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.