Technology in the Classroom Video

Language Arts/Social Studies/Technology/ESL Lesson

https://w.taskstream.com/Lesson/View/15CA48E940C538C57ACB48112DEFD2E2

Pre-Lesson Reflection:

My second lesson is geared toward ESL students whose first language is Spanish. It integrates Social Studies, Language, and Technology. It requires students to compose a friendly letter in correct format to send to an internet pen pal, or key pal, from Australia. The letter will include information about the student and a description of a current event that they have researched on the internet. The letters will be written in English but the response from the students in Australia will be written in Spanish. 

•   Assessing Prior Knowledge: 

When teaching this with the targeted grade level  prior experience will be assessed by the amount of time spent referring to the friendly letter format that will be handed out prior to beginning the writing. Also, based on the level of familiarity with completing internet research.
From assessing students' prior knowledge, I would expect to learn whether or not they have composed a letter before, how much time they spend with technology, and if they understand the concept of a current event.
This information will be useful in the planning process because I will know how much time I need to spend monitoring the students while they are conducting their research in case they need any help or if they need to use partners during research.

                     

•   Plans Instruction: 

My goals, objectives, and outcomes are clearly stated because they are specific.

 My goals, objectives, and outcomes are appropriate for students because they are age-ppropriate and students are able to achieve them during a process they will enjoy and be engaged in

My goals, objectives, and outcomes are aligned to state standards because they are directly connected with the standards in social studies and ESL.

•   Designing Instruction: 

My instructional design is contextually and logically organized because I begin with an interesting and exciting anticipatory set and allow ample time for research, composition, and revision.

My instructional design uses varied instructional methods that meet individual student needs and target higher order thinking skills by allowing for student choice, letting the student demonstrate their ability to write in English by composing a letter to a peer rather than the teacher and letting them describe things they are interested in. Is designed so that if a student likes one of those subjects but not another, they will still enjoy the activity and see that the two are similar, therefore potentially increasing interest in the previously disliked subject.Additionally, I provide many accommodations.

My instructional design  aligns with research based understanding of technology integration by utilizing the practice of skills that will be used in real life situations such as writing letters or emails, communication over the internet, and research skills.

Addresses:

Safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology by not allowing them to simply copy and paste information. Rather, they must research, read, and describe in their own words.

Digital etiquette and responsible social interactions by being monitored by the teacher prior to being sent.

Meeting diverse needs of learners through learner-centered strategies and equitable access by allowing students to research topics that they find personally interesting.

 Global awareness and digital-age communication by communicating with another culture through internet means.

•   Planning Assessment: 

My assessment tools demonstrate the performance of linked goals and/or objectives by integrating social studies, language arts, and technology by assessing all aspects of the lesson, even less formal elements.

 My assessment tools demonstrate student engagement in higher order thinking by making sure certain elements are included, asking students to compose their own letter, and having them describe something they have learned about.

My assessment tools demonstrate meeting individual student needs by being broad enough so that if students complete the goals in different ways, they still receive the appropriate grade.

Post-Lesson Reflection

 Instructional Decisions/Teaching: 

 The teaching and facilitating process taught me that I need to make sure to be very clear when describing the activity. The activities that I used for the mock-lesson with my classmates is very different than what I would ask my students in my future classroom. Therefore, I could have been more clear about highlighting the differences and the positive aspects of the lesson such as thorough analysis of differentiated instruction and support of student learning. I think I could have described these better to my classmates. I am still very confident in my lesson though.

  My objectives were aligned to the standards because the rubric and objectives directly addressed the standards I was covering.

My modifications for individual needs included the ability to use an online resource or dictionary for necessary translations in the composition of the letter. Also, students are able to choose the current event to write about, which makes the writing personal to them.

Assessment of Learning: 

The evidence I have indicates   my students' level of success in achieving the lessons goals is from their ability to compose a letter in the correct format, the quality of information included in the letter, and the ability to use English successfully.

                        the level of success you had in teaching the lesson

This is supported by my individual reflections because I predicted it would go well, and it did. I prepared and though out every aspect of the lesson which made it run smoother. I am confident to use this in my future classroom now.

This is also supported by the comments from my classmates because they said I was successful in my implementation of the lesson and only had a few slight suggestions. They seemed engaged and gave me positive feedback.

Language Arts/Technology Lesson & Pre- and Post-Reflection

https://w.taskstream.com/Lesson/View/0D495E2B2EE4B4F2B6A7766CC4EC6A11

Pre-Lesson Reflection:

My first lesson focused on language arts, specifically folktales, and I used a webquest found on the internet to integrate technology. This allowed students to refine their technology skills, working on reading and writing, while still having plenty of student choice and a mix of collaboration and individual work. The link to the webquest is as follows: http://schoolweb.missouri.edu/nixa.k12.mo.us/sullivan/tales/index.htm

 Assessing Prior Knowledge: 

If I were teaching this with the targeted grade level students  I would assess prior knowledge and experience during the introductory discussion. This is where I brought up folktales that students might be familiar with, such as Rapunzel or Hansel and Grethel. Some students may be familiar, some may not, but the class discussion should familiarize everyone with the basic elements of a folktale. To ensure it does, I will conclude the discussion by reviewing the basic elements I want students to understand, such as the moral of the folktale.If I were teaching this with the targeted grade level students   I would expect to learn whether or not my students are familiar with any popular folktales or the major elements of a folktale.

This information will be useful in planning for who will work together. If there are students that don't have much prior knowledge about folktales, they might be best paired with students who know folktales well.

Plans Instruction: 

My goals, objectives, and outcomes are clearly stated because multiple times during the lesson I plan to reiterate the elements I am looking for students to recognize and utilize in their final product, such as main character, moral, plot, etc.
My goals, objectives, and outcomes are  appropriate for students because they will be able to work in pairs, groups, and individually (once students have developed a better understanding of the material). This fits different learning styles. It will also be engaging because students are able to use technology and be social during the majority of the activities. There will also be assistance available for anyone who needs it, from fellow students or from the teacher.


Designing Instruction: 
 My instructional design is contextually and logically organized because it begins with discussion, then some short instruction, then group activities, then individual activity. 
My instructional design   uses varied instructional methods that meet individual student needs and target higher order thinking skills by allowing students to explore their own understanding prior to instruction and activities, giving them some knowledge to build on. They will also be working in groups and individually, which is varied, and their will be a lot of student choice and exploration. My instructional design aligns with research based understanding of technology integration because web quests have been suggested as good technology learning resources. It helps students master skills of using the internet for educational purposes. 


Addresses:
Safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology by giving them one website to explore rather than the entire internet. Digital etiquette and responsible social interactions having students work together while using technology to practice these skills. Meeting diverse needs of learners through learner-centered strategies and equitable access such as exploration and student choice. Global awareness and digital-age communication.


  Planning Assessment: 

My assessment tools demonstrate the performance of linked goals and/or objectives by assessing student understanding of concepts discussed throughout the entire lesson in their individual writing at the end of the lesson.
My assessment tools demonstrate  student engagement in higher order thinking by having them apply their knowledge in a new way, in their own folktale. Transferring knowledge is a high order skill and individualizing the activity makes it engaging.
My assessment tools meet individual student needs by allowing students to work in groups until their understanding of the content is strong, then allowing them to work individually to display their knowledge. This allows them to have assistance and clear up and misunderstandings prior to the final assessment.

                     

 Post-lesson Reflection:

Instructional Decisions/Teaching: My implementation process included a detailed description of folktales, an outline of how I would teach the lesson in an actual classroom setting, and a small activity that my peers completed.

From the teaching/facilitating process I learned that my lesson was relatively well thought out. While having my peers test out my lesson, I wanted to make sure to emphasize that when the students are reading their folktales, they will be choral reading in pairs. However, during my test-lesson with my peers I just had them read to themselves. It felt boring, but I am confident that the choral reading will be successful and entertaining in the actual implementation of this lesson. I also learned that I may need to provide more time when I use this in the classroom.

                        There were two final products, a compare and contrast worksheet (comparing two different folktales) and a student-written folktale. I did not have time for my peers to write their own folktales because that would take much more time than we were allotted. However, my rubric was tailored very closely to the requirements of the comparison worksheet and the guidelines that I set out for the student written folktale. During my real classroom lesson, I would allow students more time to search the webquest website for a folktale that they are interested in, but I pre-assigned folktales to my peers to cut down on time needed for searching and explanation.

Assessment of Learning:

                        The modifications I made for individual needs are having students work in pairs, this allows them to read chorally, rather than individually, to keep the pace more consistent and make the process of reading the folktale more interactive and social. It also helps students who struggle in reading. Then, rather than having each pair read two folktales, the pairs combine into a group of four, and then explain their pair's folktale to the other group. This gives each group a more solid understanding of the folktale they chose because they have to explain it, and it also gives both pairs a good idea of what each folktale was about. Additionally, for students who do not like to work in groups, the final product (the student written folktale) is completed individually to ensure each student understood the content of the lesson.

                        I could tell that my students level of success in achieving the lessons goals will be ideal in the classroom because my implementation with my peers went so well. I genuinely felt like they had a more solid understanding of the major elements of folktales and enjoyed completing the learning processes. Because the lesson will be even more student-oriented during the real classroom implementation, I am confident that students will learn thoroughly because they will be doing a lot of exploration. Additionally, I will have the student-written folktales that will reflect clearly whether they understand capitalization and the elements that make a story a folktale.

                        I believe that my level of success in teaching the lesson was high because I could tell my peers learned and were engaged, even without completing all of the lesson. However, I think I should have relied on the website even more to lay out the process for my peers. When I implement this in the classroom I will go through the website with the students on a smartboard so that everyone stays together and I am not left to explain the whole lesson myself, which is close to what I did with my peers in the practice lesson. 

                        My individual reflections support this because I felt confident in my implementation prior to completing the lesson because I knew it would support learning.

                        The comments from my classmates support this by giving generally positive feedback. They felt that I was successful in designing, explaining, and partially implementing my lesson for them based on their completion of my survey. They also commented on me using a note card, which I would not have had to do if I relied more on the website.