SOCIALIZATION IS LIFE

In our modern society work takes more and more of our time. Having to deal with numerous necessities and responsibilities is a priority to survive and be happy in today’s world. In addition to daily responsibilities, and with the advent of the internet, video game consoles, and hundreds of channels of television, our problem is that there is often no time left (and often little desire) to share time with family, friends, and neighbors. The result is that our children are starting to live more isolated lives and social values are not being learned as well due to this isolation.
The Social Interaction Model encourages not only academic skills but social interaction as well because it requires students to work together on academic tasks in small groups. Children who are used living a more isolated live may have difficulties functioning in this type of setting. Sharing ideas with others, respecting somebody else’s opinions, taking turns to talk, following the conversation in the group, being open to different points of view, and be willing to compromise are some of the behaviors needed to successfully work in groups. I think it is very important to learn the social behaviors starting from when we are little children because we are going to need them throughout life. I know that I could learn so much more in class if I would interact more with my peers. Sometimes I hear my classmates talking about a class topic that I am interested in and I just haven’t had the open attitude to step into the conversation and be part of the group. Other times, when I was part of the group and the flow of the conversation was very fast, I missed what they talking about or the reason why they were laughing and instead of asking them I pretended that I understood. There are many examples where my social behavior has limited my ability to share, to learn, or just to have fun. I have come to realize this about myself so it has emphasized for me the importance, and difficulty, of helping our children overcome these same obstacles I face every day. The Social Interaction Model is a great tool to use as a first step towards this goal.
I also think that it is very important that teachers get to know their students, their personalities and their strengths and weaknesses. That way the teacher can guide, assist, or instruct the student how to overcome a certain behavior that is affecting their learning. While keeping in mind that individual behavior is the key for the success of the whole group, cooperative learning not only about group work but, rather, the positive participation of all members of the team. I believe that this method does reward students as individuals because they each have something different, and therefore unique, to offer to the group and they are able to derive value from this type of personal discovery.
When we started the Methods class, one of the first activities my professor arranged was one centered on getting to know each other. I realized that she prepared us, through this activity, for cooperative learning. She did an excellent job because the environment of the class is very communal, something that, unfortunately, I haven’t seen in any of my other graduate classes. I know that any of my classmates would be willing to help me unconditionally if I asked them. I think that overall what is important in life is to SHARE. It can be anything like knowledge, food, jokes, as just a few random examples. These things should be shared with everybody including family, friends, students, neighbors, colleagues, and children. Maintaining sensitivity to peoples’ needs and reacting positively to these desires provides you with the ability to make a difference in somebody else’s life.

SHORT CIRCUITING & REWIRING THROUGH INFORMATION PROCESSING

Let’s go over some terminology to begin with:
Information Processing is an Instructional Model that teaches students to access organized process information. It relies on discussion and sharing among participants. The lessons will begin with a problem – a question that serves as a focal point for students. The steps to follow would be: Identify the problem, form a hypothesis, gather data, analyze data, and form a solution. Indirect Instruction is the student centered strategy designed to teach thought questions and to promote discovery learning. Some of the types of methods that are associated with Indirect Instruction strategy are: Problem solving, case studies, inquiry, reflective discussion, concept attainment, concept formation, concept mapping, and reading for meaning. With time limitations and the goal of learning about these methods, my professor designed an assignment that allowed us all to find out about the different methods. Each of us investigated one method and created a treasure hunt where we applied our findings.
Treasure hunts are linked here.
Designing a Treasure Hunt was similar to my experience when creating the WebQuest. I was more familiar with the technical processes of searching, resizing, copying, pasting and saving images. I still went a little crazy about finding the best pictures and just sticking with what I found because time is very restricted these days! The process of creating a treasure hunt enriched my educational and personal life! Through searching, reading, analyzing, designing, and synthesizing information I am using the same learning methods we are expecting our students to use. Its important for me to remember that the best learning is a process that involves struggle and thought!
My assignment was specifically about open inquiry so I had to process information about that method throughout the construction of my Treasure Hunt. After I gathered data I analyzed it and decided to build few small questions and only one big question about open inquiry for the professionals that will be using my treasure hunt. As educators we are always striving to refine and improve our level of understanding about our methods. When learned well and executed properly, open inquiry is liberating for both teacher and student and develops actual thinking skills, not just factual recollection. The value in this is something that, in our hectic profession, is frequently missed.

Open Inquiry is an information processing approach where students generate questions and design their own investigation with teacher guidance. Open Inquiry is the highest level and should be an integral part of students learning!

Please click at the end of this sentence to learn about the different levels of inquiry learning.
The Inquiry C ontinuum graph.doc


Why is standardized testing a limiting factor in utilizing Open Inquiry?
With the advent of NCLB and more and more standardized testing, processes that encourage methods such as open inquiry have become increasingly difficult to implement in schools. Routine and specific answers to questions are what we are now required to teach our students. Our ability to use creativity and make professional decisions about what and how our students should learn is becoming difficult. "Teaching to the test" and the "factory" model of learning is dominating schools and we, as professionals, should fight this change and use methods like open inquiry to challenge our students into thinking critically and using their natural inquisitiveness to answer questions that are important to them. While I know that open inquiry takes time and a lot of planning, the results will benefit the students both in their performance on standardized tests and their ability to question what they are being taught. We are trying to create thinkers and not robots! When organized and written into unit plans, open inquiry activities are possible and beneficial. Allow yourself to disagree with the status quo, verbalize this opposition, and show that critical thinking methods such as open inquiry work just as well, if not better, than the requirements and methods imposed upon us by the state. Thank you for your participation in my treasure hunt and I hope it has brought some amount of new information and potential processes into your practice!

WEBQUESTS CAN BE ENJOYABLE!

Webquests can serve as a motivator for teachers because, instead of designing their own web page, creating links, and delving into the complexities of the internet, teachers are able to use current technology that is much simpler, less intimidating, and more content focused. The easier technology is to use, the more likely teachers are to adopt it as a tool.
By using Webquests the teacher becomes a facilitator who helps when necessary. This type of learning is the cornerstone of the educational theory of constructivism, which emphasizes the teacher’s role in guiding and facilitating learning. The students must take charge and come to their own conclusions based on the information presented. The students have to take more responsibility because they have to use the information to complete a task where the answer is not explicitly provided. As Bernie Dodge explains, this “supports learner thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.” If the task reinforces high level and critical thinking skills, the Webquest was designed well and is functioning as it should in a modern classroom in sharp contrast to older, more traditional education methods that encourage strict memorization.
I feel that because Webquests have the potential to encourage group work, the social interaction and team work required are as essential to a student’s “life education” as the actual information they are expected to retain and reproduce on a future test. This means that, if used properly, webquests serve a dual educational purpose which will better prepare students for their both their academic and social development. Working in groups, no matter the age, provides students with the social training required to function in society, to feel comfortable and confident in new situations, to defend their own thoughts, to manage discussions, and, finally, come to develop correct and accurate conclusions through consensus.
Webquests support student learning through activities that are designed with attractive colors, animated characters and a variety of links. Sometimes the number of links is too broad, as I have noted when doing some webquests, which leads me to hold two opposing opinions. “Link heavy” Webquests can be positive because they will allow the student to explore the subject in great depth, although, at the same time, all of this information can be extremely difficult to process in a coherent way. Students may suffer from “information overload” which does not support the desired outcomes of the webquest itself.
I feel very proud of myself because I was able to knock down my “wall of fear” that I had erected between myself and the use of technology. After several weeks of constant frustration and tantrums I finally did it! It was not easy because in this method of learning I did not have an easily accessible instructor who would teach me through repetition or with direct instruction. There was, of course, no guided practice or constant checking for understanding because this was a problem situation where I had to investigate and develop a solution on my own. This activity served as my inadvertent (or was it?) introduction to the Information Processing Model. Link for IPM
Despite the difficulties in designing my WebQuest, I also had a lot of fun and feel very pleased with my work. There are two reasons for this success: The first reason was that the topic that I choose was one that I am interested in and I wanted to share with other people. My “WebQuest on the Galapagos Islands,” which are located off the coast of Ecuador and is the country I come from. The islands are not only beautiful but they are also important because they are the birthplace of the theory of evolution, formulated by Charles Darwin. As the saying goes, “We do not know what we have until we lose it,” many species found only in the Galapagos are in danger of extinction. It should be a part of the curriculum to learn about conservation and how to care for our planet instead of allowing ignorance to dominate and allowing the current destruction to continue. Besides the fact that the topic interested me, I feel that I am contributing to my planet if my WebQuest would have an impact on even one student and prompt them to ask more questions and to really have a desire to learn the answers.
The second reason for my joy (and success) was that once I learned the technical parts like inserting pictures and how to decorate the pages, I was unstoppable! I kept finding one more picture that I liked better than another and then, when I found animated images, I lost it! I wanted to replace all my old pictures with the new animated images that I found. Then I started changing fonts and colors because they did not match the new images. It sounds a little obsessive, I know! The fact is that I enjoyed designing my WebQuest and, despite many late night compulsive re-arranging sessions, I really was able to overcome my fear about the use of modern technology and I hope that my efforts serve as a tool that students and teachers can use in their classroom to spark an awareness about our responsibility to our planet.

I HEAR AN ECHO

I feel very fortunate to have a Professor that utilizes a lot of repetition. I am the kind of student that needs a lot of time to process the information received before I come to a complete understanding. So if I receive the information again and again, and in many different ways, kind of like being taught several times but with different words, is what I need. Learning the application of the direct instruction method by actually seeing it being used was great. Actually being taught through the direct instruction method was even better and being taught through direct instruction while at the same time having the literature that supports the method in my hands was the best.
Formulating anticipatory sets as part of the direct instruction lesson plan did not seem to be very difficult. They need to be short, inspire motivation, and assess prior knowledge. The anticipatory sets everyone presented in class were fun and creative but they did not really fall under the direct instruction method. My peers and I were thinking too hard, were being too creative, instead of just keeping them simple. Direct instruction should deliver the information as succinct facts. Any deviation from this type of presentation begins to require the use of other methods. This would have made learning about direct instruction much more difficult because it is sometimes difficult to determine exactly where the direct instruction is in the lesson if it is not the only method used. Therefore, the anticipatory set also needs to get to the point, be fun and creative, and also match the information that is being taught in the development part of the lesson. After watching about 5 anticipatory sets I realized that mine needed changes that I was able to address before my presentation. I watched about 5 more anticipatory sets, and made some more changes in my head while sitting in class, before I presented mine. After I presented it my peers gave me really good feedback on what should be different and why. I loved it! The repetition of the performance of the anticipatory sets and more importantly, the reflections from my peers, allowed me the chance to vividly learn about anticipatory sets in a direct instruction method.
The process of learning to write a lesson plan utilizing the direct instruction strategy was very helpful for me. I first read the literature about how to compose a direct instruction lesson plan and evaluated two different lesson plans. The first one was from another state and was roughly organized around their specific curriculum and the second was from New York State and was written using the same rubric we used in class. It was very helpful to analyze the lesson plans and see what needed to improve so when I would make mine I would avoid the same kind of mistakes. I worked really hard on my lesson plan and I thought it was very well designed because each step in the process logically led into the next step. When I received the feedback from my teacher I was very surprised to see that many things needed to be erased and revised. I am fortunate again because my professor took the time to give specific comments about how to improve my lesson plan, something that is frequently lacking in some other classes I have taken. Once again the repetition, going over the material that I was learning several times, gave me the opportunity to process the information received and come out with a well-designed final product, my first direct instruction lesson plan!

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