well: Very humorous and fun to listen to.
I believe learning and documenting are both equally important especially in my field of work.
What could you add: clearer video of the screen of the Sumsung phone.
Darcy:
What was done well: I really like how you explained how you had to weigh out the options of what program to use in order to make your website.
What could you add: I would like to look at your actual website.
Jenna S:
What was done well: I like how simple your Prezi presentation was. The pictures made it very interesting to look at.
What could you add: What you want to learn next.
Jenna B:
What was done well: I like how you tried the two ways to learn how do your taxes. It really shows the difference in how hard it can be. I really like how you thought about your learning style.
What could you add: It would be interesting to get someone else to do it and see if you did it right with one of the ways you did it. This may help subside your fear.
Cynthia:
What was done well: I like how you used pictures to show each of the steps you did in the process of your wine making journey. I also like how you used a videos of yourself explaining the step you were doing. Great explanation on opportunities in inquiry based learning for students.
What could you add: How much you could save by making your own wine compared to buying bottles at the store
Shauna:
What was done well: I like how you explained your frustration with how fast the videos you watched were and how you used that learning experience as a means to slow down how you teach technical things you teach for your students so they can learn better from you.
What could you add: Edit slides to look for mistakes
Vanessa:
What was done well: I like how you used pictures to show the finger positions and explained how hard it was to learn guitar without an instructor that does have a lesson plan or who knows the steps to teach from the beginning.
What could you add: Talk about if you are going to continue taking guitar and where you are going to find an instructor. Did you have a strumming pattern and explain how you strummed. Did you use a pick or your fingers?
Leonard:
What was done well: I like how you changed what you decided to learn because it was not what you expected. I think that it okay to take a break from what you are learning and going back when you are ready for the challenge.
What could you add: How your learning experience can help you in your classroom.
Student-Centered Approaches (May 6, 2014)
Husam:
What was well done: Very well organized and it also makes lots of relevant points about the importance of Student Centered Approaches.
What you could add: How you will evaluate your students?
Wendy:
What was well done: I really liked how you had all your information for each topic and student centered learning on one slide. It made it easy to follow. You had good examples of how students learn from them. I like how you used a video to show how you will use the flipped classroom.
What you could add: Nothing it was great.
Cynthia:
What was well done: Great explanation of how to use the approaches in a way that makes it relevant. I like how you used three different courses
What you could add: Nothing it was great.
Jarrylynn:
What was well done: I like how you talk about how you are helping visual learners by using mind maps to help students retain lots of information and different processes. I like how you have pictures of how you will or do use the approach you are using.
What you could add: You could also use stimulations for dissections.
Vanessa:
What was well done: I agree that cooperative learning is very important when planning and creating a learning environment. It can be very hard to work with others when you have different ideas. I also like how you get them to reflect on how the environment actually works with the children.
What you could add: Less writing on slides so it is easier to follow.
Sajjad:
What was well: You used good strategies to help students learn the material that can be very complicated. I really like how you talked about the flipped classroom.
What you could add: More pictures but I know it is hard when it is your first prezi.
Darcy:
What was well done: I like how you explain what the students will learn from the different tools that you use such as BYOD and ect.
What you could add: Some of the words were hard to see. Use a darker font color.
May 13, 2014
Jenna S:
What was done well: Prezi is well done and easy to follow. I really enjoyed your presentation.
What you could add: A little more about what students will learn from the tools as well.
Kelly:
What was done well: Very well organized and well explained.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Amanda:
What was done well: Great flow of presentation. Really shows how you can make the students more invested in this course.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Jenna B:
What was done well: I like how you used graphic organizer/ mind map to explain/teach how to go through the process of an exam.
What you could add: Be more specific as to what tools you will use. i.e. graphic organizer. It looks like you used Lucid charts.
Shauna:
What was done well: I like how you explain how the students are able to see their progress as well as network through the use of blogs.
What you could add: Great presentation.
Cara:
What was done well: I like how you are getting better at using different types of technology to show your work.
What you could add: Less words. You could also use a digital storytelling instead of a webquest.
Len:
What was done well: I like how you used discovery based learning, It seems so simple as to how you just change the questions to make them more student centered. Looks like you are doing well with incorporating student centered learning even though you didn't even know you were doing it.
What you could add: Less words in presentation.