TPACK: Technology in the Classroom

Instructional Strategies

When teaching 3rd grade Social Studies, three instructional strategies that will be helpful are:

1) Discussions
2) Lecture
3) Inquiry lessons - to research for information

UbD Document

Youth Subculture Interview

This link will take you to an article that discusses the influence that hip-hop music has on our youth's culture today. I believe this idea is very relevant to the neighborhoods and students we will be working with in the near future.

Hip-Hop is the Most Important Youth Subculture

Social Situation Observation

I chose to observe the social situation at a Third Eye Blind concert at Summerfest. For those who may not be familiar with the band, they are alternative rock and have been a band since the early 1990's. Summerfest is one of the biggest music festivals in the world. It is a 10 day long event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that has different concerts all day long.

The concert took place at the Briggs & Straton Big Backyard Stage. There was about 40 rows of bleacher seats. The seating was surrounded by beer tents. A little bit further away was food stands from local restaurants. There was an audio stage in the middle of crowd for the audio technician. On the left side of the side there was a big TV screen to help those are far back in the audience get a nice view of the show. Behind large tv screen and on the right side of the stage there were wood panels that were about 2 stories high. The back of the seating arrangement had 3 large wood canopies, pinic benches, a gravel standing area, and it was home the vending stand for "The Charcoal Grill" restaurant. All of these stage details were to give the feeling of being in a big backyard, thus the The Big Backyard Stage.

There was a variety of actors in this situation. There was Summerfest employees to help with crowd control and beer vendors, the band had their own crew both on stage and in the audio deck, and most predominantly there was the audience. The Summerfest employees walk around in black shorts and red shirt with walkie-talkies and a small pouch that appears to hold another tool - I believe it might be mase. Their role is to be a presence to help eliminate any violence or drugs. The band's crew was there to make sure the stage was set up for them. They made sure the band member's multiple instrument were in right place, the drums were set at the right height, and the microphones were working properly.

The interesting group of actors was the audience. The show started at 10:00 but I arrived at about 9:15. The benches were full, and the crowded was beginning to gather in around the seating area. I managed to find a small open area and I had to ask if the seat was saved because that seemed to be the trend. Friends were waiting for friends who hadn't arrived yet. I found myself a seat. The fans ranged in ages from 15 to 30. Many of the fans in the twenties were there because they loved the bands hits from the 90's and they are also familiar with their new music. The younger fans didn't know all of their older music but they knew the new material. Throughout the crowd you mostly saw groups of college-aged men. People had empty beers cup towering in their hands. Many couples were there and once the music started, everyone was standing on the benches.

As I was waiting for the show to start, the first thing I noticed was when one person left the crowd, they came back with beer and food - not just for themselves, but for their friends. It's like their seat was valuable because they would lose it had their whole group of friends left, which is a fair statement for a concert event. For many of the couples, the man would hold the woman because the benches were crowded and sometimes you would feel like you were going to lose your balance.
During the show, the groups of men were the ones you could clearly tell they were having a great time. Yelling, singing, and fist-pumping (and spilling beer) were their signs of having a great time. The occasional groups of females and couples were still having a great time but they show their excited in a different way. Females would bob to the music and sing to each other, while being more careful with their beers. The couples were the calmest, but they had smiles across their faces the entire show.

On the way out of the concert, the men were pushing themselves through the crowd. The women on the other hands, were holding on to each others arms making sure they didn't get separated.

Addie & Gagne

Addie & Gagne

Teacher Identity

I chose to evaluate the social situation in a clip from the tv show, Boy Meets World. The tv show took place in suburban Philadelphia. The school is predominantly white and middle class. During social scenes for this show, the cliques are visible. Here in a classroom scene, the stereotypes are moreso hidden. His students are typically well-dressed and clean cut. Would you see these behaviors and appearances portrayed in a clip whose actors are from a low income neighborhood? Probably not. In this clip, Mr. Feeny is ending a lesson (the content of the lesson is unknown) but he is addressing the behaviors of the class jokster, Shaun Hunter. When Mr. Feeny addressed "you three", Shaun was more than likely engaging in something mischeivious with his best friend, Corey Matthews. When Corey tried to explain his proudness for some unique knowledge he knew, Mr. Feeny smirked and walked away as though his knowledge wasn't insightful. This is because Corey is a class clown and often not taken seriously. Mr. Feeny is well respected throughout this high school. He has been teaching at this school for years. He has developed a relationship with Corey outside of school. Mr. Feeny can joke around with his students yet when it is time for a lesson his students are engaged. He represents an educated man - Mr. Feeny goes to work everyday is a suit.

In regard to his interactions with his students, he makes a reference to giving Topanga her 'moment in the sun'. She is a proper, well-liked, high acheiving student. This phrase implies that she can shine in a very sincere tone, possibly sending the message that those who are not as affluent, will not shine. Mr. Feeny references how the rise in media & technology is having an impact on the these student's literacy and mathematic acheivement. This scenario raised a question to myself about whether this is a stereotype to teenagers, or is this reality?

Counting Money >> Gagne's 9 Events & Rubric

My VoiceThread

Teaching Philosophy

A quality, well-rounded, and thoughtful education is essential to all students. To be the authoritative figure in this process will be a very rewarding experience. As a teacher, I will provide an exciting education that meets the state standards while accommodating the different learning styles and abilities of all students to the best of my ability. I will use different type of methods, like independent and group work, research, detailed written assignments, and hands-on projects, all of which encourage the students to engage in critical thinking and become deeply involved in the information they are learning. Across the curriculum, it is vital that students are actively involved in their education to increase their problem solving and inquiry skills. Learning how to be efficient in problem solving and inquiry are skills that are needed not only throughout one’s entire education, but they are also necessary in everyday life. Throughout the school day it is important that the teacher combines new curriculum concepts with real world situations to help the students receive a better understanding of the material.

The goal of my teaching practices is the help the students achieve their greatest abilities through exciting and efficient yet challenging educational material which effectively takes into consideration the multiple learning styles and array of abilities inside the classroom. Behind the material the children receive, the district and state learning targets are the manner in which I drive the curriculum I give to my students.

Throughout the curriculum it is important to incorporate inquiry-based lessons to increase the student’s amount of problem solving abilities. I will be sure to incorporate many hands on, research based experiments and discovery opportunities inside the curriculum. I will encourage the students to make predictions, discover outcomes and determine why the content is significant in their own lives. I hope to increase their ability to investigate questions through the use of scaffolding, a teaching method used to help students build up their abilities with the gradual decrease of teacher assistance. Especially useful in more difficult tasks, scaffolding gives the student the opportunity practice a skill level that is out of their range of abilities. Through the assistance of a more knowledgeable other, like the teacher, the students can develop comfort and confidence in completing more difficult tasks.

Successful curricula include the use of different pedagogies by the teacher. I believe that modeling the most visible teaching method. When teachers are participating in the same activity as the students, whether it is silent reading, writing down predictions, or engaging in a lab experiment, the students will find that the task is important if the teaching is actively engaging as well. Another beneficial pedagogy is to use cooperative learning. This form of group work encourages individual accountability as well as learning how to take in different perspectives as an educational tool.

I want students to enter my classroom being excited to learn and engage. I want my students to leave my classroom feeling educated and working towards being more understanding of differences in our society. I want students to respect more, learn to adapt to the differences of many, and appreciate the world that they have in their hands.

Welcome Teachers!

Welcome to my education portfolio. Throughout the page you will find documents related to TIE 535. Please look around. :)