Final Project - Online Math Module

Group 1 Members: Michelle Brasher, Amanda Corley, Jordan Hill, and Lauren Millican

Grade Level: 2nd Grade

LMS: Seasaw

Standards: ALCOS 2nd Grade Mathematics #7, 9, 13

Math Module Walk Thru

Online Module Planning Template

Number Talk Lesson Plan

EED 509 - Integrated Arts

    As a teacher, I constantly feel like my days are packed “to the brim.” Sometimes I feel as though I could not add “one more thing” into my school day. However in my readings for this assignment, I have become more aware of the value of integrated arts in the regular education classroom. Integrated arts extend and enhance the content to make lessons more meaningful and successful. If we are truly striving for quality instruction, we must make an effort to reach all learners and explore different ways of thinking. By making efforts to integrate art, physical education, STEAM activities, and health education, we are committing to ensure all students are engaged and active in the learning process.

According to the article “Arts Integration Improves School Culture and Student Success” by Cheri Sterman, art is essential to a well-rounded education. Adding art related activities brings students joy and ensures that they are more engaged. When art is integrated into math, science, reading, or social studies, teachers have the opportunity to see students' creativity. Many students are visual learners and can grasp difficult concepts easier when art is implemented. Art activities gives students an avenue to display what they have learned while thinking critically and utilizing problem solving skills. Schools that have chosen to integrate art into other content areas see less discipline issues because students can express themselves and notice higher achievement scores. It is important for teachers and administrators to work collaboratively to brainstorm ideas to effectively integrate art into all areas of the curriculum.  

The purpose of PE is to develop physically literate children. Like all subjects, it must be aligned with standards and regularly assessed. Quality PE means that every student is engaged and participating. No students should be mostly standing and watching.  Successful physical education lessons include clear objectives and modeling for students. According to the article "Shake up PE's Status Quo" by John T. Foley, Lynn C. MacDonald,and Daniel J. Breiman, "physical activity during a lesson can contribute to well-being, fitness, and improved academic behaviors." Therefore it is important that teachers make an effort to include opportunities for students to move in the general education classroom. Classroom teachers and Physical Education teachers can support one another by collaborating on ways to add more movement to other content areas. When students learn with their whole bodies they have a greater chance for retaining information and sustaining engagement. I look forward to reading more about ways I can incorporated movement into my own classroom lessons.

    STEAM is a non-traditional, child driven learning initiative that gives students to opportunity to take on the role of problem solvers. Many schools have found success by incorporating science, technology, engineering, art, and math into ALL areas of the curriculum. Students are encouraged to become leaders and work together to design solutions to real world problems while applying the knowledge they have learned in class. "STEAM takes learning 'off the printed page' and intentionally transforms students from content memorizers to innovators." (Cheri Sterman, (2017) STEAM Ignites Learners’ Energy). Schools that have made efforts to incorporate STEAM into the curriculum have noted fewer discipline problems and more parent involvement. When teachers plan and implement STEAM lessons, students become design thinkers and take on a more active role in their education.

    In conclusion, the need for arts integration in the regular classroom is great. The benefits to incorporating art, physical movement, and STEAM are numerous. We know that students learn in many ways so we as teachers must be prepared to use a variety of methods in our classrooms. I have learned from my reading that schools that support integrating the arts have happier, more successful students. These students not only demonstrate a higher level of engagement, but are developing skills that will help them later in life. I look forward to exploring more ways I can integrate arts into my own classroom. 

                        

EED509 Module 3 - 21st Century Tool Reviews

Tool Review #1 - The Answer Pad app

The Answer Pad is a free student response app I read about on Pinterest. When a teacher logs on, he or she is given a connect code. Any student can "join" the class with the code. The teacher can then ask a questions orally or by presenting it on the board. Students respond via the app and all the data is sent back to the teacher. It is an efficient way to be sure all students are engaged and participating. The teacher can choose whether responses are multiple choice, yes/no, true/false, short answer, or even a drawing. The teacher can even send out a template for students to complete such as a graphic organizer, math graph, science diagram, or exit ticket. You can even upload your own image to send out. This app allows the teacher to quickly check students responses and decide how to proceed with instruction. Teachers and students do not need much technological knowledge to use this program. After setting up an account, I easily discovered various question templates and practiced answering using my phone. I believe any teacher can quickly become proficient with the app. I am looking forward to trying out Answer Pad with my class this year!

Click here to try out The Answer Pad

Works great for formative assessment
photo from Aleverandaplacetostand.blogspot.com

Teachers can see each student's response

Students can annotate on templates

Tool Review #2 - Kahoot! 

Earlier this year, I read about Kahoot! in a 5th Grade Teacher Facebook group. Many of the teachers were so pleased with the enthusiasm of their students when using Kahoot! - I became very insterested.  After trying it out in my classroom this year, I completely agree! Kahoot is a game-style quiz website that allows students to log in and answer questions. Students are awarded "points" for speed and correctness. "Awards" are given to the highest scores at the end of the quiz. Teachers can choose to create their own quizzes or use one of thousands already available. My students loved Kahoot! We began by using it as a "Fun Friday Reward" - my students would form teams and compete against one another on various topics from animals to Disney movies. Later in the year, we began using it during class to review content. I could easily tell who was mastering skills and who needed more support. Teachers can search specific objectives, but I preferred creating my own quizzes based on what we had discussed in class. While it does not require more than basic website experience, teachers may want to "practice" finding and assigning quizzes before using it in class. I think Kahoot! is a fun and useful tool for encouraging participation and formatively assessing students during class discussion. I hope you will try it out! 

Click here to try out Kahoot!

             

Module 3 - Miro Board

Quality Questioning Miro Board 

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard that allows users to organize plans, notes, and ideas for FREE! I enjoyed trying out a new platform for organizing my thoughts while reading. As I read each chapter, I posted the question I would be focusing on. Next I took notes using either the "post-it" feature or one of the concept web templates. I also copied any charts or tables from the text that I found helpful. Finally, I used a gray box to synthesize my learning from the chapter. It was very easy to complete my written response by referring back to my Miro Board. I think this can be a valuable tool for grade levels that want to collaborate while planning or small groups of students that want to share notes for a project.

Try out Miro HERE!

Module 3 - Word Cloud

I used the website https://wordart.com/ to create my "Word Cloud." I have included important terms from "Quality Questioning - Chapter 4." 

EED509 - Module 3 Quality Questioning - Reading Response

I have learned so much as I read through the book “Quality Questioning - Research Based Practice to Engage Every Learner.”  I am very excited to use the strategies I have studied in my classroom. In Chapter 1, I read about the Cycle of Quality Questioning. To implement this into my classroom I have to first commit to making "questioning" part of my planning and designing phase of my lessons. I have to practice formulating questions that will promote deeper discussion and allow my students to make stronger connections. I also have to break the habit of only calling on “target” students and allowing some students to “opt out” of answering. I will need to develop better strategies for checking students' responses so that everyone feels like their responses matter and have value. By working to implement these behaviors and procedures, I can be sure that my students will become more engaged in my lessons and acquire a deeper understanding of the content.  

Chapter 2 focuses on how teachers can prepare Quality Questions. The rubric on page 24 is a useful tool for evaluating the questions prepared for a lesson. I would apply this rubric for checking the quality of my focus questions. I would begin by sitting down with my content partner (we both teach Reading) and collaborating on our focus questions. We would need to look closely at the standard and think about the verbs that are used.  We would need to take into account the prior knowledge of our students and be sure the questions spark our students’ interest. We will also need to be sure the question is worded to prompt deeper thinking and have a clear strategy for checking students’ responses. I think we would need to seek out resources and look at many examples as we develop this skill. It will take practice and time, but I think having this rubric will help us learn to create stronger, more engaging questions. 

Chapter 3 instructs on presenting the question and hearing student responses. In this chapter, I read about many different ways for students to respond. Several of these resonate with my teaching style. In my classroom I try to maintain a positive learning environment. I strive to teach respect and kindness from day one. I promote showing respect when we have different opinions and encourage students to listen to one another. To check responses, I definitely use signals for quick "who is paying attention and engaged" checks. I make sure all my students feel “safe” when using signals and do not tolerate laughing or making fun of one another.  In reading, I implement think, pair, share in our reading journals. Many of my 5th graders are more likely to share with a peer than out loud to the entire class. I think talking with a partner sometimes helps my students “practice” so they are ready to share aloud to the class. 

Chapter 4 discusses how teachers can encourage deeper responses from students by implementing “think time” during discussion. To do this in my own classroom, it will take practice and patience. As a teacher, I often feel as though I am “fighting” the clock to squeeze as much as possible into my day. After reading, I can better appreciate the value of purposeful “think time” when questioning students. When everyone has time to process, there can be more participation.  Students have more time to formulate evidence and justification of answers.  As a teacher, I am giving myself time to think and react. This is something I will need to model with my class. I am sure it will feel awkward at first, but will be a valuable strategy with practice. I will have to be very mindful about not allowing my lower students to “opt out” of participating. When everyone is held accountable, everyone is more likely to be engaged and will benefit from the discussion. 

Chapter 5 explains how to react to student responses. After reading the chapter, I believe a challenge for me will be when the student response shows the student is on track with his or her learning. This is a challenge because I typically praise this student and move on. I do not usually give “feedback” that causes the student to think deeper. With so many students below grade level and struggling with the content, I find it challenging to prompt students who easily grasp the content. Like the other strategies I have read about during this module, I believe I can become more successful with practice and collaboration with my colleagues.

Sattes, Jackie Acree Walsh; Beth D. Quality Questioning. SAGE Publications, Inc. (US), 2017. [Yuzu].