I believe students learn in a procedural manner requiring steps. First, the students should be exposed to the vocabulary and terms being introduced with the content. The students are questioned about their prior knowledge and begin to brainstorm. Next, the students are given the explanation for the subject and how it connects with the vocabulary. I discuss examples with the students where the students are giving more of the information than what I am providing. The students are probed to the information rather than pouring out information. When the students are probed to learning the information, it makes more room for students to be able to make connections.
After the students have some what begin to understand the information from being probed, the students are shown content through the use of technology. Often times, the examples are interactive and involve great student involvement. The students get engaged and are excited about the content. The use of technology opens the door for students to be challenged by exploring the content more in depth and asked questions that involve critical thinking. The students collaborate in order to complete tasks from the lesson and activities. The last part of instruction to ensure the students are understanding the content is for the students to work on a task independently. This independent task ranges from formal assessment to informal assessment to observational assessments. The students are to complete tasks that will demonstrate their understanding of the content and their ability to make connections with the content and their prior knowledge.
My theory of students learning by using a step by step process remains the same being that it is a general truth to the learning of students. There are many types of learners in the classroom and in order to ensure each of the needs are being met, I have to use differentiated instruction involving the use of technology. This course has allowed for me to see the different learning theories being implemented using different strategies. I enjoyed learning about more strategies to use in the classroom in order to help meet the needs of the students. Being that my undergraduate required we use technology, this course has only introduced me to more forms of technologies. The voice thread is an incredible form of technology that allows for student engagement and does not solely rely on the teacher for information. I did not realize the effect technology had on my students learning until seeing the benefits of their progress in assessments.
I mentioned previously my enjoyment of the voice thread and how I would like to use this more in my classroom. I created a lesson plan that used the technology and the students responded very well to the presentation. The voice thread asked discussion questions that caused for students to think critically and think back to prior knowledge. This technology can not only be used by the teacher to introduce content but also to allow students to put together presentations. Dr. Orey also brought to my attention the benefits of using images in instruction. It allows for students to make connections and connect the image with the auditory. When using images in lessons, the teachers are breaking down the information and allowing for a certain amount of content to be attained in the student’s mind. In the resources, Dr. Orey discussed the amount of information that could be learned being in a student’s level of proximity. The professor demonstrated the often mistake of presenting too much information at one time for a student to attain. My instructional strategies pool has expanded and I have been able to take a few strategies into my classroom in order to master on my students. I have used strategies suggested in the course on a few of my small group instruction which has allowed another way for my low students to understand and view the information.
The goals that I have set in place for the next few school years is to integrate more interactive technology which allow for more student experiences and to not use technology as just an instructional tool but learning tool. In order to make sure I implement interactive learning opportunities for my students, I will have to create visuals and examples that will facilitate that skill. The resources provided many tools that could be used in the classroom that involves students completing tasks using an interactive board. Although, many of the lessons I plan use technology, technology is not always provided for the lessons. School budgets are a big blockade for using technology in my fourth grade classroom. I want to also use my technology as a learning tool by having students complete projects and activities using different types of technology. I currently use the technology a lot to give instruction due to the lack of computers in the classroom. I have arranged for lab time in order for students to be able to use this form of technology and benefit in its capabilities to break down information and create artifacts for students.
Integrating technology seems to be difficult with the lack of money provided for students to prepare for the 21st century. I have discovered many types of technology and forms of technology that allows students to be engaged and interactive with their learning. The students are wanting to construct artifacts and displays of their knowledge that they have collaboratively collected. The learning theories that were discussed throughout the course involve focusing on the behaviors of the students, constructionism, and social learning opportunities. These learning theories allow for students to interact with one another as well as technology in the classrooms. Many learning types exist in the classroom and lecturing is not beneficial anymore to any student. The learning experiences of the students will allow for students to remember more and complete desired tasks given by teacher.
