Theme+2+-+Designing+Learning+Experiences,+Environments,+Resources,+and+Assessments

Goal 2- Design and develop effective and engaging learning experiences, environments, resources, and assessments

For a teacher, doing this is easier said that done. I think that every teacher wants to do these things, but they require lots of time and effort. But by creating learning experiences and environments, students are put in a position to be exposed to a wide variety of knowledge, and then apply that knowledge in the real world. Students can also gain valuable resources that they can use beyond the classroom. Exposing students to these resources also shows them the vast amount of knowledge that is available to them in this modern age of computers.

I feel that I am very competent in this area. I use a wide variety of environments (such as individual learning, group work, group experiments, lecture) to expose students to a variety of resources (websites, textbooks, tutorials online, virtual labs, videos). I am always looking for more resources and techniques that I can use to improve my teaching and make it more effective.

Artifact 1: 5th Science Animal Wiki workspace (Level 2) 5th Science Animal Wiki In my 5th grade science class, students were very interested in a wide variety of animals. To allow them freedom to explore a variety and share their research, our class created a wiki. They were able to share this wiki with their classmates, friends, and families. Many students were excited to be able to have something of their own on the internet.

Artifact 2: 5th Science Alternative Fuel Sources Wiki workspace (Level 2) 5th Science Alternative Fuel Sources Wiki Like the previous wiki, this workspace allowed students to share their opinions on which alternative fuel sources they were most in favor of. They compiled information on this wiki and then shared it with their classmates, friends, and parents.

Artifact 3: Capstone Project- BYOD policy (Level 3) This project was completed to fulfill the need at St. Peter for a revised policy on devices that students bring to school for educational purposes. The policy that was in place was not meeting the needs of all involved. Through careful research and evaluating others' policies, I drafted and shared this policy with my principal, faculty, and board of education. It was met with positive feedback and has been implemented for the current school year.

Artifact 4: How to Use Wikis in Your Classroom (Level 3) Teacher Workshop This wiki was designed during the Instructional Design course in the Ed Tech program. The workshop was created with special thought to the teachers that would be using it, as well as the school that it would be implemented in. The information that is included is presented in a way that allows for discussion as a group, but also allows for personal growth depending on where that individual currently is.

Artifact 5: Science Notes completed with Google Forms (Level 2) Notes- https://drive.google.com/a/trinitydelray.org/file/d/0B4OkNIB_D-aeeEU3MlBlNkdsMW8/view?usp=sharing Google Form- http://goo.gl/forms/nxnFbYs5FA Results- https://docs.google.com/a/trinitydelray.org/spreadsheets/d/1VPcLVySJtFMHPvWgQ3McWJnflghdhj_jq5WtGzxhw80/edit?usp=sharing

Notes can be challenging for certain students. To help with this problem, I created notes on power point and had students fill in the blanks on the Google Form for that section. Students then sent themselves a copy of the answers to their email, which they could then save into their notes. This worked well for motivating most students.

Artifact 6: Gummy Bear Lab (Level 2) Student Feedback- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XT1U3jk8ifR3-RhWYBizJ-PeJjMRe35LWoCTjfM16C0/edit?usp=sharing At the beginning of this year, students designed and conducted a lab dealing with gummy bears. They were able to decide what they wanted to investigate (within reason). Students worked in groups with other students to create a lab report/write-up (in Google Drive) that summarized what their group did. This experience has been repeated throughout the year with the same positive results.

Artifact 7: Algebra Task (Level 2) In Algebra, it can be difficult for students to make connections to the real world. While at a workshop last spring, I created this task. It is designed to allow students to creatively think, collaboratively work, and communicate their work with their classmates. The task is designed to be applicable to their lives, while allowing them to see that math is a part of their everyday life. By having students work alone to start, then in pairs, and then as a group, all students get a chance to solve this problem. It is a good assessment of how well a student perseveres, works with others, and can communicate their results to their classmates

Artifact 8: Roles in Instructional Design (Level 1) When designing any lesson, it is important to remember the roles of those involved in the lesson. A good lesson must take into account the audience, who will be receiving the material in the lesson. The strengths and weaknesses of the audience are going to influence how I teach a certain lesson. The teacher must be willing to adjust as the class goes on. By using the ideas in ID research, I am able to better prepare my lessons. Even though I will rarely use every aspect of the ADDIE model at one time, certain aspects are going to be used in every lesson. The idea of roles and taking into account the audience will always be involved in my lesson planning.