tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post3224582355856449393..comments2014-03-26T12:12:08.727-07:00Comments on Teach, Reflect, Repeat : MACUL: Thoughts and Reflections Rachael Malerman http://www.blogger.com/profile/13527459488693814928noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-46131132176356151182014-03-26T12:12:08.727-07:002014-03-26T12:12:08.727-07:00Yeah, I too agree that the photography and video s...Yeah, I too agree that the photography and video session was more math-oriented. I could only imagine how great it would be to have a physics class to use that type of format. I actually tried it out in one of my classes and almost all of my students were completely engaged. I think one of the most effective elements about using this type of activity is that because it uses real-world scenarios, almost every student is able to connect to the content somehow. As a result, students of mine who are struggling in math and have never spoken in class before were still able to participate in our discussion. It was really amazing.<br /><br />In regards to a leaderboard from my own gaming experience, I am actually motivated by them when playing with games. I guess with all things, you will never be able to please all of your students and meet all of their needs. Even in this technological age, not all students like video games and not all of them like competition. If you had a classroom full of students like me, it could possibly work. Thanks for sharing Rachael!Jonathan Songhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17775727309128988019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-42631183700455553252014-03-22T11:40:48.950-07:002014-03-22T11:40:48.950-07:00Rachael,
I want to echo the comments of our clas...Rachael, <br /><br />I want to echo the comments of our classmates- thanks for sharing about your experiences at MACUL! I like that we each get to learn from the presentations that we didn't get to attend by reading the reflections of our classmates and think more deeply about presentations that we did attend.<br /><br />I also attended the Homemade Math and Science presentation and I loved it! In your reflection of your experience of it, you remarked that "it is not just about finding "real world connections", but it is about developing students' minds to see the world both mathematically and scientifically." I think that this was really the core message of Andrew's presentation around engaging students with content through pictures and videos and appreciate that you shared this key insight! It seems easy to focus on setting our content in contexts that interest students in order to get them to listen and participate, but you point out that our focus should be on supporting our students' skills that will allow them to be better prepared for the "real world."<br /><br />Thanks again for sharing your insights from the conference! You've given me a lot to think about!<br /><br />LauraLaura Pressprichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18039411684560509957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-36598719405306492162014-03-19T14:32:11.582-07:002014-03-19T14:32:11.582-07:00Thanks for sharing. I appreciate hearing your tho...Thanks for sharing. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on the upsides and downsides of gamification. It's reassuring to hear that too much choice can be paralyzing for students. I tend to agree with that reality. Also, I think your takeaway from the second session you attended has incredible applicability to all teachers. Students are growing up as one of the first generations to experience an overwhelmingly digital world. Therefore, it's helpful to hear that digital media, such as simple visual aids like images and videos, can help spur engagement. I have been thinking about that a lot in my teaching. I think that videos especially can help students apply content in ways that mere conversation can't. Thank you for sharing your experience at MACUL. I found it very enjoyable and helpful to read. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17430291465896517146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-73607932389587074002014-03-16T18:48:48.126-07:002014-03-16T18:48:48.126-07:00Your second session sounds really interesting. I t...Your second session sounds really interesting. I think it was cool of the presenter to model their instruction with the people attending, maybe you were able to get some ideas from them. I think one of the things I always liked about science and math classes was being able to see how the content I was learning could be made relevant to my everyday life as a middle and high schooler. I think this could really be elevated by using pictures and video in the classroom. I feel as though I learn better visually and think this would help me to conceptualize things being discussed in your science classes. I also wonder how it would work out if you asked students to collect examples of pictures and videos they either create or come across in their daily lives that represent concepts they have learned in class. It would be something they could take pride in and engage even further in the material.Kelseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03073903396457716315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-60962208702071591212014-03-16T15:57:10.084-07:002014-03-16T15:57:10.084-07:00It's interesting how, based on your descriptio...It's interesting how, based on your descriptions of the presentations, technology was being used quite lightly. It wasn't like gamification actually requires all students to have computers in class, everyday. It just requires the teacher to be familiar with the inner workings of video games, and replicate the motivating factors present in video games in the design of their classrooms.<br />Likewise, to show how math and science is used in the real-world, the teacher just needs one computer to project pictures and videos of such concepts. Or she can have the class find their own by taking them to the school's media center.<br /><br />It is great that under-resourced schools can still get in on the Ed Tech trends, by understanding how newfangled tools solve traditional problems (i.e., motivation and content relevance).A Voicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17567506502570363296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5077428683098969920.post-34356382045498157952014-03-16T11:23:02.840-07:002014-03-16T11:23:02.840-07:00Rachael, I liked reading your well-written summary...Rachael, I liked reading your well-written summary of Professor Kolb’s talk. I almost popped in to hear her as I walked by en route to another talk down the hall. I also liked your summary about her emphasis on “shifting the focus from grades to acquiring skills for her university students.” But I wonder if one could try to do this in a high school setting, where the increasing demand placed on high-stakes testing is reaching an all time high, as the recently-released MEAP scores illustrate so well. Nevertheless, your comments (and Liz’s talk) connect rather well with another session that I attended on fostering authentic writing through digital feedback. I was left wondering, after the talk, how we, as high school teachers, can strike a balance between teaching students some much-needed 21st-century skills in an atmosphere of ever-increasing emphasis placed upon grades, not to mention high test scores. Are the two mutually exclusive? Or overlapping? It has been my experience, as this early stage of my career, that most students are more concerned with the grade than the feedback. Take, for example, a standard 5-paragraph essay. How many students actually take the time to read the teachers comments in the margins? Students generally flip to the last page, look at the grade, and then stuff the papers into their backpacks. Perhaps there is a better way, a more authentic way? Perhaps we could prolong the grades – that is, give students credit for handing in their drafts, but consider their essays as a work-in-progress rather than the final product. Perhaps this is was Liz was getting at when she suggested that we should “shift the focus from grades to acquiring skills”? GoingDutch1660https://www.blogger.com/profile/03661294254202616352noreply@blogger.com