When I first began thinking about using the GAME plan, I really only thought about its practical uses for teachers. It really helped me oraganize my thoughts. I have been able to stay focused on my goals and the actions I must take to complete those goals. After thinking about it, I believe it will also be useful to my students.
I think that I can use the GAME plan in different ways to set/achieve long-term and short-term goals with my students. First of all, I teach third graders who have to take our state standardized test for the first time at the end of the year. To them, the MCT is an abstract idea that has very little meaning to them. I think that it would be a good idea for us to create a class GAME plan to help us stay focused on our goals for achievement on that test.
I also would like to use a GAME plan with our upcoming science project. My students have never done science projects to be submitted in our district science fair before. I think it would help them feel less overwhelmed if they created a GAME plan to help the identify the goals and actions that they must take to complete their science fair projects. We could check on our GAME plan every few days to see if we are progressing as we need to.
Overall, I do believe that I will use GAME plans with students especially if I move back to older students who will have to monitor their own progress during class projects.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Final Reflection
When I first began the GAME plan process, I thought of it as one of those things we say we do so that we can get credit in our graduate class. After using the GAME plan throughout this course however, I believe that I will always use it to some degree. I tend to get overwhelmed with the details of large projects. There have been many times that I have scratched a classroom project or lesson because I could not properly manage it. I believe that the GAME plan process will help me avoid that frustration in the future.
I was also able to use my current GAME plan to help me get past a few road blocks that I was facing this year. I had moved to a younger grade in a school with less technology that I had been used to. At the beginning of the year, I didn't quite know how I would be able to incorporate technology into my classroom effectively. Using my game plan actually helped me create a plan of action that I believe will help my science fair project go more smoothly.
I also believe that this process with be very valuable to my students. If I teach them to complete this process in my classroom, they will have a tool that will help them complete assignments and projects throughout their life and education.
I was also able to use my current GAME plan to help me get past a few road blocks that I was facing this year. I had moved to a younger grade in a school with less technology that I had been used to. At the beginning of the year, I didn't quite know how I would be able to incorporate technology into my classroom effectively. Using my game plan actually helped me create a plan of action that I believe will help my science fair project go more smoothly.
I also believe that this process with be very valuable to my students. If I teach them to complete this process in my classroom, they will have a tool that will help them complete assignments and projects throughout their life and education.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Re-evaluation of GAME plan
The truth is, I am still working toward my initial goal, and I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew (so to speak). My teaching partner and I have been very diligently preparing for a science project which will help work toward the NETS goal of incorporating real-world situations into curriculum. We will be working with a local under-graduate education student to help students participate in the science fair in a meaningful way.
I believe that I need to continue to work toward this goal. Next time, I believe I will start a little smaller. I intitially thought that I needed to some type of big project. I think that I overlooked the fact that I can achieve this goal with a simple activity such as class discussion after a video. Students are naturally intrigued about so many topics. I must do a better job looking for those teachable moments instead of waiting for my projects to be ready.
I believe that I need to continue to work toward this goal. Next time, I believe I will start a little smaller. I intitially thought that I needed to some type of big project. I think that I overlooked the fact that I can achieve this goal with a simple activity such as class discussion after a video. Students are naturally intrigued about so many topics. I must do a better job looking for those teachable moments instead of waiting for my projects to be ready.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
GAME plan Update
I am very excited that my effort to incorporate real-world situations into classroom learning has a new resource. I have been talking to my team about using the science fair to help students explore real-world situations. Now, we have an undergraduate education student who has volunteered to come in and show the students the scientific process. We will choose a few possible investigations and the students will ultimately decide what real-world situations they will work on. Since my students seemed very excited when we studies habitats, I am trying to investigate to find some possible endangered species or ecosystems in our area for the students to research. We are also asking students what other topics they may want to investigate. This way the undergraduate student and I can be ready to begin work on our projects as soon as we come back from Christmas Holiday. I think that my students are going to truly enjoy the science fair more because they will be working on projects that will, hopefully, be meaningful to them.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Progress on my GAME plan
In all honesty, the progress has been quite slow on my GAME plan. There has been little time to work on it since he week before Thanksgiving was full of programs, parties and interruptions. Now that our school is being audited by the state, my principal's energy is going to be focused elsewhere; therefore, I am afraid that we must find another way to gain access to the technology that we will need for our project. We may have to modify our plan to do this project in our classroom. We may have to work with other teachers to borrow computers or trade computer lab times.
My team has, however, determined the time and focus of our project. We are going to begin our project in February in conjunction with the science fair. We are going to help our students determine real-world questions for research and experiement. So many times a science fair becomes little more than an at-home re-creation of what mom could find on the internet. This year, we would like our students to think about our science curriculum and develop their own questions based on material that peaked their curiousity during science class. After they have a list to choose from, we will help them develop the scientific process for their project.
The new BIG question becomes, how do we manage this project since each student must do a different experiement for their science fair project. We have determined that we will require parts of the experiement to be done at home, but we are still developing the process we will go through to help our students create their science fair board.
My team has, however, determined the time and focus of our project. We are going to begin our project in February in conjunction with the science fair. We are going to help our students determine real-world questions for research and experiement. So many times a science fair becomes little more than an at-home re-creation of what mom could find on the internet. This year, we would like our students to think about our science curriculum and develop their own questions based on material that peaked their curiousity during science class. After they have a list to choose from, we will help them develop the scientific process for their project.
The new BIG question becomes, how do we manage this project since each student must do a different experiement for their science fair project. We have determined that we will require parts of the experiement to be done at home, but we are still developing the process we will go through to help our students create their science fair board.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monitoring the GAME plan
To truly enact the plan I have to incorporate "real-world" situations into classroom lessons, there are many things I must do. First of all, I must discuss with my teaching partner which "real-world" situations she might be comforatble with integrating. Next we will need to review additional information on the topics and review our curriculum to ensure that the choices we have made fit with our curriculum. After we narrow the field a bit, I believe that there will be several steps I need to take to peak the interest of my students.
My plan is to find video and/or audio clips which give an overview of information about two or three topics that might integrate well with our curriculum. We would then show these clips and explain their significance to our learning goals. Finally, I would like to allow the students to vote for which topic we will finally incorporate into our learning project.
So far, I have not been able to move toward my goal as quickly as I would like. The past few weeks have been full of administrative paperwork and duties that have frustrated me and consumed much of my time. I have, however, begun discussions with my team about the ideas I have and we are discussing the possiblity of beginning a project after the holidays that can be incorporated with social studies and science fair.
My plan is to find video and/or audio clips which give an overview of information about two or three topics that might integrate well with our curriculum. We would then show these clips and explain their significance to our learning goals. Finally, I would like to allow the students to vote for which topic we will finally incorporate into our learning project.
So far, I have not been able to move toward my goal as quickly as I would like. The past few weeks have been full of administrative paperwork and duties that have frustrated me and consumed much of my time. I have, however, begun discussions with my team about the ideas I have and we are discussing the possiblity of beginning a project after the holidays that can be incorporated with social studies and science fair.
GAME plan for Integrating Technlogy
Original Post- November 15, 2009
GAME plan for Integrating Technology
By ahocutt
The GAME plan outlined in the text is a great tool to help anyone increase their effectivness as a self-directed learner (K. Cennamo, J. Ross, & P. Ertmer, 2009, p. 7). Though we are all required to participate in a certain amount of professional development, I believe that the most effective teachers are those who are self-motivated.
As I looked at the NETS performance indicators for teachers, there was a primary area that I feel I needed to focus on improving:
1b: engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
G- My major goal for improving this professional practice is to find out which "real-world issues" would be appropriate for my students. Since I teach only 3rd grade, there are many things that parents would not want students to discuss or research in my class. I may take a class survey to find out what interests them the most (i.e. politics, environment, etc.)
A- There will be a lot of action that must take place to truly get this project moving. First of all, I will have to gain access to enough technological tools for my students to use. Our primary issue now is a shortage of computers in our classroom. Therefore, I will have to get special permission to use some of the computers from our lab. I will also need to research the topic that is chosen by my class survey. This way I will be the expert in the room and able to help them. Finally, I will need to use proper websits and tools such as Skype, Google Earth, and Epals. These sites will enable my students to have access, not only to information on the web, but also use people around the globe as sources.
M- One aspect of this project that will need to monitor very closely is my use of the technology. Often, when I begin using new technology tools, I get frustrated when they don't work exactly as expected. At times, I have even stopped using tools, rather than learn more about them. In order to help my students explore the world digitally, I will need to take the time to learn about each of our resources. I may even need to get the help of our on site technology resource person to help me when I get stuck or frustrated.
E- In order to evaluate my learning, I think I will need to keep a reflection journal. I often jot down little thoughts in the side margins of my lesson plans to remind myself about certain improvments I would like to make next year. I think that I will make this process more formal so that I and my students have the full benefit of my reflections. I may also take student surveys to find out which aspects of the project may need improvement in the students' opinions.
Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
GAME plan for Integrating Technology
By ahocutt
The GAME plan outlined in the text is a great tool to help anyone increase their effectivness as a self-directed learner (K. Cennamo, J. Ross, & P. Ertmer, 2009, p. 7). Though we are all required to participate in a certain amount of professional development, I believe that the most effective teachers are those who are self-motivated.
As I looked at the NETS performance indicators for teachers, there was a primary area that I feel I needed to focus on improving:
1b: engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
G- My major goal for improving this professional practice is to find out which "real-world issues" would be appropriate for my students. Since I teach only 3rd grade, there are many things that parents would not want students to discuss or research in my class. I may take a class survey to find out what interests them the most (i.e. politics, environment, etc.)
A- There will be a lot of action that must take place to truly get this project moving. First of all, I will have to gain access to enough technological tools for my students to use. Our primary issue now is a shortage of computers in our classroom. Therefore, I will have to get special permission to use some of the computers from our lab. I will also need to research the topic that is chosen by my class survey. This way I will be the expert in the room and able to help them. Finally, I will need to use proper websits and tools such as Skype, Google Earth, and Epals. These sites will enable my students to have access, not only to information on the web, but also use people around the globe as sources.
M- One aspect of this project that will need to monitor very closely is my use of the technology. Often, when I begin using new technology tools, I get frustrated when they don't work exactly as expected. At times, I have even stopped using tools, rather than learn more about them. In order to help my students explore the world digitally, I will need to take the time to learn about each of our resources. I may even need to get the help of our on site technology resource person to help me when I get stuck or frustrated.
E- In order to evaluate my learning, I think I will need to keep a reflection journal. I often jot down little thoughts in the side margins of my lesson plans to remind myself about certain improvments I would like to make next year. I think that I will make this process more formal so that I and my students have the full benefit of my reflections. I may also take student surveys to find out which aspects of the project may need improvement in the students' opinions.
Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
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