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"…(the) process of having original ideas that have value come about through different disciplinary ways of seeing things, and that seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing our children for the hope that they are. Our task is to educate their whole being so they can face the future." Sir Ken Robinson
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Touro University's Innovative Learning Program Has Forged a New Path
I have taught third-grade at Edwin Markham Elementary, for the past 11 years. My classroom has an enrollment of 29 students on average. The demographics of my classroom are 7% Caucasian, 17% African American, 75% Hispanic, 47 % English Language Learners, 82% Economically Disadvantaged, and 5 % with learning difficulties. These demographics have presented their own set of challenges. My goal has been to discover and employ the most effective strategies to immerse my students in collaborative learning and to inspire them to formulate their own questions to discover deeper mathematical meanings in the world around them.
A pedagogy I have used to create a foundation for the way I teach now is known as, BE GLAD. Guided Language Acquisition Design embracing many 21st century teaching methodologies. It is a compilation of over 100 strategies based on brain research that enable the teacher to support student inquiry. Students and teachers work together towards comprehensible input and skill building. Then students work in collaborative groups to create projects using a variety of modalities to accomplish their goals through active participation.
I have also employed many strategies through Touro’s Innovative Learning program, to build upon the foundation I have formed and to open a window to the bright future that lies ahead. Learning about the 4C’s (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration), ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards, and TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) has changed my life. I learned that student centered education didn’t mean, how well I performed or what score the students achieved on an exam! It meant, what the student does to create their own education. The impact of this idea has been huge for the way I teach, a paradigm shift has occurred in how I view successful learning in my classroom. Rather than measuring success through testing, I am now able to view progress through my students’ ability to take the skills that I have taught, to think critically about them, and to create something new.
A pedagogy I have used to create a foundation for the way I teach now is known as, BE GLAD. Guided Language Acquisition Design embracing many 21st century teaching methodologies. It is a compilation of over 100 strategies based on brain research that enable the teacher to support student inquiry. Students and teachers work together towards comprehensible input and skill building. Then students work in collaborative groups to create projects using a variety of modalities to accomplish their goals through active participation.
I have also employed many strategies through Touro’s Innovative Learning program, to build upon the foundation I have formed and to open a window to the bright future that lies ahead. Learning about the 4C’s (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration), ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards, and TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) has changed my life. I learned that student centered education didn’t mean, how well I performed or what score the students achieved on an exam! It meant, what the student does to create their own education. The impact of this idea has been huge for the way I teach, a paradigm shift has occurred in how I view successful learning in my classroom. Rather than measuring success through testing, I am now able to view progress through my students’ ability to take the skills that I have taught, to think critically about them, and to create something new.
TPACK Has Altered My Future
For 10 years, I was part of the national experiment called No Child Left Behind where I was told “You are on a ship with a destination and you have NO autonomy.” With fidelity I would breathe when told and recite the dialogue in the text. The pedagogy was Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI). My students were expected to learn Reading Language Arts and Mathematics through staff created, or purchased, PowerPoint presentations. The presentations were standards based, the objectives clearly stated, connected to prior learning, they contained definitions and skill steps. There were many standards so everything was fast paced, but we were given a locked step pacing guide to keep us moving. Comprehensible input was not the task of the teacher; for which the PowerPoint was responsible. The students were led to understanding though greatly scaffolded questions and examples. Teaching had become like high school band practice. We all practiced in unity and learned the skills, no one composed anything and no one played to the beat of their own drum. There was little creativity, maybe no creativity, on the part of the students. (Music, art, science, and social studies were not part of the pacing guide.) But as with many bands, there were some awesome performances. This was a path in which many teachers, including myself, had difficulty. These 10 years taught me that it was hard for one fish to swim upstream.
Fortunately, Common Core came along. All of sudden the ship was gone; our administrators told us we were college educated. “You know what to do, DO IT!!” Wow, ok, we then spent time trying to fit the square peg into a round hole. How does Explicit Direct Instruction promote Common Core standards that demand real world applications? The truth is, creative thinking is not cultivated through a follow the leader model like EDI. The promotion of critical thought, on the part of my students, required radical change in the way the material was being presented. This change began when my school acquired Chromebooks for every child and a new administrator was appointed. An adminstrator who supported collaboration between teachers and administration to find a common vision. The first order of business was to train the entire staff in the methodology, BE GLAD.
In the midst of these incredible changes, my partner teacher walked into my classroom and said, ”Let’s get our masters through Touro’s Innovative Learning program.” This led me to read, Falk’s The Flat World and Education where I discovered I was not the only one who suffered through the years of darkness; however, others in the world had continued to grow and learn in the world of education. One area of growth was through TPACK.
TPACK, Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge in context, has added a new engaging dimension to creating lessons. Through Integrating TPACK into my lessons, that are based on Common Core Standards, it makes sense to observe/interview my students, to find the keys to increase their motivation to learn. I have also found it crucial to persevere in their critical thinking and explanations of math word problems. To do this I ask myself, “How can I join my students on their path?” I know my students enjoy role playing and are involved with their families. I ask them about times their families needed to solve a problem. Then I will ask, “How did they go about solving the problem?” This information guides my creation of decentralized groups. It also allows me to take steps in the structure of the lessons, to ensure that all my students have the procedures they will need for solving math word problems. But I did not stop there, I found it was important to include interactive electronic materials to engage students and provide appropriate practice to support background knowledge. This enables the students to use their skills and critical thinking: creatively communicating on a technological platform and transporting their small group discussions to new levels.
Fortunately, Common Core came along. All of sudden the ship was gone; our administrators told us we were college educated. “You know what to do, DO IT!!” Wow, ok, we then spent time trying to fit the square peg into a round hole. How does Explicit Direct Instruction promote Common Core standards that demand real world applications? The truth is, creative thinking is not cultivated through a follow the leader model like EDI. The promotion of critical thought, on the part of my students, required radical change in the way the material was being presented. This change began when my school acquired Chromebooks for every child and a new administrator was appointed. An adminstrator who supported collaboration between teachers and administration to find a common vision. The first order of business was to train the entire staff in the methodology, BE GLAD.
In the midst of these incredible changes, my partner teacher walked into my classroom and said, ”Let’s get our masters through Touro’s Innovative Learning program.” This led me to read, Falk’s The Flat World and Education where I discovered I was not the only one who suffered through the years of darkness; however, others in the world had continued to grow and learn in the world of education. One area of growth was through TPACK.
TPACK, Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge in context, has added a new engaging dimension to creating lessons. Through Integrating TPACK into my lessons, that are based on Common Core Standards, it makes sense to observe/interview my students, to find the keys to increase their motivation to learn. I have also found it crucial to persevere in their critical thinking and explanations of math word problems. To do this I ask myself, “How can I join my students on their path?” I know my students enjoy role playing and are involved with their families. I ask them about times their families needed to solve a problem. Then I will ask, “How did they go about solving the problem?” This information guides my creation of decentralized groups. It also allows me to take steps in the structure of the lessons, to ensure that all my students have the procedures they will need for solving math word problems. But I did not stop there, I found it was important to include interactive electronic materials to engage students and provide appropriate practice to support background knowledge. This enables the students to use their skills and critical thinking: creatively communicating on a technological platform and transporting their small group discussions to new levels.
Lasting Learning
With my Touro University Masters Cohort I have discussed, researched, read, and reflected. I am amazed that I can listen in on the conversations of researchers, worldwide, discussing student learning. These discussions have meaning in my classroom! I am truly grateful to my current administrator who is supportive of change, growth and experimentation, and to be part of a University Program that promotes transliteracy.
In this program, I have learned how to create interactive repeatable lessons to support all students. I have also learned how to provide needed teacher intervention guidance to bridge my students learning gaps. The key has been differentiated scaffolded lessons that included technology, which met the students where they were in their learning process. Discovering the power of my students reflecting on their own problem solving processes has been pivotal in the way I understand their learning process, and in turn has played a crucial part in the way the students ultimately master the material. The culminating activity was the student projects, where they created and presented their own learning, making the student the center of their own education.
In this program, I have learned how to create interactive repeatable lessons to support all students. I have also learned how to provide needed teacher intervention guidance to bridge my students learning gaps. The key has been differentiated scaffolded lessons that included technology, which met the students where they were in their learning process. Discovering the power of my students reflecting on their own problem solving processes has been pivotal in the way I understand their learning process, and in turn has played a crucial part in the way the students ultimately master the material. The culminating activity was the student projects, where they created and presented their own learning, making the student the center of their own education.
Thank You
Thank you to my daughter for her editing prowess, and to my sister and her husband for the technology support, without them this project would not have been impossible. Also thank you to my cohort, whose honesty and support helped though all the grueling hours, and a special thank you to my husband who made life happen while I was buried in research.