Impact on Learning

Mapping curriculum presents a huge impact on learning when you consider who it effects across the board. As this course progressed, I saw how curriculum teams could work together to form a structure for sharing data across buildings and in effect,  you have a map that is in good working order with data to work with. This will involve a critical communication system that flows between buildings districtwide. Once this is in place, specific issues can be sorted out to make changes within the current map for a particular school. Udelhofen designed a model that presents a configuration of curriculum teams and suggested how often these teams would meet (Udelhofen, 2005).

I also saw how learning about alternative assessment strategies could greatly impact student learning on so many levels. We currently have so many teachers who don't know how to assess outside of the common categories of tests, quizzes, and homework. If more teachers revealed this truth and shared their concerns regarding alternative assessment strategies, more schools could begin addressing training in this area to contribute to successful curriculum mapping.  Assessment staff development is an area in great need in many schools today. I believe it could open new discussions on how fair high-stakes testing really is. By using alternative assessment and expanding a variety of strategies, we offer a more balanced assessment for our students. This data is critical to developing and improving the curriculum map.

Finally, the use of technology is such an obvious issue when it comes to curriculum mapping. Gone are the days of pushing paper, cramming and squashing files on shelves and cabinets to hold and store enormous amounts of data. Enter: the computer age and all of its goodies. Software programs can provide the massive amount of storage necessary for our ever booming population of students and schools. They serve to be a very useful vehicle and will make modifications run smoother for all involved. By implementing a software program that has easy access and adaptability, you offer ease for revision and growth at the click of a mouse. When we perform our jobs as professionals in an organized fashion and our duties and responsibilities are orderly and structured, it allows us to make curriculum a priority to keep our schools well oiled. Just like a wrist watch that has a problem functioning well because a part is faulty or needs repair, so too, do we need to repair what is not working. We can start with curriculum and repair and replace the old with something more efficient and effective to keep education moving forward. The time we will spend will indeed be lengthy and intense but well worth it for our kid's future and this unpredictable economy.  We must remain current with what is in demand in order for our schools to produce students with competitive and marketable skills.

References:
Udelhofen, S. (2005). Keys to curriculum mapping: strategies and tools to make it work.
                   Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Mastery of Program Competencies in Curriculum Design

As I become more involved with the curriculum mapping process, I believe my profession as a teacher will continue to improve as opportunities arise to collaborate with other professionals. As I reflect on how this course has helped me improve my professional relationships and responsibilities, widen knowledge of the subjects I teach and how to teach those subjects to students, (Kaplan University | WELCOME, n.d.) I focused on the following areas of competency:  

Competency 2

This course has helped me develop my mastery in selecting or designing appropriate learning experiences that help students integrate learning within and across the disciplines, and make connections between their learning and the world around them (Perfomance Indicator 2P5). According to Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde, (2005) "Best Practice is a philosophy -- a set of harmonious and intelocking principles of learning" (p. 227). To bring Best Practice into the classroom, exemplary teachers will use up to seven basic structures and recurrent activities. The integrative units intrigued me the most as I read how high school students today find themselves going from class to class with a sense of disorder, disconnection or lack of transition. One class is teaching the story of "The Catcher in the Rye" while the next class is talking about the Civil War.  Where is the connection? It seems like the typical day of a high school teen is chopped up into seperate and incoherent classes with seperate facts and knowledge void of any connection to draw some sense from. Best Practice schools will reject this rollercoaster and then students and teachers will first, indentify a few big subjects of interest and importance and then by building extending units around those topics, you make school work (Zemelman et al, 2005, p. 255). These thematic, coherent activities will provide children with choice and a voice, order, continuity, and even more important, the responsibility they so desperately need today to stay engaged in their learning. Although this practice still challenges school reformeres it is worth fighting for because of its sheer dynamic. I for one still hear students (secondary, undergraduate, and graduate) continue to say, "I forgot everything they taught me in school." Until we get the content we teach connected, coherent, meaningful, applicable, easily transitional, and integrated, we will keep hearing those words for quite a long time from now.

Competency 4

Curriculum mapping has not only presented a better picture of curriculum design to me, it has taught me to look at curriculum with new eyes as I learn more about its significance to the entire school system. This course continues to help me build knowledge (Competency 4) to synthesize constructive feedback, along with informaiton from educational research and scholarship to improve my practice (Performance indicator 4P2) (Kaplan University Welcome, n.d.). I realize with more urgency how vital it is that our staff develpment days should focus more on curriculum to help heal the decay within our educational system. I would like to see all of our teachers receive trainging in this area of interest to help us improve our teaching skills and feel comfortable as a school to implement integration of content rather than seperate, islolated subjects/classes. I would like to see workshops take place to  demonstrate the benefits of Best Practice or visit schools that already have the Best Practice philosophy taking place in their classroom. I see my colleagues building better, more trusting relationships if we adopt the Best Practice teaching and the benefits will keep multiplying because a healthy staff means a healthy environment for the kids. It automatically makes students a real and responsible partner in the  development of curriculum and helps teachers design curriculum that addresses real concerns and issures about themselves and the world around them (Zemelman et al, 2005).

References:

Kaplan University | WELCOME. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2011, from  http://kucourses.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4619825&userid=6643030&sessionid=14bbd6a77b&tabid=tNEegSF5OeuvT5PrbcL4KBxjMORBdrvkGuu18pmHXwI=&macid=MKq5/WI0XIZJfxogF9ZSb4phvE /2WYf8kcnFWCKd 9VDiU3s 1N03bxdfd3I8BRMzLW5F9Pd5/EljdAlfT8QVFpmCbnHqJw4JEHe5KE IwbyyoN6qYmoR/Zz8W4iN1euq10ItQXWsdJAeeYFZbmp0ERDF4lBjIZ34pAjHFmrcI=

Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. A. (2005). Best practice: today's standards for teaching and learning in America's schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Improvement in Curricular Practice

Curriculum Mapping will be the selected artifact for my Reflective Decision Maker Journal Entry. Throughout this course, I have come to learn that the process of curriculum is ongoing and continues to evolve. Udelhofen writes that curriculum mapping is a multi layered, complex journey that requires a strong foundation, shared leadership, external assistance, and an understanding that curriculum is never finished. (Udelhofen, 2005)  As teachers come together to discuss content, skills and assessment with one another, they have essentially begun this continuous but essential process of curriculum design. This collaborative effort sets up the framework for good sound curriculum and allows room for necessary growth and change. This communication is astounding when you consider the size of some school districts and all the people it affects.  Mapping curriculum brings teachers out of isolation and provides a focused, reflective, and collaborative process that has a positive impact on all stakeholders. (Udelhofen, 2005) It started to become more evident to me how heavily involved this process can be and how it spans out farther than just your own school. Proper and effective curriculum mapping will affect every student as they advance into the next grade level. This could range from the elementary grades advancing to the junior high grades within the same school, for example. Now consider the same scenario but different schools. With the shared authentic data teachers and schools provide throughout the process of curriculum mapping, schools can continue to move towards becoming a healthier and more efficient learning environment in preparing our students for the real world.

Reference:

Udelhofen, S. (2005). Keys to curriculum mapping: strategies and tools to make it work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

"Culture Box Exchange via Skype"

Imagine a way we can get "connected" with another classroom via Skype. There is a project I recently learned about, not necessarily a new one but it opens doors to classrooms from another country without the expense of travel! It's called a Culture Box Exchange. Craig Roland shares this idea…

1. Teachers in two schools (in different countries) agree to have a "Culture Box Exchange" and set up a calendar for the project as well as ways of communicating with each other (e.g, via Skype) and documenting the project. Also, decisions should be made up front about the size of the boxes to be exchanged (e.g., shoe boxes work well), how they'll be shipped and what sorts of things ill be included in the boxes.

2. Students in the participating classrooms are given the challenge of representing their "local culture" via visual artifacts and text documents. This can be a complicated task when the "local culture" is diverse. Also deciding what sorts of artifacts best represent their culture(s) and whether to create the artifacts themselves or used found or purchased items is certain to lead to debate. This is what can make the culture box exchange so interesting.

3. The items chosen are packed into the shoe box (which may need to be packed in packing material and a larger box for safe transit) and shipped. The teacher should contact the partner school with the news.

4. While the boxes are in transit it's recommended that each classroom make a list of what they know (or think they know) about the other students and their culture. The thing I like about adding this step in the process is it raises the possibility of talking about our assumptions and stereotypes we may hold about others.

5. As an alternative to #4 or even in addition to #4, you can have students from each school/country exchange e-mail messages or instant messages to introduce and describe themselves.

6. If at all possible, coordinate the opening of the boxes at each school so they can occur during a live link-up using Skype or other teleconferencing tool (like iChat). If that's not possible, the "opening ceremony" should be documented with Flip cameras or other digital video tools and shared with the other school over the Web.

7. During the video-teleconference or video-taping, students should have the opportunity to introduce themselves, describe the cultural significance of items and objects found in their respective culture boxes, and ask questions of the other classrooms.

8. Wrap-up session. After the exchange has taken place, it would be good to return to the list of assumptions (or stereotypes) that students had of the other class prior to the exchange and to talk about what they learned from the experience. This discussion should be documented on video as well and shared with the other class.

What I especially love about this project is the global awareness this presents to our students about other students outside of our own city or town. Many students are not able to travel outside of the United States and experience the world abroad. This opportunity can change previous notions of other cultures and introduce a whole new world that has not been explored. It also brings together both the use of technology and human relationships on an international level. Diversity has a new level when kids can come together like this.

Roland, C. (2010, August/September). Culture Box Exchange [Web log comment]. Retrieved August/September, 2010, from http://arted20.ning.com/group/connectedclassrooms/forum/topics/cultural-box-exchange

September 28, 2010 1:56 AM

"Smart Boards or Are They?"

Smart Boards are a fairly new form of technology that is becoming common amongst classrooms. The Smart Board serves as a replacement to the classic whiteboard. It is very similar to a whiteboard and has many of the same functions. It is a computer that can allow you to save what you have written and refer to it another time. It is highly functional and can be a useful tool in the classroom.

Though the Smart Board is useful, it can also be a nuisance. With every new technology there comes a series of bugs to be worked out. The Smart Board has not surpassed that mark quite yet. A teacher can waste time that is better suited for learning waiting for the Smart Board to work. And while the teacher is working to fix the board, the students will have lost interest and begin to talk amongst themselves, further wasting instruction time when the teacher needs to quiet them down. Quite often the cursor on the board will freeze or the entire board itself will freeze. This is very frustrating when it happens more than once in a day.

However, the Smart Board is still a rather remarkable device. It is interactive, which allows students to be more involved in their learning. Hands on learning is one of the best methods in the classroom, especially for younger children. And while it has it’s kinks, there are many other things a person could use it for. It has become a part of business meetings as well as classrooms. The Smart Board has the capability of sending a file across cities and even as far as countries! This is a very inventive feat of engineering that can take this generation far.

September 28, 2010 6:18 PM

The iPad

The iPod Touch is a compact device to use for the classroom and may may even occupy the learning environment in the future. Here's another technological wave that will most likely do the same...it's the iPad. The iPad is the newest wave if technology sweeping the nation. It is a wireless, keyboard less laptop that is entirely touch screen. It’s thinner and more compact than any other laptop, completely relieving the problem of minimal space. Any student could slip it into his or her backpack without having to worry about having no room left for their binders, pencils, etc. This rather remarkable piece of technology costs $500, a seemingly reasonable price for a device that does so much. With the amount of options at the touch of a finger, it would not be all too surprising if the iPad made its way into schools in the next decade if not a few years.
Most schools have a computer room in which students will research material for a project or paper. While this is a reasonable method of research, the trips from the classroom and back could easily be eliminated. By having the student in possession of an iPad, he or she is prepared for any sort of research without having to leave their seat. This would be advantageous to almost every subject and it would allow students to do homework anywhere rather than waiting until they came home. Students who spend long hours after school could write papers, find current events, save pictures, and numerous other things without having to wait until the end of the evening when they’ve become tired and unwilling to do homework. They could also message their teachers with a question on the spot rather than the next day when the assignment is due.
But with every positive comes a negative. Technology, while presenting a new world of opportunities, also provides doors to things that aren’t so wholesome. Blocking websites is a problem that any school with computer access faces. Students have always been capable of going outside instruction and wasting time as opposed to using the time to their advantage. Schools need to be very careful about what sites they do or do not block. Every so often their will be a website that is perfectly clean but is blocked for the smallest of reasons. An art teacher may want to use a picture from an art site but cannot because the school has deemed it inappropriate for nudity or some form of sexual content. That deprives the students of good material all because one painter decided his work would be more aesthetically pleasing if his model were naked. And while some sites are blocked for this reason, others that are legitimately inappropriate are left unchecked. Every school needs to be aware of the dangers of the internet without barring their students from it.

September 28, 2010 6:14 PM

Multiple Uses of iPod Touch in the Classroom

Multiple Uses of iPod Touch in the Classroom

The Apple iPod Touch with an eight gigabyte memory is not only user friendly but offers a variety of options and applications for the owner. This hand held device is 4.3 inches in height and weighs approximately 4.05 ounces. It is light and compact enough to fit into a pocket. This device allows the operator to use wireless connection to download music, books, movies, videos, video games, send and receive e-mails, and create and view podcasts. The applications the Apple iPod Touch provides is more than a laptop or desktop computer. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows XP Professional or Home operating systems in addition to Macintosh OS X v.10.14:11 or later operating systems. It comes with earphones and a 2.o USB cable for instant use from a computer. Once charged, the battery last up to six hours for the user. The cost for this compact, universal hand held device runs from $195 at Wal-Mart or Apple.com for $199. It is more practical to invest in this small device that has more capabilities and applications than a desktop or laptop computer.

There are multiple ways in which the Apple iPod Touch can be implemented into the classroom. First, it would allow for students to obtain and gather research instantly without having to go to the library and share computers. Secondly, teachers could set up web cameras to record lectures, discussions, or any other class activities and create these into a podcast for student access after school from personal computers or their own mp3 players or iPods. It would be extremely useful in the aspect of students who are absent for school activities or sickness to view the podcast to gain information they may missed or review for homework assignments. Also, there are application that allow students and teachers to communicate and address any concerns or questions about an assignment or class. Paper would be saved, cutting school costs because teachers could send assignments via the iPod Touch for the students to complete and post to the teacher's e-mail box. Furthermore, there is an application for both students and teachers to implement in setting classroom and individual goals and tracking their progress based upon the goals. This assists educators and the pupils in keeping a record for the improvement that has taken place. Finally, one could easily assess areas that needed immediate assistance or remediation. Teachers could use tutorials or simulation applications instantly to help students achieve their goals and become successful in areas that demonstrate or suggest they need extra help. The Apple iPod Touch has several learning advantages and can be easily and effectively implemented into any classroom and subject area. Both teachers and students would benefit from the use of this particular hand held device.

iPod touch: What is iPod touch? Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from Apple website: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch.what-is/gaming-devices.html