Blended learning is an instructional strategy that leverages technology to provide a more personalized and expansive approach to learning. Blended learning gives students more control over the time they use which can be a beneficial life lesson they can utilize in the future. It also gives them more control on the place, path and pace at which their learning progresses. In many cases it expands the options as a teacher because of the different medium and setting that blended learning affords. It’s been shown that blended learning increases engagement by providing students with different tools to peak their interests. By providing digital opportunities for engagement, educators may see an increase in opportunities for students to showcase their skills. When students are more engaged in the classroom discussion and coursework, their comprehension will follow. One of my favorite aspects of blended learning is students' increased sense of autonomy and control over their learning. It’s empowering students to take control of their own learning and giving them life skills like time management.
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Imagine you’ve found out that a kid you know is really inter-
ested in astronomy (or cooking, or video games, or fashion, or baseball, or music, or police work, or whatever). How would you help her go into depth in this area? What might she learn by exploring her interest more deeply? -One way to integrate their interests into education is to first, find what they are passionate about and relate their learning to those interests. An assigment or lesson can quickly be changed on the fly to accomodate those interests. Another option would be a PBL to give them some freedom when researching this topic. Maybe they find they are very passionate about this topic or maybe not so much after their research. Is there anything you always cut out, file, jot down into a note- book, or add to the pile on your desk? What is it, and why do you save it? -There's not many things that i save (on purpose) but student work and important data are two things that always get filed or posted. I find important data very useful down the line when recreating a lesson or needing to show imporvement in a certain content area. besides that I have sticky notes saved everywhere all over my desk. I'm the type of person that needs to write everything down to internalize it so I find myself with a mountain of sticky notes. Every once and a while I'll purge what's on my desk. Why do so many students describe their educational experi- ences as boring? -I find that students can become very bored very easily if they are not stimulated or connected with interests. I'm the same way. If I don't find something interesting I will not be giving my full effort. Also, some students are either above level on certain topics or some students are very behind. It's not easy to create a lesson for everyone but it is very important. There needs to be enrichment work for the students ahead and scaffolding for the students who are in more need. What would it take for you to want to be a mentor to a high school student two days a week at your workplace? -I would happily become a mentor for a highschool student. I work with K-5th students but find having one person that students know they can come to every time very beneficial. A lot of the population is in need of a positive male influence and I try to fill that gap as much as possible. Tonights material was very insightful. To begin with, I really got a lot out of our small groups discussions. We spoke about improving class/school environment and communities. There were a lot of SEL practices as well as MTSS and PBIS that we were all utilizing on our own campuses. We went a little more in depth and focused on the importance of synchronizing material taught across a campus or district level. When teachers and staff are all using the same vocabulary and are working with the same playbook then the material gains more power. We also spoke about beneficial strategies like community circles to increase the intimacy and safety within the classroom setting. After watching the committe of 10 it got me thinking about the small committees we have within our school. We currently have a leadership team and a lighthouse team. The lighthouse team is made up of a subset of three action teams. the leadrship, academic and culture team. It got me thinking about what teachers are apart of this group and how much it could benefit from adding a different sub section of teachers. Also, same thing with our student council :)
How could a school go about showing its students that they are
trusted and valued members of the school community? -At our school we have adopted the "Leader in Me' which gives students plenty of leadership opportunities within the classroom as well as out of the classroom. Our student leadership group brings the voice of their peers to the staff and important wants/needs are acted upon. Within the classroom students are empowered to create goals for themself and track their own learning. When it comes time for parent teacher conferences the students are the ones who guide the conference. Do you and your colleagues share the same philosophy or vision about your school or workplace? Why or why not? How does this influence the way you work together and think about your work? -I believ that the vast majority of my colleagues and staff share the same philosophy in teaching and education. I think we put such an emphasis on having the same outlook because then we are all working towards the same goal. Even with a good amount of teacher turnover we tend to all be on the same page. I think this influences us in a positive way because we are all working towards the same goals. Are there any situations in life where “one size fits all”? -I'm trying to think where a situation who benefit from "one size fits all" but none come to mind. There is such a vast difference in backgrounds and experiences that most learning experiences or communities need to be tailored to the multiple backgrounds of its peers. Tell about a time when you were in school and your learn- ing matched your interests. How was that experience different from times when your learning didn’t match what you were interested in? -I remeber in college I took a science course which allowed us to pick what we wanted to investigate and research. I loved this course because we had the freedom to come to our own cunclusions whether they were correct or not. There's been plenty of times during my education that i was learning something that was really not interesting to me at all. It made such a difference to have some buy in and some freedom in what i was learning. I realized i was also giving more effort towards the assigments because I genuinely cared. Reflecting on class tonight there was a lot of good conversation about what action can be put into effect immediately. I think creating an action plan at the end of this course will definitely benefit our success. One thing I want to focus on to begin our school year is meeting students where they are at. What I mean by this is creating a supportive welcoming environment for these students. A mojirty of our students have a very difficult home life and for the most part, summer is not a real vacation. We have a large amount of new incoming teachers this year and I want to stress the importance of creating a safe space first and foremost. Another aspect that I think can be very beneficial as a lesson is learning styles. Students are not aware that they learn in different ways. Giving them this understanding of how they best learning is empowering their learning from the start. We are a Leader In Me school that prides itself on the fact that we are creating leaders. I think giving the students the opportunity to lead their own learning can be powerful.
CH. 1
“k2. How would you define the differences between “learning” and "knowledge"? - To me learning is the process by how one gains knowledge. It is different for everyone and is a journey in itself. Knowledge is what you gain from your learning. generally knowledge is what sticks with you and is part of your memory. Learning is the pathway to knowledge. 5. How do you learn best? How would you go about teaching your “own capacity to learn”? -I believe that i learn best by reading information myself and then using it hands on. Typically when I only listen to information I don't fully comprehend what was said. I need to dive into it myself and make use of the information. I find this when doing something new I take lots of notes or just in everyday life i have to write down things on sticky notes so that it sticks with me. Whether I look at the sticky note again or not it doesn't matter. I think teaching a capacity to learn is giving someone the opportunity to learn in multiple ways and giving them the option of how to continue their learning. Ch.2 3. Have you ever thought about the idea that “the world is changing—schools are not”? What are some things we could do right now to bring schools up to pace with the changing world? - I have thought about the statement that the world is changing but schools are not. It seems students are ever evolving with the world around them and older practices of teaching just won't reach certain students. With the rise of technology i believe children's capacity to work on anything for a prolonged amount of time has changed. There needs to be engaging activities, brain breaks, and stimulus to keep the students engagement. Not only that but the use of technology within the classroom is very important for some. 7. What is your definition or vision of a great school? How would you go about measuring each of the qualities you choose? -To me a great school is a place where students feel comfortable going every day and be themself. Where their learning is just as much a part of their social growth with their peers and within a social setting. A great school gives the students freedom to be who they want to be in their everyday lives as well as within their learning. A great school understands that each student is different and they learn in different ways. There was a lot of material covered in our first class meeting. Tonight I thought the coversation of standardized teaching not fitting a cookie cutter approach to student success very insightful. All of our students are different in their own right and it is imperative that students are met at their own level. You mentioned a bell curve where the top 10 students don't need to be worried about, the bottom 10 are too low to help and the middle group is who we teach to. I've heard that from a coach before I couldn't disagree more. There are so many ways to reach all students whether they are below grade level or exceeding class expectations. It fits perfectly with the innovation in the classroom that we were speaking on tonight. It's finding what students are interested in, understanding their backgrounds, building relationships, and going the extra mile. As an administrator is feels trying at times to get all of the teachers on the same page. One of the difficulties I find is trying to impart what I've seen over the years to really have a buy in for these newer teachers.
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