Time Crunch

So I’ve noticed that my students have become very teacher dependent and I realized that I was not letting my students do enough problem solving on their own.  If they had problems interpreting results, they looked to me to figure it and tell them what to do next.  I had given in to their constant prodding by the end of the day because I felt like I didn't have the time or patience to let them figure it out for themselves.  It's such a struggle because the curriculum and the pacing guides set us up to teach basic concepts really fast.  Do we have time for students to act a designers?  Is there time for authentic problems in our pacing guides??

Going through this class, I discovered that it's really not the fault of the curriculum or pacing guide. It's part that I've become so wrapped up in SOLs, and the pressure to have common plans and assessments and teaching the way I was taught.  I want my students to be well prepared, so some of that pressure to get through everything is real.  So, is all the time that it takes connecting learning to current events…authentic problems….worth it?  There’s a way to make it work and that comes from proper planning and design which I'm going to work on.

texting for HW?

So one of my friends who teaches in Maryland attended a conference recently.  It was an amazing technology conference apparently.  Anyway, one of the things she shared was called Contxts.  This is a website designed for people to post their contact information - then can give clients a "business card" via text.  How can we use this technology for school?  Update your profile with homework for the week.  The kids can then text a number (which is not connected to your personal number) to see this week's homework!  You can try it by texting "BellES" to the number 50500. 

Check out the website

http://www.contxts.com/

Learning Minerals with Graphics

It’s the time of year again where I try to persuade my students to buy into the importance of learning rocks and minerals.  There is little that we do day to day that does not involve rocks and minerals, so you would think that it would be interesting to learn their uses.  Unfortunately, my students do not feel they need to learn something someone else has already figured out and put to good use.  So, I came up with an idea involving technology with graphics and an authentic problem to hopefully grab their attention.  We’ve learned that when students can relate the things they are studying to how it affects them personally, they are a lot more likely to remember the message.
 

Each student gets to “adopt” a mineral and create an advertisement includes the mineral’s name, chemical formula, and a cartoon slogan that describes one or more of its important uses. They must also include pictures or a cartoon character that relates to the slogan.  After reading chapter 3 of Norton & Sprague book, I knew that I had to teach my students the tools of draw and paint before letting them design on their own.  I was surprised to learn that many did not know the basic tools or how they could use both programs to create the image they were visualizing.

I discovered the importance of teaching students to be image makers and the difference between allowing them to express their ideas in pictures instead of words.  By completing this project, I want my students to have used the computer graphics as a means of creative expression, but also as a learning experience.  In any case, there will be at least one mineral they will never forget and always know its important uses!!