A Reflection

"I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.”
-Igor Stravinsky

Indeed, Stravinsky had it right. As humans we are in constant pursuit of excellence. We are always trying to improve upon the norm. Our quest, however, is never a straight path, but rather a serious of progression and regression. Never the less, to cease to strive is to cease to exist and we continue toward our personal goals undeterred by failure. More so than any other professional group, teachers have developed a certain tenacity that keeps them on that perpetual quest for excellence. It is the teacher that continually strives to improve their craft, not only for their personal satisfaction, but for the unselfish and often unheralded wellbeing of their students.

Long before this course began, I, like most teachers, had developed a insatiable desire to make a difference in our educational system. In order to affect a difference, however, I realized that it was essential to identify the problems. I began a study of my students in an effort to identify not only their needs, but on a broader sense, the needs of all students.

I identified these areas which seemed to require attention:
1. Diverse learning in the class room–
2. Poor study skills and the shortcomings of traditional physics homework
3. A need for greater home support
4. Poor math skills needed to support physics
5. Poor note taking skills
6. A sense of student and parental frustration.
7. Lack of a team approach

These categories of concern are typical among teachers and require no further explanation. Based upon these problem areas, I attempted to find a single area that I could focus upon that would affect the changes I was searching for. Coincidently, in May of 2010 I started a college course that required students to create a goal statement in the form of a GAME plan. Since this requirement seemed to dovetail nicely into my personal quest, I developed the following GAME plan.

Goal –
Improve study skills and parental involvement by extending my classroom into the home using lessons that are self paced, teacher generated, internet based home tutorials.

Action –
1. Determine probability of success through data acquisition and student/parental surveys.
2. Select the digital tools most likely to ensure success through ease of use and availability.
3. Use these tools to develop a model test tutorial and poll for effectiveness through data acquisition.
4. Establish close parent/guardian lines of communication.

Monitor –
Data acquisition and continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of my model tutorials was essential. Both standard formative and summative assessments were used as well as online digital surveys.

Evaluate –
Traditional assessments and data surveys of student and parents were used to gauge the effectiveness of my game plan. Appropriate changes were made and reevaluations were conducted. Based upon initial trials last semester, I am encouraged and will continue to develop other tutorials to be added to my Tutorial Library this September..

As noted at the outset of this reflection, more so than any other profession, teachers are continually searching for perfection. It is a natural attribute of the profession. It requires no college course or training. And while creativity in education cannot be taught only encouraged it can be copied, modified and utilized by caring teachers. The eagerness to share is another endearing attribute that teachers possess. A plethora of publications of new teaching ideas flood the internet, presented by teachers who care about continuing educational improvement. In fact,it is the new idea that, integrating technology into the classroom is essential to student achievement, that is the primary subject matter of this course.

Because an idea is published and perhaps even used successfully by many teachers, however, does not mean it will work for all. This is where the individual teacher must be the judge. Teachers must be judicious in the selection and use of a teaching tool. They must know their students.

This course spent a good deal of time emphasizing Story Telling. There is a place for Story Telling in every teacher’s bag of tools. In fact, it is a natural tool used by physics teachers to set the stage of the natural phenomenon to be studied. I use story telling at the outset of a new topic as my Schema Thought Question to stimulate the imagination of my students and draw relevance to the topic at hand. But, when Story Telling is used by the student as a means of expression or self inquiry, it is a tool that requires a cautious eye. It is a tool that students are more likely to use successfully in some courses and not others. Student generated math and science story telling projects could be limited in benefit and time consuming in development. A force fit.

But, successes and failures are commonplace in our quest for excellence. Teachers are continually looking to improve what, to others, might seem the perfect solution. We must do so, because the single most, ever changing variable in our formula for perfection are the students themselves. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers has been designed to enhance and enrich the learning experience of students through an integration of standard teaching best practices augmented by state of the art digital enhancement. As time goes on the development of new tools will allow teachers even more choices. Like any tool in the craftsmen’s tool box, there is a need for some tools more than others. When and where a tool should be used depends upon the skill of the craftsman himself. As Stravinsky pointed out, we not only learn through our successes, we learn through our mistakes. If a tool does not serve the purpose, discard it and seek a new tool. If we discover a tool that achieves our desired goals, use it and most importantly, share it with others.

The aforementioned reflects my general thoughts on teaching and these thoughts are in alignment with much of the information presented in this course. The course itself was less of a revelation, however,than it was a reaffirmation of what I had begun last January and continue to develop in hopes of creating a new paradigm of home study centered around in class work. A home study plan that:

a. encourages parental involvement
b. is self paced,
c. limits student frustration and the fear of classroom competition,
d. whose effectiveness is measurable and
d. effectively crosses academic discipline boundaries.

Week 7 - NETS

There seem to be two standards within National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers and students standards that are very closely related to my ongoing efforts to design and promote a new approach to home-study. They are:

"Teachers will design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity”

And

“Teachers will participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.”.

By now, reader and fellow students who have followed my blogs are aware of my pet project. That is: teacher generated, home-based, self paced tutorials. I believe that through the use of these tutorials, students can improve their understanding of physics. As such, this personal initiative seems to align closely with the intent of NETS, that is, to strive for ongoing continue improve in our educational system.

Indeed, I am an advocate of the use of technology in our schools where there is a fit. What I will not advocate is technology for technology sake. Teachers must be guarded. They must ensure that the tools they intend to use will yield significant benefits to the student. Anything else is a gimmick. I recall a college professor long before calculators could fit in one’s pocket. His subject was physics. He did more with a piece of chalk and a blackboard than many teachers do today with all the technology they can grab. The point is this. Technology is a tool that we should use judiciously and not at the expense of polishing our teaching technique. When we stand in the front of our classes, we are on our personal stage. We must zealously grab and hold the attention of our students as that old professor did. Anything else is not teaching, it is presenting.

Week 6 Blog
Revising my Game Plan

It is unusual to revise any plan without first testing it, however, I have built upon my original effort.

I have been advocating a new alternative to traditional homework since last March. An alternative that engages students and parents at a pace that can be adjusted to each students learning ability. This has been my game plan and I have endeavored to use technology as the tool for accomplishing this goal. Each in class lesson will be supported by these tutorials as addendums to in-class work.

I teach 11th and 12th grade physics to students who have found science and math a challenge in past years.

Limited in-class time makes revisiting math difficult. Never the less, since math is the language of physics, it is often necessary to revisit certain math concepts to ensure that my students can tackle associated physics concepts. I have revised my lessons to touch upon theses math concepts briefly in class but more importantly, I have included them as a tool in my self-study WEB tutorials. In a preview last March, Juniors who had difficulty in algebra, had shown significant improvement after viewing the tutorials. Therfore, I have added a basic algebra tutorial to my plan. Soon I will be adding trig. It is important to note that because these lessons are WEB based lessons intended as home-study work, physics class time has not suffered.

See Algebra; Some Basic Math at http://voicethread.com/#u723481

What goals do I continue to strive for?

My goal is to continue to focus and improve upon my self-paced physics tutorials. I will continue to solicit input and collect data until my students show significant improvement.

Week 5 Post - 6713

As this is a summer course, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of any changes to my teaching practices or introduction of new technological tools. I believe that I have a certain advantage, however, in that prior to this course, I spent a good deal of introspective time considering what I could possibly change in my teaching practices that would have the greatest impact on my students. I decided that seating myself down at each student’s kitchen table each evening and helping my students on a “one on one” bases was the way to go. Unfortunately, while the prospect of a free supper was enticing, I sensed that inviting myself into my students home could have negative consequences. Never the less, my target goal of improving my student’s understanding of physics was undaunted and being a technogeek anyway, I decided that I would create a new approach to extending class time and providing a targeted, individualized lesson for each of my 180 students.

In early March I polled a dozen parents of struggling students using SurveyMonkey and phone conferences asking the following-

“If a self paced lesson that provided additional “one on one” tutoring were provided to your struggling student could be provided, would you ensure that your child attended the session?”
The answer was a resounding yes, but it was qualified with the comment that my child cannot stay after school because there is a transportation problem. A comment I had anticipated. At this time the parents did not know that I was intending to provide the additional help via the WEB.

The second question –
“Whose responsibility is it for your child’s education? 1. The Teacher; The student; The parent; The administration; All parties.” Most answered that they felt it was the student, the teacher and the parent. Follow-up questions usually stated that they would be happy to assist their student, but physics was intimidating.

The third question – How much homework does your student do each eveninging? ..physics? …all subjects?” I had asked my graduating seniors the same question and was surprised to find that they seldom did any homework. It is a malady that all teachers are contending with, especially for juniors and seniors.

Based upon the answers to these questions my WEB based tutorials that allowed student/parent study at a self paced tempo was designed.

(In order to answering the questions for this assignment, I consider the effectiveness of my WEB based tutorial initiative.)

How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
Both students and parents have commented on the tutorials and while it is an evolving task, the feedback has been outstanding.

What have you learned so far (in the course) that I can apply to your instructional practices?
I have used WIKIs and Blogs in the past and their use is questionable. I am not a fan of digital assessment and question its effectiveness especially in diverse classrooms. I have learned that we must continue to strive for a better way of teaching and the WEB may have a great benefit.

What do you still have to learn?
Each day a new question arises. This, in part, is the joy of teaching. Teachers are continually learning something new. Each day there is new discovery.

How will you adjust your plans to fit current needs?

Teachers are continually modifying their strategies. I am often amazed at how a homerun in the 9:ooAM class can be a strike out at the 1:30 pm class. In order to adjust my plans, I must consider the abilities, likes and dislikes and the aspirations of my students. There is no "one answer-fits all" to this question.

Monitoring My Game Plan

(This post seeks to complete the assignment required for course 6713 – week 4 of Walden University. In order for the reader to appreciate what this assignment refers to, it will be helpful to review APP3 and the previous posts to this BLOG. http://mrcsphysicswiki.wikispaces.com/Extra+Credit )

This week’s assignment asks that students post their progress toward their individual game plans. As noted in the previous descriptor, Blogs and posted Applications (APP3), one element as noted in the previous BLOG stated that my classes tend to be a unique mixture of varying abilities. It goes on to say that this broad range of abilities and the lack of sufficient class time hindered my student’s ability to grasp key physics concepts. The solution I proposed was to develop, what I called an on-line “Tutorial Matrix” that was teacher generated and related to the subject matter of the actual class. I said that this matrix, started last March, seemed to have hit the mark and preliminary feedback was great.

In fulfillment of this assignment and based upon the enthusiastic feedback from both parents and students, I would like to report that I continue to generate these tutorials. Since much of the information required for this effort is self generated and specifically designed for my student population, there are few resources that I need call upon to reach my September goal of a complete first quarter tutorial matrix. Furthermore, I remain convinced that this approach of offering a self-paced home-study plan for both parents and students will yield good results and I need not modify my approach until me next student/parent SurveyMonkey poll in November.

Resources Necessary to Implement My Game Plan

(This post seeks to complete the assignment required for course 6713 – week 3 of Walden University. In order for the reader to appreciate what this game plan refers to, it is helpful to review App 3. see link http://mrcsphysicswiki.wikispaces.com/Extra+Credit )

What resources will you need to carry out your plan (video, reading, experts or colleagues, etc)?

In order to carry out my plan:

1. it is imperative that all students have access to the WEB. In a recent poll, 85% of all students do have access and the remaining students will have access through the use of the library computers during study hall.

2. Since only a portion of each period of my class involves theory, a video projector is required to allow for WEB visual reinforcement.

3. In order to replace traditional homework with home study time, online tutorials which can be accessed via the WEB must be geberated. Each tutorial lesson will track in class work.

4. For this particular lesson, students will be introduced to a WIKI to facilitate student interaction toward a common assignment goal.

5. Close collaboration with parents, encouraging a multi team approach of teacher and parent will be encouraged, via email correspondence and parental access to the tutorials themselves. Parents will understand that the ongoing (perpetual) homework assignment is to access the tutorial as often as required to understand concepts, supplement in class notes and learn how to study.

What steps have you been able to take so far?

1. Thus far, I have begun to generate my online tutorial matrix.

2. I have tested the effectiveness of this new approach and polled parents and students as to their opinions of the effectiveness of the new approach. Initial polling is encouraging.

3. I have generated an on line polling process using SurveyMonkey®, a WEB based survey tool, to encourage parental feedback in order to modify my pedagogical approach as required.

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) - course 6713

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers (see URL below) has been designed to enhance and enrich the learning experience of students through an integration of standard teaching best practices augmented by state of the art digital enhancement.

Reflecting upon the standards within NETS and with a desire to implement a new educational modality, I have developed a G-A-M-E plan that I hope to implement this September. It utilizes WEB based tutorials on all key points covered in my physics class. Because these tutorials are directly related to my classes, students find them more relevant the easier to digest. The idea is that class time can be extended painlessly via the WEB and key points can be emphasized as the individual student requires.

Proposition

As a nation, we must improve the quality of education if we are to compete globally.

There are few who would disagree with the stated proposition. How we improve the quality of education requires a satchel of tools that can be called upon as the nature and characteristics of the individual student are determined. One area that could be improved upon is “class time”. If we could extend class time and offer more one-on-one support, the student would certainly benefit. My WEB-Based Tutorials are intended to supplement class-time offering individual help at the student’s own learning pace.

Goal – I have identified one goal within my G-A-M-E plan that I intend to address first. That goal is the flexing of lessons to meet the needs of the individual student. Through self paced, internet based home tutorials, I intend to extend my classroom creating a virtual WEB based classroom that mirror what my physics students have done in class.

Action – By creating self paced tutorials that target the student and the parents, I intend to improve student support through greater parent/guardian involvement in their child’s education. Furthermore, because the tutorials are self paced, the student can revisit the lectures and demos as often as necessary to assure a grasp of the physics theory the lesson targets.

Proposition 2

Traditional homework and the standard physics question and answer sessions may not yield the desired results.

The debate continues regarding the benefit of homework. Traditional homework may not be the answer. If, however, students can extend class time as required to grasp key concepts, notes and understanding should improve. Furthermore, by making the tutorials available to parents, parents can more readily assist their student.

Monitor – I am pleased to report that a test run of the WEB based Home Tutorial program has resulted in overwhelming student and parent feedback. In order to ensure continued student understanding and growth, I will monitor student progress through formative and summative assessments and continue to poll both parents and students via telephone surveys and On-Line Digital Surveys.

Evaluate – As note traditional assessments of student progress will be tracked. I remain excited and encouraged with the progress of my students during the initial trials last semester. I continue to publish my plan with the hopes that other teachers will try my approach and provide feedback.
The NETS Indicators that have been addressed in this exercise were: 1. Models Digital Age Work and Learning and 2. Design and Developes Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Please find my Tutorial Matrix attached. It is a work in progress, but indications are that it is working. As I improve the generation and recording techniques, I will revisit my initial efforts and republish.


The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForAdministrators/2009Standards/NETS-A_2009.pdf

My WEB page intro to parents. http://www.schoolrack.com/JohnChaco/physics-tutorials/

Tutorial Matrix http://mrcsphysicswiki.wikispaces.com/Tutorial+Matrix