Welcome
I would like to welcome all of you parents of my Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Calculus students. It was a pleasure meeting all of you during Welcome Week! Thank you for your support and for helping your sons and daughters achieve their maximum potential.
As all of you might remember, the PTA gave a short introduction about their role in the school and some of the projects that were in the making. One of those projects includes acquiring new technology for all the different mathematics classrooms at the school. Now that we are four weeks into the school year, the PTA has started their fundraising activity and is asking for the help of every parent to make their projects come to fruition.
Why Do We Need Technology in the Classsroom?
From talking to different parents during Welcome Week, it became apparent that some of you feel technology in the classroom would be a distraction to students. Many of you felt this way because your sons or daughters spend a lot of time at home in front of the t.v playing video games, or in front of the computer doing activities not related to school work. I would like to assure you that any technology that comes in my classroom would be used to enhance your son or daughter learning. The use of technology will be structured and with a strong reason behind it. My goal is to prepare your sons and daughters for college and future careers and technology will get us there.
Two Learning Theories
Before moving on, I would to introduce you to two learning theories that will be put to practice in the classroom, one falls under the category of directed learning, and the other under constructivist learning theories.
Directed Learning Theory
Directed learning theory, also known as objectivism has its roots in behavior learning theory and information processing theory(Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p35). Some of characteristics of this learning theory is that
- Teachers should give the same exam to all students, and students should pass all exams (p.35).
- Learning must be transmitted from teacher to student (p.35).
- Teaching must be directed(teacher to student), systematic(well defined objectives, learning activities followed by assessments) and structured (p.35, pg 36)
- Posing interesting questions at the beginning of a lesson to catch the attention of the students(p.37)
- Connect important points of a new lesson to previously learned material (p.37)
- Practice problems(such as classwork and homework) so that students store new learning in long-term-memory instead of in the short-term memory (p.37)
- Students are assessed through quizzes, tests and written exams(p.44)
Constructivist Learning Theory
Constructivist learning theory has its roots from social activism, scaffolding, stages of development and multiple intelligences theories(p.38). Some of the characteristics of constructivist learning theories include:
- Knowledge is not transmitted but rather, constructed (p.34).
- Instead of rigorous testing, allow students to demonstrate what they know in different ways (p.34).
- Instruction is student-centered instead of teacher-oriented (p.34).
- Students generate their own learning through hands-on activities(p.34)
- Learning takes place in cooperative group work (p.44)
- Students generate their own knowledge according to real-world scenarios
- Learning takes place through explorations
- Students are assessed through projects such as web pages or multimedia content and graded with rubrics
Technology Needed In the Classroom
Sample Lesson Plan using the Smart Board
In algebra one, students learn about what the slope is, its uses and the different places where the slope is useful.
In algebra, the slope is defined as m = rise / run
In many cases, the concept of "finding the slope between two points" is very abstract and thus confusing to many students. With the help of the smart board, it's easier to demonstrate what the slope is because it allows students to manipulate the slope and see the results instantaneously. For example, they can investigate the effects of changing the "rise" but keeping the "run" constant and changing the "run" but keeping the "rise" constant. They can answer questions such as "How does the slope change when changing the rise or run?" as well as "What determines how steep a ramp is?"
Using the Smart Board will help students test their theories as well as get a better understanding about the slope and other math topics covered in algebra one.
Sample Lesson using Interactive Response System
In algebra two the unit on conics is perhaps one of the hardest chapters for students to master. With the help of the interactive response unit I will be able to better assess the needs of the students as well as to pinpoint where they are struggling. Each student is a assigned a clicker that looks like a remote control with buttons labeled "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "Yes", "No", "True", "False" among others. At the beginning of the conics lesson, I can ask a series of true or false questions so I know if students have the required skills to be able to succeed in this unit. For example, I can ask "Do you know how to use the distributive property?" and then students can click on their clicker and select "true" or "false". I will know instantly the percentage of student that know and do not giving the option to review or start with the chapter.
How is this Technology Connected with the Two Learning Theories?
During the summer I had the opportunity to be part of a professional development series focused on bringing technology into the classroom. Two great technology innovations that we were introduced to were the Smart Board and a Interactive Response System.
The Smart Board is a highly innovative hardware that takes the old blackboard to a new level. It allows the teacher to interact with anything that is drawn and written on the smart board. Anything that is written can be saved onto a computer, downloaded to a website and then students can review the material at the comfort of their house. The board is interactive allowing students to become part of the lesson.
The Interactive Response System is a collection of remote controls that allows the teacher to gather feedback from students in real-time. This technology takes warm-ups, pop-quizzes to a new level since it gives the teacher instantaneous feedback on how the students are mastering new material. It also allows the teacher to assess students while a lesson is going on, at the beginning of the lesson, or at the end of the lesson thus providing crucial information that can dictate the pace and rigor of a particular lesson at any given day.
The Smart Board is a highly innovative hardware that takes the old blackboard to a new level. It allows the teacher to interact with anything that is drawn and written on the smart board. Anything that is written can be saved onto a computer, downloaded to a website and then students can review the material at the comfort of their house. The board is interactive allowing students to become part of the lesson.
The Interactive Response System is a collection of remote controls that allows the teacher to gather feedback from students in real-time. This technology takes warm-ups, pop-quizzes to a new level since it gives the teacher instantaneous feedback on how the students are mastering new material. It also allows the teacher to assess students while a lesson is going on, at the beginning of the lesson, or at the end of the lesson thus providing crucial information that can dictate the pace and rigor of a particular lesson at any given day.
Sample Lesson Plan using the Smart Board
In algebra one, students learn about what the slope is, its uses and the different places where the slope is useful.
In algebra, the slope is defined as m = rise / run
In many cases, the concept of "finding the slope between two points" is very abstract and thus confusing to many students. With the help of the smart board, it's easier to demonstrate what the slope is because it allows students to manipulate the slope and see the results instantaneously. For example, they can investigate the effects of changing the "rise" but keeping the "run" constant and changing the "run" but keeping the "rise" constant. They can answer questions such as "How does the slope change when changing the rise or run?" as well as "What determines how steep a ramp is?"
Using the Smart Board will help students test their theories as well as get a better understanding about the slope and other math topics covered in algebra one.
Sample Lesson using Interactive Response System
In algebra two the unit on conics is perhaps one of the hardest chapters for students to master. With the help of the interactive response unit I will be able to better assess the needs of the students as well as to pinpoint where they are struggling. Each student is a assigned a clicker that looks like a remote control with buttons labeled "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "Yes", "No", "True", "False" among others. At the beginning of the conics lesson, I can ask a series of true or false questions so I know if students have the required skills to be able to succeed in this unit. For example, I can ask "Do you know how to use the distributive property?" and then students can click on their clicker and select "true" or "false". I will know instantly the percentage of student that know and do not giving the option to review or start with the chapter.
How is this Technology Connected with the Two Learning Theories?
Objectivist
As previously stated, in objectivist learning theory learning is teacher-centered and students are assessed with quizzes and tests. The Interactive Response System will allow me to deliver such lessons because I will know where my class is, what their needs are and teach accordingly. Giving quizzes to assess their mastery level will also be fast because they will be submitting their answers with the clickers, giving me a snapshot of where they are and where I need to do next with the class.
Constructivist
Constructivist learning theory states that students learn through hands-on projects. The Smart Board will students understand and reach their own conclusions because it allows them to interact with the system and get instantenous results. Answering the slope questions posted earlier will have students test different combinations and reach their own conclusions. Assessing their understanding will be based on the quality of their work, instead of quizzes and tests.
As previously stated, in objectivist learning theory learning is teacher-centered and students are assessed with quizzes and tests. The Interactive Response System will allow me to deliver such lessons because I will know where my class is, what their needs are and teach accordingly. Giving quizzes to assess their mastery level will also be fast because they will be submitting their answers with the clickers, giving me a snapshot of where they are and where I need to do next with the class.
Constructivist
Constructivist learning theory states that students learn through hands-on projects. The Smart Board will students understand and reach their own conclusions because it allows them to interact with the system and get instantenous results. Answering the slope questions posted earlier will have students test different combinations and reach their own conclusions. Assessing their understanding will be based on the quality of their work, instead of quizzes and tests.
Summary
Reference
Disclaimer
This blog is an assignment for an educational technology course at National University. It is not a real fundraising blog.
All in all, I hope I had changed your mind about including technology in the classroom. The Smart Board and the Interactive Response System are two top-notch pieces of technology that will make learning math fun, interactive and it will allow me to teach based on the needs of your sons and daughters. I ask you to please get involved wit the efforts of the PTA and help in any way possible. The school, staff and students thanks you for your support.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post your concerns and suggestions to this blog, I will be keeping and eye on it and will respond to all of you. Once again, thank you!
Sincerely,
Jose D. Rincon
Math Teacher
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If you have any questions, please feel free to post your concerns and suggestions to this blog, I will be keeping and eye on it and will respond to all of you. Once again, thank you!
Sincerely,
Jose D. Rincon
Math Teacher
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Reference
Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (5th ed.).Boston: Allen and Bacon/Pearson.
Disclaimer
This blog is an assignment for an educational technology course at National University. It is not a real fundraising blog.
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