A strength of mine that I have recognized from this week’s readings is that I am always willing to embrace change when it comes to incorporating technology into the classroom. Due to the nature of technology, it is always changing, evolving, and sometimes can be unpredictable. However, I see the academic value it can have if incorporated correctly. According to Saumell in Principles for Meaningful Technology Integration, “Meaningful technology integration focuses on the learning task and not the technology.” (pg 2) To me this means that as an educator we need to come up with the tasks first and then find technology that makes that learning possible. Finding different technology tools or websites is something I enjoy doing. Teaching my students how to use those tools to enrich their learning experiences I also love doing. Some technology tools I’ve used with my students this last year are Wevideo, Math Learning Center Apps, Book Composer, SeeSaw and NearPod.
The challenge that I face with all these new learnings and insights is the “temptation to fall back on comfortable and familiar techniques.” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, pg 191) Creating the UbD unit has been very time intensive and challenging. I’ve changed things over and over in my unit and I still feel like I have a long way to go. When I think about the amount of time I’ve put into one unit, for one subject in a day it honestly seems impossible to do for every reading, writing, math, science, and social studies unit. I know with time and collaboration this process will become more manageable however, it honestly seems like teachers don’t have enough time in their schedules to plan units in this way. Additionally, designing units in this way also requires the admin and district personnel are okay with you veering from your current district-required curriculum. While my principal wants us to design units using best practice principles, she also has district expectations that the curriculum they spent a lot of money to buy is being used. It can be tempting to simply fall back on familiar techniques and follow the curriculum being given to me.
One goal I really want to work on this year is incorporating more strategic thinking into my lesson plans. Since I teach second grade I can often underestimate their learning potential. I want to work on designing lessons that require my students to “construct, process, and question ideas”(Zeleman, Daniels & Hyde, 2012 pg 51). I also want to work on designing more lessons that promote a transfer of learning. I can often get caught up in just the standards I am trying to teach in that unit, instead of the skills I am helping my students develop. One way I hope to do this is by planning engaging learning projects for my students instead of just planning a lesson.
References
Saumell, V. (n.d.). Principles for Meaningful Technology Integration. The Modern English Teacher, 25(2), 15–17.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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