EDU 6526 Post 7- Character Education

This topic of character education is one that does not get old. When I think about character and how we can help educate children on morals and good character, there really is not one answer. Earlier this year I took a class about morals issues and education. This class really helped me delve in and figure out what I really think about educating students of character. The bottom line, what I found I really believe is that children learn best from modeling. They learn best when their teachers and parents are behaving in the way that they want their children to behave. This is a BIG responsibility! And one that we, as teachers, need to take seriously. This week we read an excerpt from a book by Russel Kirk. He gave across the idea that virtues are “caught not taught”; this really sums up in three words, my thoughts exactly. Just being told what to do or what is right, is not enough. We need to show children what good character is. Defining this gets a little more complicated, but there are some general norms that people live by. In religious schools there may be more areas that are touched on, but the idea of modeling for students will be the same. In addition to modeling the behavior we can find areas that we study that model behaviors for us in literature and history.

Reference:

Russell, K. (1987). The wise men know what wicked things are written in the sky: Can virtues be taught? Washington D.C: Regnery Publishing Inc.

EDU 6526- Module 6- Multiple Intelligences

I think that the concept of multiple intelligences is crucial to running a successful classroom. Howard Gardner is credited with coming up with the concept of multiple intelligences, although there is a lot of research by other people on different versions of the multiple intelligences. There are eight intelligences/abilities that Gardner identified: Musical, visual, verbal, logical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. By identifying different learning styles, Gardner created an opportunity for teachers to be able to reach all students, by identifying each different student’s strength. “According to Gardner’s analysis, only two intelligences—linguistic and logical mathematical—have been valued and tested for in modern secular schools” (Davis, Christodoulou, Seider & Gardner).

Another resource that I have found helpful and used when differentiating instruction for my students is All Kinds of Minds. I took a week long course on this in 2001; it was amazing! Part of the workshop involved practical application, which I found so useful and has helped me over the years in identifying and understanding about how different people learn differently. Although the styles are described differently, the concept and idea of different types of learners is the same. All kinds of minds focuses a little more on the ability each person has, and then teaching to their strengths, versus Gardner’s intelligences which implies that some people have different intelligences than others. All Kinds of Minds refers to eight constructs: Attention, higher order thinking, language, memory, neuromotor functions, social cognition, spatial ordering, temporal-sequential ordering. Although these all could fit into a category of Gardner’s intelligences, they are also another perspective on their own. The combination of the constructs and the multiple intelligences would lead to a very successful teacher and classroom.

 

References:

All kinds of minds: Learning framework. Retrieved from http://www.allkindsofminds.org/learning-framework

Davis, K., Christodoulou, J., Seider, S., & Gardner. H.The theory of multiple intelligences. Retrieved August 6, 2013 from http://howardgardner01.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/443-davis-christodoulou-seider-mi-article.pdf

EDU- 6526- John Dewey- Post 5

“With the advent of democracy and modern industrial conditions, it is impossible to foretell definitely just what civilization will be twenty years from now. Hence it is impossible to prepare the child for any set of conditions. To prepare him for future life means to give him command of himself; it means so to train him that he will have the full and ready use of all his capacities; that his eye and ear and hand may be able of grasping the conditions under which it has to work, and the executive forces be trained to act economically and efficiently” (Dewey, 1897). Oh my do I love this quote! This is exactly how I feel about educating students and it is over 100 years later. As I have mentioned in other posts before, I have been teaching for 11 years. Eight of those years I spent as a 5^th and 6^th grade classroom teacher.  I believe, and what I think Dewey was saying all those years ago is that we need to educate the whole child and teach them life and social skills, it is not just about academics.

Dewey was an educational philosopher who is known as the founder of the progressive education movement. According to Spartacus Education, “In his books Dewey outlined his views on how education could improve society. The founder of what became known as the progressive education movement, Dewey argued that it was the job of education to encourage individuals to develop their full potential as human beings. He was especially critical of the rote learning of facts in schools and argued that children should learn by experience. In this way students would not just gain knowledge but would also develop skills, habits and attitudes necessary for them to solve a wide variety of problems” (Simkin). As a classroom teacher I spent time teaching my students skills, social and academic, and trained them to generalize these skills so that as my students move through the grades they can use these skills, hone them, change them as assignments or life asks them to. For example, with my fifth grade students I had them write a research paper at the same time I taught 6^th grade and I had them write a research paper as well. The skills I had the 6^th grade student use built on the skills they learned for the 5^th grade research paper. I tried to do this and still try to do this as much as I can with all subjects. Math, reading comprehension and writing are so much about teaching skills, and processes so that students can apply them when they are given unknown content. The other layer to this that Dewey was also getting at is the idea of cooperative leaning. Learning with other students in a way that builds social skills; which of course is a necessity in order to function in society.

According to one of my classmates’ discussion posts last week, “Cooperative learning is a constructivist teaching strategy that helps to foster a sense of collaboration and community participation in the classroom” (Cook, 2013). This is exactly what we want to foster in our students since when we think about releasing students into real life, these are exactly the kinds of skills we want them to know.

 

References:

Dewey, J. (1897). My Pedagogic Creed. School Journal, 54, 77-80.

 

Simkin, J. (1997-2013). Spartacus educational: John Dewey. Retrieved from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAdewey.htm.

Cook, D. (July 25, 2013). Does constructivism promote academic excellence? [Web log post]. Retrieved from  https://bbweb-prod.spu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_74199_1%26url%3D

 

Extra-Curricular Observation- Math Night!

Last week I went to math night at my school. It took place on 3-14, Pi day! Each grade from Pre-K through 8^th came up with a couple of math games and activities. The games/activates were set up and run by the classes (the activities did not have to do with Pi, although it was encouraged to try to come up with connected to Pi). Teachers worked with the students to help them generate idea and prepare for the evening. When I walked into the gym my students had prepared the table with my partner teacher. The gym was bustling with activity. It seems like this is the most popular evening activity at my school. Student and parents were all moving around the room excitedly changing from table to table.

My students had two activities at their table. One activity was to write Pi Poetry. We cut out circles for the poetry to be written on. The idea of the poetry was that the first word should be a three letter word, the second a one letter word, the third a four letter word and so on. In class my students came up with word lists that we had hung up for people (since figuring out the different words is challenging on the spot). The second activity was called “Discovering Pi”. People were to measure the diameter and circumference of several different circles and find that the relationship is that the circumference is about three times the diameter, or Pi! How fun!

Students were to take turns, in shifts, manning the tables. There was one student who very much wanted to man the “Discovering Pi” table, so he spent the whole evening at the table. All the other students rotated between the tables and engaging in activities run by the other grades. It was so fun to see the students having such a good time learning! I also loved the opportunity to watch the students take leadership roles with both adults and other children.

Extra Curricular Observation 2- Carnival

Last week we had the annual carnival at our school. Each year there is a day where students get to wear pajamas to school and the Middle School students are in charge of running a carnival. The day is structured so that each grade gets 30-45 minutes of time at the carnival. At the end of the day the Middle School students had time to play at the carnival as well.

At the carnival there were stations with games like a ring toss. There were also a couple of activity stations, like cookie decorating and face painting. At each of these stations the Middle School students rotated around helping the younger children. In addition, there was also a bouncy house, giant blow up slide and blow up obstacle course.

When it was the Middle School student’s turn to play at the carnival teachers were in charges of each of the stations. I was asked to go into the blow up maze and sit at the top because some students were congregating in the back and it was hard to keep track of how many students were in the maze. It was such a blast!

As the students were coming through I was supposed to keep them moving. The students were excited and friendly. Some students wanted to scare others as they came up to the area I was at. They were having the best time and it was so great to see them enjoying themselves and playing with each other. It was a lot of work to keep them moving through the maze, but still fun. When I have a chance to see students outside the classroom it really gives me so much more information about their personalities and interests. I also got a clearer picture of which students are friends and how close they are with each other.

There is one student who is an English Language Learner. I have not worked with her very much; she is my mentor teacher’s student. However, I have had interactions with her and she struck me as very shy and introverted. She also was very blunt, which made her hard to read. While I was supervising this maze, she asked me to help her up the ladder, I helped her and then she said she wanted to stay with me. I laughed and told her that would be fun, but I am here because I am supposed to keep people moving through the maze. She said ok, and told everyone else, “Keep moving!” I told her she can come back around and sit with me for a minute again. She was hilarious and so much fun; we have something that has connected us so now when I see her in the hall, she always smiles and says hi to me. Just that, made the whole supervising experience worth it!

Extra-Curricular Observation 1

A couple of Saturday nights ago I went to a basketball game on my school’s campus. One of the teams competing in the game was the High School which my school feeds into. It is also in fact the school my brother plays for, which is why I was at the game. He is a senior and this was his last game. Several of the students who play on the High School team have siblings who attend the school where I teach. Many of my students were at this game. It was a great opportunity to see my students outside of the school day. One occurrence that was especially fun to watch was four of my students cheering on my brother. Their older brother is on the basketball team too, but they made signs for my brother not theirs! Through this experience I learned a little about them that I did not know. Namely, that they constantly tell my brother they like him better than their own brother (who happens to be my brothers’ best friend) J.

The 8^th grade student who I work with on his year-long project was there as well. He goes to most games because he is so excited to be on the team next year and he wants to be a professional basketball player. It was fun to watch the game with him because for the last four years (before this) he had a sister who was on the basketball team, so he “got it” when I was cheering on my brother. He also liked that I knew something about sports and it gave us something else to connect about.

Are we there yet?

Above is a view of Prensky’s that is rather like Carr, a little more cautious about technology perhaps? I think his introduction here is not about being cautious about technology, but it comes from his desire to show that he sees “the other side”, he even refers to the book The Shallows as being one that is overly cautious of technology. He uses his ability to see the other side as a way to make sure that the reader sees he is being fair and that his conclusion is right. At least that is how I see it. His bottom line: it is about how we use technology not whether we should use it. I think he is right here. This is the first time where he seems more even keeled, than he has seemed throughout the rest of the book.

Carr spends a lot of time in this chapter sharing research and studies that were done that demonstrate some of the challenges of reading and retaining information that is read on the computer.

He also shares a metaphor that I think really helps visualize what is happening in our brain when we read on the computer, with all the “extras” vs. reading a book.

This is interesting.

I love thinking about how much more reading kids are doing than before, but it is al little disturbing to think about there being less in –depth reading. The whole idea Carr focuses on throughout the book is about how we are rewiring our brain. The real questions here are, I think, are we changing our brain for the better? How do we know?

This too is an interesting picture, especially in light of the dense history of communication through print, does it seem like we are going backwards?

Carr also counteracts with some small studies that indicate there could be some benefits to surfing the Net as well.

This particular study indicates that it may be possible to expand our working memory. That seems to me to be a huge benefit, if it is in fact accurate and would work for everyone.

SO what is the bottom line? Carr quotes the writer Sam Anderson here:

According to him, the bottom line is, we are not going back.

This might bring one to conclude we should look at the positives of the Net and move on. I do think that we should be doing this. It is not going anywhere, it would be wise,and I think Prensky would agree, for us to embrace it, BUT as Carr indicates, it is also wise to be wary. That although we may be gaining some kinds of intelligece that is different or good from the use of the NET. We are losing other types of intellegence. Is there a final answer? A single answer of what is best, or what is the most wise?

No, there is not one answer. The most wise action we can take is to educate our students with technology since they WILL be using it OFTEN in both their schooling and in their work as they get older. BUT we should also be giving them skills to work off the computer. We should make sure we are also developing their deeper level thinking skills. It seems to me that there is not much of a medium ground when you ask teachers’ their opinions on technology. People seem to feel pretty strongly for or against the use of technology in the classroom. And it seems that it is taking a long time and is a slow process getting technology in the classroom.

I know for myself, before this class, I was more on the side of the fence of people who discouraged the use of technology. That does not mean that I did not use it, or that I did not give my students assignments that they were required to use technology, but I was SO wary. After reading these books and seeing how much more there is out there for teachers than I even realized, I feel like my eyes have been opened a little bit more. I still want to make sure I am giving my students skills that develop higher level thinking, but I also feel pretty strongly about making sure that my students will be well prepared for what will be asked of them as they move through the years, which means using technology and encouraging the use of it throughout the school.

~I still prefer reading a book, but since I am savvier at reading, highlighting and taking notes now on the computer, it is not annoying and does put me a little ahead when it is time to put my post together. Since my notes are already typed, it is easier to make them into a post.

Carr, N. G. (2010). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York: W.W. Norton.(Kindle)

Prensky, M. (2012). Brain gain: Technology and the quest for digital wisdom. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Kindle)

How long till we hear from our kids, “What?? Read a real book?”

Carr writes about how the experience of reading an eBook should be different than the experience of reading a book in print. That there should be links or other features of the computer incorporated into the reading experience. That would be cool, but I think it would take away from my experience in reading a book for pleasure. If it is a book for school, I can see advantages, but not in a book for pleasure.

There are a few features that are written about that will be incorporated into an eBook. One such feature is social networking.

Which could be engaging, to be able to know what others are reading and have real time discussions with them, but it does completely change the experience of reading a book. I think I would use both formats. It would depend what I am looking for. Back to the “getting lost in a good book” or as Isaac of Syria had put it “…as in a dream, I enter a state when my sense and thoughts are concentrated. Then when the prolonging of this silence the turmoil of memories is stilled in my heart, ceaseless waves of joy are sent me by inner thoughts, beyond expectation suddenly arising to delight my heart.” (Carr 2010). I think it would be impossible to feel this way if I was in the midst of communicating with other people while trying to read. Maybe this goes back to Prensky (2012), digitally wise or digitally clever. Is it wise to have all these features incorporated into eBooks or just clever? I think that it depends on both the person and the book that is being read. This could be especially true for students who may be struggling to understand a book. If the student had the opportunity to be connected to to others through social media it could help them, but on the other hand, the student may resort to asking for help before really trying on his/her own.

As you can probably tell I am pretty torn myself. I know that I would rather read a real book for pleasure. But I also know that a lot of my negative or skeptical opinions about technology have been changing weekly since I have been reading both The Shallows and Brain Gain. So really now I am just totally confused! I think that is a good thing though. Technology is not going anywhere and in fact it is coming faster than I think anyone imagined, so if I have gone from feeling negatively about it to being confused, it is probably a push in the right direction… no?

And let’s take this a step farther, what about what we should be doing with our students? Prensky’s focus this week is on the inevitability of our culture being so entrenched in technology that many other things we do in the “old” way will become obsolete. We are in a new age. And we need to embrace it because it is happening right now. To embrace it is digitally wise. But as Prensky points out, if we are embracing it, shouldn’t we be teaching it to our children as well? Are we not doing them a disservice if we don’t?

~Experience this week: I find it more annoying to click to the next page, when reading on my computer, than flipping a page in a book. It is better on the iPad, but I still prefer flipping pages.  I also like to lay down when I read, and I can do that when using my iPad, but not my computer.

Carr, N. G. (2010). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York: W.W. Norton.(Kindle)

Prensky, M. (2012). Brain gain: Technology and the quest for digital wisdom. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Kindle)

Carr gave me a lot to think about this week…

One thing Carr mentioned that stuck out to me in this week’s reading was about how people often have three screens open in front of them at once. This struck a chord with me since I have found myself in that same situation, sometime with even four screens in front of me at once. This has been especially true since I have been in Graduate School.  I imagine what it is like for our students who are growing up with this being the new normal. That having multiple screens around and being constantly surrounded by this technology is expected behavior.

According to Carr (2010), print is falling from popularity in so far as how often it is read. This includes not only newspapers and magazines, but books as well. This makes me kind of sad, no matter the benefits of reading on a screen; I don’t think I will ever prefer it, at least when reading for pleasure, over reading a book.

I wonder how Prensky would categorize reading books vs. the same book digitally? Digitally wise, or digitally clever?

This week Prensky (2012) goes into great detail over different actions that make us digitally wiser.

One example is email. This I, I think, really important to pay attention to since it seems like there are so many ways to be digitally dumb, when it comes to email. Mistakes can be made that could not be made while penning a letter, which leads to another interesting thought by Carr. About how some outdated technologies still get used, like vinyl records, but that using this outdated technology is a progressive “dead end”. It does not move us forward in developing new technologies. Letter writing still gets used, and “snail mail” is still around, but it is not progressive.

Another topic Carr (2010) mentions that I found intersting is this:

I had always looked at it from a different perspective. That being able to physically highlight in a textbook for example, is better because it involves more cognitive processes. Where Carr uses the same argument for why reading on a computer is more beneficial. Hmmm… that is something for me to ponder.

Here is something else for me to think about as a special ed teacher.

Having all these distraction can be extremely detrimental to some students. So there is a fine line between making sure our students are being taught the latest and greatest technologies, but also helping them to figure out what kind of learners they are so we can teach them to sift through and find the right type of technology for them. And the flip side, some amazing things are possible for children with disabilities because of technology as well, so teaching the right tools for each individual student is part of what we should be doing as well. I think Prensky would agree, doing so, would be digitally wise.

~I was actually starting to get used to reading, highlighting and taking notes on the computer for this assignment. I finally felt like I got a system going between flipping between the screens with the books, creating screenshots and taking notes on word. THEN I needed to highlight two words on a page in order to take a screenshot. It was the first two words on a page and it was continuation of a quote, so I really needed it. I could not get it to work. It either highlighted everything on that page, but the first two words. OR when I got it to highlight those two words, the “highlight or note” screen did not come up. After about seven tries I gave up. Then a fellow classmate suggested I download the Kindle app for my computer and I was able to get the two words highlighted, but that was a frustrating experience I had this week.

 

Carr, N. G. (2010). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York: W.W. Norton. (Kindle)

Prensky, M. (2012). Brain gain: Technology and the quest for digital wisdom. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Kindle)

Should we be Digitally Recording all of our Memories?

In the Brain Gain Prensky talks about what makes us digitally wise. He poses a series of questions for us to ponder and think for ourselves if these technological advancements make us wiser. The first one he mentions is, “Are we wiser if we record everything our senses experience?” This really struck a chord with me. As a mom, I feel like I am constantly scrambling to make sure to record as many memories as I can of my children. I take pictures easily, but I have to be more conscientious to remember to take video or to write down things the kids say that I don’t want to forget. Recently, I have run into a dilemma; what to do with my kids artwork? There is so much of it; it comes home almost every day. How do I decide what to throw away and what to keep? I don’t think I can. So here is an idea: keep a few pieces of artwork and lay the rest out and take pictures of them! This way I have a recording of all the artwork without all the clutter. What a wise solution that supports the idea Prensky poses of recording our experiences. I think though, that in cases like this, having the ability to record does make me wiser- and neater. But I also wonder if we start to rely solely on our devices to remember for us, will we re-wire our brain (like Carr describes in relation to our brain’s neuroplasticity) and forget how to remember? I hold, as I do with most things, that it is about how we use it and moderating its use. This might look different for different people, so it is up to each individual to decide how to use the technology; if/when it becomes available. As for how this helps us as teachers, it is important that we keep up with new technologies so we can help guide the youth.

Carr shares a story in Chapter three of his book that mirrors my question above.  Will we forget how to remember if everything about our life and our experiences can be digitally recorded? In Carr’s story Socrates is sharing a story about the Egyptian god Theuth and one of Egypt’s Kings, Thamus. The story is in the screen shot below.

At the end Socrates explains that he is concerned that if we begin to write everything down, we will begin to forget since we won’t have to remember anymore. After reading this and knowing that just because we write things down doesn’t mean we will forget, maybe my above concern is a moot point?

It seems, as Carr says, that these conflicting views of Plato and Socrates are similar to what people go through as each new technology has been introduced over time. It is just that recently technology is moving so fast people don’t have time to process these conflicts before having to make a decision.

This week I did my reading on my computer rather than my iPad. I need to update my iPad in order to download the Kindle App to be able to highlight. I also needed to download a different browser for my computer in order to visit the cloud reader website. In the end it was easier to download a new browser, so here I am reading on my laptop. I do enjoy reading more on the iPad. The backlighting on the computer makes it difficult to keep my eyes on the screen for too long. However, I do feel pretty accomplished for figuring out what is wrong with my iPad (with help from a classmate), and what is wrong with my computer. I also figured out how to take a screenshot on my computer. So even though the reading experience was not great, I feel like I accomplished a lot of tasks I did not know how to do before.

Carr, N. G. (2010). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York: W.W. Norton. (Kindle)

Prensky, M. (2012). Brain gain: Technology and the quest for digital wisdom. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Kindle)