Blog Post #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

   First, I want to start off by say Mr. Crosby's way of teaching is excellent and inspiring. In his TEDx Talk, he shows us the different uses of technology he uses with his students. In his classroom they have 1:1 use of laptop computers that they have personal blogs on. I love the use of blogs in the classroom its a great way to connect with students not only in your class but with students all around the world. Instead of giving them a 25 question multiple choice test, Mr. Crosby has them film their experiments that they are doing and embed them in their blogs, which not only is more exciting for students but would possibly less nerve-racking to them as well. I loved that he took it upon his self to make Celeste feel like she is apart of his classroom. Directly quoted, "Not only are we learning, we are changing peoples lives". This statement is so true in his classroom. They are making this little girl part of something that she would otherwise not be able to participate.

   Mr. Anderson's teaching style is a great approach for a science class. He uses the Blended Learning Cycle which includes: Question, Investigation/Inquiry, Video, Elaboration, Review, and Summary Quiz. He basically starts off with a driving question that he asks his students and lets his students take over from there. The students investigate the question on their own, watch a video given by Mr. Anderson that explains the concept of the question, and then are to elaborate and find more information about that question on their own. He then reviews with each student to make sure they understand the question and understand what the question is asking. They then are allowed to take the summary quiz for the assessment portion of the class. This approach at teaching is great for a project  based learning class.

   Mr. Sam Pane teaches his students how to use safety when working on the internet and he shows us how he does this in his Super Digital Citizen video. His students are to create a comic book character and illustrate a comic strip where their super hero "saves the day" by helping them be safe while on the internet. It's very important for teachers to teach their students how to be safe using the internet so they are not exposed to anything they shouldn't be exposed to. This lesson is a great way to give parents a sense of ease, knowing their children will be exploring the internet throughout this class.

   In Project Based Learning and Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program, their students are actively involved in Project Based Learning. Project based learning deepens students knowledge and gets them more engaged and more excited to learn. Incorporating projects into students' learning process will help them when they step out in to the real world with real world problems. I think all schools should incorporate PBL, although it may take longer to finish, more subjects are incorporated into one class and help apply those standards to real life.

   In the video, Making Thinking Visible, Ron Ritchhart talks about teaching for understanding instead of teaching and students memorizing stuff for a test. If students just memorize information for test they really aren't learning anything. When you teach for understand they understand the material and can apply what they learned to the real world similar to PBL.