Blog Post #9

Collaborative Blog Post # 9 By: Malary Booker, Sarah Barnett, and Lauren Bradley

1. Video Titled: “Back to the Future” by Brian Crosby

Mr. Brian Crosby’s showed us in his video that no matter where you come from, you will learn something if taught the right way. Mr. Crosby did a lot of projects with his fourth grade class. Each project was recorded and embedded into each of the student's blogs. Then the students would write a summary of how each project was accomplished on their blog page. One project they performed was to send a giant balloon into the air . This was science project, but Mr. Crosby incorporated History into it as well. He did this by studying the history of ballooning with his class. The class then had a 25 question multiple choice test on the project from everything they learned.

           Mr. Crosby also incorporated Language Arts into this project by telling the students to write a story from beginning to end in the balloon’s point of view. They were also to explain where the balloon went, what the balloon did, and where the balloon landed. We really like how Mr. Crosby used one project and incorporated it into every subject. This is definitely something we all agree would be effective in our future classrooms.We think that using projects to teach kids different subjects is a great way to get them to fully understand what you want them to learn. Mr. Crosby is a great teacher and future teachers can really learn something from him.

2. Video Titled: “Blended Learning Cycle” by Paul Henderson

            Paul Hendersons is a AP science teacher and a “learning through technology” enthusiast. In this video he explains his version of Blended Learning, then explains how successful it has been in his classroom. When Mr. Henderson created this version of the Blended Learning Cycle, he simply combined two models; one being Blended Learning and two being the Learning Cycle. He used a Venn diagram to illustrate blended learning. It consisted of 1) Online, 2) Classroom and 3) Mobile; when you combine each piece you then get blended learning. Now the cycle in Blended Learning Cycle comes from the Learning Cycle Model.

            The Learning Cycle model consist of the five E’s. First you Engage your students with a question. From there your students will be able to explore the said question, explain it, expand upon it, then evaluate what they have learned. Engage, explore, explain, expand and evaluate. This learning cycle is a great way to present material with your class. The screen shot below should give you a better image of the two.

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        Now when you mix the two together you get the Blended Learning Cycle. The Blending Learning Cycle consist of all the components or Blended Learning and the Learning Cycle.

To elaborate on the Blended Learning Cycle. Mr. Henderson uses an acronym for remembering the steps of the Blended Learning Cycle and it goes by QU.I.V.E.R.S. The QU stands for question. Start with a question that the students are able to make predictions about and gets their interest (Also called the “Hook”). Next you want the students to investigate, experiment and inquire more about the question. Then you use a video or video podcast to make lessons. This way instead of lecturing your students you can upload the video and make it available to students at any time.

           Next we have elaboration. This is the part where you encourage finding more information to support your answer, using any tools imaginable. Share with the students why this information is important and relevant to their everyday lives. When they complete that step, they move on to the review. For Mr. Henderson's review, he breaks the class up into groups; then moves around and asks each group questions and reinforce learning, basically checking their understanding. They cannot move onto the next step until he is sure they know what they are talking about. Last but not least is the Summary Quiz. If they do not understand the material you must take steps backs. After they have completed the learning cycle about 5-10 times there is a good ol fashion hand written exam where they have to show what they have learned.

         

           When you are using quivers you are starting from a question and breaking down the learning process. Mr. Henderson said this blended learning cycle is working excellent so far, that he feels more involved in the classroom and returned to some old roots of starting with really really good questions. So here we see just another example of blended learning and how it can improve the learning experience. This video just goes to show that you can create any type of learning cycle you want, and customized and personalize it to your classroom.

3. Video titled: “Making Thinking Visible” By: Mark Church

Mr. Church got his students to work in small groups based on the topic “early human beginnings of early origin of society”, they had been discussing about their ancestors and backgrounds. The students were to then discuss and decide on a headline that explains what the topic is all about. Once, they figured their headline out; Mr. Church gave them a paper to write it on. The students were to discuss and analyze; in the phrase they were to explain the question “How?”. The next step was to share their headline with class and explain in three words why they chose it. Mr. Church would then take all the papers up and place on a bulletin board for all students to see. The students will do this same assignment in 2 weeks and then explain how their headline has changed in a 2 week period.

We all loved this video and thought Mr. Church did a wonderful job explaining the lesson. The children seemed to be very engaged in the assignment.  They also looked like they were having fun too. We feel that we learned some valuable information from Mr. Church and we will definitely use it when we all becomes teachers.