Over the past few weeks, as my exploration of the edTPA process intensifies, I am learning more and more about the complexity of lesson planning, the finesse of instruction, and the proper means of assessment, reflective practice, and reteaching versus reengagement. These processes all coincide with one another in a delicate balance that all result in an effective teaching process and a highly qualified teacher.
Planning commentaries, Instructional commentaries, and Assessment commentaries are not for the faint of heart. Although I have been creating lesson plans for years, I have never fully immersed myself in the step-by-step thinking of edTPA. That being said, this intensive process is orchestrated to bring reflective practice into teaching, before planning occurs. edTPA is giving educators greater insight into the why of our planning, more differentiated thoughts of how instruction will be given, and more self-reflective thinking as to what can be adapted to meet the needs of students. This may include anything from inclusive/adaptive devices, to changing teaching style. One means of avoiding the need to reteach is to plan integration and inclusive practice into the planning of the lesson, as there is a higher retention rate when lessons are taught to meet the multiple modalities.
Multiple modalities is a relatively new term, as well, although again, high quality educators have been doing this all along. We know that Harold Gardner theorized multiple intelligences and that students have varying ways of learning, from kinesthetic, to musical, to existential. Multiple modalities is just this. As education has developed to meet the needs of learners, we have come to understand more about various modalities of learning, and how to go about integrating what we want to teach with the learning styles and needs of the learner.
Though this is a sliver of all that edTPA is comprised of, it is truly eye opening to me that this process will benefit educators, learners, families, and communities by offering the best practices throughout a student's school career, preparing learners for life outside the classroom as a contributing member of society. I am excited to delve deeper into the edTPA process, as I can feel myself becoming not only more knowledgeable about the processes of planning, assessing and instructing, but more comfortable navigating the processes as well.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Thursday, September 13, 2018
What Makes Learning an Engaging Experience?
To those who are new to teaching, or unfamiliar with the demands of being an educator, the question of how to keep students engaged may present only more questions. How to keep everyone's attention and focus on the lesson at hand is not easily included in regular lesson planning, as this is heavily reliant upon differentiation based on the needs of students. Professional educators are equipped with knowledge, techniques, and resources to keep learning exciting, and actively engaging for all students.
To elaborate, hands-on, active approaches to learning have been very effective with the young children (ages 4-5 years old) I teach, as these children enjoy engaging in a wide range of experiences. After all, most experiences are still new to them. I have also found that I am able to maintain student interest in lesson content with a multitude of techniques and research based practices, including positive energy and enthusiasm for learning, asking questions giving children the opportunity to share what they know, and even giving them the opportunity to "teach" me something new. Engagement goes up exponentially when four-year-old's can correct their "mixed-up" teacher! Young students do have limited attention spans, although by alternating between very focused activities and vigorous gross motor activities, teachers can maintain student focus for longer periods of time, maximizing learning opportunities, often with students believing they are only engaged in play.
Reflecting on the best teachers I have had, and applying my knowledge of research-based practice, I can see that these teachers stood out to me because they were adapting themselves to my learning needs. In contrast, teachers I remember less fondly were very rigid in following "the plan," with little interest in differentiation or integrating multiple modalities of learning. Following the plan with no willingness to make adaptations leaves a large gap between the style of the teacher and the needs of the learner.
As professional educators, we know how to plan, how to teach, and how to assess. However, we must be sure that our process is entirely student-centered, and be prepared to deviate from the plan, if that is what our students need. Keeping children actively engaged makes learning fun and meaningful, while ensuring lesson content is relevant and developmentally appropriate demonstrates the professional approach to teaching every student needs to succeed. All students learn differently, and being a highly qualified professional educator gives us all we need to adapt and meet the needs of all students. For more information on creating engaging learning opportunities, click here, here, or check out the infographic below.
To elaborate, hands-on, active approaches to learning have been very effective with the young children (ages 4-5 years old) I teach, as these children enjoy engaging in a wide range of experiences. After all, most experiences are still new to them. I have also found that I am able to maintain student interest in lesson content with a multitude of techniques and research based practices, including positive energy and enthusiasm for learning, asking questions giving children the opportunity to share what they know, and even giving them the opportunity to "teach" me something new. Engagement goes up exponentially when four-year-old's can correct their "mixed-up" teacher! Young students do have limited attention spans, although by alternating between very focused activities and vigorous gross motor activities, teachers can maintain student focus for longer periods of time, maximizing learning opportunities, often with students believing they are only engaged in play.
Reflecting on the best teachers I have had, and applying my knowledge of research-based practice, I can see that these teachers stood out to me because they were adapting themselves to my learning needs. In contrast, teachers I remember less fondly were very rigid in following "the plan," with little interest in differentiation or integrating multiple modalities of learning. Following the plan with no willingness to make adaptations leaves a large gap between the style of the teacher and the needs of the learner.
As professional educators, we know how to plan, how to teach, and how to assess. However, we must be sure that our process is entirely student-centered, and be prepared to deviate from the plan, if that is what our students need. Keeping children actively engaged makes learning fun and meaningful, while ensuring lesson content is relevant and developmentally appropriate demonstrates the professional approach to teaching every student needs to succeed. All students learn differently, and being a highly qualified professional educator gives us all we need to adapt and meet the needs of all students. For more information on creating engaging learning opportunities, click here, here, or check out the infographic below.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Blog 1 Effective Teaching and Learning
To be an effective teacher, one must first be an effective learner. After all, we all began our journey with a clean slate, and a wonderful wealth of knowledge surrounding us. Whether we have found ourselves at a point in time to serve as teacher or student is quite an existential question to ponder, however, there need not be two sides of the coin.
This blog post is specifically geared for those who are currently, or aspiring to be, professional educators, in effort to remind us all that the learning phase of life, is never-ending. Through the recently developed edTPA standards and guidelines for effective teaching, we are clearly able to see that there is always opportunity to grow in knowledge and quality practice.
edTPA has been developed over a twenty-five year assessment of quality and effective teaching, essentially broken down into three simple processes. Detailed outlines and updated clarifications of edTPA are available here.
The first step in effective teaching, begins with planning. There is so much planning. I think back to my days in elementary school, where every moment was filled with excitement, and my teachers always seemed to be ready to handle anything out of the ordinary, and always with a smile. Until I began to develop my own lesson plans, I had little understanding of how intensive creating quality learning experiences truly is. Planning an effective lesson, however, is much more complex than putting pen to paper, with the intent of doing activity X. Quality planning for effective teaching requires, not only consideration of curriculum, theme, and timeline, but requires consideration of the abilities of students, as well as the goals we want students to strive for. Thorough understanding of North Carolina's Standard Course of Study enables a teacher to be better prepared to develop lesson plans with students in mind. Though the NCSCOS prepares teachers for meeting curriculum standards, another important focus is the ability of students before teaching begins. This may seem daunting for educators, especially at the start of a new year, when we have little to go on, in terms of being familiar with our students. Effective teachers are able to adapt to this quickly, and moreso than ever with the edTPA process.
Before teaching itself is addressed, assessment must be discussed. Teachers who have been in the classrooms, and those who have yet to be, quickly learn that assessment happens at all times, in all ways. Everything from written records of behavior, to portfolios, to noticing "little Johnny" is unusually quiet today are forms of assessment. While I will not yet delve into formal and informal types of assessments, it is so very important to note that it is happening at all times. During the planning phase, teachers are assessing the level of difficulty and necessary adaptations for groups of students who may need extra practice and those who may have mastered the skill identified in the goal. Developmentally appropriate student learning goals for all ages, birth-kindergarten, are available in the NC FELD (North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development).
Teaching, is the third process of edTPA I will discuss, and is the reason we do what we do. I can't think of a single educator who chose to join this field to make lesson plans and running anecdotal logs. We want to teach, and by following the outlines of edTPA, we will be most effective at doing just that. Teaching must come after the planning phase, but in a way, is from then on accompanied by the assessment phase. Assessments can certainly be carried out as teaching takes place, giving the teacher cues about who is catching on to the lesson, and who is struggling to follow along. Teachers must adapt, as necessary, even while teaching so they many effectively meet the needs of students. Assessment occurs again after completion of teaching, and the teacher can then analyze assessment results, then determine if the lesson should be revisited or if students are ready to move on.
This image illustrates that these processes are not limited to any specific order, but rather, interconnect the processes, so they may work together to significantly improve both the effectiveness of teaching, but the effectiveness of learning. This does not surprise me, however, though I am thoroughly pleased with the mindfulness of this method and its conveyance of learning at all stages, as perpetual and entirely interconnected.
This is a brief summary of the edTPA process, and will develop over time as more about the process is understood and shared among the education community. Research on edTPA and its connection to all of the North Carolina Teacher Candidate Standards, most specifically standard IV: Teachers facilitate learning for their students, and standard V: Teachers reflect on their practice, demonstrates that quality and effective learning, come from quality and effective teaching practices. Taking this knowledge and interpretations of the connectivity of quality practice into classrooms of the future can only lead to more effective teaching practice and better prepared learners.
This blog post is specifically geared for those who are currently, or aspiring to be, professional educators, in effort to remind us all that the learning phase of life, is never-ending. Through the recently developed edTPA standards and guidelines for effective teaching, we are clearly able to see that there is always opportunity to grow in knowledge and quality practice.
edTPA has been developed over a twenty-five year assessment of quality and effective teaching, essentially broken down into three simple processes. Detailed outlines and updated clarifications of edTPA are available here.
The first step in effective teaching, begins with planning. There is so much planning. I think back to my days in elementary school, where every moment was filled with excitement, and my teachers always seemed to be ready to handle anything out of the ordinary, and always with a smile. Until I began to develop my own lesson plans, I had little understanding of how intensive creating quality learning experiences truly is. Planning an effective lesson, however, is much more complex than putting pen to paper, with the intent of doing activity X. Quality planning for effective teaching requires, not only consideration of curriculum, theme, and timeline, but requires consideration of the abilities of students, as well as the goals we want students to strive for. Thorough understanding of North Carolina's Standard Course of Study enables a teacher to be better prepared to develop lesson plans with students in mind. Though the NCSCOS prepares teachers for meeting curriculum standards, another important focus is the ability of students before teaching begins. This may seem daunting for educators, especially at the start of a new year, when we have little to go on, in terms of being familiar with our students. Effective teachers are able to adapt to this quickly, and moreso than ever with the edTPA process.
Before teaching itself is addressed, assessment must be discussed. Teachers who have been in the classrooms, and those who have yet to be, quickly learn that assessment happens at all times, in all ways. Everything from written records of behavior, to portfolios, to noticing "little Johnny" is unusually quiet today are forms of assessment. While I will not yet delve into formal and informal types of assessments, it is so very important to note that it is happening at all times. During the planning phase, teachers are assessing the level of difficulty and necessary adaptations for groups of students who may need extra practice and those who may have mastered the skill identified in the goal. Developmentally appropriate student learning goals for all ages, birth-kindergarten, are available in the NC FELD (North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development).
Teaching, is the third process of edTPA I will discuss, and is the reason we do what we do. I can't think of a single educator who chose to join this field to make lesson plans and running anecdotal logs. We want to teach, and by following the outlines of edTPA, we will be most effective at doing just that. Teaching must come after the planning phase, but in a way, is from then on accompanied by the assessment phase. Assessments can certainly be carried out as teaching takes place, giving the teacher cues about who is catching on to the lesson, and who is struggling to follow along. Teachers must adapt, as necessary, even while teaching so they many effectively meet the needs of students. Assessment occurs again after completion of teaching, and the teacher can then analyze assessment results, then determine if the lesson should be revisited or if students are ready to move on.
This image illustrates that these processes are not limited to any specific order, but rather, interconnect the processes, so they may work together to significantly improve both the effectiveness of teaching, but the effectiveness of learning. This does not surprise me, however, though I am thoroughly pleased with the mindfulness of this method and its conveyance of learning at all stages, as perpetual and entirely interconnected.
This is a brief summary of the edTPA process, and will develop over time as more about the process is understood and shared among the education community. Research on edTPA and its connection to all of the North Carolina Teacher Candidate Standards, most specifically standard IV: Teachers facilitate learning for their students, and standard V: Teachers reflect on their practice, demonstrates that quality and effective learning, come from quality and effective teaching practices. Taking this knowledge and interpretations of the connectivity of quality practice into classrooms of the future can only lead to more effective teaching practice and better prepared learners.
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