Reflection #14: P.E. Class Observation

Transitions are particularly important in the classroom, especially so in physical education classes when the students are being much more active and there is a lot more potential for being off-task in a physical way. The teacher began each class with the students sitting on their assigned colored shape. She shared with them the class schedule for that day. This is a great way to get the entire class on the same page as far as what to expect. Next they had a 10 minute warm-up where they could participate in jump rope, hula hoops, running, or going for a bathroom break. This is something they did every day in P.E. class so it was routine and prepared students for the subsequent activities. The teacher blew a whistle to signal the ending of warm-up and they returned to their spots on the floor. The main activity was explained, not only in how it was conducted but how it will help them build teamwork, cooperation, and specifically within physical fitness. This stood out to me because I think it is a great idea for students to be aware of what the learning targets are prior to the activity.

P.E. is a unique program area within the school because the teacher is responsible for teaching across all grade levels. The way that Lakeview’s physical education program works is that the teacher uses the same activity for all of her classes in the day, modifying the difficulty and how she conducts the activity to fit the grade level. In the 1st grade class, the teacher had to leave additional time for going over the very basics of safety precautions, questions and comments from her students, and assisting them in forming their teams. In contrast, the 5th grade class already had a larger background knowledge and needed to only be told briefly about safety measures. The 5th graders were also able to form teams quickly and without assistance.

I would like to ask the teacher about the challenges she faces with modifying an activity to fit different grade levels and how she begins the process of doing so in her lesson planning. It would also be useful to see how she assesses her students’ progress and helps those who are struggling with a particular knowledge area or activity. Lastly, I would ask the teacher if she had any suggestions for incorporating low-level kinesthetic activity into the regular classroom.

Reflection #13: Special Needs Observation

I recently observed a special education classroom in a local junior high. This classroom observation was similar in many ways to observing an elementary classroom only with greater emphasis on one-on-one tutoring. Though some of these students faced greater challenges academically and otherwise, the teacher still had appropriate expectations for them. She expected them to sit up and pay attention and she would wait for the class to refocus before continuing with the lesson. It is so important for teachers to have high expectations for their students and believe in their potential. I saw this same concept demonstrated in the interactions between the student aides and the students. The aides were encouraging and helpful, I think that peer tutoring contributed greatly towards the students’ overall attitude towards class work.This class is particularly unique because of all the support integrated into the classroom. There were four students in the class and each student had their own student aide. In addition to the lead teacher there were also two paraeducators actively working in the classroom. This support promoted a strong learning environment and allowed the teacher to focus on teaching and meeting the academic needs of the class as a whole. Though this is a junior high class, the students were working primarily at a 1^st and 2^nd grade level. I was able to take a look at the curriculum they were following and there was definitely a strong focus on mathematics and literacy. These two subjects must be deemed as particularly important for these students to be successful in and outside of the educational domain.

After observing the class in action and taking a look at the curriculum I would be interested in asking the teacher about the ways in which she formally assesses her students. I believe it might look a little different just because the structure of the class is different than the typical junior high classroom and the students are at varying degrees of capability. I would also like to know more about the biggest challenges she faces in teaching special education and how she addresses those challenges. Overall it was a very insightful observation and I learned a great deal about how this type of classroom functions.

Reflection #12: Telescopes

I stumbled across World Wide Telescope the other day, it is a free Microsoft online program that makes your computer function as a telescope through imagery from real telescopes. There are guided tours from astronomers that can be stopped and started as you please, different views of the sky, and zooming and panning capabilities. The only downside is that it only fully works on PCs, if you have a Mac you can use the web-based version but it lacks some of the features. Nevertheless, I would love to use this application during an astronomy unit because it provides students with a relevant learning experience within the classroom that might otherwise not occur. It would be difficult to study the stars in-class simply because schools are in session during the day. Secondly, being able to take a look at things like nebulas, galaxies, and planets would be invaluable!

Reflection #11: World Mapper

I enjoy reading education blogs simply because it is exciting to learn new ideas and find inspiring resources. I was reading one the other day and came across a neat online resource called World Mapper. On the World Mapper website I found hundreds of maps showing different kinds of data. Some of the maps displayed population data, others showed the amount of pollution, another showed religious affiliations. Besides the 696 maps they have available, the website also provides high quality PDFs of some of the maps so that they can be printed out and displayed on classroom walls. This is a good opportunity for students to learn how to read a map using the key and looking at the data that is being shown. After taking a look at several maps together as a class they could work to create their own maps, including a title, key, and labels.

Reflection #10: National Geographic

Today I was exploring the National Geographic website and found that they offer some great resources for teaching. There's interactive games, videos of wildlife, live streaming video of some of the most beautiful natural places in the world, and lesson plans for educators. The technology that they make available is so valuable. I would love to integrate some of their pictures and video into a science or geography unit. One fun idea would be to view a short clip as a class at the beginning of each day and answer a few questions in a science journal. This would encourage the students to start thinking and move into a learning mindset.

National Geographic Lesson Plans
National Geographic Mega Flyover Resources

Reflection #9: Google Earth

I did not truly realize until today how amazing a resource Google Earth really is. Not only is it fun to see the town or state you live in, but it's an excellent way to "travel" anywhere on Earth. This afternoon I "saw" whales off the coast of Australia, the ancient Mayan ruins of Becan, and the island of Santorini, Greece. Google Earth also offers animated 3D tours of places like the Roman Colosseum, cathedrals around the world, a trip through Asia, and a view of the solar system. This program offers unlimited learning opportunities and can be integrated into nearly every school subject. It is an amazing piece of technology and I'm excited to see how it will grow and advance over the next decade. Hopefully in the future they will have high quality imaging of the entire world (and space) and a real 3D look of major landmarks and historical sites.

Possible Projects
Take a Virtual Field Trip
Student Autobiography (Students can place placemarks at significant personal locations and add stories/pictures at the locations to create an autobiography tour.)
Where Are We Today? (Like the game "20 Questions")

How To Begin
After downloading Google Earth, go to www.google.com, click on ADVANCED SEARCH and under File Format choose KMZ before searching. KMZ, or Keyhole Markup Zipped, is the type of file that Google Earth saves in. After you find an interesting KMZ, double-click and it will open in GE. It will open under your temporary locations so you will need to save it in "My Places" if you want to return to it later.
-You can read tutorials on how to use Google Earth.
-Google Earth also offers many ideas for educators.

Additional Resources
Google Earth Lessons
Discovery Google Earth
Google Lit Trips
Google Earth Blog
Google Sightseeing
Google Earth How-To Videos
Rome

Reflection #8: Flip Video

We had the opportunity to use a Flip Video and the Flip Share program to create our very own movie. It was superlatively easy to rearrange and put our different clips together as well as add music from the preselected options. For greater editing capabilities we would definitely need to use Movie Maker or iMovie. I am now a big fan of Flip Video simply because it is very easy to use and students could use it for surveys, presentation projects or the like. One extensive project that would be interesting to do is a historical play. It could either be done as a whole class or several smaller groups, but would require research, simple costumes, and student participation. I think students would have fun with it and would be very willing to contribute.