Group items tagged

This is more pertinent to Group 6's EQ but relevant for all teachers.

I agree with you, Katherine. I think that this article typifies the heart of our EQ in that enumerates important statistical macrodata concerning parental involvement in overall student achievement. A nice find, indeed.

The report provides plenty of research results to support the more parental involvement in schools, and specifies which types of parental involvement yield the greatest academic improvements: programs and interventions to increase family engagement in homework, targeted programs on parenting practices regarding attendance, and regular school communication with parents such as orientations and newsletters. This quote from the Conclusion summarizes the research well: "While all forms of parent involvement play significant roles in the health of the school and the community, home learning activities are perhaps the wisest investment of school dollars and effort to produce long-lasting academic gains. While such involvement is fairly straightforward in elementary school, it's also possible later on. At the middle and high school level, school activities that promote the parent's role in maintaining high expectations for their children benefit students."

My groups (Group 4, ETDC615) SMART learning goal is "Given 1 month of supplemental biology instruction, students who are currently in AP Biology but took lower level Biology 1, will score at least a 3 on their next unit exam." This EL Education video focuses on using a tiering system of differentiation to make all the content available for all students to learn. Looking at this lesson in terms of impact on learning, it has a potential to have a high impact on student learning. By differentiated the material to different tiers based on students current skills the students are more likely to be successful, because the material will be the right level of engaging/challenging for each student. This lesson method could be used for my groups SMART goal, because I could do a better job to differentiate the material to make up for the learning gaps that students that came from low level biology one have.

Tiering a lesson is the act of differentiating content to create learning opportunities for all students and allow for the accessibility of content to all students. The learning goal for my group is that students will be able to analyze word problems to identify mathematical components needed to solve complex word problems and apply them to real-life problems and scenarios. Because many of my students struggle with extracting information from word problems, which in turn leads them to an incorrect solution, I believe that tiering would help students access problem-solving strategies in a way that is most helpful to them. While there is an emphasis on showing multiple strategies, it may help students to tier the content in a way that makes sense for the student. Having students circle all important numbers only helps if a student understands why those numbers are important. Tiering may be the way to help bring that understanding to them. Tiering is best evaluated using the impact on learning dimension because differentiation does have a high impact on learning. Allowing students better access to content in a way in which they understand, and puts them in control will impact their learning for years to come.

This is a great article for our start goal because it discusses how to help all learners and improve assessments which will help those students in need.

This video about differentiation in teaching provides the dimension of a high impact on learning. The ideal is to provide equivalent learning activities that cater to the students' strengths but bring all of the students to the same learning objective. On one end of the spectrum is the one-size-fits-all learning activity, while on the other end is the completely individualized learning plan for each student. Catering to different students learning styles can help achieve the SMART goal of : By the end of the month, give practice tests the day before exams with at least 75% scoring at least 75%.

I have not had much experience with gaming in the classroom, but I have seen other teachers use it and have much success when it comes to motivating students and bridging the learning gap. One interesting point the article mentions is the the "platform" model strategy. In this, students have one log in, and are able to access a variety of games which can be reported t to the teacher as a formative assessment. Teachers are also able to log in and track students progress.

I see the ideas for digital game-based-learning as a method of differentiation that can be particularly effective for students with special needs and learning disabilities. Interest in using games in the classroom continues to grow, as evidenced by the recent Library of Congress grants to build civics applications for classrooms. The full report mentioned in this article is linked within, and worthwhile reading. The learning gaps that we see in our team's data could possibly be addressed using digital games from iCivics, Shephard Software, and other sources.

I agree 100% with Andrea's quote "I see the ideas for digital game-based-learning as a method of differentiation that can be particularly effective for students with special needs and learning disabilities." I only have to think back to this morning in my 2nd period where this worked with one of 8th grade students in special education who has a severe visual disability. In fact I even have the link to the game I use in that class all the time. I encourage everyone to set up a free account: https://kahoot.it/#/ !!!! Kahoot was introduced to me in my Electives Professional Development. More than one of the teachers has issues with incorporating technology into their health classroom. I agree with this article when they write "Additional teacher training, as well as creating a common language between educators and developers, was recommended."

I am a little familiar with a few digital games. In my classroom, I use Kahoot.it to assist my students in learning their vocabulary. I use this website to make a classroom game that we all play together. Everyone can participate at the same time, competing for first place in points. I can create the questions on my smart-board, and the students can play on another computer or they can download the app on their phones. This makes our lessons more interactive, and the students get more involved and enjoy the class more.

Just like the article suggests, I use games to help students review or understand a lesson. A great one that was mentioned, and that I use is iCivics. Since Government is tested in my county, we have to make sure that our students fully understand the purpose, how the government works, and why it was created. When it comes to making sure the students are comprehending the information I will use iCivics, Kaoot.it, and a Jeopardy game I find online. It promotes students to take learning and their education into their own hands. I think the games don't have to be created by us or super complex, as long as you find one that relate to your content and engages students.

I love the idea of using these types of games to keep students engaged. At my son's school, he often has online math games given for homework. He loves IXL and it keeps him motivated to practice skills and learn new ones. In my 6th grade Spanish class we are exploring quia.com. Students can play vocabulary building games while I work one-on-one with students. It is a great way to keep kids engaged while doing assessments, too.