Reflection

Reflection  In this capstone I decided to look at making my classroom more student driven and less teacher driven. I wanted to make my assignments more authentic and less just give the notes. I researched discovery learning and found out that is what I want more of in my classroom. That teaching theory builds on what previous knowledge the students have. There is less repetition and more new knowledge. Why teach something the students already know? Discovery learning looks at having the students use the hands on approach to learning. I researched discovery learning and found some very insightful information about how to incorporate it in my classroom and what my expectations should be as the facilitator. Along with discovery learning, I want to have more authentic intellectual work in my classroom.

 This year my school’s professional development will be doing AIW, so I want to make sure that my classroom is following the requirements of AIW. I want the students to be able to connect what they learn in my classroom to their everyday lives. Authentic intellectual work wants to have the students see a purpose for what they are learning. AIW also wants the students to learn the information in depth and not just cover over it. This project allowed me to research exactly what I will be doing this coming year. We have not had a lot of time talking AIW in school, so this helped me to see what it will look like and what I will need to do in my room to make my students’ work authentic and have meaning. In order to help facilitate authentic intellectual work, I will be incorporating Edmodo in my classroom.

 Edmodo is a web site that I am going to use to connect to my students. We will be having mobile labs in the classroom, so I want to make sure that I utilize the labs. When I get to school I will have the students each set up an account on Edmodo. I am going to post notes, assignments, and general comments on the site. I am hoping that the students will comment on each other’s findings and open up lines of communication in the classroom. My research on Edmodo showed me that Edmodo is one of the safer sites to us with my students. I also found sites that helped me to set up my account and know how to use the site to make it more beneficial for my students. I cannot completely make my Edmodo site because the core curriculum is being updated this summer for the school year. They are working on aligning the curriculum to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. I have a general understanding of what I will be teaching next year, but there are some parts that are still being tweaked to match up. I will continue to set up the site over the summer and have it ready for the beginning of the year.

 I have the foundation for my project. I learned about the fundamentals to create a learning environment where the students have more control over their learning. I want to facilitate their learning and let them discovery and share with each other. Throughout this project, I learned a lot about myself. I saw that this year I did not meet my goal to have the class hands on, I spent more time lecturing and less time having the students’ discover. When I did the research showed me that, I thought I was doing but I really was not. I learned what it means to have discovery learning the classroom. I also learned more about what my professional development will be like next year. That has helped with some of my anxiety over what I am going to have to do. It does not seem as difficult as I first thought it was going to be. As I completed my research I became excited about next year. I am going to open my classroom up for learners. I want the students to run the learning and I facilitate. By opening up the classroom, the students will be better prepared. I am going to make my room more discovery oriented in order to have the students be able to make connections to their learning. To a lot of my students, farming is going to be what they are doing when they get older, I want them to connect learning to their home life. The capstone has allowed me to give myself information on how to make my classroom more technology friendly and be ready to give my students the opportunity to become web 2.0 learners. The capstone made me take a step back to make sure that I am meeting my students’ needs in their learning. By preparing my students for today’s learning, I am making them better individuals and more knowledgeable about the topics that we are covering. I am excited about taking what I learned and putting it into play with my students.