4/27/2017 0 Comments ReflectionTechnology is something I have struggled with in going back to school as an adult. Other than typical email and google searches and word documents, I had never built anything or used any resources in academics. The way the class was structured around the weebly was a great way to start to become more familiar with other ways of using technology. In the class we started from the beginning by writing a blog on weebly. By being forced to use a resource and using it each week, continuing to post and respond to peers makes the resource valuable because it does take time, patience and a lot of practice to truly understand and make technology useful and relevant. Google drive and docs are also a resource that I hadn’t really used and have been forced to use. I see how sharing and commenting makes for creating better work and more feedback.
I can definitely start a weebly for our college baseball program. Something I can work on and improve is exploring the options with the toolbars and how to elaborate on my posts visually and with content. My research paper was about recruiting and the best way to do it. In this class I have had the opportunity to explore different ways to record and to share. I can use the recording tools I have now and post video of athletes for four year coaches, so they can see junior college students and review their potential. I still have a long way to go and look forward to learning and exploring technology that is relevant to my profession as a college baseball coach.
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Flipped teaching involves students watching lectures at home instead of in the classroom. They are able to watch the lecture as many times as they need to and when they get to class the focus is on practice, guidance and the teacher assessing the student. As a college baseball coach we spend our time on the field, and in the weight room. While I do lecture, being together as a team in the lecture environment does build a team dynamic. In a classroom however there is not much time. We have time on the field to practice observe and assess, that I think classroom teachers don’t have. With the Flipped classroom it gives the students that opportunity which I think is key in truly learning and retaining information.
Challenge Based Learning (CBL) as seen in the video Resilience, was inspiring. 11 year old students are working together in so many different capacities and doing it in a way that created citizens who care about the world and each other. One students said she felt like she was doing something great and then corrected herself to say “we”. That along with how the student felt about school doing these projects and how the teachers reacted to their students learning. They were so excited and positive. The projects presented in the video were big projects and truly valuable. Both the Flipped classroom and the CBL classroom increase motivation. Students who differ in learning styles and interests can have their needs met in these teaching styles. I would like to explore more the flipped classroom in my profession and I hope that my children have the opportunity to be involved in CBL. 4/6/2017 2 Comments Creativity and learningWhat were the key ideas you noted from the C-Content speakers. Any synthesis thoughts on them as a whole?
John Seely Brown discusses the difference between the 20th century and the 21st century. We are moving from a predictable society with equilibrium to a society that fluctuates and is in disequilibrium. These changes are new and rapid and have not been seen before. Because of this evolving society where things are always changing, the key to success in society will be teaching and affording curiosity. Kids are born curious and technology can be a “curiosity amplifier”. As educators we need to prepare for this change and teach our students the same thing. We need to rethink what we learn, how we learn and how media has changed the game. Howard Gardner discusses the importance of ethics in part of his presentation. He explains that the finding are disturbing in regards to students ethics in education today. Many students believe that while they hope to be ethical one day, the goal is success which is power, fame and money. Some young people feel that if they are ethical those who aren’t will get “to the top first”, so best to get there and be ethical later. As educators we need to be aware that the minds of these young people are different how we thought as students. We need to be aware of their minds, model good work, talk about it and call attention to negative examples, as well as have consequences for those actions, never assuming the negative examples are transparent. Ken Robinson discusses the concept of there being two kind of people. The people that go to their job everyday looking forward to the weekend because they endure instead of enjoy their work and then the people who love what they do and won’t stop because it makes them happy and they don’t see living any other way. Those people that love their work are the minority. Robinson believes that one of the reasons that so few follow that drive and interest is because of the educational system. “It dislocates people from their natural resources”. The system is always evolving, he suggests that is not enough and there needs to be a revolution, the system needs to be transformed. Humans interests and talents are diverse, we are different, and we work well when we are passionate and excited. What are your insights from this analysis? I related to to each one of the presentations. John Seely Brown spoke of curiosity, Howard Gardner of ethics and Ken Robinson of talent, passion and excitement. Each one of these components is important in coaching college baseball. Curiosity I believe leads to the passion and excitement Robinson refers to. Curiosity as a kid, wanting to know what it feels like to play baseball at a high level is what creates drive by the individuals that will then pursue baseball in high school and college. Following ethics is important in baseball because it determines how you are treated by coaches, teammates and other teams. Ethics refers to playing by the baseball rules as well as unwritten baseball rules that baseball players and all athletes of all different sports should know. For example in baseball if you are winning by a larger margin you know not to bunt or steal bases, or do the little things that could possibly get you one run. Knowing this and living by these standards are good for the players and the team. Passion and excitement like curiosity are what keeps athletes playing and pursuing the sport and pursuing their talents. As a coach having players that live by these standards, players continue to want to learn and are engaged. These are common threads in the perception of the speakers and myself. I believe they are an integral part of my baseball program and an important part of all of my players. As discussed by John Seely Brown and discussed in previous topics in regards to 21st century teaching and learning, these are important concepts to think about when there is so much change. As an instructional leader, how might you apply Mobley's 6 insights to help your students (or your colleagues) to think creatively? Mobley’s 6 insights, traditional teaching methodologies don’t work, one has to unlearn to become more creative, we become creative and can’t learn how to be creative, we have to spend time with others that are creative to be creative, we have to know ourselves and our biases and we need to give ourselves permission to be wrong. All of these insights are ways to be more creative. As a coach I need players to be creative as games are high stress and you never know what the next move will be and you have to be ready for everything, you have to be fast, and the split second decisions need to be good ones. Players need to be able to react for situations that they can’t practice for, they need to be self motivated during hard times, and high stress and they need to be able to motivate others. Players need to try new things and be creative in the way they hit or pitch. Reviewing how to be creative is a helpful tool that I can use for myself as a coach and teach my players. The five key elements that Darling-Hammond presents as ways to create “well-functioning teaching and learning systems” are Meaningful learning goals, intelligent, reciprocal accountability, equitable and adequate resources, strong professional standards and support and schools organized for student and teacher learning (279-281). Meaningful goals and intelligent reciprocal accountability both relate to my profession as a college coach.
Meaningful learning goals does not mean more state testing like those that exist today or “superficial learning” (281). Instead the goal is preparing students for 21st century learning through meaningful assessments more like those found in some other countries around the world. The focus should be on less standards more in depth instead of many, that due to time constraints are looked over but never truly learned. While the intention of this system was to create a well balanced student, it is flawed and doesn’t meet the needs of many students today. This system can be compared to children's athletics and the push for success by parents and coaches to win instead of create a player that is well rounded, can works with others, has a team mentality, wants to work to improve and knows that it isn’t easy and never will be. Players need to know there is always room for improvement and while there are gifted athletes, the ones that succeed are the ones that make an effort, work hard to improve always, never give up, are team players and are driven. Coaches of younger and older players look at winning and particular students and don’t teach players essential skills for the future, as they are looking at their own success as well short term versus long term. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability in the classroom has been based on those same test scores and reprimanding schools for low scores as discussed earlier. As described by Darling-Hammond “although the child and the school are accountable to the state for test performance, the state is not accountable to the child or school for providing adequate educational resources” (301). In athletics schools also have expectations for their athletic departments and while they have requirements for the departments, they do not need to follow through with providing functioning fields, gear, or the resources, and or field support, for a successful team. They are not held accountable for offering all of those resources even though sports bring funding to their schools, students to their classes and a name to their community. Meaningful learning goals and intelligent, reciprocal accountability are important in the success of schools and the success of athletes and athletics in schools. Taking recommendations from Darling-Hammond would improve their success drastically and should be shared! lick here to edit. 3/1/2017 1 Comment Case Studies part II
Having watched different examples of teachers demonstrating good practice, there was one video in particular that had ideas that I thought can be used in any classroom for any subject k-12 (https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-participation- strategy). The video "Improving Participation With Talk Moves”, focuses on how to improve and expand classroom discussions. Often students feel uncomfortable sharing out because maybe they are shy, or don’t want to be wrong. This teacher gives strategies for creating a space where conversation and discussion is important. This practice however is not only through verbal communication as one would imagine. There are what the teacher explains as talk moves. Talk moves create that positive environment within the classroom. So, for example when a student is speaking and their peers agree, they make a hand symbol to indicate that they agree. This boosts the confidence of the speaker and engages all of the students. In this video you see the students in the classroom using the signals and interaction and participation within the children is very positive and abundant.
This learning environment is an example of what a modern day classroom can look like. One that promotes classroom relationships, a voice for each child, and the ability to think critically. This is very different from some traditional classrooms that still exist and mirror the 1900's when our educational system was first formed (62 Darling-Hammond). "In the factory conception of the school, in which practice is made routine... [and] their is little need...[to] solve problems of practice", this classroom however is about how to solve problems, not just answering the question (63 Darling-Hammond). "Students... work alone and passively, listening to lectures and memorizing facts and algorithms", is the opposite of this classroom and the goal of the teacher, as it should be in all classrooms. This video was very engaging. Some of the things I learned from it included the importance of repetition of content, encouraging the addition of two ideas already mentioned by students to create and elaborate, well explained answers, as well as encouraging students to revise their thinking. Of these concepts the one that stuck out the most was that children need to practice revising their thinking, and learning how it’s okay and in fact encouraged, for them to change their minds when better ideas are added to their idea or replace their idea. This kind of practice and support makes being wrong easier for the student as they they are used to discussing how their idea could be better, instead of just being wrong. Students will then not fixate on being right but in fact try to find the best answer, which is a great tool for life. Although the video was not useful for the level I teach at, it was still very well done and very interesting. 2/22/2017 0 Comments February 22nd, 2017What is the nature of the case - intro to new material, review, extending learning, etc?
The case study I reviewed, “When Mindful Feels Like a Necessity”, discusses mindfulness in the classroom setting. This is a topic and study extremely important in athletics today. My program relates to the self reflection portion of this video and how I incorporate mindfulness into my teaching. Typically we will begin the week with a mindfulness check in, clearing and opening our minds, allowing us as individuals to move forward into the coming week's work. At the end of the week before competition, we check in once more, processing all the information learned throughout the week, and visualizing successfully executing and incorporating all that accumulated knowledge. How do you know the students are learning? Our assessment of players is based on what we see throughout the week. Through daily practice we can see if they have learned all the information we have given them and if they are incorporating it into their performance. From there we assess how to move forward to help them continue with their growth. What elements of the lesson (pedagogy, modeling, questioning techniques, etc) did you learn from observing the lesson? All of the videos I saw have important information in them. This video in particular was relevant to my profession and my players. It showed me the students/players side of a mindfulness check in and how important it is to the students interviewed in the video. From a coaching standpoint I recognize it’s value in terms of getting players to perform. Could you potentially use this lesson? I could definitely use this lesson. Giving the players the opportunity to perform during check-in twice a week, making the real life situation almost a reaction, gives us an advantage every time we play.here to edit. |
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