EDUC 6711 Reflection

My personal learning theory from Week 1 was that students learn by working cooperatively and by using hands-on activities to gain knowledge and to show the knowledge they have learned. After learning about the different learning theories and instructional learning tools, I have decided that I am keeping my personal learning theory from Week 1 and also adding that students learn from doing inquiry-based projects. Students in today's digital age do not learn best by sitting in their chair all day completing worksheets and reading incessantly from a textbook. They learn by searching the Internet to find answers to their questions, by building artifacts to demonstrate how much they have learned, by playing educational computer games, and by socially interacting with other students in the classroom and in other classrooms. The immediate change I will make to my teaching practice will be to implement more inquiry-based learning projects using Web 2.0 learning tools. Two technology tools that I enjoyed using in this class were Voice Thread and concept maps. I plan on using Voice Thread with my students when they get ready to learn about famous Missourians. They will work in partners to find information and photos about their person and then record what they learned into a Voice Thread to present to the class. I have already used concept maps to assess their knowledge of Lincoln's assassination after we took a virtual field trip to Ford's Theater. I thought my students did an outstanding job of creating the maps to show their knowledge. I would love to use these again to assess their knowledge of the three branches of government. One long-term goal I would like to make would be to integrate more social networking sites, such as wikis and blogs, for the children to interact outside of school. I have a blog site set up for my class and used it every week during the first half of the school year. However, since Christmas, I haven't been diligent enough in setting up the questions or replying to comments made. Next year, I plan to have questions set up each week for the blog and require a due date for submitting answers. I would love to implement a wiki into the classroom for use on cooperative group projects. The students would be able to talk via the wiki outside of class to help prepare their project or answer any questions they may have about the project. Another long-term goal I would like to make would be to have my students use powerpoint and Voice Thread more often. I would like to have my students complete at least one powerpoint or Voice Thread each month about the topic we are studying. The first half of the year is spent visiting the regions of the United States. After each region is completed, my students could create a powerpoint or Voice Thread demonstrating their knowledge of that region, instead of taking a quiz on the region. After Christmas, we study Missouri so for each topic the students can research the topic and create a powerpoint or Voice Thread about it to present to the class.