I'm Done! Well No, Not Really

Well I'm finally finished my Diploma in Learning and Teaching with Technology. Reflecting back on where I began in this journey to where I am now, I am amazed. I began quite apprehensively in learning how to use technology to support my teaching. At first I was overwhelmed and wasn't clear on the big picture. Over the course of the program I was introduced to very relevant learning experiences that reminded me just how consumed I had become in keeping up with the daily responsibilities of teaching that I became stagnant. Of course there are the small sparks of excitement from learning something new at a professional development workshop. But over all I think there is a tendency to be so focussed on trying to get through the curriculum and paper work that we become too far removed from the changes and growth that are occurring in education everyday. I applaud those educators that have kept that momentum up of learning, doing, and changing. I remember when I first finished university. I was bright, eager, idealistic, and felt so in touch with innovative ideas and pedagogy. Over the course of my career and raising a family, I had lost touch with that energy that evolves from learning and sharing with others.
The program threw me back into the act of being a life long learner. Not just the passive learning that comes from workshops or lectures but getting right into the research of best teaching practices, involvement with professional learning communities, and getting in touch with what students of the 21 century need from the education system today. There were times I was frustrated not only at the work load of the program but by my own feelings of wanting to do more in my classroom. I have a vision of how I want my classroom to run but it is a slow process with bumps and detours along the way. I have a direction and more knowledge to shift my practice and to grow as an educator. I really feel that going back to school has rejuvenated me and has given me back a little of who I was so many years ago. I'm still bright and eager, perhaps less idealistic, but certainly more realistic and yet still up to the challenge of preparing my students the best that I can for their future. I will continue to challenge my thinking and reflect on what and why I do the things I do in my classroom. So yes I'm done the program, but have I finished learning and shifting my practice to my satisfactory? Not at all.

Reflecting On My Assumption

When I first got a set of ipods for my classroom, I thought students would love using them. Well, at first they were interested in the ipods and thought they were "cool". We used the ipods to record stories and record oral reading, as a way to develop fluency and oral language. Students listened to themselves and self assessed their performance based on a criteria list. My assumption was that if students used the ipods they would be engaged in practicing their oral language and use their self assessments to identify areas for growth and actually work towards improving their performance. I found that the novelty of using ipods quickly wore off. Students used their assessment to identify areas for further growth but it didn't seem to make any difference to their effort. I think the underlying assumption I had was that students cared enough to work at improving their oral reading and oral language. Perhaps they are just to young to take that level of responsibility for their learning.

Being Literate in the 21st Century

Being literate in the 21st century is evolving in this changing world. It is no longer just reading print nor is it solely about technology. Educators are beginning to rethink the ways students are taught to be literate in order to prepare them for the workforce. To be literate in the 21st century to be able to use the tools and modes that communicate information. A 21st century learner should be able to find information from a variety of sources and know which sources are reliable. He must also be able to critically reflect on what the information means or what the intention of the message or the author is. In this day of anyone being able to post information on the internet, it is more important than ever that the 21st century learner be strong critical thinkers. As well the 21st century learner must have information literacy, technology literacy, and multimedia literacy. Besides critical thinking, other attributes of a 21st century learner include being able to solve problems, collaborate with others, cooperate, communicate effectively, be creative and innovative.
Interactive media includes digital technology or any form of media that allows the student to interact with other users or a computer. Students need to be able to use social networks, blog comments, read and contribute to forums, and participate in online games. The 21st century learner is text messaging, using smart phones, creating web pages, graphics, animations, sound and videos. The 21st century learner is connected globally. His learning experience is more meaningful, and most likely more enjoyable.
New media interactions I’ve integrated into my practice are limited to the resources available to me. My grade three students have made an iMovie, keynote slideshow with their own graphics and sound, and have made ipod recordings. They have made blog comments on the class website and explored interactive educational games and sites. They have watched youtube and teachertube videos to support their learning. They have done their own search to research information related to our units and gathered information. Lastly, they have used the computer to assess their reading comprehension. I feel that my students have come a long way in their journey to become a 21st century learner.

Using Reader’s Theater to Develop Reading Fluency

My class has been doing a lot of reader’s theater relating to our Fairy Tale theme. Students are working very well together and even the reluctant readers are participating well. Some of the parts have only a few lines or words, while other parts are spoken together. Consequently I feel this enables my reluctant readers to feel more successful but also less self conscious. Our goal has been to develop expression and fluency. Reader’s theater in one strategy I have found effective in getting students to reread and practice the same passage over and over again while keeping them engaged and working cooperatively with others. Having gone over the rubric for reading fluency, each student is aware of what they are striving toward. Most are able to tell me what they liked about their reading and what they think they could improve on. I’ve been pleased with everyone’s effort.

Looking Back At Research

For each field study I have done a great amount of research and reading. Even articles that turned out not to be relevant to my field study got me thinking and making connections to my own teaching practice and how I can incorporate the ideas into my classroom. I find myself making connections to articles on what is happening in education, in newspapers and in the news. For example, recently the news has reported on gender differences in learning styles and how boys are lagging behind girls particularly in reading. Research articles directed and impacted how I conducted my field study immensely. For example, I developed literacy centers to incorporate more differential learning in my class and reading about how teachers have evaluated reading fluency has helped me develop assessment that works for my classroom as well I have begun using ipods more often in practicing reading and oral language.

Most of my research comes form Ebsco and Google Scholar. There are other research resources but I have been overwhelmed just by the material available on these two sites. I find that I am reading articles about different topics and interests so much so that I lose track of time. When I am planning my lessons I reflect back on my research and try to implement the ideas, for example, research defines one element of fluency as the ability to read smoothly in a specific amount of time. I am encouraging students to practice repeated readings to improve their fluency rate. I now have a fluency scale to score students' reading.

Vygotsky's zone of proximity resonates with me often as I reflect at how my students are learning. When I read an article, in the back of my mind I am thinking about Howard Rheingold's "crap detection" and using a critical lens to sift out was is factual.
There isn't anyone author I've followed, I have relied on authors suggested in my course work and by following bibliographies or links found during my field study research. As well, I have found the PLC groups helpful, a few of my favorites are Edutopia, Tom Barrett on twitter, and Classroom 2.0.

I enjoy reading articles more than research papers. I see myself continuing to read articles on trends and topics I am interested in. I probably won't do as much reading but I think I will continue to make it a part of my professional development.

A New Wondering

In the last few months I have noticed how much my students have enjoyed Reader's Theater. Even my more reluctant readers are engaged and seem to be enjoying their time reading. I also am enjoying the oral reading technique. Students are receptive to instruction, and willing to do repeated readings. I have been doing some reading on the use of reader's theater in the classroom to develop oral reading fluency. There is some suggestion that it is a strategy that also develops comprehension because the students is focussed less on decoding and more on the meaning. I will be incorporating reader's theater more often over the next few weeks as part of a balanced literacy program. My hope is to re-ignite the love of reading in students whose attitude toward reading has become more negative over the years because they don't see themselves as "good" readers. I'll let you know how it is coming along.

Research Article

I've been doing a lot of reading on differentiated literacy instruction for my field study. I am looking at differential learning through the use of literacy centers that accommodate the learning styles and interests of boys and girls. One article is titled Accommodating differences: variations in differentiated literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms by Ruthanne Tobin and Alison McInnes. The article addresses how to support student's literacy needs with differentiated instruction (DI) and the varied approaches to DI. Teachers provided more scaffolding for struggling literacy learners by offering a variety of tiered work products, tutoring, and additional supports. Two teachers were discussed, each one approaching DI in a different way. One teacher gives her students book bundles. She teaches a skill to all the students and the students have the same activity but a varying degrees of difficulty. The second teacher used literacy centers. The articles have changed my practice in that it made me reflect on the organization of my class and whether is promotes literacy for boys and girls. As well, I wondered how my teaching practice was accommodating the literacy needs of my students and in particular the struggling learners. I began to think of literacy centers that would engage grade three students.
The article links to 2 capacities. They are:
• engage in a critical cycle of action-reflection to understand and develop your practice
• draw on educational theories, research and philosophies to inform your use of technologies to support teaching and learning