674+Reflections

**Reflection 1: 21st Century Learning **
 * 674 Reflections **

//There are 9 Essential 21st Century Skills that are critical to the learning process. After you have taken time to read through one or more of the external links about these Learning Skills (found on class wiki) write a reflection. Consider the impact these skills could have/do have on your teaching and on your students' experiences in the classroom. What issues were addressed in the article(s)? What is one thing you could do in your classroom, that is not being done yet, to help incorporate one of the 9 skills? //  Our district has this group of Core Competencies that are very similar to the 21st Century Skills that we are looking at. They were designed specifically for our district, by our district, to mirror the 21st Century Skills. They are a little more hand tailored to our needs and goals in Pewaukee. So, while they are not 100% the same, the basic concepts are pretty much covered. This action by our district really helps accomplish a few of the tips in the Getting There From Here article. As we focus more in our core competencies, we are learning what things we already do that cover 21st Century skills, adjusting material slightly to focus more one different areas (such as more problem solving questions in math versus rote memorization of the steps), and creating new lessons that are both graded and ungraded to advance the skill sets of our students in these skills. The presentation that I found the most interesting was the PowerPoint on 21st Century Skills. It wasn't until slide 26 that I really felt connected with the content of the presentation though. This slide talked about the life skills that we need to help our students find and instill in the themselves. The life skills were:
 * 1) Leadership
 * 2) Ethics
 * 3) Accountability
 * 4) Adaptability
 * 5) Personal Productivity
 * 6) Personal Responsibility
 * 7) People Skills
 * 8) Self-Direction
 * 9) Social Responsibility

I couldn't help but think how many lessons we, as teachers, teach our students concerning these life skills. These are the traits we really want our students walking away from our classrooms with. It's not whether or not my student can list the name of the ancient Greek Gods and tell you what they ruled over or if they can explain to you why we know much less about ancient India versus ancient Egypt (though, they can). What it really is about is that they learn to hold themselves accountable for their actions, their work, their education and ultimately, their life. I digress though - one of the things I try to focus on with my kids is being an effective oral communicator. I try to get my shy kids to learn to speak up with confidence and project to the back of the room. My more outgoing kids learn how to speak clearly, not making jokes all the time or trying to get a rise out of their friends and to take it seriously. Honestly, this skill set happens every time they have to present. My goal is to find a way to get them to speak on a subject that they know, but in a way where they are more focused on their presenting skills than their actual content. I use impromptu speeches as a lesson in speech, and that helps a little. However, I think I would have to have the students already have their notes for their speech all pre-made in order for this to be an effective workshop on public speaking. They would be able to pick a category that they are familiar with and want to talk about. This way they are not worried about the content and can focus on their voice level and tone. 

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">Reflection 2: Videos for the Classroom
//<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">After you have found a video to use in the classroom, post the link to the video on the "Reflection" page of your wiki. Then, write at least a 5 sentence reflection as to how you will use this video in the classroom and what impact you think it will have on your students' learning. // <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I always find it interesting to observe different teaching styles and how teachers interact with their kids. Even within the same classroom, teaching styles can change depending on the subject at hand. If teachers have a solid grasp on the material, I think they are more likely to loosen up and have some fun with the subject. If they are still learning through it, they tend to take a more serious approach to the subject.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This video clip uses humor to showcase mathematical errors. While I have used Abbott and Costello before in my class (Who's on First? - logical thinking), this one will be new to me. It fits within my teaching style though, humor blended with bits of seriousness and good-hearted teasing (for those that understand my sarcasm). In this video clip, the two comedians go at it to show how math can be wildly off if you make errors, and in there own way, show that there are consequences. Especially for kids who don't like to double check their work, or for the students who rush through their tests (read: about 5 kids today in my math class), this clip uses humor to show them to go back and check. Even if he never gets it right, they should (and will!).

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Another great video to use would be the Figurative Language Bomb. Unfortunately, there is one non-school-appropriate word for some of my 6th graders. I'll figure out a way to edit it out though. The same humor works towards figurative language. All but two of the types of figurative language used in the video are learned by my minions.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reflection 3: Types of Learner in the Classroom ** //Think about the types of learners found in your classroom. Are they active, sensing, visual, sequential, reflective, intuitive, verbal, global? Now consider the ways you have used technology in your lessons.// //Create a t-chart like the one below and brainstorm what could be fixed and how you could use technology in a new way.//

__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What is not working with curriculum / Technology to experiment with __

Online sticky notes instead of face to face interactions Increase use of blogging and commenting to provide feedback || iPad Apps should our school ever invest in them || Students evaluate their own participation before and after they view the video ||
 * = **What is not working with curriculum** ||= **Technology to experiment with** ||
 * = Writing Circles ||= Editing with MS Word for higher level students
 * = Attitudes ||= Graphing effort rubric with grades to see patterns that emerge ||
 * = Spelling ||= Online resources to practice common words
 * = Group Work ||= Flip video cameras for students to record group work