Standard 2.2 Research-Based Learner-Centered Strategies
Candidates model and facilitate the use of research-based, learner-centered strategies addressing the diversity of all students. (PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b)
Artifact: Internet Lesson Plan
Reflection:
This artifact is the internet lesson plan that I completed in ITEC 7430. The purpose of this lesson plan was to create a technology rich unit/activity that would meet the needs of all learners in my classroom. This artifact shows mastery of Standard 2.2 - Research-Based Learner-Centered Strategies - which states that "candidates model and facilitate the use of research-based, learner-centered strategies addressing the diversity of all students" because I made it a priority to include strategies that will benefit all of my learners. I had a very diverse class - my students ranged from gifted all the way to several students who could barely speak English due to a recent move out of their home country. As a result, I had to be creative when coming up with lessons for my class since I needed to accommodate for so many learners in order to ensure their success.
As I implemented this lesson, I modeled and facilitated a variety of research-based strategies. First, I utilized small, differentiated groups when teaching the parts and pieces of the lesson. I believe in the power of small group instruction because then the instruction can be specific to just the learners in each group. In addition, some parts of this lesson were designed for students to do individually while other parts were designed for them to work in groups. That way, students can show what they know on their own, but they can also collaborate with others to create a final product. This lesson plan also involved higher-order thinking skills at the analysis, evaluation, AND creativity level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. First, students were required to analyze their books and infer the theme and character traits and then draw other conclusions based on evidence found in the text. Then students were asked to form an opinion about their book and determine if they would recommend the book to someone else to read. They then had to justify their opinion. Finally, students were required to construct two responses to their book, and at the end of the project, they had to create a presentation giving an overview of the entire book. Finally, this project allowed for a lot of student choice rather than me just telling the students exactly how I want them to complete their projects.
All of these strategies mentioned are very learner-centered. As I formed the small groups, the focus was on the learners and which groups would be the best placement for them as they completed the group activities. Also, all of the higher order thinking skills focused on the learners and what skills they will develop and perfect as they complete the activities in this lesson. In addition, student choice is important to any learner-centered environment. In order for students to genuinely be invested in a project, they have to take some ownership in it, and that is very difficult to do if they are just told exactly what they need to turn in. Projects turn out so much better when student choice is involved.
Finally, the strategies mentioned address the diversity of all students. This project will accommodate various learning styles and abilities since the students get to choose which program they would like to use to respond to their book. For example, students who are visual would probably choose Thinglink or Glogster since both of these programs use at least one picture. Auditory learners will enjoy this project because of the Movenote component of the project where they will actually get to record themselves speaking. Kinesthetic learners will be allowed to sit around the room or in the hallway to complete this work, and several of the technology programs require students to design their finished product by manipulating pictures and other visuals. In addition, some of this project is done individually and some of it is done collaboratively. This helps out the struggling students since they are able to work with a partner for several pieces of this project rather than all alone. Finally, the books the students read are chosen based on each group's reading level. Extension/enrichment opportunities are built right into this project since higher readers will be able to read more challenging books. Also, this project gives students freedom when responding to their books. As a result, the higher students' responses will be done at a higher level. The higher groups will also have some more in-depth requirements for responding to their group members' blogs.
Through completing this project, I learned that technology is such a fabulous tool to use for differentiation because it truly allows students to work at their own levels instead of all students doing the exact same assignment the exact same way. This makes for a great conversation starter when talking about technology to other teachers since differentiation is such a buzz word around schools. Finally, I believe that the work that went into creating and implementing this lesson plan impacted student learning mainly because of the way this project was differentiated. Each student was able to complete the work at his/her own level, and as a result, a great amount of learning was able to take place.
This artifact is the internet lesson plan that I completed in ITEC 7430. The purpose of this lesson plan was to create a technology rich unit/activity that would meet the needs of all learners in my classroom. This artifact shows mastery of Standard 2.2 - Research-Based Learner-Centered Strategies - which states that "candidates model and facilitate the use of research-based, learner-centered strategies addressing the diversity of all students" because I made it a priority to include strategies that will benefit all of my learners. I had a very diverse class - my students ranged from gifted all the way to several students who could barely speak English due to a recent move out of their home country. As a result, I had to be creative when coming up with lessons for my class since I needed to accommodate for so many learners in order to ensure their success.
As I implemented this lesson, I modeled and facilitated a variety of research-based strategies. First, I utilized small, differentiated groups when teaching the parts and pieces of the lesson. I believe in the power of small group instruction because then the instruction can be specific to just the learners in each group. In addition, some parts of this lesson were designed for students to do individually while other parts were designed for them to work in groups. That way, students can show what they know on their own, but they can also collaborate with others to create a final product. This lesson plan also involved higher-order thinking skills at the analysis, evaluation, AND creativity level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. First, students were required to analyze their books and infer the theme and character traits and then draw other conclusions based on evidence found in the text. Then students were asked to form an opinion about their book and determine if they would recommend the book to someone else to read. They then had to justify their opinion. Finally, students were required to construct two responses to their book, and at the end of the project, they had to create a presentation giving an overview of the entire book. Finally, this project allowed for a lot of student choice rather than me just telling the students exactly how I want them to complete their projects.
All of these strategies mentioned are very learner-centered. As I formed the small groups, the focus was on the learners and which groups would be the best placement for them as they completed the group activities. Also, all of the higher order thinking skills focused on the learners and what skills they will develop and perfect as they complete the activities in this lesson. In addition, student choice is important to any learner-centered environment. In order for students to genuinely be invested in a project, they have to take some ownership in it, and that is very difficult to do if they are just told exactly what they need to turn in. Projects turn out so much better when student choice is involved.
Finally, the strategies mentioned address the diversity of all students. This project will accommodate various learning styles and abilities since the students get to choose which program they would like to use to respond to their book. For example, students who are visual would probably choose Thinglink or Glogster since both of these programs use at least one picture. Auditory learners will enjoy this project because of the Movenote component of the project where they will actually get to record themselves speaking. Kinesthetic learners will be allowed to sit around the room or in the hallway to complete this work, and several of the technology programs require students to design their finished product by manipulating pictures and other visuals. In addition, some of this project is done individually and some of it is done collaboratively. This helps out the struggling students since they are able to work with a partner for several pieces of this project rather than all alone. Finally, the books the students read are chosen based on each group's reading level. Extension/enrichment opportunities are built right into this project since higher readers will be able to read more challenging books. Also, this project gives students freedom when responding to their books. As a result, the higher students' responses will be done at a higher level. The higher groups will also have some more in-depth requirements for responding to their group members' blogs.
Through completing this project, I learned that technology is such a fabulous tool to use for differentiation because it truly allows students to work at their own levels instead of all students doing the exact same assignment the exact same way. This makes for a great conversation starter when talking about technology to other teachers since differentiation is such a buzz word around schools. Finally, I believe that the work that went into creating and implementing this lesson plan impacted student learning mainly because of the way this project was differentiated. Each student was able to complete the work at his/her own level, and as a result, a great amount of learning was able to take place.