Reflecting on my Blog experience

Having now experienced writing my own blog I am more aware of the effort and level of understanding it takes to create a digital presentation other than a PowerPoint (especially one that is timestamped). It has been an interesting learning experience for this, I was engaged with what I was doing as I (like adolescents) find using technology very engaging. Thinking about my experience and how I could incorporate it into the secondary classroom I think a blog would be useful to use in anything that requires the creation of diary entries, as a blog is online and accessible to the teacher to check the students progress at anytime and the posts that you create are timestamped. A blog could be used in a subject like health or food technology where students keep a diary of food intake or similar. Or for my method psychology- a blog could be used as a homework tool where students are required to do summaries as homework, students could do it as a blog. It is important to remember that technology is only as good as the learning behind it.

From my expereience students are very engaged in activities that have to do with technology. Gee (2005) highlights, there is much to be said about videogames and their effectiveness when it comes to learning and thinking. He uses 36 principles to explain why games are great learning machines, that is they reflect important principles of learning and thinking that cognitive science has presented as being significant and applicable in our technologically derived worlds. I think that important learning can be achieved through any digital media. 

Reference:

Gee, J. (2005) ‘Learning by Design: Good Video Games as Learning Machines’,  http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Game%20Paper.pdf cited 17/5/11.

The next step in my ACP was investigating what study prompts and activities the school had...

There are display cabinets all along the side walls of the science classrooms. Having recently done work on the brain and visual perception system the current display is of a modelling activity the students did making brains and labelling them.

Inside the classroom the back wall of the year 12 Psychology room is covered in displays relating to the current topic of memory and also exam revision.

A look at the classroom shows an interactive whiteboard and a u-shaped designed tableing system.

This is a close up photo of the review dotpoints the students need to cover for their mid-year exam. They are taken from the study outline and colour coded to the different topics of the semester.

The students are currently finishing the study area of memory. This is a visual model of the Atkinson-Shriffin Model of memory.

I have also begun investigating the current literature on my focus questions: How do students learn? How do they study alone? What are engaging learning activities? These questions are essential to my understanding of what types of activities I should design. Some researchers that help to answer these Glasser and his work on disengaged students viewing their schoolwork as irrelevant to their basic human needs. Also, McCarthy and her work on incorporating learning styles in the classroom, as well as Gee who highlights, there is much to be said about videogames and their effectiveness when it comes to learning and thinking. Along with Downs, who says  there are three distinct kinds of learning: memorising, understanding and doing and that deep and authentic learning can be achieved by successfully achieving all three. Lane and Thorpe suggest that the activities appropriate for a meaningful kind of learning typically require the learner to work actively with new information and ideas, elaborating and applying it to different contexts.

That's all for now folks! 

ACP: A Plan At Last

I now have a plan! YAY! 

Aim: To create a folio of 6 resources (3 each for Unit 3&4) to aid students in their study and revision for exams.

Expected Outcome: Students can use these resources and consequently their study habits will improve, students will be aided in their independent study and revision and students will perform better on their exams as compared to the last year’s previous data.

Time Line:

May, Tuesday 17^th: Begin research on how students study and the best methods for independent study

May, Tuesday 24^th: Continue research gathering ideas for activities.. Check what resources and activities the school already has.

May, Tuesday 31^st: Begin putting together a list of the possible activities that could be created. Discuss them with the Psychology teachers and decide on the final 6.

July, Tuesday 26^th: Work on activities

Aug, Tuesday 15^th”: Work on 2^nd activity

Aug , Tuesday 23^rd: Work on 3 activity

Aug, Tuesday 30^th: Work on 4^th activity

Sept, Tuesday 6^th: Work on 5^th activity

Sept, Tuesday 13^th: Work on 6^th activity and collate the activities into a portfolio for the school

Sept, Tuesday 20^th: Complete folio and present it to the school. 

My mentor and ACP Overseer has okayed the plan so now I am just waiting to see my University Colleague next week and the Student Teacher Co-ordinator at a meeting on Tuesday.

During my 2 week placement I also had a look around at the resources available to the students for study at the moment. I will attach photos next post. The psychology classroom has the back wall covered in topics to be revised and helpful worksheets and activities that students can take and use to study. There is also a window display with models of the brain and visual perception system. Students also have access to the VCE Psych Notes Revision books in the library and other similar ones. 

Stay tuned for photos next post.

ACP: Most of a Plan

After meeting with my University Colleague today I have confirmed that I can do my ACP on revision activities for Unit 3 & 4 Psychology. So I am now just nutting out the details of the plan to finalize it and hand it in.


Reasons for my ACP:
The school overall and more specifically the VCE Psychology teachers would like to aid their students in their study and revision for their mid year and end of year exams. With this in mind my mentor suggested that the creation of a number of different study resources specific to VCE Psychology Uni 3 & 4 would be greatly appreciated. While there are a large number of generic study revision activities my mentor would like to have resources that are specifically targeted at Psychology and helpful to students trying to revise and study for the exams. She believes that this will improve their chances of doing the activities if they are already prepared and there for them to access and they do not have to create their own – for example study flash cards. We also believe that these resources will increase their ease of study and give the students more time to study- as they're not creating their own-, help increase their motivation and hopefully subsequently their knowledge of the content and their results on the exams. 


Further details and an attached plan to come!!

 

ACP: On my way to a plan

Thursday afternoon last week I went in to my placement to discuss and plan with my mentor the classes that I would be taking over the duration of my 2 weeks block placement. We also discussed possibilities for my ACP. She has suggested that I could create a folio of revision activities specific to VCE Psychology Units 3&4. This would be a valuable resource for the psychology department as well as for myself to add to my collection of resources for teaching.

Over the weekend (through email) I arranged a meeting with my UC on Tuesday May 3 to discuss my ACP and teaching observations.

On Monday morning I had a meeting with the AP in charge of student teachers and discovered that there were no other VU students at my placement school so I am able to do the ACP on my own. Having already discussed the possibilities for an ACP with my mentor I decided that I would like to undertake the project that she suggested so I discussed it with the AP and she said that I had the go ahead!

I am now awaiting my meeting with my UC to confirm that I can do the ACP I would like to do.

Wish me luck!