Social Studies Methods - Blog 2

Learning Experiences

As I write this in week eight of the semester, I am overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge I have soaked in! We have covered so many things in the last month such as learning experiences, performance tasks, flipped classroom requirements, and so much more. As we continue through the semester, I feel as if I am becoming more and more prepared to have a successful plan for my future social studies classroom.

First, I will talk about the unit plan project, consisting of our performance tasks and learning experiences. At the first of the semester, this project was terrifying to me. I didn't know where to start, nor how to create an entire unit from scratch. After picking my standards, it was nice to brainstorm and come up with ideas on a "final assessment" that would be engaging for my students. After I finalized my performance task, it was time to move on to learning experiences. These are smaller chunks of materials that students will need to learn and be proficient in to complete their performance task. This is a little trickier, but thinking deeper and knowing what concepts students will need to know to be successful is key in making strong learning experiences.

Another thing I will mention is the Flipped Classroom certification everyone in the class received, and the lesson plan we are currently creating. The Flipped Classroom consists of students watching a video of the "teacher input" at home, and coming into the classroom the next day with knowledge to dive deeper into the subject and have more time to complete guided practice, independent practice, and assessment. I am currently writing my flipped lesson plan on a first grade standard relating to the importance of holidays. I am so excited to film my video and present it to our class in the near future.

LAST thing (I promise) - I FINALLY GOT MY PLACEMENT AND MET MY CE!
I am currently placed in first grade  at Marion Elementary with Mrs. Simmons. I had my initial meeting with her last week and she is AMAZING! As soon as I walked into her classroom and talked with her I immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. She is very flexible and willing to do anything she can to ensure I have a successful semester. I am so excited to meet her students this Friday to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! We're going to read Green Eggs and Ham and make some too :)



Outside Learning

Continuing to talk about the Flipped Classroom, I did some digging just to find more information on the topic in general. I came across this website (which I will attach below) that mentioned some of the pros and cons of using the flipped approach in the classroom. Starting with a pro, it gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Some students need to hear something more than one time in order to retain it. Providing a video at home will allow the student to re-watch and hopefully understand the information better rather than hearing it once or twice from the teacher in the classroom. One con of this tactic would be the time shift between on screen learning and traditional learning. Most students are digital natives, so the flipped classroom approach would be very beneficial to them. On the other hand, students who are digital immigrants may be hesitant to this and want 100% of their learning to take place in the classroom. This is when a teacher has to find that perfect medium to support his/her students. Relating to the NCPTS, standard 4, teachers facilitate learning for their students. Implementing technology in the classroom maximizes student learning, and teachers should know when to use it to benefit their students. For some classrooms the flipped approach may be successful, and for some it may not. Facilitating learning for students is key, and planning instruction that is appropriate will ensure a successful classroom.


Link to pros/cons website on the flipped classroom ----> :) https://teachthought.com/learning/10-pros-cons-flipped-classroom/



Future Classroom Connections

There are so many things I have learned in the past month that will be implemented in my future classroom. Creating performance tasks and learning assessments will be most beneficial. It is so important to make sure students have all the resources to be successful in order to be properly assessed.  Giving feedback throughout the learning assessments is KEY to having every student demonstrate their overall knowledge during the performance task.