For our 8th class session I felt that Blended learning was very relatable and relevant to the shift of teaching in today's society. The 7 models of the blended learning examples put into perspective how technology can be used in the classroom for enriching the learning environment. I can relate to some of the models but cannot say I have used them in the classroom yet. I think some of the models would be perfect for our situation today with school being out because of the pandemic such as enriched virtual teaching and flipped classroom. I think it would make learning easier for students but also challenging because the accountability has been turned up! For example, I have procrastinated finishing my assignments for this class session because I had MORE time to do it rather than showing up in person and getting it done in that one night. However, I am still getting it done but doing it at my own pace. Teachers would have to learn how to keep themselves accountable for keeping students accountable by providing reasonable time frames, ensuring students have access to it all. On the contrary, blended learning models such as station rotation, lab rotation, individual rotation, a la carte, and flex are great opportunities for enriching the learning environment. I have tried using similar learning tools in the classroom to enhance the learning environment when teaching nutrition concepts. I have also tried using something like station rotation for learning about a sport or a skill while implementing technology but still am trying to figure out how to make it more tangible and persistent. Overall, I think blended learning is a huge piece of teaching and learning in shifting the learning paradigm to be universal and inclusive.
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Last Tuesday night class was interesting! I thoroughly enjoyed practicing our "pitch" by trying to sell our PSA to our peers. Seeing everyones collaboration of work, ideas, and creativity was fun... especially those who really got into character. It can be hard to push yourself out of the box but I feel that is what the exercise of presenting our PSA's was about. I think I can relate to my students that taking control of your learning and making it your own is more fun. When teaching skills in PE I like to have students demonstrate their skill development through small group presentations following certain criteria. However, the EPIC criteria was pretty cool and simple to reference to in utilization as a rubric. Following that activity, the laser tags really built onto how to pick apart a problem or an idea. This class shows how easy it is to create inclusive learning for students to meet the learning goals while creating a positive student-centered environment. If I am further reflecting back into the beginning of this new teaching style, UDL... I am starting to understand that it is intact one of the most effective ways of learning as long as the learning goals stay directed to the content. That learning does not have to be about sitting and reading and writing (typing) all the time. My concern is, because there is a shift of change in teaching styles...will this make students more reluctant and lazy to having to actually read when needed, write when needed? Is it pulling away from daily skills needed? It is just a thought I think about, maybe over thinking about, haha. How do we balance this "new"?
Last Tuesday's class was humbling. I enjoyed teaming up with a partner and creating our own PSA. I felt that activity was very UDL in a way for us students to discover how to sell something to engage our audience by finding specific things that provided knowledge of the PE Standards but yet specific reasons why the audience reading the PSA should attend our "event". It was a different style of utilizing inquiry based learning and I felt it was a great way for students to take over their learning by having the freedom to be creative and learn at the same time. I could definitely use this in PE for an end of the trimester or end of the year assignment while meeting some of the PE standards for the appropriate grade level. I also feel the PSA assignment is universal and appropriate for any grade level as it serves accountability for ones learning as well as networking ideas with peers to create something of each others own. I feel my students would also benefit from this because it is hands on and may not require a lot of time.
I enjoy doing simple, hands on activities during class and I can imagine my students feeling similar. I am learning that keeping things simple opens up more opportunity for freedom and creativity while discovering a depth in understanding during the learning process which is important. I feel it makes learning fun while challenging. Changing the way of teaching from standard direct instruction to student-centered is important and we will all benefit from it in the long run. Tonight's class meeting was different but effective. What I got from the activity we did in class tonight was insight on how to maintain focus on being the person outside looking in to another persons daily routine while maintaining an open mind. I found it challenging and easy to do at the same time. The challenging part of the activity was not giving immediate feedback during interview questioning for the "Dive Deeper" component. It was also challenging because of the time frame we were given per each component but I like how there was a time-frame for each component cause it managed the time of the activity and kept the class continuously engaged and moving forward. The easy part was being open-minded during the activity. As teachers we tend to navigate in that way of thinking (at least I hope) as being open-minded and having producing a judgement free vibe towards one another. I feel this assignment "Shadowing A Student" is very tangible and rewarding but I am still trying to pick a student I would like to shadow. I would like to shadow a student who is in the middle as per class discussion on who we are going to shadow. I would like to choose a student who does well but does not get as much attention of those who are low or high. Over the past two weeks I have been using exit tickets as a way to dive deeper to learn more about students such as asking questions like "what are you currently struggling with?" or "where do you want to be a month from now academically and/or personally". I have learned a lot about my students of levels by doing that so it is helping me narrow down my choice of who to shadow.
Tonight's class was very tangible and relate-able. I liked the teaching strategies used in the first half of class that got students to open up as well as it allowing the teacher to learn about each student in depth and not surfaced. What I mean by in depth is that the activity was created to try and learn about each students struggles or challenges to understand each one a little more rather than asking a surfaced question that gets asked too often such as "how are you?" and get a surfaced answer. The PMU activity was a great connection for the class and we all had a chance to learn more about each other which was cool too. Another part of class that I really liked was the "What Is School For?" video. I plan on forwarding that on to other people as it spoke a lot of truth. With today's society it is more challenging than easy to keep up with society. Trying to keep up with society can be stressful and I feel it has a lead to anxiety to becoming more common than ever before. The discussion about the Shadow a Student Challenge was very cool. That is right up my ally of trying to make a positive change in education for students today. I am not sure what student I will shadow yet but I have already emailed both principal's at both schools I work at and asked if they wanted to join me in this activity.
Tonight's class went well. I liked that we broke up into small groups to accomplish a task for an assignment. For me though I read an article that was very informative about how academics have evolved but I personally needed more time to re-read so I could have created more ideas of what to talk about in the group presentation. I enjoyed listening to other group presentations as it helped me convey what tonights lesson was directed towards. I had no idea about how education evolved and how many times it has changed or been altered. It is interesting that education needs to be altered over a period of time because of the way society is ever evolving. It makes me wonder about where and what education is going to look like in the next ten years.
Reflection #1Tonights class went very well. I thought it was very welcoming and engaging. It was very kind of Andrew to bring healthy and fun snacks and drinks to share with everyone as a welcoming gesture along with making it a point to personally say hello to each and every student who walked into the class. Tonights discussions I felt were very relate-able. The topics of discussion was a great way to dissect the relationship with teaching. I like how we exchanged ideas and opinions in a very honest but professional way while getting us out of our seats and networking around the room with our peers. That is the kind of classwork I like. I feel it is hands on, its tangible, and its engaging without having the stress of doing a lot of work. Moving forward in this class I hope the expectations are having less outside work and more hands on during class. Other expectations are having the work in class be "UDL" and relateable to our specific content. I feel like as a PE teacher there is many misconceptions of what being a PE teacher entails and is overlooked due to the fact we have a few factors different than other in classroom teachers. Thank you Andrew.
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Natalie AcunaPE Teacher |