ETE 653 Revitalized Instructional Unit Reflective Self-Evaluation

Reflective Self-Evaluation

Sue Pawula

           

            When creating this Revitalized Instructional Unit, I enjoyed the opportunity to utilize so many different strategies.  I am looking forward to using these theories and instructional strategy model in my classroom.  Creating this document made it that much easier for me to “reach in the hat and pull out” a new strategy and implement it to improve my instruction for all my students.  The strategies that I have included have really transformed the prior lessons into much higher thinking levels for the students.  All of the activities and assessment are aligned with the strategies to allow them to flow seamlessly.

            Technology included is either videos or interactive sites where students acquire extra information in an interesting format that also furthers the lesson.  They allow the students to participate in their own learning and go back if they have a misconception and realize what is the correct information. 

            All the justifications included for the changes in the lesson clearly state how the lesson is creating an effective instructional environment, which will allow students to take charge of their learning and scaffold their questioning ability.  These activities will assist them to use their cognitive skills in critical and creative ways in order to become higher-level thinkers.

            The video presentation shares all of the information provided in this document in an useful manner.  The paper is written in correct format as requested.

            As I said, I have enjoyed delving into the different theories that encourage all teachers to think about how to activate their students’ minds through movement and development of questioning skills.  We need to hand some of the tools for learning into the students hands so that they can question and delve for information to answer question.  They need to become more skilled in defending their opinions with facts.  We as teachers need to guide and facilitate this type of learning.  That is where the strategy models come to play since having acquired so many higher level thinking strategies will allow me to increase the learning in my classroom through there implementation. 

ETE 653 Evaluation and Reflection - Suchman Inquiry Model

Suchman Inquiry

Sue Pawula

Evaluation

            The presentation replicating the Suchman Inquiry Model was completed through exact use of the wording required in the example in Chapter 7 - Inquiry Model of Gunter, Estes, and Schwab’s (2003) book, Instruction: A Models Approach.  My peers were involved in the same type of instruction involving working as individuals to create questions that could only be answered with a yes or no.  Their involvement was clear as they struggled to construct questions that fit the criteria while at the same time trying to discover more knowledge on the subject.  The technique, which is targeted at student’s development of deeper questions skills, still was relevant and difficult for adults.  It is an activity designed to encourage deep metacognitive thinking and critically thoughtful reflection after each question’s answer is received.  This is a brain based activation model that requires delving into prior learning and creatively developing information from different angles of perception. 

            By starting the activity presenting the problem and providing rules for proceeding, my peers were asked to make connections to things they knew about the problem and try to collect data in order to develop a testable hypothesis.  The handout covered all the points of the Suchman Inquiry Model in a clear and concise manner and would allow anyone viewing it, the opportunity to follow through and use the model in their own classroom with ease.  The class discussion of the questions of strengths and weakness focused on the implementation process and time constraint issues.   It was determined by the group that this model promotes cognitive development through its questioning process when used in the appropriate setting with teacher support. Discussion compared it to the Problem Solving Model or Creative Problem Solving Model since students are required to participate in higher-level questioning and come to a mutually agreed upon hypothesis to test.  It would have been an enhanced presentation had I discovered the information provided for me to alter some of my presentation in the manner suggested by the teacher.  The presentation is deserving of an “A”.

Reflection

            When researching Suchman Inquiry Model, I initially thought that it would follow previous inquiry models that I had used during my STEM Masters program.  However, I was happily surprised to realize how the questioning skills that students would acquire would make them dig very deeply and develop personal skill that were on a much higher-thinking plane.  The model also would improve the students’ use of their metacognitive reasoning skills.  It is a model that would require the teacher to do some research prior to implementing but that would pay off through helping students acquire skills in question development and reasoning.  It could contribute to all students’ knowledge acquisition since they need to think creatively and share prior knowledge.  It really is a beneficial models to use since it will build student’s self-confidence in their abilities and allow them take command of their own education. Finally, when generating the hypothesis, they are called on to reflect and synthesis all that they have heard into a cohesive statement analyzing the data collected.

            My peers’ initial reaction to the model turned from puzzlement to enthusiasm as they realized the benefit this model would provide their classrooms. It allowed me to also perceive what they understood about how to initiate the process and why it would be promote knowledge acquisition through metacognitive processing of information by their students.  I am looking forward to utilizing this during the upcoming school year as I think it will be met with enthusiasm and increased student involvement in all areas of learning.

ETE 653 Evaluation and Reflection - Concept Development Model

Concept Development

Sue Pawula

Evaluation

            The presentation replicating the Concept Development Model was completed through exact use of the wording required in the Taba example.  My peers were able to be involved in the same type of instruction involving working collaboratively to complete a list, group, label, regroup, and synthesis.  Their involvement was clear through the conversation that were visible and their interactions and information exchanges.  The technique, which is targeted at students, still is relevant for involving adults in a concept building activity where they are encouraged to exhibit deep metacognitive thinking and reflect critically on what others contribute.  This is a brain based activation model that requires delving into prior learning and creativity in looking at information from a different angle. 

            Using a common theme of “what we think of when we talk about a family activity” tied into my peers personal lives and allowed them all to make connections to things they liked to do with their families.  The handout covered all the points of the Concept Development in a clear and concise manner and would allow anyone viewing it, the opportunity to follow through and use the model in their own classroom with ease.  The class discussion of the questions of strengths and weakness focused on mutually acquired previous information on learning theories as well our own prior knowledge of effective instruction.  It was determined by the group that this model promotes cognitive development when used in the appropriate setting with teacher support. Discussion compared it to the Problem Solving Model since students are required to participate in groups and come to a mutually agreed upon synthesized sentence to cover all they had discussed and approved.  It would have been an enhanced presentation had we been able to write and interact with our “board” in our virtual classroom for all to see.  The presentation is deserving of an “A”.

Reflection

            When researching Concept Development, I was happily surprised with how easy it would be to utilize in my own classroom and how much it would improve the lessons and the students’ use of their metacognitive reasoning skills.  It is a model that would easily be implemented in the individual parts of educational curriculum and also to promote cross-curricular instruction.  It could contribute to all of my students acquiring knowledge from their classmates through mutual sharing of prior knowledge.  It really is easy to use since generating a list is usually very simple for all students and when you are able to do so in a whole class or even small group setting, the different perspectives of students past experience really enriches the list.  Grouping, labeling, and regrouping the list also can contribute to student creative reflection since they will be able to view how someone else sees how they would group and label the words since they all bring different points of view.  This also calls for them to think critically in order to defend their vision of how the lists should be regrouped or labeled.  Finally, when generating the finally summarizing sentence, they are called on to reflect and synthesis all that they have heard into a cohesive sentence analyzing the entire process. 

            My peers’ enthusiastic reaction to the subject made it very easy to draw out more and 
 more information.  It allowed me to also perceive what they understood about the subject, 
 which is another avenue that we are always trying to pursue when evaluating our own students 
 to see how they are cognitively developing.  I am looking forward to utilizing this during the upcoming school year as I think it will be met with enthusiasm and increased student  involvement in all areas of learning.

Research into Teaching and Learning

Research into Teaching and Learning

Sue Pawula

 Evaluation

My grade on the Research into Teaching & Learning project should be an “A” based on the entire picture of the my work on the process and the output. The research that I was able to insert into the power point and presentation was all the major points of the theories with regards to education. It was relevant, covered multiple facets of the topic, was appropriate for graduate students, provided in-depth coverage of a variety of findings in education, and was connected and thorough in the explanation of the topic. The handout reported, reflected, and covered all of the most important research findings with clear examples of how brain based learning should take place in the classroom. The activity was designed to facilitate the participation of colleagues asked to synthesis and evaluate their feelings during the process and compare them to how students would view the activity. The questions followed the guidelines and required other participants to synthesis and analyze their newfound knowledge on brain-based learning.  My own participation in the questions and meetings was professional and thoughtful.  The video presented the research in a manner that developed collegial understanding through visual representations and verbal explanations.  It should have stressed that brain based research was for ALL teachers and not just pre-service teachers. It also would have been slightly improved if similar research had been placed together. Discussion of the questions and participation by my colleagues was perceptive.  The process displayed depth and breadth in coverage of the research and manner in which it was conveyed to my colleagues. Reflection on the entire process demonstrates initial insights as I prepared, investigated, integrated information, and presented findings through a professionally insightful video. It was followed by an interesting discussion and interaction with peers, which resulted in excellent dialog. Reading prior to the other theory presentations developed my understanding of the topics and was demonstrated when I answered their interesting and thought provoking questions. The presentation covered all the major research and was given in a professionally comprehensive way.  My personal reflection essay provides unique analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of the process I proceeded through during this project and indicated areas that could be improved as well as factors that were exemplar.  The writing provides clear analysis of how all of this widely varied research information and participation in the project relates to my thinking about thinking and the variety of ways it can be used in classroom instruction. 

Summary

            My colleagues made many interesting comments during the discussion question segment. They all saw the need to discover students prior knowledge and to engage student by discovering their interests when considering what brain-based learning activities to implement.  High on the list of other things to insert was movement, kinesthetic, and the arts to activate and engage the brain for better retention of information.  They also included comments concerning how students need to work collaboratively in groups to support each other.  Teacher repetition of complex information was another strategies suggested to improve student retention.  Students need challenge in just the right amount so that they struggle a little before reaching their goal.  The activity was fun brain games that my peers enjoyed participating in and saw the value of utilizing similar challenges for students.  They seemed to think it would help student to create connections and encourage them to think in different ways. 

Reflection

This was quite an enjoyable and educational process that provided my introduction to brain-based theory and learning.  I had heard of brain-based learning but did not know the basis of the theory or the educational recommendations.  The information on this subject, provided by Dr. Grant, was very useful and searching for more information on the Internet provided me with many very insightful sites and slightly different views from other researchers in this field.  I also investigated other textbooks in the field of education for more information.  Some of that information told that students needed to be engaged in coherent instruction and retain information after repetition.  After accumulating a wealth of information on the theory, I then had to sort through the information and pick only the most important parts to share with my colleagues.  I place the most relevant and informative facts on my power point, which gave a clear picture of the decisions we need to consider before determining instructional plans.  The part of creating the video and inserting the power point slides into it was very time consuming since it is the first time that I have participated in a totally on-line class with this type of Internet tool.  However, the presentation video and power point went very well together and were effective in discussing the brain based research and it impact on instructional processes when creating lesson to enhance leaning.  It would have been slightly improved if I had consolidated similar research.  I feel that I am taking away a plethora of ideas on how I would like to create a classroom that follows many of the recommendations such as incorporating movement to engage the students brain as well as looking at their interests and prior knowledge before implementing instruction that will power my students brain.  In the discussion by my peers their comments also validated the important points that I had made.  We all have new ideas to insert into our classrooms.  

Testing Again!

Please also let me know if you are receiving this one.  Thanks again.

Sue