CAHS Community Walk

TPACK with musical guests - AIR

Critical Intsruction Strategies

The following are the instruction strategies I find critical to the teaching of Social Studies:

1.) Lecture - Social Studies requires that the instructor is able to inform students through engaging lectures

2.) Analytical reading of documents - Whether its a textbook or a primary document, students must know how to read documents through an analytical lens

3.) Map Reading - Much about Social Studies requires that students and teachers understand how to read maps effectively.

UbD Stage 1 - Executive Branch Unit Plan

Mr. G's Room

Dr. Price asked the class to look up some videos of teachers in action represented in the media. I was a big fan of the HBO show Summer Heights High when it came out a year or so ago. If you haven't seen it, the main idea of the show is that this one actor (Chris Lilley) plays the role of three different characters - Ja'mie, a private school girl who has moved to the public school. Jonah, a wanna be punk teenager and Mr. G, the new drama teacher at the high school. Anyways, the show was one of my favorites when it was on TV and Mr. G's antics were always one of the best parts of it. Here's a video of him describing his philosophy of education and how he welcomes his class to the new year.



Although his style of teaching is somewhat unique, Mr. G's enthusiasm for his job is very clear.

Xtranormal Vid - ADDIE meets Gange

Learning Experience Design Through Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction

Leaders of the Legislative Branch - Gallery Walk

** The following is a learning experience model for teaching the leaders of the Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government using Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction. All handouts as well as a scoring rubric are attached to the post for further viewing**

Gain Attention:

The learning experience begins with the instructor posing the following question to students: "Who knows what happens if the president is, for one reason or another, removed from his/her position? Who becomes president? What if that person is also not able to fill the position? In other words, what's the line of succession for the Presidency in the U.S.?"

Establish Purpose:

The purpose of this learning experience is two-fold. First, since we will be covering the Executive Branch in the future, its important for us to know who is in line for the Presidency if circumstances necessitate it. More importantly, because the Legislative Branch is suppose to represent its constituents (that's us!), who are the leaders of this group? Who are these people making the big decisions that really affect us and what do they actually do?

Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning:

Discuss with students what we have previously covered about the Legislative Branch. This would include basic facts that they have learned such as the two political parties in the U.S., the differences between the Senate and House of Representatives, and a brief recall of the leadership structure of the two houses of government. This could be done in many different forms, however, questioning by the instructor and recall by the students is a quick and easy way to get the students thinking again about what they already know going in to this learning experience.

Because students will be working in groups and using computers throughout the learning experience it is also important that they are reminded of what they have learned about appropriate behavior for group work and use of computers. Reminders about what constitutes positive group interaction and educational use of the internet must be discussed.

Present Content:

This experience allows for the students and instructor to create and present content in a collective manner. The instructor will provide each student with a "Leaders of the Legislative Branch" worksheet (see attached) and go over directions with the class as a whole. Groups of students will then be given the freedom to create their presentations using the sources provided by the instructor on the worksheet. All the while, the instructors job is to monitor groups and provide assistance where its needed. 

Guided Learning:

As groups continue to work on their presentations, the instructor must be diligent in making sure they are using appropriate sources and that they are on track to finish their products in time. Groups may struggle with how to effectively use the websites provided by the instructor so, guidance in terms of useful searching strategies and help with new vocabulary and/or concepts will be needed. **Note: a second stage of guided learning will occur once the groups have all finished their presentations and the gallery walk portion of the lesson begins. As groups move from one station to the next, the role of the instructor is to monitor students and provide assistance if questions or confusion arise**

Elicit Performance:

This step involves groups finishing their PowerPoint presentations based off the directions provided in the worksheet. Groups have the freedom to do this in numerous ways as long as the final product meets the requirements outlined in the directions. Like the Guided Learning section, the instructor will also Elicit Performance once students have finished their presentation and move to the next stage of reviewing other groups' presentations. Students will be asked to fill out second portion of the "Leaders of the Legislative Branch" worksheet (see attached) as they carry out the Gallery Walk portion of the learning experience. 

Provide Feedback:

Feedback will be a continual aspect of this learning experience, as it is critical that each group produces a final product that other students can learn from. The instructor must be diligent in keeping track of what key information groups may be missing from their presentations as they work and provide assistance/support to groups that may be lacking this information.

Assess Performance:

Assessment will occur both during the Gallery Walk portion of the learning experience and afterwards. As students walk from one station to the next their ability to fill out their worksheets will be a clear sign as to whether other groups did a quality job of creating their presentations. Groups will also be asked to email the instructor a copy of their presentation so that assessment of their products can be done at a later time. At the end of the Gallery Walk students will also be asked to turn in the second portion of the "Leaders of the Legislative Branch" worksheet so that the instructor can see if any information was not successfully delivered or retained by individual students. This second part of the learning experience will not be formally assessed, instead, simply serves as a way for students to have all the information in one place for later use.

Enhance Retention:

This step is made up of that second portion of the learning experience I keep alluding to - the Gallery Walk. Once groups have finished with their PowerPoint slide shows they will move from one computer to the next, filling out their worksheets as they go. Therefor, not only will groups gain knowledge about the leader that they researched, they will also retain information about the other leaders as well. After checking their worksheets, the instructor will hand them back so that students can have them for later use. 

ADDIE Design Model - Analysis

Philosophy of Education

I have taken up the profession of teaching for a multitude of reasons; of these the most important is that I simply want to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. Saying such a statement does not mean I feel I need to be John Keating of “Dead Poets Society” - jumping on top of desks, imploring students to "seize the day". Instead, it boils down to the fact that I hope students of mine look back on my class and feel as though I was invested in their success.

Too often in today’s world we see students lost in the shuffle of everyday life, not knowing who they are or what they want to become. It is my belief that teaching should be focused on educators embracing diversity with a foundation of respect for the students and the subject being taught. Every adolescent struggles with a multitude of issues ranging from hormones to family problems. The last of their worries should be to feel uncomfortable within a classroom. Through mutual respect between students and the teacher, it is my goal to make my classroom one in which students feel comfortable and eager to learn. Getting to know students’ names and inquiring about their interests are at the base level of this process, however, prove to be incremental to the success of each student. As an educator I must embrace the differences each student brings with them. Our nation is becoming more diverse by the minute, yet, much of what is taught in today’s schools is not open enough to this diversity. Engaging learning around this reality allows for teaching to become a much less manufactured and artificial experience.

Specifically, within an urban setting, an education can serve as a necessary resource for upward social mobility. Students in these areas have historically been underserved and this reality has resulted in a population of have and have-nots in terms of educational wealth. I look forward to the challenge of closing this achievement gap and believe that through the process I will continue to grow as an aspiring Champion Teacher.

Hello

Here is class for the first day of TIE535. 1st post of the summer - enjoy.