Louise+Price

Name: Louise Price Email: lprice@isgdh.org Unit: Houses and Homes


 * **Question** || **Response** || **Posted By** ||
 * **Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results : ****//To what extent are the targeted understandings... //** ||  ||   ||
 * Aligned with appropriate goals (standards, benchmarks)?    || Your standards really take your little ones into a lot of history. TB ||   ||
 * Big ideas at the heart of the discipline (as opposed to basic facts and skills) in need of // uncoverage? // || Good questions, might reword #4 to be more of a stand alone question (i.e. to know what the "that & there" are for in the E. question. TB ||   ||
 *  Framed by provocative // essential // and // unit // questions?    ||   ||   ||
 * Linked to valid and relevant knowledge and skills? || Well done on the k & s section. TB ||  ||
 * **Stage 2 - Determine Acceptable Evidence** || Response || Posted by ||
 * **//To what extent are...//**
 *  Students asked to demonstrate their understanding through authentic performance tasks?
 *   A variety of appropriate assessment formats used?
 *  Assessments used as feedback for students and teachers, as well as for evaluation?
 * Students encouraged to self-assess ||  ||   ||
 * **Stage 3 - Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction** ||  ||   ||
 * **//To what extent will...//**
 *  Students know //where// they're going (the learning goals) and //why// the material is important, and //what is required of them// (in terms of unit goals, performance requirements, and evaluative criteria)?
 *  Students be hooked and //engaged// in digging into the big ideas of the unit (through inquiry, research, problem solving, and experimentation)?
 *  Students receive explicit instruction on the knowledge and skills needed to //equip// them for the required performances?
 *  Students have opportunities to //rehearse//, //revise//, and //refine// their work based on feedback?
 *  <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Students //self-assess// and set goals prior to the conclusion of the unit? ||  ||   ||

=Louise Price= =__ DBGS Journal Response 6 __= Students who “understand” the big ideas in a unit of inquiry are able to create new knowledge from what they have learned. They are able to transfer the knowledge they have gained and make connections with new learning. They become life long learners. They are able to identify, and justify the use of a skill and extend their use of the skill into a new situation. They are motivated, insightful and thinking students. Students who are simply “knowing” and “doing” a unit will not be able to transfer the knowledge they have to other situations. When asked to explain, justify, support or answer questions about their work, within an authentic performance task, those students will struggle to find the depth to complete the tasks to a high level. When asked to move beyond simple recall of facts and information to show a more sophisticated understanding and analysis of the topic, those students will struggle. Evidence gathered by a variety of assessment tools such as assessment tasks, tests, quizzes, prompts, work samples, observations and even student self assessment responses will build the picture of true understanding or not.

Louise Price DBGS – Year 1 __Journal Response 5__ The “backwards” design process differs from the traditional because the important large questions are asked and answered before the unit activities are designed. The teacher or unit designer starts with the final result that is desired and how that result will be supported with evidence of student learning. The actual activities then have a solid focus to target learning. Once the desired results have been identified and the performance tasks devised to provide evidence using a range of learning styles then and only then can the instructional activities be planned. The backwards design process compels teachers to answer multiple questions and stretch their own thinking before facing their students. Clearer goals and more focused thinking will lead to better teaching and more authentic learning experiences for students. Facts, skills, and knowledge are still important and comprise the bulk of the unit design, but by answering the big questions first and embedding our goals in overarching understandings, the teaching and learning will be more enduring and therefore better.

__Journal Response 3__ In the workshop Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning constructivism is explained as a theory about how people learn. Constructivism is an inquiry based teaching method which encourages students to construct their own meaning and knowledge of the world and to reconcile new learning with old. It encourages active participation by the student as opposed to being passive recipients of the teachers’ knowledge. In workshop seven the benefits of a constructivist are outlined. Students benefit from an increased enjoyment of learning and as a direct result learns more. Students are encouraged to think and understand what they are learning and not just memorize facts. The skills learned in a constructivist classroom are transferable to other learning situations and become lifelong skills. When students have ownership of the learning they do they become more engaged. They are personally invested in the learning and will be more likely to retain the new knowledge and see it significance in their own lives. Students are naturally curious about the world and by constructing learning activities that are authentic and “real-world” their curiosity is stimulated as they learn to question and problem solve real situations. Finally constructivist classrooms encourage students to learn in social groupings that encourages a whole range of social skills. Students learn to cooperate, negotiate, exchange ideas, and work collaboratively to reach a common goal. They must learn to evaluate their own contributions and those of others in a socially acceptable manner. The constructivist classroom encourages the development of many thinking skills, communication skills, social skills, and promotes intrinsic motivation to learn. The constructivist theory has also received criticism as it is seen as elitist. Students who come from privileged backgrounds benefit from this theory because they have rich home environments, supportive parents and outstanding teachers to help them discover learning. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t have the support necessary and need more explicit forms of education. Some critics also believe that constructivism also leads to group thinking. It is believed that the strongest voice is the only one heard and students are forced to conform to the consensus of opinion. Finally there is little hard evidence that constructivist methods work. As alternative methods of assessment are promoted by the constructivist teachers, students tested by traditional methods are seen to lag behind their peers in traditional classrooms. When compared with their peers on higher order thinking skills though, students in constructivist classroom outperform their peers. __ Journal Response 4 __ In Ron Brandt’s article the conditions for powerful learning are outlined as follows: My current teaching assignment is a class of 18 five year old children (Year 1). Teaching young children allows me to experience first hand all of Brandt’s conditions for learning. For young children to be successful learners the environment is crucial. It needs to be friendly, inviting, supportive, and purpose built to support their needs. The curriculum needs to be challenging, but take into account the different learning styles and developmental stages that are present in the room, because such young children have short attention spans and for them to stay engaged activities have to be designed to support their need for hands on learning. In my class I have a 12 month age gap from the oldest child to the youngest. The youngest has just turned five and the oldest nearly six. This makes a huge difference in a child’s ability to concentrate, work individually, and articulate their needs. As their life experiences are limited and their ability to think abstractly still developing all learning activities have to be personally meaningful for them to gain understanding. Much of our learning is done in groups so children can support each other and learn from each other. Part of our classroom learning strategy is to reflect on what we have learned and what we still need to learn. The children have a positive attitude to learning and like to be involved in the decision making process to guide what we learn next. We are always talking about learning and what we need to do to learn better, so the children are very aware of the conditions that promote good learning.
 * People learn what is personally meaningful to them.
 * People learn more when they accept challenging but achievable goals.
 * Learning is developmental.
 * Individuals learning differently.
 * People construct new knowledge by building on their current knowledge.
 * Much learning occurs through social interaction.
 * People need feedback to learn.
 * Successful learning involves use of strategies- which themselves are learned.
 * A positive emotional climate strengthens learning.
 * Learning is influenced by the total environment.

Journal response #1.

My name is Louise Price and I am the Year 1 (5 year olds) teacher at Dhahran British Grammar School. I have lived in Saudi Arabia for two years but this is my fifth country. I have been teaching internationally for about 10 years. I am hoping this course will help me to make my teaching more precise to the needs of my students. I have many children in my class who I consider above average and I would like to be able to design lessons, assessment tasks and learning activities that are more challenging to their abilities, whist still catering for the rest of my class. Any knowledge that I gain from this course, and the Masters course in general, will hopefully help to make me a better teacher and give me more confidence to try new things for the benefit of the children. I am hoping this course will show us new and exciting ways to design instruction and not just the same old ways revamped and called a new name. __ Journal response #2 __ The author of __Knowledge Alive__, David Perkins, believes that knowledge is the mainstay of the school curriculum. He also believes that current educational practises and curriculum neglect the diverse skills needed to make the acquired knowledge meaningful. I agree with many of the arguments that David Perkins raises, but I believe he is being a little hard on schools. Many schools are already trying to incorporate programs that encourage students to create, communicate, organise and act upon knowledge in “real world” situations. Programs such as the “Model United Nations” and “Tournament of the Minds” are common in many international schools. They promote the skills outlined in the article. The International Baccalaureate curriculum (PYP, MYP and IB Diploma) are all inquiry bases programs that cultivate the knowledge arts and address many of the concerns raised by David Perkins. I believe that curriculum designers need to steer away from the traditional methods of delivering knowledge to a passive classroom and begin to encourage learning that will be dynamic, student centred and inquiry based. Students need to be consulted on what they want to learn and encouraged to be involved in the planning of how they will learn. Students need to be aware that “Education is not just about acquiring knowledge, but about learning how to do significant things with what you know”. In his article __Preparing for Today and Tomorrow,__ Elliot Eisner believes that schools should seek to prepare students for today and tomorrow by giving them the skills to deal effectively with the present. In the past many school curriculum changes have been prompted by the perceived lack of skills demanded in the business sector of our economies, or by a social problem that is up to school to “fix”. Whenever this happens a new program is crammed into an already overcrowded curriculum to be presented to students. The hoop jumping is forced on schools by education authorities, government departments or school districts in response to the perceived problem. Eisner believes that a diverse curriculum will be one that enriches students. The skills of judgement, critical thinking, literacy in its many forms, thinking powerful ideas and the ability to work collaboratively is what education ought to be seeking. In my present teaching position at the Dhahran British Grammar School, we follow the Curriculum for England which is the same as schools in England. Whilst the content of the curriculum is set, the method of delivery is open for teacher’s discretion. As we are in an international setting and many of our students are in fact not English, most teachers try to incorporate culturally diverse materials and encourage a broader view of mind then maybe experience in a school in England. As I teach five year olds (Year 1) collaboration and working in groups cooperatively is one of the basic skills we focus on. We also foster good judgement in our students and encourage decision making appropriate to the students age. Critical thinking and literacy skills are also embedded in our curriculum. I hope we are offering an educational experience that will give our students the skills and attitudes “to do well in the lives outside they lead outside of school”.