Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Multiple Intelligences Project Proposal
I am primarily a musical and interpersonal learner. Since I do not believe I have the skill to write a song (even though that would be rad), I have chosen to do a group project. I propose (drum roll....) to film a cooking show. I would like to make a show about how to bake a cake (I will bring the cake into the class of course). I will also write a paper on how to bake a cake. The goal of my project is to show the difference between a performance and paper-and-pencil assessment. Let me know your thoughts. :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Web Quest Step #3
What?....
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is when the researcher takes a straightforward measurement (qualitative or quantitative) of a classroom behavior, score, opinion, attendance rate, etc. In this kind of research a person could do anything between keeping track of a particular classroom's reading test scores, or making a log of the most prevalent behavioral problem in a 6th grade class. The most common descriptive research techniques include interviews, case studies, logs, databases, or spreadsheets. Basically, descriptive research allows you to "describe" a certain aspect of a student or classroom.
Correlational Research: Correlational research is a form of descriptive research involving comparisons. Through correlational research, a researcher can find relationships between two different sets of data. For example, a person could compare math test scores of a class in 8th grade and a class in 10th grade. A person could also examine behavioral problems of students in 6th grade and the same students when they get to 9th grade. They can measure changes or constants and determine a relationship. Correlational research, although it can help with seeing how relationships work, does not establish causation -- it cannot prove that x causes y.
Experimental Research: Experimental research establishes "causation." It is a formal experiment. A researcher finds a question they want to answer -- for example "Does background music stimulate learning in students in the 6th grade?" -- and then tries to answer the question. The researcher would randomly split the classroom into two groups -- a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group would be subject to background music during their time in class and the control group would experience no background music. After a determined period of time, the teacher would compare the grades and test scores of the students. In most situations a teacher can't perform perfect experimental research in his/her classroom because it is hard to separate the class, keep them unaware of the treatments being imposed on them, etc. However, they can perform "quasi" experiments or a sort of modified experiment according to the teacher's needs.
Action Research: Action research is research the teacher or any part of a school's faculty performs in a classroom. This usually involves a teacher implementing a new teaching program to see if it affects his or her students' test scores or learning capabilities. This is usually done in the form of a quasi-experiment. By doing this, the teacher can determine the effectiveness of the program in his or her own classroom. However, the teacher can not apply the findings to a general population of students since teachers can rarely perform a perfect experiment. Basically, action research is when a teacher takes "action" in his or her own classroom to measure effectiveness of a new teaching strategy or program.
So What?....
Educational research is extremely important because it allows a teacher to adapt to his or her students. The worst teachers are those who refuse to change. I know of some teachers who teach the same lesson plans each year without thinking of how they fit their students. Students change each year and with that comes a whole new set of personalities. Each of these personalities requires attention and care. It is important for a teacher to notice where his or her teaching methods are not effectively helping the students. Educational research allows a teacher to continually measure his or her affectiveness and makes him or her aware of the possibility of improvement. Teachers can answer questions through research, make discoveries about new programs, and solve problems they may have in their classrooms.
Now What?....
1) I still need to learn many things about educational research. For one, I am not naturally an experimental person. I love history, stories, hard facts, and do not have much of the ways of exploration. Since I have never really experienced the methods of experimentation, I would love to become more acquainted with how to go about different methods of study. For example, in descriptive research you can interview students, employ case studies and many other things. I am unsure how you would record results and how you would determine what to do with those results. These are all things which I need to learn.
2) Once I learn the proper processes of experiments and how to evaluate them, I plan to use educational research as a means of constantly improving my teaching. I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires students to learn and take hold of a subject. I believe the only way to do this is to always make evaluations of my teaching methods and styles. The best way to be aware of how effective my teaching is to the students is through research. I can interview students about a particular assignment, record test scores, or see the effects of a new program. All of these things will allow me to always improve my teaching.
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is when the researcher takes a straightforward measurement (qualitative or quantitative) of a classroom behavior, score, opinion, attendance rate, etc. In this kind of research a person could do anything between keeping track of a particular classroom's reading test scores, or making a log of the most prevalent behavioral problem in a 6th grade class. The most common descriptive research techniques include interviews, case studies, logs, databases, or spreadsheets. Basically, descriptive research allows you to "describe" a certain aspect of a student or classroom.
Correlational Research: Correlational research is a form of descriptive research involving comparisons. Through correlational research, a researcher can find relationships between two different sets of data. For example, a person could compare math test scores of a class in 8th grade and a class in 10th grade. A person could also examine behavioral problems of students in 6th grade and the same students when they get to 9th grade. They can measure changes or constants and determine a relationship. Correlational research, although it can help with seeing how relationships work, does not establish causation -- it cannot prove that x causes y.
Experimental Research: Experimental research establishes "causation." It is a formal experiment. A researcher finds a question they want to answer -- for example "Does background music stimulate learning in students in the 6th grade?" -- and then tries to answer the question. The researcher would randomly split the classroom into two groups -- a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group would be subject to background music during their time in class and the control group would experience no background music. After a determined period of time, the teacher would compare the grades and test scores of the students. In most situations a teacher can't perform perfect experimental research in his/her classroom because it is hard to separate the class, keep them unaware of the treatments being imposed on them, etc. However, they can perform "quasi" experiments or a sort of modified experiment according to the teacher's needs.
Action Research: Action research is research the teacher or any part of a school's faculty performs in a classroom. This usually involves a teacher implementing a new teaching program to see if it affects his or her students' test scores or learning capabilities. This is usually done in the form of a quasi-experiment. By doing this, the teacher can determine the effectiveness of the program in his or her own classroom. However, the teacher can not apply the findings to a general population of students since teachers can rarely perform a perfect experiment. Basically, action research is when a teacher takes "action" in his or her own classroom to measure effectiveness of a new teaching strategy or program.
So What?....
Educational research is extremely important because it allows a teacher to adapt to his or her students. The worst teachers are those who refuse to change. I know of some teachers who teach the same lesson plans each year without thinking of how they fit their students. Students change each year and with that comes a whole new set of personalities. Each of these personalities requires attention and care. It is important for a teacher to notice where his or her teaching methods are not effectively helping the students. Educational research allows a teacher to continually measure his or her affectiveness and makes him or her aware of the possibility of improvement. Teachers can answer questions through research, make discoveries about new programs, and solve problems they may have in their classrooms.
Now What?....
1) I still need to learn many things about educational research. For one, I am not naturally an experimental person. I love history, stories, hard facts, and do not have much of the ways of exploration. Since I have never really experienced the methods of experimentation, I would love to become more acquainted with how to go about different methods of study. For example, in descriptive research you can interview students, employ case studies and many other things. I am unsure how you would record results and how you would determine what to do with those results. These are all things which I need to learn.
2) Once I learn the proper processes of experiments and how to evaluate them, I plan to use educational research as a means of constantly improving my teaching. I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires students to learn and take hold of a subject. I believe the only way to do this is to always make evaluations of my teaching methods and styles. The best way to be aware of how effective my teaching is to the students is through research. I can interview students about a particular assignment, record test scores, or see the effects of a new program. All of these things will allow me to always improve my teaching.
Cool Brain Research - John Ratey
What?....
John Ratey is currently researching how exercise effects the efficiency of the brain. In his recent book entitled, Spark, and in recent interviews Ratey argues that exercise greatly enhances the capacity of the brain to learn. He claims firstly, that exercise sharpens a person's impulse control, reasoning skills, and memory and learning system (basically enables the frontal cortex to work more effectively). Secondly, Ratey argues exercise releases neurotransmitters and hormones which help our brains change, grow and adapt. Lastly, he believes exercise stimulates neurogenesis, or the development of new brain cells. All of these things lead to a harder working, more controlled, more effective brain.
So What?....
John Ratey's research has already helped teachers and schools make big break-throughs in education. Two examples of this exist in Naperville High School and City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon. Naperville High School has all of its students participate in rigorous aerobic activity for 45 minutes each morning. This school has the lowest rate of obesity and also the highest scores on tests (on one test they scored #1 in Science and #6 in Math in the world). Ms. Allison Cameron, a teacher at City Park Collegiate, read Dr. Ratey's book and decided to implement an exercise program in her own classroom. Her school is a place where kids with behavioral problems, drug and alcohol problems, etc., come to as a last resort for education. After she started requiring her students participate in aerobic activity for 20 minutes each day of class, she noticed a big change in the students. Behavioral problems were almost eliminated and within four months the students jumped up at least a grade-level in reading (most of her 8th grade students only read at a 4th grade level). These two schools have already proven that Ratey's theories are very valuable in the educational sphere.
Now What?....
After researching John Ratey's theories, I am very excited about implementing his findings in my own classroom. I am someone who tries to run as much as a can during the week. My goal is always to run 15 miles a week (3 miles, 5 days a week). Even before reading about Ratey's theories, I have noticed on the days that I run my mind is more focused, I do better in my school work, I get more accomplished, and I my body feels happier and more invigorated. So of course exercise would help a class of teenage students. I would love to be able to have treadmills within my own classroom -- the students' bodies and minds would get a jump start, they would learn the importance of diet and exercise firsthand, and I could knock out my own workout with the students each day. However, I realize my dream is probably out of the question for the budget of most schools. With that being said, I believe by simply presenting Ratey's theories to the students and maybe giving assignments to do an aerobic activity after school in place of book work, I could implement some sort of exercise program into my classroom.
(To see where I found my information click here and here)
John Ratey is currently researching how exercise effects the efficiency of the brain. In his recent book entitled, Spark, and in recent interviews Ratey argues that exercise greatly enhances the capacity of the brain to learn. He claims firstly, that exercise sharpens a person's impulse control, reasoning skills, and memory and learning system (basically enables the frontal cortex to work more effectively). Secondly, Ratey argues exercise releases neurotransmitters and hormones which help our brains change, grow and adapt. Lastly, he believes exercise stimulates neurogenesis, or the development of new brain cells. All of these things lead to a harder working, more controlled, more effective brain.
So What?....
John Ratey's research has already helped teachers and schools make big break-throughs in education. Two examples of this exist in Naperville High School and City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon. Naperville High School has all of its students participate in rigorous aerobic activity for 45 minutes each morning. This school has the lowest rate of obesity and also the highest scores on tests (on one test they scored #1 in Science and #6 in Math in the world). Ms. Allison Cameron, a teacher at City Park Collegiate, read Dr. Ratey's book and decided to implement an exercise program in her own classroom. Her school is a place where kids with behavioral problems, drug and alcohol problems, etc., come to as a last resort for education. After she started requiring her students participate in aerobic activity for 20 minutes each day of class, she noticed a big change in the students. Behavioral problems were almost eliminated and within four months the students jumped up at least a grade-level in reading (most of her 8th grade students only read at a 4th grade level). These two schools have already proven that Ratey's theories are very valuable in the educational sphere.
Now What?....
After researching John Ratey's theories, I am very excited about implementing his findings in my own classroom. I am someone who tries to run as much as a can during the week. My goal is always to run 15 miles a week (3 miles, 5 days a week). Even before reading about Ratey's theories, I have noticed on the days that I run my mind is more focused, I do better in my school work, I get more accomplished, and I my body feels happier and more invigorated. So of course exercise would help a class of teenage students. I would love to be able to have treadmills within my own classroom -- the students' bodies and minds would get a jump start, they would learn the importance of diet and exercise firsthand, and I could knock out my own workout with the students each day. However, I realize my dream is probably out of the question for the budget of most schools. With that being said, I believe by simply presenting Ratey's theories to the students and maybe giving assignments to do an aerobic activity after school in place of book work, I could implement some sort of exercise program into my classroom.
(To see where I found my information click here and here)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Hidden Assignment - Course Contract
2-3 goals I have for this course...
1. Firstly, I want to come away from this course having a knowledge of how to better understand the kids I am teaching. I want to know how they learn and not only that, but how to learn ways to determine a student's learning style.
2. I want to be interactive and actively involved in my own learning process. I want to be able to take hold of the material I am learning and understand how I can apply it to experiences I will have as a teacher.
3. I just want to keep up with the "rhythm" of the class. :)
My weekly preparation plan...
As I said before, one of my goals is to stay up with the "rhythm of the course" that we discussed on the first day of class. In order to do this I know that I need to stay on top of things and be very aware of what is required of me. I will do this by having a time during the week, maybe right after class, when I look over the schedule and see what is required of me the following week. I will look at both what is due the next week and bigger assignments which are due farther in the future. For my other classes I usually make a calendar listing all of my assignments that are due for the semester. I plan to do this for this class as well.
My study strategies...
Throughout my high school and college career, I have discovered that I learn best by first taking notes (writing out notes, not just typing them on a computer) and then going over them repeatedly. I usually do this by making flashcards or keeping a log of different terms somewhere in my notebook. As long as I stay on top of this I never have to "cram" for a test or assignment.
The process I will follow if I do not understand a topic...
Firstly, if I do not understand a topic I will ususally first try to figure it out on my own -- looking in the textbook, looking online, etc. However, it that does not work I will try to find a classmate who does understand the topic and then go over it with them. If stage two does not work, I will then go to you, Dr. Cox and then hopefully I will be able to get my problem worked out. :)
I will reach my goals in this course by....
1) Using my time wisely,
2) Being aware of assignments,
3) Asking for help if I need it,
and
4) Being awesome!!
1. Firstly, I want to come away from this course having a knowledge of how to better understand the kids I am teaching. I want to know how they learn and not only that, but how to learn ways to determine a student's learning style.
2. I want to be interactive and actively involved in my own learning process. I want to be able to take hold of the material I am learning and understand how I can apply it to experiences I will have as a teacher.
3. I just want to keep up with the "rhythm" of the class. :)
My weekly preparation plan...
As I said before, one of my goals is to stay up with the "rhythm of the course" that we discussed on the first day of class. In order to do this I know that I need to stay on top of things and be very aware of what is required of me. I will do this by having a time during the week, maybe right after class, when I look over the schedule and see what is required of me the following week. I will look at both what is due the next week and bigger assignments which are due farther in the future. For my other classes I usually make a calendar listing all of my assignments that are due for the semester. I plan to do this for this class as well.
My study strategies...
Throughout my high school and college career, I have discovered that I learn best by first taking notes (writing out notes, not just typing them on a computer) and then going over them repeatedly. I usually do this by making flashcards or keeping a log of different terms somewhere in my notebook. As long as I stay on top of this I never have to "cram" for a test or assignment.
The process I will follow if I do not understand a topic...
Firstly, if I do not understand a topic I will ususally first try to figure it out on my own -- looking in the textbook, looking online, etc. However, it that does not work I will try to find a classmate who does understand the topic and then go over it with them. If stage two does not work, I will then go to you, Dr. Cox and then hopefully I will be able to get my problem worked out. :)
I will reach my goals in this course by....
1) Using my time wisely,
2) Being aware of assignments,
3) Asking for help if I need it,
and
4) Being awesome!!
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