Today we talked about Understanding by Design (UbD).
This practice is essential towards productive learning and activity in the classroom.
In my opinion, this practice is automatically implemented in and good teaching plan. Following the templates and instructions given to SNHU student via professionals, we have been trained to include multiple teaching approaches, methods, activities, and assessments, to hone in on individual strengths and weaknesses.
With that being said, I have yet to alter my second teaching plan to include specific UbD elements. Basically, I do not intend writing in "Using multiple modalities..."; "Through multiple means of expression..."; or "Knowledge will be expressed in multiple ways...". All of such are integrated within the lesson plan, written in the SNHU School of Education template. Although such are not specifically stated in black and white, the essentials are embedded.
I apologize for the criticism and potential condescension... but thanks for reading I guess
Moira
Monday, March 20, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
DAY 5
This class is finally making sense.
The first teaching plan- which is based on our "overall problem" - is more of a SPED type of lesson it seems. I mean our's is of course because it is Occupational Therapy... I don't totally love it, nor do I feel confident in writing an effective teaching plan for this. But for grade's sake and experience we'll do the best we can. Hanna an I will both have our names on this one as we are working on it together. The teaching plan will be revolved around a developmental milestone as written by professionals.
The second teaching plan is specifically based on a common core state standard, using one of the robotics demonstrated in class as a teaching tool. Pretty simple as I have written many before- the hard part will be of course integrating a newly learned about tool effectively within the lesson. Hanna and I will be working separately for this lesson plan.
The first teaching plan- which is based on our "overall problem" - is more of a SPED type of lesson it seems. I mean our's is of course because it is Occupational Therapy... I don't totally love it, nor do I feel confident in writing an effective teaching plan for this. But for grade's sake and experience we'll do the best we can. Hanna an I will both have our names on this one as we are working on it together. The teaching plan will be revolved around a developmental milestone as written by professionals.
The second teaching plan is specifically based on a common core state standard, using one of the robotics demonstrated in class as a teaching tool. Pretty simple as I have written many before- the hard part will be of course integrating a newly learned about tool effectively within the lesson. Hanna and I will be working separately for this lesson plan.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Day Four
Okay... So I think I was quite dazed and confused regarding this overarching problem to solve using robotics- especially in terms of the individual lesson plans.
I was under the assumption that we were to make like five or more different lessons plans all catering to this specific problem of focus. Hanna and I have been focusing on the improvement of fine motor skills in students who have developmental delays, developmental coordination disorder (DCD) or Dyspraxia, using only WeDo 2.0 Lego Robotics. We have been in the process of writing teaching plans using individual projects within the WeDo 2.0 kit, and matching them to specific developmental milestones as well as common core standards. However, in class today we learned that we may have gotten off course.
Basically what we are inferring from class today is that we are to write different teaching plans for each of the robots/technologies learnt in class thus far. Fist we are to address the overarching question catered to a common core standard, and explain how each technology can be used as a teaching tool and assessment of desired learning outcome. And so, for each of these class activities, Hanna and I have decided to part ways on how we are to plan and implement our own teaching plans.
However, we have continued to work on the fine motor development problem, and feel it is good to chart our progress none-the-less. As mentioned above, we are going to use the Lego use in an occupational therapy setting. Although, we know little about specific occupational therapy practices, we believe this can help. Fine motor skills include the use of small muscles in the fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms. The ability to use such properly are crucial to self-regulation and individualism.
And so, even through our initial confusion regarding the overarching problem and teaching plan, we plan to create four different teaching plans which will be four different WeDo 2.0 projects connected to either a common core standard or a developmental milestone according to national dev. milestone standards.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Day Three
So, we are moving right along in our thoughts and ideas for this project, and have a new, actually applicable thought!
After last class we kind of realized we needed a more acute 'problem' to solve. Today, Hanna and I discussed with Professor Charron the use of the lego WeDo in an occupational therapy setting.
Through the planning, construction and completion of any of the lego WeDo projects, students with fine motor difficulties will have the opportunity to practice existing skills and potentially gain more mobility and practical use.
We were given the opportunity to begin a draft of a teaching plan for the WeDo lego idea and it's practicality within a kindergarten or first grade classroom. The overarching problem we wish to address is how these toys and tools may be used to improve students fine motor skills.
Small motor skills are essential to everyday life- including self care- as well as education. Therefore the ability to use all ten fingers, hands, and wrists becomes necessary to sucess in daily living. Through the use of legos, students will be "taught" through a play based setting, which will potential motivate them to participate in more complex projects and further their development.
Fine motor skills can be broken down into four bases: postural stability, tactile perception, hand function, and bilateral coordination. Using legos teaches students simultaneous movements as it requires one hand to steady/stabilize the base while the other picks up, handles, and attaches. In education, this bilateral coordination can be applied to handwriting, for example, as students are required to hold the paper (stabilize) with one hand, and grasp and manipulate the writing tool.
Our most valuable research tools so far has been the Lego Education website as well as a variety of family resource sites, and blogs dedicated toward OT therapy and development.
That's all for now :)
After last class we kind of realized we needed a more acute 'problem' to solve. Today, Hanna and I discussed with Professor Charron the use of the lego WeDo in an occupational therapy setting.
Through the planning, construction and completion of any of the lego WeDo projects, students with fine motor difficulties will have the opportunity to practice existing skills and potentially gain more mobility and practical use.
We were given the opportunity to begin a draft of a teaching plan for the WeDo lego idea and it's practicality within a kindergarten or first grade classroom. The overarching problem we wish to address is how these toys and tools may be used to improve students fine motor skills.
Small motor skills are essential to everyday life- including self care- as well as education. Therefore the ability to use all ten fingers, hands, and wrists becomes necessary to sucess in daily living. Through the use of legos, students will be "taught" through a play based setting, which will potential motivate them to participate in more complex projects and further their development.
Fine motor skills can be broken down into four bases: postural stability, tactile perception, hand function, and bilateral coordination. Using legos teaches students simultaneous movements as it requires one hand to steady/stabilize the base while the other picks up, handles, and attaches. In education, this bilateral coordination can be applied to handwriting, for example, as students are required to hold the paper (stabilize) with one hand, and grasp and manipulate the writing tool.
Our most valuable research tools so far has been the Lego Education website as well as a variety of family resource sites, and blogs dedicated toward OT therapy and development.
That's all for now :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Day Two
1/30
Hi there!
We got to play with legos today!
So, during class Ms. Bonnie Morrissette brought in WeDo 2.0 kits accompanied with an Ipad. I learned that each lego edu robot is powered using blue tooth through the education application on the Ipad. The globalized application does not contain any written instruction, merely pictures, to which student s scroll through step by step. We did not, however, jump right in to this seemingly complex task.
Ms. Morrissette's presentation and play began with the building of a duck using only 6 legos of varying size. She explained that with only 6 blocks, 24 or more combinations are possible to construct the duck. With that being said, no two ducks were built the same out of a class of approximately 25 students. This creative play allowed for open ended learning; we were not given any instruction and there were no formulated blue prints for the duck building- we were in charge of how it ought to be built. The next activity involved the WeDo 2.0 kit, where we used the step by step guide on the Ipad to build the simple Milo robot. Using a drag and drop method of programming, students were to send him forward for 2 seconds and stop. Then were were allowed to experiment with multiple arrangements of programming.
With the knowledge acquired from this play based and developmental learning experience Hanna and I realized that we need to brainstorm a little longer in terms of proposing a problem to solve. We still intend to utilize the WeDo 2.0 kit and application as it proved highly effective for engaging and exciting students. However, the ideas we had about picking up, throwing, and catching a ball using these robots seems far too simple at this point. However, we feel that aspects of this thought may still be applicable- the picking up and holding that is.
A new though we have is the use of these robots for handicap children, perhaps with MS who are resricted in mobility but may still use hands (to operate an Ipad). These robots may be extremely helpful for children, and adults, who are unable to pick up and grasp objects for periods of time. Super handy! ;)
Hi there!
We got to play with legos today!
So, during class Ms. Bonnie Morrissette brought in WeDo 2.0 kits accompanied with an Ipad. I learned that each lego edu robot is powered using blue tooth through the education application on the Ipad. The globalized application does not contain any written instruction, merely pictures, to which student s scroll through step by step. We did not, however, jump right in to this seemingly complex task.
Ms. Morrissette's presentation and play began with the building of a duck using only 6 legos of varying size. She explained that with only 6 blocks, 24 or more combinations are possible to construct the duck. With that being said, no two ducks were built the same out of a class of approximately 25 students. This creative play allowed for open ended learning; we were not given any instruction and there were no formulated blue prints for the duck building- we were in charge of how it ought to be built. The next activity involved the WeDo 2.0 kit, where we used the step by step guide on the Ipad to build the simple Milo robot. Using a drag and drop method of programming, students were to send him forward for 2 seconds and stop. Then were were allowed to experiment with multiple arrangements of programming.
With the knowledge acquired from this play based and developmental learning experience Hanna and I realized that we need to brainstorm a little longer in terms of proposing a problem to solve. We still intend to utilize the WeDo 2.0 kit and application as it proved highly effective for engaging and exciting students. However, the ideas we had about picking up, throwing, and catching a ball using these robots seems far too simple at this point. However, we feel that aspects of this thought may still be applicable- the picking up and holding that is.
A new though we have is the use of these robots for handicap children, perhaps with MS who are resricted in mobility but may still use hands (to operate an Ipad). These robots may be extremely helpful for children, and adults, who are unable to pick up and grasp objects for periods of time. Super handy! ;)
Monday, January 23, 2017
Day One
Today was our first class meeting of EDU 255: Robotics in k-12 Education.
My initial thoughts- Oh man.. I am in the wrong room... I don't know anything about robotics or have the slightest idea of how to apply the infinite uses of such in a classroom setting. However. with the help of my colleague Hanna Tber as well as Bonnie Morrissette of Lego Education, and the lab technician helper, whose name I have forgotten already... We were able to piecemeal a (maybe) project idea together.
So Hanna and I are green, green as can be, in the field of Lego Robotics and it's application towards education and problem solving. On top of that we had trouble even coming up with a problem to solve! And then it hit me, the problem we are going to attempt to solve with the use of the Lego Robotics will be just that, problem solving. Having noticed the difficulty in finding an authentic idea to research and experiment, we figured that originality and the creation of anything new seems to be a skill in need of improvement across all ages and fields of study.
Perhaps the usage of WeDo 2.0 Lego Robot and kit will be used. We do not know much about it just yet, but it may prove a valuable platform.
We have not yet decided what specific area of study will be focused on for this project. One idea we had tossed around with lab tech man (so sorry about not knowing name) will be the demonstration of a teacher created Lego Robot designed to perform one specif task. Students will then be placed in one of two groups which will work simultaneously in designing two Lego Robots built to perform their own unique tasks. An example we had discussed was the ability to pick up, throw, and catch a ball. The teacher would present the robot's ability to pick the ball up. Students would then be given the task of brainstorming a robot design capable of both picking up and throwing the ball. Finally, students would be responsible for brainstorming, building and coding a robot that can pick up, throw, and catch a ball.
Once again, we are total noobs here, but will do our best and keep brainstorming!
That's all for now,
MW
My initial thoughts- Oh man.. I am in the wrong room... I don't know anything about robotics or have the slightest idea of how to apply the infinite uses of such in a classroom setting. However. with the help of my colleague Hanna Tber as well as Bonnie Morrissette of Lego Education, and the lab technician helper, whose name I have forgotten already... We were able to piecemeal a (maybe) project idea together.
So Hanna and I are green, green as can be, in the field of Lego Robotics and it's application towards education and problem solving. On top of that we had trouble even coming up with a problem to solve! And then it hit me, the problem we are going to attempt to solve with the use of the Lego Robotics will be just that, problem solving. Having noticed the difficulty in finding an authentic idea to research and experiment, we figured that originality and the creation of anything new seems to be a skill in need of improvement across all ages and fields of study.
Perhaps the usage of WeDo 2.0 Lego Robot and kit will be used. We do not know much about it just yet, but it may prove a valuable platform.
We have not yet decided what specific area of study will be focused on for this project. One idea we had tossed around with lab tech man (so sorry about not knowing name) will be the demonstration of a teacher created Lego Robot designed to perform one specif task. Students will then be placed in one of two groups which will work simultaneously in designing two Lego Robots built to perform their own unique tasks. An example we had discussed was the ability to pick up, throw, and catch a ball. The teacher would present the robot's ability to pick the ball up. Students would then be given the task of brainstorming a robot design capable of both picking up and throwing the ball. Finally, students would be responsible for brainstorming, building and coding a robot that can pick up, throw, and catch a ball.
Once again, we are total noobs here, but will do our best and keep brainstorming!
That's all for now,
MW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)