A showcase of my graduate work
Welcome to my showcase! On this page, I've chosen to highlight two major themes I've seen emerge while working toward my Master of Arts in Education (MAED). As technology becomes ever more present in the classroom, there are both challenges and innovations that arise. I found that much of my most meaningful work focused on how to effectively prepare students for a technological world and on how teachers can utilize technology as well as other resources to differentiate and reach all students.
Technology in the Classroom
A TPACK CLASSROOM
While it has been long understood that a successful teacher needs to know both the content and the best pedagogicaal approach to teach it, the "T" in TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge) is a fairly new concept. As society is becoming more focused on technology, the classroom must keep up in order to best prepare students. Spending time to think about how technology fits in my classroom helps to prevent me from incorporating new technology just for the sake of it. Click on the image I created to the left to enlarge it and see how I envision technology fitting into my classroom.
A DIGITAL NATION
In this essay, I reflect on my experiences with technology growing up and how I believe those experiences shape the way that I teach with technology today. Attention spans are shortening and students are becoming used to always having answers to questions right at their fingertips. Reflecting on my tech upbrining has helped me to consider how technology is changing the way my students think and learn. Is this something we need to work against or work with as teachers?
MY TECHNOLOGY HISTORY
In the essay below, I reflect on how technology is changing the way that people learn and think about learning. Inspired by this work, I showed my students a video and an article from one of my courses (Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier and Is Google Making Us Stupid?). I then gave a survey about student technology use in the classoom. Some findings were surprising and have changed how and how much I incorporate the use of computers in the class. Click the button below to see the results.
REMIXING THE ATOM
My Techno Manifesto is a reflection on how changes in technology have required me to teach differently than I was taught. For example, why should students memorize element names and formulas when they can access a periodic table in seconds on their phone? Reflections like these remind me that I cannot teach the same content the same way year after year. Click the link below to read more or listen to my thoughts in the Voicethread Reflection.
A TECHNO MANIFESTO
In this research project, I was tasked with taking a standard, boring lesson sequence and remixing it with technology! Instead of having students memorize parts of the atom and interact only with 2D representations, I developed a lesson sequence surrounding the Phet Colorado "Build an Atom" Simulation. The increased interest and buy-in from students has led me to seek out ways to remix other lessons in my curriculum as well. Read about my findings in the research paper below.
Reaching all Students
AN INQUIRY INTERVIEW
A major focus of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is Inquiry and the Nature of Science. What does it mean to be a scientist? How do teachers inquire into their own practice and also support students in inquiry processes? Below are some notes from when I interviews several students about their experiences with science and inquiry in my classroom. I used the results of these interviews to help set the tone for the upcoming unit on the atom.
COMPLEX INSTRUCTION
Formative assessment is another hot topic in education today. Using the ideas of complex instruction, I embedded several formative assessments throughout a lesson sequence on types of chemical bonds. In this document, you can see my lesson plan, how it changed throughout implementation, and my reflection on changes I'd like to make in the future. I think it is very important to reflect on the efficacy of assessments throughout instruction. In other words, More is not always better.
GIFTED STUDENT EDUCATION
Much of my first few years of teaching was spent learning how to differentiate to help all students meet the learning target. As I've become more successful in helping students meet the target, I've wondered if I am failing those students who exceed the target. Read my research proposal below on differentiating for gifted students in a heterogeneous classoom or watch my Screencast-O-Matic presentation on the left.