Reflection

I have always felt comfortable with technology and when we found out on the first night that this would be technology based I was excited. I was excited because of the new technologies that we were going to use. The blogging and google docs are not tools that I have used before, so I found it very beneficial and valuable to get a chance to work with these and see how they can tie into the educational setting. I truly feel that all the assignment were relevant to out learning and closely aligned with the course objective.

Personally I felt very successful in the class through the products that were created. I really enjoyed the comments and feedback given by classmates and feel that they felt the same. Although my schedule has been hectic over the last 2 months, I was able to manage the workload and complete, most of it on time (but not this :) )

Results now

Prof. B's quote
You can walk into any school system large and small, and ask to see samples of work that’s proficient from 5 different 4th grade classrooms. You’ll get five radically different qualities of work.

This quote resonates so clearly about what I see daily in education. We have grade level members who are supposed to be teaching the same material but this doesn't seem to be the case. A parent has called because she has noticed an inconsistency of homework material for her twin boys. Even though the boys are in the same grade, one son is receiving homework material that her other son was doing 2 months ago. This inconsistency needs to stop. By infusing PLC (Professional Learning Communities) we need to insure that all students are currently at the same point in the curriculum.


Three more quotes.

1. We invest time and money in high-sounding plans and new programs we roll out each year with great fanfare. page 31

2. One teacher taught 28 times as much science as a teacher down the hall. page 37

3. The island school districts were successful - across socioeconomic lines - because leaders understood that effective teamwork is fundamental to success. page 127

These 3 points further provide evidence of inconsistencies that occur around the building.
1. We should not dismiss a program so quickly but rather spend time working together to analyze problems that we are incurring and possible solutions. We need to make an effort and provide adequate time for programs to take hold. Change takes time. Learning how to teach a new program takes time. To dismiss a program so quickly is an easy way out. We need a concerted effort from all parties involved to create the best action plan to allow success.

2. We need to hold each other accountable and responsible for what is being taught. By creating and participating in PLC's, I am hoping that this can be achieved. PLC's should be a time to present and reflect on practice that have been succeeding and failing, and creating solutions. This should be a time to generate ideas about upcoming units of instructions not only to create meaningful experiences for students but to hold accountable that the members of the PLC is involved in the same unit.

3. The previous two cannot be achieved without a cooperative effort. This creates the need for the PLC's. An environment where teachers can help each other grow and become more effective in what they do. To provide resources for each other and hold each other accountable. PLC's will serve as a forum for teachers to bring concerns and achievements so that we may improve, not only instruction but student learning and understanding.

These changes are needed to provide the most meaningful and fair education to all the students. We need to be willing to change for the sake of our students. I understand that what I am asking will take hard work, determination, and cooperation but it is essential to the success of our students.

Principal Pasieka

UBD mini unit

Reflection.

Although we are asked to do lesson plans following this method in my district, I have never truly created a unit plan following this format. I found that this model required more thinking and effective planning on my part to design a unit that of, what I would describe as true learning. I really like this model because of the"big idea" that the students are trying to attain.

I did run into some issues with this though at different points. I really struggled with stage 3 - the learning plan. I have to be honest that I have not thought about my lesson/units in that much detail in recent memory. I found my self thinking and pondering during the construction of this stage rather then writing.

Looking back at the unit plan I think that I have created an effective plan that will encourage learning of the bigger idea rather than the skill component that I have been used to planning for.


http://currfivethirtyubd.wikispaces.com/

Elementary assessment

In the article "Assessment for Learning in Upper Elemetary Grades" the author raises some intereseting points regarding assessement, particularly self-assessment, and the role it plays on the success of a student. He seems to describe how students personal use of self-assessment can either aid or defeat their intention. But I wonder if we as educators can truly change the way a student views themselves in the academic setting. Is it possible to take a child that shys away from risks because of the fear of failure and change them to see it a challenge that they must overcome.

I do believe that we can! It will take time. It will take a lot of effort. But if we can show students how to reflect back on experiences, find the faults, and change them to succeed, I feel we can get them to a point where they enjoy challenges.

However, I do see a problem. The teachers do not know how to use assessment for learning but only for grading. Stiggens writes "It remains the case today, as it has for decades, that teacher come into this profession with little or no preservice preperation in assessment, let alone assessment for learning." (Stiggens, 421). I will be the first to admit that I do not have a great capability in using assessment for learning in my classes. This needs to change first so that we may empower our students to do the same.

Stiggins, R. (2008). Assessment for learning in upper elementary grades. Phi Delta Kappan, 90 (6), 419-421.

Essential Question

I have a Ballroom Dancing unit in a few weeks for my k-2 students.


How does dancing enhance one's life physically?

What qualities of dance make it a lifetime activity?

PE and Technology

Japan math video

Amazingly different from what I thought education in Japan would be. I admit that I am in the group with preconceived ideas of what and educational setting would look like in Japan. I was amazed at what seemed to be chaos in the classroom. Coming from PE (which I often refer to as controlled chaos) there does seem to be a level of control from the teacher in what the students are required to do. My concern lies with what the students are doing when not involved in math. You can see two boys getting physical (playfully) when the teacher was involved with other students. In my experiences this can sometime lead to more serious situations very quickly.

The other factor that caught me by surprise was the number of kids in the class. When the video pans over and the line of student continues around the classroom. This again is something that I did not believe happened in Japanese education.

I believe what I saw in the video goes completely against what we are taught as educators but I also believe that this style/method leads to more responsibility for the students. By given more freedom that are responsible for their own learning because they cannot rely on the teacher for constant advice. The students have to find ways to learn that can include conversation with each other which leads to the volume of the class. I also feel that because of the society that they live in, they spend time when they go home and continue to work ( <- yet another preconceived idea?)

Did You Know

When first viewing the video I couldn't help but think about a conversation I had not too long ago with a colleague. To quickly summarize the conversation, we both agreed how poor our handwriting has become due simply to the fact of most written communication now is done on a computer or cell phone. We joked that once we write something down, we cant read it. Technology has become such an enormous force in our daily lives that we have regressed in areas that we learned long ago, like handwriting. Personally, technology has become a surprisingly common place item in my life. Everything from emails to reading books online. This reliance on technology has also spilled into my teaching as well. I recently used video taken on my cell phone to perform a video critique of a skill with a student during the class.

As technology, undoubtedly becomes more popular, the need for student competency with these skill is necessary for them to be successful. Take for example this class, there is no longer a hard copy written assignment. This may be to be more "green" but also because society has taken us in this direction. This will continue to trickle down into the lower grades as technology becomes more prominent. Students will have to know how to use a computer! My impression is that most do. I recently observed a Handicapped Pre-School lesson where the teacher had a student effectively using a smartboard to complete a pattern design. I believe children are much ahead of most teachers when it comes to using technology (at least in my setting).

To move forward from here, I feel that it is the districts responsibility to provide teachers with appropriate professional development in the area of technology that is applicable to the teaching setting. Requiring your PE teachers to participate in Smartboard workshops is not beneficial to them. However, requiring PE teachers to participate in a workshop presented by Polar (heart rate monitor) and the tracking software that they provide would be meaningful. If districts, and society, are moving in the direction of technology based learning that it should be their responsibility to provide learning opportunities for staff members.

I personally feel that technology is a double edged sword. There are many positive paths that can be taken however, at times the technology is not efficient enough to be meaningful. Recently I have been looking into seeking advice from a nutritionist and most are requiring a food journal. I have searched for electronic versions, versions for my Ipod, Blackberry. But it always reverts to me recording in a small notebook with a pen. I have noticed this in the educational setting as well. Technology needs to be two things. First, it needs to be efficient and easy (it could be complicated but easy) to use. Second, learning experiences should benefit from it. It should not simply be an alternative way to teach content.

Being what I consider a relatively new teacher, the growth in technology over the last 15 years has been enormous. There was a time that overhead projectors were the talk of the school. A VCR became a popular tool. Looking at what is available to today's educators and what has become the "norm" of society, there is no reason that we cant energize the learning that goes on. It is a commitment that teachers and districts need to make together because whether we like it our not, technology is becoming very common place. We can embrace it or be left in the dust.

OH NO!!! Ohno Middle School

There is no denying that what we are currently doing in the area of Mathematics is . Now is the time that we make a change. A change that creates the results that are expected of us.

Data has been collected, analyzed and reported to the staff regarding student performance within the content area. We have identified the areas in which students are currently having the most difficulty and plan to target them specifically in an effort to meet the standards of the NJ ASK Grade 8 Mathematic portion.

Title I: $45,000 - money to help all students

This money will be used to primarily provide the students with greater opportunities to practice the skills that are posing the greatest obstacle. Monies will be used to provide students with opportunities before and after school through programs designed specifically to meet the needs of the students. Part of this money will also be designated for test preparatory programs to provide students with the necessary test taking skills that will aid them. Money will also be designated to provide students with materials that can be taken home and completed with parents/guardians.

Title IIa: $38,000 - Professional Development

Money here will be used for two areas of profession development. First, a series of workshops will be provided to help teachers understand the needs of the students in regards to the content area. These workshops will provide teachers with skills to provide a better understanding of content for the students. Second, the money here will be used to provide release time for teachers on a consistent basis to allow teachers to collaborate about the techniques they have learned and implemented.

Title III $12,000 - Bilingual programs

Money here will provide necessary resources for students whose primary language is not English. Money will be used to provide appropriate resources that will aid in the success of these students.

Title IV $3,500 - Drug and Alcohol

The money located here will provide two assets for the students. First, an assembly about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol and the role that they play on learning. Second, specialists in the area of test preparation will be provided for students to utilize.

Title V $1,200 - Creative Uses - Technology

Possibilities

Computer based test prep materials. (paper based if no computers)

Payment for teachers to create test prep materials

Through a concerted effort and determination between staff, students,and parents, we will provide our students with the necessary skill to attain the goals set forth by the state. We will continue to tirelessly work to provide the necessary support for student success.

Dear Mr. Hirsch

You are correct. What would I ever do if I didn't know the 11th President of the United States?

I have to strongly disagree with your view of education and the necessity of a uniform "core" curriculum. Your present your ideas through you writing but only the benefits, well at least as you see it. The one argument that I can truly agree with you is that a "core" curriculum can help the child who has to move around during the school year.

But I urge you to consider the child who "gets the facts" immediately. What will they do as the teacher tries tirelessly to get the all of the students at the same level? From my experience, this student often presents a challenge in many forms (as does the child who takes a long time to understand). They need a more progressive method to challenge their personal abilities.

You suggest repeated practice and memorization. However, what if what the students are learning is not correct? This would be a wasted effort. My point being, memorization of facts does not promote intelligent citizens but the development of ideas around facts does. On your "A" list you list AC/DC. I don't want to have a conversation with a person who will simply recite facts about the band and form no opinions. I can find that information on my own. I want to converse about opinions about the band and ideas about what they have done throughout their career. This is intelligent conversation.

There is another point that I can agree with you about and that is the need to master simple elements before complex elements of content material. I also think this a "DUH" understanding though. You couldn't build the Great Pyramids without building the base first. How can we expect students to perform higher level math skill if they don't understand number values? However, the way students understand this will vary from child to child because they are all very different individuals.

Plain and Simple: We all learn in different ways. Repetition and memorization may work with some but not for all. As educators we have taken a pledge for all students to have the opportunity to learn.

Saber-tooth Curriculum

1. Should education be based on disseminating the important skills needed by society in the present and for the future?

Education, as I have stated before, needs to be parallel present day society. The paleolithic educational system was based on this. New-Fist thought of and created a process to develop the children of his time into better "citizens" of the time. Not by teaching them impractical skills, rather necessary skills to become better at the things that needed to be done. Same holds true for the present educational system. We are experiencing more curriculum devoted to aspects of current society. Just as the children on article many of us had some experience with typing while growing up. Why? Because this was the future. I am not insisting that if we didn't participate in those courses that we would have never learned how to. In this class alone, think about how much typing we are doing. I firmly believe that education should be interwoven with practical skills as well as academic skills.

2. Should curriculum change reflect the common goals of the community in enabling its members to function as citizens?

Absolutely! While most curriculum does provide students with general skills, the community should help guide some of the learning. The most obvious example I can think of is teaching an agricultural course in an urban school. For what purpose? If we are in a rural setting in which students are are much more likely to experience agricultural activities, it would be beneficial to provide such curriculum. As stated in the article why were they still teaching the children to scare tigers when there were no tigers left? I suppose you can argue like the wise man, that it is about the "moral" of the activity but we can adapt that same "moral" to present day society.

3. Should curriculum focus on skills or content knowledge as its primary focus?

I am not sure if curriculum would be effective without both of them playing equal parts. I have to fall back onto my content area to explain this. Within PE, I feel that it is much more important for students to understand concepts (which to me is content knowledge) than to perform the skill masterfully. I do expect them to perform the skill but with understanding of why they are doing it. For example, I want students to understand to maintain a healthy weight they must equal caloric expenditure and intake. How they physically achieve that doesn't matter to me. Towards the end of the article, the old men talk about providing a "more thorough grounding in fundamentals" (Peddiwell, The Saber-Tooth Curriculum). I concur with this statement but once a foundation was been established the need for particular skills needs to be met.

This I believe

I believe that teaching is about the learning process.....

I have taken my time in writing this post because I have really tried to think about an experience, or person, that has guided my life to this point. And sadly I cant think of one before my college experience.

Throughout my experiences in life I have come to the realization that I love the learn and get better at whatever "it" is. As an undergraduate I was fortunate enough to be a part of the mens soccer program with a coach who strived for professionalism and a hard work ethic. During my time with the team we were consistently challenged to be better than we were the day before because he wanted that way. He demanded it. This experience, I believe, tailored me to the person that I am today.

While training for the upcoming season, I met up with a teammate in July of 2001. We headed out to a vacant field to train together with nothing more than a few cones, 2 soccer balls, and the desire to be better. I recall the session lasting no more the sixty minutes and the two of us being completely exhausted. He looked at me and said "you should try to do this for a living". Even though I was already in the teaching program, that moment was the first time that I thought to myself, you know what? I can do this.

I love the "process". I love golf for the sole fact that I have been playing for 15 years and I still get better every year. I love cycling for the fact that 2 months into training, I can climb that same hill that beat me down the last time I tried it. I love to workout to shed that 1/10 lbs (ok thats a stretch, just trying to hammer home the point). I love evolving and thinking back to the beginning when I thought that I wouldn't be able to do it.

I love teaching because I learn each day and get better because of it.

The continuous striving to be better, the desire to be better, the need to be better shows in my classroom each and every day and I hope that my students grasp the same concept.

Within the world of education, I feel my beliefs are a round peg in a square hole. I do not believe that tests measure learning. As Father Sarducci said about memorization: "so that you can parrot it back for the tests". Much of what tests measure students have a hard time applying. Application is learning. Just last semester, I had a professor who believed this. His tests were some of the hardest that I have ever taken. And I was allowed a note card full of notes! I think if students learn to appreciate learning for learning sake, the required tests scores would rise dramatically. As long as the government has such a strong hold on requirements of education the only things students will learn is to pass tests. (I promise I posted this before I saw the cartoon on Prof. Backenheimer's blog)

Standards

I am really torn when it comes to describing "teaching standards" as shackles or benefits. I really think that they can be and are both......

First, standards provides us with structure. It can help guide instruction to ultimate teaching goals for our students. Second, they provide defined goals and objectives for students to achieve over the course of the year. I do think that these goals should be made available to the students at the beginning of the year to help them understand what they should be achieving at the end of the year. Standards can also place accountability on the teacher to ensure that they are providing, what the state, believes is the best education.

However each of these points I can also argue from the opposing side. Standards providing structure to the teaching process can make it a dry, boring, and inapplicable to todays world. (I do understand that it is up to the teacher to adapt and present the material in an interesting way). Personally, I cant tolerate being in class that has little relevance to what I believe in, what I want to achieve, and what is happening in current times.

While the standards provide defined goals and objectives do they really encourage learning. Standardized tests are usually used to assess learning, but what about the student who doesn't like taking test? The student who'd rather be physically involved in learning? I feel that application is the true measure of learning. Take math for example (I loved math in when I was in school). It is all based on principles, formulas, theories, or whatever you want to call them. If a student doesn't understand them, they most likely won't get the problem right.

Accountability is one area that I cannot argue. Teachers need to be held accountable. This does, however, place enormous pressure on the teacher, especially when they are being evaluated.

So shackle or benefit? Both.

In my school, there is consistency across the particular grade level. Grade level teams meet once a week to align goals for the upcoming week but the instructional processes, I assume, are very different. I know that I do adhere to our state standards for physical education but struggle with the health component. If you don't know, health education at the primary level is nearly non-existant. How am I to meet all the standards for two content areas? Before everyone starts, understand I see kids 80 minutes per week, while classroom teachers see them 270 minutes a day in my school. Also, being a PE teacher, we are often "left alone" which I think is completely unacceptable and lets some very inappropriate educational practices survive.

State vs National Standards

I am not sure that it would matter where the standards are coming from. For Physical Education, NASPE (National Association for Sport and Physical Education) provides 6 national standards that are very broad. One standard reads - Participates regularly in physical activity. There are many ways to achieve that which provides freedom to the teacher but lacks substance. I have a student who completely dislikes any physical activity yet if I test him on locomotor movements I am sure he would pass but I cannot say that he participates regularly in physical activity.

I do believe standards provide consistency in education provided for all student and because of this I think that standards, in some capacity, need to be in place

Who I am

My name is Sean Pasieka and I currently teach Physical Education at a K-2 school in Kinnelon. I actually grew up in Kinnelon and attended the public schools from K-12. The district is a smaller community with about 400 students in the K-2 building. I am truly enjoying the opportunity that I have been given to teach in Kinnelon and am continuously striving to provide better for my students. Currently, I am planning an experience for the students to participate in an Olympics that will run concurrently with the Vancouver Olympics and I am asked each day by the students about the experience.

However, I am more excited for a new program that I am trying to start. Through a fundraiser, I am hoping to raise enough money to purchase Snow Shoes so that our students can enjoy an outdoor winter activity. Throughout Physical Education, students are provided with an array of outdoor activities, however, as soon as the weather turns cold the program moves indoors. Living in an environment that has four seasons, I feel that it is important for the students to understand that winter time does not mean a time to stop physical activity.

I am extremely passionate about health and wellness, especially for my students. I often get teased at school as being the "food warden" because of the constant patrolling of the cafeteria and emails that I send out to the staff. But I am proud to say that I have helped establish an after school yoga program for staff, which even has a staff member who retired last year. I think that it is important to simply make people aware. Aware of their personal choices, of physical activity opportunities, and aware that each has the opportunity to make a change.

I am currently enrolled in the Sports Administration and Coaching program and I am also seeking a supervisors certification. I love being in the classroom and hope to teach for some time, but my desire is to fulfill a supervisors position so that I can reach more students.

On a personal level, I graduated from MSU with a B.S. in Physical Education and Health, started teaching in Kinnelon in 2004 and have been in the same school from the start. I coach soccer in our middle school and lacrosse in our high school. I enjoy participating in many different activities and recently tried cross country skiing. Definitely a tough workout. I also spend a lot of time cycling, both on the road and a discipline called cyclocross. I cant really describe it but here is what it looks like: