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Final Reflection
week 7 Reflection
That was a fast seven weeks! For the past couple of years, my vision for what I want my traditional bricks and mortar class to look like has been evolving. I envision a class where each day students are engaged in their learning, and depending on the students knowledge, students might be working on different parts of the lesson on any given day. I see a classroom where students take ownership of their learning. This class has given me a name for my vision, BLENDED LEARNING. According to Edutopia, blended learning "provides the school with a variety of ways to address student needs, differentiate instruction, and provide teachers with data for instructional decision-making." Additionally, "blended learning combines classroom learning with online learning, in which students can, in part, control the time, pace, and place of their learning." (Tucker, 2013). This is what I envision when I think of my classroom.
At the end of the school year, I commented to my Department Chair that learning is messy (as there were volcano models all over my classroom along with the tools used to create them!). I want my students to develop ideas, try to answer questions, make mistakes, and most importantly, learn from their mistakes, after all that is how they will make meaning of the information. According to Tucker (2013), student centered classrooms should be the goal of blended learning; blended learning gives "students control over the learning process, and requires that they know how to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems in groups, pairs, and individually. This work can be messy, loud, and disorganized, but in the end, the learning is much more meaningful."
This class has given some tools for updating my curriculum in ways that I can use right away in the classroom. I am excited about reviewing my units of instruction to find ways to make them more student centered and digitize where I can to make my blended learning vision for my classroom a reality. I need to spend the summer reviewing some of the tools that my classmates shared, and then pick a few that I want to try next year. Additionally, I plan to map out the units of instruction with a blended format in mind.
In particular, this week's reflection on each assignment was a very useful exercise. If I had done the reflection in the week when I created the unit, I do not think it would be as beneficial because the information is still too new. By reflecting at the end of the class, the information was still fresh enough (unlike going back in six months or a year when I create my ET592 Portfolio!). Reflecting at the end of the seven weeks allowed us to assimilate learning from the entire summer session. I kept referring to week seven. in my end of class reflections because that is when things starting "pulling together for me".
The self evaluation of our Elearning Toolbox is a chance to "dot my i's and cross my t's" and extend the reflection process. Peer evaluating is a valuable tool, so I hope that my colleague gains valuable information from that process.
At the end of the school year, I commented to my Department Chair that learning is messy (as there were volcano models all over my classroom along with the tools used to create them!). I want my students to develop ideas, try to answer questions, make mistakes, and most importantly, learn from their mistakes, after all that is how they will make meaning of the information. According to Tucker (2013), student centered classrooms should be the goal of blended learning; blended learning gives "students control over the learning process, and requires that they know how to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems in groups, pairs, and individually. This work can be messy, loud, and disorganized, but in the end, the learning is much more meaningful."
This class has given some tools for updating my curriculum in ways that I can use right away in the classroom. I am excited about reviewing my units of instruction to find ways to make them more student centered and digitize where I can to make my blended learning vision for my classroom a reality. I need to spend the summer reviewing some of the tools that my classmates shared, and then pick a few that I want to try next year. Additionally, I plan to map out the units of instruction with a blended format in mind.
In particular, this week's reflection on each assignment was a very useful exercise. If I had done the reflection in the week when I created the unit, I do not think it would be as beneficial because the information is still too new. By reflecting at the end of the class, the information was still fresh enough (unlike going back in six months or a year when I create my ET592 Portfolio!). Reflecting at the end of the seven weeks allowed us to assimilate learning from the entire summer session. I kept referring to week seven. in my end of class reflections because that is when things starting "pulling together for me".
The self evaluation of our Elearning Toolbox is a chance to "dot my i's and cross my t's" and extend the reflection process. Peer evaluating is a valuable tool, so I hope that my colleague gains valuable information from that process.
Resources
Edutopia, (2014). Blended learning: Making it work in your classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/practice/blended- learning-making-it-work-your-classroom
Tucker, C.R. (2013). The basics of blended instruction. Educational Leadership, vol 7, #6. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/The-Basics-of-Blended- Instruction.aspxwww.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/The-Basics-of-Blended-Instruction.aspx
Edutopia, (2014). Blended learning: Making it work in your classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/practice/blended- learning-making-it-work-your-classroom
Tucker, C.R. (2013). The basics of blended instruction. Educational Leadership, vol 7, #6. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/The-Basics-of-Blended- Instruction.aspxwww.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/The-Basics-of-Blended-Instruction.aspx
Here is my self evaluation of my work for the summer course. Link
Course evaluation completed 06/22/2016