Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My Personal Results for Strategies Class

Strategies Class: The New Technology Era and My Results

I have to admit that this was one of the most intriguing and challenging classes that I have had and without a textbook. I am thrilled that we had to take on the challenges of a fast moving curriculum and we had to do it with our own expertise and structured guidance by the professor. I really wish that I was more computer literate. I feel that if I was I would be able to apply it better to my personal life as well as my professional life. In my personal life I would just like to do the basics like personal postcards, photos, etc.
I have come to the realization that we must be in the race in order to win and if we do not have computer skills we will never make it. I am wondering how many students, especially in urban areas are a disadvantage because they do not have computers in their classrooms that they can use to do their class work, projects, homework, etc.? It is a known fact for all of us that students do not learn well by lecture only. It has been comprehensive learning in this class from day one. I know when learning has taken place, especially in grad school when A few things occur:
• The material is applicable to the real world
• The material is something that you take to the classroom the very next day and implement it with your students because you felt empowered and confident to bring students to the next level with what you have learned.
• The strong desire to share all of your new knowledge and implement it immediately.

I took my curriculum class and implemented it in my own class especially with bogging and making the video. It was a great experience and my students were very receptive to it. A few of them have shown interest in GOOGLE, New York after my description of it from class. I am very confident with the new technology that I have just learned about and I am going in an upwards advancement with what I have learned. The class brought everyone to a new plateau in education and I hope that I will be able to keep reproducing the valuable information and techniques that I have learned.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Useful links that are helpful

Web sites that are useful:

It is always a tremendous help for me to “borrow” useful links and work sites from my colleagues. Here are a few that I hope you enjoy using. They were instructional in my curriculum mapping and classroom technology.
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/languages/spanish/
http://www.mathsisfun.com/
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/biology/bio2004/
www.webfeet.com
www.glencoe.com

Monday, November 5, 2007

Middle School

While I was reading this article, it seemed to mirror many of the now existing districts and their barriers. The middle school in our district is a school that has adapted many of the models such as the Orange Middle School. I would recommend to our district to implement ROPE-W and the basketball math theory. Right now we have a video that is shown in homeroom to help improve math scores. The students do not even look at it, much less practice the assignments.
Like anything else in life when you make a personal connection to something you absorb the contents like a sponge because of the assimilation to the information. In Orange the students have impoverished life styles and the teachers are aware of the violence that they are exposed to. It is only through uniformed authority, strict school vigilance and a sense of cohesiveness in and out of the school that will deter violence.
When students have a voice they feel more important and at that age fostering their self-esteem is a vital element in their lives. While Orange Middle School is developing new strategies, another improvement that I would recommend is to not only voice their opinions about violence, but also to know where to turn to immediately if they are in a situation or knows of someone in a situation that may need their help. I would also implement a follow-up homework or lesson to be delineated with the basketball activity.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Curriculum Mapping

A. As I was reading the article, I immediately thought how familiar this sounds. The purpose of curriculum mapping is to move all teachers into a collaborative/team attitude where the tools that they use will guarantee a safe landing for all students. Curriculum planning was devised because all too often teachers are following and interpreting the curriculum in ways that may and may not benefit the students' level of success. With curriculum mapping, according to the article, "world class" standards will always be achieved by the students because of the way that it is implemented through small learning communities.

B. My school has not mapped its curriculum, but now with the new curriculum trends, we are moving more towards "pacing" the curriculum. Like curriculum mapping this is our first year doing so through departments and as a way to put all teachers on the same page. Like curriculum mapping the special education teachers are forged in with the regular education teachers to partner up and allow the students the ability to be in with the regular curriculum. In my school it is very difficult to form the mapping process due to the large student body and staff that we have. If we are ever going to implement this we must have a 3-5 year vision of incorporating all of the necessary tasks to do this.

C. This curriculum mapping relates to the broader concept of curriculum change by forcing everyone to keep up with new trends in curriculum. If we want our students to do better than we must all be on the same page. Schools first have to get more collaborative measures in place so that the overall success is measured throughout in a uniform measure. We have seen how the 21st century is bringing on many new changes and challenges. To meet these challenges we have to be willing to participate in changes that cause changes under a different lens.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Online Learning Experience

The experience for me taking this class online has been challenging, but very rewarding. I actually love being able to take the class at home in the comforts of my living room. It is very accommodating to my schedule and at the same time I am able to put a face to the students online because of the meetings that we have had in class. I am an individual who thrives on people interactions so it helps me to know who I am responding to through the blogs, BB, etc.
I had never done a blog before or a video to post online. I am grateful for the opportunity ( though I lost sleep at first)to be able to this. The technology age is something no one can shy away from and meeting it head-on is the only way to conquer the skills of the computer era.
I would definitely repeat an online course. I believe that the professors, through a few class meetings can also put a face and a name together. Being in class can have many benefits for students. I am like a sponge and I absorb all of the professor's knowledge for the sake of my personal gain. Reiterating what I have learned in class is my main goal in the professional arena. The online class helps us take different challenges to a greater level. I had to seek help on a few occasions for the technical aspects of the posts, but it only enhanced my learning of technology. I also feel that through the online class we are able to "surf" through the directives of the professor and find on our own other educational tools that we would not have necessarily had if we were in the classroom. Online learning helps individuals work at their own pace and on their own time while accomplishing the goals of the class.
One way that the professor can facilitate the online class is to "model" during the class meetings how to navigate the computer to reach the goals that are required. For example, steps on how to do a "Did you know video?". I found this to be the most challenging.

UBD Self-Reflection and Evaluation

I had Principles Of Curriculum and we had to use UBD to formulate a lesson plan with the end in mind. I have realized that after implementation you begin to "flow" with the process of UBD. I do not feel that I encountered many challenges other than creating the essential questions at first. I am in the middle of the lesson now and it is going very smooth. I have a small group so I am able to assist them as needed and guide them in answering the essential questions in their minds.
I liked the format, but I think that the "whereto" at the end is too lengthy and I found myself reiterating the facts. I omitted topics that had already been addressed. I will continue to use UBD and I find it to be extremely helpful, particularly in cases where teachers may need an extra boost in their regular lesson plans. As a future administrator, I will take UBD into the classrooms and assist teachers who are in need of assistive programs to implement in their lessons.

UBD Lesson

Lizette Zebi
Strategies for Curriculum
UBD Lesson Plan

The First Native Americans: Their Story of Travel, Wisdom and Survival
Students: High School Native Language Resource Class

Stage I- Desired Results



Established Goals: Students will be able to understand the struggles and challenges that the first settlers had in our country and compare them to the present and future.

Understanding:
How everything in the world is correlated through the past, present and future.
They will be able to distinguish between what the first settlers did for survival and what is done today in countries where there is poverty.
Students will be able to see how little similarities and differences are as well as the magnitude of the differences and similarities.

Essential Questions:
Describe the way of life of the first Native Americans?
What are the myths from their time arriving?
What barriers obstructed their destinations?
What survival challenges did they face?

Students will know:
The struggles that the First Native Americans went through.
They will be able to distinguish amongst the different tribes and what special traits they each had.
How to make an igloo

Students will be able to:
· Graph information
· Give ceremonial names for each of the tribes and their customs.

Stage II- Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks:

Students will be able to graph and map out the journeys of the First Native Americans
Students will be able to align a timeline to the dates of the travels and the places where they went.

Other Evidence:
Students will be able to locate the areas on a map where the settlers came.
Continued….
Students will demonstrate achievement of the results through role-playing from each of the tribes such as the: Nootkas and the Shamans.
How did each tribe survive ( They will perform a play in class)
Students will reflect and self assess by making comparisons of the medicine man to that of their own cultures and if it is applicable.

Stage III Learning Plan

Learning Activities:



The activity is going to the end results of comparing, contrasting and relating to current issues in the world.
They knew how to read, graph and what survival was so they had a good grip on where they are going.
The students’ interests are held because they live in an area where poverty is a constant concern and people learn different survival skills. One skill is to eat less meat in the family and survive more on rice and things that are economically cheaper.
Students are equipped by viewing the natives through different lenses and being able to use technology as assistive devices in their classroom.
Most of the work is tailored and structured to meet the individual needs. A few of the students need more prompts due to their disabilities, but once given they catch on quickly.